Vacation starts now!

Vacation is finally starting!! I'm leaving the stress of work and life behind and I'm going to spend the next 13 days with family and the friends who have become my family! What a gift to have this opportunity and to have them in my life. I'll be traveling back to Seattle for a wedding...then setting off on the trip of a lifetime with my mom! Together, we'll see Mount St. Helens, The Redwoods and Yellowstone National Park. Dreams coming true, that's what it is.

I remember first hearing about the Redwoods in third grade...I've wanted to see them since. I've wanted to go to Yellowstone since I learned that the whole park is one giant caldera! And Mount Saint Helens...well, I have a tube of ash from the 1980 explosion. I'm a little geeky, but not too much. There's just enough science in this trip to keep me happy. All I can say is that there better be animals too!

It's always good to leave the stress behind and get away. That's definitely what I intend to do! We all need down time, we all need rest. Stay posted for my food from the road!!

 7/30/12

sugar for breakfast...see where this is going?

 That's one Tasty Burger!

Lunch with O & Co...

 tacos in Brookline on my way home to pack for vaca!

R takes such good care of me!! What a great snack after packing!

 7/31/12

So, the day started off well enough...just not a large enough breakfast

 meeting time snack


Clearly, I was so hungry at lunch that there was no time to pose for a photo...I had a buffalo chicken wrap from Fresh City

 1/2 fries 1/2 rings and a chocolate shake

Counter service at Johnny Rockets...perhaps the best thing about the airport!

Winnie-the-Pooh and Disco Fries

What a week!!! Stress, stress, and more stress...why can't the week before vacation be easier? It's work and it's social commitments, and it's housework, and it's planning, and it's downtime...and it's just that everything seems like it's the biggest most difficult thing in the world.

I don't know about you, but when I feel this way, I want to shut down. I want to crawl under a rock and pull the covers up over my head. I want to retreat to a safe warm space where everything is soft and easy. A place where I can cuddle with my Winnie-the-Pooh and forget that anything else exists. That's what I want right now. I don't want to think about anything. Not only do I want someone to come along and tell me that everything will be alright, but I want them to lay out a plan and do all the work. I want to just wake up and have everything be fixed and shiny like new. I want to ignore it until it goes away.

Times like this, I never get what I want. Times like this, I still have to keep moving, keep going. It's times like this when I need my instincts to kick in...what's right, what's healthy, what's going to help me accomplish the goal, what's right? Yeah, I know I asked that one twice. But that's the real question, isn't it? What's the right thing to do? When I'm overwhelmed to the point of inactivity, I need to know what the next right thing to do is. Sometimes it's nothing. But usually there's more to it than that. Regardless, it's kinda like food. If my instincts are right, I'll always choose the salad over the disco fries. And to be clear, one should never choose the disco fries.

 7/23/12

I couldn't resist a little cinnamon twist

 pizza and salad

 mint chip oreo

steak, salt potatoes and broccoli

 7/24/12

You know if the day starts off this with much sugar, it just isn't going to end well...

 pizza and salad

 I had my cake and ate it too

See, didn't end well...

buffalo chicken pizza

 7/25/12

breakfast burrito and salsa

 protein box from Starbucks

 Mmmm, that's one tasty burger!

 dumplings and avocado salad before sushi

sushi!!

 7/26/12

mmm, savory breakfast

 mac and cheese, the perfect comfort food...and a little General Tsao's Chicken

 salad at the Friendly Toast

 pressed cuban

 cheesy fries w/ fancy plates

back on the green leafy stuff!

 7/27/12

sausage, egg and cheese

pupusas...I think that's how you spell it...and mac and cheese bites



Dinner was a picnic for Shakespeare on the Common. There was chips and salsa, cherries, pizza, cookies and brownies and ICE CREAM!

 7/28/12

breakfast at the @Union Dinner



 mainly there were potato chips during the day, not good.

 Steamers. I was so hungry I needed to be reminded not to eat the shells!

I got my lobster dinner!

 7/29/12

A came over this morning and made me breakfast. I helped, but only a little.

 unfortunately, this is how I handled my stress today. At least it's colorful?

 salad at Zaftigs

Disco Fries!!!

I guess I broke my own rule.

Sleep for the soul

Well, a walk along the Charles is going to have to suffice for exercise for the weekend. Other than that, I sure did sleep a lot. Sometimes it's necessary. Sometimes you have to just listen to your body and obey. Sometimes, no matter what you'd rather be doing, you have to get some sleep. And how do I know this is true?? Because I managed to sleep through some sort of death metal screaming guitar concert going on in the apartment below me last night. Now, that's tired!

 7/21/12

Meat lover's omelette, potatoes and a single pancake from @Union Diner in Allston

 soft serve with rainbow sprinkles before walking along the river into Boston

Vegetable soup in a spicy tomato broth...wonder who the chef was?? You'll just have to keep wondering!

7/22/12

Breakfast salad. Woo Hoo!!

 snacky snacky!

 Lobsterfest!!!! Complete with real Upstate NY salt potatoes!!!

berries with vanilla ice cream and homemade whipped cream

Good enough

I last wrote about small goals. So how'd I do?? Some days good and some days not so good. Isn't that always the way? Progress, not perfection, right? Right. I made it to the gym twice last week and ate lots of vegetables...and had time for my friends. Time with my friends is just as important as time at the gym and eating healthy. Balance.

So, small goals for the weekend? Making it to the gym at least once, and relatively healthy eating. For the week? Making it to the gym three times and no sweets. Three workouts may be difficult...I've some plans with friends that may not allow three workouts. We'll see how it goes and I'll do my best. That's all I can ask. Sometimes the best I can do is good enough rather than perfect.

Making my best effort, recognizing what my best is, and accepting that it may not be perfection is one way that I maintain a healthy attitude about my weight and my eating habits. If I always strive for perfection, I will almost always fail. I need small wins to fuel my momentum, for my progress, for my success!

 7/16/12

a little oats, fruit and milk for brekkie!

 mmm, veggies

 nuts for a snack before a work out

salad for dinner...see, staying on track so far!

 7/17/12

berries, Uncle Sam cereal and milk

 I was sooooo hungry that I had a carb craving! pasta with meatballs to go along with my salad


for dinner, I had a steak with a large salad

dessert...carrot cake and ice cream

I had two pieces of cake and more ice cream...here's where staying on track really fell apart.

 7/18/12

cinnamon roll and fresh fruit

salad!

 OK, OK, I gave in to some carbs...

 fried onion loaf at Frank's Steak House

 side salad

Surf and turf---filet and scallops

 7/19/12

fruit and cereal

 Mediterranean salad from UFood Grill - you know I picked out all that damned radicchio!

 A night out with the girls!!! Empire!!! We shared all items, it was too good not to.

lobster and scallion pancakes...the white stuff is coconut milk!!

 dumplings for the table!

 this was either the spicy tuna or the spicy salmon...there were two rolls, I only photographed one

tuna sashimi!

 7/20/12

potatoes and eggs and fruit, oh my!

 garlic fries at The Yard House

 Greek Salad with chicken

there was a little stop at Cold Stone after this...

 Kachumber salad at Tanjore

Madras curry, vindaloo and daal makhani, all with rice