Wow, it's been a while since I was on here. I posted back in December about training for the Navy 10 Nautical Miler. I'm happy to say that in spite of poor training habits, I finished the race in just over 3 hours. I am going to run it again next year with, hopefully, better results.

We have been having some changes in our household. We have moved out of the apartment into a house with some acreage.  It's so nice not hearing the neighbor use the restroom or take a shower. Not having to search for a parking spot is great too.   Our house is a bit of a fixer upper, but it will be ours, God willing, and it will be wonderful. Right now we're trying to keep the huge yard mowed, get a fall garden going, taking care of chickens, and just figuring out were to begin. It will help when school starts back next month and I start getting paychecks again. Life of a teacher, I have June and July "off" however I have no paycheck in July. So it's been tight, but not horribly so. I'm so grateful to God for the hubby's job.  Off is in quotations, because I've been trying to get lesson plan ideas going along with doing my own homework on my college classes. 3 more trimesters and I will complete my Master's degree. Then I'm trying to decide what to do next.

I did something horrible this  morning.... I weighed myself.

I've been slacking since my last  race and for the past month it's been junk food, eating out, soda pop, and little to no exercise. Needless to say I've put on more weight than I care to acknowledge.  I am a nutrition major, yet I let poor eating habits run my life. Goes to show that even those who know better are not immune to bad choices.  However, I can fix this. I know how to turn this around, it's just doing it that's the hard part.

This week, since it's the last week before back-to-school in-services and other things kick off, I'm making myself like a lifestyle bootcamp.   I'm not allowing myself to sit for more than 30 minutes, then it's 7 and a half minutes of interval exercises. I'm going to run/walk a mile a day, minimum. Water and tea only. Tea cannot be sweetened with sugar, I have stevia to sweeten it with and need to use it. I'm aiming for about 1 gallon of water a day, but if I can get half of that plus no soda then I'm good. No junk food, no eating out, eat several small meals a day to combat cravings. Eat mostly veggies and whole grains, meat only at dinner time, no more than two servings of fruit per day. I am going to make some healthy/healthier treats to fight this sweet tooth I have been having lately. I will share recipes along the way. I have no weightloss goals really, I just want to be fitter.

So to summarize I will

• Do 7 1/2 minute interval workouts every 30 minutes when at home
• the interval is 5 rounds of 1 minute of cardio with 30 seconds strength/stretch
• Drink only water, tea, and coffee
• Tea and coffee either unsweetened or sweetened with stevia
• Aiming for 1 gallon of water/day
• Eat several(~5) small meals spread out through the day
• Aim for mostly veggies and whole grains
• Meat only at dinner time
• Limit fruit to two servings/day due to sugar content
• it's okay to have a healthy treat not going 100% sugar free, but I am reducing sugar intake.
• Fitness goal of being able to run 1 mile without walking (even with all my running I haven't reached this).

• 
  

Day two is done. I feel great and am the point where I wonder why I don't keep running all the time. It was a chilly 48 degrees tonight. Enough wind to make me have a couple second thoughts, but I persevered.

One more day of running scheduled this week. I'm going to do it tomorrow. There a big bad artic front coming through late tomorrow night and I'm sure I won't want to be out in the very cold temperatures forecasted for Thursday and Friday.

Day 1 a couple days later than intended

So my plan was to start training on Saturday. However that ended up being a cold, miserable, wet day that I couldn't find the motivation to go out in.  Sunday was less wet but just as cold. Today wasn't perfect. It was damp and gray, but I knew I needed to lace up and put feet to pavement if I was going to meet my goals.

I ran 30 minutes using the couch to 10k app. I went around a 1\2 mile path 3 times plus going from the apartment to and from there. I'm estimating the  total distance to be around 2.5 miles. Pretty slow I know. That doesn't matter at this point. What does is that I got out and did it.

My middle son ran with me. I love it when I can get one of my kiddos or hubby to exercise with me. It makes for a wonderful experience.

So I post at the beginning of the year and then let the blog sit, lonely and neglected. I'm such a bad blog owner. Good thing it's not a living, breathing thing.

However, I am bringing this old thing back to life. I've been slacking when it comes to eating right and exercising this year. I've put on weight and I just can't accept this. My body does not fit. It's lumpy and squishy. I haven't had the energy I am used to having. I've been having joint pain in my ankles as well. This is not my home. So it's time to do some repairs.

I'm reopening this blog and am going to use it for accountability. I've decided to create the goal of running the Navy 10 nautical miler in June. This gives me 6months from Sunday to train. Training starts tomorrow morning.

I Just Couldn't Stay Away

I've decided to give my little blog another chance. I've changed the title and address to wording to something that suits the direction God has pointed my life. I'm growing, and with growth comes change. This is good, and right.

So, dear readers, stay tuned for more. My life isn't any less crazy busy, but it seems to be getting more meaning. I may just be maturing. Funny how long that takes.

Is This Good Bye?

After 10 years, I'm thinking that I'm finally through with this blog. I've been blogging over at Tumblr for a couple weeks and really enjoy the micro blogging aspect.  I think I'll leave this blog "alive" for the rest of this month in order and then put it to sleep for good. So if you still follow me and would like to see what I'm up to just look for me at Tumblr, or even Google+. I'll still be somewhere on the internets.

Also, one last note, I've decided to go with a new income earning opportunity. No startup fees or autoship required (but in all honesty, autoship is recommended). No pushy sales, you are promoting  a healthy lifestyle. You can earn free products, a free ipad mini, $800 monthly car bonus. I know it may sound too good to be true, but as with any business you get out of what you put into it. The possibilities are there, you just have to try. Just click on the pic below to watch a short video to learn more about the company then sign  up as a customer or promoter if you desire.

Shrimp Alfredo with Zoodles

I'm playing around more and more for ideas for cooking for one or two. I need meals that I can throw together  for a healthy lunch for me and sometimes when I'm cooking at work I only have one or two people to cook for. Also, my kids are all teenagers and will start leaving the nest in the next few years. I don't want to be one of those people who forget how to cook once they have less people to cook for. 

This is a dish I threw together one day a couple weeks ago. I went to the store to pick something up and decided to pick up something for my lunch as well. I wanted fish or seafood so I grabbed shrimp. I wanted creamy, so an alfredo or white sauce sounded great. I wanted healthy and the Hubby had gotten me a Vegetti (a handheld vegetable spiralizing tool) for Christmas and so I thought zucchini noodles. Finally I grabbed  a cheese stick, because I wanted to keep this dish cheap and still healthy. It came in at less than three dollars a serving. I think this could easily feed two people, especially if you added a small side salad. 

Ingredients: 

1 small zucchini

 4 oz shrimp

 1 teaspoon cornstarch

 1/2 cup 2% milk

 2 tsp olive oil

 1/4 tsp chicken base (like Better Than Bullion) 

 1/4 cup water

 1/4 tsp garlic salt

 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning

1 cheese stick or about 1 ounce of mozzarella cheese.

Directions:

1. Using a spiralizer or julienne plate on mandolin, slice zucchini into noodles. 

2. Heat olive oil in small non stick pan and cook shrimp till done. Remove from pan.

3. Make Alfredo sauce. Mix a bit (just a couple tablespoons) with cornstarch and let set aside. Heat the rest of the milk, chicken base, and water in same pan until it begins to simmer, add cornstarch mix and stir well. Add cheese (pull apart the cheese stick if using) and stir until it's all melted and thickens. 

4. Add zoodles, seasons, and shrimp and toss till warm. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.

Nutrition Facts
Calories 307, Total Fat 14.0g, Saturated Fat 3.5g, Cholesterol 249mg, Sodium 708mg, Potassium 580mg, Total Carbohydrates 14.6g, Dietary Fiber 1.4g, Sugars 7.7g, Protein 31.4g, Vitamin A 12% • Vitamin C 34% Calcium 27% • Iron 4%