Hi, Friends. Christmas is in two days!!! I can't believe it. Sadly, I don't know that I remember ever feeling so "non-Christmasy" as I do right now. I am going to blame it on the weather - and - approaching full moon. That's got to be it. People are just downright nuts out there! They are angry and rude and hateful. I wish I could carry around a wand filled with Christmas cheer so I could bop some little bunny scrooges over the head!
Ok, glad I could get that off my chest. :-) Seriously, though. I'm currently wearing a shirt that says "Keep Calm and Merry On." Why have we gotten to a place where the holidays have become a burden instead of a blessing? I get family dynamics and cleaning and cooking and the like; actually, it's just another example of getting caught up in life and not taking a step back to enjoy it. Enjoy. This. Moment. How many are we guaranteed? And, we know this but still let "noise" consume our thoughts and energy. I hope I can continue to find ways to live more in the now and not be consumed by the tomorrow (or the yesterday for some).
Since we last visited, the "almost adult" is no longer "almost" - she's an adult now. I was feeling a bit nostalgic this weekend thinking about the last 18 years. I remember when she was a baby, sitting there holding her and daydreaming about what she would be like when she got older. I couldn't wait for her to grow up and now she's grown and I'm wondering where it all went. If you're like me, you rolled your eyes when you heard an "elder" say that it goes so fast. I guess it does. But, time flies when you're having fun, right?
Goodness, deep thoughts there. Anyway, onto my getting Fabulous by Forty. Food: I was not good (at all) about purposefully choosing what I ate this week. I gained a couple of pounds, which in hindsight, is pretty fantastic given that I ate my weight in chocolate at The Melting Pot on Saturday. Then, there was the Cheesecake Factory and Olive Garden on Sunday (yes, on the same day - birthday weekend celebrations). I'm glad she doesn't turn 18 every weekend!
Fitness: My exercising has been non-existent the last week. I've worked late most every night this week and I've yet to find that right combination of getting my work-work, my home-work and my life-work done each day. But, that's what this journey is for. Fabulous doesn't happen overnight.
I will have to say, I have noticed a difference when I am eating cleaner than when I'm eating processed foods (that are so much quicker to fix). I'm still following FitGirls and I'm enjoying the recipes. I really do like spinach!!!
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. My challenge over the next week is to find some time to exercise. It's going to be a crazy week, but I've got to make it happen. I hope that you can squeeze in a couple of exercises too. Even if it's just a few teeth brushing squats (yep, squatting while you are brushing your teeth). Yep, I do that on occasion.
I want to wish everyone a Fabulously Merry Christmas this week. I'm hoping you can find some Christmas cheer and get a chance to spend time with Family and Friends. Remember, it's a celebration of a very important birth and I'm so thankful He loves me, even on my un-Fabulous days.
Phew! What a week. If you are anything like me, these past few days (and weeks!) have flown by. Christmas programs, shopping, decorating, traveling, year-end work stuff, etc., etc. All those things can really bog you down and make you wonder where the day went. I'm feeling that way. I've vowed to not let life drag me along, but I failed miserably this week.
As far as the FitGirls food plan, I'm following that fairly well (a Christmas party and some business lunches) and I'm enjoying the food. I'm starting to get the hang of the recipes and so I'm lesser annoyed at the food prepping part. Notice I said "lesser"; it still annoys me - just not to "no end". :)
Exercising has been the real challenge. I told myself last week that I was going to let my body heal one more week before I started in on the exercise portion of FG. However, yesterday and today I did not go. I had the opportunity tonight, but I chose to play Animal Crossing on the Wii (it's my go-to game to relax). It was my first night in a while that I didn't have work-work that I needed to do and my brain checked out. So did my body. I need to work on that. I'm sure the gym would have made me feel better than catching a horse mackerel and selling it to Tom Nook.
Weight-wise, I'm down about 12 pounds since I started the blog. So, that's a victory! However, I'm still chronically weighing; yes, I'm trying not to. It's like it calls me name. Precious (in the Gollum voice) - come here, my precious. My scale and I are in a love-hate relationship; well, mostly a hate-hate relationship.
I want to send a special "Happy Birthday" to the inspiration for my blog. She started the year posting her workout updates and weight-loss strategies by using the #fitbyforty. I'm proud of her accomplishments and I know she's going to be a Fabulous Forty chic. I'm encouraged by her hard work and her candor and I'm thankful she's my Friend.
It's less than 10 days until Christmas. Let that sink in. I can't believe it's here already. I pray that you have some time to enjoy Family and Friends and celebrate Christ's birth. Thanks for hanging with me and I look forward to chatting with you next week.
Here's a parting thought...
We've got this!
Hi, Friends! I hope you've had a good week. Mine was good; I mentioned last week that I was going to be out of commission for a few days due to a medical procedure. I'm happy to say that it went well and I'm on the mend. Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts. On to Fabulousness...
Well, last we chatted, I mentioned that I was going to start a challenge with the almost adult called the "Fitkini Challenge" through FitGirls. Our first week (last week) was the pre-challenge "Detox." The basic premise is to introduce you to meal prepping and clean eating (which I do not do well). I have to say that, while I did not stick to it 100%, I did fare much better than I expected. And, to top it all off, I drank spinach. Yep, sure did. My drink was green and it was thick and I liked it - I really liked it. It was hard to gauge energy levels as I was in bed a couple of days; however, I do feel really good (and it's Monday!!!). Here's a peek at one of my "spinach drinks" from last week.
So, today started the full-on "Fitkini Challenge." Actually, it pretty much started yesterday as there was a lot of meal prep to be done. Meal prep. I hope I learn to love meal prepping. I'm sure I will (dripping in sarcasm). The almost adult and I did it together which was nice bonding time; however, I could think of a lot of other things we could have been bonding over besides cooking. Alas, we prepared our lunches for this week and we both lived to see another day. No, I don't know where she gets her strong personality...maybe it's her Fabulous genes!! Here's a pic of our "prepped" meals.
So far, I've had sweet potatoes and lots of veggies and some very awesome little peanut butter/oat bites. By day 3, though, I'm not sure how great steak and sweet potatoes are going to sound (luckily it alternates).
The exercise portion would not have been terrible (ok, maybe it would have been) had I not just been out for a bit; so, I had to modify it. I'm hoping that in the next week or so, I'll be able to hit it full force. That's when the real fun will be had.
Anyway, I hope you have a great week. I'm excited to share how my first full week of "Fitkini" goes with you next week. I continue to hear from some of you that you are getting back to the gym or watching what you eat. I'm so excited to hear that! It encourages me! Please keep that feedback coming.
Here's to working towards being Fabulous by 40!
