I haven't been back on here because today is my birthday and we've been busy all weekend.
First off, M@rla I really appreciate the encouragement, to hear my efforts are impressive from someone that impresses me always makes my day.
On the workout front, I sort of took Friday as a rest day (after legs on Thursday which are still a teeny bit sore today) though I did some housework like vacuuming the whole house and laundry and just stuff that had me on my feet quite a bit. Nothing major though but I was so worn out by bedtime that I was delirious and laughing at anything and everything. Saturday I drove to my campus gym which was a first for me, I've never gone up there just to workout without having something else to do school related. Did the same upper body workout from last Tuesday but of course increased the weight or reduced the assistance where applicable (chin ups and dips). I was pretty impressed with the progress I made in that area but it just makes sense that I should be able to do better each time on that since my own body weight is decreasing and I am getting stronger. If there is less of me I of course need less assistance to do these exercises. Regardless, I improved on pretty much everything but it was irritating they don't have in between dumbbells, only 5 lb increments. I really need 17.5s to do the dumbbell bench press but they don't have that and the 20s were too much after the three sets of chin ups. I'm pretty sure I could do the 20s if I was starting fresh instead of already fatigued a bit.
Today I walked for an hour again. Yes, on my birthday-I felt it was a good way to start a new year for me and I said I wanted to do it Saturday so I made sure to follow through even though my husband and son were napping and we had a great brunch just a bit earlier. As far as eating goes which is usually terrible on my birthday weekends I did really well, didn't even have a whole drink despite many many opportunities and ate very little food "off" program and I don't feel deprived by that whatsoever. I had bites of high calorie foods but stuck to good for me stuff almost entirely. No more back tracking for me damnit.
On calories burned: Saturday's workout:680 and today's walk around 500 again but I had to throw some brief running in to the walk to get that number. I wanted to mention that, after only one rotation of my workouts I improved enough in a cardiovascular sense that even though I felt that I pushed and I raised the weights on pretty much everything I burned fewer calories. So: good-I am more efficient already (amazing!) and boo-I burn fewer calories and have to step it up even MORE. ARGH! I think one reason I burned higher numbers last week was the extra fluid I was toting around that I sloughed off and just jumping back into hard workouts after comparative non-activity.
Something I am doing differently this time around and forever as far as I am concerned is drinking a post workout shake on weight lifting days-equal carbs and protein within an hour after my workout. I have noticed a difference in a very short time period and am excited to see what is in store for me.
Right after I posted about the scale I woke up 2 lbs lighter and have no idea where I'm at lb. or BF % either one at this point.

If I could have my way this would be an entry filled with gorgeous photos of our son and touching stories and phrases. However, things never seem to go the way I want them to, and here it is his birthday and I have no such glorious entry crafted.



In fact, I would say becoming a mother IS the only thing that has gone the way I want it, and far beyond. I never knew I would have a comedian, a musician, a dancer and a singer at my disposal any time I want. Any time other than nap or snack time that is, and he works cheap.



I never knew that one little body could stop my heart with one shaky step, make it burst with one sidelong glance, make it grow each day he’s alive. Every day with our son I am one day closer to being a complete person, I can feel it. I am one half of his world (hey, Da Da counts too) and in the mornings when his hair is tussled and his skin all warm and snuggly and those little arms reach out for me, I know I’ve done something right.

Happy Birthday John Reid bear, two years old and on top of the world.

Yesterday was my husband's thirtieth birthday and we went to dinner and a movie. Sounds lame for childless folks but we never get to go to movies anymore and dinner is sometimes spent with bated breath hoping the tired toddler will not erupt. Not to be misleading, our Boy is actually a very good dinner guest most of the time, but the times he is not...yeah. Pictured here is our appetizer, a dragon roll.

It even has ears or something and it tasted lovely. The place was sort of Asian fusion I suppose...I had macadameia nut encrusted chicken with a miso cream sauce and papaya relish, white cheddar mashed potatoes and wok tossed veggies. Unbelievably good, and I asked for the cream sauce on the side and just forked a little out on the chicken. It went along with eating for health and I enjoyed it. The veggies were insanely tasty and made me want one at home but Im sure they add something to make it awesome. The place was called Khona Grill (I believe) and had these cool umbrella lights hanging from the ceiling, very flattering glow, *wink.

We then went to see the F@ntastic F0ur movie and I am not trying to detract from Jessic@ Alb@, but she was painfully thin and looked so fragile. She looked absolutely beautiful, don't misunderstand, but very barbie doll like and like she could fall threw a sewer grate. Great movie though, but only if you like comic book movies, which I do.
And here is my outfit for the birthday night:
Those heels are about four inches (and zebra print) but I managed to walk around quite a bit, and if I took off my shoes during the movie and massaged the bottoms a bit, no one is the wiser. You can't really see if well but the top is corset style and has ribbons pulled tight under the bust and tied. The skirt I just bought and am in love, it swings when I walk and is lined so it feels very twirly. I also just got the green leather bag and I'm super happy about it all, I finally visited TJ M@xx and got all this great stuff for wonderful prices.
I need to post about how things are going, it feels magical, and effortless, and I feel like, "Why did I not figure this out a long time ago?"

Thanks for the birthday wishes, I had a wonderful fantasy weekend. My husband earned enough points to last quite a while indeed. It has been a rude awakening returning to the real world but I don't suppose I have much of a choice. Update on my friend: She and the boyfriend are trying to work things out, and while I am happy for her I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him. If he really does treat her properly from here on out then I won’t hold a grudge.
On Friday, my actual birthday, my husband finally told me what he had planned for my weekend. Saturday morning I had to be ready by 8:45 to go spend all day at the Crescent Spa! His cousin (also my friend) went with me and though we didn’t have treatments together it was nice to have her along for the ride. My package was all wine related, first a Cabernet grape scrub, then a red wine anti-cellulite bath, then a wine and honey wrap and finally a Sauvignon massage. It was unbelievable and my skin feels delightful, and now I know that wraps really do tighten your skin though I don’t think it lasts. Still, it’s been very nice to experience that again even if for a little while. Following the spa day we were picked up and taking to the W hotel in downtown, and it is an absolutely incredible place to stay and hang out. I felt like a had stepped into an upscale Ikea catalogue, for instance: the walls downstairs change colors from red to blue and back, the lounge area was way cool with these long chandeliers that made me think of jellyfish and there were just quirky little details everywhere. Our room was the Mega Room which is advertised as Texas sized with really high ceilings and a huge bed. Very hard to describe but the design was ingenious. The W even gave me a birthday present, a massage candle scented with habanera and grapefruit. You actually can use the wax to do a massage-I’ve never seen one like it.
On the 33rd floor is the Ghostbar, probably hands down the coolest nightclub type place I have ever been in, it made me think of what you see clubs being like on tv instead of the cheesy places I’ve been to before. There’s a balcony area outside that is hanging out over thin air and the view of the city was amazing. Standing there I could see lights moving and blinking as far as my vision reached, sort of like looking out over the ocean-a sea of humanity. I’ve realized how much I don’t want to leave here now.
Sunday we walked across the street to the American Airlines center and went up to the platinum club area and had the best brunch buffet I have ever had. The Dallas Stars game started at 2:30 and it was super exciting and worth being there to see. Lots of action, both scoring and fighting and we had some of my favorite friends with us, including my best friend that has never been to a hockey game and is a huge fan. She kept saying, “Kids at Christmas have nothing on me today!”
Really the only downer was my dad was supposed to be at the game with us so I could see him for my birthday. He didn’t show up so we called several times and found out he was feeling really sickly and he said half his face was swollen up and his voice sounded terrible. My poor dad, when he gets better I’m going to ask him to go to a Ranger’s game just the two of us.
I did workout Thursday night and had a great lifting session. I’ve really increased the weight on my squats and I think it was a mental setback before and now I know I can push it harder. I will say it again-free weights training has done the most for my self image and confidence of anything I have tried. I haven’t worked out since then, literally no time to even though I really wanted to try the infinity pool at the hotel. We slept too late and stayed in bed too long to get to use it, but I plan on working out today when the Husband gets home. Eating was fairly on track all weekend and I just didn’t worry about it too much.