[Darciana]

19 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

What is your job?

I'm a mechanical engineer in consulting but I volunteer with the fire department. I don't get paid for fire fighting so if I can't go to a call due to work obligations, they understand. But on days I'm not working (like Friday was my 9/80 day off), I had nothing else but writing in my journal going on so I went and helped out. Other than the man, I'm the youngest there by about 30 years (almost double my age!) The man is 9 years older than me as the second youngest- they're very thankful for some younger able-bodied people to assist with the more physical aspects of it all.

[Darciana]

Journal: Got home late so didn't fill in the journal, but I did mentally do it while we were at our friend' house. All good this morning and caught up on filling in last night!

 

Workout: None. At all. Barely even hit 5k steps. But I needed that after Friday. I was hoping to take pups for a walk this morning but it's raining and will be for the next several hours. Maybe after dinner? The man has to go to bed early (3am wake up to catch a flight) so I'll have to keep dogs entertained and quiet as I won't go to bed so early (though I fear I'll wake up with him at 3 and not be able to fall back asleep until right at my alarm). I'm thinking of gently pedaling on the bike for a bit while I read once I finish posting simply to get some good movement in for the day in case any later plans fall through.

 

Nutrition: I was over calories yesterday despite not snacking in between lunch and dinner. I think my body was telling me we were still trying to recover from dehydration and I was fighting the thought it was hunger and I needed a snack. I did get water but I also indulged in some sparkling wine. Dinner was heavy smoked ribs with beans and roasted carrots. I ate just a smidgen too much there, too. The scale is up again from yesterday so I know I'm definitely retaining water. Focus today, as it's a lazy day due to the man's early-morning travel tomorrow, is to fast as long as possible, then focus on healthy non-bloating foods, and push lots of water and dandelion tea through my system to flush it all out.

 

Self-love: I struggled really bad yesterday with this. I was not really in a good place where I could find something. So I loved my hair. I had done a hair oiling treatment yesterday morning and it was super soft all day. A little scraggly looking, but very very soft. So I gave myself permission to focus on that so it would keep me from focusing on the negative. And that, my friends, is some serious mindset progress. It was awful. It was challenging. I was mad at myself for thinking negatively but I simply couldn't find anything I could say something good except my hair and so I drowned out all the other noise except how great my hair felt.

[Sepherina]

On 5/20/2023 at 9:26 AM, Darciana said:

Self-love: I'm thankful my body is able to keep me alive even when I apparently don't know when to stop or slow down. I'm feeling sore, sluggish, and lazy today but I know that's my body's way of saying "No more! We need to recover first!" I'll abide by it and have a lazy day as a thank you for working extra hard yesterday to keep me moving. My body is so much stronger than I give it credit for so here's a shoutout: THANK YOU BODY FOR BEING AMAZING ❤️

Bodies are amazing!  Hope your lazy day was refreshing and rejuvenating.

[Darciana]

Journal: I've finished all my morning Mystic's Guide stuff and part of Silk+Sonder. Busy morning so I'm saving some of it for this afternoon to help me recenter myself.

 

Workout: The man woke up at 230am (alarm set for 3) to head to the airport for business. I, being a light sleeper, was also woken up and couldn't figure out how in the world to get comfortable to fall back asleep - once I did, the dogs decided it was time to get up. No ma'am, no sir! We are staying in bed, thank you. I was awake from 220-330 and from there was tossing and turning with the dogs. I decided I'd forego the run and do it tomorrow. Either I'll run Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday or I'll run Tuesday/Thursday/Friday. We are eating out Thursday/Friday so I'm thinking of making those my run days so I have a little extra burn in the tank. Plus, wedding on Saturday I have to look pretty for!

ANYWAY.... I took the dogs for a walk. I'm going to shower real quick after posting and pedal on the bike while working until my weekly Monday morning call. I'll try to walk the dogs after dinner as well.

 

Nutrition: Yesterday was a bust. I ate ice cream at lunch not  realizing dinner was going to be the super calorie-dense chicken bacon ranch stromboli. Ugh. Way over. I'm surprised to show back down on the scale from yesterday with that. I won't complain. I'll meal prep my lunches for this week (garlic ginger sheet pan chicken broccoli and bell pepper) during the weekly morning call. I have dinners for today, tomorrow, and Wednesday night planned. I need to pre-log those lunches and dinners. Thursday will likely be Thirsty Thursday until the bio mom shows up with the kids (she's in town for the oldest's graduation Friday -- assuming he actually passes his exams considering he was failing 2 last week....). Then we'll take the younger kids out to dinner Thursday while graduation boy can drive himself to hang/eat with mom and stepdad. Friday is graduation day but the man and I have work so, if there's any more meal prep lunches left, I'll eat that and then dinner will likely be out in town again. All this is why I'm thinking since I have to do 2 days running in a row, might as well be Thursday/Friday. Plus, the stepdaughter is a cross country/track star and she might even run Friday with me. She'll be twice as fast, if not more, but she might keep it slow if she does. Or she might sleep in because travel knocks it out of you hahaha

 

Self-love: I admired how my tummy looked this morning in the mirror. Despite the fact that I'm a tad bit bloated from the ice cream and carb overload yesterday, despite being a little heavier than I was a couple days ago, I was able to see the progress I've made since January and that's what matters. Progress was made, even if it's snail paced.

[Darciana]

Journal: All good here! I'm doing pretty good with keeping up with it. It's very satisfying to come back at the end of the day and color in the squares and circles for meeting my goals (squares on one page for monthly goals, circles on the weekly pages for weekly goals. There are some overlap but weekly goals change slightly - this week I've left off food logging and water and added meeting calorie goal on MFP and moving every hour from 7am to 7pm as goals. Water and food logging is part of monthly goals so I'm still able to track those).

 

Workout: I spent a good chunk of my evening really hashing out my week. I walked the dogs, pedaled on the bike for about 15 minutes between my shower and my meeting, spent my meeting meal prepping and listening in (it worked really well! More on that below) and then yoga before bed. I hit my goal of walking 250+ steps every hour as well. It helps to be able to stand and march in place at my desk -- the man usually gives me a funny look and if he's on a call, a glare because I'm distracting him when I try to do that here so I go pace the rest of the house which is a little more challenging if I'm actively in the middle of something.

With the plan re-hash: Saturday is NOT a good plan for running. If we stay out late Friday due to graduation or just hanging out, I'm not going to want to wake up and run. I have no idea what will happen Friday so best not to leave it to chance. Sunday not a good backup plan either as we have a wedding Saturday afternoon and guests are invited to stay until 1am. Not likely we will, but who knows. SO I will run today once it's light enough out (almost! 10 more minutes or so), tomorrow (to help offset the homemade pizza I'm making), and Friday (to offset any graduation indulgence). Thursday I'm hoping weather cooperates for me to take the dogs for a walk and also hop on the bike to pedal for a bit to get some extra burn. I'm also trying to throw in evening yoga to help as I'm getting leg cramps a lot more now. Oops!

 

Nutrition: I fasted until after 1pm because I had to be in town for step-son to get his new license (state transfer and needed verification of address -- he isn't on any bills or my mortgage so I had to provide my info). I was able to get mine updated, too, as there wasn't a long wait for walk ins! Mine stated I still needed contacts or glasses but since I got PRK, I don't. It's nice to have that off there now.

I meal prepped my week of lunches for yesterday, today, tomorrow, and Friday during my morning meeting. Worked out well as I was quite ready to eat once I got home yesterday afternoon and it was very nice to just pop it in the microwave to reheat it a bit. I also went ahead and logged all my lunches minus Thursday (Thirsty Thursday) and my dinners for today and tomorrow (Thursday and Friday are likely eating out due to getting the kiddos Thursday evening and Friday being graduation). I also went ahead and planned my breakfasts - protein shakes for run days and fasting for non-run days. I think I have a pretty solid plan.

 

Self-love: I was really happy to watch my body as the day progressed. Despite eating, I was able to see the difference in bloating through the day as I drank water and dandelion tea - my tummy may have expanded due to food and water but my fingers, face, and upper tummy all looked slimmer as the bloat died off. I was also rewarded with a nice loss on the scale - back to where I expected to be. I was also really proud of feeling strong. Fasting does wonders for my mental state - I feel so much more in control and I love feeling powerful like that.

 

Alright, time to go run as much as I don't want to. Dogs kept waking me up through the night and I'm not exactly feeling super motivated. Oh well, it needs to get done and if I don't do it today, I have 3 days in a row of running. I'll really not want to run by Friday if that's the case! Also today increases to 28 minutes. Adding an extra 1.5 minutes to my outbound run means that running the second hill is unavoidable on my run back home. Oof.

[Darciana]

Journal: All good! I finished Mystic's Journal while I was cooking but Silk+Sonder was late as I had a last minute trip to take StepSon to Walmart for slacks and a belt and then get his shirt ironed for graduation! Luckily, too, the man had a zip tie so I didn't have to re-learn how to tie ties last minute. I'd have today to figure it out, but still... This makes it so much easier for StepSon to get ready on his own.

 

Workout: I hit 10k steps before I took the pups for a walk simply due to the WallyWorld trip. It was a short one, lots of cows (with babies so a little more hostile [read: protective], especially with dogs nearby) but it was also nearly 8pm which is when I usually crawl in bed so I was okay with it. Scheduled for a run today. It was storming when I woke up but it said it'd stop storming around 630. Well, it's stopped raining and I stopped hearing thunder. It's starting to get lighter like the dark storm clouds are passing to allow the sunrise to peak through so I'm going to hope I can squeeze in my run. Today is the day I need the extra calorie burn most -- dinner is a calorie bomb! I don't really want to go run, but I need to make it happen so long as this storm is well and truly moved on.

 

Nutrition: Crunchwrap copy cat recipe was pretty dang good! Only one didn't hold together completely and they tasted pretty amazing for a first attempt. The recipe made 4, StepSon ate both his but I only took about 3 bites from my second one which definitely helped in the calorie goal department (I pre-logged for 2). Today was planned to be homemade pizza but I just got a text that the plane was delayed so bad they switched him to a different flight and he now won't land until 830pm (meaning home 10pm or so - assuming he makes his connecting flight). I'll see what he says about eating dinner once he's home and if he doesn't want to eat so late, I'll try to think of something a little healthier to make for us. I may just stick with the pizza and eat as soon as StepSon gets home. I do now have leftover shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and bell pepper. I could make a nice salad to fill up on before I dive into my pizza. That should help. I'll plan for that.

 

Self-love: I got another dress I ordered in the mail for the wedding this weekend (3 of the 5 have arrived). The first two didn't fit well, one I've already sent back.  The third was very formal looking and long, but I liked it so I held on until last night. The one I really wanted finally arrived and ITS PERFECT. I was able to find my shapewear and once I put that on, I felt so beautiful. The shapewear also doubles as shorts under the dress for yard games at the reception (there will be no flashing people!) but it helped suck in some of the belly from eating and drinking all day to really make it look good. I was even able to pull out the sewing stuff my ma got me years ago I almost never touch and modify it a little to make it easier for me to wear without assistance. Also proud of myself for that. And proud of myself for having put the dress on, pinned it where I needed modifications (not an easy feat) and tried it on after to see it worked exactly as I needed. It's not perfect, but it's so small you'd have to be looking really hard and get really close to see it anyway.

 

Alright, storms gone and it's light out. I need to go knock this out... Ugh.

[Darciana]

So.... I got frustrated with work and realized I needed something to distract me on a short break. The puppy likes to chew and StepSon will not monitor him (he leaves his bedroom door open when he's "watching" the dogs but continues to play video games and not once move from his spot. Well, my mom made me two pillows since she sews and quilts. Smoke has chewed into 2 corners of one pillow and all 4 corners of the other. So far, I've fixed 3 of the 6 corners with my little sewing kit mama put together for me. I think I'm getting the hang of this.

 

I also inherited a little handheld sewing machine from the man's mom who passed away a couple years ago. I think it's nearly time for me to take the linen shirt that was going to get tossed and re-make it into a bread bag to store my homemade bread in. I might have to spend a rainy day getting that little machine figured out.

 

In addition, the man just landed! He was able to switch his flight and get one sooner -- should be home around 5-530, right before StepSon gets home and just in time to settle in before dinner. I've nearly finished washing all our sheets and blankets (we don't share a blanket. With 2 dogs who sleep between us, we humans would never have blankets teehee) and the younger kids sheets are all washed. I can finish half the remaining kids blankets tonight and, if I start early enough, finish the loads tomorrow before we head to Thirsty Thursday and get the kids. Nice fresh bedsheets for all of us!

[Darciana]

Journal: I realized I forgot to mention -- when I took StepSon to get slacks and a belt for graduation I finally bought myself colored pencils! Just in time to return StepDaughter's pencils I've been borrowing (which I think I confused her when I asked if I could borrow but she was more than happy as she wasn't here to use them anyway). Anywhoot, it's all good in this department!

 

Workout: I'm going to sort through some emails and read up on some of my work while pedaling on the bike once I post this. I already took the dogs for a walk this morning before work. Today I'll be eating out twice so I'm trying to make sure I get all the movement in while I can to offset not being in control of what's IN my food. The man took today and tomorrow off to recover from travel and enjoy the kiddos arrival so he'll be sleeping in and I'll have the office mostly to myself to move about and get my steps in. I did walk nearly 16k steps yesterday with all the laundry and such I did to get the two kids beds ready and have fresh sheets/blankets for the man when he came home. (Speaking of, I have 2 more loads to do this morning. BRB I gotta start those... ok I'm back! And I legitimately left to go start a load hahaha I'd forget otherwise and I want the second load at least in the dryer and started before we leave for Thirsty Thursday. No wet clothes sitting around until I'm back home!).  I also got in an after dinner walk with the pups. I'm surprised I'm not a little more sore today. Let's not jinx it though. I'm drinking Nuun for some extra electrolytes (hello potassium and magnesium, my muscles love you) if I start to feel crampy in my legs. It does seem to help.

 

Also realized, finally, Monday is a holiday. I have one more week of C25K training (Week 9: 30 minute runs). I'm thinking of doing Wednesday (31st), Friday (2nd), and Monday (5th) and maybe a "maintenance run" on Wednesday (7th) as the 5k race is that Saturday (10th). This way I'm not training 2 days in a row but I am completing the program (I can finally say I graduated!) AND not skipping a week leading up to the race but also not over training that week either. Am I nervous? You betcha. The longest I've run continuously was 28 minutes and managed 2.22 miles. I still have nearly a full mile left to run! I guess we shall see how the 30 minute runs go and where I stand - hopefully it won't be too big of a jump between 30 minutes and whatever it takes to finish the 5k. My fastest was 37:11 and my most recent (Nov 2021) was 38:25 I think. I also think the course we are running is flatter than the hills I've been training on (despite my attempt to train relatively flat, it's impossible with the distance I cover.. oops). Hopefully flatter course = slightly faster runs and I can reach 5k much quicker. I did train for this 5k - I didn't for any of my others 🤣 It'd be a shame if I ran slower or the same to my other races after so many weeks of training when I did maaaaaybe 2-3 weeks of training for my Nov 2021 race.

 

Nutrition: I ended up eating a salad AND an extra slice of pizza (it was a smaller slice) but stayed within calorie goal and hunger levels (AKA I didn't feel stuffed or overly full, just comfortably satisfied). I even dropped 0.1lb which is good as I'm usually up the morning after a carb-heavy dinner. Today I'm pre-planning a grilled chicken wrap for lunch and I'm not sure where we will go for dinner. Fortunately there's only a few places we all like in town so I know the menus pretty well and can make a last-minute decision fairly easily so long as I stay mindful of my goals while making said decisions. I am hoping I can fast until we get into town to also help offset what I imagine is a calorie-dense day.

 

Self-love: I was admiring how strong my legs are becoming. My heart rate, though it isn't accurate on Fitbit, it is pretty consistent, has dropped despite tackling a larger, longer, harder hill these past couple of runs. I'm feeling less burn in my legs and I'm recovering faster once I'm back on level ground after the hill. I need to remember to take measurements as soon as I wake up (too late now, I've had coffee and lots of water so at least my waist/bellybutton measurements are going to be wrong and I like to do everything at once) to see how my legs measure up to the last time I measured (which I believe was right before or within the first 2 weeks of C25K training beginning).

[Darciana]

Journal: Had to play catch up but luckily did everything for Silk+Sonder early enough it was completed. Today I'm caught up and only have my journal prompt left, which I'll do after my run.

 

Workout: yesterday was hectic. Kids arrived. Dinner at our friends. Work blew up to the point I was in tears and still working at 830pm. Got home after 9 and I didn't get to bed until 11 - 5 1/2 hours of sleep is all I got... Today I'm supposed to be running. StepDaughter asked me about it and said to wake her up (which I did) and she'd run. Don't know if she's actually up though. I promised so I'm up keeping my promise. I don't want to, though. I managed to move every hour and hit 10k steps yesterday, though!

 

Nutrition: I'm surprised the scale isn't up but then again I feel very bloated. Our friends made homemade chicken/shrimp/veggie fried rice and had asian-seasoned (read: salty salty salty soy and sesame) edamame and the pre-made egg rolls. Today I plan on eating my meal prepped lunch and unsure dinner but I'm planning for eating out and excess calories there.

 

Self-love: I simply loved myself last night because I needed the extra love. I was not in a good place with work blowing up the way it did and I struggled. I allowed myself to cry and was okay with it. I had to let those pent up emotions out somehow and that was better than an angry or frustrated method of breaking things or throwing things (especially as I had no time to work out to get it all out of my system. This is why I'll be running here shortly).

 

EDIT: I did my run. I managed an additional 0.02 mi from Wednesday's run despite the lack of sleep. Plus it was warmer (68 vs 62 degrees and very very humid). StepDaughter bailed on me for more sleep saying she'd run later -- it's a busy day and she can sleep past noon if you let her so we'll see if she does manage to run today.

 

It's also graduation day. Officially StepSon passed all his finals and walks across the stage this evening. I also checked my computer- I'm good, the work I was up so late trying to finish was reviewed, approved, and sent off without issue last night. Whew. Hopefully a quieter day today (Though I still have a lot of work to get done as I'm now a half day behind on another big project). Hopefully, with everyone out of the house running errands today, I'll have no distractions (other than the cute puppies I'm always distracted with) to focus and knock a good chunk out today so next week is a little better/more tolerable.

[Darciana]

Journal: All good - got caught up once home 🙂

 

Workout: I did take the pups for an early afternoon walk before it got TOO hot. And lots of movement through the day. Stood for half the 2 hour ceremony and traded off with the man so he could stand and not get too stiff as well. Taking pups for a walk once I post this and then staying active all day, especially with the reception.

 

Nutrition: Good. I finished off the last of my garlic ginger chicken meal prep for lunch and then dinner was our favorite sushi/sashimi place. I had a bento box and a couple bites of the man's roll. It was different, but good. I'm up on the scale a little simply from the sodium, but I'm feeling pretty okay.  Plan today is to fast as long as I can manage or until lunch. I'll need something before the outdoor ceremony in 90+degree weather hahaha I'll have one drink at the start of the reception for cheers to the new couple and then I'll focus on water so that I know at least I can drive us home at the end of the night (it's about an hour drive). I know the man has already been claimed by both the bride and the groom for beer pong partner so I'm gonna play it safe and limit my alcohol intake. It might even be useful for the scale 🙂

 

Self-love: I was admiring my body's ability to take on those hills yesterday despite only 5.5 hours sleep. I improved my distance, even slightly, and was feeling pretty good.

[Darciana]

Journal: Somehow, despite wedding shenanigans, all done!

 

Workout: Lots of standing? Not so much walking, but hours on hours of standing. We are walking a few shops this morning and grocery shopping so I'll get some movement in there. Storms this evening and possibly going into town to see friends before they leave town tomorrow so no walk with pups.

 

Nutrition: Was nauseous so I ate breakfast and felt better. Lunch out was heavy pasta. My estimate put me right at goal. Still full so I skipped dinner but did indulge in a vanilla with strawberry filling wedding cake slice! I was right at goal after all the standing and playing cornhole.

 

Self-love: Everyone was commenting how pretty I was. I didn't feel super pretty, but I really loved the way my friend did my hair and that nobody ever has seen me in a dress except a select few and it felt nice to surprise people that I can, indeed, clean up well.

[Darciana]

Journal: Home late so spent the morning coloring in and filling in the weekly reflections. I also set up the new week's information. I have 2 of the 3 main weekly goals and will need to think on another. All good otherwise.

 

Workout: Not a thing. Lazy day yesterday. I'm going to post this and then take the dogs for a walk. If nobody is awake by the time we're back, I'll hop on the bike to pedal while I read for a bit. I'm planning C25K Week 9 D1 and D2 on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. I'll walk the dogs, bike, row, do yoga on the other days. Next week Monday I'll do C25K D3 and maybe a maintenance run on Wednesday before resting until the race Saturday.

 

Nutrition: I binged so bad yesterday. I was so hungry and couldn't get over it. I couldn't even step on the scale this morning because I was so scared to see the damage. Today we'll be hanging out and smoking ribs for the holiday (thank you to all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice) so I'll fast as long as possible and focus on a small healthy lunch/afternoon snack that will hold me over until dinner. I'm pre-logging dinner so I know what to expect the rest of the day. Hopefully yesterday isn't much of a gain and I can drop it back off quickly.

 

Self-love: Today's focus is to have compassion and forgiveness for myself. Today is a new day and I can get back to my healthy habits with healthy food and smaller portions. I can drink plenty of water to flush any bloat out and move frequently to burn a little extra. But most of all, I cannot allow myself to dwell. Today is what counts and today will determine how things continue to go - back to healthy habits or down a spiral of unhealthy habits. Need to focus on the good stuff- I deserve it even if I had one day of an oopsie.

[Sepherina]

On 5/26/2023 at 7:25 AM, Darciana said:

I simply loved myself last night because I needed the extra love. I was not in a good place with work blowing up the way it did and I struggled. I allowed myself to cry and was okay with it. I had to let those pent up emotions out somehow and that was better than an angry or frustrated method of breaking things or throwing things (especially as I had no time to work out to get it all out of my system. This is why I'll be running here shortly).

Sending love, hugs and support.

[Darciana]

Journal: I didn't come back and color in my Silk + Sonder last night but I finished all else. I figured it'd give me something good to do for today hahaha All my prompts and such were done so that's the important part. I haven't started Silk+Sonder yet today but I'll do that after my run - Mystic's Guide is complete for the morning

 

Workout: C25K W9D1. Final week. 30 minutes straight running. Whew. I'm debating which direction to go. A big hill either way, ugh. Hoping for a walk with the pups after dinner tonight as we missed last night's due to a storm. I did take them for a morning walk yesterday, though. A lazy day, though, didn't even get close to my goal of 10k steps. Will do so today, though. I did, however, meet my move every hour goal so I did do something right!

 

Nutrition: I was over by 78 calories for the day but not bad for the big dinner we had. I baked artisan bread, then smoked ribs, beans, and corn on the cob. It was delicious! No clue today's lunch, but since it's a run day there will be protein shake for breakfast and they requested a Crunchwrap copycat for dinner so I'll be pre-logging.

 

Self-love: I spent the day reminding myself that I'm worthy of love despite my weight or how bloated I am/feel, or how uncomfortable my body is (between the bloat and the weather I wasn't feeling super comfy). I allowed myself a single dark chocolate peanut butter cup (Lily's) and savored that. I could've been right at calorie goal had I not had that, but the scale is back to the 155 range (despite the binge on Sunday and the heavy dinner last night and the fact that I look and feel horribly bloated this morning) so I didn't do any damage with those extra 70 calories. It was a very good reminder to my brain

[Darciana]

Journal: All good! I even found a way to not completely waste a full week in either journal (it's time to switch my Silk + Sonder from May to June but it has a full week spread for this week in both. I'm doing May's info in May and June's in June leaving the week partially blank in both journals. I don't have the patience to re-write everything, but I hate leaving a full week blank in either so this was my compromise. Progress, not perfection.

 

Workout: I ran 30 minutes yesterday. It was rough. I also unfortunately saw a little baby cow dead where someone had hit it 😭An announcement went out later. We think it was one of the construction guys because they fly through here and they've almost hit me when I've been out on walks with the dogs. Today I'm going to walk the dogs and maybe pedal on the bike a bit while I read through emails. Another super busy day at work. Yesterday I had to charge my Fitbit and suddenly 3 hours had passed without me moving my butt an inch off this chair. With my Fitbit charging and me distracted with work, I didn't get the little jolt from my vibration reminder to move. Oops! Thankfully, due to my run and an after-dinner walk with StepDaughter and the pups, I hit 10k steps. Today I'll need to move through the day to hit that goal. Luckily, the Fitbit is nice and charged for the next few days and can remind me to move.

 

Nutrition: I successfully made my crunchwraps for dinner. Figured out that refried beans is what was missing but overall they were a hit. A very filling calorie bomb still, but I imagine much healthier than the real deal from Taco Bell. Lunch I had made myself a chicken quesadilla, having pre-logged dinner and watching my portions. Having a nice longer walk after dinner left room in my calorie goal for the ice cream I indulged on with the family. We finished it all off so no more temptation in the house. I even remembered my lactose pills. Still a bit bloated today from it, but not feeling queasy which is a win! Overall, not a bad day and the scale rewarded me with a small drop.

 

Self-love: I was admiring what my body can do. I was struggling with the run yesterday. Slow, tired, not mentally there. Yet my body pushed through. I could tell I had a long weekend away from running and I was stiff. Today I'll focus on getting more stretching in between and drink my Nuun (I have energy already prepped right now and tonight I'll drink rest for the magnesium and potassium). My body deserves to be taken care of properly for what it does for me.

[Darciana]

Journal: Officially finished with my first Silk + Sonder. I got a little ahead this week setting up and starting the reflections/intention setting portion of June's but that's okay. It could be a busy day and it's nice to have it done so I can review quickly. All other journaling stuff good to go!

 

Workout: today is another 30 minute run. I'm giving myself some grace as I woke up in the middle of the night with a swollen lymph node that is making it a bit challenging/uncomfortable to swallow. Just one side, though. I'm hoping it doesn't impact my running, but I'm preparing myself for forgiveness anyway. If nothing else, I can do intervals of sorts and still get a good run in. I've got a little time to make up this one. On my Finch app, I also added a daily challenge of 10 sec plank, 5 pushups, and 5 squats. Just to give me a daily little micro workout. Yesterday I did 30 sec plank just to give myself a challenge. Aiming for a walk with pups tonight as we didn't yesterday. The kids wanted to go to the pool. I need to dig out my swimsuit so I didn't swim. Glad for it, too, as the kids said the water was still quite chilly. I stuck my feet in and that was enough for my cold self haha I also had to pace the house right before bed to make up the 2k steps needed to hit my 10k goal. I did it though!

 

Nutrition: I'm up a bit this morning and dealing with a smidgen of sodium-induced bloat, but otherwise good. I was over calories but by less than 75 so I'll take it. Ended up eating out at a sandwich shop. Not the best at all, but I was ravenous. I'm not big on sandwich shops like subway or jimmy johns but this one was horrible. Lesson learned! I'm entirely unsure of what today will bring food-wise. If I manage to complete my run, I'll have my usual protein smoothie for breakfast. I'll figure out lunch as we go. Possibly Thirsty Thursday? Not a clue.

 

Self-love: I'm giving myself a little extra love as I fight whatever it is causing my lymph node to swell. I've gotten my Oscillococcinum, elderberry syrup, oregano oil, and echinacea capsules all situated. Instead of coffee I'm having English Breakfast tea as a pre-workout as coffee always tastes horrible when my throat is sore. I'm set to battle this out and I hope it's a short one. I will care for my body as it cares for me.

 

EDIT: I ran. I felt like throwing up the majority of it whenever I'd speed up a little bit. My knees were absolutely killing me today. But it's done and for that I'm glad. Ready for a nap already!

[Darciana]

Woke up at 1am with my lymph nodes on both sides of my neck swollen to the point it was nearly impossible to swallow. I also had a huge buildup of mucus in my sinuses. So up at 2am (I tried to sleep through) to do a couple rounds of Neti pot through the morning (separated by a bit of sleep), drink some herbal tea, take my Elderberry Syrup, echinacea, and oregano oil, and heat up a corn sack my mama made me to sleep with on my neck to help sooth. I ended up eating 2 pieces of toast with some butter to help all those things settle on my stomach without feeling nauseous which worked well.

 

Journal: I'm behind a bit, but its my day off so I'm in no major rush, either. My journal prompt is one that will make me pay attention through the day and reflect later so I'll have to be sure to remember it.

 

Workout: I did run and hit 10k steps yesterday. I didn't fit in my pushups, squats, and plank. Once I finish this round of tea (with honey this time) I'm going to take the dogs for an easy walk. Maybe fresh air will help clear whatever this is up a bit, too. Grocery shopping will help up my steps as well, today.

 

Nutrition: I'm not fasting like I normally would on a  non-run day but for very good reason. I'll keep mindful of my intake through the day to ensure I'm not going horribly over goals but allowing myself a little extra as I work to sooth symptoms and recover.

 

Self-love: I gave myself a lot of love between 2-3am when I threw everything at my throat and sinuses in hopes of relieving some pain - it worked! I allowed myself to sleep in until I naturally woke up and I'm being patient as I am behind my usual schedule for journaling, checking in, and walking the dogs.

[Elastigirl]

Hope today has you feeling better!

[Darciana]

Busy busy busy and still battling the tail end of this lymph node/sinus issue.

 

Journal: I was able to get most of my journaling done. I hit a few of my daily goals after I was already getting ready for bed and didn't want to interrupt myself to come back to my desk. I wasn't able to check in, either. I woke up about 3am with more sinus/lymph node issues and then passed out on the couch again until my alarm to get ready for fire department training. I had to do my mental journaling instead as we didn't come home for more than 10 minutes until dinner. Oof!

 

Workout: Between Fire Dept training, Dept Vehicle Maintenance, and then swimming for 2 hours after, I think I got a nice unexpected workout in. Dinner was late in the evening and didn't get to take dogs out after. I did take them Friday night, though! Today is a lazy day. Once everyone is up and  I can change from PJs/sandals to something suitable for walking and my walking shoes, I'll take the dogs for a walk. Supposed to storm later tonight so want to get it in early before weather changes.

 

Nutrition: I'm a tad bloaty from later-than-usual-dinner of homemade pizza last night and a light beer I decided to try. I hate how much beer makes me bloat but sometimes its nice to change up my drinks. We did eat out for lunch (in between the training and the maintenance) so I estimated best I could. With all the activity, I had a lot of wiggle room, though. Today the man is smoking pork loin but I'm unsure of the sides to go with. I'm going to likely have to run to the store for some seasonings and butter (how did we go through a giant tub of butter in 2 days? Please don't ask me I have no idea.... but it's annoying. My fridge is not large enough to store 3+giant tubs of butter a week yet it seems that is what is needed) so I'll figure something out for sides.

 

Self-love: I'm proud of myself for pushing through EVERYTHING that has happened this second half of the week while feeling completely under the weather. My body is a straight up MACHINE and will not quit, it seems. Today is a much needed rest day and I plan on enjoying it. I still have a little going on with my lymph node area being a little painful/uncomfortable still and I'm dealing with mucus, but I can tell I'm on the mend and I need to be good to go by Saturday for this 5k. I'll see how I feel overnight tonight and tomorrow morning if I run or not. I may push it to Tuesday or Wednesday and them rest the remainder of the week until race day to give my body a chance to recover as it deserves.

[Darciana]

Journal: All good! Got the week set up with my daily goals as well as the 3 bigs in Silk+Sonder, all else is completed in full as usual!

 

Workout: I officially graduated C25K this morning! I ran every single run from W1D1 to W9D3 in full. It didn't count if it wasn't completed as prescribed. StepDaughter wanted to take Smoke for a run this morning (today was the first day of Cross Country Summer Camp which she's missing so she got up and ran on her own) so I took Harley. I was slightly slower than normal but that's from having to cross cattle guards - I have to slow down even if I'm alone and definitely had to stop to pick the dog up and carry her over them 😆 I think I'm going to do a distance run Wednesday (versus the C25K time based runs) and aim for 3 miles. I'm currently at 2.35 (average) for 30 minutes and if I'm not lazy I can be out the door by 6:15 when it gets just light enough. From there, I'm resting, AKA yoga/bike/rower/walking dogs, until race day Saturday.

 

Nutrition: I've been so active this weekend it would've been nearly impossible to not hit my goals. I accidentally fasted yesterday until 1pm and was super full with a fairly small amount of food. I was proud of that. Today I'm back chained to my desk so it'll be a lower burn and I will need to monitor. I had my usual protein smoothie for breakfast after my run. Completely unsure lunch and dinner right now. I'll pre-log anything I know of and be mindful.

 

Self-love: I was admiring my legs and butt yesterday. I realized the shorts I was wearing made my butt look rounder (not so deflated) and my legs toned. Or maybe that was the lighting? Or maybe even all these workouts I've been doing? Either way, it was delightful to see, even if it was a mirror trick (shhh it wasn't, that was real life, I swear it!)

 

 

On another note: one of our neighbors told us about this gym fairly close. It's still 15 or so minutes away, but it's also cheaper than the others. I didn't know of it because it doesn't pop up when searching for gyms and such. But with either veteran or first responder (which the man and I are both veterans and first responders), the "basic family (up to 4)" is $45 a month or something? Originally $106/month which still isn't bad at all! My old gym used to be $125/month just for me by myself! I'm going to see if he wants to invest after the beach since we've both been talking about how to build a home gym once kids move out (we still have until March for 1 of them to move out, and 2 years until the other). If we do this that means --- WEIGHTS!!!! Yippee

[Darciana]

Journal: I'm doing pretty good with this. Getting nervous about next week's vacation, though. I color in my habits as I do them. Do I bring my colored pencils and risk them getting broken/lost/stolen (young kiddos -- they don't quite understand adults would have colored pencils so I can't be horribly mad). Do I just make a little tick mark so I can color them in once I'm home? Hmmmm. Shall be a challenge I need to start thinking of before it's too late.

 

Workout: Took dogs for an after dinner walk. My Fitbit keeps auto stopping my walk partway through, though. I go to turn it off (I start/stop it manually) and it's not showing an activity. It's tracking my steps, though, so not sure why it just stops. This is the second day in a row of after-dinner walks it's auto-stopped. Fortunately I remembered this morning while walking the dogs and kept checking it periodically. It didn't auto-stop .... curiouser and curiouser... Also to note: it didn't auto stop on my run either. So just the post-dinner adventures. Oh well. Steps get counted and I'm alright with that. Aiming for another walk after dinner today. I'll definitely need the extra calorie burn - Taco Tuesday...

 

Nutrition: I'm doing pretty dang good. I ate less than my average for a run day and felt pretty good with the lower calories. I did, however, munch on salad for lunch and focused on green beans and my chicken thighs instead of the very-delicious-and-easy-to-overeat garlic butter noodles at dinner. Once I felt full, those were the only thing left on my plate and usually I eat all of it. Win for me! Today is Taco Tuesday so it'll be a little more challenging. Not sure what the plan is, but it's always pretty calorie dense. I know tomorrow's request is my calorie-bomb of chicken bacon ranch stromboli - fortunately it's a run day. Hopefully I'll remember that at 5am when my alarm goes off to go run. I'm confident, though, I can stay on track. The scale has been kind and I want to keep it being kind hahah!

 

Self-love: I took measurements today. I realized my right thigh is almost an inch bigger than my left one (oops), and I've actually lost 1/2 inch of the belly pooch (biggest part of my belly) as well as a 1/2 inch off my waist (smallest part). My hips are also down an inch (I don't wanna lose my butt but this is great as I have lots of hip fat on the sides). I wasn't seeing progress and now I know it's there, just so slight I wouldn't notice. I also didn't realize until checking in on the 10-12 week PvP that I've nearly lost goal and I have until Friday/Saturday to meet it (today's weigh in meets my 6lb goal exact). I'm proud of the progress even if I don't see it, these other methods of tracking are and I need to remind myself of that. I'm also proud that last year, I was about 150-155lbs going to the beach. Goal was to AT LEAST get down to that same range and, so long as I behave the remainder of the week, I've done it! Of course, I wish I was closer to goal and felt more confident in my body, but hey, I'm not fatter than last year and I had a blast so I can overcome it again this year.

[Darciana]

Journal: All good. I opened my one journal to find a lovely scorpion in there. Almost got me but I was faster. Whew. Orkin sucks so we called to cancel Orkin and called another local place that was recommended to us and scheduled an appointment with them the day after we get back from the beach. Hopefully this new company can get rid of the scorpions for us. It's annoying! They're small, but fierce. Anyway, after that jump scare, I got my journaling done. I was paranoid opening it up again this morning, but all good - no feisty creepy crawlies this time. I'm not looking forward to a week away -- if they thought it was dark and good enough to camp out when I use that journal regularly they're sure to be creeping around after 6 days of no activity! Eek. I'm only taking 2 of my 4 journals (each has it's own purpose) but the two I'm focused on most go with.

 

Workout: I'm aiming for a 3 mile run this morning. I actually may interrupt my typing this post to go run so I can get back in time. waiting to see if this storm will fully pass first. Walked the dogs after dinner (much needed) and monitored my Fitbit. It didn't auto-stop. Though, yesterday morning I sat for nearly 3 hours without realizing it (focused on work) because my Fitbit hourly move reminders decided to stop working. So after resetting my Fitbit watch and app I got it working so maybe that was also causing issues with my walks. It will be rest the remainder of the week in preparation for the 5k. I might pedal lightly on the bike but otherwise stick to gentle stretching-based yoga practice and walking the dogs.

 

Nutrition: Calorie-bomb homemade enchiladas last night (with a 1.4lb scale increase to go with it from the cheese and my dumdumb self forgetting to take my lactose pill so I'm bloated AF). Calorie-bomb chicken bacon ranch stromboli tonight (upon request). Good thing I'm running. I also have veggies I need to eat up before vacation next week so I'll be brainstorming what to toss together that will keep me relatively satiated until dinner but be lower calorie (I have dinner portion pre-logged and WILL not allow myself to go over it because it's easy to do with this dinner - I'll supplement with veggies if needed). I may try to fast until after my shower before my protein shake to see if I can also push lunch out a bit further into the afternoon to help me not be so ravenous by dinner. I feel like I'm playing tetris with my life right now.

 

Self-love: Not much going on yesterday in this department. I did notice my jeans were fitting very loose - not sure if its because they're a couple days old and I've been doing more in them (stretching them out a bit) or if it's because I'm shrinking a bit. Hard to say, but it was a nice little thing to notice and I'll take that as a bit of incidental self-love. I love the accidental moments of it - I'm making progress!

 

No storms, a beautiful sunrise I need to go photograph and a run to complete (ugh....) have a good day! bye!

[Darciana]

I DID IT I DID IT I DID IT

 

I ran the full 3.11 miles (5k) this morning without stopping.

 

Even better? I beat my 5k time by 13 seconds from Shiner Beer Run back in November 2021. Which was the first official 5k I did since back surgery. Not only that, but my elevation gain today was 212ft (Shiner was 85ft) so I'm able to run faster up more/steeper hills than before. Whoohoo!

 

My time to beat is the only 5k I ever officially did before my back surgery - 37:11. I might be able to manage that if this race is on flat ground. I'll be so stoked.

[Elastigirl]

Woohoo! Well done! Insert clapping gif here! ( For some reason the gifs wouldn't load for me)

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Well done! I'm happy for you.