Wordless Wednesday, WI

WI today: - FOURTEEN Sticks o' Butter!

(maybe it was all the planning for success, drinking water, and exercise!)

Coming Down from the Mountain

I'll try to keep this short(er) today. We slept late-ish today and, after our Starbucks lattes and strawberries & cereal breakfast, we headed up to Rocky Mountain NP. Both of us finally felt that we'd overcome the lack of energy caused by the high altitude. We consulted with a ranger and decided to do a 6 mile hike, with a 560 elevation gain, to Cub Lake. The climb happened in the first 2.3 miles of the hike and took us a long while. Once we reached the lake, the downward 3.5 miles went fairly quickly. Great views, some new (for me) birds, including the mountain bluebird, and a fun time. We again had our picnic lunch along the way and had lots of water. It was a challenge, but I felt great afterwards and am glad we did it. I'm in love with the Aspen trees. We don't have these birch-like trees in Virginia, but they are graceful and beautiful to look at. The other predominant tree in RMNP is the Lodgepole Pine. Unfortunately, in the park, as well as in several other western states they are under serious attack by a pine bark beetle which is fast killing great numbers of them.

Tomorrow we will drive across the park and head on down to Colorado Springs. DH's conference starts tomorrow evening and I'm sure I can find ways to entertain myself for a couple of days. I seriously need to get a run in--my running shoes are going to sue for abandonment. Tomorrow is supposed to be my WI day, but it looks like I'll probably go on Thursday, instead, because we won't roll into town until mid afternoon. I'm really hoping that I lose well this week. I miss having my scale along to keep an eye on things. For me, when I stop weighing myself every day, it means I'm avoiding acknowledging gaining.

I know people have different approaches to weighing. Do you weigh yourself every day?

Pinch Me!

It's late in the day, but on this Memorial Day I want to express my thankfulness for all the men and women who have served to protect and defend our country. Included in this number is my father, pictured above receiving his West Point diploma in 1939 from President Franklin Roosevelt. His class had so many casualties, but never forgot their motto: Duty, Honor, Country. I'm proud of him and all his comrades then and now.

So many of you wrote that you knew this little part of the country we're visiting now. Thanks for your comments. It's fun to imagine you here, too. This is the first time I've ever been here and I'm loving it. To think I've lived this long and never knew what I was missing! What ELSE are you keeping secret from me?? LOL

This is one of hundreds of tiles that local citizens decorated to line the entrance to a walkway along the River Walk in Estes Park. After a little more than one day here, we can really understand how they feel.

As per our usual travel routine, we shopped last night so that we could enjoy a healthy breakfast in our room. DH lured me from the bed (at 7:15!) with a fragrant cafe latte. I'm not usually a coffee drinker, but I do have skim cafe latte's when we travel to get in a little more milk than just breakfast. I could (and usually do) eat shredded mini wheats at breakfast every day. I love fresh fruit to vary it up, though. The white on the strawberries is Splenda (a habit I'm going to try to break one of these days, but not yet!

Today is Monday and I usually run on Monday, but not today. Estes Park is at just over 8000 feet above sea level and both DH and I had noticed that we were just a tad short of breath and that we lack our usual level of energy. We're feeling the altitude a bit, so I did not run. I did drink lots of water (about 2 1/2 quarts) and we spent most of the day at the lower altitude attractions. Anyway, I traded my running shoes for these:

.

We went on three short and one longer hike for a total of about 7 miles. Our hikes were separated by short rests in our hotel, a swim in the (heated) pool, and a nap. DH carried a backpack and, along with our plan to stay on-track food wise, we packed a lunch (bought last night at Safeway) and ate it alongside Lilly Lake. I usually do a better job of finding a variety of colors in meals, but this is what we had and it was tasty. I ended up giving DH about half of my chicken breast. Also, I've never liked bananas, but as they are always recommended for runners, I occasionally will eat an inch or two of banana. Today, it was good. DH says my tastes are maturing (!)

I didn't take along the camera on our long (4 mile) hike. We went on the Estes Lake trail, around the lake. Okay, but pale in comparison to the other walks and hikes around here.

We did notice we started feeling more able to breathe normally as the day wore on. This is good! Our final hike, just before dinner, was to Lumpy Ridge, part of Rocky Mountain NP. It had a bit of elevation gain (which we had been avoiding in deference to the lack of energy) but it was okay. I took this picture of one of the beautiful wildflowers right along the trail. I believe it is a kind of bluebell, a mertensia cillatta. Such fragile beauty in a rough terrain.

On our first walk of the day, along the River Walk in Estes Park, we noticed an Italian Restaurant (Mama Rosa's) and decided we'd go there for dinner. I'd eaten well within my plan and was prepared to treat myself at dinner time. This is what I chose: A Caprese Salad--it was on the appetizer menu, but it was always a favorite when we lived in Italy and so I ordered it. Dessert in our room with our beloved Latte Bars!

Tomorrow we're hoping to be ready to take on the Bear Lake trail (still with many snowy patches). Maybe one more swim in the pool tonight and then early to bed (we're still basically on EST).

Recap of my Spring Focus Goals: I kept to my goal to drink 2 quarts of water daily except on the day we were traveling. I have not measured my portions on this trip, but I did keep a mindful eye on them and feel they are well in control. I had a good, no fantastic, 2.8 pound weight loss at my WI last Wednesday. I'm hoping to lose at least half a pound at my WI this week. Things are going well. Thank you all for your inspiration and encouragement!

Rocky Mountain High

This is one of the beautiful places in God's world. The air is so fresh (and cool) and the scenery is breathtaking--or maybe that's my sea-level lungs, trying to adjust to this 8000 ft elevation. Anyway, we're having a great time. Here are some highlights of our day.

This little fella (we're pretty sure it's an Elk) is typical of the ones you see grazing around here. There were several small groups grazing nonchalantly in the town (Estes Park), busily eating in people's yards and in the town landscaping! I'd guess we've seen over 100 of them since we arrived around 3 this afternoon!

We took a short hike around this lake (Sprague Lake, in Rocky Mountain National Park) and spotted this guy (this was definitely a Moose) standing knee deep in the water, getting his afternoon fix of water weeds. I took several pictures and DH (who never takes pix) offered to venture into the woods at the edge of the lake. This is his picture, it's better--but don't tell him, okay?.

We snapped a picture for a family and they reciprocated by taking our picture. Their daughter "Indie" wanted to take one, too and we said sure (doncha just love digital cameras!). This is her picture of DH and me.

We ate at a local mom & pop kind of place that also offered game (buffalo sirloin steak and elk cutlets were on the menu) and frog legs. We chose this--and enjoyed it quite a lot. It's Rocky Mountain Grilled Trout with Orzo Toscano (rice pasta with artichoke, tomatoes, capers . . .) and steamed asparagus. Yummy. We eschewed the 7 layer carrot cake they had temptingly pictured on each and every table and picked up some of our favorite Latte Bars at Safeway.

This is the view from the parking lot at Safeway.

Oh, our one packing mishap?? An essential. Irreplaceable. We forgot to pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . our scale! :-( I plan to catch a WW meeting on Wednesday in Colorado Springs.

Going the Distance

This morning's run (C25K Week 8 Day 1) did not go as well as I had hoped it would. The plan called for the usual 5 minute walk warm-up and cool-down periods with a 28 minute run in between. I was pretty confident I could do this as I had some "extra" left after my last couple of 25 minute runs. But somehow, today was hard. The bruises from my bike accident earlier this week are beginning to go a lovely yellow-ish color, but the (muscle?) ache still bothers me when I move (e.g. swing my arms). This, combined with a high degree of mugginess, made me "wimp out" and walk several times during the 28 run part. I was jogging along, feeling disappointed in myself and discouraged, when I started noticing the lyrics to the song on my podcast.

I had downloaded a C25K podcast from itunes that has Christian music. Not things you've heard before, but songs by small, independent writer/composers. Anyway, this song was talking to me. The lyric I particularly noticed said something to the effect that "the race is not to the swift or the proud, but to those who make it to the end." [The song is Do Not be Weary, by Buried Talents Band] I was finishing my workout. I went the distance I was scheduled to go, I just didn't run the whole thing. Maybe it wasn't so bad. Yes, I walked some bits when I was supposed to run, but I DID go the distance. I also noticed from my records, that I have run farther this month (53+ miles) than I have in any other month during the past year.

I'm feeling much better about my run now. And my scale again this morning showed me my lowest weight since November (when my weight was on its way up). Dinner last night went well (we had a college age intern from my husband's office to dinner). I did buy some tortilla chips for the guys to munch on while I finished making dinner. I stayed far away from them and sent the remainder of the package home with our guest. I grilled steaks, but only did three as they were large. I shared one with our son. The baby red roasted potatoes (olive oil, rosemary, garlic powder, salt & pepper) were awesome as was the salad. I love red leaf curly lettuce. For dessert I had beautiful strawberries. I had bought a pint of vanilla ice cream which I stopped with berries for the boys, but DH and I just had a bigger dish of strawberries.

Today is Laundry Day. I think it must breed in that basket. It's a never ending chore. Am I the only one who throws white sox in one bag and black sox in the other to sort later? DH is well trained to go to the sox bag if there's not a pair in his drawer.

We're leaving tomorrow morning for 5 days in Colorado. DH has a conference at the end of the week and we're going to spend a few days exploring Rocky Mountain National

Park before it starts. I found a good deal on a beautiful hotel in Estes Park and I'm excited about the trip. It's so great that DH is a weight watcher, too. We've just finished sketching out a game plan for how we'll stay OP during our trip. Our hotel has a fully stocked kitchenette, so our meals out will be ones we choose, not food grabbed on the go. You'll laugh, but we take our scale with us when we travel. Seriously. Did I mention that the hotel also has a double jetted tub in each room?

Off to find my hiking shoes and bathing suit to put in the "to go" pile. Have a great holiday weekend! I'll check in here tomorrow night.

I'm now feeling much better about my run this morning. Thanks for listening!

[no that is not my weight on that scale, I wish . . . !]

Fly By

Friday's here and my day is full. I'm going to try to get in my C25K run this morning. I'm still sore and a bit achey from my bike fall on Wednesday, and I skipped my weight lifting last night, but I'm hoping this works. Also on tap for today is laundry, more laundry, getting my hair cut and colored, a visit to my dad, and getting the house spruced up. DH invited one of the college-age summer interns to dinner tonight. Steaks on the barbie, roasted baby potatoes, and a green salad are on the menu. Maybe strawberries (with ice cream for the guest) for dessert. My morning hop on the scale made me smile. I might even start posting my weight in a bit!

Be good today! I'll catch up with everybody after dinner.

3 Things Thursday

I thought that instead of trying to share my life story (as usual), I'd try to limit myself to just three things today.

1. Killing Time

I didn't intend to kill time when I went biking with DH last night. I meant to get some more exercise and spend a little quality time with my husband. In the end, though, I did kill time, or at least my watch. Here's what happened. We were at a 4-way stop in the neighborhood we ride through. I had entered the intersection with my left arm dutifully stretched out to signal my turn when I noticed a car with a pizza delivery sign on top fast approaching on the cross road. It didn't seem to be slowing for the stop sign at all. After an instantaneous calculation involving speed, relative bearing drift, and the known proclivities of pizza delivery guys to drive recklessly, I slammed on my brakes. A half a second later I was on the road, my bike having responded to my braking command so quickly, that I hadn't gone as much as a foot farther into the intersection. Long story short, the pizza car did stop (12 feet or so past the stop sign), DH came back and helped me (and my pride) up off the street, and we proceeded on our way. When we arrived home I took an inventory of my losses: 2 bruised and scuffed palms, 1 skinned knee, 1 skinned ankle, 1 skinned elbow, a nasty looking bruise in the 'under-the-bathing-suit area' at the top of my thigh, and an unblemished spot, inside, under my left breast that hurts a bit when I move/breathe/laugh. Oh, and yes, a cracked, scuffed crystal on my favorite red watch. My little granddaughter, E, thought I needed a band-aide and chose one of her Hello Kitty ones for me.

2. La Pasta Whole Wheat Roasted Vegetable Ravioli

We had this with dinner last night. I got it at Whole Foods because it was convenient, made with whole wheat pasta, and had just roasted veggies, no cheese. I didn't look up the nutritional information until this morning, but, having shared a package among the three of us, I was pleased with the results.

3. Portion Lesson

Baby J. is 10 months old and is just starting to eat "finger foods,"

beyond Cheerios. This morning I decided that for his fruit he could have some strawberries (his mom had suggested that he liked them). So I got out the box and choose a few to chop up. The first was a big one, but not humongous. I washed it, removed the top and started chopping it into cheerio-sized pieces. Incredibly, that one strawberry served up more than a quarter cup of pieces. I measured. One strawberry was plenty for him. Lesson learned: I need to clean the slate (in my head) and really look at my portions anew, forgetting old patterns of 'knowing' appropriate portions of things.