The Things I Know

• I need to drink more water, but sometimes it’s a struggle.
• I should work out on Mondays, but should not wait until after work.
• I’m good at writing to-do lists, but not so good at actually completing the tasks.

So the goal tomorrow is to drink 3 litres of water even if it kills me, go to the gym in the morning, and bang off at least half of my to-do list.  I’ll report back, but I’m determined now.  Maybe the start of a new month is just the kick in the pants I need.  Project Energize can wrap itself in a festive scarf and wear a Santa hat.  :)

This morning began with the usual half-caf…

No more egg nog in the fridge, so back to skim & demerara for now.

Breakfast was an old favorite with a new treat…

Toasted whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter & bananas…

And a fun fruit new to me…Persimmon!  I used to see these all of the time when I was a grocery store cashier, but if I’ve ever tried one I don’t remember.  These have been around the supermarkets here for about a month but every time I picked one up they were mushy and gross…but last week I found some nice hard ones at Pete’s Frootique.

Meaty like a peach on the inside, but not as juicy.  More like a banana in texture.  While the skin is edible I didn’t care for it, so I just ate the fruity flesh inside.  Sweet and delicious.  Nice for a change of pace!

At lunchtime I got to enjoy a leftover Chicken Enchilada.  Even better the second day.  Deeeeelish.

Afternoon pick-me-up of a few TJ’s peanut butter pretzels and PC Organics chocolate animal crackers…

Don’t these poor cookies look sad?

I had plans to try to get to the gym after work so I had a little pre-gym snack to tide me over…

Astro Original Organic vanilla yogurt.  This was a great find.  Thick and flavorful like our beloved Liberte but not quite so pricey. 

With sliced banana and a crumbled Roasted Almond granola bar.

Of course, by the time I finished work and completed a couple of personal tasks I had absolutely no desire to go to the gym.  It’s dark out, our Christmas tree is lit, FH is comfy on the couch, and I’m happy here in my slippers.  The world will not end if I miss a workout…right?  :)

FH had already eaten because I had said I wasn’t going to be here, so I just made a quick salad topped with some leftovers from the fridge.

Spinach, grape tomatoes, red onion & mushrooms drizzled with EVOO and s&p…

Topped with the Zucchini & Black Bean Pasta from Friday night…

We are now cozied in with some tea, some dry roasted peanuts, and Video on Demand.  Sounds good to me!

The One Where You Saved Me

Tonight could have easily become one of those nights where I just snacked my way to bed…but once again, blog to the rescue!!

It’s hard to eat chips, cookies, and Halloween candy for dinner when you know you have to present your blog readers with photos of your food.  :)  Thanks you guys!!

I did start out with some more chips and dip…yummy!

But after eating that and chugging a bottle of water I decided there would be no moping around and shook off the funk.  A hot shower works wonders.

As does biting the head off another evil peanut butter pumpkin.  Someone has to keep the infestation under control.

I stood staring into my fridge for a long time and just could not find anything I wanted for dinner.  Then I realized it’s because I didn’t want dinner food…I wanted breakfast food!

There was a very sad, very overripe pear sitting in the produce drawer just calling my name.  Chopped and sauteed it with a little margarine, sprinkle of brown sugar, and big shake of cinnamon. 

Poured it atop a bowl of Liberte Svelt organic vanilla yogurt and Kashi Honey Almond Flax cereal.  With decaf tea.  Warm and cozy!  Hit the spot.

Thanks y’all for keeping me on track.  :)

Sunday Start Up

Instead of waiting until Monday like I usually do for my "re-starts"...I woke up on the right side of the bed today and decided today was the day. (Amazingly actually because I had a major bought of insomnia last night which made me super, extra cranky.)

Got up and chugged a glass of water, made coffee, made egg salad....then changed my clothes and headed right outside to mow the lawn. This is a major workout. Our yard does not seem all that big, but it's on a weird slope and because it hasn't been mowed in two weeks it was like a major jungle. (side note: our lawn mower sucks ass...I'm shopping for a new one this week) I mowed the whole yard, raked it all, and weedeated all the edges. It doesn't actually look all that great, but once I get a mower with a bag I'll go over it again and keep it nice and tidy. It was a helluva a workout!

Came in and made egg salad in an Ancient Grains tortilla and enjoyed it with my coffee on the deck with the newspaper. Followed this with some fresh blueberries and lotsa water before my shower. Actually ended up heading out to see if I could find a lawnmower, but too late in the day so I only made it to one store. I did, however, finally get to the Sears Outlet store and got a WICKED deal on a bed for our spare room. That store is awesome. Avoided the temptation of any sort of drive-thru beverage, and ate the All Bran bar that was in my purse when hunger attacked.

Came home and made a recipe from my new Rachel Ray magazine...my rule is that if I'm going to buy it each month I have to make something out of it. I did pork & pineapple skewers with pineapple rice. The marinade was good, so the skewers I'd do again...but the rice was pretty boring so I doubt if I'd bother with that in the future. Probably just serve it with some fresh veggies stir-fried on the grill next time.

Then....you won't believe it....I went for a bike ride! I know, I've been saying for at least 3 months that I needed to get my bike on the road. Well, while cleaning the garage yesterday my neighbor saw my flat tires and pumped them up for me. That was really all that was holding me back, so tonight I loaded the bike into the car and headed down to the local trail. I started at the parking lot and just rode until I hit what seemed like the end of that particular section. According to the map I rode about 8km I think.

So here I am, ready to enjoy the rest of my evening with tons of points left and no cravings for junk. I think cereal and a plum are in order to celebrate my great day.

Thanks for the great comments. Those last two almost had me in tears. You all are fabulous.