Buying Clothes OUTSIDE a Plus Size Store

Holy Crap!!
I bought a size 18 and a size 16 in a REGULAR store.  Say WHAAAAAT?!?

I bought a pencil skirt (me showing leg...  I must have a fever)

I bought a button-down shirt and I am not worried the girls are going to fall out!!

I bought a pair of khakis and they don't get all bunchy like a I have a package.

Score!!  Yay Land's End.  Missa loves you today.

Happy Monday!!  Pictures to follow...

Chinese Take-Out Wisdom

My Fortune Cookie tonight says:
"Cultivation to the mind is as necessary as food to the body".

How true.  So, how am I feeding my mind?  Well, not as well as I should.  Lately, I have kept myself full of work-related nothingness.  So, how can I fix this?  I know full well how to do it.

1.  Read a book.  I am always more level headed when I am in the middle of a good read.  It could be fiction or a true story about a person, place, thing, or even some horrible murder mystery thing.  What they all have in common is that they are an escape for my mind.

2.  Breathe.  Take time to clear my mind entirely, except for the noise of my breath.  Some call it meditation.  I call it just breathing.  During this time, my mind sometimes stays empty.  Other times, it fills like an empty cup with other thoughts.  Either way, it is a good thing.

3.  Learn about something new.  I like to have a project on the side.  That could be learning a new language, taking a class, or maybe even learning a new fitness routine.  Lately, this has been taken up by learning how to keep up with a running program, but also learning a bit about Kettle bell training.

4.  Plan an adventure.  Adventures do not need to be across the planet in unusual places.  Adventures can be right in your backyard.  Just knowing there is something coming up is a fantastic motivator.  So, my next adventure that I am planning to take:  Philadelphia, Labor Day weekend to see the Red Bull Flugtag competition!!  You just have to see the link to believe it. 

So, besides not eating Chinese take out and keeping better with my food records, I really need to work on balance.

I hope you all have a great weekend!  Oh, and I almost forgot:
Lucky Numbers 10, 26, 15, 16, 38, 36
Learn Chinese - Fish 鱼 (Yú)

These Hips Don't Lie

My Hips are on Fire..  and no, I am not talking about some dance move, or me shakin' my groove thang...

No, my hips hurt.  They are beyond sore.  They just nag.  Ibuprofen is not working.
I need stretches.  Good ones.  I know I am just not hitting it right.  I know I am not injured, just AGGRIVATED!!!

Please provide your besties.

Happy Fried-day....

We Ain't Restin' Today

Today was a day of cross-training and strength training with Trainer Debbie.  She dutifully kicked my tail with strength intervals and high-intensity movements for 45 minutes.  I am sore in places ladies should not be sore without better reasons, and well.... Thanks Deb.  My sweetheart thanks you too...

Sometimes, I think that it hurts all the more after having a day of resting.  My body natually wants to go to hibernation mode.  It thinks, hey, she ain't movin'.  Time to chill... Forever.  Sorry, not today.  Not EVER again.

This brings me to the next thing I have been pondering lately.  NOT EVER AGAIN.  I don't want to be where I was EVER AGAIN.  There is no going back.  I am mentally, physically, spiritually a different person.  I want more.  I feel more.  I care more.  It is fan-flippin-tastic.  It is a high from the Missa drug.  There is no prescription.  It is just me and my thoughts and my needs for things to be better.

I hope your day is filled with better.... and more.

Days of Rest

Yesterday was a day of rest in my Marathon Training Program.  Rest.  Does this mean I sleep all day?  Does this mean I watch TV and eat ice cream?  Up to this point, I have had a general goal to do some sort of movement everyday, even if it was just 5 minutes.  So, now, I have Saturdays and Mondays to chill. 

I have been invited to do some stretching on these days, which is nice.  I think I have turned part feline, as every morning, I wake up an arch and twist and scurry like a cat for at least 15 minutes before I can really leave the bed. 

So, now it is Tuesday morning, the day after rest, and I am really pooped...  and for what?  I almost feel like I am hibernating.  My face is puffy.  It wants me to go back into slumber.  I hit snooze, which is incredibly unlike me. I am usually a get-up-and-go kinda gal.  Oh well.  Time for work.   I hope you all have a great Tuesday!

Holy Half Marathon Batman!

OK..  So I am doing it...  no, not IT, I am going to train for a half-marathon.  Where are your dirty brains?  (Exactly where yours is, Missa)

I think I can do it.  I am aiming for the OBX half, which is in 18 weeks.  I am going to follow HalHigdon.com and do his NOVICE program.  Except, I am going to do my long runs on Sundays and I am going to use my 2 personal training session per week as my strength and cross train.  I think it is doable.  Anyone want to join me?

I did a four mile long run this morning.  Despite being hot out and covered in sweaty grossness... I feel pretty good!  I think the huge hoagie roll I picked away at last night got me nice and carbed up, making me feel happily fueled.  So, the plan is to feed and water myself, shower and then take my carcass to the beach to soak up the sunscreen and beach umbrella (note: Missa is the white-est woman in America.  I give Albino's a run for their money).

This was a great B-day weekend.  I rested, I ate, I played with children, I beached.  All in all, big wins.
AND.......  cross your fingers folks, but I think I may have good news on the career front.. more on that later.

OK.. Enjoy your Sunday!  Do something physical out there.  Maybe some IT.

Birthday Week!

Hiya..  This is a big week for me. It's my BIRTHDAY WEEK!!  On Friday, I get the privilege of being one more year older, wiser, and HEALTHIER (or so I hope!).  To reflect, I decided to post a graph of my overall progress, since Jan.  For the most part, it is slow and steady, with a positive downward slope.  I will take it!  However, if you just look at this month (which you can do at the bottom of my blog anytime you want), it is big hockey stick.  Missa has not been dedicating enough to herself lately, and letting stuff get in the way.  So, instead of down in the dumpiness, I am plowing ahead.

I found a challenge that I want to try.  It is the 5 x 5 Ford Challenge.  Basically, I try to run or walk a 5K 5x's a week.  I can break it up anyway I want, so if I want to walk a bit in the am, then run later, or maybe run 6 k one day and 2 the next..  But I am up for it.  This will be my goal for the next 20 days.  Feel free to join me!

Here is to a strong week.

Down and Out in NJ

It is super hot here in New Jersey.  Depressingly, Scorching, Simmering.  The kind of hot that prevents progress, that prevents anyone who does not have a death wish, from doing anything overly physical.  I am relegated to my couch.  I am finding that even working out in the house feels oppressive, as my air conditioning just doesn't get enough of the humidity out of the air.

I am making excuses of course.  I am in a funk.  I gained for the whole time I was away on business and it is totally my fault.  The end of my 12 week push was non-existent.  I am also off guard, because I didn't plan my next 12 week push.  I should have already started it last week!!  So, this is me, unplanned and unprepared, like the kid in the back of the class, who emphatically says the 'dog ate my homework'. 

I need a 12 week, SMART goal.  I am coming up on empty.  Any help, anyone? I need some sort of goal to get me jump started. 

Missa will ________ for the next 12 weeks.  Please fill in the blank for me.

I ran 4 miles

Hey Y'all!  I'm home now after 2 weeks in Singapore.  I am getting way too old for the whole jet lag thing.  It really does a number on my self-control.  When I am overly tired, I just don't give my 100%.  I ate whatever while I was away, and the scale is a direct result of that.  I did not keep up with my fitness.  I only worked out 2 days each week, which is pretty darn lame.  I am kinda pissed off at myself about it, because I really want to protect this weight loss.  So, to punish myself, I ran a Firecracker 4 miler on July 4th. 

I just landed the afternoon before (22 hours in flight), which makes you dehydrated and sleep deprived.  However, since I woke up at 4 am, a 9:30 run didn't seem so bad...  or at least not at the moment.  Here are the wins:

1.  I ran consistently.  I did not stop or walk.  I ran slowly, but I ran 14 minute miles for each mile. 
2.  I ran within a good target heart rate.  I ran between 160-168 bpm.  This is a good place for me.
3.  I kept cool.  It was hot.  I watched people overdo it, not finish, and I wasn't one of them.

Here are the bads:

1.  I was almost the last to finish.  Just completing was my goal, but I certainly didn't want to be last.  I think I finished ahead of about 10 people out of about 1000.  I felt really self-conscious.  I am really tired of being the fat chick that people stare at. (or at least feeling like the one being stared at). 
2.  Afterward, I felt OK.  I didn't eat much before the race.  So, I ate a banana and drank some water.  Seemed harmless right?
3.  I drove home.  I felt a strange pain in my tummy.  So, I drove really fast.  Move immediately to the commode.  Super barf, followed by 5 hour nap.  So much for the 4th.

I know I am not the first person to puke after a run, but I wonder what ultimately did me in.  Was it the banana?  Did I drink not enough/too much water?  Did I push myself too far?  I may never know.
So, this week's goal is to get back on schedule and back on my routine.  Yay being home! Yay running 4 miles.