The Shred-Day 4 and a little yoga with that

Can’t believe another Friday has come and almost gone……

I am happy that the local forecast calls for low to mid 90′s starting today through next week.  The weather has been a lot cooler lately and I was fearing that fall was making its arrival already.  So, I get to enjoy hot weather for at least another week or so.

I did do The Shred today (day 4).  It’s difficult but I feel like I really got a workout even though the workout itself (level one) is only 22 minutes long plus a warm-up and cool down.  I know it says a 20 minute workout, but I timed it and it’s more like 22 minutes not including warm-up/cool down.

I’m working out my push-up issues.  I’m still doing them “girly” style (using my knees) but the form is better and I can feel I’m getting a little better at them.  Hopefully by the end of the 30 days I can at least do a couple of military style push-ups (regular ones).

While I still had my exercise “high” I decided to pop in another dvd before it faded away.

amazon.com

Yes, Ali McGraw-Yoga Mind & Body.  I haven’t done this dvd for a long long time.  I have done yoga poses recently but not a 45 minute routine.  And, as I realized……there is a huge difference!!  It was harder than I remember, but then again I was in better shape last time I attempted it.  Although I had a hard time doing a couple of things, I did finish it and that makes me happy.  My body feels better and I know that I will definitely be doing this routine again….and on a more regular basis.

So, I weighed myself this morning.  I wasn’t going to but thought, why not??  Let’s find out where I’m at for the week.  Well, so far I’ve lost 2 lbs this week.  I was surprised and very very very very happy!!!!  Can you tell I’m happy??!! lol

As for what I’ve eaten today:

breakfast: 2 Pop Tart pastries (woke up late) and Venti sugar-free Cinnamon Dolce Latte

lunch: whole grain spaghetti w/ grated parmesan cheese

dinner: 1 turkey burger (2.25 oz), 1 cup grilled eggplant/squash, whole grain spaghetti w/parmesan cheese

dessert: 1 cup Breyer’s Snickers ice cream (yes, I caved)

I am no longer ravenous and only eat when I’m actually feeling hungry.  I’m trying to keep myself very busy so I don’t start grazing–that’s where the problems start!

As for water I have been SO thirsty today.  I drank 4 cups by this afternoon, which is like the old me!!  I have gotten to my 8 cup goal and hopefully I’ll get in another cup before bedtime. Now THIS makes me so very happy!!

Finished reading The Carrie Diaries.  I’ll post a review tomorrow.  I’ll give you a hint……it’s mostly positive.

I started reading another book today….Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin.  So far I like it.  Although I’m only through Chapter 2, a lot has happened and I am already hooked.  It was hard to put it down but I really had a lot to do today.  So, can’t wait to read a little more tonight.  I know I’ll be done with it by tomorrow.  Then I’ll start Something Blue…..yes, I have both books.  I checked them out of the library.  I was on a wait list for both, as well as The Carrie Diaries.  I’m reading them before all of the other books because I know I won’t be able to renew them if I can’t get through them by their due date.

Actually checking books out of the library, rather than buying them, has been a good thing for me (especially when I’ve gotten them after being wait listed) since I know there’s a deadline and if I can’t finish by that date……too damn bad for me!!  I have tons of books all over my house that I’ve purchased over the years waiting and begging to be read.  But since I own them, I know I’ll eventually get around to them……or will I???

Well, the San Francisco Giants baseball game just ended….they lost to the San Diego Padres and I am exhausted!  I really hate Friday night TV because there is nothing on except Say Yes To The Dress on A&E.  So, that’s what I’m going to watch until bedtime.  And, maybe do a little reading….

And, of course, the movie I have been waiting for has finally opened:

I will definitely be seeing it this weekend….probably tomorrow.  And, in the meantime, Oprah is re-airing the Eat Pray Love show with Julia Roberts today.  Well, I missed it this afternoon, but it’s on again in about 20 minutes on a local Sacramento channel and then again at 1:00 am on ABC.  Yes, I already saw it……but I just have to see it again before I go see the movie!!

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

Thursday Reality TV and The Shred day 3

I’m sitting here blogging while watching Project Runway. My cousin got me started (aka addicted) to this show 2 summers ago.

Today has been pretty uneventful except for paying some bills.  Yeah, I know, exciting, right?!  Sorry about that.  I’m hoping that things will pick up soon, but until then……..

There is no baseball for me tonight….the San Francisco Giants played a day game.  Thank goodness because there is just too much on TV on Thursdays.  And, yes, they won!! But barely…..they are in contention to be in the playoffs but they just barely beat the Chicago Cubs, a team who is over 16 games behind.

I watched about an hour of the Oakland Raiders pre-season game.  I never, and I mean never, watch pre-season anything, but there was nothing on and I was just making dinner, so…..

Started my night watching Big Brother.  It is my secret (well not so much so anymore!) summer guilty pleasure.  I am so happy that Rachel is gone.  But at the same time the 2 women left are ridiculous and don’t deserve to be there (especially Kathy).  I think this will be a guys year on this show.  Brendon is a moron and a wuss whom I lost ALL respect for with his whimpering girly talk the past few days.  How embarrassing and unmanly!  I don’t care about his looks if he’s gonna go all girly-man on me.  Geez, get a grip guy!!  Who will be the next to go??  Hopefully Ragan, Britney or Kathy.  I dislike all 3 of them.  And this whole Saboteur is bleh, in my opinion.

SYTYCD finale is on tonight.  C’mon FOX enough with the 2 hour finales!  Just tell me who won and move on.  So, I watched part of the first hour and moved on.  I’m sure I’ll read about it later.  All 3 of the finalists were excellent.  I will be happy whichever one wins it.

At 10pm Bethenny Getting Married? Outtakes will be on and I will watch that and the last half hour of Project Runway.  Then I will watch the re-air of Real Housewives of DC.  So, what does everyone think of this newest franchise of the Real Housewives?  I actually don’t like it–bordering on hating it.  Actually it’s the ladies I can’t stand–starting with Michaele and almost tied at the top with her is Stacie and Lynda (she’s a rude, arrogant snob!).  Followed a little farther behind is Catherine (Cat).  Honestly, the ONLY housewife I like is Mary!!  Wish the show could be about just her and her family! haha  I will give this show a chance, but so far I’m not sold on it.

So, what did everyone think about Kenny being the one to go home this week on Top Chef??  I am shocked!!  Amanda should have been the one to go home.  She actually should have gone home a while back.  What the hell??  I am not liking most of the contestants this year.  Kenny was my favorite since the first episode.  So, my new fave is Kevin……and, grudgingly, perhaps Angelo.  But it really kills me to say that because he’s so arrogant.  But that’s a chef for you!!

I got up this morning and exercised–The Shred Day 3.  I felt great afterward and can’t understand why I keep taking time off from exercising because I always feel so good when I’m done.

As for what I ate today:

breakfast: shredded wheat and 1% milk with a whole wheat english muffin and 2 pats of butter

snack: Venti sugar-free Cinnamon Dolce Latte

lunch: tuna sandwich on rye bread.  and grilled eggplant and crookneck squash with a diet Snapple (Trop-i-Rocka–thanks again, Bret Michaels)

dinner: 1 turkey burger (2.25 oz), grilled eggplant and squash, and whole grain pasta w/ fresh grated Parmesan Cheese.

Yesterday I only ended up drinking 1 cup of that 2 cups of water at the end of the night….so I was a little short of my goal.  For today I’ve had had 7 cups of water, so I think it’s safe to say I’ll meet my 8 cups today!! (fingers crossed).

Well, that’s it for now.  It’s almost TGIF….

San Francisco Giants, Reality TV & Me

Let me start by saying that I am so happy that the San Francisco Giants won tonight.  I was worried because they almost lost to the Chicago Cubs!!  But, luckily, the Giants prevailed and I am a happy girl.

Just finished watching Top Chef.  It’s the Restaurant Wars episode.  It was hard to watch and I was NOT happy at the outcome.  My favorite contestant this season–Kenny– went home tonight  and that makes me mad.  There are 3-4 what I call “floaters” left in this competition (and he wasn’t one of them).  You know,  people who are not “executive chef” material, more like sous chefs.  This season’s contestants are totally sub-par compared to last season.  Last year I wanted Kevin to win.  But, I think Tom Colicchio wanted one of the Voltaggio brothers to win and he always gets what he wants.  I’m not such a huge fan of Tom C.  I think he’s totally over-rated.  But that’s just my opinion.

Anywho, I am now watching the season finale of Work of Art.  I wasn’t sure that I was going to like this series but I have really come to enjoy it.  I have always loved art and wished I were blessed with artistic talent.  There are many artistic people in our family, maybe it’s just a matter of my not working hard enough to figure out what my talent might be?! Hmmm, something to think about!!

Even though the judges have exacerbated me sometimes this season, I think they got the right three people in the finale.  My favorites this season from the start have been Abdi and Peregrine.  Miles is talented, but a tad over-rated, in my opinion.  He takes the “tortured artist” thing to the extreme.  I don’t have a lot of tolerance for those types of people.

On to what I ate today:

breakfast: Herb and Gorgonzola Frittata and 1 whole wheat english muffin with 2 pats of butter

lunch: Venti sugar-free Cinnamon Dolce Latte

snack: bowl of watermelon (it was soooo yummy!!)

dinner: 2 turkey burgers (about 5.34 oz total), grilled crookneck squash & eggplant, and a dinner salad w/balsamic vinegar & EVOO

dessert: chocolate milk (12 oz 1% milk and 2 Tbsp Nestles Quik) I ended up not having this…too busy blogging and watching my shows.

So far I have had 6 cups of water today.  I will have 2 more before I go to bed tonight, for a total of 8 cups.  Yay—finally!!

I didn’t exercise today, but I did do a p.m. yoga routine.  My body is really tight and I’m having a hard time just doing regular everyday things due to my inflexibility.  And, even though I haven’t been running one of my ankles seems to be a little on the swollen side.  It doesn’t hurt at all and I am walking fine.  Actually I would have never known if I hadn’t been looking.   It concerns me a lot because I know I will want to start running again soon so I need to figure it out now.  I am hoping doing the yoga and becoming more flexible and pliable again will do the trick.  We shall see…..

That’s it for now.  Can’t believe it’s Hump Day Wednesday.  Hope everyone is having a great day.   Just think, the weekend is just around the corner!

Baseball, Reality TV & Tuesday’s meals

I’m sitting here watching my San Francisco Giants lose to the Chicago Cubs 6-2 top of the 5th inning.  Our ace pitcher, Tim Lincecum has been horrible tonight.  The worst I think I’ve ever seen him pitch.  Luckily there are other things to watch to take my mind off this terrible game!!

Right now I’m also watching the season finale of Hell’s Kitchen.  Who else watches this show?  I hope Jay wins, only because I didn’t think Holly was all that great.  This seasons group, in my opinion, is probably the weakest I’ve seen.  I wasn’t overly enthused about any of the contestants.  Especially since they’ll be taking over as executive chef of the world famous Savoy in London England!!  I’ve watched this show since the very first season it was on as I’m a big fan of Gordon Ramsey.  I was planning on watching his new show Master Chef’s, but there were too many things on TV and I never got the chance to watch.  Maybe I’ll check OnDemand to see if I can watch the past shows and catch up?!

Tonight is the season premiere of Flipping Out.   It’s the 4th season, I believe.  I only started watching this show last year when I was working in Colorado Springs, CO and instantly fell in love!  I think Jeff Lewis is great and I’ve been able to see most of the previous seasons episodes thanks to reruns by Bravo.  Actually, Bravo had a marathon today of last season’s Flipping Out and the finale is on right now.  I’m watching it as well as the Giants game as well as Hell’s Kitchen finale.

The Rachel Zoe Project started last week and I was so excited!!  Because of this show I’ve gotten my “fashion mojo” back.  Also, for the first time–because of Rachel Zoe– I have a new-found love for jewelry, especially vintage.  Thank you Rachel!!   And, my mom thanks you! lol

I’m actually happy that Taylor is no longer with the company.  She was so incredibly negative and no fun.  I would have hated to work with her!!  She is definitely a “Debbie Downer”.  Brad has really grown on me and does an excellent job.  I can’t wait to see how the new girl does.  Thank goodness Rachel has her husband, Rodger, to take care of things.  I really am a big fan of Rodger’s!!

Also, Cupcake Wars is on tonight on Food Network.  Lately a ton of cupcake shows have come out, but I really love this competitive show.  And, really, who doesn’t love cupcakes?!

I didn’t exercise today—I’m going to blame it on Flipping Out marathon on Bravo! haha  But I am going to do a yoga routine after this blog while I am watching my shows.  My body is feeling a little tight.

Today this is what I’ve eaten:

Breakfast: Herb & Gorgonzola Cheese Frittata and 2 slices of Russian Rye toast w/2 pats of butter

Lunch: Tuna Sandwich on Russian Rye w/horseradish & mustard

Dinner: Whole Wheat Spaghetti w/ fresh grated Parmesan Cheese and grilled eggplant & crookneck squash

Dessert: 2 scoops Baskin Robbins ice cream: 1 scoop Snickers and 1 scoop Rocky Road

Still haven’t had enough water.  As of right now, I’ve had 5 cups of water.  Hoping by the time I go to bed I will drink 3 more cups to equal 8.  Fingers crossed!!

Day 2 of 30 Day Shred

First off, I will admit that I took the weekend off from exercise and watching what I ate.  But I’m over it now, felt a little guilty and have started fresh this Monday.

I actually woke up this morning and did The Shred.  Yes, it’s shocking since I truly dislike getting up and exercising in the a.m.  My body hurt and I was still partly asleep when I did the routine.  But, I am happy to say, that I did complete it and my body didn’t hurt afterward.  It actually felt better.

The push-ups still suck, but I’ll eventually get over it and master them!!  Well, that’s my plan anyway.  My knee’s hurt at the beginning of the routine when I had to do the jumping jacks (both in the warm-up and in the 1st part of the workout).  But, by the end of the routine (the last circuit of cardio) when I had to do the jumping jacks again, my knee’s were fine.

I don’t know why, but I am not really wanting to run so much at this time.  I did the same thing at around the same time last year.  I don’t know what it is about this time of year, but running doesn’t interest me.  But I know it’s only temporary so I’m just going with it and doing what I feel like doing.  So, right now I will concentrate on Jillian Michael’s 30-Day Shred and getting back into a regular yoga practice.  Then I will add things when I feel up to it.

Today I’ve eaten only when hungry:

breakfast: Shredded Wheat with 1% milk

lunch: Venti sugar-free Cinnamon Dolce Latte (actually this was going to be a snack, but I was full after I drank it–around lunchtime–and am now only getting hungry again!)

***I haven’t eaten dinner yet. Below is what I’ll be eating***

dinner: Turkey meatloaf, Summer Squash, and dinner salad.

dessert: watermelon (yummy!!) and maybe an It’s It ice cream sandwich during the SFGiants game?!

I haven’t decided on the It’s It, yet.  Depends on whether I finish my To Do List for today.

I still need to drink more water.  I think that’s why I’ve been getting headaches and haven’t really felt well.  I’m dehydrated, yet again.

Sleeping hasn’t been an issue, although I have had 1 night of insomnia recently.  Overall, I’ve been getting 6-7 hours of sleep a night with a couple of 8 hours thrown in.  And that’s straight through the night, which is awesome for me!!

Well, off to work on my patio and get dinner ready.  Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and a Happy Monday!!

Back to The 30-Day Shred: Day 1/Level 1

Yes, you read that right, I am starting all over again–yet again!  I’m going to do Jillian Michael’s 30-Day Shred.  But, hopefully this time, I will do all 30 days!

Well, of course I am starting on level one again.  It’s been quite a while since I’ve done this workout, and to be honest, it’s been quite a while since I’ve exercised in general!!

I was a little nervous to start this workout again.  My body has been tight since it’s been on hiatus so I figured I would have a horrendous first workout.  Luckily, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.

I, for the most part, kept up with the cardio–MUCH better than the first time around!  The strength part was good, but I did lower the weight amount and it definitely helped…in a positive way.  The push-ups were still a struggle but I will improve.  My goal is to be able to do a “regular” push-up instead of the “girlie” push-up (using my knee’s).

What spurred me on to finally come back to exercise?  Well, it could be:

1) the fact that my body is so tight that it’s hard to do anything, or

2) my kinda crappy mood lately, or

3) my utter lack of energy…which isn’t like me, usually I have a lot of energy!

OR

4) the fact that I gained back ALL, yes I said all, of the weight I had lost.  I am sad to report I now weigh 174 lbs.  The most I’ve ever weighed is actually 175 lbs.  I’m both embarrassed and saddened by this fact.  OR

5)  I really missed working out

Honestly, it’s all 5 of the above!!  Yes, it’s true.  I bitch and moan, but in reality I always feel better after working out.  And, it also makes me want to improve my eating so I don’t negate the workouts.  My mood has already improved dramatically today.

As for my eating, the past month I have not been eating well.  I went on a– well I can’t really call it a frenzy or a binge– but I really did eat so much more than I normally ever do.  The worst part was that I never felt full.  But whatever it was is over and I am back to eating normally so I have a fridge full of fruits and veggies, turkey meat, and overall healthier choices.

Today so far I’ve had to eat:

breakfast: Shredded Wheat, strawberries, & 1% milk

lunch: Venti sugar-free Cinnamon Dolce Latte (On a side note, I have cut back on these.  I no longer have them every day, but only 2-3 times a week).  My goal is to only have them 1-2 times a week.

Snack: 1 Wasa cracker, 2 Tbsp peanut butter (skippy), 1 tsp apricot jam

for Dinner tonight I plan on having a  turkey burger on rye bread w/mustard and horseradish (just a little of both to wet the bread) turkey meatloaf (well, one slice anyway!), sauteed squash (zucchini, crookneck, pattypan) and a salad w/olive oil & balsamic vinegar dressing.  Then, for Dessert I plan on having watermelon w/ 1/2 cup Ben & Jerry’s Fro-Yo Cherry Garcia.

I tried Ben & Jerry’s Fro-Yo Chocolate Fudge Brownie recently and although it’s a little icier (lighter) than the regular ice cream, I fell in love.  Even better, the calorie’s and fat grams are less.  I don’t feel deprived at all.  Don’t worry, Ben & Jerry’s won’t be an every day thing, just a treat once or twice a week.  I just bought the Cherry Garcia today so I thought I’d try it out.

As usual, I still need to work on my water intake.  I’m nowhere near 8 cups for the day and the headache I’ve had all day is a testament to my dehydration.  Why is this such a problem for me??? Ugh……but, like the push-ups, I will conquer it!!

Wishing everyone a great weekend!!

Eat.Water.Sleep.Exercise.

I didn’t get a chance to do it last night, so I am posting my food/water/sleep/exercise from yesterday:

EAT:

breakfast: 1/2 cup Shredded Wheat, 1/2 cup 1% milk, 1/2 cup bluberries

snack: Fuji apple, 2 Tbsp peanut butter

lunch: Venti sugar-free Cinnamon Dolce Latte, Asiago cheese bagel w/2 pats butter

snack: skipped

dinner: 3 oz whole grain spaghetti, 1/8 cup Parmesan Cheese, 1/2 cup Summer Squash Medley

dessert: 1 chocolate cupcake

Total calories:  1,605

WATER:

Yesterday I drank 7 cups of water…..oh, so close!!

SLEEP:

Last night I slept 5 hours (from about 1:30 am to 6:30am).   At least it was straight through and I wasn’t exhausted when I woke up this morning!!

EXERCISE:

I didn’t do any exercise yesterday.  I was tired most of the day and had a ton of errands to do.  The tiredness would probably be because I only slept for about 4 1/4 hrs.  So, then, why do I have energy today??  I got right up and ate breakfast and started doing housework.  I’m just going to go with it and not ask questions……

Back to the beginning

Okay, so I’ve slacked on just about everything lately!!  It’s now time to get back on track, yet again.  I can’t believe we are already into July!?  This year is just flying by isn’t it?  And, I’m back where I started from…….

I have slacked on my exercise and gorged over this holiday weekend.  I am tired of going down this road and need to get it right once and for all.  Besides overeating over this weekend and not really exercising much lately, I still am not drinking enough water and definitely not sleeping more than 4-5 hrs at a time.  I do believe that if I can conquer those 4 things: eating, drinking enough water, exercising, and sleeping enough–I will be successful.

My mistake has been trying to focus on, and fix, everything at once. Now I will try something different.  I am going to set my menu’s and exercise schedules and follow them.  I don’t feel these are my biggest problems. My biggest problems are lack of sleep and not drinking enough water.

I think I’ve said in previous posts that I get insomnia every couple of years and it wreaks havoc for a few months before finally disappearing.  I’m in the midst of it at this time and need to find steps (non-medicine) to get myself to sleep at least 7 hours each night.  I wake up every day still exhausted and it takes me forever to get up the energy to get myself ready.

Each morning I get up I tell myself that this is the day I will finally get to 8 glasses of water.  The closest I got was on this past Monday when I actually drank 7 cups of water!  So, let’s see if I can surpass that today?!?! 

Oh, and I didn’t yet mention that over the holiday weekend, I managed to gain 5 lbs.  How does one do that?  Honestly, I ate a lot of crap……..and I mean A LOT of CRAP!!

I hate doing this alone, but I am realistic in my knowledge that I won’t get help from family and friends.  This is a sad truth I keep hoping will change, but I know won’t.  So, I will be my own motivator.  How I will do this, I’m not quite sure at this time.  I am going to take it one step (and day) at a time.  That’s the best I can do for now.

Tuesday Wrap-Up, RealityTV, & a Book Review

I haven’t been very good at logging my food & everything else this week so far.  Today I haven’t written anything down but it’s pretty easy so here goes:

Sleep:

Last night I slept a total of 7 1/2 hrs, which is a lot for me lately!!  Too bad it wasn’t all at once.  I slept for 6 hrs, was awake for about 45 min’s and then slept again for 1 1/2 hrs.  At least I got over 7 hrs of sleep!  If it’s going to take baby steps to get back on track, then I’ll take it!

Eating:

Breakfast:  1/2 cup Shredded Wheat, 1/2 cup 1% milk, 1/2 cup blueberries

Snack:  Venti sugar-free Cinnamon Dolce Latte

Lunch:  1 cup of watermelon, 1 Klondike bar (I know, not good–but I wasn’t really that hungry and ice cream sounded soooo good!)

Snack:  2 Wasa crackers, 1 wedge Laughing Cow cheese

Dinner:  Herb & Gorgonzola Frittata, 1 bottle of Snapple diet Trop-A-Rocka

Dessert:  It’s It (another ice cream sandwich…what can I say??)

Water:

So far I’ve had 4 cups of water and I’m still drinking…..I’m hoping to get to 7-8 cups by bedtime

Exercise:

**crickets**

I only ran once last week but it was a good workout.  The heat has been so bad the past couple of days (Sunday and Monday were both over 100*F.  Today was in the high 90′s.  I really need to start getting up early in the morning to workout otherwise I won’t do it since it’s so hot.  Let’s see what happens tomorrow morning….I really need some motivation!!

As for Tuesday night TV, I am watching the San Francisco Giants get beat by the LA Dodgers.  I’m so NOT happy right now…..I had to change the channel to Hell’s Kitchen.  I watched part of Losing It With Jillian.  Later on I’ll be watching The Hills, The City and Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D List.

Last night I watched Real Housewives of NJ.  What is up with Danielle?  She is the craziest person on TV (well, she’s tied with Kelly from Real Housewives of NY).  But the difference between Danielle and Kelly, I think, is that Kelly is crazy cuckoo and needs to go see a psychiatrist but I don’t think she’s dangerous; whereas Danielle is off-her-rocker, she’s-gonna-snap-at-any-moment, scary crazy.

Both Kelly and Danielle live in their own little worlds, which don’t even come close to reality…..but Danielle is the one I think I would be afraid to be anywhere near at any time!!  Neither one should be on a reality show or anywhere on TV or the public eye.  Hopefully Bravo does what’s best for those two and let’s them out of their contract so they can get the help they desperately need!!

I have been trying to watch The Bachelorette this season since Ali is from the Bay Area.  I’ve never seen this show before this season, but to be honest, I cannot believe people watch it.  Has anyone on the show that matched up ever actually marry each other?? And if so, how many?? It HAS to be a very low number.

This seasons bachelorette, Ali, is a little dim, I think.  She’s very cute and all, but not so bright.  And, as for the guys, I am so NOT impressed!!  I have honestly found this show to be one of the most boring reality shows that I’ve ever seen!!  I’ll see it through to the end, but this is one girl who will not waste another Monday night watching this sham of a show!!  And, I can’t imagine watching the Bachelor where it’s a house full of women.  That would have to be the biggest catfight every single week.  I don’t think I could take it!! haha

I finished reading Lipstick Jungle this weekend.  It started off really slow and took a while for me to warm up to it.  The warm up, however, was lukewarm at best!!  Ms Bushnell has managed to have her characters appear in 3 books:  Four Blondes, Trading Up (which I’m still trying to read) and Lipstick Jungle.  What’s the matter, couldn’t she come up with any original characters??

If the characters were really interesting, then it would be okay.  However, they were cliched Hollywood or wealthy types and I was very disappointed to see them rehashed!!

After reading 3 Candace Bushnell books (Sex & The City, Four Blondes, & Lipstick Jungle), I find her writing sub-par and amateurish at best.  I’m so disappointed considering all of the hype around her and the fact that I am a HUGE Sex & The City TV show and movie fan.  But then, she didn’t write any of those, now, did she??  Thank goodness for that!!

After I finish reading Trading Up (so far just as boring as the others with forgettable characters) I will read The Carrie Diaries.  Luckily I didn’t buy any of these books, but  checked them out of the library.  I’m on a long list for the Carrie Diaries at the local library and it should be my turn in about a month or so…..

I started reading The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella last night.  It’s okay so far but at least it’s more entertaining than what I’ve been reading!!

Day 2: Eat.Sleep.Exercise.Water

These are my totals for the day:

Sleep:

I slept 7 hours last night but not straight through.  I fell asleep around 1am and woke up around 6:40am.  Fell back to sleep around 7am and woke up at 8:15.

Eat:

Breakfast: 1/2 cup Shredded Wheat, 1/2 cup 1% milk, 1/2 cup blueberries

Snack: Venti sugar-free Cinnamon Dolce Latte no whip (2% milk)

Lunch: 3 oz whole grain pasta, 1/8 cup Parmesan cheese, 2 slices watermelon

Snack: 1 small Fuji apple, 1 Tbsp peanut butter

Dinner: 1 Turkey burger (no bread or condiments), 1 cup summer squash medley, 3 oz whole grain pasta and 1/8 cup Parmesan cheese

Dessert: 1 cup watermelon

Nutritional Value: 1,681 total calories, 43.25 fat, 293.5 mg cholesterol, 683 mg sodium, 177.5 g carbohydrates, 35 g sugars, 22 g dietary fiber, 73 g protein

Exercise: I ran 22 minutes/walked 22 minutes = 44 minutes and total distance was 3 miles

Water: As of right now I’ve had 6 cups of water and will drink at least 2 more before I go to bed in an hour or so.  So, my goal is 9 cups, but I will probably get to 8 cups.