Last day of the summer job...complete

Well, today was the day. My last day of work for the summer, thank the lord above.  It has definitely been an interesting experience this summer working in a completely different field then I ever thought I would be interested in. As an elementary education major I spend most of my days in the classroom, with the hustle and bustle of little feet, reciting the alphabet and letter sounds, and counting to 100 forwards and backwards.  This summer was quite the change though; I worked in sales for a granite countertop company and gained a whole new set of life lessons.

Some of which include:

No good deed goes unpunished.

Patience is the key to success.

The customer is always right, no matter what.

 I struggled at times with the way the company was run, but I learned so much about myself and how I choose to go about business and my morals.  I believe that the customer is always in the right even if it isn’t your fault, you take the blame and move forward.

Stay calm in the tensest of situations.

A “brother” is the best support you will ever have. 

As an only child I never had the chance to grow up with a big brother, this summer I gained twelve.  I became the little sister to some of the most amazing men I have ever met.  They have had such unique lives and I was blessed to have them in my life.  I am eagerly awaiting them to come and visit me/take me dancing.  J

A smile occasionally means more than a million words.

Language only scratches the surface of communication.

 All of the people I worked with spoke only Spanish…I took twelve years of Spanish though middle school to college and the first few weeks I understood NONE of what they were trying to say to me…the more comfortable I got with them over the last three months the more our Spanish conversations turned into meaningful conversations. 

I have no idea what I am going to do without my wonderful brothers; they mean so much to me. 

I will miss the days that I hurried out of the office right at 5 to change and get on the road to meet Bails and Katie for a bike ride or a run and the guys would with me the best of luck and suggest the fastest, newest raggeton songs to add to my playlist. 

            As I ran my three miles tonight and cranked my favorite songs I couldn’t help but think about the guys and how much they have changed me.  Today we celebrated my departure with homemade tamales and a cake, yes, I indulged in a piece of cake as my reward for the day.  Although my time at granite was not so bright and shiny every day, it changed me and I learned so much, it has definitely shaped me into a better person.

Only a few more days...

This morning boot camp was rough without Bails, but she is doing a 30 day cleanse and has been super sore so she couldn't make it this morning :( 

Today was cardio day, my two least favorite words of the week in regards to boot camp...it was good though because we did stair intervals and a cardio circuit, definitely kicked my butt.

Here is a little inspiration for all of the times you really don't think you can make it up that last flight of stairs or though those last 20 seconds of an interval.

These last couple of days have been a major challenge for me food wise.  I have been super stressed at work and have been resorting to chocolate to de-stress...not a good idea.  My goal for the next couple of days is to limit it to one piece and chew gum, drink tea, or reflect on why I want the chocolate instead of just reaching my hand into the candy jar at work.  I have to keep reminding myself that I only have two more days a mere 11 working hours left until I am officially done, FINALLY!
I cannot wait to be back at school and get into a regular workout, eating, and sleeping schedule oh yeah and have this thing called free time back.  Lately I have been so tired...I am exhausted all the time.  I am also so excited to see the new people I can meet and spend time working out with to stay on track.

Can't wait to see what the next few weeks have in store :)

Until tomorrow,

C

6:00

When you wake up and look at your alarm and you see it flashing 6:00 and boot camp starts at 5:30, I don't think panic is the correct word.  I FLIPPED OUT!  I was so disappointed with myself that I slept through my alarm and let Bailey down, like she said in her blog we are definitely "partners in crime".  Missing boot camp added some stress to my Monday, but it is something I tried to take in stride.  I'll admit I freaked out a bit, then decided to spend my next 45 minutes on a walk with my mom and our dog Croix.  He's still a puppy so it's always an adventure.

Today my lesson, well words of advice would be to take things in stride.  We are human, we all make mistakes and miss things it happens, it's part of life.  As people who are working to achieve a life changing goal, we need to make the most of every opportunity in order to become the best we can be. 

Stressful week means some not so healthy choices

As you can probably tell, I have been a little busy this week with a lot of events after work so I haven't blogged in almost a week, what the heck?  Where is the time going? 

Here is a little re-cap of the last week:

Tuesday night dinner with high school friends
I was quite surprised, but this dinner was pretty easy to keep semi-healthy because Bailey and Katie were there eating healthy too! I had a big mixed green salad with chicken, avocado, and a bit of bacon...can I get a YUM?

Wednesday
Last Gateway Trail Bike Ride with Katie and Bailey


Thursday
Dinner and shopping with Katie and Courtney,  it was so hard to say goodbye to these lovely ladies as Katie began her vacation and Courtney is getting ready to head back to campus.  This summer I have gotten so close to these ladies, it is hard seeing them go. 

This night was also a fairly easy night to eat out, I ordered a wild rice stuffed chicken breast and a side Caesar salad...DELICIOUS, I split the portion and had it for lunch the next day too, so easy.

Friday

After a long day of work I went over to my cousins house and we went wakeboarding and had a great dinner of teriyaki chicken kabobs and a super yummy apple and brie cheese dessert.

Saturday

Another picked up shift at work meant fighting extra Saturday traffic, but I ended the day with some much needed grocery shopping. 

Sunday

Today was also a crazy day.  My mom and I ran a bunch of errands getting everything I need to go back to school.  Tonight we went up to my grandparents for dinner, my grandma is an amazing cook and much to my demise her specialty is dessert.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, stressed is desserts spelled backwards....so I indulged in 3 cookies...she makes the best oatmeal raisin cookies this side of the sun.  After my indulgence I needed to hit the pavement for a much needed run, after two days of rest it felt really good to run it out, a nice three miles felt great.

Tomorrow is back to reality, my last week at work means that I really need to buckle down and pay attention to what I am putting into my body.  Last week was a struggle since many of my meals were eaten out...this week cannot be like that...especially with the sweets...last week was not a good week for my weigh in either.  It is so crazy how your body responds to stress, sleeping patterns, and what you are eating.  This week I really need to focus on getting back into the swing of things and finishing the summer strong.  I have worked way to hard to let these last couple of weeks get the best of me.

Stairs...we have a love hate relationship

Stairs...I used to hate them, they'd hurt my knees and my legs would be like noodles when I got to the top, then once I started boot camp I began to enjoy our workouts along the few sets of stairs in Stillwater.  Today's boot camp workout was PURE HELL...I am pretty sure it was the hardest workout of my life.  We did some army crawling up a hill, jogging laps, high knees, and of course the fricken stairs.  We did five sprint sets up the stairs, three sets of every stair, and two sets of every other step.  By the end of each set I felt like I could either die or cry.  Sara, my trainer, was shouting out times from the top of the stairs each set and we were supposed to beat the time every set...I didn't beat my time for a single set.  By the second set I was on the verge of tears, simply because I was not achieving my goal.  Sara really helped me clear my head and focus on what I was accomplishing by simply running up those stairs.  I was one stair closer to fitting into a new jean size, I was one stair closer to going back to college and my friends, I was one stair closer to THE NEW ME! So although I didn't break my time record every flight of stairs my heavy breathing and the waterfall of sweat coming from my head told me that I was working past my limit. 

http://stillwater.patch.com/groups/sara-jespersens-blog/p/bp--stillwater-stairs-the-lovehate-relationship

To top it off even more I got an e-mail from Sara later this morning and she wrote:
"Girl you totally killed it today! Seriously I saw you literally push past your Limits - so awesome"

It is the little things that are going to change your weight loss journey the most, breaking barriers and pushing your limits may be one of the most important things.

My challenge for you tomorrow is to workout for 1 hour harder then you ever thought possible, even if it is cutting :10 seconds off of your mile or switching the 8 pound dumbbell for a 10.  Make the change to see the change, YOU are in control of your workout, no one else.

Eat good, look good

Yesterday was such a great day, I got to spend the day shopping for new dorm accessories at Ikea with my roommate and both of our moms.  It was such a fun day.  We got a bunch of new throw pillows, rugs, an end table, and a bunch of photo frames.  After shopping til we were almost dropping we made a pit stop for some lunch.  Like I have mentioned before eating out is very difficult, but I have definitely been working on trying to balance what I eat no matter where I am.  So for example yesterday in the food court I ate a side of fresh vegetables, broth based soup, and 5 meatballs without sauce. 
We all know that eating healthy isn't easy, but it is something that we need to work on each and everyday.  It is not about making huge changes, but changes that you will be able to MAINTAIN for a long period of time.

So after our wonderful shopping spree we hit up the mall.  My mom and I went to Nordstrom's and they had a bunch of fun workout clothes with fun, inspirational quotes on them.  I love workout clothes that make you feel cute when you are sweating your butt off. 

 

I have learned to love buying new workout clothes, it has become such a change, but these are the clothes that make me feel the cutest. 

My advice to you is to eat balanced meals no matter where you are and buy a new outfit to sweat it out in :)

Until tomorrow :) C

I DID IT!

Today was a crazy important day for my weight loss journey.  I reached one of my goals to complete a 5k run.  I KILLED IT.  I cannot believe that I not only finished the race in under 45 minutes (my goal time),  I made it in 38 minutes!  It is hard to believe that a short six weeks ago I could barely run a mile and today I ran the entire race.  This journey has been such an experience, although extremely challenging at times it has brought out the best in me and the people I surround myself with.  At the beginning of the summer, my parents were a bit weary of my goals for losing weight this summer, so it meant a ton to have them and my grandparents cheering me on at the finish line.

 

 

The charity I ran for is called the Halos of Hudson, a wonderful charity that aids families who have lost children.  This is a cause near and dear to my heart because I work with kids every day and I couldn't image losing any one of them.  It was extremely inspirational to see the families who have lost children banding together and walking in support of their angels.  Please see the link below to learn more about this amazing charity.

http://halosofhudson.org/

I know I didn't blog the last couple of days, but I had a good reason I promise.  I was on my last run Thursday a nice easy four miles...said no one ever and yesterday I went berry picking with my family to make a yummy healthy dessert.  Since dessert is by far my favorite meal of the day I have had to become creative in the sweets that I eat.  THANK GOODNESS FOR WHIPPED CREAM.  The greatest invention of all time to sweeten up any "good for you dessert".  The health benefits of blackberries are amazing and I know that I can tell a big difference in how I feel. 
Here is a link to some more information on blackberries:
http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/8-health-benefits-of-blackberries.html

After eating healthy for the last eight weeks, I have learned that sometimes you just need a REAL treat.  So today after running this morning, taking a nice nap, and relaxing for a bit.  My family decided to go out for dinner, something I used to love doing, but now absolutely despise.  Eating healthy is SO difficult when you are out to eat, but there are some restaurants that offer great options.  Tonight for example we ate at Ruby Tuesdays,  I had salmon in a light glaze, grilled zucchini, and mashed cauliflower...although making healthy choices may be difficult it is important to just think about what you are putting into your body and also remembering that you are making a life choice. So after dinner my grandma wanted to stop for ice cream.  Eating healthy is just as much about portion control as it is about what you are actually eating.  We went to Culvers and I just got a single scoop of the flavor of the day, my favorite S'Mores.  It is totally fine to splurge some days, as long as it is not every single day, you WILL be fine! Enjoy your favorite treat every once in a while, just make sure it isn't a huge one! 

Here is an article I found in Women's Health,  it is a little cheat sheet about what to put on a single serving of ice cream to keep it "semi-healthy".