Family Dinner on a Packed Day??

Dan and I eat dinner together, as a family every night, except the occasional girls/guys night out, but we are still eating at the same time, and we share with each other what we ate.  I didn’t realize this until last night.  Apparently it’s an unwritten rule of mine, and even I didn’t know about.  So, what happens when you have 2 healthy eaters, with packed schedules, only leaving time to eat together at 10:30pm??



Roasted chicken on the Grill

You eat a home cooked meal of roasted chicken breasts and mixed vegetables at 10:30pm, as a family, at the dinner table.  Sure, stopping by a McDonald’s or a Subway would’ve been easier, and I would’ve been in a better mood.  But, we have goals.  We have plans.  And by golly, we will meet those goals, or we will at least know we did our best.  (We aren’t a bit stubborn.  J)



Dan throwing a head kick at Jason Chambers

So, to my wonderful husband:  Thank you for putting up with me being in a bad mood.  I’m willing to sacrifice being a little moody for you to do your best Saturday.  I can not wait to watch you compete.  And, you look sexy in your new Jeep.

Morning Routine

I am not a morning person.  The worst part of my day is getting out of bed.  I would spend all day in bed if I could.  Oddly, I wish to be a morning person.  I would love it if I could jump out of bed, go for a run, watch the sun rise, make a fantastic breakfast, all before work.  I feel like I wouldn’t mind work so much.  I probably would still not want to leave the house, but at least I’d be in a good mood before work, rather than walking in right as my caffeine is finally waking me up.

That said, here is what my work mornings look like:

6:15 – Dan’s alarm goes off.  He jumps out of bed and heads down stairs to take care of the dogs and make coffee before surfing the web looking for his workout of the day.  I let out a groan and roll over, vaguely aware of my bed getting cold.

7:20 – My 1^st alarm goes off.  I quickly turn it off and cuddle up next to which ever cat has decided to sleep on my stomach that day.  Back to dream land.

7:30 – My 2^nd alarm goes off.  See above.

7:35 – I remember that I’m supposed to be awake and look at the clock and try to remember if I took a shower the night before or not.

7:40 – Finally force myself out of bed and start getting ready.

8:00 – Head down stairs, or start rushing if I’m running late.

8:01 – Say hi to the husband, both dogs, and the coffee machine.

8:02 – Start making my breakfast and putting my lunch together in hopes I have an extra 10 minutes to sit with the husband.

8:10 – Let the dogs out, check their food and water situation.

8:20 – Sit on the couch to rest.  I’m exhausted.

8:25 – Shoes on and out the door after saying goodbye to the pups and hubs.

8:45 – Coffee has finally started to hit, and I try to recall what my day is supposed to be like.

9:00 – Walking in the door to work, hoping for a little peace to sit at my desk.  Again, I’m exhausted.

9:20 – Finally ready to work.  At this point, I’m all smiles and hopeful of successful projects.

I’m not sure why I hate mornings so much.  I have a strict bedtime of 11pm.  Sometimes I stay up late until 11:15.  I don’t get up at night.  I sleep very comfortably and soundly most nights.  I’ve tried putting the alarm across the room, with signage not to go back to bed.  This was a fail, and Dan almost killed my alarm clock until he realized it was my phone.  I’ve tried bribes of chocolate or a special lunch if I get up.  Fail.  This doesn’t even get a second thought.

I just love sleep.

Relay for Dogs

I went for a run today using my Nike sensor again.  As I was getting ready to go, Daisy got really excited.  I asked her if she wanted to go running and she about tackled me.  I felt guilty because my last run, Penny went.  So I kenneled Penny (who whined as we left) and headed out with Daisy.

I set my iPod for 3k hoping to slowly get back into running 3 miles to avoid any knee injury, but after 2k, Daisy quit.  She just laid down and would not move.  Ugg.  I tried coaching, pulling, yelling, and finally gave up and headed back to the house.  This is after 2 poop and 2 pee stops.  I hate running with Daisy.

I was feeling really good and frustrated with Daisy, so I let Penny out of her kennel and put Daisy in and off we went again.  I finished just over 4k and Penny was itching for more.  I love running with Penny.  She looks so excited and really pulls me just gently to get me to speed up when I start to slow.  She also doesn't have to stop to go to the bathroom.

Not bad for a dog exchange and 4 potty breaks

Once we got home, I ended my workout with 4 sets of alternative push ups: 30-20-15-20.  I'm hoping once Dan gets longer chains and a smaller tube for the make shift pull up bar, I can start working on my pull ups as well.  I'm not real excited by my pace time, but next time I'll stick with just Penny and hopefully I'll have a better time.  At least I figured out the voice over feature and have a nice women telling me how far I've gone, counting down the distance.

Mary Mary..How does your Garden Grow??

I have the worse luck with indoor plants.  Many of ivys, potted flowers, and aloe plants have died in my apartments.  Until now!

These are plants given to Dan during his hospital stay.  Part of me felt like if I could just keep these plants alive, Dan will be fine.  Here we are 9 months later, and they are doing fantastic!  And true to my gut, Dan is doing great as well.  I haven't gotten the Peace Lilly to re-bloom, but it's not dead!

I started some plants from seed (I know, hold the applause), and they have all officially sprouted!  I'm so excited to move them outside.  I'm thinking of making a tiered terra cotta planter for the front stoop.


I wish I could tell you the one thing I'm doing that has changed my luck.  I do check these plants almost every day because I'm excited by their success, and am afraid of jinxing things.  So, they are being talked to, soil checked, and my lilly gets dusted.  I also have more windows in my house, so the plants are getting sun.  All of my apartments were like little dungeons, so I'm sure the sun helps a lot.  The only other thing that I've changed, is I'm keeping the plants away from my computer.  Before, my plants were kept on computer desks, because this is where I spent my time.  Now, they are in bigger rooms, away from heat sources.

As far as my outside garden:

My crocuses came up and lasted a good 2 weeks before the winds blew the petals away.  Last year, we had rabbits who ate them after one day.  My daffodils aren't blooming yet, but I see buds on them as well as my tulips and hyacinths.  I'm starting to see new iris growth as well.  I love when my front bulbs bloom because Dan and my MIL planted them for me.  Dan doesn't buy me flowers very often.  Instead, he planted me flowers that will bloom every year just for me.

Long Weekend

I was in much need of a weekend after last week.  I have been dealing with some back/hip pain with the re-alignment of my hips with the heel lift, which means, I didn't sleep well.  Plus, with the drastic change in the weather, I had a couple of days I didn't think I'd be able to walk.  But! After a couple of days of friends, family, sleep, and a ton of laughter, I feel recharged, and ready to take on this week.   That is, starting tomorrow of course.

Friday night, Dan got off work early for a department outing at the Pacers vs. Kings game.  The game was one of the worse games I've seen the Pacers play, but we got to sit in the AIT suite.  Free food, plus meeting Dan's co-workers, means a nice way to relax for the weekend.

Saturday, we had a bunch of friends over to celebrate March Birthdays.  We had 7 friends with birthdays this month!  So, to celebrate, we had a cookout.  Dan grilled some burgers, we ate cupcakes which turned into a cupcake fight, and at the end of the night, we had people sleeping in Daisy's room and on the couch.  Besides the friend's with kids having to leave early, we all had a great time.

And Sunday, after a lazy morning, I headed down to my parent's house.  My Grandpa moved from California where he's lived most his life.  He's now living with my parent's.  It was good to see him, and even though he tired out a little early, we are all excited to have him close by.

Nutrition

I don’t track what I eat.  I don’t count calories, carbs, fat, ect.  I don’t diet.  I have no weight loss goals.  But, I do not eat like most people.  I forget this, and I struggle with helping people on diets.  I forget how hard it is to give up something that makes you happy.  If I had to give up coffee or my glass of wine, I’d become a scary monster that no one would want to be around.  So, as I was sitting in a lunch meeting, I noticed how my meals differed from others, and decided to, for a day, track what I want to eat, and what I really eat.  I mean, who really wants to pay attention to tracking nephritis progression in a mouse model?

Breakfast:

Wanted:  Iced Carmel Mocha with bagel and cream cheese.

Ate: Protein smoothie with strawberries, Super food, and spinach.  And coffee with Splenda and organic whole milk

10am snack:

Wanted:  Bagel from meeting and Orange Juice

Ate: Dark chocolate almonds and water

Lunch:

Wanted:  Egg salad sandwich with BBQ chips and a chocolate cookie, with a rootbeer

Ate: LO Salmon with peas and carrots, and a nectarine with water.

2pm Snack:

Wanted: Twix and Dr. Pepper

Ate: Peanuts and water.

Dinner:

Wanted: Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy and corn on the cob

Ate: Roasted Chicken breast with Strawberry Salad and mixed vegetables, with ice tea sweetened with Splenda.

Dessert:

Wanted: Brownie with vanilla ice-cream

Ate: Sugar Free Chocolate PB Pudding Pie and Apple Cinnamon Hot Tea

Now the fun part.  Nutritional Summary for what I wanted to eat (assuming I ate one bagel, not the 2 I listed):

Total Calories: 3,760

Total Carbs: 431

Total Fat: 186

Total Protein: 123

For what I actually ate:

Total Calories: 2,468

Total Carbs:124

Total Fat: 93

Total Protein:177

So, you can see, that I ate less total calories, less carbs, more protein, and less fat.  Now, I have to admit, it was really difficult to even think about what I would want to eat.  I found myself saying, "Oh this sounds good, but ug, I'd feel bad afterwards."  Now, I find myself wanting salmon, and it being a treat when I get to eat it.  But, when it comes to the weekend, and we have birthdays, and dinners out with friends, I can eat a piece of cake and feel no guilt, or planning my next run.

Little Lady

My Miss Penny Layne is no longer a puppy.  I am very sad about this.  No more puppy breath, no more unbridled excitement over little things, no more needing help with anything.  Now, once she is done with being in heat, she will get fixed, and forever be less energetic.  I can already tell a difference.  She’s sleeping in a little more, she will lay down in bed in the morning while I’m getting ready instead of jumping all over the place, and she is even starting to take naps in the evening.

But, I’m looking forward to having a more predictable dog, not having any more teething, and being able to have quiet time with my dog, instead of always being tackled.  She’s still a big sweetie, and still loves to run and chase the cats.  As always, she loves her big sis and wants to do everything she’s doing.