Operation Batwing

When you reach a certain age (and, don't spend enough time at the gym toning your arms, obviously), you can sometimes develop batwings. You know, arm flab that moves when you wave? Never a good look, my friends. This became a problem when M & I planned a spontaneous, last-minute trip to Las Vegas next Sunday & I'm 100% not ready to rock the small dresses I normally sport.

I have a two-pronged approach to remedying my batwing situation.

1) I'm actually focusing on my arms at the gym, and not just doing cardio & blaming my short lunch hour on my strength-training-avoidance. I've done 4 arm workouts this month alone, so I'm making progress on that front.

2) I searched & searched for a fun, sexy (but not, getting off work as an escort) dress that covers the batwings. Today, I finally had dress success!

I picked this baby up at White House/Black Market. The one at my store was on sale for $50, but I see this one is full-price online. Anyway, cute, sexy, fun, but not too much. My flab arms won't be scaring anyone!

And, if you are on a quest for the perfect skinny jeans, I may have a solution for you. I'm a huge fan of the Gap Always Skinny, in the dark wash. Great fit, slimming, rocks with boots, etc. But, I hate their lighter wash, and I don't like the color of the dark wash with black tops. Given that 92.87% of my wardrobe is black, I needed a lighter colored skinny jean. Still good coverage (no jeggings), nice fit, etc. I did some research, and ended up at American Eagle. Color me surprised, but these jeans were awesome! (Skinny jeans - worn dark is their official name).

Working out:

I mastered my 1.5 mile run on the treadmill today. I'm back at my desk, but still a little sweaty. Keepin' it sexy.

And, in honor of HHR, I'm going to try & convince M to share his pomegranate martini recipe, so stay tuned. If I can't get him to share, I'll just take secret pictures and post them when he's not looking. :-)

Best pre-run meal

Yesterday was one of those crazy days. I didn't get a chance to work out at lunch (my preferred time), and planned to squeeze in a quick treadmill session around 6:30 or so. I forgot that it was Nick's swimming day,which delays our dinner by an hour, and I had to take Sam to the mall for new shoes. Because a huge chunk was missing out of his shoe. How does this happen to a $60 pair of shoes? Perhaps it's using the shoes as brakes on his bike, sliding all over as though he's playing baseball & coming into home, and generally kicking everything in his path.

After the mall, I corralled myself into throwing something together for dinner, which meant taquitos that I made & froze over the weekend. This was a decision I would later come to regret. Genius move. Because we had a later dinner & all, I had to run about 45 minutes after I finished eating. That taquito was showing me no love on the treadmill. At all. At all. Nausea-city. Let that be a lesson to you. However, if you're looking for a yummy taquito recipe, I highly recommend this one! (I know, the near-barf on the treadmill story really built it up & made you want to try it, didn't it?) I make a few small tweaks - I cook my chicken before I put it in the food processor, because dealing with chicken germs isn't for me. I also don't do the dip like they recommend. I keep it easy & mix together a bit of Greek yogurt with salsa as my dip. YUM. Healthy, & easy.

Here's what I'm wearing today. I have a feeling I'll be cold, but I love this sweater & had nothing to layer under it. I apparently don't own a single black or white long-sleeved tshirt.

Outfit details:

• Black & silver necklace - Tiffany & Co, gift from M
• Black tank - Express
• Cranberry sweater - Aritzia
• Jeans - 7FAM, from Costco
• Black boots - Anne Klein, Macy's
• Surprised expression - courtesy of my awesome camera skills + non-photogenic face

Workout details:
I'm slowly building up my mileage again, and ran 1.25 miles without stopping yesterday. I could have gone a bit farther, but I felt like collapsing on the treadmill would be poor form. Today I'm aiming for 1.5 miles + an arm workout (operation bat wing) at the gym. My gym is having a holiday beauty product giveaway each day in December, so it's a nice motivation to come & get my prize. Oh, and work out too. ;-)I'm easily bribed.

Questions for you:
What's a reasonable amount of miles to add each week? I'm going to spend December just getting back to the basics, and hope to be up to 5K range by mid-January. I'd like to find a 5K for mid-January, a 10Kish for February, and if all goes well, a 1/2 for the April time frame. I'd like it to be somewhere warm & vacation-y (willing to travel!) as it will be a combined girls vacation & run. Any suggestions? I'm thinking of doing the Mercer Island race, but not sure if I'll be ready for a half in March. May just do the 10K. Anyway, please send me any recommendations you have for races. I love the motivation of having something to train for!

And, what are you up to this weekend? Any races or fun holiday plans? I think M is taking our oldest skiing, we have our normal swimming practice & soccer games + we're having a holiday get together with my BFF & her kids this weekend. A pizza party, and I do believe M is busting out the pomegranate martinis again. You know, to perfect his recipe for Christmas. And, maybe a little because I begged. ;-)

Return of the plaid

I ran again! I did an entire mile (without stopping) on Tuesday. Impressive for several reasons. 1) I had a craptastic day at work, and wanted to blow the entire workout off, sit on my sofa, & eat pirate's booty while watching Burn Notice. 2) It took me a month to build up to running a mile without stopping last winter when I started to run.

Summary of my workouts:
Monday - no workout, signing the refinance papers on our house.
Tuesday - Didn't want to work out (had to skip lunch due to work crisis), but squeezed in a quick walk/run on the treadmill after the kids were in bed.
Wednesday - 35 minutes on the bike + .25 miles on the treadmill + working on my bat wings (aka flabby arms)

Plan for today - keep my calories under 1500, eat well (lots of fruits & vegetables), & run for 1.25 miles without stopping. Also, a leg workout.

Ugly Bathroom Photos:
Yesterday

• Plaid scarf (hence the post title) - Burberry, circa 2001. My office is cold, & I've cycled through all of my scarves. I have no shame, and the Burberry may no longer be a *trend*, but it's still warm & snuggly.
• Tan sweater - Loft
• Jeans - Gap, Always Skinny
• Boots - Vince Camutto (Nordstrom), gift from M
• Dorky face & security badge - keeping it real

And, without the scarf. The sweater is new

Today's outfit of the day. I was bored with jeans & boots, so opted for a skirt. Of course, this skirt is pre-kids (you know, back in the day when I had disposable income), so it's a bit shorter than I would pick these days. Oh well. Hopefully I won't scar anyone at the office.

Sweater - Gap
Silver necklace - Macy's
Gray & black striped skirt - Banana Republic, circa 2001 or so
Black tights - Loft?
Black boots - Anne Klein, Macy's

I'm also having a hair crisis. As I've mentioned (and, likely bored you to tears with) before, I'm trying to grow out my color. I'm about a year in, and here's where I'm at:

I hate my hair short. HATE. When you have huge cheeks, short hair is not your friend. But, the giant blonde streaks are not doing me any favors. I'm worried about getting a few inches trimmed off, and leaving just another inch or so of blonde roots at the bottom. Will that look worse than it does now, or better? I need input! :-) Please advise.

Progress

Guess who ran 3/4 of a mile on Sunday? Yes, that would be me! So very, very excited that I'm not feeling pain (the swelling & pain in my foot is reduced to the point of a slight nagging feeling every now & again - not the distracting, "ouch" pain that it was a few weeks ago.) Bless you, orthopedic trauma guy!

And, this is why I run. Nothing gets me quite as sweaty (and red, with crazy awesome fly aways) as running. I have no idea why my shirt is so low in the picture. I promise that I had a sports bra on, and the ladies were covered, despite what the picture shows.

Life is good! Over the weekend, M experimented with pomegranate martinis, and we are mastering our holiday drink. Best.Drink.Ever. I think I might tell him that it needs more work, just so he'll make up another batch.

My office is still cold, & I am still forced to wear flats. Hence the scarves. And boots.

Yesterday's look:
Too dark to see the details. Photography fail. I was wearing my new Grandma sweater from the Gap, and it was ridiculously warm. And, apparently not very cute, according to my husband. ;-) That's okay, I'll take warmth over style these days.

Today's look:

Here's what I'm wearing:

• Gray & white scarf - Jcrew
• Black long cardigan - Loft
• Gray jeweled tank - Jcrew
• Jeans - Seven FAM. Not meant to be tucked into boots, but my jean choices are limited these days.
• Black boots - Anne Klein/Macy's
• Dorky face & bad photography skills - still here! :-)

I'm working hard to get my eating back in check. Yesterday was a pretty good day - I came in at 1430 calories, but wasn't able to work out. We closed on the refinance of our house, so I spent my workout time signing a stack of papers.

Here's what I ate:

• Breakfast - 1/2 of an English muffin + egg + fruit & coffee
• Lunch (met M for lunch before our signing) - 1/2 piece of bread, 1/2 of a panini, handful of fries. So pleased that I took the other half of my lunch to go, rather than inhaling it as usual. :-)
• Snack - celery sticks with taziki sauce & an apple.
• Dinner - roasted brussel sprouts & butternut squash + 2 bistro sized burgers (no buns)

I was pleased that I resisted the holiday beer that M was drinking last night. Now, I need to keep it up! It's getting to that time of year when there is food EVERYWHERE at work, at home, at gatherings, etc. I need to pick my splurges, and focus on good eating habits the majority of the time. So I can make room for my planned indulgences. You know, like pomegranate martinis!

For you: what's your favorite holiday food/splurge/drink (if you partake)? Do you wear scarves?

Phone vs pool

This is what happens when you're five year old accidentally knocks your cell phone into the pool during swimming practice.

Sadly, my job requires the phone, so I'm going to have to replace it. Sigh. I think it's
going to be $450 for a new one, which is a total heartbreaker. Christmas gift to myself, anyone?

Do you like my outfit? ;-) We'll just pretend:

• Camel flats - Aerosoles (I'm all about comfort these days)
• Jeans - Seven, Dojo
• Coral sweater - Loft

Anyway, I did manage a workout today! I did a light elliptical workout + arms. My arms are very jiggly, so it's time to tone up! My goal is to keep the calories under control, because I know I'll be having wine while I make dinner. *wine, how I love you*

Here's one of the pictures I used in our Christmas cards. Getting the boys to cooperate for pictures is a huge challenge, but I liked this one.

What are you up to this weekend? Anything fun? We're hoping to take the boys to a holiday parade, they both have soccer practice, one has swimming lessons, & I need to get to the gym a few times to fend off my bat wings. I also want to finish my Christmas wrapping & getting the holiday cards in the mail!

Yes! Yes! Yes! My fracture is gone

I went in for a follow up xray & appointment with the orthopedic trauma specialist yesterday, & my foot fracture is entirely healed! Seriously, I cried. That's how happy I am. Six months later, & the fracture is finally, finally healed. That 5th metatarsal break can be wily, but the tendon has successfully pulled the bone back into place. (And, other details of anatomy that were way over my head, because I was too giddy about the news.)

I do have some wicked tendinitis right along the same spot (likely a result of some sort of pressure from the injury/recovery/what have you.) However, the treatment for the tendinitis is a two week regimen of Extra Strength Tylenol & Alleve to eliminate swelling. That, I can handle!

In six months, I've run once. I've gained six pounds. I've been miserable without the hit of cardio. My clothes don't fit as well. I can't eat all the fun stuff I used to. And, I just miss it. BUT, I'm on my way back!!!

My plan is to take it easy & focus on weights (limited cardio) for the next two weeks while I'm taking the Tylenol/Alleve. After that, I'll be walking, then *running*. I'm thinking of signing up for a 10K in March, depending on how I feel in the next month. YES!!!!!!!!!

And, just for giggles, and to demonstrate my extremely, extremely round hips that I developed during this six month hiatus, a return of ugly bathroom photos!

Outfit:

• Scarf (my office is super chilly) - Laurie B? It's 10ish years old
• Camel sweater - Loft
• Cream tank - Loft
• Jeans - Always Skinny (ha, ha, ha!), Gap
• Boots - Vince Camuto? Gift from the husband

Life is good today, friends! :-)