This weird glove has been laying in my gym’s parking lot for a week. I love that it’s a peace sign and can’t bring myself to pick it up. I think it’s a sign and would hate to make someone else miss seeing it—it might make a rough day easier for a gym member.

Anyway, speaking of peace—today was really peaceful and fun!

After church, Jeremy and I headed to my first yoga class ever. Yes…ever.

I’ve done tons of yoga in the past, but it’s always been at home, using a DVD or podcast. I’ve learned a lot through those practices and feel comfortable with all the poses, but I knew it would be totally different to take a class. Having an actual instructor in front of me and other students in the class made my yoga practice much more interesting. The class flew by.

And I left glowing:

My body seriously needed that yoga practice and felt like a million bucks after. Another really cool part of the class was the yoga instructor used aromatherapy before and after class. At the end of class she came around and gave a quick shoulder/neck massage to each student. Jeremy thought it was weird, but I loved it!

Post-yoga and grocery shopping this afternoon, I took Link on a long walk.

You see, I joined Gym Pact when they (finally!!!) launched on the Android platform this week. However, I totally forgot to check in while at yoga this morning. Translation: If I didn’t get in another 30 minute workout, I’d owe $5 because all workouts need to be logged by Sunday and I needed 1 more to hit my current goal of 3 workouts a week. No way—a 30 minute walk with the dog did the job.

And, then I hit my goal. Technically I even exceeded my goal.

Dinner tonight was total splurge:

Grass-fed beef hamburgers with sharp cheddar cheese and turkey bacon on whole wheat buns; mixed greens salad with Italian dressing

Hamburgers aren’t something I normally like to make at home—I feel like they are so freaking messy. However, I was craving a good burger and wanted to try the beef we bought at Costco last weekend. The verdict? Excellent.

Link got tired of begging for food—we don’t feed him “people food” so he passed out on the couch.

Church. Yoga. Trader Joe’s. Family walk. Great day!

You’ve Got Mail (one of my favorite movies EVER) just came on TV and The Biggest Loser (WITH JILLIAN!!!) returns tonight.

What a way to close out the weekend.

I’d estimate most of our day was spent out and about—we went to church (and got there super early because we didn’t realize there was only 1 service today) and then spent hours walking around Costco and Trader Joe’s stocking our kitchen with delicious and healthy food for the new year.

Even though we really were gone almost all day, I feel like I did mostly this today:

relaxing in bed with the dog, reading (Currently: Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin)

But clearly we did get some necessary stuff done, as evidenced by this ridiculous photo:

That was our Trader Joe’s and Costco haul and it took forever to find room for it and put it all away. We did eventually, though.

We’ve been in Ann Arbor for four months now and this was our first trip to Costco! I’d heard good and bad things (spending too much $$$) about the store, so we’ve mostly avoided it. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that A LOT of the stuff we already buy at the supermarket is available—and cheaper—at our Costco. Annie’s macaroni and cheese, Chobani Greek yogurt, and Odwalla fruit juices were a few of the items we came home with.

I’m hoping this trip will last us well into February because we spent more than I was expecting.

Nevertheless, it’s AWESOME to have some fresh food in the house again after all the fun holiday eating.

We got straight to lunch after putting the groceries away because it was well after 2 p.m. at that point and we’d ate breakfast around 8:30—I was starving.

Broccoli and cheese soup (1 cup), 1/2 Asiago bagel, and 2 clementines

This is what really was happening while I ate, though:

Link is a fantastic dog—seriously, I couldn’t imagine a more perfect fit for our family—but he likes to be right next to you as you eat. He doesn’t even try to steal food… he just wants to be as close as possible. Weirdo.

Post-lunch focused on reading and eventually taking a short nap because I was wiped out from all the shopping.

Dinner tonight was something we’ve not made in a while: quesadillas.

Chicken + pepperjack cheese quesadilla with pico de gallo and green beans

Our new goal is to have at least one vegetable with every dinner we make at home. I’m NOT a huge veggie lover, but it’s important to try and I’ve totally fallen out of the habit of eating vegetables on purpose.

2 pieces Dove peppermint bark and Trader Joe’s chai tea latte with a splash of coconut milk for dessert

Now it’s time to dive back into my book. It’s getting good!

Meals:
Sunday: Chicken quesadillas 
Monday: Red Lobster
Tuesday: Salmon, honey-roasted sweet corn, & mac ‘n cheese
Wednesday: Crockpot vegetable soup
Thursday: Spaghetti with meat (ground turkey) sauce
Friday: Hamburger with whole wheat bun
Saturday: Leftover vegetable soup

Workouts:
Sunday: walking with the husband
Monday: Yoga (30-minutes)
Tuesday: Run 1 mile + GPP
Wednesday: REST
Thursday: Spinning *It has been too long!*
Friday: 1.25 mile run + GPP
Saturday: REST

I’ll definitely adjust my workouts according to how I feel. If work is as crazy this week as I am expecting, I might need an additional rest day.

What’s your plan for success this week? 2013 resolutions?

Work begins again on New Year’s Day (t-minus 2 days!) so I’m soaking up every moment I have left with Jeremy and Link—January is the busiest time of year for a gym and I know I won’t have a moment to spare. Rumor has it that 60 hour work weeks are the norm. for January at my gym. Yay?

Today was the perfect lazy day, though—something I’ve needed after months of working my tail off during the week and playing catch-up at home on the weekend. Finally a day was available to just relax and do whatever I pleased.

I started with a laid-back breakfast:

I’ve moved away from eating oatmeal every single morning like I used to in Japan, mostly out of sheer laziness. But I notice my overall food intake for the day takes a sharp turn downhill when I start out with something less filling, like cereal. I have a rice cooker that I bought to program for my morning oats—now I need to use it!

Breakfast was followed by home yoga with the husband. He’s trying to get back into working out and yoga is one of the only exercises he enjoys—which works for me because I love yoga, too.

(Check out his ‘stache.)

We’ve made a pact to start going to weekend yoga together—my gym has a class on Saturday and Sunday, so we should be able to make it to one of those. If we can’t make it some weeks due to our schedules conflicting it’s not a big deal.

After getting myself ready for the day, I fell asleep on the sofa watching You Tube videos. Link was cuddled up with me and apparently I needed the extra rest because I felt like a million bucks when I woke up two hours later.

Shortly after, cabin fever set in. I’m not the type of person who can stay holed up in the house all day. I crave getting out and interacting with the world. Link was starting to get antsy from being inside and I knew we both would benefit from a short run.

I bundled up (because it’s SNOWING!) in some of my new Christmas running gear and headed out with the pup for a mile of running—with occasional pee-on-tree breaks for one of us. It was a nice change to get out in the middle of the day. And once I got started it wasn’t even that cold. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy winter running… maybe without the snow, though. Snow is messy!

The pink Under Armor fleece hat from my sister-in-law was the perfect head covering—light, but warm.

Dinner had only one requirement: it had to be easy.

Solution? Homemade pizza made with pre-bought dough from Trader Joe’s. Easy enough.

Unfortunately these were the only two pieces that came out as… pieces. Something was off with the pizza stone and the dough stuck right to it. I’ve never had that happen before and I’m not sure what I did wrong. Any suggestions?

Never mind the pizza stone blunder, though, because the final product tasted amazing. I did wish we’d had some greens for salad, but alas the fridge was empty and we need to go grocery shopping badly. That’s on the schedule for tomorrow, along with church and lots of reading.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday.

But I didn’t… because I remembered that I can do this—I don’t have to be perfect (I’ll definitely make some mistakes along the way!) and I can ask for help and delegate small jobs to other people. God placed me right where I am in this job and in this time for a reason.

Tonight, when I came home, I took a minute to just breathe and enjoy a few minutes with J. Food has always been a big comfort for me and it’s so easy to slip back into that habit—so I was extra cautious while eating dinner and got out of the kitchen as soon as possible to avoid falling into the “I’m gonna eat my feelings” trap.

Instead, I’m sipping my favorite tea and looking at my schedule for tomorrow. I know it’s got to be possible to find the time I need for myself (to workout, eat healthy, and be with my family), but still be a dependable, superstar at work, too. But man, sometimes those two butt heads in a major way!

Workouts:

MONDAY: Run  2 miles + upper body strength training
TUESDAY: Lower body strength training + 20 minutes of HIIT on elliptical
WEDNESDAY: Run 2 miles + boxing
THURSDAY: Upper body strength training + lunch spin class
FRIDAY: REST
SATURDAY: Run 2.5 miles
SUNDAY: Lower body strength training

Dinners:

MONDAY: beef and vegetable soup (crockpot)
TUESDAY: bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits
WEDNESDAY: OUT
THURSDAY: ravioli and salad
FRIDAY: fish, chicken (for Jeremy), veggies, and mac ‘n cheese
SATURDAY: stir fry
SUNDAY: TBD…

Goals:

1. Wake up at the same time each morning (6 a.m.), despite what time I need to leave for work.

2. Go clean with my eating this week – pack lunches the night before so I’m not tempted to grab quick, processed options.

3. Blog daily.

We’re so busy during the week that he often has to take a backseat to work (for me) and school (for Jeremy), so we like to pamper him a bit on the weekends. Busy [pup]parent guilt? You bet… but I don’t think he minds very much.

So, even though we swore he’d never sleep in the bed with us, he does—sometimes all night. He’s especially fond of morning bed cuddles because much like his mama, he is not a morning “person.”

Lucky dog also spends a whole lot of time getting and giving kisses.

Beyond hanging out with Link all weekend, I finally got around to grabbing my first Holiday drink from Starbucks. I’ve been trying to avoid spending money on my coffee habit, but a generous co-worker gave me a Starbucks gift card on Friday. I couldn’t resist. The Gingerbread Latte was heavenly and just the boost I needed to get through puppy playtime on Saturday morning.

I’m going to save the rest of the gift card to use as Friday morning treats.

Saturday evening I made a homemade pizza using The Best Pizza Dough recipe. I always modify the crust to be 2 cups white flour and 1.25 cups whole wheat (for taste preference). I thought this particular pizza was one of the best I’ve ever made. Success!

After church this morning Jeremy and I headed out for lunch. We alternate weeks for choosing the post-church restaurant and this week was my choice—I went with T.G.I.Fridays because it was close-by.

We started out with chips and queso—the chips were too greasy, but the queso was really flavorful with a meat sauce and pico de gallo mixed in.

I ordered a bacon and cheese burger for my main meal. I skipped on the fried onions and french fries that came with the meal. Normally I LOVE fries, but these were so salty I just couldn’t force myself to eat them.

After lunch I immediately began to feel sluggish and blah (a great reminder why I rarely eat this way), so I came home and took a nap.

The rest of today has been very low-key. The only note-worthy event worth mentioning is that I dyed my hair for the first time in over 3 years this evening.

With cooler fall weather quickly approaching, I felt an itch to go darker with my mousy brown hair. I’m really pleased with the way it turned out—the color I chose was natural dark brown. I used to dye my hair regularly in high school and college, but stopped after we moved to Japan. It was a fun project for this slow weekend.

Unfortunately the weekend is basically over at this point, so it’s time for Monday preparation to begin: packing my lunch and gym bag, looking over my schedule, and getting my head in the game to start the week off right.

But, if I had never tried, I would have never:

• Lost 50 pounds AND kept it off
• Ran my first 5K
• Ran a marathon
• Become a personal trainer

… and many more, I’m sure.

Though my follow through does suck at times, I refuse to stop setting goals for myself. Complacency is the devil’s fuel in any area of life—spiritual, health, relationships… you name it.

Which is why I continue to strive towards healthier, less processed meals and snacks, better and more efficient workouts, and balance in my work/home life. All very do-able, but require daily goal setting to make it happen.

So, where am I going with this post? Maybe you failed today. That doesn’t make tomorrow a lost cause. Even if you totally get off track with breakfast, you can make the choice to do better immediately—don’t wait ‘til tomorrow if today’s not over!

How am I putting this into practice in my own life? Learning the lost art of moderation… What would a reasonable person choose? If my meal choices weren’t so hot today, that doesn’t mean I should skip my workout, too… but it also doesn’t mean I should overdo it and try to make up for those choices, either.

Take each choice as it comes.

Here’s how it works:

Wake up early and hit the grocery stores before they get too crowded. I personally shop at Meijer’s and Trader Joe’s on a weekly basis, but some weeks I skip TJ’s if I only need one or two things.

Church. We go to the 11:00 service.

Back home for lunch—and then the fun begins:

I bake some kind of healthy snack for the week ahead. Today it was pumpkin muffins that I made healthier by subbing applesauce for oil.

I also had apple butter simmering in the crockpot all day for Jeremy.

I pack my lunch and snacks for Monday and throw it in the fridge.

I check and pack my gym bag with the clothes I’ll need for work (I workout before work).

I pre-set my rice cooker to have my oatmeal ready and my coffee pot to have my coffee ready for Monday morning.

I look over my schedule for the week ahead and figure out what time I need to set the alarm for and what time I should be pulling out of the parking lot to make it to the gym on time.

I make a healthy dinner that can be reheated later in the week as leftovers.

And THAT is Sunday success. I’m ending the day feeling prepared for the week ahead.

Here’s how this week went a la Fitbit:

See ya later this week!