Last Resort...

...okay, not my LAST last resort, but close enough. If you are a follower of my blog (Alyssa) I apoligize to you for the repeatitive nature of my blog since moving. David and I have decided to hire personal. Over the last year, I have gained enough weight that I can no longer fit into my size four jeans I so happily purchased but could only wear for such a short time. I'd like to blame the stress of moving across the country, and then the stress of looking for a job, and then keeping up with my job... but to honest, I have nothing to blame it on. Instead of heading to the gym after work or after dinner, I watched TV for an hour... justifying it by saying I deserved 20 minutes to relax. The problem is that it was never 20 minutes... it was more like 2 hours.

Today I had my first workout with my trainer... and I will from here on out be doing cardio 5x per week and strength training 3x per week.

My workout this week:
-squats
-lunges
-bicep curl/press
-push-up/row
-in and outs
-planks/supermans

Pretty basic and easily handled. Goodbye lemon loaf and chocolate chip cookies... eye on the prize: 130lbs by September 1.

YAY! GO ME!

Easter, Eh?

Two weeks ago for Easter, David and I took off on a weekend getaway to Vancouver, Canada. After boarding the pup at the farm, we drove for about 3.5 hours to the Canadian border.

With passports in hand we braced ourselves for a lengthy wait at immigration. (Since neither of us had even driven across the border, we weren't sure how long it would take.) To our pleasant surprise we only had to wait with about 7 cars for about 5 minutes. Once we crossed into Canada, I was able to see the line the other direction. This traffic was bumper to bumper across three lanes of highway for about 3 miles. Mental note... stop at the last bathroom bathroom in Canada.

Once arriving in Vancouver, we spent the day in Stanley Park. It reminded me of Forest Park... with an aqaurium, lots of walking/bikeriding/roller-blading paths, and artists and vendors dispersed around. One distinct difference...

... the view of the city skyline from the sea wall. We spent the majority of our day enjoying the lovely weather in a very pretty park.

On Saturday after breakfast we went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge and Park. This I was dreading... Last year I went ziplining in Jamaicaand had to cross a suspension bridge and that was the most terrifying part of the whole trip. Not hanging from a cable over an enormous jungle, but the dinky suspension bridge between two tree tops. This bridge was not at all. It was huge and beautiful.

Then it was off to Light House Park... more pretty Vancouver skyline, a beach, and you guessed it... A LIGHT HOUSE!

Once we finished there we decided to have lunch, pack up our stuff and head home a day early. We had done what we planned to do... and didn't see any reason to stay another night.

Which brings me to the cross back over the border... only 30 minutes and five lanes of traffic. SCORE! I did have some time to get out of the car and take a few pictures.

The Peace Arch at the United States/Candian Border (on the Canadian side).

Again, but this time looking from U.S. soil.

We spent Easter at home with Mogley... it rained and we stayed in, satisfied with our decision to end the trip on sunny weather.

Yard Work

Yesterday was my last official day of spring break and David had the day off, so we planned to do yard work in the pretty weather. On the agenda--a retaining wall around the front flower bed and a walkway from the front yard to back gate on the side of the house.

Usually when we do projects I try to stay out of David's way as much as possible... it's easier and less stressful for both of us that way. :) While David worked on the wall, I mowed the backyard and worked on the side yard. I weeded and 'tilled' up the dirt... so much moss! After making the side yard level, I spot reseeded the backyard.

These projects took us all day with a break for lunch... and we never made it to the gym or had time to study. But here are the results from one day of work...

Today, we'll be laying mulch and stones in the side yard for our walkway... more pictures to come!

New Goal...

When David and I got married almost 4 years ago, I weighed 160 pounds. Marrying a more health concise person than I translated to my loosing weight... not by working out everyday and meticulously writing down what I ate, but because cooking for David meant making healthier choices. After being married for about 2 years I was down to 147 pounds. I was 'working out' (cardio) on the weekends, but never felt super motivated to go without David or really ever do weight work-outs. In my eyes, I was doing well because I was the thinnest I had ever been.

When we moved to Washington last June, I joined a gym almost right away. By this time, my weight had crept back up to 155 and I could no longer wear my size 4 jeans that I was so proud to buy. I thought I have the whole summer and so I'm going to make this a priority. That did not happen. I fell into my old routine of no routine. I found every excuse not to have time to work out because it just wasn't something I wanted to do. Don't get me wrong, once I'm there, I'm good. But getting to the gym is my battle. David joined the same gym shortly after I did and that pushed me to go whenever he did. I was averaging about 3 times per week. Feeling pretty good about my progress as a runner, I declared I would run the Rock'n'Roll Seattle half marathon in June.

I printed two different training schedules and laid out a plan on our white board calendar. And then... I failed. I didn't stick to any plan! I found myself in familiar territory of finding reasons not to go to the gym... and I couldn't run outside because well it rains a LOT here in the winter.

So now, I'm starting with a new goal of creating a routine. I mentioned in a previous post that I was going to buy a duffel bag to keep in my car, which I did. I'm hoping that taking this smaller step to combat my apathy toward the gym will give me results and make me happier. I'm hoping to be back down to 150 by Memorial Day and our trip to Vegas. Here it goes.

Spring Break To Do List...

I am so glad to have a week away from school to get things done. I plan to relax along the way, but I also have a ton of stuff to do. I'll be posting my progress as the week goes along, but judging from the fact that it's already 11am on the first day and I have done nothing... I better get my butt into gear.

Plan for today...
1. Finish laundry
2. Vacuum
3. Work out
4. Study at least an hour

Until later.

a con of facebook

As I drive home each day from work, I think about the clever title I'll give my blog post for that day. A short phrase to sum up my day and lead into the accompanying story.

BUT, when I sit down to type out my thoughts for the day, I am only able to think in short bursts... AKA the length of a facebook status. And I'm sunk. The story and updates I had in mind to share have fallen victim to facebook.

Thank goodness I don't have twitter...

work in progress

Obviously blogging does not rank among my most frequently completed tasks as evidenced by the very low number of posts completed in the last two years. And everytime I think I'll get back in the swing of things... something else seems to consume my time.

This is not just the case with blogging. It also happens with working out and healthy eating. I think I've cut soda from my life 4 times this year... and yet there still remains half a bottle of Coca-Cola in our refridgerator. Needless to say, my follow through leaves something to be desired.

So to make myself more inclined to complete the tasks...

1) On each day that I read another blog, I will update mine.

2) No more breakfast from a drive through... this includes starbucks. I'm going to set the timer on my coffee pot before bed... and make sure there are boiled eggs and english muffins for breakfast.

3) I'm buying a gym bag and lock to make going to the gym in the morning more attractive. Also, picking out an outfit before bed will make me more productive. This is the major goal so I can actually run the half marathon in June.

Fingers crossed that this time I'm able to follow through on my goals.