Headache, Round 3? 4?

So I've had this headache off and on for the past month and a half or so.  Sometimes it's nice enough to morph into a pounding migraine even.  I've tried advil, sleeping more, cutting out caffeine, drinking more caffeine, tea, etc.  I'm pretty sure it's just from being forced to spend every waking moment inside, inhaling the heat.  I can't wait for spring.  In the mean time though.... feel free to share any tips on getting rid of headaches!

Today was another one of those mornings where I could barely open my eyes, so I decided to suck it up and call in sick for the day.  Which leaves me at home. Alone.  I told myself I'll try to be productive at least and do some laundry or clean.  That's not happening.  Instead I've spent the last 3 hours playing around with wedding stuff.  That being said, though, I was a little productive!  I ordered all the paper for invites (see right) that we had mocked up at a local paper warehouse.  I know we won't actually start cutting and assembling them for awhile still... it's nice to have another "check" in the wedding planning though!  The color is a little crappy on that photo, because I took it with my phone, but it's a chocolate brown with dark orange and ivory/cream color.

Back to the real stuff though.  I did get up and work out Monday morning, bright and early at 5 am.  I'll be honest, I had to convince myself to get out of bed.  My ankle has been swollen for a few weeks, so Jeremy convinced me to just bike for cardio instead of the treadmill like I prefer.  It was so boring.  I'm going back to the treadmill from now on.  Maybe I'll just try and do a fast jog instead of a walk/run combo.  I think it's the running that's really harming my ankle?  I did not get up to work out this morning, so I might try and make it this afternoon.  Otherwise I'll just suck it up and go Friday morning and once this weekend to make up for it. I am planning on doing my pilates this afternoon too!

Back to Reality

Oh... hello, snow and work and reality.

So tomorrow will start my second week back from vacation.  I'll be honest; I'm really missing the Dominican.  Don't get me wrong. I love the weather we've had this week in Minnesota.  It's been about 40 and sunny all week so just perfect late-winter/early-spring weather.  It's so nice to watch all the snow melt (I can finally see lines in my parking lot again!)  You can tell I'm a born-and-raised Midwesterner when I say I love the 40 degree weather, huh?  :)

Anyway.  Just a few updates.  I joined WW last week with a few of my (older) coworkers, so I'm really excited to get started on all of this.  I think I'm finally over my crazy case of jet lag, too, and my sleep schedule seems more regular again.  I had such a hard time adjusting to the time zone change when I got back, and it was only a 2 hour difference.  Weird.  I think it's just because we woke up so early all of vacation to catch the sunrises and soak up as much sun as possible.  Wish me luck!   I'm also going to really start my "diet" this week too.  Go all in at once, right?

More updates to come as a attempt to stick with this healthy eating/work out schedule!

A Little Slice of Paradise

So what I failed to mention in the last (debut) post is that I'm not at home this week.  I'm actually in the Dominican Republic with my family for a week-long vacation.  My dad, step mom, siblings and I are down here with my grandparents though Saturday and it's amazing.  Right now I'm sitting out on our balcony enjoying some "me" time before everyone else wakes up.  I've caught the end of a sunrise both mornings so far and they've been beautiful.  I love having this time to regenerate myself before the day....

The weather is stunning; my Minnesota winter-parched skin is loving the humidity down here. :)  The waves on the beach are absolutely gorgeous (both in sight and sound.)  The one draw back is diet wise.... all inclusive = difficult to restrain myself.  It's hard to limit how much you eat when everything available is laid out in front of you, for "free."  The good side to being down here is it's all pretty healthy I think.  Sure, there are fries and ice cream and cake.  But those are pretty obvious things to avoid.  There is also quite a bit of fresh-picked delicious fruit and the rest of the options do seem pretty healthy.  Lots of fish and grilled chicken. YUM.

Anyway, I think my family is finally starting to wake up so I'll go see if I can find someone to walk over to breakfast with me.  Happy Monday!

~Steph

Let's Get Started!

So I don't really know if anyone will actually follow this, but that's ok.  I really just want a place to store my thoughts and keep track of my attempt to get in better shape before my fall, 2010 wedding.  Maybe if I make this journey "public" information, I'll hold myself more accountable!  Wish me luck along the way and please let me know if you're following this. :)

So my goal is to lose about 40 pounds by November.  That puts me at about 1-1.5 pounds/week.  I think I can do that, but I know I need to hold myself accountable somehow, so here we are.  It's not just to lose weight so I look better in a pretty white dress though.  I really want to teach myself a new lifestyle.  I want to eat healthier so I feel healthier.  I think I'll use this outlet as a reason to explore some new recipes as well.  I love cooking and I love trying to new things (the fiance should be credited for that; I used to be such a picky eater until I met him!) 

Anyway, stay tuned for more!