A Half Goal?

I have been doing these baby n me type classes three times a week for four weeks. The workout is actually a good one, but is more strength/toning than cardio. I havent run an inch since the Shamrock Shuffle.

I have a friend who suggested we do a 1/2 together on Labor Day weekend. While three months is plenty of time to train, I found getting out for runs a bit more challenging as a new mom. Add to that the fact that I hae to do my dissertation and have my first deadline in October.

Im having a tough time figuring this one out :( And the virtual training program starts on Monday ... so I dont have a whole lot of time to decide!

I'm Moving To DC

DC is a great city. I've been there before and will be there again ... it seems to offer many of the things I like in a city. But this past weekend was extra special. I went into a Starbucks on Saturday morning and they had a raspberry scone. The very same scone my local Starbucks has told me was no longer offered.

So it appears that Chicago is not good enough for the raspberry scone, but Washington DC is :( Knowing that I am very worthy of the scone, perhaps I think about finding a new city to live? DC (and my scone) is calling...

Wait ... Pop Isn't Good For You???

I have gone on and off pop kicks for years ... Recently I was "on". The bad thing is that I just can't stand diet pop ... So it's regular (actually, Coke) or nothing at all. Luckly I am currently "off" and I think my sweet thing confessions helped with that. Good thing, because everyone seems to be soda-bashing lately... A local paper's Has pop gone flat? article claims that an extra can if pop a day can make you gain 13 lbs in a year ... And also basically blames pop for the current obesity epidemic. This article claims that your intake of sugar on a daily basis should be capped at 10% of a day's calories. Thus, if you consume 1,800 calories only 180 (45 grams) should be surgar. Whoops. I've done pretty good at limiting my soda intake ... But I have a feeling my daily Toffee Nut Latte had 180 (or more) sugar calories. And I don't even want to think about my double latte days. I'm off to visit my sister for the weekend. Vacation means not having to worry about sugar and fats. I'll worry about it when I get home ...

If You Do Really Bad Things...Do You Confess Them?

I have had some trouble with the sweets the past few days. By trouble, I mean ... um ... I ate a lot. A real lot. And for no reason. Its not my birthday. I didnt go to a party. There wasnt a celebration. The Sweet Fairy didnt drop off any presents at my house. I'm not depressed, anxious, or extatic. I have just been pigging out.

I think when the worst happens, thats when confession becomes the most important, right? To clear your conscience? I'm not feeling very guilty about it, so I dont think confessing would make me feel better. In fact, it might make me feel worse. If I actually see the list I will realize what a pig I have been. I promise to do better, but I have dinner plans with friends tonight and dessert is highly likely. So I'll start fresh tomorrow :)

Early Riser Needs Caffeine

I dont remember the sweets I ate yesterday for sure, but I made a guesstimate. For sure I know that I have had way too many today. I was up at 5:45 (against my will) and its been quite a long day. A couple of lattes helped, but not a whole lot ... its 8:30 and I'm ready for bed. Unfortunately, I need to get a few things done around the house before I go to bed :(

Class today was not that difficult, but Mondays never are. We build all week, so the most challenging day is the third day of the week (Thursday). It makes Monday more bearable, but Thursday is pretty threatening!

In addition to class tomorrow, I have to head down to campus to talk to some people about the fall term. I am in no way ready to head back, but its been over a year now! Right now I am a bit nervous about it, but I do hope that when I get back onto campus it inspires me a bit :)

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Sweet Thing Confessions
Toffee Nut Latte
Iced Mocha
Animal Crackers

Chinese Food Sunday

We generally get Chinese take-out on Sundays. Its something we look forward to all week and always a delicious way to start out a new week. I order the worst thing on the menu - Sesame Chicken. Not only is it very sugary, but the chicken is also fried. I promised that I would stop getting it, but didnt do that much better last night. Instead, I got Birmingham Braised Chicken. Its still a very sweet dish (so Im confessing it!) but at least the chicken isnt fried. Baby steps people. Baby steps.

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Sweet Thing Confessions
Toffee Nut Latte
Mallorca Bread
Birmingham Braised Chicken
Coke

Out To Dinner!

Going out to dinner isn't a big deal for many people, but with a baby it suddenly becomes a bit difficult to arrange a night out. We go out to dinner every once-in-a-while ... at about 5PM packed with toys and other tools/tricks to keep a baby entertained. It often ends up being a rushed event where the food is simply shoved into the mouth versus being actually tasted and enjoyed :)

Tonight we went OUT to dinner. It was a great dinner, and to reward myself for a night out I had dessert. True, I often eat a great deal of dessert-type things. But this type of dessert was different. Much worse for me than anything I normally consume ... and well worth it.

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Sweet Thing Confessions
Toffee Nut Latte
Mallorca Sweet Breat
Coke
chocolate molten lava cake

What A Yucky Day

It's such a gloomy day. All day it has been sprinkling...just enough to force us to stay in the house. All day :(

To top it off, Brooke woke up at 6AM (with the help of our noisy dog). That makes it a LONG gloomy day. We went to Starbucks first thing in the morning and I decided that because it was so gloomy I should get a pastry. Yes, I thought I should reward myself for my misery. I knew it was wrong but did it anyway, but got what I deserved. I didnt get my favorite (Mallorca Sweet Bread) so I can save it for the weekend, instead I got an Orange Cranberry Scone. It wasnt very good. Of course, I still ate the whole thing...

The worst thing about being stuck in the house with a baby is how repetitive things get. We played with all the toys, took a nap, played with all the toys and took another nap. While she naps, I eat. And since I didnt plan on being cooped up in the house I dont have a whole lot to eat, so it hasnt been a very healthy eating day either. Oh well. I'm just going to chalk today up as a loss and start over again tomorrow :)

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Sweet Thing Confessions
Toffee Nut Latte
Orange Cranberry Scone
Mocha

I'm updating this 2 days later, so I'm not sure if I had one latte or two :( I'm gonna guess I had two and hopefully I am over confessing!

Yay Southwest Airlines!

Good thing I just booked a flight on Southwest Airlines because it appears that they have implimented an "enhanced Inflight Coffee Experience called LIFT in an effort to improve the Customer Experience". Basically, this fancy sentence means that they have a new blend of coffee, a coffee-mate creamer and an eco-friendly paper cup. And the good thing is, Southwest will donate money to the Guatemala Light Project based on the amount of LIFT coffee Customers consume.

What is the Guatemala Light Project?
The Guatemala Light Project brings light to isolated villages in the Guatemalan coffee-growing regions. Many of these villages are in complete darkness when the sun goes down, yet light is an essential part of community and social development. Our donations will help support a self-sustaining co-operative that supplies homes with solar-powered LED light systems and trains villagers how to install them. Through this unique program, Southwest Airlines is able to have a big impact on a community.

I'm gonna have to get me a cup of that fancy new coffee :) But for now, two Starbucks a day will have to do...

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Sweet Thing Confessions
Iced Mocha
Sugar Cookie (or two)
Iced Caramel Macchiato

The Cereal Roundup

Runners World recycles articles a lot and I have seen a lot that talk about how great cereal is for you, but this article actually lists the "good ones". Thats both good and bad. Its nice to have the info, and a list of cereals to try/look for. The bad thing is that none of the ones I like are on here ;)

The list:
All-Bran
All- Bran Wheat Flakes
Nature's Path organic flax
Post Bran Flakes
Uncle Sam
Weetabix Organic Crispy Flakes
Shredded Wheat -- regular or spoon size
Raisin Bran
Wheaties
Total
MultiGrain Cheerios
Wheat Chex
Frosted Mini-Wheats
Health Valley -- granola and others
Quaker Oat Bran

Since I just talked about what I should be eating, here is what I actually ate instead...
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Sweet Thing Confessions
Toffee Nut Latte
Mocha
Toffe Crunch Bar (Starbucks, of course)

I've Been Tagged

Sarah (aka Running Mama) has tagged me to list "My 8". So here it goes:

8 things to which I'm looking forward
1) Summer in Chicago
2) The happy face of my baby each morning
3) Feeling good about my body again
4) Our next family vacation ... wherever it may be (I'm ready!)
5) The arrival of our ottoman (tomorrow!)
6) Finishing this 6 week exercise class because week 2 is already killing me
7) Going out to dinner Saturday night (its a rare event nowadays)
8) Watching my daughter reach milestones (a tooth, walking, talking ... getting hair!)

8 things I did yesterday
1) Went to Starbucks...twice
2) Exercised
3) Made dinner (big deal for a take-out girl)
4) Blogged (and listed my sweets)
5) Took a nap, one of the first since Brooke was born
6) Laundry, dishes & cleaning
7) Watched last Saturday's Saturday Night Live
8) Ate 1 pastry, but denied myself another

8 things I would like to do
1) Finish my dissertation
2) Organize my closet
3) Travel more / See the world
4) Become a better cook
5) Eat healthier foods
6) Sleep in past 6AM
7) Learn how to sew
8) Find a way to get all the things done I need/want/have to without compromising the quality time I get to spend with Brooke.

8 shows I watch
1) My Boys
2) Grey's Anatomy
3) The Amazing Race (season just ended!)
4) The Mentalist
5) American Idol
6) How I Met Your Mother
7) Tru Blood
8) The Office

8 people I tag
1) sarahjoaustin
2) Runner Girl
3) meanjean
4) aron
5) runtofinish
6) Running Jayhawk
7) megan @ running from 30
8) robison52

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Sweet Thing Confessions
Today was a rough one......
Toffee Nut Latte
Chocolate Chip Cookie
Chocolate Cookie
Chocolate Milkshake

I Resisted

I think these are new. Despite the fact that I'm in Starbucks for the
2nd time today, at least I didn't get a brownie. And I didn't even
remember that I already had a cupcake today until I already denied the
brownie!

(I'm sure I'll get it later this week, buy at least I didn't have a
cupcake AND a brownie in the same day...gotta spread the sweet stuff
around)

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Sweet Thing Confessions
Toffee Nut Latte
Mocha
Cupcake

A Sesame Chicken Mothers Day

Firt of all, Happy Mother's Day! Since its my first Mother's Day, I decided that although I will still list my sweets ... Im not gonna worry or think about them for today. This means that the list for today will be a bit long. In addition to sweets, I ate a bunch of other garbage too. Whoops.

We went out to the burbs for brunch/lunch, and I had some french toast. I'm guessing I should count this as sweet. It had some powdered sugar on it and I added some syrup. I definitely tasted pretty sweet.

Jeff also got some cupcakes to celebrate the day, I had one today but am saving the other for tomorrow. In addition, we had Chinese food from my favorite restaurant, Chen's. I have been getting a very unhealthy dish from there quite often and have decided that I should look for a healthier option. But ... today is Mother's Day! I'll start getting something better from there next time. Since it pretty much tastes like chicken covered in candy, its on the confessions list for today.

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Sweet Thing Confessions
Toffe Nut Latte
Mallorca Sweet Bread
Blueberry Muffin (Just a few bites)
French toast
Mocha
Cupcake
Sesame Chicken

Weekends Are Sweet

I admit, writing down my sweets has made me cut down a bit. At least, I think about it before I eat it. (Yeah, I normally eat MORE than I have been listing)

Since I have been listing my sweets, for the past week or so, I have cut out my daily pastry from Starbucks. (Yes, I got a pastry ... EVERY DAY) But, weekends are for enjoying yourself and thus ... the pastry is still gonna find its way into my belly some way or other.

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Sweet Thing Confessions
Toffee Nut Latte
Mallorca Sweet Bread
Mocha
Chocolate Covered Raisins (I finally finished them, so this is the end of it!)
Coke

May Blogging

I forgot to post yesterday. Not because of my amazingly exciting life ... just becaused I spaced. Now I wont get a pretty banner from NaBloPoMo. Sheesh.

I was going to use the lack of a banner as an excuse not to monitor my sweets, but I'm not a quitter. I owe Friday's confession...

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Sweet Thing Confessions
Toffee Nut Lattee
Chocolate Covered Raisins
Caramel-chocolate cookie (and it wasnt even tasty, but I didnt say I would just list delicious sweets!)
Fruit punch
I think I had amocha too, but yesterday was so long ago I just dont remember for sure.

Class 3 of Biceps, Babies & Buggies today. It's still hard and I'm still hurting :) It was a beautiful day in the city, 70's and sunny, and it was a perfect day for all things that could be done outside.

I started off with an early walk with Brooke, followed by class, which eventually was followed with two more walks, a trip to the grocery store, and a trip to the park. It was a busy day and time flew fast, but now that its almost over I'm still sore and quite tired.

Goal for the rest of (what's left) this evening is to relax, take a shower, and spend a few minutes stretching! Hopefully I can shave some mental & physical years off of this old-ladies body ;)

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Sweet Thing Confessions
Sugar Cookie
Chocolate Covered Rasins
Iced Mocha
Coke

Body And Mind Of An Old Woman

This week has been exhausting (um, and its only Wed afternoon). I feel like I have my days scheduled down to the very minute, and to top it off Brooke has has some sleep issues (which means I have some sleep issues). I've done two out of three days of my first week in "Biceps, Babies & Buggies" and I'm in a world of pain. My legs hurt all the way down to my ankles! I just need one day to sit and relax, but with a 7-month old baby I dont see that anytime soon. In fact, rumor is I wont get that for 18-22 years :)

This morning when I woke up I couldnt even go down the stairs. Everything was tired and aching. Is this what old age is like? (If so, I'm not interested) I decided to combat it head on, and Brooke and I headed out for a nice early walk. By 8:15 AM we had gone to Starbucks, Walgreens, Dominicks and a local kids store that was having an early morning sale. Brooke got some bananas and avocados, a new book and a new outfit. I got a latte and some pics of Brooke (from Walgreens) out of the deal. In addition we got to share a nice morning together and I was able to loosen up some of these aching muscles.

In addition to my old lady body, my mind is not quite as sharp as it once was. I'm slower to react, have problems focusing, and easily get overwhelmed by silly stuff. I also get all of my errands done by 8AM and am in bed by 9PM. I'm just wild and crazy like that.

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Sweet Thing Confessions
Chocolate covered rasins
Toffee nut latte
Iced mocha
Chocolate chunk cookies

Giants 6, Cubs 2

The Cubs didn't win, but I got to sit in some great seats with a great friend. Not such a bad deal. Even better? I ate lunch before the game and didnt have the desire to load up on ball-park-garbage. YAY!

I was talking to my friend about how I am listing the sweets I consume. She eats the same chocolate-covered raisins I do, from Costco. These yummy candies come in a massive jar (bulk, like all Cotsco) and are quite easy to eat way too much of. So she asked me:

You mean you list how many handfulls of chocolate-covered raisins you eat?

I explained that I have only been listing the items, not the quantities. As far as you all know, when I say "cupcake" it means I ate one cupcake ... not a dozen of them :) Now is it cheating that I'm not listing quantity? This morning I only ate a few of the raisins, but the other day when I said I had a Grape Fanta it was a big fountain one. Now I'm wondering how specific I should really be.

Today was good and bad for my eating. I ate the usual sweets, plus a few more. But I avoided some possible bad eating by filling up before the game instead of during the game. I also am glad I only agreed to confess my sweet eats for the month of May because I heard a new ice-cream shop is opening just around the corner from my house. Double YAY!

In addition to eating sweets and watching the Cubs lose, I did actually squeeze in some exercise. The second day of my new class has left me sore already. I know being sore the day after a workout is normal, and generally a good sign ... but I'm a bit worried about how I'll feel tomorrow when I'm already sore only a few hours after my workout.

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Sweet Thing Confession
Chocolate Covered Raisins
Toffee Nut Latte
Coke

Dilemma

Going to the Cubs game. I know that a mai-tai or margarita has to be a "sweet", but what about beer? I don't have to confess that ... Right?

Exercise Through Osmosis

Every night I dream about living a healthier life, both physically and mentally. I dream that I eat all the right things, get some exercise, have an organized life, and dont sweat the small stuff. Each morning I wake up and I am sure that "today will be the day", but it seems it never is :) Maybe I need to stop dreaming about it and actually doing it ... or perhaps I just need to slip a pair of running shoes, and apple and a daily planner under my pillow???

Today I woke up ready for another fresh start. Untill the cupcake won. It's been sitting on the counter for a few days ... and now its no longer there. I thought I'd just check to see if it was still fresh, so I tasted the frosting. It was good. So I wondered if the cupcake had dried out. The only way to find this out was to take a bite, so I did. It wasnt dry. So I ate the rest of it :(

I followed up my cupcake breakfast with a gym class for Brooke, and then after that an exercise class for me. YAY! I did something!

...then after class I got a Caramel Macchiato

I had a sitter for Brooke today and decided to finally run out and get some new clothes. My old ones dont fit anymore, and since osmosis is not enough to get my body back in shape, I finally gave in. I kept waiting to buy clothes until I felt a little bit better about my body, but Brooke is now seven months old and I've been living in the same ill-fitting wardrobe for way to long. Of course, though I am feeling bad about myself I decided I needed a Grape Fanta. And after shopping I stopped in at the grocery store to pick up dinner and got suckered into a Butterfinger in the checkout line.

I dont think confessing my bad eating habits is helping a whole lot. Maybe thats because I'm just confessing sweets? I'm so glad the NaBloPoMo topic of the month wasnt "Fried" because talking about all the fried foods I eat would just be humiliating :)

Photo:dog on treadmill
Originally uploaded by normanack

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Sweet Thing Confession
Cupcake
Caramel Macchiato
Grape Fanta
Butterfinger

Its only 4PM, but I seriously hope that this will be the end of my confessions for today. I dont want another day like yesterday!

Sunday Funday

In our house we refer to this day of the week as "Sunday Funday" ...
And a fun day it was. We have great weather in Chicago and spent lots of the day outside. We went for a few walks and a nice drive. It's finally feeling like Summer could be on it's way.

Tomorrow Brooke & I start a new exercise class, which is a good lead in to ...

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Sweet Confessions
Toffee Nut latte
Starbucks sweet bread
Iced Mocha
A Lick of Frosting (couldn't resist)
Strawberry Shortcake

Update: Thought I was done so I posted. Whoops. I had a handful of chocolate-covered rasins later in the evening

Blogging About Nothing

The issue with blogging every day is that sometimes you dont have a whole lot to talk about. I could talk about Brooke (who does pretty cool stuff every day) but reserve that for my other blog so people who dont want to hear it dont have to :) Instead I am forced to talk about myself, and today there just isnt a whole lot going on...

The day was sporadically nice. The sun would come out and it would feel a bit warm, but then it would go away and feel cold. We went on a couple of long walks (including 2 trips to Starbucks) to enjoy what we could of the day. Brooke is anxiously awaiting the warm weather so she doesnt have to be so bundled in her stroller and can enjoy the ride.

I did eat a few healthy things today - and I actually denied myself a few "bad things" that I normally would have had. But I dont think I should be changing my own rules and start talking about the good things I ate, or the temptations I passed on ... so I'm just going to talk about the junk I ate that really shouldnt have ;)

--------------------------------------- Sweet Thing Confession

Toffee Nut Latte
Gum Drops (only a few left so I'll have to stop soon)
Barq's Root Beer
Chocolate Covered Raisins

Sweet!

I talked about NaBloPoMo before, and am giving it a shot again. Why? Well...why not?

The goal is to post every day for a month, which I think I can do. But the thing that lured me in this month was the topic: "Sweet". To participate you do not have to blog about the topic, but its something to stimulate conversation and blog posts. The topic for this month obviously is calling out to me. First of all, I am a bit fan of all things sweet. I love candies, cookies and pastries. I love lattes with a little bit of sweetness (specifically, the Toffee Nut Latte!). I have a 7-month-old daughter thats about the sweetest thing in the world. In addition, I tend to use the word "sweet" as general expression of things I like or that are good.

For example:
I found a $20 bill in my jacket pocket that I forgot about
Sweet!

I also use the word sarcastically quite often.
For example:
Today I showed up at a playgroup but found out it's actually not for two more weeks
Sweet!

I know I complain a lot and have a lot I can do to make my life better, but I can safely say (on most days) that I am a happy person and that basically, I think the word "sweet" is a generally good word to describe my life :)

I think I will continue the "sweet" topic for the month of May. I mentioned yesterday that I need to improve my eating habits a bit...I'm not ready to start eating all healthy or anything, but do think I can try to cut back on the bad stuff (like sweets...gasp!). I am going to try to confess the bad things I do eat in hopes that it makes me feel guilty, thus making me not do it as often :)

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Today's Sweets:
Cupcake (left over from yesterday)
2 lattes (a Toffee Nut & a Mocha)
Some Gumdrops (but they are from Whole Foods and have natural stuff in them...so they arent too bad for me, right?)