Back in the South

Hi, all! Sorry it's been awhile since my last post. When I went to Arizona, I also took a vacation from Facebook, e-mail and blogging. I have to say...It was nice to be technology-free for a few days. :)

I can't wait to share my trip with all of you later this evening. I had such an awesome time, despite a sinus infection that is still lurking in my ears (My sincerest apologies to all the people that have had to repeat themselves in my "good" lobe). I really worked hard in making good food choices, despite many delicious temptations that came my way. I didn't get in the vigorous exercise I wanted to, mainly due to the sinuses and many family activities, but luckily I did do a lot of walking! And I'm proud to say that for the first time probably ever in my adult life, I didn't gain weight while on vacation! Whoo hoo! I even stayed away from Eegee's, which is a huge accomplishment for me.

Moving on

I have some new, exciting things in store for my blog, and my food and fitness plan. More on that in later posts. Have a happy Tuesday!

Sneezy, snuffly me

I'm feeling slightly better today after a round of Benadryl last night, and two DayQuil tabs this morning. Plus, I brought one of my favorite teas to work – Celestial Seasonings honey vanilla chamomile. Hot tea on a scratchy throat feels sooo good! I think I may have a third cup in a few. :) I don't have a fever, so I'm pretty sure I'm just having a bad bout with allergies, or possibly a sinus infection. JD and I traveled to Chattanooga, Tenn., on Sunday to finally have our pictures made, and our photographer, Dan, took us to one of the most beautiful mountains to snap a few shots. Maybe the change in altitude triggered my sinus troubles? If so, it was completely worth it. We got to see a lovely view of the city, and all of the trees were vibrant shades of red, gold and orange. GORGEOUS!! I hope the pictures turn out fantastic…I can't wait to see them in a couple of weeks.

My food and fitness plan hasn't suffered too much despite me feeling sickly. I finished Level 2 of the shred workout Saturday, so Level 3 is up next when I can breathe again and stop sneezing. :) Sunday, JD and I went for a brisk, 2-mile walk before we set out for Chattanooga, and boy, did we do some walking there! I think I impressed Dan by climbing a gigantic, steep hill in heels. Ha!

Meals have been pretty simple the past few days, with of course soup being one of my main dishes. Last night, I did eat a little hummus with celery. Sabra has a new one with artichokes and spinach in it. Anyone tried it yet? It was good, but the pine nut one is still my fav!

My apologies for a pretty mundane post. Hopefully, all this will clear up soon, and I'll feel like doing something other than burrowing under my covers. (Ah, bed…how I do miss you today…)

What kinds of things help you feel better when you are a bit under the weather?

Feeling...bleh

I'm not feeling so hot today...sneezing, runny nose, sore throat -- you get the picture. I even came home from work early today and tried to get a little sleep. (Not easy with a happy puppy ready to play!)

I will hopefully be back to full-on bloggin' tomorrow. But for now, I'm going to soak up my husband's sympathy and head back to bed. I have to get well before my big trip to Arizona in a few days!

Hope everyone else is healthy and having a great start to the week!

No place like home

I've lived in the South for almost 20 years now, and while I've picked up a bit of a twang, developed a love for sweet tea and say "ya'll" more times in a day than I'd like to admit, one place out West still feels like home – Tucson, Arizona.

I was born in Tucson and lived there until I was almost nine, when my dad got a job and announced we were moving across the country. My mom still talks about how mad I was about it, and that I didn't speak to her for several days. (Sorry for being bratty, mom!) I guess it was a pretty big change for me leaving my friends, school and extended family. And that's a whole lot of people on my mom's side! She has six (yes, that's right) brothers and sisters, and our family just keeps growing and growing. I have 16 cousins on that side, plus their spouses and children.

It was always a loud, fun, chaotic time growing up when we got everyone together for holidays or spent a Saturday swimming in the pool at my grandparent's house. I truly cherish and miss those days, especially since my grandmother passed away in 1997, and my grandfather died in April of this year. Next week, I will be making my first trip to Tucson since his memorial service to attend my cousin, Ryan's, wedding, and I know it is going to be tough not seeing him at such a special family event.

I miss you dearly!

Traveling is never a healthy time for me, because for some strange reason, I tend to think my exercise and food plan need some R&R also. :) But I am truly determined to stick with it and not go crazy on Eegee's pina colada and strawberry frozen drinks (ahh…want one now…)

Or delicious, authentic Mexican food

I don't even want to think about how many calories this gigantic steak burrito JD and I shared on one of our trips to AZ this year was...shudder...

I'm already planning some healthy snacks to pack for the 6+ hour flight, and I fully intend to take my Weight Watchers books and record my points as usual. As for exercise, there are tons of hiking trails to get my cardio on, and my aunt has a room full of gym equipment at her house. Good to go!

Do you stick with a food and fitness plan when you go on vacation? What kinds of things do you do to keep extra pounds from coming home with you?

A bride-to-be's birthday

I promise this will be my last homage to my friends this week, but I couldn't go without wishing Jessica, a.k.a. the bride-to-be, a very happy birthday today! Not only is she smart, funny and an all-around excellent lady, but she also has taught me a few lessons in health and wellness throughout our (almost) 3-year friendship.

Stretching is always important, no matter where you are

Mind your portion sizes

Dancing is a great way to burn calories

Get in your daily exercise, even if you have to do it in a dress and heels!

When you want something bad enough, go after it

Those are some things to live by...Ha Ha! Have a great day, Jess!

***

On a side note, I realized yesterday that I completely forgot to do this week's edition of "Meg Makes It on Monday." All these birthdays have my brain scattered! I'll make up for it next week. Have an awesome Wednesday, everyone!

Happy Birthday, Margaret!

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."

-- Anais Nin

I'd like to dedicate today's post to my friend, Margaret, who is celebrating her birthday today. She and I have been friends since college, and were roommates the last two years of school. My weight gain began my sophomore year, and Margaret – being the awesome friend she is – supported me through an array of diets – Atkins, South Beach and The Zone just to name a few. Margaret was on the elliptical next to me at the gym several days a week, and we still laugh about the time she fell off the treadmill after becoming distracted by a guy with a super long mullet strutting his stuff. (I wish I had a picture!)

Through my break up with "The Germ," Margaret always had an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on and finally, a foot to give me a swift kick in the behind to get me out of my months-long mourning and move on with my life. Several BAD relationships followed, and she was always there with tissues and good advice when they finally came to their conclusions. (And some dang good cosmopolitans! Ha!)

When I got married last year, Margaret made the 6-hour trip to serve as a bridesmaid in my wedding, which meant so much to me to have her there as I entered into one of the most important and joyous times of my life.

And I can't wait to see her marry the love of her life early next year!

So Margaret, if you are reading this, I hope you have a fantastic birthday, and thank you for being one of the greatest friends a girl could ever have! Here's to nine years and counting...rock on! :)

A beautiful, sunshine day

It has been an absolutely busy few days! My husband returned Thursday night from his final (hopefully) business trip for awhile, and I feel like we've been going, going ever since. We've had so many errands to run and an under-the-weather baby dog to take care of (he's doing much better today, thankfully!) Plus, we got to have JD's sister over for brunch Saturday, which was so nice since we don't get to see her very often, and we attended a birthday/going away party for my co-worker's husband, who will be leaving for a year and a half tour to Afghanistan in December.

Another thing that's been going, going? RAIN! I was so excited to see some sun peaking out of our blinds this morning after a solid week of showers. I haven't worked out since Thursday, partly due to pulling a muscle in my shoulder -- ouch! I've been trying to recoup it with rest, meds and heat patches, and I think it is finally coming around.

I definitely didn't want to waste such a gorgeous day inside, so after church and lunch at JD's grandmother's house, we took Tex to a local disc golf course. If you don't know what disc golf is, think regular golf, but with small Frisbees instead of balls and baskets in place of holes. I'm not really good at the game, but I thought it would be a good chance to do some interval running while JD polished his throwing skills. :) The course is about 1.5 miles, so as we made it around, I'd walk, jog, then sprint to our next throwing point. I actually really enjoyed it, even though I'm not much of a runner, and Tex had a blast catching leaves and marking his "territory." Ha Ha!

Dinner tonight was all about leftovers. We had a slew of veggies (i.e. one zucchini, half a bag of broccoli, a quarter of an onion, etc.) that needed to be cooked, so I made a big stir-fry.

And this guy grilled burgers:

Cooks AND cleans -- what a keeper! :)

I had some sweet potato wedges I made earlier this week in the fridge, so JD and I split them to complete our meal. For being mainly leftovers, everything tasted surprisingly fresh. And, I love not wasting food -- we are guilty of dumping fridge odds and ends in the trash way too much!

What are some great dishes you've made with leftovers lately? Let me know!