IML Updates - September

Pumpkin spice season is upon us! The days are cooler, the sun sets earlier, and the humidity has finally lifted! Things have been pretty busy and pretty fun this past month. Of course, I had my fair shares of fitness ups and downs...but when don't I?

1) Do what needs to be done: Finally! I'll all done with doctor's appointments, I am officially a Tarheel and have all of the necessary paperwork to prove that myself (and my car!) live and work here! Next up will be getting Nala spayed and after that, I'm pretty much home free in the responsibility department!

2) Maintain exercise goal of 3x/wk: Even though I often feel like I haven't been exercising very much, looking back at my daily mile account http://www.dailymile.com/training proves otherwise. I've been fairly consistent with my training. I've been meeting this minimum 3x/wk exercise goal.

In fact, I recently started doing the Couch to 5k program and so far so good! I am FINALLY doing my first 5k on 10/5 and have pledged to do a Sprint Triathalon next September, so I'll have to make sure I'm in tip top shape for that one.

One of my coworkers makes it a point to do a 5k every month, just to ensure that she's not getting rusty. I think this is a great idea and might steal it from her...

3) Make conscious food choices: I try (sometimes). This will forever be my downfall. I just love food. I love buying it, making it, serving it, eating it. In fact, I have a new dinner club -- we meet every Wednesday. Last week was homemade grilled pizza and s'more brownies! The week before was cheddar beer fondue and chocolate fondue. All delicious. All somewhat unhealthy.

And then there's this little thing called "going out to eat." It's a money suck and also a calorie bloat. But I just love it. It's social, it's fun, and there are so many amazing places to eat in this area. I know I could really IML if I cut back on this excess, but that would mean making a major life change. I'm not sure I'm ready to give that up just yet...

4) Enjoy my hobbies: I've definitely cut back on reading and music-making this month, not sure why. I have been crafty recently, which is nice. And doing a lot of travel. Spending a lot of QT w/ my pup and enjoying seasonal things. Overall, I'm pretty happy with my day to day.

5) Keep my close friends close: Definitely still trying to keep in contact with people via Lync, gmail, the phone. It's hard but I so care about preserving these friendships. It does suck knowing that I can't take a weekend trip to visit my friends and family because I'm in the middle of nowhere. I have to keep reminding myself that moving here was the best thing I've ever done for myself and my life...

6) Do what I can for my health: On it!

Heading to Seattle for a nice long vaca w/ the boy! While he's conferencing on Thursday/Friday, I'll be gym-ing it, spa-ing it, and shopping. What a life!

xoxo

PSL challenge

As if being a Gold Card holder (aka: congrats! you've spent a shit load of money on Starbucks!) weren't enough to get me in the drive-thru, they had to go and bust out my Achille's heel: PSL (Pumpkin. Spice. Latte. aka liquid crack). Now, I have modified this little baby to perfection. I do not actually order the PSL. I order an iced coffee with pumpkin sauce and 2% milk.



But it's addicting. Oh so addicting!

I crave it daily. I drink it (almost) daily. It is terrible for the wallet and more terrible for the body.

I need to break out of this SB rut. Therefore, I am challenging myself. Self: you are not to engage in any drinking of any form of the PSL for the next 7 days.

It's going to be hard. Sitting here at my desk, I am dreaming of the sweet elixir. But it's become necessary for me to wean myself off of this delicious coffee treat for a week just to prove to myself that I am not, in fact, an addict.

Wish me luck...

Picture update - September Style

I seriously can't believe that it's already September. It feels like I moved here only one month ago, and yet it has actually been 3 months already -- one quarter of a year! I'm so excited to see what the fall and winter are going to be like here. And I'm most excited to eat SO MANY pumpkin things. My pinterest board is literally bursting full of pumpkin recipes.

The past month has had it's fair share of ups and downs in the nutrition and exercise department. If you look at my DailyMile , the last two weeks of August were REALLY good for me, with at least one workout a day. The week before was not so good - I only got in three workouts.

But overall, I am pretty happy with my continued progress. I got in a bunch of new videos this month and have been trying them all out and rotating them through my repertoire. It's keeping me from getting bored and also showing me some rad new moves!

Pixor time!

As of September 1, 2013:

Old School, January 1, 2012: