Wednesday, June 30, 2010

New "toys"

My Nike+ arrived today!! Unfortunately we were going to a birthday dinner so I did not have a chance to try it out. I want to hit the gym tomorrow to calibrate it and if not that, then I will go for a run in the evening.

Also, THIS came in the mail:
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I'm really excited to start reading through it and figuring this Raw Foodism/Raw Vegan thing out once and for all. I have done a lot of reading about Raw Vegan in the last 3 months and have been working at getting immersed in eating that way but it is really hard for me.

I am hoping that Raw Foodism is the "solution" I have been looking for in terms of eating and weight loss. I really notice a difference in how I feel when I eat raw vs cooked. In honesty it sounds kind of crazy but I am really giving this a shot!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Gone Fishing

Well, I didn't really fish but my hubby did :)

Spent a 3 day weekend camping, rafting and just generally enjoying Alaska! It was so much fun! Not so good on the food though. I grew up camping and rafting with my family and we had some staple river foods... chili and cheese, s'mores (of course!), and my personal favorite:
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Yep, Ritz crackers and spray cheese...

These "camping comfort foods" are really hard to kick! I know I shouldn't eat them because 1) they really aren't healthy any way you cut it and 2) they are not vegan and I really, truly want to strictly eat vegan. *Sigh* Needless to say I did a super shitty job at eating vegan over the weekend. But maybe admitting the problem is the first step? Now I know how strong the tie is for me between camping and these foods and I will hopefully be able to plan better next time so I can do better.

As for running... Between being gone all weekend camping and catching Mostest's cold I have not been able to drag my ass out for a run. However, I am super excited because I have one of these coming in the mail!!
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There is a whole section on the Nike site to help you train with it and motivate you! I already have Nike+ shoes too, so I don't have to go out and get new shoes!!


Finally, here are some pictures from my trip down the Kenai River this weekend! (I will post more later too)
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This last one we were just having fun with the camera around the campfire and I thought it looked really cool! :)

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Can I Fail Without Being a Failure?

Today was a big giant FAIL. :( I have 2 different jobs but they are both hard and basically "downer" fields. I rarely see any positive changes in the clients I work with and there is little-to-no positive return. Warm fuzzies, appreciation, you know those things that help a person keep trucking along in their job? Today was a particularly rough day at work and I clearly tried to fill that hole with food. Fast food to be precise. And, huge surprise, I felt physically awful afterwards. In addition (yeah I know, cue the violins right?) I am starting to get a brutal cold.

It got me to thinking... Am I a failure because I failed today?
  • I failed at both my jobs
  • I failed at being a calm, kind mother when I got home from work
  • I failed at eating vegan
  • I failed at eating healthy
  • I failed at getting the exercise in that I had planned
  • I failed at getting the housework done that I should have
  • I failed at meeting my needs properly and in a healthy way
That is a lot of failing.... However, I really don't think that makes me a failure. This one day doesn't make up the whole of who I am. I know this probably sounds like an obvious statement but putting this into practice with myself is HUGE! I am such a perfectionist... If I don't do it the best out of anyone I ever seen - I'm awful at it, I'm a failure, I suck. So now I am trying to be more gentle with myself and see past the failures of one day to the mass amounts of successes I have accrued over many, many days.

Tomorrow is a new day and I am committed to changing myself and my life. It's not going to be easy and it's not going to happen in one day. For once... I actually believe that and I don't feel so low at the end of a fail-tastic day!

Land of the Midnight Sun

Ahh! I love Alaska! The only thing that makes those long dark winter days (think 4 hrs or less of sunlight at its peak) bearable is the knowledge that the fantastic summer days of the Midnight Sun will come and make up for the darkness.

So since we recently had summer solstice I went for a midnight run tonight!! And THIS is what it looked like!
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Come on! How awesome is that? As I sit here it is 1am and there is still a little light left and it will come back up in less than 3 hours! :)

Now, the run itself? Not so good. I have not run for at least 2 weeks, maybe more. In addition I felt sick to my stomach for a large portion of the evening. BUT, I was determined to get out there and run. I did 2 miles. Not great but it is a start! And hey, I got some miles up on my running ticker!


Monday, June 21, 2010

Getting started

Both the blog and the lifestyle changes.

My goal for writing this blog is to be super honest. I have a tendency to make things rosier than they are too myself. "It was just a couple candy bars, no biggie..." or ignoring the facts such as my weight (the number) or that my clothes really aren't fitting any better. Do you see what I mean? So I am done beating around the bush with myself, I need to just do it and do it right!

Now, in terms of lifestyle changes... It really is hard, at least for me. I have been seeking comfort in food for about 6 years now so it's not something that will just *boom* change overnight. I had almost a full week without any meat and most days with just traces of dairy. Until yesterday and today... Last night I had cheese pizza and Ben and Jerry's ice cream. My stomach was KILLING me! File that away into "reasons why to stick strictly to vegan eating." And then today I had a chicken bacon ranch at Subway and a Reese's Stix candy bar (I LOVE those! ugh)

So now it's time to get back on track and do better! In a little while Mostest (my almost 3 y/o son) and I are going to go jogging, he loves getting pushed in the jogging stroller so he is always happy to go! I'm hoping my hubby will come too but he is not feeling very good today so we will see. I have no plans for dinner but I do have some freshly sprouted quinoa and newly made raw tahini so maybe I will make something around one of those :)