Here we go again...

Remember this room?

Today was my "final" follow up appointment with the knee surgeon. I put "final" in quotes because it looks like I'm not quite done yet. A long time ago they told me I could cancel this appointment if I was feeling fine and had no complaints. I had high hopes of cancelling, but I've still been experiencing occasional pain, as well as some rather frequent popping in the back of my knee. While the pain and popping aren't desirable, I figured that when I went in they would tell me, "Oh that's completely normal... it'll keep healing and go away."

Well...

The problem is my original issue wasn't normal, so they don't exactly know what is normal or not post-surgery. They were concerned with the pain and popping, but they were also concerned with the discrepancy between my left and right leg - something I hadn't even noticed. 1) My left calf is noticeably smaller than my right. 2) My left quad is noticeably weaker than my right. 3) My left knee is very sore and tender to the touch (not an issue at all on my right).

Now what?

One week from today I'll go back for another MRI. This will help resolve any questions about what kind of scar tissue I have now and whether or not there's any indication that the cyst is returning. I'm also going to return to physical therapy to see if there's any sort of muscular imbalance they can help me with. With the MRI results and a report from my PT guy, my surgeon will then decide how to proceed - currently it looks like the options would be more PT (if the MRI turns out ok) or cortisol injections in my knee (if the MRI is not ok). They assured me a second dose of surgery would be the last possible step and that they'll do everything they can in hopes it won't get to that point.

How do I feel?

Honestly? 1) Relieved. I mean, obviously I wish my knee felt perfect now, but since it doesn't, I'm glad we are taking concrete steps to determine what is going on - much better in my mind than waiting to see if it fixes itself. 2) Concerned. It's going to cost a lot more, and if it comes to needing an injection... well lets say, I'm pretty scared of that. 3) Annoyed. I first started having knee pain around Christmas of last year. COME ON! I'm ready to move on!!!

Another quick update - I'm a mess with food. I can't stop eating crap (and mostly it's weird crap). I am chalking it up partly to being alone (Andy's gone in New Mexico), but mostly due to anxiety about my trip to Chicago tomorrow. I know Sheena's wedding will be so fun, but I am very nervous about being alone in a place that I'm completely unfamiliar with, without transportation, without control of what I will eat most of the time, without knowing how much it will all cost (but anticipating it won't be cheap)... I know it will be fine once I get there, but this "lead up" time has me in a total state of anxiety. I just hope my bridesmaid dress (which I just had taken in) still fits on Saturday...

At least I haven't caved completely - still haven't had a Diet Coke since September 8th.

26.2 Miles - 365 Days Ago

It's 10/28/2013. Exactly one year ago to this date, Andy and I were running the Marine Corps Marathon (also exactly one year ago to this date, Hurricane Sandy was on her way). Without a doubt I can say that experience is one of my top 10 most memorable moments of my life. That's pretty important - so let's relive it shall we?

Practicing at the expo :-)

You know how when you've been preparing for something big, you typically get a little nervous/jittery the morning of? I thought I'd wake up a nervous wreck, but surprisingly I felt very calm. Interestingly, I had the same feeling the morning of my first half marathon. I guess it's just because you know, like it or not, it's going to happen. You will do it. So why freak out?

In our hotel, ready to head out.

We woke up insanely early, boarded the shuttle, and went through the security checkpoint to enter "Runner's Village." Looking around and knowing every single person I was seeing had endured the same training process I had was incredible. Running a marathon is hard. But what is much harder is training for it. The time, the commitment, the sacrifice. It's a long road (no pun intended). Being surrounded by all of those runners who knew what I'd gone through to get to that point, and knowing they'd done the same, was incredibly inspirational.

Entering "Runners Village"

My "stand out" memories from that morning? Sitting in the parking lot huddled under a tent (trying to avoid the wind and cold) while eating our PBJ sandwiches. Standing in the world's longest porta potty line, and subsequently using the world's most disgusting porta potty ever. IT WAS DISGUSTING. 

TP - taken from my hotel

I also remember feeling a little sad as I tossed my backpack (I used it to carry toilet paper and my food) and a long sleeved shirt to the side of the road (bye bye!!). And the feeling of sheer joy as I stood with Andy at the starting line, knowing everything we worked for, my dream of running a marathon, was about to come true.

The Start - we're there somewhere!

We ran and ran and ran. The course was much more crowded than I'd ever expected. The water stops were impressive - they were manned by Marines in uniform, were HUGE, and very well organized. The spectators were amazing - the best two spectators were my parents who were at different points along the way with water, extra food, a first aid kid, and great signs! Without a doubt, our experience would not have been as good without having them there as our support team. 

Andy and Babs!!

Andy and I stayed together for the first 18.5 miles. I'm so glad we made it that far together. From there on I was on my own. At mile 20 I popped in my headphones and did my best to zone out and not think about anything else besides putting one foot in front of the other. I never "hit the wall" but I will say my feet hurt, my legs were tired, my back hurt, my arms were sore, I was sick of eating gels, I could feel myself getting easily irritated by other runners and spectators alike, I was livid when the wind blew my visor off and I had to chase after it - yet all the while I was still aware that I was really doing it. Each step was further than I'd ever gone. I was so excited to be nearing the end, but also sad to realize the journey was almost over. 

Mile 19 or so

Mile 23ish

As I neared the finish line I had a burst of energy and gave it my all going up the hill to the end. I thought I might cry, but instead I just had the biggest smile on my face as I crossed the finish line. I hugged a Marine (I was so happy!).

This is it!

SO happy

 I got my medal, had my picture taken, waited in a long line for food, and then (surprisingly) had to walk another mile before reaching the "family link up" zone. And then I waited. It was probably another hour before I finally found my parents and Andy. I was so tired, but still on cloud nine. 

My medal!

United at last!

Waiting to go back to the hotel

The rest of the day was spent getting back to the hotel (that was actually quite a lengthy process), showering, and EATING. And of course, it was an early night because we were so tired.

Andy - completely spent

The next day I struggled just with walking - I kept stumbling because I wasn't picking my feet up enough, or my quads would just give out. Also the next day, Hurricane Sandy hit with full force, extending our trip 3 days as we were stuck in our hotel (not exactly ideal).

And there you have it. Going through this process taught me a lot about myself - that I'm a lot tougher than I thought. That I can persevere regardless the challenge or obstacle. It made me appreciate my relationship with Andy so much more as he was the major force getting me out the door for our runs together. It reminded me what a huge and amazing support system I have in the way of my parents and friends.

It took me 4:56:15 to cover 26.2 miles, but it's not only the race itself but the months of training leading up to those 4+ hours that make me proud to say, "I'm a marathoner."

RunnerBabs!

One last thing... sorry I know this post is ridiculously long. I also want to say how glad I am that I started this blog. The original intention was to track my marathon training, but it's turned into so much more. It gives me a space to help stay in touch with people near and far, not to mention giving me an outlet to express my thoughts and feelings. I'm glad I've stuck with it for an entire year past the blog's originally intended "end." You're not getting rid of me so easily!

How fast they fall...

Remember how I was on top of the world after my awesome Wednesday? Let's make this quick because it's rather depressing.

Thursday
- Worked both jobs.
- Tensions were HIGH at Job #2 - our boss was rather stressed out and we were feeling it big time.
-Trying to be a nice fiance, I picked up a pizza for Andy on my way home from Job #2. Being in the car smelling pizza was VERY HARD.

Friday
- Memorial service for a coworkers mother. Very sad.
- Job #1... lots of irritating people.
- Hit up a giant garage sale put on at a high school and got some stuff for the house and the wedding.
- Chipotle and FroYo with Andy.
- Back at home. Andy went to bed early. I had a food fest.

Saturday
- Woke up very depressed. (because of the food fest)
- Worked Job #2.
- Home... 2 hour nap.
- Food fest.
- Took Andy to his concert.
- Food fest while he played his concert.
- After the concert we went to see Gravity. (It was really good)
- Back at home. Andy went to bed. Another food fest.

Sunday
- Did not want to get out of bed.
- LOTS of tears and hating myself.
- Shower, gym, dinner, yoga.
- Went to bed feeling drained.

Monday (today) - After one day of no food fest, I'm feeling better already. And I started off the morning with a training session with Sarah and Vinny, which is always sure to boost my mood. Time to move forward.

Best Day Ever

Yesterday was the best day I've had in a long time, which is weird, because when do people ever get excited about a Wednesday?

Well... it was great because I took a personal day from Job #1. Yes!!! I don't like to take time off when I'm sick, unless I'm suuuuuuper sick, or like when I was recovering from knee surgery. But typically if I'm just going to sit on the couch feeling miserable, I'd rather sit at my desk feeling miserable, and use my "sick" days to do something fun. I wouldn't say I had a super "fun" day, per say, but I got so much accomplished that it felt great!

My day started with getting organized - one of my favorite things to do.

Breakfast date with my planner

Once I had an idea of all of the things I wanted to try to accomplish, I got to work. First I worked in the attic, putting the slip cover on the couch up there (that was a huge pain) and rearranging some boxes to create more walking space.

Partial Room Reveal: The Attic

I also got started with laundry, which included 7 pieces of hand wash clothing, which I NEVER do.

Clean sheets, here we come!

With the wash going, I headed out to pick up Andy from work and then we went to the bank. That's right friends - we are the proud owners of a new joint checking and savings account! Woohoo!! Things at the bank took longer than I expected so once we wrapped up there, we headed out to get lunch. We actually ended up going to a real restaurant, which was a treat since we haven't really done that in a long time (the new grill plus my new Seetha ways keep us eating at home a lot more). It was fun! :-)

After lunch I dropped Andy back off at work, and then I headed to the gym for a little elliptical/treadmill action. Nothing crazy at all, but I wanted to get a little cardio in on my day off. Then I went home and showered. Then I was off to the tailor.

My hole in the wall tailor

By Tuesday I should have a bridesmaid dress that fits a little better. :-) It was fun needing to have something taken in!

After the tailor I ran a few more errands: GNC for my magic Seetha pills, and Steinmart where I finally managed to find a cardigan for Sheena's wedding. Then home for a quick snack and a quick change so I could go to yoga with Rose!

Rose very kindly agreed to try "Muscle and Flow" with me. I owe her. Not only were parts of it ridiculously hard, but the instructor would NOT shut up. She was so obnoxious. It was a decent workout but definitely not the best experience... we decided to stay for the class right after which was supposed to be "restorative yoga" - thinking that a nice restorative class would erase the stupid Muscle and Flow class from our minds. Nope! There was a sub, who was actually very pleasant, but she didn't really know what "restorative" meant and instead we just did more yoga, albeit slower paced than normal. Anna was able to join for the second class - even though the class wasn't what I was expecting, it was easier to stomach having a friend on each side of my mat. :-)

After our two and a half hour yoga fest, we headed to Will and Rose's place for a late dinner.

Yes, that is an American Girl catalog lol

Will, Rose, Andy, Lisa, Anna, Lydia, and Ben were all there - always a fun crew to hang out with. And the food was great! Rose's special butternut squash soup, roasted cauliflower, tatsoi (asian greens), and chicken. We had fun hanging out around the table - there were lots of laughs.

Ben and Lydia - flannel twins - awkward family photo

Rose and Babs in post-yoga brain melt

I should mention here that Rose had done another yoga class earlier in the day, making it a total of three and a half hours of yoga for her... she was a hot bendy mess!

And now we've made it to the end of my day. Andy and I got home around 10:30pm and I quickly put the sheets on the bed and called it a night. If only I could have days like this more often!

More Wedding Bells!

Greetings. It's Tuesday afternoon - despite feeling on the verge of sickness and not really wanting to work Job #2 tonight, I'm in a reasonably good mood. I'm chalking it up to three things: 1) I'm wearing my Kate Middleton-esque Stitch Fix cardigan, 2) I did a really good 25 minute yoga video this morning (good way to start my day), and 3) my weight has finally recovered from my binge last week. Thank goodness.

But let's back up, because Sunday brought GREAT news. :-)

Katie and Scott!!

That's right!!! While at DSW exchanging a pair of shoes, I got this happy picture texted to me - Katie and Scott are engaged! I am SO excited for them. :-) Congratulations Driver Scott and Runner #7!!!

Sunday was a fun day on my own - Andy was out listening to a clarinet concert so I relaxed and hit the mall (again). My body hurt from all of the exercise on Friday and Saturday, so it was nice to take it easy.

Yesterday (Monday) was a pretty typical day. Sarah and I started the morning with a training session - it was another good one. Then Job #1 - blah. Then I went to a yoga foundations class, which I really enjoyed. After that I came home and made dinner that Andy and I actually got to eat together (it doesn't happen all too often). That left time for a little laundry, doing some dishes, and an early bedtime - I was starting to feel worse and worse the later it got.

Now we're all caught up. Nothing too exciting going on this week - working a little extra at Job #2, I have a few random extra things to do at Job #1, and I have a few errands to run, mainly getting my bridesmaid dress for Sheena's wedding to a tailor STAT. Thankfully I need to have the dress taken in!

Fitness/Friends Fest!

Too much has already gone on in the way of friends and fitness this weekend to wait for a total weekend recap. Get ready for lots of pictures!

Friday was a HUGE fitness day. Sarah and I started the morning off with a kickboxing demo - 30 minutes, gloves, punching and kicking a bag... it was SO much fun! I don't know if I should be concerned, but I just really like hitting things. Boxing is so much fun!

Then I went to Job #1 - boring.

After work I met Kristin for yoga! If you haven't figured it out by now, this class is definitely becoming "our thing."

Kristin and Babs post yoga :-)

The class was tough, which was not good for us because... we stayed for a two hour Zumbathon! Thankfully we had time to eat dinner together in the club cafe before it was time to Zumba the night away. Of course Sarah, World's Best Instructor, was there, along with Maddie (a friend who left for college this year). It was fun to spend a Friday night exercising with so many friends!

Sarah! I was moving too much when I took this pic, oops!

Kristin in the blue tank

Sarah and Babs!

Babs and Maddie!

If you couldn't tell from all the pink in the pictures, the Zumbathon raised money for breast cancer. I'd say the first 90 minutes were really fun. After that point my feet hurt and my shins started hurting... but I stuck it out. :-)

Onto Saturday!

I worked Job #2 - again, boring. Then it was time to get ready for a race! I know... an afternoon 5k seemed weird to me too, but it was actually a lot of fun. Remember my shins started hurting during the Zumbathon? Well, I woke up with shin splints (mostly on one leg). Thankfully Sarah brought me some KT Tape to try - I definitely think it helped.

Shin, all taped up for support

The race went right by Sarah's house, so her parents, husband, and three dogs were out in the yard cheering us on!

Pretty sure she's saying hi to her dogs :-)

1,000 minutes later, I appear!

The race was good! The weather was perfect, a lot of people dressed in costumes (which made it slightly more interesting), and with a good dose of hills and a little wind, it felt like a challenge. I didn't run a new post-surgery PR (my time for this one was 31:40... a 10:11/mile pace), but I was perfectly fine with my time. Sarah sped through in an amazing time and came in 2nd place for her age division.

Cheetah Sarah!!!!!

Kristin ran the race too! She was awesome because she actually ran in a costume. Can you guess what she was??

She's static cling!!

As soon as the race was over I hopped in my car and headed out to meet Emily, her baby boy Dylan, and Alyssa for frozen yogurt. Emily and Dylan are visiting for the weekend, so it was very important that we found time to get together.

Dylan and Emily

Dylan just turned one a few days ago. He's getting so big! He also seemed to have a real fondness for my car keys. :-) I was so glad to see Em - I miss her so much now that she doesn't live here anymore.

When I got home, this was sitting on the counter...

Flowers!

Apparently today is "Sweetest Day" - honestly I've NEVER heard of it, but somehow Andy had, so he got me some flowers! Well I'd say that was pretty darn sweet of him. :-)

They're so pretty!

And now I'm off to listen to Andy play his concert. Tomorrow I don't really have any big plans, so hopefully you won't be bombarded with two picture-heavy posts in a row!

Hope you all have a great rest of your weekend. :-)

Seetha to the Rescue

Yesterday I texted Seetha and she offered to meet with me this morning. Hallelujah!

I'm proud to say that I made it through yesterday without a binge. I made sure to drink lots of water and go to bed early so I could get a little extra sleep. What a difference a day makes - today I'm down 2 pounds (so only 1.4 more to go to recover completely from my two days of destruction). I feel energized and excited to continue on the Seetha path.

Here's what she had to say:

First she said I should be VERY proud that I made it 42 days before falling off the wagon. Apparently all of the clients she's ever had (who struggle with my same issues) have never made it that long when they first start out - I really should give myself more credit for the good job I am doing. Seetha reminded me that this is a process, and with slip ups come opportunities to learn.

Well I learned. She had me talk through the whole process. What I ate, when, what I was thinking, etc. And when I finished she said, "This is great, now we know one of your triggers." Drumroll...... NUTS! Big surprise there!!! Not just peanut butter though, nuts in general. So now what? No nuts. I'm cutting them out completely. I knew this would happen... I knew this was what I needed to do a long time ago... but with Seetha saying it, it's like it became a reality. What I loved most about our nut conversation was the line she gave me to use when it comes up - "I'm sorry I can't. I recently learned I have a sensitivity to nuts." PERFECT!!! Some of my coworkers can be so mean with their comments about what I chose to eat (or not eat) - this line is the perfect way to take care of their comments... the best part is it's true! It's not even a lie! They'll of course think sensitivity means I'm allergic, but whatever... they can think that.

Once we decoded the trigger for my first binge, we talked about future binges, which she assured me would happen (I know she's right). This time when I binged I was eating tons of nuts, dates, peanut butter, seeds, and strawberry ice cream. If all of the world's food was available to me, would I have still picked those things? No way! I'd probably choose an ooey gooey cinnamon roll. Her point was... just cut to the chase and have what you really want. Don't mess around with dates because really, who wants tons of dates? Even I don't! In the future, I will try to pause before a binge just long enough to ask myself what I would reeeally like to have, and then just go and get that, rather than eating all the way through my cupboards in hopes to find something that satisfies the urge that got me started in the first place. And she's not even saying go out and have three bites of the cinnamon roll. She said to get a big gigantic one and eat the whole thing. With that tactic, a binge will hopefully be just an "event" rather than "a whole day." She also made a point to mention that binges usually don't just happen in one day, but rather spread out through at least two (hmmm that sounds familiar), so my goal in the future will be to have two events, and make both events something I'm really craving.

We met for an hour, so we covered a lot of ground. I also asked her about how to handle party food. Rule number 1 - stay away from any food that's a trigger. Rule number 2 - stay away from any ingredient that's in any of the trigger foods. At Anna's the other night there were chocolate cupcakes that looked amazing, and I was proud of myself for not having one even though I really wanted one. What did I have instead? Chocolate. Well there ya go... I was trying to substitute the cupcake with the chocolate, but did I really want the chocolate? Not as much as I wanted that cupcake! She said I would be better off to wait, then when I leave the party get a cupcake (or something else that sounds even more delicious) and eat that alone. This is kind of interesting because I'm ashamed that I eat bad things in hiding, but the way she explained it made since. Eating a "baddie" is an emotional thing for me. If I eat a cupcake at a party, I've had a trigger (I'm certain baked goods are a trigger for me). But did I get to fully enjoy that trigger? No because I'm probably talking to people and distracted by the goings on of the party. Now I'll have the taste for the cupcake and want more because I didn't get to experience the mental part of eating it - better to experience the whole thing all at once. I hope that makes sense!

SO! There you have it. I won't eat nuts or nut butters anymore, unless I'm having one of those moments where I feel a binge coming on and, after reflection, decide that that is actually what I desire most. I will do my best to ask myself what I really want when I feel a binge come on, and try to honor that - by handling it that way I imagine I won't feel so out of control. At parties I will genuinely try to steer clear of all food unless I am genuinely hungry, and if I see something at the party that I can't get out of my mind, I will go get that and enjoy it in peace and quiet.

Time to move forward. :-)

Confession

If you're as tired of my depressing "food obsession" posts as I am, then stop reading now, and wait for the next post.

I binged.

Monday I had the day off. In my dream world I would have gone to training, come home and showered and had a healthy breakfast, been productive around the house (lots of unpacking and cleaning), run a few errands (grocery store, return a pair of shoes), made a great dinner, and spent some relaxing time at home with Andy in the evening.

Instead I woke up (later than I would have liked) with my stomach still mad at me for eating chicken wings, sat in the waiting room of Firestone for forever and a day, went to the grocery store with Andy and spent $$$ on food for a dinner party, found out the dinner party wasn't happening after all, and then... it was over.

First I started with an apple and some powdered peanut butter in an attempt to be good.
Then I had a small bowl of strawberry soy ice cream with melted peanut butter (the real stuff) on top.
Then I had another one.
Then I melted peanut butter in the bowl, stirred seeds into it, spooned more strawberry soy ice cream on top and mixed it all together.
This continued until all of the ice cream was gone.
And throughout all of this, I would shove "date cubes" into my mouth anytime the peanut butter would be melting in the microwave.

Then thankfully I stopped and went to a yoga class at 5:30pm. Seetha said if I binged to try to do yoga or meditation right after to signal that it was "over." Of course, on my drive to yoga, I downed a bag of trail mix.

Yoga was great - surprisingly because my stomach obviously felt like it was about to explode...and I was worried it would explode out of my butt as yoga has a tendency to move things in that direction. I went to a different yoga studio - after a binge I just didn't want to have to go to my workplace to do yoga, see tons of people I know, and have to act like things were fine...

After class, Rose came over and Andy and I went ahead and made a smaller scale of our planned dinner anyway. We had kale salad with dried cherries, asian pears, and walnuts, butternut squash soup, steak, and mexican chocolate pudding. SO GOOD! Even though I wasn't even hungry because of all of the food I had before yoga, I still really enjoyed the flavors of our dinner.

Rose

Andy with a mouthful

And what goes better with dinner than a post-dinner headstand fest? It all started by talking about push ups and Andy having to show us how to do a real one....which of course evolved to different ab exercices, and then... headstands! Rose is a pro and taught me how to do one with the help of the wall. There were a few hysterical mishaps, but for about 3 whole seconds, I was able to hold it without any support from the wall. Cool!!! I never thought I'd be able to do that.

Almost there!

Getting closer!!!

Once Rose left, I did the dishes, and Andy worked on putting laundry away upstairs. Since I was left alone in the kitchen again, with the disguising sound of the running water, I dove back into the cupboards.

More seeds and nuts
More peanut butter
More date cubes
And lots and lots of chocolate.

And now it's Tuesday. I feel sick to my stomach (no surprise there). I've also texted Seetha about my confession. Even though I'm feeling emotionally drained, I feel much more mentally stable. It's hard not to feel like a total failure after a binge. But the only way I'd be a true failure is if I gave up on everything and started hitting up the drive thrus again. This is an opportunity to prove to myself that I can recover quickly and get back to that happy place I've been in over the last month. And I should also take time to recognize the good - even though I was totally out of control with eating, I still only ate Seetha approved items. I didn't go get a Diet Coke. Or a cookie. Or cake. Or chips. Or bread. I'd say that's a pretty big victory and shows that even in my dark moments, there is still a glimmer of hope shining somewhere in me... otherwise I would have let loose and ate anything and everything, Seetha approved or not.

Tomorrow is Weigh-More Wednesday, but considering the scale has gone up 3+ pounds in the last two days, I'm very hopeful that tomorrow will break the trend. Stay tuned.

DONE!!!

My week of craziness is over!! I have the day off (much needed) - unfortunately I'm spending it in the waiting room of Firestone, un-showered, and feeling like my insides are going to fall out of my butt... but we'll get to that later. ;-)

On Sunday morning I was a big ball of stress. I ate breakfast and immediately got to work on my pre-concert activities.

A spirited laundry basket

After a quick shower I was off to buy the last of the supplies I needed - and then it was time to go to the concert to get these activities over with! I was so nervous all morning about getting it all done that my stomach was in knots and I felt like I was going to throw up. Not a fun way to spend a Sunday.

The activities actually went really well! Lisa and Andy both helped and I could not have done it without them. THANK YOU LISA AND ANDY!!!! Our new Marketing VP snapped a picture of me and posted it on Facebook. Here's a screen shot...

Toss the tambourine into the laundry hamper

I know it seems like a weird activity, but it was an Olympic themed concert, so I promise it made sense. The kids seemed to have a really good time, and I was SO happy when it was over.

Andy and I went out to Chipotle for an early dinner and then got ice cream to celebrate me being done with my crazy busy week. Then we headed to Anna and Bipul's house! Bipul is in town for a few days, so it was a real treat to hang out with them.

Happy Home Owners

Anna and Bips had lots of food out to welcome people to their new home. While I held out for awhile, I eventually ended up eating tons of chocolate, nuts, and chicken wings. While I was proud that I didn't have any starches, I still ate way more than necessary.

Well... I paid for it. It must had been the chicken wings. We'll just say I was unable to go to training this morning because I had a few dates with the bathroom. And even now, sitting in the waiting room while I get an oil change, my insides do NOT feel good. But I am determined to return to my Seetha ways and be mindful about what I eat. I will not let one night of abandon turn into a week-long spree of baddies. I have to prove to myself that I can get back to normal asap after a slip up. Considering I went 42.75 days without a real food fest, I'd say I've done a pretty good job. I can do this!!!

The Home Stretch

Only one day left until my crazy busy week comes to an end and I can go back to my normal routine. Of course, tomorrow is the day I'm most nervous about, but it will happen whether I like it or not so I've just got to roll with it.

When we last left off, I was feeling very frustrated on Thursday. Friday brought it's own frustrations as well, but I made sure to take time for myself. Before heading to the office I pulled out our decorations and got our house ready for Halloween.

Spooktacular!

Between the office and the concert that evening, I also made sure to make it to a yoga class. I cannot even begin to explain how much better I felt after class. Thank you yoga!

Babs and Kristin - yoga buddies!

And just because it was really funny in class, I must take a second to mention that the class was really full, our mats were really close together, and Kristin ended up touching my butt. Haha!

Moving on, Friday night I had concert duty. If you wonder what that looks like (at least for these concerts), picture me extra smiley while sitting at this table.

Would you like a season guide??

Friday night was a late one... trying to ignore the fact that I had a super busy day ahead of me, I stayed up late to get frozen yogurt with Andy. It's turning out to be our Friday night "thing." We're so cool.

Saturday (today) went by fast, just because my day was jam packed. First I worked Job #2, then I went to the office and worked for a few hours (trying to get ready for tomorrow's concert). I came home with just enough time to change, and then Andy and I ran to the grocery store for a super quick dinner. I'm happy that throughout all of this busy week I've managed to stick with my Seetha plan.

Sooo many veggies

Saturday night was another round of concert duty. The turnout was good and the audience was really appreciative, so it was a pretty easy night - thank goodness!

Now I'm on the couch in my PJ's. I need to go to bed but I want a snack (even though I already had a snack when I got home). I've been struggling this week to stay on track...not too badly, but just noticing that I'm finding things tempting that I haven't really cared about it awhile. I think it's just because I'm generally more tired and frustrated than normal and I'm looking for comfort. Let's just say I can't wait for tomorrow to be over!!!