A Wicked Life

I don't claim to be a nutritionist by any means. I'm sure that this list is far from what most would consider, organic or free range or whatever. I am very pleased with my grocery purchases for this week. 3 single serving salmon steaks from the butcher 2 top sirloin steaks Sliced turkey  Green leaf lettuce (replacing pita bread) Bag o'carrots 2 baskets of strawberries, big basket of blue berries (froze half for smoothies and prepped the rest for snacks during the week) Big bag of snap peas (salad and snacks for the week) Spinach (salads) 2 Necturines (snack and some for white sangria) 2 bottles of white wine (sush!) 1/2 gallon of coconut milk (breakfast smoothies) 2 cucumbers (water, so refreshing) 2 lemons (salmon and dressing) 1 bundle of green onions (salmon, steak, and whatever else for flavor) 1 bag of frozen uncooked shrimp Plus some misc. items such as, Popchips for the occasional crunch, because I do what I want, personal trainer! Just kidding...

I wear this every day. It's a Flex from FitBit. It tracks my steps and even helps monitor my sleep. I have shared this information before in other posts. Anyway, it is a constant reminder to keep moving. It's a constant reminder that I'm not moving. Some days we rejoice together with lights and buzzing and other days it is quiet and I am shamed... This is an average day for me. I sit in front of the computer all day. I try to add steps by using the restroom upstairs instead of the one down the hall. If I go out to lunch, I take the long way. I park far from the stores even if there is a space up front. Anything possible to get my steps higher. Since I started boot camp and now walk around the park twice a week, some days look better but I usually don't get past 5k steps.  Recently, I started a walking schedule with a new friend. We walked and talked yesterday and half way through our walk, my bracelet was going off. All the lights lighting up and...

So It's been six months since I initially posted Fit or Fat at 45. I had a lot of hopes and determination. I still do. Although I am not where I want to be health/weight wise, I have made progress. I have dropped about 5 lbs. and lost six inches. I have to remember that i t took me ten years to get this weight on and it isn't going to take six months to lose it. I'm not trying to be a size zero or have the "thigh gap",  I just want to be able to paint my toe nails. Reach my toes.   Well through the course of the last few months I have continued to change my eating habits, kept drinking the same amount of alcohol and didn't increase my activity as much as I should have to reach my already aggressive goals. "K eep doing the things you always do and expect different results." Sound familiar?    So instead of jumping on the bandwagon with all the proud to be plus-sized women or feeling sorry for myself, I'm going to keep on keep...

So it is day 10 of our A to Z blog challenge.... I'm not sure about the rest of you challenge takers but I am finding the river of inspiration isn't always flowing as constant or swiftly as I would like it too.  Having a blog that I can post just about anything kind of helps. I even made a list of topics last month to give me a jump start. Some I stuck with and others I change as I go along. What I find great about being in this challenge is it really forces me to hone in on what inspires me. Tarot and Astrology seem to be coming out more and more in my posts. I hope you enjoy my take on these subjects.  As the month goes on I hope to bring in more things that inspire me and perhaps stay with me throughout my blogging endeavors.  What inspires you? Touches your heart?  is it... Music? Nature?  I listen to music while writing. My home office view is of a beautiful tree right outside my window. In fact, my original topic was going to be I...

Even with all the inspiration that is being sent my way I have to say that week one of my Fit or Fat journey was not that great. I have managed to let some life stresses get the better of me. I didn't gain anymore but I didn't lose either.  So for this week I am going to be more structured. No more self pity. There are things in life that one cannot control. I can however control my mood.  No. I'm not moving boulders. I just like the picture! I mean, just look at it... damn.  I was pleased to find out today that three of the fitness apps I seldom use (haha, ya...), sync! So in order to keep my motivation going I will be posting my progress reports from my Fit Bit Tracker. Since I made this commitment publicly, I kinda have to do it now. I have had this device since October of last year. I like it but need to make it work harder for me. Keep me in line with my fitness goals. But like all other apps, it is only as good as ...

Those who know me, know I don't get all socially conscience. I am always weary of agenda. Not just from the organization or group of individuals doing wrong in the world, but the so called "do gooders". Yes I'm jaded. When I was younger I helped "Save the Whales". I even adopted a whale when I was in my early twenties. Oh Greenpeace... the memories we have to share back in the 80's... As I mentioned in a past blog post, I love the ocean. Marine life.  As a young girl there was little I did not know about whales, dolphins, and orcas. The more I did learn the more I loved them.  I went to Sea World with my aunt when I was around 13 years old. Still have pictures. What a fantastic experience! At the same time I remember being sad. As I walked by the tank after the show...something just didn't feel right. They didn't belong there in that small space so I can be entertained by their splashing and tricks. Their floppy fin... I knew why it was f...

Exactly 6 months from today I will be 45 years old. Like the majority of Americans I am not in shape and need to lose a good amount of weight.  Like everyone else that is overweight I have tried many different ways of getting fit and losing the extra pounds. Fad diets, supplements, personal trainers (2 days, not 2 days a week just 2 days...), and whatever else that seems to be "effective" that's on the market.  I have however gradually changed my diet and activity levels. As of today I don't eat fast food or drink sodas. I am not one that craves sweets so I don't have to worry about a donut temptation. I have started using coconut milk and love it. Kale salads are amazing. I'm finding wonderful healthy foods. I have even reduced my alcohol consumption. Once a week Happy Hour with friends and none at home.  I also do not eat after 8pm and make sure that I am drinking plenty of water.  Coffee has been replaced with green tea. Well, I cheat on the coff...

What are dreams? Thoughts and anxieties that we have throughout the day that manifest themselves while we sleep? If so, that dream I had last night about accidentally eating moldy cheese... must be telling me that I stress too much about rotten food.  What about those dreams that are so damn real? Ever had a dream that a lover was cheating on you? Did it turn out to be true? So maybe dreams or prophetic?  What about the bad dreams? Nightmares and night terrors? What are those? Sleep paralysis... never fun, right? I can't tell you how many times I have had a crazy dream and wanted to write about it only to forget most of it five minutes after I wake up. Some claim they don't dream at all. Or, that dreams don't last more than a few seconds. There are tons of literature on lucid dreams. You know, when you can control what is going on in your dream... Ever try? What about the myths of dreaming? If you fall and hit the ground in a dream you will die in r...

How often do we hear that today? "Because I can."  It explains the attitudes of people today. This post kind of ties into the one I did last week. Being mean on the Internet.  This attitude has dug deep in today's society. We are empowered to do whatever we want, only God can judge us, YOLO... You may be asking yourself, "well, what is wrong with that outlook?" I'm not sure there is anything "wrong" but there should be a limit to this way of thinking. We all need to remember what we do does in fact effect those around us. It doesn't matter if we even know them. I'm not talking about being offended. I have a whole other post coming out about being offended.  Let's take the term YOLO for a minute. You Only Live Once. No, you live everyday. You die once. So those crazy things you do because you can, you will have to live with the consequences later. It's not like trying something new like water skiing. People are doing horrible o...

As part of my 2014 Goals, I decided to start my day with a short 15 minute yoga session. This morning was a little challenging. Waking up with a headache and not much sleep because my furry kids decided to go ape shit at 3am... I wasn't exactly motivated to do anything but pop some Advil and go back to sleep.  I have several Yoga DVDs but always go back to one. I use an AM/PM Yoga for Beginners DVD. After 6 years I am still a beginner because I never stuck to it. Not because I didn't like doing yoga, I love it. I would just have something else more pressing in my mind to do. Anyway, it is a great DVD. I posted a link to it the right hand side of my blog.  I highly recommend it.  So, after forcing my self into downward dog, I was able to get into the mood and actually finish the 15 minute session. This may seem like a very small accomplishment to most but to me, oh yea!I did it! Woo hoo!!!  My other goal for 2014 is to eat breakfast and make it more ...

So it is the beginning of January. Most of us have made some goals for 2014. Not resolutions, but goals. I'm not going to get philosophical regarding the difference between the two. It's just different. In my mind anyway. Do you make goals and get discouraged and stop? What discourages you? What road blocks are in your way? Who tells you that you can't and you listen? Of course people are going to say, YOU. You are the reason you get discouraged because if you really want it, you will get it. Now let's get back to reality. We have our doubts and self-perceived limitations. Yes, they may be self-perceived but that is the strongest doubt out there. Ours. Okay, now that we know we set ourselves up to fail every year let's take some baby steps. Me? I had so much going on but not getting much done. So in 2013 I decided to have yearly goals set. Things I wanted to accomplish during this time. They were pretty huge. Overwhelming in fact. How did I break it down? ...

I don't typically have New Year's Resolutions because I, like everyone else, don't keep'em. Never have but this coming year? Ya, it's time. As I sit here posting to my blog, listening to cats fighting in the background, I realize.. it's time to make more changes and stick to them. This coming year I plan to approach everyday with intent. Make the day count. I know that is pretty broad but what it will accomplish is overcoming the many challenges I create for myself. 2014 is going to be better than 2013 and this year has been pretty good. :) What is your New Year's Resolution/s? ~M