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I’ve said it a lot in the last few months, but things have been nuts. I have spent a lot of time over the last few months being overwhelmed and it has certainly impacted the way how healthy (or unhealthy) I’ve been. My life has been crazy since the new year, but really sort of bubbled over in the last month or so. With that in mind, I thought I’d take a few posts to talk about some of the stuff that’s been going on. Some of the goings ons have been a lot of fun, and some of them haven’t been so pleasant; I’ll cover it all in the next week or two. So what was first on the list of the crazy? My trip to Chicago.

First a little background: I am pursuing an advanced degree as a residential appraiser and the required courses are not offered anywhere in the Northeast. Luckily, the Chicago chapter of my professional organization offers all of the classes and my friends Dee and Neil live close by so I can make the best out of having to travel for work. It seemed like the obvious place I’d go to take my classes since I could see people I love and check things off my very long professional to-do list at the same time. Plus I just like Chicago based on my previous visit a couple summers ago.

I set out on Tuesday when my dad/boss drove to Newark Airport. This is the first time I’ve ever taken anything remotely close to a business trip since all of our work is locally based. Being my dad he didn’t bother to let me know how expenses would work til I was actually heading to the airport. We’re very organized and professional, as you can tell. It was almost 80 degrees that day, but apparently they didn’t get the memo in the airport because the air conditioning was not on and it was hotttttt in there. My flight boarded on time, but then we were told we were being held for weather delays in Chicago. Delightful since this was the last flight of the evening and I had to be in class at 8 a.m. the next day.

Luckily, we were able to leave earlier than anticipated and then make up for some time in the air and landed pretty close to on time. Soon enough I was trying to find a taxi at an unfamiliar airport. I managed to find one and was welcomed to the Windy City by the most adorable cab driver ever. We chatted for most of the trip into the city and he couldn’t have been nicer. This is not something I’m used to coming from New Jersey and most of my cab rides taking place in New York City. It was a good start to the trip for sure. He got me safely to my hotel downtown. I briefly settled into the room before calling it a night since I had to be up early for the start of my class. Let me just tell you how kick ass the view from my room was!

I spent the first couple of days in town in class, had a break for the weekend to spend with my friends, and then it was back to class for four more days the following week. Class is an all day, grueling thing. The topics covered in these two courses weren’t especially difficult for me since I’ve been appraising residential properties for almost eight years now (God, I’m old). In fact, I think I learned more from hanging out and chatting with the other people in class than I did from the actual class material. I learned all sorts of things about cultural and professional differences between my world on the East Coast and how things go in the Midwest. Most of my classmates were from the Midwest, but there were also a few from as far as Alaska. Chatting with appraisers is always nice for me since I’m a workaholic who likes to talk shop, but this experience was especially interesting since I got the perspective from people from all over our big country.  

Friday was the start of a fun weekend with my friends who were coming in from the suburbs. The didn’t arrive until later in the afternoon, so I took the day to relax and recover from an exhausting few days. It was the first time I got to relax in a long, long time and it was divine. Later, Dee and Neil arrived and fun began. I lovely dinner and a bottle of wine was had, and I was happy to wander around the city with them and catch up a little bit.

Saturday was a day I had been looking forward to for a while since we had plans with our friend John to catch the Cubs game. If you ever have the chance to go to a game at Wrigley Field I can’t recommend it enough. It is such a great experience for any baseball fan. Hopefully your game won’t include snow though! It was coming down like crazy while we were getting ready to head out and then there were a few snow showers throughout the day. It was pretty unbelievable for an April day. We met up with John at a Wrigleyville bar at 10:30 am. What could go wrong when you start drinking at 10:3o in the morning? There was a whole lot of giggling and silliness and we and an awesome, but cold time at the game. There were a lot of layers and we were still freezing, but it was totally worth it.

Dee, Neil, and I spent Sunday just wandering around the city. I think Lake Michigan is just gorgeous so we headed that way on the only nice day I had during my 10 days in Chicago. We got a lot of good walking in while we took in the sites. One of the only things I definitely wanted to do while in town was see the bean since I didn’t see it last time I was in town. What fun! There were lots of people around taking goofy pictures and checking out their reflections in this tourist attraction. Of course, we totally did it too. Otherwise we wandered Grant Park and just soaked up the sun. Eventually we grabbed some pizza before they headed home to pack to head to Florida for their wedding. Oh yeah, they were getting married in less than a week. And I still don’t like Chicago pizza; the crust is weird. Give me New York/Jersey pizza any day.

After a really fun weekend with really great friends, it was back to class for four days. Again the course material wasn’t very hard, but it had to be done. I’m sure I’ll be back to take more classes in Chicago since the instructor was good, my classmates were nice, and the facility was lovely and close to my hotel. Hopefully I’ll have better weather next time I go back. The last two days I was in town saw record breaking rainfall that was jamming the airports. On what was supposed to be my last night flights were being canceled left and right and things weren’t supposed to be any better the next day when I was supposed to fly home. I decided rather than having to worry about my flight being canceled while I was trying to take an exam, I would go ahead and move my flight to the following morning. Due to the crazy weather United only charged me 10 cents to do it and I could stay in my room at the hotel. Done!

The exam was pretty easy and I hung out with a couple of my classmates at a bar after it was over. What else was I going to do? I didn’t have to get to the airport. Soon enough we parted ways and it was back to my room to pack up while being tipsy. Whoops. I knew the next day was going to be crazy (more on that in the next post) so I headed to bed so I would be ready for my 3 a.m. wake up call so I could head back to New Jersey. Aside from the crappy weather and the change in my flight plans it was a really good 10 days. I got to see some of my closest friends, made some new ones in my class, knocked two classes off my list, actually got to relax a little, and enjoy a beautiful city. I’m looking forward to heading back to the Midwest again soon.

I’m taking my usual day for my weekly weigh-in day to declare the start of a new beginning for me and my healthy lifestyle. My life has been pretty much completely insane for the whole of 2013, but this weekend is the official start of summer and it is time to take a to put all that craziness behind me and start fresh. I’ll write more about the things have have been going in future posts, but for today I want to dedicate this post to hitting the reset button. I’ve managed to mostly maintain my weight loss, only putting a few pounds back on. I can feel a difference in how I feel though and I want to get back to the place I was a the end of last summer.

I started this journey to a healthy life around this time last year. After I tackled the Everest Challenge 5k I felt like I could take on anything and got my butt to a Weight Watchers meeting. Things progressed nicely from May to September and I was feeling great. Things were a little up and down on the scale in the fall with travel, hurricanes, and going back to class. I muddled through and was feeling pretty good going into the holiday season. My schedule and mentality took a turn for the worse in the new year and I’ve struggled ever since to keep things healthy. I’ve tried lots of things like starting with a trainer and training for a half marathon, but I haven’t stayed on the ball for more than a couple weeks at a time.

I’m taking this post to declare that all the chaos and excuses are ending and I about going to right this healthy ship. I am ready and I am determined. In the coming weeks I will get back to writing down everything I eat, working out very regularly, actually training for this half marathon, and being on top of this healthy life. I’ll also get back to writing a few times a week since it seems to help keep me focused on my task at hand.

Summer has historically been a successful time for me in terms of weight loss. Last summer I was able to drop 25 lbs and live better. I’m hoping for a similar effort and outcome in the next few months. The abundance of healthy food options from fresh fruits and veggies and fish has always made living well easier for me in the summer months. The ability to get out workout in the warm weather with longer days helps things a lot too. I’m hoping I’ll get my butt in gear a bit more with more sunlight and a better outlook. It should also help that my schedule should be calming for the summer months. No classes, minimal travel, hopefully no family hospital stays, and relaxing at the shore house should keep me on the healthy track.

I’m off to a good start so far. I spent a bit of time getting myself and my condo ready for summer over the weekend. Things were cooked and frozen, laundry was done, veggies were cut, and I felt pretty on top of things. This week shouldn’t be too stressful even though I’ll be my usual busy self. I just have lots of little things to do rather than anything major. The biggest things on my list are working out, a few social get-togethers, and packing for Memorial Day weekend at the shore. I’m the most relaxed I’ve been in months and feel like I’m ready to take on the week and more importantly I feel like I’m ready to get back to my normal routine.

So wish me luck as I start over and get back into the right frame of mind to lead a healthy life. It won’t be easy, but I’m in this for the long haul and it is time to get back to normal. I always knew I’d face setbacks, I just didn’t expect there to be a six month set back. Hopefully the next six months will be a totally different story. As always thanks for all your suppor

One of my missions since returning from my marathon of traveling was to get back on track with my running. I’m pretty behind on my training schedule (this may or may not actually be true, but in my mind I’m behind). The weather in Chicago didn’t allow me to run as much as I thought I would when I was there since it rained most of the time I was there. I ran in a couple times in the hotel gym, but I hate running on a treadmill so there wasn’t a lot of motivation. I still worked out while I was there between the studying so not all was lost, but it certainly could have been better.

This face sums up how I felt about running with allergies and funky knee.

My first few days back in New Jersey were plagued by crazy tree pollen allergies and a wonky knee. Benadryl has really helped my breathing abilities so I’m feeling a lot better on that front. My knee has taken a bit longer, but it seems to be getting back to normal too. I never really figured out what I did to it, but it was super stiff and a bit sore. The stiffness was really the bigger issue, because I seemed to be able to workout without pain I just couldn’t move around nearly as freely as normal. I already has a massage scheduled this week so I asked my massage therapist to work on it a little and that seems to have helped a lot. I’m definitely bend it much more freely and comfortably. I’ve also thrown some ice on it from time to time just in case that might help my mystery ailment. I think I’m on my road to recovery.

Now that I’m feeling better it’s definitely time to get back on the right path. I got back out a few times this week and it felt pretty good. Sure I’m still coughing from time to time along the way, but I can breathe. And my knee feels pretty ok too. I did a long run last night and really felt good. My long runs aren’t the distance they should be just yet, but I’m getting there. If I can keep this up, I should be covering more ground in no time. I’m feeling optimistic after having a couple decent runs this week. I’m sure the awesome weather we’ve been having is helping the situation. But whatever it takes is fine by me. I just have to keep it up which is going to be tough with my schedule this week, but I think running will really help keep my stress level more manageable so here’s hoping!

I’ve been pretty terrible about keeping up with my blog posts lately. My life has been even more nuts than usual, and I haven’t been thrilled with the scale so it hasn’t really encouraged me to write about my healthy lifestyle. I’ve been traveling a ton so keeping up with things at home (including writing blog posts) hasn’t been easy. Luckily, I don’t have travel plans again until the end of May so hopefully I can get caught up and keep up the writing in the mean time.

I also need to get back to normal when it comes to my food choices and working out too. This weekend I took steps to return to center with cooking and preparing food for the week. Salad veggies were cut up and made ready for the rest of the week and I cooked a bit for my dinners throughout the rest of the week too. I start another class on Friday so I’m trying to be really on top of things before that starts up again. Working out has been a balancing act between getting my butt in gear and trying to rest an irritated knee. It doesn’t really hurt, but its super stiff and I get a pang of pain every now and then. It is definitely on the mend though so I’m hoping I can avoid a visit to the doctor.

Of course, I’m trying to get back in the swing of things with my resistance training at the gym, and that seems to be going ok. I’m starting to get concerned about how far behind I am with my running schedule though. I really need to get moving so hopefully this knee will be back to normal shortly and I can really get down to business. I’ve been running, but it’s been sporadic and I’m not up to the distance I’d like to be. I’m longing for the summer so I can run along the beach at the shore. Memorial Day is right around the corner! I got back to business last week with my trainer and had a good session with him. I also worked out on my own on Friday, but my allergies prevented me from getting there on Monday. Oh yeah, did I mention I sound like a frog when I talk because of the pollen in the air? Benadryl is really helping, but I’m still not breathing like a normal person. Shove it, seasonal allergies. It is really frustrating to not be able to get back out there because I can’t breathe.

It’s not all bad news though, since this is my weigh-in post I have to discuss hopping back on the scale over the weekend. It was actually a much better number than I anticipated after the two weeks of living in hotels, drinking, and eating. I guess the walking around Chicago and visits to the hotel gym paid off! I’m also hoping that with summer just around the corner I’ll get back to consistently losing again. Summer is really easy for me with the fish, the fresh fruits and veggies, and the ability to get outside to workout. I’ve got big plans for dropping a lot of weight again now that the weather is agreeing with me. I’ve managed to not really gain much weight since Christmas time, but I keep gaining and losing the same couple pounds without making progress. Hopefully my favorite season will help me get back on track.

I was going to post a big, long entry all about my recent travels to Chicago and my crazy schedule. I thought it would be a good way to get me back in the writing grove after a few weeks of not making time to do so. Well, sometimes life has other plans, so today won’t be about my crazy schedule, my classes, or the fun I had over the weekend; it will be a reflection after the terrible events that have unfolded in Boston. My trivial ramblings about my time here in the Midwest can wait for another time. Life will go on and I can share it another time, but today I have to talk about Boston.

I started running last winter and never dreamed of doing anything more than a 5k. Now I have my eyes set on a half marathon next year. From the very beginning I have felt embraced by the running community. They don’t seem to care if you are running a mile or 30; they cheer for you no matter your experience or distance. The sales people and Fleet Feet, Montclair enthusiastically helped the chubby kid when I wandered into the store for the first time. The tons of runners on Twitter and Facebook have encouraged me along the way. My close friends who run have coached and told me “you can do it” a thousand times over the last year or so. The running community is a special bunch and I’m lucky to say “I am a runner.”

If there is anything I’ve learned about the running world, it’s the infectious excitement that surrounds race day. Everyone is so excited to race after all the months and miles of training. It all comes down to this moment for us whether it is our first 5k or our 30th marathon. Our families and friends come out to cheer and support us, and we show up to give it our all. That environment is amazing and I can’t think of anything else quite like it. Someone tried to destroy that today, but they don’t know the spirit of runners. We won’t be afraid. We will run. We will run for ourselves, our loved ones, and those who cannot do it themselves. We will run for our communities, our cities, and our country. We will run.

Not only am I a runner, but I am a Northeasterner. When you go to college in the Northeast, you know people who live in Boston. As soon as I saw what had happened during a break in my class, my thoughts went immediately to my friends who live in that city. I shot off a couple texts to the people I was most concerned about and quickly got relieving responses. I said a little prayer for a dear friend who is only a few weeks away from graduating medical school and was doing one of his rotations at a Boston area hospital. He let me know he was ok, and they were getting ready to receive patients. God bless all of the doctors, nurses, and staff at all of those hospitals. When my class was over I got to text most of my other friends who are in the area or have family there. Luckily they were all ok and the good news continued to come in via social media. We were lucky, but the friends and families of the people who were hurt or died today were not. My heart aches for these people and I will continue to think of them throughout the coming days.

I can’t help but also compare how I feel now to how I did in the days following 9/11. I can see the New York skyline almost every day. Since I was born in the 80s I didn’t know what that skyline looked like without the Twin Towers until that awful day. I knew a lot of people who were working there since so many Jersey kids grow up to get a job in the city. It was hard to get a phone call through to home and I didn’t know what to do or think. I was in my first week of college Upstate and felt helpless and scared without being home. I still have some post traumatic stress disorder (as do most people from the New York area), and when these things happen those feelings come back. In those days following a terrible act, we were all New Yorkers. We stood together, and now we will all run together.

My thoughts and prayers remain with the people who have been impacted by this terrible event. I am disappointed to be traveling today and not able to wear a race shirt in solidarity with the running community. Please know I am wearing one in my heart because I am a runner.

This weekend I went down the shore to volunteer in an area still deep in recovery from Hurricane Sandy. Yes, this is still a big, big issue here in New Jersey. As I may have mentioned about 100 times before my life is busy, but I felt it important to find time to give back to the shore in their time of need. I was excited to find an opportunity to volunteer on a Sunday since I’ve been taking Saturday classes a lot lately. It was my only day off but people at the shore needed it more than I did. My friend Lori and I signed up a while ago to head down to join the New Jersey Young Professionals and We Are Team Jersey at a home in Tom’s River.

Tom’s River is a huge town and has areas both on the main land and on the barrier islands. I wasn’t sure where we’d wind up until we finally got the address and was able to look at a map. It looked like the house was right on the bay on the main land side just a bit north of Seaside Heights (where the roller coaster is in the water). We set out bright and early and pulled into a neighborhood full of dumpsters, new siding, and folks trying to put their houses back together again. We found our house and were introduced to the head of We Are Team Jersey who let us know what we’d be doing to help the home owner get back on his feet. It was going to be all about spackle, sanding, and paint today.

When we met the approximately 75 year old man who lived there named Don, I asked him how much water he had. The answer was four feet. His house is directly on the bay so the surge just beat him up. Luckily, he had evacuated and was not there for the actual storm since the water was up and over his kitchen cabinets. All of his flooring, drywall, appliances, and belongings on the first floor had to go. Apparently, he made out better than some of his neighbors though since two houses a few doors down had been torn down. Don didn’t have much insurance so he was relying on the free labor of volunteers to get his house to a place where he could come back home. Even after he’s able to get back in, he will have to raise his house 6-8 feet off the ground to satisfy the insurance companies and the state.  He has a long road ahead of him, but having strangers work on his home gives him hope.

The volunteers pause for a picture in Don’s back yard at the end of the day

In addition to spackling and painting our group made up of people from the Young Professionals as well as kids from Eastern Connecticut University who were giving their spring break to help we had a few tasks to tackle outside. A tree in the front yard came down, the yard was also cleaned up, and we started to remove his mangled deck from the back yard. There was also drywall going up in a few remaining places and people were hard at work all over Don’s house. Everyone was enthused and happy to get and ready to work. It was great to see the amount of progress we could make it just one day. Hopefully Don will get to come home soon even if it is just temporarily until the work begins to raise his home onto a new foundation.

At one point, Lori and I along with another girl from the group headed over to a house a few blocks away for an hour or so to sand. We met the owners of the house who told us they only had about of foot of water in the house, but they stayed through the storm. To make things even more interesting she was pregnant when Sandy hit. When the water came in (and it came fast) they were able to seek refuge upstairs with their young daughter, but obviously they were stuck there til the water went down without any power or heat. Their first floor had been gutted and they are now starting to put the pieces back together.

We wound things up at Don’s house at about 4 pm after cleaning up and putting all the equipment away. Since neither Lori or I had been to this part of the shore since the storm had hit we decided to head over to the barrier islands to see how things were progressing. Very, very slowly. Since we were close to Seaside Heights we went there first and then drove north into a few of the other towns. We parked here to check out what’s going on on their famous boardwalk. Reconstruction has begun on the boardwalk, but deconstruction continues on the piers where the rides once stood.  It is so weird to see a ferris wheel with no boardwalk surrounding it. The ferris wheel as well as the roller coaster that now resides on the ocean floor will be dismantled pretty soon. 

The neighborhoods we saw in Seaside look to be on the road to recovery, but it is hard to tell what’s really happening just driving through. We headed north through some other towns before going home. The amount of destruction in places like Ocean Beach and Mantaloking is still pretty hard to believe. Half collapsed houses still remain seemingly untouched in the almost five months since the storm hit. There are obvious signs of repair and rebuilding in some areas, but in other it looks like nothing has been done at all yet. Those are the scariest places. These areas are where you can still see just how powerful the ocean was on that day.

Things are still a mess in a lot of these towns and people are still in need. Please continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers. These folks continue to face fighting with their insurance companies, massive repairs/rebuilding, and being displaced. It will be a long, exhausting road and they are grateful for any help they can get. I am going to try to get down to the shore again in the coming months between my crazy schedule. If anyone would like to join me please let me know. Sanding Don’s drywall was a physical workout, but it was also good for my soul, and it could be the same for yours.

Saturday was spent in class again. Things seem to be going well there so hopefully I’ll pass the exam with flying colors. This is probably the easiest one I’ve taken so far, but I still want to make sure I’m prepared for the exam. Even though it’s pretty easy material, sitting there all day trying to learn is exhausting. I don’t have much left in me when I get home. My level of exhaustion is not leading to a swinging social life lately, but I just have to get through this and then I’ll be able to have fun again! Taking these courses is making me really get into some of the aspects of my job I hadn’t thought about previously, though. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad because it is bringing out the workaholic side of me like whoa. Somewhere there must be a balance between loving my job and doing my job ALL  the time right?

Sunday was my day to get lots done since it was my only day off. I was already planning to get out for a run that day, but my friend Lori text me to see if I wanted to walk with her that afternoon. Since it’s always more fun to workout with a buddy I said sure and met up with her for about an hour for a good walk and chit chatting. Having someone to talk to makes cardio go by so much faster. On my way home from walking with her I actually found time to go get myself some new running shoes. Not only am I relieved to have gotten my new shoes, but they’r pink! Obviously this makes them better.

Most of the rest of the week was full of work, studying, working out, and trying to check things off the always growing to-do list. Let me tell you how much cooking in advance has been helping me during these super busy times. I have no excuse to eat badly and everything is just done and prepared for me. It is also one less thing for me to think about and stress about. I need to keep this up in the coming weeks and months. On the exercise front, everything is coming along. Running is happening and progressing and I’m easing back into it and adding a bit of distance each week. Everything is good with the trainer and my regime there. He had me do 20 burpees (two sets of 10) and there was no hint of nausea or death so we’re on the right track. I’m really happy with how far I’ve come with training in only about two months. I should be on a solid road to kicking ass.

Thursday was the start of a super busy weekend when I headed to Central Jersey to help host an event for appraisers at a hotel bar. We’re trying to rally the folks who are on their way to getting advanced degrees in our field to support each other, network, and socialize with each other. The average age of a designated member of our organization is in their early 60s. Someone is going to have to take the reins at some point so the more we can encourage the younger set to get involved the better. Since this is my family business and my dad is a past president of our chapter, I was sort of thrown into my role here. I pissed and moaned about it for a while, but now I’m embracing it and I’m on a one woman mission to make the younger set feel welcome and included. Wish me luck.

Speaking of appraiser stuff, it was back to class on Friday. We had a different instructor this week and it’s always interesting to see the different styles of the teachers. We got through the material, had a pretty helpful review, and headed home with very little excitement. No excitement is good in these cases. As I’ve mentioned, this course isn’t particularly hard, but I wanted to be prepared for the exam on Saturday so I spent Friday night studying and doing some stuff around the house. Remember when Friday nights were spent partying? Yeah, me too. This grown up, furthering my career stuff is kinda lame.

I didn’t make it to my meeting because of class. With everything I had going this week and staying up studying, I just couldn’t get my sorry butt out of bed any earlier to go get weighed before heading to class this week. I think I probably stayed about the same because I worked out a lot, but I also ate coconut M&Ms. Damn you Easter candy. Despite a little slip up, I still feel better about how things have been progressing than I did a month or so ago. I’m on the right track and I intend to stay there even if I have the occasional side trip.

The weekend started off in the best way possible: at the shore. I woke up on Saturday morning and after debating it over the previous days, I decided that was the day I’d go back to Weight Watchers. If you read my posts over the summer you might remember how much I hate the meetings at the shore, but I needed it. So I headed out and up to the center and got weighed. I had pretty well back on the ball the previous week so I think I had lost some of the weight I had put back on over February. They let me know I had gained .8 from my last weigh-in about a month ago. I really couldn’t complain about that all things considered. I got to start over that morning and it was great.

I was really happy to be back on the scale, but I couldn’t face staying for the meeting at the place I had just yet. I bailed on the meeting, but my mind was back in the right place. I ran a couple errands before heading back to to house. It is obviously very important to get my Wawa coffee and the Herald (the local county newspaper which is a riot). I got home and my parents weren’t awake yet so it was time to head out for my run. The forecast was for warmer weather later in the afternoon, but going early was more convenient. I bundled up in a few layers and made my way to the promenade. Cape May has a walkway along most of the beach affectionately called the promenade and it’s my favorite place to run. It was so awesome to have my first run there for the year even though it was windy and cold!

Things were off to a good start. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, shopping with my mom, and just enjoying being at the shore. My mom and I took a spin past the beach before going home after shopping and noticed the huge waves. I’ve honestly never seen them so big there and I’ve been on those beaches since before I could walk. Obviously, during hurricanes and such they have been bigger, but these were the largest I had ever seen. We went home and got my dad so he could see them too and wound up hanging out on the beach for sunset. We weren’t the only ones either, there were a bunch of people there checking out the water and the sunset on the first beautiful day of the year. The full moon tide and a storm the day earlier made for some crazy conditions.

Sunday was spent with my old friend from college, Anna, who moved to NJ a few years ago after completing vet school. Since everyone’s crazy schedules don’t always allow it, we don’t see each other very often despite living in the same state. Because of this I was yet to meet her fiance so we finally got to hang out in Cape May. I took them to one of Cape May’s most well known brunch spots and had a lovely time. It was so good to catch up with her a bit and finally meet her other half. They wound up staying longer than I thought they would which kept my parents and I from heading out until later. But it was totally worth it.

Day light savings time didn’t bother me on Sunday since I didn’t set an alarm to get up, but when it was time to get up and go to work it hit me hard. It was only an hour for goodness sake. I was beat from the get go on Monday, but powered through a busy work day. I should have gone to the gym after work to lift, but there was just no way my little body could handle it so I headed home instead. I’ve been stressed about the state of my condo for a while since I rarely have had time to clean up lately. I’m not really a neat freak, but I can’t relax in the house when it’s messy. Ok, maybe I am a little bit of a neat freak. So I think I’ve come with a plan to make my house a little more manageable. Setting aside a little time each day to work on a few things. Let’s see if I can stick to it.

Wednesday is training day so I met up with my trainer, Patrick, after work. He’s becoming my little buddy who also kicks my ass. He’s super easy to talk to and I think he’s really helping me get in better shape. We wound up sitting around and chatting for 20 minutes after our session was over. It is awesome to see my progress at each workout with him too. The first time I worked with him I thought I was going to puke on him (and was mortified), but now I can do so much more and feel good. There are no feelings of nausea or light-headedness and I feel down right ass. Of course, there’s still progress to be made, but I’m kicking ass and taking names, thank you very much.

Most of the rest of the week was centered around  the start of another real estate appraisal class on Friday. This time around I’m learning about the sales comparison approach, and it is as thrilling as it sounds. We’ll be at it for four full days with an exam next Saturday. A full day of learning concepts, formulas, and discussing how these apply to our practices is exhausting. Really exhausting. But I’m happy to be checking these courses off my list. My list is long, but I’m making progress. So far this one doesn’t seem particularly challenging so I’m praying it stays that way. Hopefully in a few weeks I’ll be reporting I passed the exam!

So how did this busy week stack up on the scale? Well, it was fabulous. I lost 3.2 pounds this week! I finally feel like I’m getting back to where I need to be. I’m hoping this has me on a road to recoup the weight I gained in January and February within the next week or two and then back on track and in the right direction. I’ve been eating a lot of the stuff I cooked and froze to keep me on track and that’s really been helping me stay on the ball despite my chaotic life. If I can keep this up, I’ve got some number goals in mind, but I’m still trying to decide if they are feasible. I’m always busy, but things are really starting to ramp up over the next few weeks. Hopefully I can keep myself together and continue to see success. Fingers crossed!

This week I really focused on getting back on track with my eating habits since my workout schedule seems to be going pretty well. Of course it was another busy week with plenty of obstacles, but making meals in advance and planning went a long way to making for a successful week. Otherwise, I was just busy with work and Appraisal Institute board of directors responsibilities, working out, trying to get organized, and the usual run around.

I dedicated a lot of time to preparing food and freezing it over the weekend. Writing my grocery list was like preparing for battle, but it totally paid off. A couple of the things I made were eaten throughout the week, but most of them went directly into the freezer so I’ll be prepared with food for about a month or so. With how bananas my schedule is right now, I can take meal planning off my to-do list. It was a lot of chopping and standing in front of my stove, but I think it will worth all the effort when I get on the scale over the next few weeks. If I’m going to be successful I have to put in time and effort to reach my goals. It may have taken up most of my weekend, but I think it will be well worth it.

The weekend was rounded out with a family get together to celebrate all of the February birthdays (yes, this happened in March). Of course, food choices weren’t the greatest but they weren’t terrible either. I asked my mom to get a chocolate cake so I wouldn’t eat it (I don’t like chocolate cake), but she got one I thought I’d like instead. I managed to only eat about half a piece so that wasn’t so bad. Otherwise it was really good to see my nieces and nephew since I hadn’t seen them since Christmas. The oldest talked me ear off about school and Harry Potter, the middle one was her usual goofy self, and the little guy got even bigger and is talking much more than the last time I saw him.

I also started running this week! I already wrote about it it last week’s Fitness Friday post so I won’t dwell. I will say running is off to a good start and I’m really happy about it. I also had a session with my trainer and lifted weights twice on my own this week. The plan is to lift three times a week so I’m right on target. I have been going to yoga once a week for the last few weeks, but skipped it this week. I was pooped from a long week, sore from my trainer the night before, and needed to get a bunch of stuff done before I left for the shore house the next day. Hopefully I’ll be back at it this week.

That’s right – I went to the shore this weekend! It was so, so nice to get away to my happy place for a few days. I’ll probably wax poetic about it more in next week’s post, but Friday night was spent in the car heading down with my parents. I was really happy not to have to drive myself, let me tell you. I was also proud to make a good choice and eat a healthy dinner at home rather than picking up take out with my folks or worse yet picking up fast food at a rest stop.

So how did I do? According to my scale at home I lost about a pound and a half this week! This officially puts me back on track to getting healthy. I also finally weighed in at a Weight Watchers center this week. Since I hadn’t been in about a month I was up .8 on their scale, but that’s really not too bad considering all the birthdays and vacations and such that went on in February. I was so dedicated to getting back on the official Weight Watchers scale, I even went to the center at the shore which I hate. I left after getting weighed because I just couldn’t stomach the thought of staying in the place I dislike, but I think just getting weighed will help me stay motivated for the coming weeks.

If you’ve been keeping up with my blog for a while you may remember I’ve been toying with the idea of running a half marathon next year. Now that I’m settling into my resistance training schedule and adapting to the ass kickings my trainer is giving me, it is time to get serious about training for this half marathon. I was also given and added boost of motivation and inspiration after cheering for my friends at this year’s Princess Half Marathon.  I had my eye on running the Princess to begin with, but experiencing it a couple weeks ago really got me excited to do it myself. The energy of the event is pretty contagious.

Well I started training this week and I’m taking it one step at a time. I’m trying to look at this process in stages as to not get overwhelmed. Slow and steady will be the name of the game. My plan is to do a 5k training program (again), followed by a 10k program, and finally wrapping things up with a half marathon program. This means I’ll be running a lot this year. Lordy. I am not at all concerned with speed other than keeping under the 16 minute mile Run Disney enforces. Otherwise I just want to finish and I don’t care if I am dead last.

I had my first short runs this week and they went pretty well.  At the moment I’m doing a 30 seconds walk/30 second run program, but that may get toyed with once I get more comfortable with my runs. I have to start somewhere. I’ll have my first long run this weekend at the shore (yay!). Things seem to be moving along pretty well and I’m pleased so far, but it is pretty early. My only complaint is that I need to get a new pair of running shoes for sure. I was never in love with my current pair and they are definitely need to replace them now that I’ve used them for about six months and I’m starting to run more seriously. I just have to find time to get to Fleet Feet to get fitted and get a new pair.

My current plan is to run three times a week with other cardio mixed in around my weight lifting sessions. I have been lifting three times a week for the last month or so and I’m happy with how that’s been going so I’ll keep it up along with my running training. I’m also going to a yoga class once a week. I’ve become a person who schedules her life around her workout schedule and I’m really ok with that. Hopefully I can keep this up since my motivation is really high now. I’ll be sure to keep writing about my training and how it’s going along with all the other stuff I’ve got going on.