Mer's World

The days seem to be speeding by, while the week seems to be dragging on..

Maybe a combo of all the travel of the last week, time change and lack of sleep on vacation catching up with me?!

Thank goodness for the Miles Not Cookies Contest, so I at least made it onto the treadmill yesterday!

If you are just reading about it, simply log at least 5 miles a week (running, walking, biking- doesn’t matter!!) from now until Christmas, post your mileage on Sundays and be entered to win great gifts each week!

Join the challenge to help prevent weight gain this holiday season!

I’ve been trying to be careful this week, and yesterday was a great example of healthy eating for WIAW.

Thanks for hosting the weekly food party, Jenn!

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2.5 slices of turkey bacon, topped with a wedge of Laughing Cow (Garlic Herb- yummy!)

Lunch was an old favorite- leftovers! Grilled chicken with spinach, mushroom tomato sauce and roasted veggies (squashes, tomato, onion) topped with a little low-fat feta.  Also had a Greek yogurt with half a Lemon Lara bar for a snack.

Dinner was mixed greens with tomato and onion topped with buffalo chicken, 1/4c quinoa and 1t blue cheese dressing.  I find when I pile all the ingredients on top, I need less dressing, so I just added a little blue cheese to cut the spice of the buffalo sauce!

After dinner, I hopped on the treadmill for a 1.5 mile stress relief walk and promptly had my bloodsugar crash, so I treated with some Biscoff spread, since nothing else sounded good…

And, I’m up this morning to try and get some treadmill time in before heading to work!  Tonight is my stitch and chat class, so it will be a long day, but end on a good note!

Hope that you have a great day, enjoy WIAW and be sure and join the Miles Not Cookies challenge!

Current Mileage: 4.7miles (woohoo, going to meet the goal by Wednesday!)

Wow, yesterday was BUSY!

I did manage to fit in 3.2 miles for the ‘Miles Not Cookies Contest‘…

I also found a few minutes to sit and admire our Christmas decorations…

Here is a sneak peek…

‘His’ and ‘Her’ ornaments…

I love this quick and easy decoration- fill simple glass vases with brightly colored Christmas ornaments for a great-looking, festive decoration!

Breakfast was simple!

Two eggs (with a bit of brie), 3 slices turkey bacon and coffee with fat-free creamer

Lunch was a bit of leftover tomato soup and a salad-repeat: spring mix, tomato, onion, avocado, grilled chicken, cheddar and a drizzle of Greek dressing.

Dinner was late, so quick and easy.

Baked chicken, topped with spinach, mushroom spaghetti sauce (easy way for some extra veggies!), and some roasted squash, onions and tomato…

I’m off to get a few more miles in on the treadmill this AM.

Then make some eggs, prep my lunch, ponder the dinner options and race out the door!

Question: Did you get any good cyber-Monday deals?  Who is the hardest person to shop for this holiday season?

I think my husband is the hardest!  Bri will either buy what he wants, or insist that my ideas are something that he doesn’t need…

 Current Week #1 Mileage: 3.2 miles

Monday already?

Seriously, how did that happen?

Argh.  Vacation was lovely and I’m not ready to go back to work…

So, if you are anything like me, you are looking forward to this holiday with excitement for the celebrations and a bit of dread over the potential for gaining some extra pounds.

I’m a firm believer that there should be balance between celebrations, vacations and healthy living…

So, with that in mind, I’m laying some ground rules for myself:

1) Celebrate when it’s time to celebrate- dinner with friends, office parties, family events, etc.

2) Don’t celebrate just because it is the ‘Monday before Christmas’ or ‘Wednesday in December’.  The point is to celebrate at the events and go right back to healthy/clean eating and living the rest of the week.

3) Work out.  My goal for December is 20-25 miles by Christmas.  A mile a day, or 2.5 miles every other day.

4) Focus on the positive.  Feel good about myself, meeting my goals (or not!) and enjoy the time with friends and family.

To help you stay motivated this holiday, I’m hosting a contest for everyone who commits to a mile goal in December

Miles Not Cookies Contest

Make a goal of 5 miles a week and I’ll offer a random gift card drawing for everyone who posts their mileage at the end of the week.

The miles can be on a treadmill, sidewalk, bike, elliptical, etc.  It’s the honor system, just keep track of how many miles you work out for the next four weeks and post the total mileage every Sunday by midnight.

On Monday, I’ll draw a random winner for a ‘healthy living’ gift card.

Everyone that plays for the next 4 weeks, will be entered into a grand prize drawing.

Here are the awards:

Week I (11/28-12/3): $10 Bath and Body Works gift card

Week 2 (12/4-12/10): $10 Bath and Body Works gift card

Week 3 (12/11-12/18): $25 Kohl’s gift card

Week 4/ Grand Prize: $50 Williams Sonoma gift card

Leave a comment on the blog or facebook letting me know that you are going to participate!

I hope you’ll join me on this adventure to maintain healthy living during the holidays…
Also, I’ve added my weight loss tracker as part of the post headers, so hopefully updating it will keep me motivated to continue losing weight throughout the busy holidays!

And, a quick recap of Sunday:

Brunch with friends at a new restaurant Ashmont Grill.

It was wonderful!  I had an omelet called ‘The Trainwreck” and, man, did it feel appropriate after all this travel the past few days! 2 eggs, jalepenos, pepper jack cheese, onions, potatoes and sour cream…

Meghan had ordered a ‘Harvest’ cocktail and it looked too good not to try!  It was apple liquor with apple cider and prosecco… surprisingly tart and not sweet!

Dinner was quick and easy, while we tackled the Christmas decorations.

Tuna melt (on low-carb, multi-grain bread) with cream of tomato soup.

We’ve got the tree up, the mantle decked, the stockings hung and had dinner on the Christmas china…

Let the Holidays begin…

with Cyber-Monday!

Hope it’s a good day for you (and that you find some great deals while shopping at work today!).

You know the best part of vacation?

Coming home, dropping all of your bags, collapsing into your own bed and getting covered in puppy kisses from dogs that really really really missed you…

Short post today, because in addition to the mountain of laundry and the making room for new skis in the garage, we are headed out to brunch, Bella and I are working on some Christmas presents and it’s time to take down the Halloween decorations and get ready for that next holiday…

So, some photos from the last few days of the trip:

We ended on a sweet note with lunch at Mazzola’s…

Lemon Linguini was amazing (and helped with the shoppers remorse, associated with purchasing new skis, a season pass and a helmet…)

After lunch, we hit the road for Denver…

It was my turn to drive the Suburban (loved it, want one!), and we made it there in record time, after a brief stop at the Continental Divide…

In Denver, we met up with my Aunt’s family for some wine, Starbucks and dinner…

Honestly, I kept the camera in my purse and just enjoyed the family time wine.

I loved Denver, could definitely live there.  It had a great urban feel, but felt like a manageable city, much like Boston!

Dinner was at Encore, attached to the Tattered Cover Bookstore

I had a beet, arugula and goat cheese salad with grilled chicken, before crashing at an airport hotel for the evening…

Morning came too early and we were at the airport before 7:3o (after free breakfast at the hotel, thanks, Dad!).

Lance had a little suitcase/weight issue and had to wear a few more layers then expected…

That’s two winter coats…

While I am definitely a United fan (thanks for the First class upgrades!), they could have done a little better at finding smooth air this afternoon.  Thank god for First Class and free drinks.  Trust me, there were times that it was difficult to sip with all the bouncing around, but I managed it like a champ!  I also did so while clutching Brian’s hand and looking out the window, trying to calculate how many feet above civilization we were…

We landed on time, managed to fit everything we bought into the car, stopped by the grocery store for some fresh produce and collapsed at home..

After, trying to figure out where to store our new purchases:

Thank goodness a double ski bag can hold three sets of skis, a jacket, pajamas, helmets, boots, etc…

Don’t you love the pissy cat in the background?!

Skis from L to R: Mer, Brian, Meg

A grilled chicken salad, some laundry sorting and a little wine later, it was bed time!

We are off today to do some cleaning, brunching, crafting, decorating and then sleeping…

I had some thinking time this week, and have decided on some new goals, new strategies and new motivations…

I’ll be unveiling them throughout the next week, to help stay on track during the holidays!

Hope you had a wonderful long weekend and enjoy the last day before you are back to the office!

Yesterday was a great day with my family!

I spent the time unwinding and enjoying their company, so instead of the usual food photos, I’ll share a brief recap of our day!

We had a lazy morning, then took the gondola up to the summit of the mountain…

Then back down for more ski shopping (Lance invested first, then Brian, now Meg- should I buy some today?)

We are off to run some more errands this AM and then pack up and head to dinner (after another lunch at Mazzola’s!).

We are headed to Denver for a family dinner and fun night at the airport hotel, before a morning flight back to Boston on Saturday!

Hope you had a wonderful turkey day and happy black friday shopping!!

Did you get any good deals?!  This will be the first time in many years that I’m not up early to shop…