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CALLIKIA's Recent Blog Entries
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Tuesday, August 31, 2010
...to September! Yep, that's right. September is coming! It's almost here! I'm so friggin' hyped you have no idea! I'll have a blog post tomorrow recapping August (because I still have tonight, yo! I can't cut myself short!!) and setting some goals for September, but I just want to write about why September is so great! (This will be a great reminder when a day really sucks next month and I need to know why I wanted it to be here in the first place! *lol*)
 FALL!
Oh, yeah. You heard me right! Fall is approaching! I can smell it in the air! I can feel it all around me. I absolutely *love* fall. The drop in temperature at night. The colors! The feeling of change. It's just magical for me! I'm reminded of a quote from You've Got Mail (yeah, most people hate this movie, but I'm strange and adore it!) "Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms." I wish I could send you all a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils too! Another great smell. Another thing I completely love. (Yes, I mean pencils.)
 WEATHER
Okay, you can say this goes along with fall, but I think it deserves it's own place. I can honestly say I don't remember a summer this humid in YEARS! I'm not sure if that's because there hasn't been one, or I just haven't spent this much time outside in the summer in YEARS. I used to hide, and now I play outside. Who the crap cares? I have only this one life, and I'll darn-well live it like I want! That being said, I don't know that I've ever sweated this much! I've never been this tan either, but OMG the sweat. For me, the first day I have to put on a jacket is a magical day (it happened a couple weeks ago...Hubs says my body temperature regulator thing is broken because I get cold quicker now! *lol*)! I love fall nights where you bundle yourself in a big cozy sweater by the fire, and I will absolutely LOVE hiking through the hiking trails without feeling like I'm going to DIE!
 BIRTHDAYS
I don't know if you know this, but my son was born on 9/9/99. He's a special boy and I love celebrating both my sons' birthdays! Birthdays were always a huge deal in my house - mom showered us with love even when she couldn't afford much in the way of gifts. For one day we felt like queen/princess of the house. And I plan on passing that on to my children. There's something so special about feeling like someone is thankful that you came into this world. Not only that, but there are a whole bunch of other September birthdays too! And even MORE when I joined Spark! YOOVIE shares her birthday with my oldest neice, Tracy (September 4th - the day of my 10k in their honor!). My sister's birthday just makes it in on the 30th as well. It's also the return of the holiday day from work! July 5th we got a day off...and then nothing until next Monday! That's a long time to be tied down without some sort of break!
 OUTDOOR EVENTS
OMG there is nothing like the outdoor events in and around Ohio in the fall! While I have to wait a bit for the Circleville Pumpkin Show, the Ohio Renaissance Festival starts this Saturday and runs through October 17th! I'm so pumped! I've promised my kids a trip there for so long, but this year it's totally going to happen! Sadly, this will bring an end to the outdoor drama Tecumseh! - but I'll just put that on the list to take them to next summer. Still, I love being outdoors in the fall, so I'm checking out every event possible!
 FOOTBALL!!!
Yeah, I said it. Not only does my son play midget league football (which makes his Mom and Dad, avid college football fans, so proud!) but we've got 2 great teams to watch this year. I was born and bred into the Buckeye (Ohio State University) fan club, and with Terrelle Pryor leading the way this year, it could be a magical season!! Also a team to watch, WVU (West Virginia University) has Noel Devine on the Heisman watch and leading the charge for this somewhat young, but full-of-promise team! This could surprise a lot of people, if only the magic sparks fly! I'm so friggin' pumped for this football season...and for the fact that I can (probably) finally wear my WVU jersey and the OSU sweatshirt bought for me last year that didn't quite fit! I'm gonna look HAWT! and stay warm too! *lol*
 CLOTHES
Okay, this is my last one for now. I was thinking about this today as I went shopping (a bit about that in a minute) and I kept thinking - I just really want a big, chunky sweater this year. I know a lot of you are thinking that chunky sweaters are meant to hide (and what am I hiding? I'm looking better every day/week!) but, for me, I haven't been able to find a beautiful chunky sweater in so long! Why? Because being so big, the chunkiest sweaters simply "fit" me. I want to swim in a sweater this fall/winter! And as I shrink, the possibilities for that grow bigger and bigger! Now, not only can I choose what STYLE of chunky sweater I want, I can pick the color too -- not just "what's left in the biggest size!" (Also looking forward to a turtleneck this winter, now that my neck isn't as huge!) At least once this fall/winter, I will rock the tights/chunky sweater 80s throw-back, even if it's just at home while on the couch! *lol*
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Shopping trip (@ CATO):
A pair of jeans, size 28, with orange detail and orange belt - $25
A pair of dress pants, light brown, size 28, with rope belt - $28
A purple shirt, size 22/24, with keyhole detail at the neck - $7
Feeling comfortable & gorgeous in a dressing room and realizing that 28s are already getting loose? - PRICELESS!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Yesterday was battle day 2 of Battle 2. I had my head on straight. I wasn't totally "feeling it" but I was faking it like it was my job! Everyone here at work would've thought I was having a lovely day and I think I deserve an Oscar for the acting I did! By lunch I had faked it so much I even started to feel it...and then it hit.
Around 2:30pm the tiny tummy ache that had been growing (and I thought was just TOM pains) grew to a full-on stomach issue. I tried ignoring it. I tried (TMI) using the bathroom. I thought it was gas for the longest time, but I could NOT get it to go away! (Can you say frustrated?)
Anyhow, by 5:30pm I was wondering if I should still go to the gym even though all I wanted to do was crawl in bed...but I made myself put on my gym clothes anyways. I laced up my tennis and, for a moment, felt much better. I was going to do it! All the way home I bargained with myself. I considered ditching the gym and just heading over to the park, that way I could back out if I needed to without feeling like a total douche. Also I knew that if I had to yack, I could do it at the park without as much embarassment as if I was in the gym and yacked on all the equipment. About 25 minutes from home this idea (the park, not the yacking) was sounding better and better. Getting out, enjoying the sunshine, walking with my boys. It all sounded great! And I could do my 2 miles there, and it would be much better training to do it outside on the pavement then inside on the treadmill. I made up my mind, the park it was, and I diverted to home base.
And on the last hill home my stomach turned again and all I could think was -- NO! Seriously, there was no way I was doing anything exercise related when I wanted to curl into a tiny little ball (errr...huge ball) and die (or yack). So I went home disappointed (disappointment faded soon when the pain increased). I went home, I stumbled in taking only my purse (left all my other bags in the car...thankfully my wonderful boys went out and got them all for me!) and crashed on the couch. I was in SO MUCH pain! But I knew I still had things to do...
I got up and finished the Beef & Root Vegetables meal and put it in the crockpot to cook for 12 hours. Then I started water for some pasta for the chicken parm. (Thank the LORD I had dinner almost completely made!!) I heated up the chicken parm, put it with the pasta and some sauce, sprinkled it with grated parm, stuck some breadsticks in the broiler and served everyone dinner. I decided to try to eat, and that didn't seem to be too much of an issue until I was done eating. SO MUCH PAIN! I just laid on the couch until Hubs pulled me up around 9:30pm for bed.
It was NOT a good night. Took me forever to fall asleep. And the one thought plaguing me (okay, a few):
Please do not let this be a hernia!
I've had one other occasion where my stomach started hurting and wouldn't stop...and I nearly died from obstructed bowels from a massive hernia. BAD week! BAD, BAD week! When I spoke those words aloud, even my husband got scared.
I also went to:
"Why am I being punished? I've been SO GOOD lately!"
I always do the "why is me" routine when I'm in pain. *shrug* I turn into an 8 year old or something.
Anyhow, I woke up this morning a little better, but still feeling a bit of pain/pressure. It wasn't until this morning that my photographic memory flashed me a picture of the top of the strawberry preserves I used in my yogurt yesterday and I realized the date said "best used by" February 2009! Are you friggin' kidding me? (BTW - I hate these best by dates because they have a tendancy to be a little cryptic. I obviously looked at the top and thought wrong or didn't care or wasn't really paying attention or something...) So I think (I'm HOPING) that it's only food poisoning. Thankfully I only ate a small bit of it, so I think that's why it isn't that bad. (I've had food poisoning before that made that girl from the Exorcist look like a friggin' sissy!)
My stomach is SLOWLY settling down...and if it continues I'll feel much better about the whole situation. Last thing I want is to end up in the hospital the week of my 10k, or worse, to have to miss the 10k completely! (This is one of the most expensive races, G-D-IT!)
Plan for the day is simple. Eat only what my stomach can handle. Drink lots of water. Use the bathroom regularly. And try not to stress over something it might be but probably isn't. (Have I told you guys that I used to have severe hypochondria? I could make myself sick if I thought about this too long. Seriously, I can manifest actual physical abnormalities if I mentally will it to be so, or at least the pain of such. -- This is one reason I know how powerful the mind is!)
The scale this morning said 359, but I'm sure that's just because I'm bloated from this...issue. I ate pretty well all day, even if I didn't get in an actual workout. I'm not even counting today's weigh-in for our challenge and using the 358.4 from yesterday (and the day before) ....to me that is in no way cheating, because I know that I'm sick and my body can't be counted on to weigh normally.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Confession #1:
I want to run. I want to say that I'm a runner, but more importantly, I want that feeling of running. I was never much of a runner because I was always told that fat girls shouldn't run. Had Spark been in my life when I was about 15 I would've told people to F-off and would have run anyways, but it wasn't, and I didn't. No going back. Now that I'm getting in better shape, I still have this almost heartsick urge to run. Nearly every day this thought plagues me.
Oh, I can hear you all now. "So you want to run? Then run! Stop with the excuses!" But since my knee surgery when I was about 16, and the following additional weight added to my joints, my left knee is absolute crap. I have tried to run (and loved every second of it!) but it's always followed by one of my knee-popping incidents. And I hear the same thing over and over - don't run. *sigh* I'm so SICK of hearing that I shouldn't run.
What I want to hear is that I CAN run. I want to hear how to fix the problem. I want to hear that there IS a way to build the strength in my knee so I can run again. I want to hear how you can wrap a HUGE knee so that you add stability, without the wraps rolling up and 1) being completely ineffective and 2) causing pain and rubbing to the back of my knee. I want to know in some sciency way how I can get around this problem and achieve my heart's desire...to run.
Don't get me wrong, I don't want to run super-fast sprints. I don't even need to run fast. "Wogging," as some call it, is quite fine with me. But I WANT to run. Do you know that I have this distinct fear that I will be in a bad situation one day and won't be able to run away? How crazy is that? But I still think about it. I had hoped that once my 10k training was done I could start the C25k program and PERHAPS run my 5k in mid-October...even if I was really slow! But still, I don't know how to work my way around the knee...and my choices are to 1) go for it anyway and risk injury or 2) resign myself to walking for now, or possibly - forever!
Confession #2:
Sometimes I wonder - How sore am I supposed to feel? Is this enough? I've read a million fitness articles in my day. A million and one, probably. And all of them talk about that good sore. I know the difference between the two (good sore/bad sore) thanks to last week, but now I'm struggling with - how much do I do on sore muscles?
And this foot thing...the new skin that hurts a bit. How much time does that need to heal? Will I be ready for Saturday? What do I cover it with? What do I do if it starts bleeding again? Do I risk having to have my friggin' foot amputated if I push too hard? (Yeah, I'm weird and do actually think these things.) Can you put moleskin over new skin or would that be a bad idea?
Let me explain, the old skin that was removed was tough skin that I could easily say was an inch thick (because I have hardly any visual interpretation of actual measurements *lol*)! What I really mean is that there is a small "dent" in my foot now between the old tough skin and the new skin. What the crap? Will this level out or will I always have this strange hole in my foot? *sigh* I'm confused.
Confession #3:
I keep my real life and my Spark life separate. Don't get me wrong, I love meeting Sparkies IRL, and I hope to do more of it. But many of my IRL people just can't take the amount of honesty I have vowed to keep here on Spark.
Today, I broke this rule. I invited a friend from school to Spark. She started running this summer and has worked herself up to 5-6 miles! She's trying to lose weight, she admitted today, and so I sent her a message on FB and invited her over here. No clue if she'll take the opportunity, but I put it out there. I broke my rule and let my real life bleed into Spark a bit. (Except for my Momma, who I told immediately because I can trust her with just about anything! *lol*)
Do you guys do this too?
Monday, August 30, 2010
Quote of the Day
“If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it.”
Battle 2: 355
Day 1 Recap:
Yesterday was a bit of a mess. There, I said it. That being said, I'm over it.
The day started out well. I was flying high from besting myself in Battle 1 and I was ready to take on the next challenge. What I didn't much bargain for was the intense sun midday.
For breakfast I had one of my regular meals - a whole wheat bagel with whipped cream cheese. I'm slowly backing off the amount of cream cheese I use on my bagels and the amount of creamer I put in my coffee. So far, so good. For some strange reason, yesterday my bagel tasted like ambrosia. I would take a bite and cherish its yummy goodness. And I had no clue why it tasted so good, because I have this meal all the time, but I was happy for the change!
Before we left for the field for Ethan's football game, I made everyone a sandwich with turkey breast, ham, and colby jack cheese, and a touch of light mayo and some lettuce. We stuck them in the cooler with our water and off we went. And then the sign -- NO COOLERS ALLOWED. *GRRR!* We kept the cooler in the car and prayed we'd be able to at least sneak our water bottles in (it worked!!). I hadn't done more than sat down for 2 seconds when I thought, "I should use this time to walk." See, when you're a parent of a player, you have to be there like 2 hours before the game even starts. BORING! So I asked Logan if he wanted to join me and he agreed. That's when Shane reminded me we didn't have any sunscreen. So instead of walking the field, as I had intended, we took off on foot to the store down the street for sunscreen. On the way back we passed Food Fair and I popped in to buy us more yummy whole wheat bread (we were down to the last 2 pieces after making sandwiches) and a peach for me (and another for Logan). We picked up some Jelly Belly jellybeans too, a treat for all of us (I counted every one I ate. I had 11. They're 4 calories each. I logged 50 just to make sure I didn't skip one or something! *lol*)
We then proceeded to sit in the sticky hot sun and watch my son's team get crushed by a great, tiny Belpre team. 34-6, I think the score was. Thankfully, Ethan had something to be proud of...he was on the offensive line when they scored their only points of the game! Still, he was bummed by the loss. By the time the game ended (I was literally counting down the last 40 seconds or so because we were dying in the heat!) we were ready for two things -- A/C and H2O! I've never seen Hubs that affected by the sun, but I knew that if the game had been just 30 minutes longer I would have been in serious danger of another bout of heat stroke! (I cannot wait for fall. When football season starts, I want fall weather!!)
Where we ended up -- Pizza Hut.
No big deal, I thought. I'd already stuffed myself with my sandwich at half-time. I wasn't that hungry...just thirsty.
I downed one glass of water and then half of my son's.
And then the pizza came. 1, 2, 3 pieces! I skipped the crust on the last 2 pieces but I ate all three like I hadn't eaten for days. Honestly, I probably could've eaten another. I was ravenous! I don't know if it was the sun or what, but I was super hungry all of a sudden.
I felt guilty.
Then I made myself stop.
One high calorie day every once in a while won't kill me, right?
Once we got home, I changed my clothes and then went out to wash the car. It was an excuse to use the water hose and get a little wet. I wanted to go swimming, but didn't want to drive all the way to the lake. So, instead, we played in the water and washed my car at the same time, Ethan and I. Fun! A bit of exercise. All in all = good.
I wasn't hungry again until way later. I had logged everything from the day and I was right above 1800 calories. I could choose to ignore my hunger, or I could eat and allow myself a high calorie day. I got frustrated. I ate about 3 bowls of Lucky Charms. I felt super guilty. I logged it. I realized I was still under Spark's recommended maximum calorie range (actually all of the ranges). I told myself that was alright, and I just enjoyed the rest of my night. (And another episode of True Blood that ended in yet another cliffhanger, followed by another "WTF?" response by my husband! *lol* I'm not sure he quite understands how this whole TV show thing works yet! *lol*)
No bootcamp video. (Kinda wish I had.) No Shred. (Glad I didn't.) No big deal. I did a lot of walking and washed the car too!
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Day 2 Plan:
Fight the urge to scream my head off.
First of all, I'm back to work after a few days off sick last week. I haven't been at work since last Tuesday. BLAH!
Second? I still have cooking to do tonight when I get home. I never got that Beef and Root Vegetable dish in the crockpot last night. It's really no big deal. I have to mix up one thing, dump in all the veggies I cut Saturday, top it with the meat (after I coat it in wheat flour), top that with the sauce mixture, and turn the whole thing on. Will take me like 20 minutes, tops.
Third? Another one of those mornings. Spilled coffee down my shirt. Nearly crashed the car because of the coffee incident...twice. (I just don't learn, do I?) Annoyed by the little things this morning. I'm going to take a few moments to center myself here in a minute and get my head on straight. Then I'm going to find a few people on Spark who inspire me and stoke those fires again, because...
...I will go to the gym tonight.
...I will do my 2 miles (as long as my feet can take it).
...I will find something else to do if my feet can't take it.
...I will strength train my heart out!
...I will challenge myself to a duel!
...I will complete all my work.
...I will catch up on all my Spark Friends and Spark responsibilities.
...I will go home after the gym and cook lunch for tomorrow.
...I will put on some pasta too for the chicken parmesan!
...I will get to bed early.
...I will forgive myself for my high calorie day yesterday.
...I will push to make today as great as it can be!
...I will stop stressing over this 10k on Saturday!!! (EEP!)
Side note (maybe TMI for those who get grossed out easily) - Yesterday the dead skin over my new skin on my blisters started to come off...so I cut it off. EWWW!! Might have been a bit of a mistake on the right foot, though it was the perfect choice for the left. This blister I got in my first 5k has taken forever to heal. The dead skin smelled bad - like infection bad! EWW! The new skin underneath, though is beautiful! Still, my foot is bandaged. The new skin is soft and hurts a smidge to walk on straight. I'm hoping it'll build up some strength before Saturday (because even if I need crutches to finish, I will finish!!).
No picture today. Sorries!
Oh, and weigh-in this morning: 358.4
Guess that high calorie day didn't kill me, did it? ;)
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Quote of the Day:
“It’s hard to beat a person that never gives up.”
Weigh-In Day
Starting Weight: 466.6
SP SW: 416.2
Last Week: 364.0
This Week: 358.4
Loss/Gain: -5.6
SP Total Loss: 57.8
Total Loss: 111.2
Thus ends my first battle.
Mental Roadblocks and Fat Girl Inside = 0. Esther's Inner Skinny = 1.
I'm not going to say this week was easy. Most of the time I was "phoning it in" as Jillian calls it. But you know what? Sometimes showing up is the most important part of the battle. Sometimes doing what you're supposed to do while kicking and screaming (and, yes, even crying) is what gets you through. It seems that I do actually know what to do, and that's a comfort to know when I'm facing the Fat Girl and the Mental Roadblocks that hold me back.
In Day 1:
I set my goals. I got my head on straight. I told myself, "If not this week, next week. If not next week, the week after." It was all about moving forward and continuing the fight, even when it hurt, even when I really didn't want to, even when I wanted to just sleep and eat chocolate cake. (I have learned that watching wedding cake shows on TV makes me crave eating those wedding cakes! *lol* Not saying I'll stop watching them, but I should always have some healthy alternative on hand when I do.)
In Day 2:
I thought my ship was sunk with the pizza buffet and a shot in the arm that made me want to do absolutely nothing. But instead of fighting myself, I changed it up. Around 4pm I turned to Hubs and said, "I don't want to go to the gym!" in my best whiny voice. At 4:20pm or so I turned to him again and said, "Okay! I have an idea! Instead of going to the gym, why don't we pack up the bikes and the dog and head to Cedar Lakes instead?" Hubs was excited and so were the kids, and we knew Joey would be super happy about it. So I walked and took it easy but sweated a bunch. I still challenged myself with that hill and with the try on the bike. And I went home feeling proud of myself and just plain happy.
In Day 3:
I procrastinated like it was my sacred duty, like the world would fall apart if I did what I was supposed to do. For like 2 hours I sat here making a plan of action for cooking. I wanted to make sure I did everything the most effective way I could. I wanted to perfect this art of prepping and cooking for the week. Around 1pm I started cooking, and by 6pm I gave up the ghost with 2 dishes done and the ingredients chopped for a third dish. I was so hungry (I thought) all day while I was cooking yummy food. And, yes, I sampled a bite or two - which, btw, is why I keep my calories on the lower end. I could probably easily eat 2,000 calories a day every day and still lose weight right now, but I figure I should aim low in case I miscalculate and/or take a bite of something here or there. Nothing awful went into my mouth yesterday. A bite or two of mozzarella cheese was the biggest thing I remember.
Finally, after eating a huge bowl of Jambalaya (OMG the amount you get is ridiculous!) and rice, I sat on the couch and watched Radio on TV. (*love* that movie!) It was dark outside before I started regretting the fact that I didn't even walk a mile yesterday. I had two choices - 1) call it a rest day and break my workout streak and my goal of working out every day, or 2) find a DVD to do. Jillian's 30-Day Shred was just sitting there. I hadn't tried the thing since May and I was still dreading the jumping jacks. After the first round and a half of real jumping jacks I realized something ....I couldn't breathe. My heart was racing. Yes, I was working out TOO hard. I knew my heart rate was over the aerobic zone and that wasn't going to do me any good, so I gave myself permission to modify and keep my heart in the right weight loss and heart building zone instead of pushing too hard. Yes, I still cried. It was the bicycle crunches...I didn't give up on them, but by the end I was cursing the TV and Jillian herself. But I did it. And I collapsed over the side of the couch and cried, and Shane asked me why I didn't just give up and end it early and I think I said something like, "She said I was a sissy if I gave up!" And we all laughed. And about 10 minutes later I loaded the Day 1 bootcamp video here on Spark and did that too. (MUCH more fun! *lol*)
Pictures from Yesterday:
Cutting up the "root vegetables" for today's cooking - Slow Cooker Beef and Root Vegetables
Slicing mozzarella for the Pan Chicken Parmesan
Bagging the ingredients for the Beef & Root Vegetables meal
The andouille sausage I almost didn't find at the grocery store
Cooking the chicken for the Chicken Parm while...
The jambalaya cooks in the slow cooker
Letting the Chicken Parm cool before I put it in containers in the fridge
One HUGE serving of Jambalaya (finally!). I really was hungry at this point!!
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Battle 2 begins today!
Battle 2 = 355
Goals for the Next 7 Days:
 Healthy and healthful lunches.
 Get adequate fruits and veggies.
 Use healthy snacks like apples and grapes.
 Stay between 1600 and 1800 calories (no more than 2,000 on high cardio days)
 No less than 64 ounces of water per day.
 Get plenty of sleep.
 Keep your head in the game!
 Exercise at least 15 minutes per day. 30 minutes + on at least 4 days this week.
 Strength train 3 days.
 300 crunches this week.
 10k this weekend! Don't finish last, but more importantly, FINISH!
Going to get ready now for Ethan's football game. His game is at 1pm, but we have to be there at 11:30pm for weigh-in and warm-ups. We're going to have a fun day! I'm going to wear my tennis shoes and try to get in some laps around the track. I may try Bootcamp video 2 tonight too.
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Member Comments About This Blog Post:
. I've always wanted to make jambalaya but think its to much work. lol Have a great day!
Get it all out girl and feel better!
or 
keep at it!!! 
