Day One Hundred and Fifty One

I made a yummy crust-less quiche for breakfast and had enough leftover to make additional to freeze. They turned out really good!

I also hit the gym today. I walked a mile on the treadmill and then did upper body exercises. Hopefully this will help with my back and weight-loss.





Spinach Mushroom Quiche Cups To Go

1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach
2 Whole Eggs
1 cup liquid egg whites
1/4 cup Feta (Basil & Tomato)
1/4 cup Shredded Sharp Cheese
1/2 cup Chopped Mushrooms
Hot sauce
1/2 cup Red Bell Pepper

Microwave the spinach for 2 1/2 minutes on high. Drain the excess liquid.
Line a 9-cup muffin pan with foil baking cups. Spray the cups with cooking spray.
Combine the egg/egg whites, cheese, hot sauce, and vegetables in a bowl. Mix well.
Divide evenly among the muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Quiche cups can be frozen and reheated in the microwave.

Serves 9

Nutrition At A Glance
Serving size = 1 large quiche

Cal:  91.8
Carb:  3.5
Protein:  9.7
Fiber:  1.4
Fat: 4.4
Sat Fat: 2.0
Net Carbs: 2.1

Day One Hundred and Fifty

I created my menu for next week and after searching on http://www.lowcarbfriends.com I found some good recipes to add to it. I am going to make things such as an egg, cheese, and vegie quiche for breakfast and stuffed red pepper for dinner. Oh.. and I also got an idea to make some corn chips with sprouted corn tortillas. Fun!

I picked up some sprouted english muffins and corn tortillas and I am going to try and go totally gluten/wheat free this week and see what difference that makes. I do think I need to take some calcium pills because I have been having a lot of muscle aches and I don't think it is all attributed to my back pain.

Day One Hundred and Forty Nine

Still raining! But I decided to brave the weather and take Riley to the dog park. The place was covered with puddles so I got to wear my cool rain boots my mum got me. We had a blast splashing through the puddles and there was even other puppies there for Riley to play with.

Day One Hundred and Forty Eight

It was been raining non-stop for days now. I know everyone always jokes about how it is always raining in Seattle, and normally that isn't true. Mother Nature seems to be on a roll though because it doesn't look like this rain will ever let up! I did escape the house and go for a short walk, which Riley was glad to do, but I haven't had a chance to plant the rest of the vegetables and herbs I got. Hopefully soon!

Day One Hundred and Forty Seven

Today my day consisted of:

• Wake up and hobble out of bed
• Stretch my legs and back out
• Ice back for 20 min and then put heating pad on back for 20 min.
• Work on computer for a couple hours
• Stretch my legs and back out
• Take Riley for a mile walk
• Ice back for 20 min, put heating pad on back for 20 min.
• Take pain med and muscle relaxer
• Work on computer for a couple hours
• Take a nap
• Stretch my legs and back out
• Take Riley for a mile walk
• Ice back for 20 minutes and then put heating pad on back for 20 min.

I am sure my night will consist of waking up a couple hours after I fall asleep and taking a hot bath, taking a pain med and a muscle relaxer and icing my back.

I went to my GP yesterday and he said that most likely I am having lower back pain because of my gait being off when I was wearing the boot. He called it "mechanical low back pain". Grrr.. it is driving me crazy but I am going to keep taking walks and stretching and heating and icing. Hopefully it will be resolved soon!

On a positive note, my leg is feeling fine and healing nicely!

Day One Hundred and Forty Six

Movie Night! The kids were playing with the electronics as we got ready to watch True Blood Season Two and eat spicy sausage, red beans and rice, and salad. Everything was yummy and the night was great. We only got to watch like 4 episodes and I can't wait to see the rest! 

I also decided to eat that cupcake Amazon Fresh had sent me weeks ago and I froze. OH MY GAWD.. it was soooooo good! Definitely worth the wait for a treat. I don't mind waiting until certain days to have a treat. :)

Day One Hundred and Forty Five

Busy day today. I forgot to take a picture because I was so busy! First I had a meeting at work to hand over some stuff since my contract is ending in a week and then had lunch with Martina, Paloma, and Marcia. 

Then I went to Fred Meijer and picked up some little metal fencing thingies to put around my flower beds, like Susie suggested. I also couldn't resist and picked up a couple more flowers and quite a few vegetables and herbs. It was pouring down rain when I got home so I couldn't plant them, but I am excited to do it. I will have plenty of time coming up since the job market looks bleak! 

Day One Hundred and Forty Four

Active day today! After my disappointing .2 pound increase I saw at my weigh-in today, I decided to make sure and go for a walk. I ended up taking two walks; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Each of the walks was just over a mile each. Woo hoo! Riley really enjoyed getting out twice as well and was actually really good on her leash.

I also decided to clean out the gutters on my roof. There was a lot of junk in them and it made a huge pile! 

After all that I hit around 8000 steps for  the day. Not bad considering I was barely getting 2500, if I was lucky, on the other days. I upped my step requirement I want to get to 7500. That's the plan, stan!

Day One Hundred and Forty Three

Riley's destruction was pretty evident this morning and it looks like only the sunflower survived her wrath. I will have to take Susie's advice and put a barrier up around the flower box before I try planting anything else!

Day One Hundred and Forty Two

I decided to fill my barren flower boxes outside my front door with bright flowers. I got the flowers from Home Depot and plated them today. It was a beautiful day out early this afternoon and a good time to spend in the garden. 

There is a flower box on each side of my door and I was able to fill both of them up. I also got a tomato and a yell bell pepper plant so I could plant those and hopefully grown some veges! 

I left the house for a few hours this evening and when I got back ... the evil dog that lives with me had torn up and destroyed the planter on one side! I knew that would happen! Grrr.. It looks like the sunflower may have survived ( I hope so!) but it is currently pouring rain outside so I can't really tell. The dog is currently sitting on a blanket on the floor and is not allowed to leave that area. I may just have her stay there the rest of the weekend! I am pretty sure the pepper is destroyed, but the tomato plant may have survived the attack. I will find out tomorrow.

Day One Hundred and Forty One

The path from my house to the stairs was completely covered by the grass in my yard-gone-wild and I had to do something about it. As it was, I was a bit wary about walking on it because it was slippery, I couldn't see the stepping stones, and the bunnies have so overtaken my yard, I was afraid I would step on a baby one as I walked to my car. 

I first tried the lawn mower, which after pulling and pulling on the starting cord for like 20 minutes, I was finally able to start it. It turned out that the grass was just too long for the mover, so I went to Home Depot and picked up some gardening shears and that did the trick! It still needs a lot more work, but that's okay, because I have the time and now I have the tools!

Day One Hundred and Forty

Had a great time at the firefighter calendar judging contest! My friend Ashley invited me to join her and a friend. There were tons of screaming drunken women, it was loud! The base was pounding and women were screaming. It was real fun to watch, and even though drinking would have made it even more fun, I resisted.

I was also really good during dinner that we had beforehand. I ordered a steak and a salad. The server brought garlic bread with my salad and even though I briefly was tempted to have a tiny bite, I resisted it completely! I was so proud of myself :)

Day One Hundred and Thirty Nine

Had a great time at movie night tonight. We watched Legion and made taco salads. They were yummmmmy! It was just a girls night since Scott wasn't there. I talked everyone into going on a walk afterward and it was chilly but invigorating! It was overall just a really nice evening. :)

Day One Hundred and Thirty Eight

I was tired of using the wheelchair as a chair and I was having so much backpain all the time; so I decided to get a balance ball for when I am sitting at the computer. Hopefully this will help my back so I can sleep easier! Last night I had so much trouble sleeping I ended up wrapping an ice pad around my lower back and putting the scented heating pillow my mom got me, around my neck. I finally got some sleep, but it was a lot of work to get there.

Day One Hundred and Thirty Seven

During my walk today as I took the path to the lake I couldn't help but wonder at my surroundings. I still can't believe I live in such a beautiful, lush place! 1.5 miles and I was exhausted when I got home. I sure hope my endurance gets up soon!

Oh yeah, and today was a weigh-in and I lost 10.2 pounds. Woo hoo!!

Day One Hundred and Thirty Six

I had been in a depressive funk all week and had a hard time doing anything except yesterday when I finally forced myself to take Riley to the park. Today I called my sister and chatted, and then was on phone messaging with Zach discussing his options on getting a computer and saving money (he obviously doesn't take after me on that!) and it made a world of difference. I was stressing big time over this tax thing, which is weird because I stopped stressing over money ages ago and kind of live for the moment. But I haven't been able to sleep etc.. After talking with Susie I felt better. It helps to have contact with the outside world a little more often then I have. :) I am excited about my weigh in for the CTFLC the family is doing!

Day One Hundred and Thirty Five

I wanted to get a new release movie and Netflix was taking way to long so I found a movie I wanted at a RedBox near me. The RedBox website said the box was basically across the street from me. I knew this wasn't true since there is a lake across the street from me, but I decided to hit the road and look for it anyway.

I went to the neighborhood behind me and found me self amidst a weekend in Suburbia. There were tons of garage sales, kids playing outside, families riding their bikes together, and neighbors chatting and jogging. It was kind of surreal for a moment. I realized I have been trapped inside my little cottage in the middle of nowhere for a long time. Oh! And I finally found the RedBox at a 7-Eleven on SE instead of NE like the webiste had it,

We also hit the dog park for some much needed Riley running around time and me some walking time. All in all a good day.

Day One Hundred and Thirty Four

I went for a walk to the lake today so Riley could run around and swim. I went to the closer entrance so it was only like a 10 minute walk, which was much better on my ankle. Riley had a blast catching the stick I would throw waaayyy out into the water. She is a pretty good swimmer. I didn't take my phone so no beautiful pictures of the outdoors and the lake today.

After the 10 minute walk to get back and climbing up and down the pathway to get down to the lake I was exhausted. It was then when it struck me that I was truly and totally back to square one in getting fit. This sucks because I was making good progress. 

But oh well, time to start over again. I signed up for three classes at the gym next week and put them on my calendar. Since I am mentioning it here, I have to go, so no more slacking or excuses from me. I can do Yoga and Pilates without putting much strain on my leg and I know I can do aqua aerobics, so I should be good to go! Here's hoping this weekend and next week are better then this last week!

Day One Hundred and Thirty Three

Pretty blah day today. The highlight of my day was when Riley helped me do some sit-ups. You can't see it clearly in the picture, but she is holding down my feet. She is also holding a bone in her mouth, she is a great at multitasking.

Day One Hundred and Thirty Two

Last night I slept horribly. Normally I would be curious about how horribly I slept and then leave it at that. But with my new Fitbit tracker I actually got all the details about it.

I knew I kept waking up and was tossing and turning. But I didn't realize how badly! Out of the almost seven hours I was in bed... I only got like three hours sleep! Holy cow. I really, really like this Fitbit tracker!

BTW, I blame my trouble sleeping last night on the Diet Dr. Pepper I had around three p.m. I had only had coffee in the morning for the last few days and I think having caffeine so late messed with me!

Day One Hundred and Thirty One

Busy day today! I ventured out on foot, with two shoes on, for a walk with Riley. I planned to just walk to the water area and let her run around. I thought it was about a 1/2 mile away, so I would have ended up walking a mile. That should have been a good distance, maybe a little more then I should be doing, but I am hardcore! My walking was pretty darn good to start; I think anyone looking would not have even noticed a limp. The way back was a bit different and I was a bit gimpy.

So using my new nifty Fitbit tracker I was able to log the distance and record the details. It ended up being 1.54 miles, 3479 steps, 45 minutes, at about 30 min a mile. I will win marathons with that time! haha...


Actually it wasn't that bad, I stopped at the waters edge and threw a stick for Riley numerous times. That's her waayyy out there. I threw the stick as far as I could and she had sooooooo much fun swimming far out to get it!  She was pretty worn out and I was in quite a bit of pain on the way back though, but I toughed through it! I was pretty proud of how sweaty and tired I was afterward!

Day One Hundred and Thirty

I had my three month check-up today and it was a good one! My doctor was very happy with my progress and my gait. I barely limped once I remembered how to walk on both feet again. At first I was on my tippy toes and he had to remind me to roll from heel to toe. He also said I can start wearing a shoes on both feet but not to push it and just do it for small periods of time. I can still use my boot as needed; like for long times on my feet, etc.

He also said to start real slow on the cardio. Like 10-15 min a day to start. That I can do since I found walking freaking exhausts me fast! It is amazing how horribly out of shape you can become in three months!

My mom, sis, and I also started the CTFLC (Crack the Fat Loss Code) plan today, and I guess AJ is starting it with us too. We are organizing it via Google calendar and documents. I will write more about it later this week, since the first 72 hours will be the toughest!

Day One Hundred and Twenty Nine

Today was a lazy day. I sat around relaxing and catching up on my recorded shows, chatted with Zach via text messages, and ordered my groceries for starting the Crack the Fat Loss Code with my mom and sister tomorrow. It was a nice relaxing moms day. :)

Day One Hundred and Twenty Eight

Very exhausting day. I stayed up all night in order to get the soldiers, Zach and two of his fellow battle buddies, back to the base by 0430. So I didn't get back to the hotel until around 0500 and then conked out until around 0900.

We then went to breakfast and stopped to get some sandals, my mom and I found some but Susie didn't, she was sad :(. We then headed off to the airport. My flight was changed around because of delays and I ended up being on the same flight as my mom and sis for the first leg of the journey. I got to travel around the Charlotte airport on one of the carts which was awesome because the airport was HUGE!

I had a looonngg wait before my flight left, and the actual flight was pretty nice. There was no one sitting between me and the other person and I was able to watch a movie on my laptop, create my menu plan and shopping list for the new eating plan we are starting Monday, and take a nap.

Daniel picked me up at the airport and it is so nice to come home, Riley missed me TONS! And I missed Riley and the weather TONS!

Day One Hundred and Twenty Seven

Wonderful day today. My baby boy graduated from Basic Training and it was a really cool ceremony. I did get annoyed at the freaking people who started walking out when the ceremony was still going on since their soldiers had already marched by but they didn't listen to the directions to stay seated until the end! It was totally disrespectful. (Zach on the left in the picture, of course)

We went to the mall to get Zach his first pair of civilian shoes since joining the Army; he was excited to buy something with colors other than green and bought some with orange on them and a bunch of different bright color laces. Zach tried out a wind tunnel they had in the middle of the mall as well. Yeah, not sure what that was all about! He also signed up for his own cell phone plan and got an iPhone. He is totally thrilled with it. I was totally thrilled with seeing him spend so much of his own money instead of mine!

We also stopped at Bojangles Chicken and Biscuits since we had never heard of it and then it was back to the hotel where Zach was able to change into civvies and spent more time playing with his iPhone. He buddy Smith stopped by and they went wandering around and got in who knows what trouble. Good day, but I am looking forward to getting home and seeing Riley and relaxing!

Day One Hundred and Twenty Six

Fun but exhausting day. Sooooo happy to see my boy and hug him. We went shopping, wandered all over the base looking at things. Zach hadn't seen anything else on base except his small area. We also ate in their mess hall, which they called D-Fac (Dining Facilities), which wasnt bad at all! And we got to see an early preview of Iron Man 2. Looking forward to graduation tomorrow! So proud of my boy!

Day One Hundred and Twenty Five

Busy day today. Holly picked me up to take me to the airport and we caught up on a lot more things. At the airport people were pretty freaking chatty. I was stopped at the security check and had my body and bags thoroughly checked off to the side.

At the gate a guy chatted me up and talked about fishing for some reason and then I met a military guy whose wife was graduating from a different company as well. I was able to  pre board on both flights and on the second one the military guy helped me carry my bags since we had to go on the tarmac to get on the flight. While on the flight I met another guy, same age as me, whose daughter was graduating from Zach's same company.

The flight finally landed. And Susie and my moms flight landed the same time at the gate next to me! Very handy!

Day One Hundred and Twenty Four

Martina stopped by today and brought me a coffee and just to visit. It was nice to see her and hopefully we can start meeting for coffee every week like we used to. I had a busy day making sure I had everything I needed for the trip and packing. I am super excited about this trip and seeing my mom, Susie, and Zach!

Day One Hundred and Twenty Three

I made the most awesome muffins today! I found a receipe on RecipeZaar and made a few changes to use whole wheat flour and brown sugar. I am so shocked out how scrumptious they are! I used the blackberries that I picked last year and froze. I was so glad to finally use them! Here is the recipe I used; including the changes.








Ingredients

1 lemon, juice and zest of (I also used the zest from half an orange)
1/2 cup milk (almost)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 large egg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup blackberry


Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Spray or butter a muffin tin (insides and tops to prevent the muffins from sticking with the puff up) and set aside.
• Zest a lemon, and set aside.
• Squeeze the juice of the lemon into a measuring cup over a sieve to catch the seeds and pips.
• Pour milk into the measuring cup to make up a half cup.
• Stir in the zest and vanilla, and then set aside.
• Melt the butter and set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl, measure out the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Mix well.
• To the lemon and milk mixture, add the egg and whisk to combine.
• Next, add the cooled butter and mix well. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix just to combine.
• Do not over mix- there may well be lumps but that’s alright.
• Spoon batter into muffin tins, filling them halfway.
• Sprinkle a few berries in and then continue to fill the muffin tins to the top.
• Bake in a 400 F oven for 25 minutes until the tops are springy.
• Cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10-15 minutes.

Day One Hundred and Twenty Two

I had so much fun tonight! I finally was able to make it to a derby practice and got to attend a rules clinic and then participate in a scrimmage. I didn't get to skate, of course, but I got to be the "coach" for the black team. My coaching consisted of making sure the girls knew who was going out next and who was jammer and pivot. It was so fun and exciting and I can't wait to get out there knocking down girls myself!

Day One Hundred and Twenty One

Busy day today. First I met some friends for brunch at a neat little place called Pomegranate Bistro. A gaming friend, Steph, was in town from Texas so we all gathered for brunch. It was nice. 

Later that day I took my friend Christas daughter, Callie, and her friend Krystine to a roller derby bout. I think they had a good time. It was a great bout! I also met up with Dawn, the girl who broke her ankle after I broke my leg, we had fun chatting and moaning about our woes! 

Angela, the girl I convinced to check out Derby even after I broke my leg doing it was there as well, and Drea grabbed a ride up there with us.