Go Mommy Go!

I can't believe I forgot to mention this! Guess I was just so glad that Frost Ride was over! It's no secret that I get extremely frustrated by the scale. It just doesn't move for me, in spite of doing everything right (well, okay, I'm human... 95% of the time). I haven't had anyone do my measurements for a while, so as you might imagine finding out on Saturday morning that my waist is now under 40" inches was something to behold. I was surprised at the 2.5" difference because the scale had not moved. At 39" I know I'm no Barbie, but my waist has not been 39" since probably 8th grade. My new trainer is excited for me. He's going to put me on a very specific food plan to see if the change will yield some new results. I'm also going to try to add some mid-day cardio to mix things up. All other measurements stayed the same, but that's perfectly fine with me :)

Yesterday I rode in the Houston Frost 50 bike ride. Let me just say, that the title is literal. It was a foggy, 42 degree morning in North Houston and I felt every bit of the cold. When the fog's dew accumulates on your face and then freezes, it looks like you have a frosty beard. It was so wild to see!!! I just have share this too. There was a guy there who actually had his dog with him. HIS DOG. He had a covered basket-type thing that he carried him in (of course he was wearing a sweater... the dog, that is) and would walk him at every rest-stop. Oiy! I understand pet-love, but yesterday was borderline abuse for an animal. What's next? The Gator Ride! 43 miles of hopefully warmer weather and a challengeing climb over over the Fred Hartman Bridge . Oh, and it goes without saying how grateful I am that I can even ride a bike comfortably now. It's amazing how shedding almost 90 lbs. can make you feel. I take nothing for granted. The ride itself was not challenging cl

I'm sure you've heard on the news recently the story of B@by Gr@ce (I am mispelling the name intentionally so as to not get hit by drive-by's searching on the topic). The child was murdered by her stepfather and subsequently stored in a plastic storage tote by for months, by her mother, before being dumped off the Galveston coast here in Texas, not far from rom my home. Residents of the Galveston/Hitchcock area are asking for signatures on a petition to have the unnamed island named in memory of the child, and to bring child abuse awareness to a higher level. The petition is here. Please consider electronically signing it. Thanks.

So if you haven't noticed already, I now have a Lemonade stand on my blog. In it are some of the things I enjoy and "have to have", like my Nectar Proteins, Benefit and other things as I find them. Of course, if you need any of this stuff yourself, use my Lemonade Stand as a portal for your purchase. :) Only if you want, of corse... no obligation. :)

I had a killer training session on Saturday (which I need to track!). I also got out to check out the new 24 in our area yesterday for some cardio, which was pretty nice. No gym today -- the Cassinator has dance class this afternoon and Daddy is traveling all week. Besides that, Mondays are usually an "off" day for me. I will, however, resume tomorrow with a training session. I've been watching the Discovery Health Channel's National Body Challenge. It's been interesting. Ironically, it has helped put my own perceived weight loss in a different light, as far as percent body fat is concerned. I mean, I know for a 40 year old woman, body fat percentages should be between 23% and 33% percent. I'm currently sitting at 36%, still with 70 lbs. to lose to achieve a a healthy BMI. Just makes me realistic about what my goals need to be, and how I really need to stop comparing my body to others. Of course, I know this. I really do. Until it sinks in though, I&

Just for Dirk (since some of us insist on remaining youtube free). By the way, until I had a kid, I had no use for it. I've moved to the dark side. LOL Vintage video of the Cassinator, who chose the diaper box over the plethora of intellectually stimulating toys that surrounds her daily. I think she's almost 2 year.

If you know of Melting Mama , but haven't visited recently, then you may not know that she had an "episode" while in the hospital for a post-op ps check for her husband. According to her Mom, who made an entry for MM, MM is fine and they are working to get her answers. MM is a terrific spirit and I love her candor. Get well Mama! Our prayers/vibes/karma are with you!! Now, on to the thanks part of this entry... A brief e-mail discussion with one of my favorite bloggers is prompting a message outside of my recent boring food and workout journal entries -- imagine that! LOL! I am so thankful for the blogship I have with some of you. You dish it out straight up, you keep me believing and just when I'm feeling like this effort is just one challenge after another -- which it is, but at least one of you says something that just brings me back to the moment. 13 years ago I started "online." To this day I have still have friendships with those first few I&

Yesterday I had an awesome training session. I started on something new, barbell squats, and I did pretty good. My trainer teaches these in a progression, and by the end I was doing them full-out and technically correct. :) He hadn't planned on doing them full out during this session. However, my humility was fully restored with single-legged squats. I can't believe how hard they are to do, and I'm not even doing them with weight yet! I will get these down; it's my new challenge. In fact, trainer says that the only person he knows that nailed these the first time 'round was his 9 year old niece. Nice, huh? LOL 5:30 am 1 C. Mootopia 1 Scoop Nectar Cappucino Protein 8:30 am Small Apple LF Cheddar Cheese 11:30 4 oz. Turkey Breast Wasa Light Crackers Laughing cow Light 2:30 4 oz. 2% cottage chs. Snackin’ Flax 6:30 Chicken Breast Spinach Tomatoes

Calories are a little low today -- Not really sure why; seems likes more than enough food! Cass goes back to dance class tonight, but I'm going to try to squeeze in some cardio today; if I leave work on time and all the planets are aligned, I think I can squeeze in 40 minutes of intervals. :) 6:00 am - Coffee w/Protein 8:00 am - 2% Fage LF Yogurt & ½ C. Pumpkin 11:30 am - Tuna Cup, Light Mayo, 1 C. Spinach 2:30 pm - Laughing Cow Light, Kashi Crackers Pre Workout: ½ Lg. Apple, 2 oz. LF Cheese 5:30 pm - Chicken Breast, Broccoli

November 2007 / July 2007 / January 2008 ^^^^ Okay, this one looks like I received an ass lift! ^^^^

It's about 62 degrees today with a high of 70-something. It's warmer than it's been in the past week; it's been 34+ in the morning. This Houston weather is crazy. This morning I'm heading out for a 28 mile bike ride with a new friend. She's taken an interest in cycling and is training for the MS-150. I might be tempted to do the MS-150 if I knew I had a friend who I could count on to ride with. She actually lives not far from me so it would be great if this works out, and we can continue to motivate one another to ride. She's going to register for the Frost Bike 50 at the end of January -- I pretty certain that I will too. :) As much as I like riding, it's more fun when you have someone to ride with. Hubs and I actually get to have date night today -- I'm excited at the chance to have dinner without saying "sit down on your bottom", or "don't play with your fork." :) Not much else is going on. Update: No riding shitty Hou

So with the new year comes some renewed faith, not only in others, but in my self. I'm not sure why it has to be the "New Year" to feel more motivated towards achieving goals, but whatever works, I guess. My goal this year is the get rid of fear. In particular, the fear of doing something and failing. I want to eliminate the negative thoughts (even if small) that are in the back of my mind tell me, "I can't..." or "you won't..." or even "don't even bother, you'll never..." These thoughts are self-defeating (and I know this!) before I event start. This fear has held me back from doing the things I am truly passionate about -- by the time I'm 45 I want to be doing something, working in a field, that I am truly passionate about. I say 45 because I know that what I want to do, if I want to do it right, will require me returning to school for an altogether different career path. So in the name of facing my fear, I will

Same old thing happening here. Surprisingly the "resolutionists" haven't hit the gym that hard yet. Yesterday I had my choice of treadmills -- typically at this time of year I'm lucky to find any available. They did open a new 24 in the area, so I suspect that one is jam-packed. 6:00 am 1.5 oz. Ham Nonfat Latte 9:00 am Coffee 1 oz. LF Cheddar Cheese 11:30 am Chicken of the Sea Salmon Cup Wasa Light Bread Italian Wedding Soup 2:30 pm Snackin' Flax 4 oz. 2% Cottage Cheese 6:30 pm Freash Tuna Soft Taco (recipe below) Total Calories: 1366 Total Fat: 36 g. Total Carbs: 114 g. Total Protein: 136 g. Fresh Tuna Tacos 1/3 cup lowfat sour cream 1/4 cup chopped red onion 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro 1 teaspoon minced canned chipotle chilies (in the specialty ethnic foods sections) 1 8-ounce ahi tuna steak, cut into 3/4-inch pieces 1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix 1 tablespoon olive oil 4 whole wheat tortillas Mix first 4 ingredients in small bowl. Place

Back to work. Not another holiday off until May, I guess? LOL The New Year was good and if there is any truth to the foods that bring luck, then 2008 should be a good one for us. Our best friends came over and I made dinner for all of us -- including those things called black-eyed peas. They're not my favorite, but a bit won't kill me... nor would the luck they supposedly bring hurt me! I know, negative vibrations will cancel out the positive the black-eyed peas could potentially bring. :-P Today's plan: 6:45 am 2 eggs 4 oz. 2% Cottage cheese 9:30 am Small Apple 2 oz. LowFat Cheddar Noon 1 C. Boiled Shrimp 1/4 C. Cocktail Sauce 3:00 pm 1 Svg. Snackin' Flax 4 oz. 2% Cottage Cheese 6:30 pm Chicken, Spinach & Shiratake Sautee For Coffee Throughout Morning 4 T. FF Half and Half 4 T. Half and Half Calories: 1454 Fat: 48 Carbs: 93 Protein: 158 Exercise: Cardio - Intervals 60 minutes