And now for my disappearing act!

Nah, I didn't give up on blogging that easily. I was in New Orleans for a conference! New Orleans is a very special place for me, mainly because it's where Andy asked me to marry him last year. He joined me on this trip, and we made the most of it, even though I had a full day of work that needed to be done before I could enjoy myself. We did a ton of walking, especially around the French Quarter:



I love New Orleans because it is such a walkable city. It's pretty flat, and the sidewalks are wide, and there is minimal public transportation. You *have* to walk. According to Google Maps, it was a 1.4 mile walk one way from our hotel to the French Quarter. That's almost three miles roundtrip! We also walked to dinners and along the Mississippi. It was a great walking trip. However, if you've been to New Orleans, you know there is one place that you *have* to go. It's the place that serves these wonderful things:



Mmm, beignets. Yes, they are deep fried dough covered in powdered sugar, but they are quintessential French Market cuisine. And yes, while I've been indulging myself a bit too often, you can't go on a trip to New Orleans and not have these. That being said, I'll be back on track tomorrow morning: food, exercise, and accountability.

My life in stickies

I'm a huge Post-It note (in my vernacular, "stickies") fan. I make a to-do list every day on a sticky note, tuck it inside my planner, and try to follow it religiously. However, yesterday, I read this article about how you should only have six "to-dos" on your sticky note in order to not feel overwhelmed and actually accomplish things throughout your day. So, I thought I'd try it out:



Did you catch #6? Yes, that's right. In the middle of my very busy day, I thought that exercise was important enough to be on my narrow list of things to do. And I'm proud of myself. I came home from the office a bit exhausted, and almost got sucked into watching a "Tabitha's Salon Takeover" marathon on Bravo (anything on that channel is extremely addictive to me). But I finally put my workout clothes on and did 30 minutes of the Biggest Loser's Boot Camp. I owned this since October, but haven't tried it once. Lots of squats and lunges and weights along with some cardio.... kinda reminds me of Jillian's 30 Day Shred, but taken down a notch. I liked it. It was just what I needed.

Did you include exercise on your sticky (whether real or mental) today?

Putting things into perspective

I'd like to blame my future mother-in-law. Over the summer, she insisted on taking a picture of Andy and myself, so she could post it on Facebook for all her friends to see. Um, no. Not one picture looked right, so although much to her disappointment, she erased them. I'd also like to blame my future sister-in-law. She won a camera at her company's Christmas party, and while she's been photo attacking everyone, the photos she posted on her Picasa made me pause and say, Oh my.

Have I really gotten that big?

I've realized over the past few months that I really need to put things in perspective. After all, I gained an easy 20 pounds from October 2009 until January 2010 (stop exercise and add Christmas cookies... yeah, it's that easy). Mix in a research sabbatical that meant that I could sit around and wear nothing but sweatpants and pajamas all day, stir in some back to school shopping (in a larger size), and poof... not surprisingly, I'm almost 40 pounds heavier than I was 15 months ago.

If that isn't scary enough, I looked at it a bit differently while I was updating this blog. I'm about 30 pound lighter than my heaviest weight. When did the scales tip in that direction? Sure, when I was just 20 pounds heavier than my lowest weight, that was an "easy" number to return to. But now... I'm in that "oh shit" zone. How did I get back here? When did the scales tip over 200 and I was okay with that? Why was I able to cancel my gym membership, completely unfazed?

I know what everyone is thinking: oh no, here comes *another* new year's resolution. But honestly, I think I've outgrown that. I'm going to turn 31 in a few months, I'm getting married a few months after that, and the next step is to start a family. There is no way that is going to happen if I'm not healthy. Trust me, it isn't all about looking great in pictures (but damn how they show us what we've been denying), it's about getting back to a healthy weight and being happy.

Welcome back to my journey.

I've Moved

New blog, new attitude... come visit me over at http://hardcorekiki.wordpress.com/

Let's Start at the Very Beginning

I decided that this summer is the time for me to get back on track with my weight loss and fitness. Last summer, I had a lot of personal stress on myself, and luckily, this summer, it's all gone. Instead, this is going to be the summer of me. My job is to be my most fabulous self. That's what everyone's goal should be, since everything else just falls into place from there.

Anyway, like one of my favorite songs from the Sound of Music, I decided to start from the very beginning, because it's a very good place to start! I figured I would get myself out on the rail trail and run a mile. After I ran the mile, I decided to tack another half mile onto it, and I have to admit that at the end of the 1.5 miles, I was tired. It's been a while since I've run that far. But I did it... 1.5 miles! I rock! I came home and did some weight work, and I feel pretty darn good.

What have YOU done today to make you feel proud?

Stepping outside of my box

After not doing much of anything over the past week (I hit a spinning class on Monday and then took the rest of the week off because of my work load), I decided to tag along with a group of friends who were going rock climbing on Sunday morning. I've never been rock climbing, and maybe I should have been grading... but instead, I decided to go for my very first rock climb. My first time up, I think I got about three feet off the ground before I was begging Dave(our belayer) to let me back down. After some time, and with a little encouragement, I decided to try it again. I got about half way up the rock, which was a lot further than I thought I would every get, and I got stuck in this really difficult part that everyone got stuck at. My hands are a lot more raw than I ever expected them to be, and I have a really nice bruise on my knee (which is huge... in the pictures, it just looks like some scratches. No way... it's about the size of a half dollar and nice and red). But I'm hooked. I think I'm buying a pair of climbing shoes this week in prep for our climb on Friday morning... it is summer for us in the academic world... try not to be jealous :)

Check out how red my hands are in this picture. This is pain and love:

Where Have I Been?

Hi guys. Sorry that I haven't been updating the blog lately. My life has been crazy busy lately. First off, work is insane. Research wise, I have a ton of balls up in the air, and I'm trying not to drop any of them. I've done that before, and wasted a good year of research work. My classes are almost over, so while the grading has kind of calmed down at this point in the week, I'll be spending all weekend grading final exams. Secondly, I've been really busy personally. Lots of six mile walks with friends outdoors, giving myself some well deserved Kiki time now that spring has sprung. I'd like to get back to blogging regularly, but I don't know when. You'll just have to keep checking for updates.

My biggest issue right now is stress eating. Between my research and my grading, I've been nibbling on candy here and there. Luckily for me, I'm still losing, not gaining, but obviously, I'm not losing as fast as I probably could if I was not eating candy throughout the day. Also, at this time of the year, I have no motivation to cook, so I've been eating lots of Subway (seriously, Jared, how did you do this for extended periods of time?), sandwiches and frozen meals (yes, I know, sodium, but it's going to have to do for now).

So, really, I am here, putting in the time at the gym, but at the same time... I'm so busy that I can't really update my blog regularly. Thanks for wondering where I've been, all the same :)