Save me...

Save me from myself. For I have lost... myself, somewhere, over there, in my dimly lit flickering office, in the corner, underneath a pile of paper, file folders and unprocessed documents. Will you come and dig me out, dust me off and play with me? Help me regain my joy and remind me how to smile again? I have forgotten how to curl my lips upward. They seem stuck in a forever frown. With coffee breath rampant, I run around all day on a caffeine high. The constant GO-GO-GO is like a needle repetitively poking me in my eyes.


But this, this moment right here, it helps. It makes the noises more dull and the murmurs of my stressed out brain a bit more bearable. Typing these words to you every day is like having a long distance therapist. Many of them. Do I need more than one? Either way, I know you are listening. I know you care. And I know you know that I'm crazy, and that you accept it. HA!

LOVE YOU GUYS! Clearly, today was another fun filled adventure in cubicle, florescent paradise. BUT I MADE IT! I'm that much closer to my 3 day weekend and I seriously can't wait. I consider taking this Friday off to be perfect timing. My head throbs everyday, screaming for a bit of freedom. We're almost there baby, we're almost there!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH.......

BREAKFAST of champion lunatics (meal #1) at 9:15am.

• 1/2 old fashioned oats
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• dash pumpkin pie spice
• pinch salt
• Splenda
• (Microwaved and topped with 1 tbs ground flax, 1 tbs sugar free strawberry preserves, more cinnamon and 2 tbs pumpkin butter.)

This was so good. I forgot how much I like pumpkin butter in warm oats. YUM-YUMMERS!

Shhhhhhhh, do you hear that? That weak whimper? It's me. HA! We had a mandatory meeting at noon today. It involved more fun and exciting work for my position that I'll have to make some miracle time for and pizza, which of course I couldn't eat. Good times..... Good times......

LUNCH (meal #2) at 1:00pm.

I whipped my healthy lunch together as soon as the meeting was over. All my greasy lipped coworkers watched in awe and horror as I plated up my leftover asparagus, mushrooms and broccoli over a bed of spinach. Yeah, that's right. I love my body and feed it accordingly. Take that pepperoni breath! I topped off my veggies with roasted red pepper hummus and Sriracha and also had a toasted english muffin on the side (which I forgot to take a picture of).


To put it simply, this was incredible! :)

A little while later Ann and I escaped for a bit and ran to Barnes and Nobles to take a breather. I enjoyed some African Autumn tea and browsed through a few cooking and fitness magazines. It was SO nice to get away from my computer screen. :)

SNACK (meal #3) at 4:00pm.

A repeat of yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. What can I say. I take comfort in the familiar. I had a plain Dannon Greek yogurt with 2 chocolate protein muffins.


After work I ran.... I literally RAN out of the office (with the biggest smile on my face) and went to the gym to get my sweat on.

WORKOUT!

Seated Leg Curls (cable)
100lb x 15
90lb x 15
90lb x 15
Leg Extensions (cable)
100lb x 15
90lb x 15
90lb x 15
Inner Thigh Machine (cable)
75lb x 20
75lb x 20
75lb x 20
Outer Thigh Machine (cable)
85lb x 20
85lb x 20
85lb x 20
Reclined Leg Press (plate loaded)
140lb x 15
140lb x 15
140lb x 15
Free Weight Squat with straight bar
45lb x 15
55lb x 15
45lb x 15
Elliptical Cross Trainer
20 minutes, 1 min. intervals of levels 6, 8 & 10, 1.6 miles
Treadmill
10 minutes
min. 1 (3.2 walk)
min. 2 (5.5 run)
min. 3 (3.2 walk)
min. 4 (5.5 run)
min. 5 (3.2 walk)
min. 6 (5.5 run) Back of left thigh started to feel funky, so I stopped running.
min. 7-10 (3.2 walk at 8 incline)

Total time at gym = 1:19
Max HR = 178
Average HR = 138
Total Calories Burned = 626

After the gym we did the usual feeding of the kitties at Mama and Papa's house and then I hustled home. I had brilliant plans tonight for some palate pleasing goodies!

SNACK (meal #4) at 7:45pm.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! I recently started seeing no bake "cookie" concoctions in BlogLand and I thought I would give them a try tonight. In a small bowl combined the following. DON'T ASK QUESTIONS! Just do it!

• 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
• 1 tbs Better N' Peanut Butter
• 1 tbs (and a splash, JUST a splash) of unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze

Stir the HECK out of this gooey and sticky mixture until it's nice, thick and pasty. Next, take a piece of foil (or a plate) and sprinkle it with sweetened coconut flakes, scoop 3 servings of the sticky mixtures and roll it in the coconuts. They will start out as balls and flatten as they sit. I popped hem into the freezer for 10-15 minutes and VOILA, they were PERFECT!! Like cold, chewy, rich no bake chocolate cookies.


Here is a picture of something TRAGIC! An empty plate. I WANT MORE!


DINNER (meal #5) at 9:00pm.

I sauteed some green beans and frozen peas with soy sauce, spicy Thai chili paste and minced garlic. I piled them on top of spinach for a warm salad of sorts. I also had a Morning Star Farms black bean burger on an Ezekiel wheat bun with spinach, low carb ketchup and spicy mustard. I loved the green bean and peas combo! It was excellent.


The TV and my couch beckon me to come hither. I think I'll call it a night and relax with the Mr. for a bit. Time to UNWIND!

Tomorrow is my last day of work for the week. YAY! I..CAN..NOT..WAIT..FOR..5:00pm!!

NIGHT NIGHT!
XOXO
Ildie

H2O-A-Thon

Well, my mini goal for the week was a gallon of water a day, which was to commence on Saturday. SO FAR THIS GOAL HAS BEEN A COMPLETE FAILURE! I'm going to kick my own ass! 20% of the blame goes to the weather. I find it more difficult to consume water when it's cold out. The remainder of the 80% is all me baby! ALL ME! I had a stern talking to with Mr. Elusive Water Bottle today. At first he was a bit shy....


But eventually he came around.


And before you knew it, we were getting along like we had never been apart.


All that ended as soon as he realized what was in store though! GULP!


Breakfast today was SO tasty! I took a toasted English muffin and on one side I smeared some pumpkin butter, and on the other some fat free apricot preserves. I added sliced bananas to each and had the rest of the banana on the side. I enjoyed this very much. It was sweet, rich, filling and clearly, easy to make.


Of course breakfast was accompanies by a creamy and aromatic cup of coffee. I can't LIVE without this stuff. I can't say for sure what I may do without my daily caffeine fix. However, I have a hunch it may involve any one or all of the following. Unexplainable rage, hissy fits, temper tantrums, possibly some mild violence or acts which some may find to be morally questionable! I'm just saying.... Give me coffee and everything will be juuuuust fine.


Lunch involved two of my favorite things. Pumpernickel bread and light Laughing Cow cheese. Yep, you guessed it. It's veggie sandwich time! This bad boy included cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers and some spinach leaves. YUM!


AND GUESS WHAT? I had it with Elusive Water Bottle #2. Only three more to go before I reach a gallon. WHEW! And it's only 1:00 in the afternoon, WOW. For me....this is comparable to a once in a lifetime, unexplainable and miraculous event.

Let the EXCITEMENT of this day continue, shall we? For our break today Ann and I got EVEN MORE Christmas shopping done. I'm like a MACHINE today. A MACHINE!! Of course I can't discuss what was purchased but I CAN tell you that it feels great to put a HUGE dent into my list! YAY!

For my afternoon snack I enjoyed some Emerald natural almonds, dried cherries and Newman's Own Organic dried apples form the goody box I received yesterday. Holy Heck, what a great snack! The combination of these three items was out of this world! I'm talking moonbeams and stardust sprinkles here! It was insanely yummy! I give the dried apples an 8 out of 10! I love the chewy texture but I wish the apple flavor was a bit stronger. They were good none the less though!


This just makes me want to go home and try other goodies from them. I MUST resist! I MUST be strong! I MUST buy a lock for my snack cabinet. Nick of course will have to hide and key and hope that I don't attack. HA! AHHHHH COOKIES!


Water bottle #3 has now been consumed... I can't stop peeing. A tad bit too much information I know. I apologize! :)

After work it was off to the gym. The arm was feeling better today (but scabbing up something HORRIBLE) so I felt pretty good about being able to do the necessary moves today. Which I did just fine and without any problems! Awesome!

Treadmill Warmup
5 min. at 3.4 speed
Lateral Pulldown with straight bar
40lb x 25
50lb x 22
60lb x 18
70lb x 5
Cable Standing Lateral Pulldown
25lb x 25
30lb x 20
35lb x 12
Face Pull with rope grip
50lb x 25
60lb x 22
70lb x 18
80lb x 12
Low Row Machine
20lb x 15
30lb x 12
40lb x 12
Barbell Curls
20lb x 20
25lb x 18
30lb x 12
20lb x 15
Dumbbell Curls
7.5lb x 15
10lb x 15
12.5lb x 10
Hammer Curls
7.5lb x 15
10lb x 15
12.5lb x 12

Water bottle #4 has now been consumed... My bladder hates me right now.

I skedaddled home from the gym to relax and unwind for a bit. I was excited because I knew I wouldn't have to fuss with dinner tonight. Nick would be enjoying round two of Mama's meatloaf leftovers and I would more than likely be enjoying the leftovers from last nights chicken fajitas. Clearly I'm an advocate for the LOVE YOUR LEFTOVERS movement (I just made that up). I mean really, who throws out perfectly good food? The idea seems INSANE to me.


Of course I had to do something a LITTLE different with the leftovers to spice them up a bit. Jazz them up if you will. I decided to stuff the leftover chicken and veggies into a Flat Out, add some cheese and pan fry it (toast it up and melt the cheese) with some Pam. On the side I cut up some lettuce, cabbage, tomato and green onion. Once the wrap was nice and toasty I plated up and smeared the leftover guacamole on top from last night. The whole thing was done in roughly 10 minutes and to tell you the truth, I enjoyed it WAY more then I did last night.


After dinner I could NOT warm up so I made a steamy cup of tea. I decided on chocolate caramel enchantment tea. I added a bit of fat free, calorie free chocolate syrup and a splash of fat free hazelnut creamer. SO GOOD!


Now it's time to curl up and veg out for a bit before bedtime. Have a great night everyone.

Oh, and bottle #5 was just consumed. I DID IT! YEAH!