Something New

Sometimes the routine of it all can get you down. So, today I decided to try something different. Here in the big city of Houston we have something called Urban Harvest Farmers Market which offers locally-produced veggies, fruits, and farm products. They are open every Saturday from 8am to noon, rain or shine.

I had such a great time and bought some good stuff. This will become a regular thing for me, for sure. Not only were there fruits and veggies, but there was fresh bread (which I avoided since I'm low-carbing it), local honey, a coffee bar, fresh juice, live music, and a restaurant preparing a recipe with local food for you to taste. If I'd brought more cash with me, I'd have spent it all!

Here's my loot!

Last week we had tons of rain. I got in a few bike rides and two weight training workouts. It looks like the scale doesn't want to move this week, bummer. I haven't been very hungry, which is a good thing, but I think I'm not eating enough calories. My hypothyroid-lack-o-metabolism-body just might be staging a coo. Whatever, I'll win in the end :)

Have a great weekend. Drink some water, 'k?

eta: sorry for the little pictures, I shot these with my iphone and sent them too small, me thinks ;)

Happy 4th, Ya'll!

I hope you have a safe and happy 4th!

Filled with whatever makes you happy!

Rain? Meh.

Why do older people have to talk about body functions and boo-boos? My mom (she's 76) is always talking about things I'd rather not hear about, like how many times she's pooped in a day or not pooped, whichever the case may be. Today she decided I needed to know about some bug bite or whatever, that she discovered and how she had to handle it (I'll spare you the details) and then wanted me to look at it. Gross. I thought after my son grew up I wouldn't have to look at any more boo-boos. Ah, well, she's a spark in the daily gases, what can I say!

Anyway, Tuesdays are my riding days and after I got home from work I took off. I knew there were clouds overhead, but they looked tame and lately they've been crying wolf...a lot. So, six miles into my ride, it starts to rain a little and I kept riding a bit. It's hard to see when rain spatters on your glasses, though, so I headed home. About the time I got home, I heard some thunder and saw a little lightening so that was that. Would you like to know it barely sprinkled at my house. But lightening is not something to play with, so I think I made the right choice even if my ride was cut short today.

I took my car to get it inspected today. I had already been told by the dealership that I needed some oxygen blah-blah-thingy and it would have to be replaced for it to pass the emissions test. I decided to get a second opinion and even though the diagnosis was the same, the price was better and I got a discount because a lot of people from work take their cars there. Awesome! Now my little bugger is all fixed up, sticker in place and  the engine light is no longer on. Yay!

Training my replacement at work is going okay. I'm still nervous about my new position but I'm staying positive and only have a small crick in my neck :) Change is just so, so...unexpected sometimes.

Take care and don't forget to drink your water.

Monday Morning Quickie

Just a quick post this morning since I've fiddled around this morning and only have a few minutes before I'm out the door. Last week I worked out Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the weight machines and rode my bike on the days I didn't work out. I'm feeling a difference in my overall strength even though it's still early in this new phase of my plan. I see how strength training can become addictive. You feel strong and that's a good feeling.

I met Roxie for lunch at Fadi's on Saturday! I know you wish you'd been there. We had such a wonderful visit. She is as wonderful in person as she is on her blog. She has unknowingly been a sort of life coach to me over the last couple of years that I've been reading her blog Gravel and Rust. Roxie, I'm looking forward to going for a ride soon!

The low carb thing is still working for me. This week I lost 2 more pounds. While it's not falling off me, at least it's coming off. With it being so hot outside and my internal furnace keeping me hot ALL the time, why not go ahead and work it till ya sweat?!

Make it an awesome week and don't forget...drink your water!

Yep, it's Summer alright.

Today is the first day of Summer. Really? I think in Texas, the first day of Summer is more like the whole month of June, not just one day. It's been hot. Very hot, for the last few days. I went for a ride last night and it was 91 degrees at 7:30pm. Still, it was a nice evening for a ride.

Saturday, I had some errands to run and while I was out I thought I'd stop at Smoothie King and get a low-carb smoothie. So, I go in and the guy greets me with a nice hello and can I help you. I tell him I'd like whatever he has that's low, low carb. Zip carb, to be exact. Well, Mr. Smartee Pants practically rolls his eyes and says "well the carbs you'll get from fruit are good carbs. Carbs your body needs." So, I said, but I don't want any carbs today, what can you make me? And again, he gives me attitude. Says "I can make you something with just powder and water but it won't taste as good as something else I have in mind." Really? So I said, guess you don't have what I want, so forget it. There was a look of shock on his innocent little face just before I turned to walk out. I mean, I knew what I wanted and he just wasn't interested in making it. I drink a plain vanilla protein shake every day and I Like It. Was Mr. Smartee Pants trying to impress me with his nutritional knowledge? Well, I was not impressed.

Saw this cute sign while out running errands. I love it!

Right after I left there, my mom called and wanted to go to Luby's (a cafeteria style place) so I headed over to meet her. I had some delicious roast turkey and some cabbage. After we ate, we went to a little place called tasti D lite. I'd never been and was feeling like I wanted a little treat. They offer a guilt-free frozen treat that range in calories from 70 to 100 with an average carb count of 12. It's a cute little place and the treat was just enough to satisfy. I had the maple flavor. Yumm.

The low carb thing is going great. I lost 2.2 lbs this week - Yay! Rode a total of 39 miles for the week and got in two workouts in the weight room. Finally, something has clicked and I'm determined to get fit and live well. 

Make it a great week and don't forget to drink your water. Ride if you can.

Two Flats and Stupid Head Tricks

Isn't it strange how when you get on board with something, stuff happens to try and knock you off track? Last week I began my hard-butt diligent quest for fitness by committing to working out at the school weight room and riding my bike (Nellie) for longer rides. Things went great Monday with strength training leaving me with noodle arms, but I didn't care.

Tuesday, I went for my ride and after 16 minutes I hear a loud HISS and realize my front tire is going flat as a pancake. This Tuesday happened to be heavy trash pickup in our neighborhood and there is always crap in the street. I looked down and saw a mine field of glass. C'mon people, heard of recycling that stuff?

So, I walked Nellie home and got Sydney and went for a walk. Determined to get in my exercise quota, I wasn't letting a flat stop me!

Wednesday, they decided to do some work on some pipes at the school. That meant there would be no a/c in the weight room after noon. Who cares, right? I mean you're gonna sweat anyway, eh? So, I go to work out and guess who is in there? The head of the school. He's an okay guy (sometimes) but I felt a little awkward, to say the least. But, whatever. I came to work out...and I did.

Thursday, I took my tire to the bike shop and got a new tube put in. The guy said there was a little chunk of tire missing, but it would probably last for awhile. Got home, put the tire back on Nellie, and we were off. Had a very nice ride (53 minutes) even though it was hot as blazes.

Friday, I decided to skip the strength training because I didn't want to work out with you-know-who. Apparently, he works out up there quite often. So, I went home to ride my bike. Rode for 44 minutes and then my front tire went flat - again. Crap. Double Crap. I knew I should have just bought a new friggin tire. Why do we not listen to that still, small, voice in us? Oh, and I've decided to work out regardless of who is in the weight room. I realize now that I deserve to be there just as much as anyone else.

So, here it is Saturday, and I'm going to the bike shop to get a new tire. I really need to learn how to change a flat myself. I'm going to go to one of the classes they offer so I can get some practice with someone who knows what they're doing. If you ride, and I know there are a lot of you now - Woo Hoo! be prepared! Don't get stranded far from home with a flat. I ride very close to home and the farthest I've had to walk my bike is a mile, but that was tough. You can carry and extra tube with you and they make very small hand pumps.

Now, on to the stupid head tricks. I signed up for Facebook (again) but I don't know that many people so it's really a waste for me. Anyway, I decided to look up my ex. Much to my despise, he's still alive and has a life. Why I've been thinking about a person who caused me so much pain and heartache, I don't know. It's been years since he left my life (and my son's life) and yet I can still let him make me feel like shit. Too, bad, there's not a way to wipe only the bad memories out of your head. Instead, I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday unless I write it down.

Have a good weekend. Be prepared. Don't dwell on the past. And, don't forget to drink your water. (sorry, Roxie, I'm kinda copying you today!)

Noodle Arms

I have noodle arms. Much like noodle legs - only it's my arms. I can hardly type. So if there are any typos in this post, let me just apologize now :) I worked out on the weight machines today at the school. I had the weight room to myself which was nice - no one to hear me grunting and crying groaning. A friend at work wrote out for me which machines to do and the order to them, along with how much weight and how many reps. By my third round I could barely lift my arms. But I.don't.care. I'm ready for some serious physical exercise, and I mean it, lol.

I lost 3.4 lbs last week - Yay! The low carb thing is paying off. I'm not really tired. I do think I'm not eating enough because my calorie counts have been below range most days. I'm having trouble planning my meals. It's hard for me to just eat meat and small amounts of veggies. Which amounts to mostly lettuce. But one more week of this really low carb and then I'll add a few more veggies back in and see what happens.

My plan is to ride my bike 5 days this week and do the weights 3 days. It was hard - doing the machines - but this is something I need to do and I'm going to keep at it. The best part is it's not costing me a dime :)

Have a great week! And don't forget to drink your water!

It's The Low Carb Life For Me

This week there have been no special events at home or work to cause me to eat off plan. I'm happy about that. I've been really good about logging my food in at myfitnesspal.com and I think that is helping keep me focused. And since I love to see other peoples food pics, I thought I'd post mine from yesterday.

Breakfast:  Better-N-Eggs with a few slices of Hormel Turkey Pepperoni and a little Parmesan cheese.

Snack:  Tuna salad (tuna in water, egg, mayo) and Pork Skins (I know, but I needed crunch)

Lots of this stuff! In my Tervis Tumbler :D

Lunch: Turkey (very lean) and veggies.

Dinner was tuna salad stuffed in a red bell pepper. Really good! So good, I ate it before taking a picture :)

Things at work are changing. They've decided to rearrange my job, which is fine, I guess. I'm getting rid of the freakin' calendar (yay) but moving from my pretty office with a big window, to an office with no window. I'll be more involved with students and parents (could be a plus or not). Overall, I'm sure it will be fine, but for now there's the stress of getting things done and learning new things. Hey, isn't that what keeps life interesting?

Keep drinking that water! Some of you are making me proud :D

Have a great weekend!

Partly Stormy

We had a scary storm blow through today. It looked like night and then all of a sudden, rain came crashing down. The kids that were out on the field had to run for cover. Kids don't usually run to get out of the rain, but today it was a pelting rain and they couldn't get out of it fast enough.

I don't have much else to say today. Nothing that's of value, anyway.

Low Carb - Not Low Enough?

This past week has been tough on me low-carb-wise. Lots of temptations for celebrations. I rode my bike twice to try to balance some of the extra carbs that I ate and all that I got from that was a sore backside. I've apparently pulled a muscle and now I'm walking like an 80 yr old woman (sorry, no offense to the elderly). I got on the scale this morning and I was up a couple of pounds. Maybe the sauerkraut and lite sausage had too much sodium? Whatever, 2 pounds? Oh, it's on now.

So, this week I'm going to try going even lower on my carbs. I've noticed in my food diary on MyFitnessPal that my calories have been much lower than the 1500 I'm supposed to have but my carbs have still been more than 30 most days. My body just doesn't want to give it up. I also think I need to do some strength exercise - I need more muscles!

Riding my bike twice in one week is not enough so I need to get out there and ride. We start our summer hours at work tomorrow - 9am-3pm!! That makes me extremely happy!! I want to ride in the morning - but if you know me and have been reading long, I'm not a morning person so that will be a stretch. We'll see.

Make it a good day and don't forget to drink your water.