I love Vacations!

Okay, let me start off this post with my weigh-in.  I so appreciate all the kind, supportive words from you guys last post.  I won't quit my journey, but it gets so frustrating sometimes when you try so hard and nothing comes of it.  This weeks loss is .4 lbs.  I guess I should just be happy that it's a down number instead of an up, like last week, but I'm still just a bit disappointed.   I'm just gonna keep trucking along and hopefully the number on the scale will be lower next week.

So.....VACATION!  I may have written about this already, I'm not sure, but I'm so excited I have to write about it again.  Cody and I decided that we are gonna take a SUPER quick, 4 day trip down to Orlando for Disney's International Food and Wine Festival!  I have been down in Florida during that time, but never really gone and experienced it before.  We are taking a Monday-Thursday trip in October.  We are only going to have 2 days at the parks, because Monday and Thursday will be for traveling, but I'm still super excited! Because we are trying to make this an affordable trip, we are going to be staying at the All-Star resort (probably Music, but maybe Movies).  We got SO lucky, because they are doing Free Dining during the time we're there! YAY!  Cody explained to me last night that this trip is his trip, and the trip in February is my trip.  Therefore, I think we are going to be upgrading our free dining package.  Because we're staying at a value resort, we get the free quick service dining plan.  2 Quick Service meals and 1 snack each night we're at resort. So, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  But because we're such foodies, and Cody really wants to experience as much of the Disney food as possible, I think we're going to upgrade to the Deluxe Dining Plan.  That includes 3 Table Service meals a night, and 2 Snacks.  If we have done our math right, it should be about $50 per person per day to upgrade.  At some of the Table Service restaurants, we could easily be spending more than $50 a person on just one meal, so it's such a good deal!  This will give us an opportunity to do things I've never done before, like some Character Breakfasts, or eat at some of the amazing restaurants in the world showcase in Epcot!  We can even use 2 of our meal credits to eat at some of the more expensive restaurants.  Cody has been looking it up online, and there was a couple who upgraded to the free dining for 2 days, and they figured out that they racked up a bill of over $700, just in meals.  They only paid $200 to upgrade to the Deluxe dining plan, just like we would, so they saved $500 in meals!  Such a good deal.

And, to top it all off, we will be going there when Hanson is playing at Epcot for the Eat to the Beat Concert Series!!! Don't judge....but Hanson is my favorite band.  I've seen them more times than I'd really like to admit (okay, okay...somewhere in the 25 range, but it's been over a period of 11 years!).  I can't even imagine getting to combine my 4 favorite things....My husband, Disney, Hanson, and food!!! 

Okay I gotta go, we're getting ready to book the trip right now! :)

Slacking.

Our weekend was a pretty fun one.  We always try to do fun things on our days off, just because we are not sit at home type people.  So monday, we went to lunch with Cody's brother.  He had to put his cat to sleep over the weekend, so we got him a nice frame to put a picture of her in it, and her collar.  And his birthday is coming up, and they're hurting for money right now, so we gave him an early birthday present and paid for the urn that they are going to put their cats ashes in.

After lunch, we went home and decided to take Remy to the beach.  There's a beach by us that will allow you to take Dogs, so we took her.  She was a bit afraid of the water, but I think she had a good time playing in the sand. We then took her to get her first ice cream cone, and she loved it!  Then we went to dinner, and came home and relaxed.

Tuesday we went down south about an hour to a small town and Remy spent her first day at a Doggie Daycare.  We spent the day shopping in all the little shops.  We mostly bought food items (Cody bought some mustard, and some spices, and we bought a cookie and a cupcake).












Then we went to a local winery and got to try some yummy wines.  We bought a bottle of my favorite Riesling, and they were having a deal on their new boxes of wine (it's not as un-classy as it used to be! haha) so we got a box of white wine.

After that, we went to a local mansion, the Felt Mansion.  It is said to be haunted, and it's super creepy so it wouldn't surprise me.  The man who built it was the man who invented the cash register. He built it as a summer home for his wife, who died before she had the chance to live in it.  It because a catholic school, and then a correctional facility, before it was abandoned for many years.  They recently (2000, I think) renovated it and it became open to the public for tours, and weddings.





Cody had to work for a little bit on Tuesday night, so I went home and took a short nap while he was working, and then we went and saw Prometheus.  It was a very good movie, so go see it!

Because we had such an early morning and late night on Tuesday, I decided to skip my run on Wednesday, and move it to Thursday morning.  I was scheduled to have Thursday and Friday as rest days, so I figured taking Wednesday and Thursday off instead wouldn't be an issue.  Well, I must have needed sleep because Wednesday night, I could not keep my eyes open.  I went to bed a little early, and ended up sleeping through my alarm Thursday morning. I guess I turned it of without even knowing it.

So I decided to do my run today, and then hopefully do it again tomorrow.  Today's run went alright....nothing to brag about.  It was 2 miles of 90 second run/90 second walk. I must have been really slacking, because 90 seconds is a LONG time it seems.  I'm running faster (5.6, where I used to run at 4.8 or 5) and I'm also running on a 1.0 include, so maybe that's why, but man it just seems like it's harder than it was.  We are doing the Color Run in August, and my goal is to be able to run the entire thing.  It's going to be HOT out, and I have a bunch of friends/family who are doing it with us, so I want to be able to run the entire thing to show that I haven't been slacking! Also, if I can't run a whole 5k by August, I'm going to either have to a)REALLY step up my game or b) rethink doing the Princess Half Marathon.  

I also have been having a hard time getting my eating back to normal.  I have issues with going way over in calories on my days off.  I am the type of person that needs a "cheat" day. Maybe not so much an entire day, but at least one meal.  On our days off, Cody and I generally do a lot of eating out. I know it's possible to stay under your calories when eating out,  but sometimes we go to restaurants where it's basically impossible to both log, and stay under.  And I'm okay with that, as long as I'm able to stay under my calorie goal throughout the week.  But for some reason this week I've had a hard time getting myself to want to count again, and eat like I should.  I tend to do this...after a few weeks of being good and losing some weight, for some reason I just decide I don't want to do it anymore, so I stop.  I am working hard to get over this hump but for some reason I'm just losing the motivation.  I need something to get me excited again. 

I had a bit of a binge last night.  I wasn't going to write about it, but I think that writing about it to you guys will help keep me accountable for it.  I had a TERRIBLE night at work.  Cody and I went to lunch at a local pizza place for their pizza and salad buffet. I made sure to eat a big, yummy salad, so I wouldn't eat so much pizza.  I made sure to log it all, and made sure to have a salad at work for Dinner (I love Salad, so it's okay).  We were suuuuuper busy at work, and I had a new girl closing with me so I basically had to do everything, people were rude, it was just an all around bad night.  And generally what I do is I eat part of my dinner at work about 4 or 5, and then the other part of my dinner when I get home from work.  Well, because we were so busy I wasn't able to make the other part of my dinner, so I was starving on my way home.  Because I was stressed, and hungry, all I wanted was McDonalds.  So, against my better judgement, I stopped and got a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, fries, and chicken nuggets.  The whole time I did it, I felt guilty about it, but at the same time, I didn't care.  I need to figure out how to make my better judgement kick the crap out of my old eating habits so that I don't do that again!

One good thing that happened so far this week though...remember that job interview I had a while back, and I was trying to decide if the 45 minute commute would be worth it?  Well, I had another interview with the same restaurant, and it turns out that the GM of the restaurant I want to work at quit, and the GM of the restaurant I would be working at is going to the one that is closer to me, and if I'm hired, would want me at that restaurant...so I'd be working at the one that is closer to me!  I hope so badly that I get the job! Unfortunately, it would mean I would have less time off with Cody, but it would mean more money, better insurance, and a great opportunity!  YAY!

Giveaway Reminder and a Weekend update!

Hey all!

Just wanted to remind you guys about my giveaway! I'm giving away an amazing bondi band armband!  It's a pretty green color, it's made of a wicking material, and it's super comfy!  It can hold just about any size phone, ipod, etc.!  Such an awesome product, and you can have one for FREE! You just have to enter my giveaway!  Go to my giveaway post and enter! You have until June 10, because I will be choosing a winner on the 10th!  SO GO DO IT!!!

I had a great weekend this weekend.  I worked Friday, and I have to work today, so that pretty much isn't great, but I had the day off yesterday and it was great! My father in law came into town with his wife (my husband never had a great relationship with his dad until he was older, and even now, he only visits once or twice a year) and we went to Grand Rapids and went out to dinner at one of my favorite places. It's called Bistro Bella Vita and they have some absolutely amazing food.  We shared a bottle of wine, and had some hummus with veggies for an appetizer.  I ordered a seafood spaghetti, which was amazing, but I wish I had ordered the steak that my husband ordered. It was served with a parsnip mash, green beans, corn, and asparagus. SO YUMMY!

After dinner, we went to a local comedy club and saw Tom Green! I was nervous, because I hadn't heard anything about him in years, and I really didn't think he was funny when he was on his show (the bum bum song? really?) but his stand up was really funny.  I was impressed.  After that, we headed to the casino for a bit, and ended up leaving $50 ahead, so it was a good night!

I think we're going camping tomorrow.  Cody's mom rents a campsite for the whole summer, and leaves their camper up there.  It's right on the water, and they have a small fishing boat, and a pontoon boat, so it's a great little spot.  I think we're gonna go up just for tomorrow night, but probably spend the day on Tuesday on the boat.  Maybe we'll have to go monday, because I think there's a small chance of rain on Tuesday, but we'll see. I'm excited just to go up there and relax! I'm sure that means I won't be eating great, but oh well. Maybe I can get a run in through the campground!  

Attempt #2

I went out for a run this morning, just like I said I would, and I did all 3.1 miles, just like I said I would.  :)  Here are my stats:

Distance: 3.12

Time: 51:43

Pace: 16:35

Speed: 3.62

Yes, I know I'm slow.  But I'm super sad/angry that I added 2 minutes to my time! :(  I'm gonna use the excuse that the lack of music is what slowed me down, but I know it's just because I've been slacking.  It sucks, but it's my own fault. Hopefully Saturday, I'll have enough adrenaline to push me to go a little faster.  

I'm torn about what to do tomorrow.  My original plan was to do 3.1 Miles again tomorrow, take Friday off, and then have the race on Saturday, but I'm worried about running too much, and not having enough rest time before Saturday. I want to do my absolute best on Saturday, so what would you suggest?  I'm for sure gonna run tomorrow, I'm just trying to decide if I should run a little, or run a lot....and if I should run outside, or do the treadmill.  Ideas?

I love days when I run, because that usually means I can eat more!  But I'm not going to eat back my exercise calories if I can help it today.  I went WAY over my calories yesterday (by 900!), which I had expected to, but I'm planning on not eating them back in order to make up for yesterday.  I'm hoping that I can eat really well until Memorial Day, so that I can have another "cheat" day, because I know that there will be so much food at our picnic!

EDIT: I forgot to update about my interview!  It went really well! I got interviewed by the GM, and the Kitchen Manager.  Both of them seemed to really like me (the KM said "Well, I really like you, and I'll make sure to push for you!").  The GM said I should be getting a call from the District Manager soon, because I'd have to interview with him first, too.  Luckily, I already know him, so hopefully I get a call soon, and I can interview with him, and I get the job!

Food.

Does anyone else feel this way? cuz I know I do!

I mentioned in the last post that I would write a post about why I have issues with logging my food, and since I don't have a workout to write about today, I will complain tell you about why I hate logging my food.

If you've looked around my blog at all, you know that my husband is a chef.  Since we met and started dating 3 years ago, I have gained about 60lbs.  I was hovering just over 200lbs when we met, and now I'm at 260.  They say that when you are comfortable in a relationship, you are more likely to gain weight, and I honestly believe that, especially when you are in a relationship with my husband.  A lot of our dates were/are going to restaurants, or are based around different places we can eat, just because we are both foodies.  

My issue with logging food doesn't have anything to do with the fact that I hate logging.  I don't mind logging, I think it's kind of like a game.  The problem that I have, is that I constantly feel restricted.  

Last night, for instance,  was my first day of logging again.  I did great all day, and after logging my dinner I had about 250 calories left.  I was STARVING. And I was at work.  Typically, I'd grab a bag of baked chips, or pretzels or something, but I really wanted ice cream.  So, I could eat my chips and be satisfied, and not get the ice cream (or end up eating it, which is likely what I'd end up doing and go over my calories), or I could stay hungry, get grumpy, and eat my ice cream.  I know that I sound like a whiny baby.  And that these are the type of choices you need to make in order to live a healthy lifestyle.

But I'm bitter about the fact that I have to.  That I have to count each calorie that goes in my mouth in order to be healthy.  Besides being overweight, I'm healthy.  My blood pressure is fine, my blood sugar is fine, I don't have high cholesterol.  I know that could change one day and if I keep eating how I'm eating, I could find myself very unhealthy one day.  But I hate that I feel guilty every time I go over.  My husband and I are going to be in Chicago on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for this HUGE food show.  There is a ton of samples, and great food.  Plus, it's chicago, so there are also all kinds of great restaurants.  Because I'm watching my calories, I'm going to feel guilty every time I eat any sample.  I know calories can add up quickly when doing samples, but this is a once a year event and I don't want to miss out.  I am struggling with trying to balance having a good, fun life and enjoying the industry that my husband and I chose to be in, with being healthy and losing weight.  

Am I alone in feeling this way?