July Foodie Pen Pals

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I am  excited that it is Foodie Pen Pal reveal day.  This is my third month  participating.  I was matched with  Renee.  Her blog is  Bendiful. 

It was a pretty warm day in the valley and when I opened the mailbox I could smell my foodie pen pal box...... Yummy Carmel Corn smell.   I had been craving popcorn so that was the first thing that I tried.

So now to the important stuff what else was in the box.

The  Blue Corn  Chips and Chile Verde Salsa hit the salty savory spot.  The  Green Salsa had a nice tanginess to go with the heat.  The Mojo bar and peanut butter cookies went to work to be afternoon "will this day never end treats."    Renee said she had planned to send homemade cookies but these lasted allot longer than a homemade treat would have. The  Dr. Stuarts Tea's wee a  great combo pak to  try out.  The  Water bottle is  really nice it has an ice pack core so it keeps cool with out diluting  and the bottom is a cup that holds a few ounces of snacks/or drink mix.   Finally a big bag of  Cocoa Goodness. I thought it was great to share a  breakfast with Renee I had  the Love Grown Granola with  Greek yogurt one morning then later in the day  read that she had the same thing for breakfast.  We are both also and is also participating in BestBodyBootCamp.  So the base of our workouts where similar that day too.   

 I sent my box off to  food blogger  Sara her blog My Imperfect Kitchen with lots of  recipes and mom of college age kids stories. Sara lives in LA  and has a pasion for cooking classes,  she blogs about some of the chef's she has met in the last year.  


So now I am sure you want to know how you can join in the fun.  Foodie Pen Pals is the creation and work of  RD2B  Lindsay.  It is easy and the rules are simple.  Sign up by the 5th. Contact your pen pals within 48 hours of getting your match.  Send you box out by the 15th.  Thank your sender when you receive the box.  Reveal your  loot on the last day of the month and link up to Lindsay's blog.

400 miles

Tonight I  completed my 400th mile on the treadmill. 

It is incredible to me that when I set out on this path that I could go for more than 20 min at 2.2 miles an hour with stopping to catch my breath every 5 min.  I bought the starter treadmill that had the  450 lb capacity that I needed and would go 4 miles an hour.   Yep I was sure that would be good for a year little did I know what this last year has held for me. 


I upgraded treadmills, bought 7 sizes of pants, have walked on treadmills in 5 states.  Take hikes in 3 states,  logged 2,523,890 steps with my fitbit and over 1,170 miles.  I am tracking my  walk across the nation.  I am following the quickest car  route from  the Golden Gate Bridge to the Wahsington monument.   I am a couple weeks from the Nebraska border.  You can see my  path so far on my walking across the USA page.

I am on week 2 of the couch to 5 K training program.  It is a new challenge but I am up for it.  I have never been a runner a few laps in high school.  So the thought of me running a 5 K is  pretty out of my normal box.  But that box was not working so it was time for a change.

I am so glad I am getting stronger and  fitter as the days go by.  I am still not hitting my calorie counts but it is a work in progress.  I have been moving alot more and just need to make some adjustments.  I am in size 18W pants comfortably now and my  waist is getting smaller. 

Boot Camp Round #2

I am excited to get started on the next 8 weeks of best body boot camp from Tina Reale. Today is all about shoulders. I am not sure how I will do, but the great thing about this boot camp is that there are a range of exercises to do depending on your fitness level and equipment. Last time I did lots of modified moves this time I am hoping to be able to split the moves. In the last round I set my 2 personal goals as 7 fruits or veggies a day, and logging all my food. These have become such a part of my life now that it does not seem to be a challenge. So for the first 2 weeks of this round I am going with flossing daily and a plank a day I was doing plank a day in June but then I just stopped this is a good way to get back to it. Flossing well I just do not like to do it but I really need to so may be 8 weeks will make is a habit.

Back on Track

Today was a good day ate right, excercised, and had a productive work day.  Now to just string a few of these together and I will be in on a roll.    I feel like my head is in the game today and that is a great feeling. I have spent some time on the blog adding pages and updating things it is looking better.  I know it will change overtime and this is still mainly for me at this point.  I want to remember what my feelings were and what I was willing to but out there to get this  done.   I also know how much I am inspired by other bloggers.  So maybe some day this will help someone make in on the track one more day.

Happiness is... a 101 in 1001 update

One of my 101 in 1001 is to make a list of 50 things that make me happy.  This is what makes me happy today and at this point in my life.

 I spent some time updating my list today at about the 1 year in mark.  I am doing well I really think I can get all of them done. There were a couple that needed to be modified in the timing but that was it.  I have some of the financial ones that I need to focus on in the coming year. But my health is still #1.  It costs money to wage this battle and I am in it to win it.  Not the I am going crazy spending just that is is the way it is for now.   I have some work to do on the  ones that  require introspection and writing.  Not my strong suit but something that will help on this  journey.

So I have 34 completed, 17 that I have made some progress on,  7 that are time dependant, and 40 that I need to work on (23 of which are things that will take  a couple of hours to complete).

Refocusing. . .

July 10th marks the 1 year point on this journey I have averaged 2 lbs per week with 110 lbs gone and I will be very close to 366 miles on the treadmill.
 This is the right way to do this.

I am in no way unhappy to be wearing size 18 and 20 pants.
I am only kicking myself for not sticking with the plan for the last 6 weeks I have been eating and moving but not following a plan.
I intended to take a couple weeks to focus on other things but I just kept skating along I am up about 5 lbs from my lowest.
I am ready to get back at it. The last week has been good work out wise. I have logged my food but the counts are not good so it is time to get back at it and get through another 50 lbs.

I  joined a lose a marathon challenge that ends in mid sept.   Jess  of Run with Jess is doing an great job of  keeping us going and the Facebook group is very active and supportive.

I am also excited that Best Body Bootcamp round #2 will be starting soon.  It is not too late to sign up. Tina did a great job in round #1 and I ended up not only $1000 richer but with a much better body.  I  had not done the interval training and strength training that this added in to my daily walks.  I really got alot out of it.  I can do way more that I thought I could.