Happy Halloween

I have always loved Halloween.  Halloween is the one day of the year you can be anybody you want to be.  I love dressing up and I loved when I was younger going trick-or-treat to get loads of candy.  As an adult when I am not working Halloween I love to be home so I can answer the door and see all the cute kiddo costumes…and eat some fun-size candy bars.  Halloween rocks!

I wish I had thought to scan some old Halloween costume photos to share with you.  Maybe I’ll still do that this weekend.  Sort of an after-thought throw-back photo session.

This year I am working Halloween and while I wasn’t able to get my whole team to buy into a group costume idea I knew I wanted to dress up.  The goal at work is usually to find something that allows you to wear jeans.  We rarely have the opportunity to wear jeans at work so you gotta take the opportunity when you can.  I actually found my costume idea online when I was looking for glasses to go with my new witch hat.  Instead, I found a better idea.

Yep…I am a police officer dispatching police officers today.  Ha!

Kenyon suggested adding the donut.  He thought I needed a prop.  I am so glad I did.  

I love Halloween.

Have a safe and fun Halloween with you and your family.

The Absence Of Activity

You may have noticed that I have not been posting much about activity since the Thrive Idaho Mt. Everest Challenge finished up in October.

Activity and I have taken a little bit of a break.

It wasn’t a planned break per se.  I would often look out the window at the sunshine thinking “it is a beautiful day for a walk” but yet I had no desire to take a walk.  I had no desire to carve out time to go to the gym.  I wasn’t feeling motivated. 

On top of that my last few weeks of my day-shift rotation were pretty busy.  I was doing something each night and not getting home until 9pm.  Normally I would have set my alarm for 3am and walked on the treadmill before work.  I realized how tired I am in the evenings after waking up at 3am and with no opportunity to get to bed early I would be even more tired.  So I didn’t exercise.

Over the last year my attempts to buckle down and lose weight to get back to my goal weight would mean increasing the activity and eating super clean.  Then I wouldn’t see the results I expected and I’d get discouraged.  When I re-committed to 100% tracking two weeks ago I decided I would let the guilt of not exercising fall away and focus right now on getting my food under control.

I do hope the exercise bug returns.

Tuesday after my WW meeting the sun was shining despite temps being brisk and a slight wind.  I decided to go for a walk.  It was a heart pumping pace or a long distance.  It was just walking in the sunshine…

…taking in the fall colors…

…and hearing the leaves crunch under my shoes.

I enjoyed the 30-45 minutes I was out walking.  Maybe I’ll do it again soon.

Oh, on a side note, construction is almost complete.  I even have my own crosswalk right by my street and I have sidewalks!

What I Ate Yesterday (Friday & Saturday)

I actually remembered to take some food photos on Friday and a few on Saturday.  I wanted to give you an idea of what I was eating and how I was trying to balance my birthday festivities.

I started Friday morning with an apple pancake, peanut butter, and honey.  It was tasty.  I served this with a side of blogging!

I then collected my free drink at Dutch Bros.  Dawny sent me this mug in the mail and my Dutch Bros honored the “free drink with purchase”.

I had gotten up earlier than planned so my second breakfast was an egg and egg white scrambled with red bell pepper.

Lunch was a 50% off coupon at SouperSalad for my birthday.  It was also clam chowder Friday.  I actually ate lunch on the later side around 2:30pm.  I wanted something healthy before I had cocktails with my girlfriends.

I arrived downtown early for happy hour so I stopped into Flying M for an iced coffee.  My coffee wanted to wear my birthday hat.

Happy hour food/drink at Mai Thai with my girlfriends.  I had two drinks, one chicken pot sticker, an Asian garden roll, and some coconut ice cream.

When I got home from happy hour Kenyon wanted to go to dinner.  I wasn’t hungry and at this point I was out of WPPA.  He suggested Texas Roadhouse.  Despite not being hungry (and out of points) I ate two rolls with cinnamon butter and snacked on the free onion blossom for my birthday.  Have you guessed yet that I like free food?

Saturday I had planned to manage my DPA the best I could since I was all out of WPPA until my new WW week started Monday.  I was pretty lax with my tracking Saturday and Sunday.  I again woke up earlier than planned so I started my day with non-fat Greek yogurt, peanut butter, and an apple. 

I ventured out and ran errands collecting my free Dutch Bros birthday drink.  Yep, more free stuff.

I had hoped Kenyon and I might go to breakfast before roller skating but he didn’t wake up in time.  So, I made myself a healthy breakfast at home.  I had my usual eggs, potatoes, pepper, and sausage.

The after party in the park included chips and dip and crackers and dip.  I enjoyed various party food bites and one of my lemon raspberry birthday cupcakes.  I didn’t eat all the butter cream frosting.  It was really rich but very good.

Despite feeling like I might have been a little bit hungry before going to bed, we were exhausted and turned in early.  I ended up not needing anything else before bed.  That could have been why I was super snacky on Sunday.

Another Successful WI

This week's WI was another successful one. I had set a goal of losing one pound this week but as the WI got closer I was hopeful for just a maintain from my three pounds lost last week.

However, I lost another pound bringing my total to four pounds in two weeks. I have my sights set on a five pound start. 100% tracking again this week will help me get closer to that goal.

I will post some of my food from the weekend as I actually took some photos. I ran out of WPPA by Friday evening. 

My tracking was a bit loose Saturday and Sunday. Sunday I was a huge snack-monster and just snacked all day long. I was really surprised I pulled out a one pound loss. I am going to make this week better with tracking.

I also had a double-dose of WW meetings. I can now attend my Tuesday morning meeting again but my friend Jamie attends Monday morning. By attending two meetings I get extra motivation and extra time with such wonderful WW members and leaders.

Dutch Bros Addiction

My friends and family know me quite well and I scored big in the coffee department for my birthday.

I am of the age now where I don't need gifts. Really there isn't anything I want that I don't often just buy for myself. Although I requested no gifts my friends and family are were still quite generous. I ended up with $85 in Dutch Bros gift cards! I wish I could say I was set for a while but with my coffee addition that won't last long.

Jamie gave me this great refillable Dutch Bros mug. You get $0.25 off with a Dutch Bros mug. Well worth the cost of having to remember to rinse your cup out after each use!

Dawny sent me a fancy Dutch Bros mug. This one is actually more of an “approved mug” for work. We got new carpet almost a year ago so we have to make sure our lids are secure on all beverages at work. This is a breast cancer support mug and also keeps your drink hot or cold for several hours. Fancy.

My Mom wanted to get me the hydroflask but they ran out at the Dutch Bros in the Nampa/Caldwell area. So her gift card is for the purchase of a hydroflask. They are an upscale mug that keeps your drink hot or cold for several hours.

I am set for a little while in the coffee department. Yeah!

Birthday Weekend Comes To An End

Hello. I'm a little late checking in this evening. It was a really low key and relaxing day today after all the hustle and bustle of the last few days celebrating my birthday to the fullest. I spent today napping, eating, watching tv, then repeating all that!

Let me back up to Saturday.

I decided this year we would roller skate at the earlier afternoon skate time and then move to the park for some treats and visiting. I had an excellent turnout for roller skating and we had a lot of fun.

We met up with my parents, grandparents, and aunt in the park for chips and dip, veggies and dip, and crackers and dip. Mom also got fresh apple cider. I bought a GroupOn at Bebecakes Cupcakery in Nampa for two dozen cupcakes. I chose lemon raspberry, which is one of my favorite kids of cake. They were delicious.

I had a very enjoyable 35^th birthday celebrating with my family and friends.

Today we booked massages at Elements where we have a massage package. I got a free hot stone upgrade for my birthday. It was very relaxing and a great way to work the sore muscles I used roller skating yesterday.

I don't have to go back to work quite yet and still have Monday off. I am thinking we might take in a movie tomorrow evening. Should be another low key day.  

Birthday Countdown Complete

Today is my 35^th Birthday. Yahooooo!!!

Birthday Weekend Extravaganza continued last night with a meet-up at Mai Thai with some of my favorite gals. We went to Mai Thai last year and and had so much fun I wanted to go again. Their drink menu is amazing and the small food plates offered during happy hour are really yummy. The only bummer was the service this year wasn't that great.

This is the chandelier at Mai Thai.  Isn't it beautiful

Kate, Danielle (who's birthday was on October 7^th), Natalie, and my sister Jenny all met up for drinks, food, and girl talk.

I had eaten at SouperSalad late in the afternoon so instead of ordering food I went for my 2-for-1 drinks first. I decided to step out of my comfort zone and have a drink off the whiskey and gin menus.

First up was The Reformation: “Leopold Bros' peach whiskey John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum, and fresh-squeezed lemon and orange juices served over crushed ice in a collins glass with a dry red wine float, orange slice, and a cherry.” Oh Wow! This was delicious. Having the dry red wine float made it more like a sangria-type drink and I love anything with orange juice. I really enjoyed this drink.

My second drink was Tiger Blossom: “Hendrick's gin, Pama pomegranate liqueur, St. Germain elderflower cordial, agave nectar, yuzu juice, and English cucumber served up with a cucumber slice.” I love anything that is served in a martini glass. This drink was also a good choice but not as sweet at my first drink. I had though maybe I was order my less sweet drink first but that wasn't the case. I liked my first drink better.

Last time we visited Mai Thai I ordered the pot stickers and Asian chicken lettuce wraps. Natalie ordered the Asian Garden Roll and I thought that looked good so I decided to order that too. Asian Garden Roll: “Think of this as a sushi salad stuffed with spring mix, cucumber, avocado, red bell peppers, radish sprouts, and carrots with a shiso pesto and coconut ginger glaze.” This was a very wise choice and I loved the crunch of the red bell pepper in the middle. I gave Jenny one of my rolls in exchange for one of her chicken pot stickers.

I was holding out that maybe they would deliver some coconut ice cream to the table again as they did last year. Since it was so busy and our service was super slow I ordered one ice cream for the table to share and asked for our checks. Our server came back with the check saying he comped the ice cream for our birthdays and it would be on its way shortly. Yeah! Both Danielle and I got our ice cream served with a sparkler. My favorite part of visiting Mai Thai (well, that and the drinks!).

You can see Jenny was taking a photo too.

Roller skating fun is planned for today followed by an after-party in the park with bakery cupcakes. Mmmmm......