Day 48: Saturday - T2T Vending Take 2

Today I was at the ETC inaugural combine selling the fabulous T2T apparel. Let me tell you, I am so in love with this company and the product. The shirts are so much fun and I always get to talk to so many great people who are entertained by the shirts. Also, I am really going HAM with my display, I am not going to lie. So much pink! Check it out:

Todays sales weren't amazing given that the combine was rescheduled due to being snowed out the week before and the turnout wasn't what was expected. I did, however, manage to gather enough information to figure our a new strategy. I am going to make myself a pop up boutique. I cannot go through digging for sizes anymore, just to not have them and let down my now disheartened shopper. I came home this evening and made these fabulous size indicators, and bought another rack, so I am going to have all of my inventory available for people to peruse via size so they can get in and out easily. We'll see how it goes! Next event is on March 17th.

Now, I am off to Outback for dinner. I am really about to destroy a sweet potato and salmon. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Day 47: So Blessed to Love My Job

If you love what you do you will never work a day in your life. For me, I am so blessed to be able to say that is 100% true.

 

Today was a doozy. I had a 10 o'clock with Q where she whipped my arms into shape. Then I ran strait to the warehouse to grab some items for todays staging.  My assistant Kiana and I did an occupied staging in a beautiful home right around the corner from my house. The owner was so sweet with such southern charm. I felt right at home. The house looks fabulous when we were done, but boy was I exhausted by the end of it! I came strait home and I am now laying on this couch. I am not moving the rest of the night.

 

Here are a few shots of what it looked like after. In order to see the entire album of Before and After's, click here

 

 

Day 46: Do You Boo

Today was quite the adventure! I was supposed to stage today, but mother nature is back to her old tricks and ended up snowing us out, so we had to reschedule for tomorrow. Instead, I used today to run all of my errands I would have done Friday... except for one very awesome inspired surprise.

I started off the day running to Gainesville to meet Andrea from Thick to Thin to pick up items for this weekends Combine where I am a vendor. I left there and headed to Alexandria to see my stylist Caitlin for new color. For the last year I have been doing super fun colors, pinks, blues, purples, oranges, yellow, greens... whatever mood I'm in really. Today was pink and orange. It's fabulous, I love it.

 

As I was sitting in the chair I felt inspired to go get a tattoo. There is a saying that really spoke to me at the beginning of my journey. As a matter of fact, I posted it on Day 21 of this blog. I even went out and bought an engraved bracelet to always have it near me. So, today I decided to get it on me permanently to celebrate 45 consecutive days of a successful lifestyle change. I stumbled upon a shop in Arlington where there were two artists that really impressed me with their portfolio... so I decided to chance and see if one of them was available. It was a sign, because Amy rounded the corner and it was on. We discussed what I wanted and decided to do it in two phases. I got the quote today and after the challenge, in early April I will get the background (which will be watercolor flowers). I am so pumped. It is going to be so rad. This is it so far:

 

 

 

After I left Rick's, I headed over to Del Ray to go meet up with friends. Ed was in town from Ohio, so we all got together for dinner. Let me tell you, eating out on a strict diet is hard as hell, but I managed to do it. They didn't have sweet potatoes, so I just had plain Salmon and green beans, no butter or hollandaise. As soon as I got home, I cooked my sweet potato and it was delicious. It was a great evening. We found out Ed was just selected for Chief and that couldn't be more spectacular. There is no one more deserving that him. I love you Ed, CONGRATS again honey!

 

We ended the evening around 8 and back home we came. Overall, it was an amazing day. I had a phenomenal time just doing me. And now I am super tired, so I am going to take my behind to sleep. Goodnight beautiful world. I will talk to you tomorrow. 

Day 45: Next Level Ish

Welp, today is half way point of my little adventure. I asked Q to take my measurements to check the progress. We measured my waist, leg and hips. I have lost a total of 6.25 inches. The largest loss coming in at my waist with a little under 4 inches. I don't know what I was expecting, I guess some kind of miracle, because I surely thought 6 inches seemed low. Q assured me I was crazy and this was actually better than she expected, so we are certainly on track.

Day 45 is not something I was exactly looking forward to because I knew what it meant. The first half of this journey was getting me used to eating clean and cutting back on alcohol, the next 45 days are going to be me kicking it into overdrive and saying goodbye to everything except eggs, coconut and almond milk, protein powder, plain oatmeal, green veggies, spinach, brown rice, quinoa, couscous, sweet potatoes, and fish. I was kind of stressed out about it because I was scared I wouldn't be able to do it, but I think I will be okay. I keep reminding myself I have gotten this far. I can do anything for 45 days.

Throughout the day I had organic plain oatmeal and 3 eggs, a protein shake, salmon, green peas, baby spinach, cod, baby sweet potatoes, and mixed long grain brown rice and quinoa. Check out my pretty fish with its 4 different rubs. I used wasabi, Dijon, jalapeno sriracha, and horseradish mustard. I had the sriracha and Dijon today. OMG Delicious. I think this is the first time I have ever had cod. I may be in love.

 

 

Other than the regimented eating, my training is being taken up a notch too. This morning I did something called a grid-iron workout which included 4 rounds of sled pulls, battle ropes, tire flips, 14 pound medicine ball tosses, kettle bell swings, and planks till failure. It was exhausting, but good stuff. I intended on going back tonight for KB class, but I got caught up packing for tomorrows staging and didn't get out of the warehouse until 6:30, so I missed it. Honestly, I probably got just a good if not better of workout in at the warehouse moving couches, pulling down tables and chairs, and packing up accessories for 3 hours. Trust me when I tell you my job is not in the least bit sedentary and I LOVE that!

 

On that note, I must be off to get my beauty rest as tomorrow's property is a big'n and I will need the energy. So, goodnight my loves, I'll talk to you tomorrow. 

 

 

Day 44: Time is an Illu...Delusion

I am what my husband calls a time optimist... or as I call it... delusional. When it comes to design, I always think it is going to take me half the time it actually does. This morning I was at a clients property from 10:00 am until 6 pm. Granted, I went to lunch from 1:30 to 3:30, but I was still in Arlington for what felt like forever... Not that I am complaining. I love what I do.

When I finally got home, I pulled out my handy pressure cooker and whipped up some chicken chili. It is my last adventurous meal before giving up all food freedom for the next 45 days.

In the mean time, I had a local artist drop by and deliver a painting I recently purchased from her. I am so in love, she is so beautiful. The artist's name is Sarah Flair, she is incredible. My beautiful piece is named Adima. Isn't she gorgeous?

 

 

With todays Arlington adventure, I didn't have any time to go to the gym... but at least I wasn't sitting on my ass. I was on my feet all day, other than driving and lunch. Now that dinner is over and my painting is safe in her new home, I am passing out. Tomorrow's another busy one! I will talk to you tomorrow.



Day 43: Before and... During

At the end of todays training session I decided to get into the mirror... I guess its time for me to share. God I hate these photos.

Day 2:
 

 

Day 43:

 

 

 

 

Day 42: My Day Job... Which I LOVE!

I can honestly tell you I truly, truly, truly love what I do. I love every not to pretty, sweaty, physically exhausting detail of it. For those of you who don't know, I am a Lead Stager for The Staging Fashionista, one of the DC area's premier full service staging companies. We do a lot of properties ranging from super tiny condo to enormous McLean Mansion's. The smallest I have been in was a one bed DC condo and the largest a 5 story multi-million dollar monster outside of Tysons. 

Today was a pretty standard staging in Fairfax, VA. I did this baby by myself because my assistant couldn't make it due to it being rescheduled from the snow. One of the greatest things about my job is the fact it is extremely physical. We don't have a large team like some of the other companies. Most of the time we have one mover and one stager, so guess who is moving the furniture. We are.

This one we had 2 couches, 4 accent chairs, 2 tables, 6 dining chairs, 1 coffee table, 2 ottomans, 4 side tables, book shelf, countless pieces of art, accessories, lamps, rugs, kitchen and bath accessories. With no one else but us, Anthony and I hauled everything right up to the second and third floor where it all belonged. After everything was said and done, it took me a good 7 hours to do the house, we had the foyer, living room, dining room, eat in kitchen, den, master bed and bath, and office. I must have gone up 45 flights of stairs by the end of it. All this working out is really paying off. I wasn't huffing and puffing at all. It was the craziest thing!

Here is a couple of shots from the staging. In order to see the before and after's of the entire home, click here

 

 

Day 41: Snow Can't Keep Me Down!

Ugh, is it spring yet? This snowy crap is for the birds! This morning I woke up all excited for my staging in Fairfax. We knew the snow was coming, but we didn't expect it to hit so early. I got to the warehouse around 10 to grab my assistant and head to the property. We got about half-way there before it started to snow. A few minutes later, I got a message from Mannie, the owner of The Staging Fashionista telling us to call it off because the snow was getting too bad and she didn't want us to get hurt. So, we turned around and I headed off to take Kiana home.

Whew buddy, that was an experience. I ended up turning off a main road and going through some windy back roads that had not been salted (thanks GPS). Needless to say, some people need to stay the hell off the road if they don't know how to drive in snow. A guy in an audi slowed down quickly right in front of me, when I went to pass him my back wheels kicked out and we started sliding sideways. You want to talk about a tight butt. Holy moly. Jesus take the wheel. Thank the good Lord for Erica teaching me how to control a front wheel drive car in snow my first year in DC. Thanks to her lesson, I was able to get us out of it safely. I safely got Kiana home and I safely got myself home... after a lot of nervous joking and cussing at shitty northern VA drivers.

Once I got home, I went into turbo cleaning mode to relieve the stress from the drive. I am pleased to say my house looks awesome right now. About 3:00 Ryan comes upstairs and tells me and Joey that he is going to our neighborhood clubhouse gym to run 6 miles, so we decided to tag along for a family gym outing.

Joey and I thought we were going to swim, but the life guard bailed on his position given the current blizzard, so we modified and went to the weight and cardio room. I did 30 minutes on an elliptical, followed by a 3 set circuit of 25 lap pulls (55 pounds), seated rows, leg press (150 pounds), and two other leg machines that work the hammies and glutes. This is about the time Joey came over to see if I wanted to do abs. Ryan still had about 25 minutes left, so I said sure, why not. I went and grabbed a 10 pound medicine ball and 2 yoga mats and we did 3 sets of 25 sit-up ball tosses, and 2 sets of 25 medicine ball partner throws. I. Wanted. To. Die. But instead, I walked over to the rowing machine and did a 500 meter row on 10 resistance. That rower was right next to the inclined sit-up bench that Joey was on. When he got off, I decided I should try it... mostly because he was goading me into it. Damn. That was WAY harder than it looked. Once I completed my measly 25 inclined sit-ups, Ryan had finished.

This was the first time I have ever worked out with Joey as my partner. I think he may have missed his calling as a trainer. He is excellent at motivating others. During the last round of sit-ups I was getting SUPER tired and he never let me quit. Trust me, I tried.

We got home about 5:30 and spent the rest of the evening around the fireplace watching movies. It was a nice night after a really good workout. We rescheduled the staging we missed today for tomorrow, so I must go and get my beauty rest. I will talk to you tomorrow.

Day 40: I Didn't Need That Skin Anyway

Today was crazy busy. I was at the warehouse all day prepping for this weekends staging. I got out of there about 5:30, just in time to run back to the house, walk Fi, and grab clothes for this evening's pole fit workout with Q.... and surprise guest Sabrina! I was so excited. This was her first pole class.

As usual, Q's music was on point. We opened the class with The Weekend's Earned It which is probably my favorite song at the moment. It was all fabulous R&B with a little hip hop mixed in. I always feel so amazing when she teaches. I was even able to CLIMB the damn pole tonight for the first time ever. I still can't invert, but I am getting closer. A few more weeks of arms and I think I will be there.

I told you a few weeks ago that Pole can be "dangerous". I usually end up with bruises and such (which I kind of love)... Well, tonight was no exception. About halfway through the class, I look over and see Sabrina with a pained look on her face, holding her finger. She knocked into the pole wrong and completely took off one of her acrylic nails. OUCHY! With 15 minutes left in class, S runs out to catch up with her hubby and I took her pole. That thing is CURSED I tell you. I was going through our choreography and went to hop up into a pole hold when I heard something rip, immediately followed by the feeling of one thousand tiny needles digging into my hand. I pulled my hand back, looked down and realized my skin just separated from my body. Sexy, right?

That shit hurt like a BITCH! I looked at it for a second, kind of in shock, because it didn't make sense to me. It was a smooth pole.... but upon further investigation of my hands, I realized that I had a callous coming up because of the type of training I am doing. So, between the callous and the alcohol I was using to keep my hands dry enough to grip the pole, my skin decided it no longer needed to be attached to my hand. Needless to say, I am not getting back on the pole without some gloves... which happens to be conveniently sold at the front desk.

Once I figured out what happened, I ran out of class to the front desk, grabbed some pain cream and Band-Aids, and went to the locker room to change for this evenings festivities.  One of my friends (Hi Sophia!) got promoted, so everyone converged on Samuel Becketts' Gastro Pub to celebrate. It was a really good time. I imbibed on some delicious Pinot Noir and a couple shots of Fireball (since this is my last weekend to drink), hung out with some of my favorite people, and met some new friends. It was a great end to a crazy week.

I hope my future weekends will be as much fun without my good friend, red wine. I guess we will find out! I will talk to you tomorrow.

Day 39: Uggg Clothing Fail

Man, I don't know why I do this to myself. I have two pieces of clothing that are hanging in my closet that I have never been able to fit my big ass into. This morning I thought it would be a good idea to try them on. My orange tunic fits better, but I still wouldn't wear it in public. It fits everywhere but my arms, they are cut fairly slim compared to the rest of the shirt. I use this particular item to gauge my upper body progress.

 

The other item is this little black skirt I bought from Gap right before new years. I bought it because it said it was my size, but I could never pull it up past my hips. (The Gap Outlet has really jacked up sizing sometimes. You would think that I would try stuff on since I know this, but no). So, in my delusional morning stupor, I tried it on... I did manage to get it over my hips, but there is no way in hell I was getting that thing zipped. I think I have a good 3 months of hard work and a strict diet before it fits, for real. It has like a 5 inch gap. I would be lying If I said I wasn't disappointed. I really, really was. I was feeling skinny, so I was pretty bummed when it didn't come close to fitting.

The mind is a funny thing. I would think I would be happy because I could get it over my hips, as I was never able to do this previously... but no. Instead I felt defeated.

I took my whineyness to the gym and showed Q the pictures. She told me to get over myself and not to be crazy. So, I took out my frustration on the workout. I eventually got over it and started laughing. See, since I couldn't fit into my skirt, I decided to wear these ridiculous sauna pants I found in my closet. I felt like I was wearing dirty pee pants. They felt so gross. I must have lost a 2 liter worth of water from those things alone. I probably should have tried on my skirt afterword, it may have fit, lol.

I guess it will be awhile before I go and try on clothes that could potentially wreck my immediate emotional state. Instead I will stick to trying on something one size down. That seems to work out in my favor. I actually wore a size 16 jeans this afternoon for the first time in years and needed a belt. So I will take my small wins wear I can get them. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Day 38: I Surrender All

Well, I guess yesterday was a good day to get back on the wagon, because Q informed me today that we are about to go hard. Apparently I actually showed up to our workout today and did better than I have in weeks. During our last set of medicine ball throws I put more force behind the throw than ever before and Q had to brace herself so I didn't knock her over. It confirmed in her mind that I am ready to do what is necessary to fight and win to change my body. I am not going to lie, I am terrified.

One of my biggest challenges during these last 38 days has been my alcohol intake, even with the significant changes. For instance.... instead of drinking an entire bottle of wine 5 days a week, I only drink 1 glass, 2 days a week and maybe 2 fingers of bourbon on Saturday. With eating clean, I live for these days. Alcohol is so far ingrained into my life, it is more than just a means to get a buzz. I can honestly tell you I don't drink to get drunk. A true craft cocktail is respected and savored just like the finest caviar. Not only is it delicious, it is symbolic. Alcohol celebrates a job well done, thank you's, and romantic gestures. It is a reason to get together with friends and family.  Taking this away from me feels like taking away part of my identity and I don't like it... but I have given up things that were part of my identity before and didn't die, so I suppose this won't be any different. I am only required to give up my precious for 6 weeks starting Monday, and I can do anything for 6 weeks (thanks basic training). Shit, I haven't eaten chocolate in 6 weeks (other than the drizzle on the junk when I was off the wagon).

Q told me tonight to live by 2 words and if I can do that, I can do anything. Those words are Surrender and Believe. I didn't really get it at first, since I am hard wired to think "never surrender", in fact the first words out of my mouth was "Surrender to what?!"... but now I get it. I have to surrender to my future and let go of the things holding me back. I have to keep the faith of who I will be, even though I can't see her yet. So this is going to be an interesting 6 weeks. Club soda and limes here I come. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Day 37: Back On the Wagon

Today we got a whopping 4 inches of snow here in Northern VA and the entire world shutdown. I was planning on laying in bed the entire day feeling sorry for myself, but I got a text from my bestie Abby that said "I love you, don't forget that". She has a knack for texting me right when I need her to and as such gave me the push I needed to get my ass out of bed and back to it. So, I got up, took a shower, put on my snow boots, and ran outside to shovel my driveway.

If you have never had to shovel a driveway before, let me assure you it is a hell of a workout. I got about halfway done before Joey wondered outside with a bottle of water and asked if I needed help. Again, timing with my people can't be any better. I was just about to walk over to my patio to take a break, so I handed him the shovel and then my phone rang. Q was calling to see if I was still acting like a big baby and if I wanted to come and get a workout in since we had to cancel yesterday because of the storm. I did, so we scheduled a 3 o'clock and I went back to de-snowing our cars.

Of course, this turned into a snowball fight and all out war. I ended up getting tossed in the snow a couple times, Joey got snow shoved down his shirt and in his ears, while Ryan stared out the window shaking his head. It was pretty fun. It was like we were 5 years old. Maybe next time I will get Joey and Ryan to build a snowman with me.

At 3pm we were off to the gym. Q had me do a treadmill workout that included 5 minutes on the machine at a 10% incline, 10 walk-out pushups, 15 air squats with a shoulder press, and planks till failure. We did this four rounds, then I went off for 30 minutes in the sauna. It was pretty magical.

Between brutally honest pep talks and a good workout, it was the final push I needed for me to say fuck the people that make me sad. I am not going to give anyone power over me (other than Q), because I am mother f'ing rock star and I am in this to win it and don't have time for bullshit.

So yay for being back on the wagon, we are only going up from here! BTW, thank you guys for all of your kind messages, texts, and phone calls. You make me strong and I will be forever grateful. I love you and I mean that. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Day 36: Netflix Marathon Here I Come

Well, it's like negative 47 outside or something and it's snowing. The gym has canceled all of the classes this evening and the entire world as we know it may end. I have only gotten off the couch today to eat and fight Joey out of boredom.

Q just sent me a workout, so I should probably go do that... But after this next episode of Walking Dead, okay?
 

 

Day 35: Off the Wagon

I don't think I really believe in cheat days. I think they are slippery slopes; so today I am going to say I fell off the wagon... But I didn't just fall, I took a running leap headfirst into oncoming traffic. I really think I need a 12 step program.

This afternoon Ryan, I, Sabrina and John went to see the worst movie of the year 50 Shades of Terrible, but before the movie we went to eat at Matchbox; one of my favorite pizza places. I had a Bloody Mary, prosciutto and fig pizza with honey glaze, and cream of cauliflower soup. It was delicious... Then we went to the movie where I had a glass of Merlot and half of Sabrina's "junk" which consisted of rice crispy treats, potato chips, popcorn, and pretzels drizzled with chocolate. Once we got home, a couple of friends came over; we drank beer and went to hibachi. I destroyed some "Japanese Lasagna" sushi, 4 bottles of sake, an entire plate of fried rice and yum sauce. It was heaven. After dinner, we played card games and drank more beer. I wish I could say I regret any of it, but I don't.

See, last week had a really shitty end. Before this challenge started I used to drink as a source of comfort... But as I am aware this is unhealthy, I was able to significantly cut back because I was surrounding myself with people and places that made me feel comfortable and safe. As of right now, I don't feel a whole lot of comfort or safety, I feel a whole lot of pain and vulnerability and am having a really fucking hard time trying to remain positive on this little journey of mine. So this weekend I have basically stayed drunk and am eating my feelings. 

 

I'm trying to take it one day at a time and forget the entire situation, but it's hard. The pain comes and goes, now I just need it to stay gone. Until then, pray for me friends. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Day 34: Love Yourself First

Happy Valentines Day friends! I'm going to keep it short today, I'm spending the day loving myself. I started out at the gym for an hour with my favorite trainer, headed home for lunch with the Bear (that's my husband), then went off to my favorite spa for a day of pampering. (My feet were pretty busted, I'm not going to lie). The Bear even came for a manicure! I'm so proud!

This evening we are heading into DC for Drink the District with friends. I am so excited! I need it after the week I've had. It's been a doozy.... So I'm going to drink a little boozey.... HAH! Thats a gem.

Anyway, I hope your VDAY is fabulous. If nothing else, remember to love yourself first. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Day 33: I Am... Sasha Fierce

Ah, my favorite day of the week, Pilates and Pole! Today was fabulous, I had a 10 am Pilates class, roamed around Michael's for a while, made a bracelet, sold a sewing machine, hung out with some awesome puppy dogs, and went back to the gym for some S Factor Pole Fit where Q was teaching.

 

She had a special valentines surprise for all us ladies tonight. The playlist was only Beyoncé so we could channel our inner Sasha Fierce annnnnddddd we had pink moscato, chocolate covered cherries (which I did not eat), and roses. It was so sweet.

 

I had to take a few shots since everything  always looks better in red light:
 

 

 

After class Ryan, Joey, and I went to outback for dinner. It was so delicious. I had a filet, crab legs (no butter), salad, and potato. I really have no idea how outback cooks their potatoes so perfectly with no butter. It was everything I ever wanted in life. 

 

Now, I must go off to sleep from my food coma, I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Day 32: That Music Though

Today was quite the productive day. I got an absurd amount of work done. Juggling 3 positions, in 3 companies and a daily blog could prove to be a handful, but a side effect of working out seems to be improved focus and additional energy. This makes keeping things in order a lot more manageable than it was a few months ago. I am digging it.

Part of my focus has to do with the music I listen to when I am working.  I love a lot of different music. Jazz, EDM, Electronica, Rock, Some Pop, Folk, Blues, R&B, even Country when I am in the mood..... but It's no secret my favorite music is Hip-Hop. I love it. Good Hip Hop is pure poetry and good beats have the ability to transport you into a different dimension. Example: today I was listening to Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, M.A.A.D City and Nas - Illmatic on repeat. Both, excellent. Never get tired of them. I put on the music, I get my focus on, and I do work. It's great.

Let's talk about what is NOT great. //begin rant// Country or Justin freaking Bieber or some other terrible pop shit in a super intense spin class. I love MOI (Mind of Intensity) Cycle and I love Krank, but I do NOT love the heinous music that comes along with it. I need to be able to zone out and fall into the music in order for me to get the most out of this class. If one minute we are listening to some killer Dubstep, going 100 RPM's, then all of a sudden some woman or man child who sounds like a woman comes on crying about their lost love, I AM NOT INTO IT! The mood is now wrecked, I am irritated that I am being forced into listening to some shitastic music, and my legs or arms stop doing what they are supposed to be doing.

 

This has nothing to do with our instructors. Steven Shaw you are a God among men and may the Lord bless you for having to listen to these terrible songs on repeat leading up to the class and still manage to push us into amazing results. I have to BELIVE that our instructors are not the ones responsible for the music in MOI. I suspect these play lists come from the designers of MOI and they go with a predetermined workout. I get it. Not all of the music is bad. Just 60% of it. All I'm saying is I really wish that whoever is designing these playlists would take into consideration the club demographics in urban areas when choosing the songs. I am sure a lot of MOI's playlists are great for somewhere like Aspen or wherever MOI was developed. Not so much for us over here on the east coast. Would it kill you to add a little hip-hop and more EDM or DubStep? Maybe even a class with all electronic music.... SOMETHING?! 

If I have to hear another country song in a spin class, I may get up and walk out. I just can't with this music. Country has a time and place... mostly drinking beer around a tailgate... NOT when I am trying to sweat my ass off with 30 of my closest friends... who, mind you, are ALL bitching about the same terrible music. Please hear my cry MOI. We need better music! //end rant//

Ugh, I am going to cleanse my earholes. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Day 31: Keep Calm... Or Not.

Today was "leg" day (and by leg day I mean ass day).... LUCKY FOR ME there is no more "taking it easy on Nicole because she is sick" business. I still have a nasty cough, but the color is back in my face and apparently I sound better... So yay for that.

Today we started out on the leg press and did 4 or 5 sets of 25 with God only knows how much weight. The next thing seriously about killed me. I don't even know what it is called, but Q had me bend backwards, balance my shoulders on the weight bench, and grabbed a 40 pound weight bar and placed it on my hips. From this position she had me dip my ass down, then bridge up squeezing everything at the top. I did this movement for 20 reps. Then we went over and did reverse lunges, 20 per side, then back to the dip it low thing. This went on three rounds.  It was exhausting to say the least.

After that was done, we went over to the turf and did more lunges, kettle bell swings, squats, and planks till failure... I feel like I am forgetting something... we ended a little early because I got super lightheaded, I just don't remember what I did to make me dizzy. Probably got up to fast... Oh well. Today sucked, but my ass thanked me in the end. I rewarded myself by hanging out in the sauna for 30 minutes, then headed to the smoothie bar to talk to Shep and Matt. It was a good day.

This evening I went back for some Kettlebell with Caes. I finally used a heavier weight for the majority of the workout! I can't even begin to remember everything we did. I was the test dummy tonight and started out with 5 Turkish get-ups (kill me, those things suck) while everyone else did swings. They were supposed to be progressive, but Caes realized this was going to take too long, so we went strait into the workout. We did a couple rounds of one minute swings, in and outs, squats, 3 partner exercises (plank rows, presses, and something else), lunge pass through's, leg lifts, Russian twists, flutter kicks and some other stuff.

The weight I used ranged between 26 and 35 pounds depending on the exercise. During the lunge pass through's Caes made me switch to the 17 pound because my balance was off and he didn't want me to fall over (which was a distinct possibility). I am pleased with my overall performance. A few more weeks at the 35 pounds then maybe I can move up to the big boys. Yeaahhhhh.

After KB, I jumped on the treadmill and walked it out at a varying incline while Joey finished up with Josh. Their session was particularly hilarious this evening. At one point, I look over and see Josh sitting on top of the sled that Joey was pulling through the gym.  I swear to God Josh looked like Santa and Joey was a reindeer. I wish I had taken a picture. It was awesome.

On that note, I think I am going to start my letter to Santa early. Let me get on that. I will talk to you tomorrow.

Day 30: Spaghetti Sauce & Spaghetti Squash, YUM

You guessed it, still sick. I woke up at 6 am with a crick in my back, so I proceeded to lay in the shower for an hour, then over to my inversion table, then back to bed. Needless to say I did not make it to Crossfit this morning. When will this ever end?!

Once I did make it out of bed I headed over to Costco and Wegmans to do some grocery shopping. I went to grab what has become my standards: salmon, salad, brussel sprouts, peas, bell peppers, pot roast, ground beef, fruit, tomatoes, coconut milk, almond milk, a billion kinds of fancy waters, and eggs. So many eggs.

For dinner tonight, I decided to make a version of my mom's spaghetti sauce. I subbed  95/5 beef instead of the normal 80/20 and used baked spaghetti squash as the noodles.  Everything turned out pretty good except I wasn't loving the substitution of lean beef.  The flavor wasn't as potent, which was expected.... but what I wasn't expecting is the weird way it clumped into these ball like structures. It ended up being like a thousand tiny meat balls.

For my sauce I put in:

29oz crushed tomatoes with garlic
29oz tomato sauce
8 oz tomato paste
4 cloves minced garlic
4 bay leaves
1 Honey Onion
3 Bell Peppers
2 Pounds 95/5 lean ground beef
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Fresh Cracked Pepper
Fresh Ground Himalayan Sea Salt

I sautéd the meat, onions and peppers prior to putting them in the sauce, then let it all the ingredients simmer for a couple hours.

For the "noodles" I took 2 spaghetti squash, cut them in half, sprayed them with a tiny bit of olive oil, sprinkled Himalayan sea salt, baked them 45 minutes, shredded them into a casserole dish, sprinkled some romano and parm, and placed it back in the oven for 10 minutes.

Once everything was done I threw some squash in a bowl and topped it with the sauce. It was pretty magical as far as healthy food goes.

I stole this picture of the interwebs because I didn't take a picture of the finished product, but this looks just like it. I promise.

So if you decide to make this thing, or some version of it, let me know how it goes and what you do different. I'm off to do something productive. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Day 29: Stretch All the Things

Well, I'm still sick, I'm just not going to let it keep me in bed anymore. My muscles are starting to atrophy. 

This morning I had my PT appointment with Q where we only did upper body. I was glad to get back to weight training, but I'll tell you what I wasn't glad about was the embarrassing amount of weight I was struggling with. I was doing the lat press machine and I was struggling, hard. The first round I did no weight, 20 reps; second set, 10 pounds per arm, 20 reps; third set 7.5 pounds per arm and I was for real hurting. Q looked at me and was like "Really Nicole? 10 pounds and your struggling?!" I mean, I didn't give up or anything... but I had to take a break. I was all sorts of winded and my arms were killing me. It was RIDICULOUS!

I guess it's because I'm still sick, I don't know, but it sucked. I don't even remember what all we did. I know there was some plank holding, more weight machines, crunches and lots of breaks.  But I did manage to do everything she through at me, so Nicole 1, Sickness 0.

As I was leaving, Q told me to take it easy the rest of the night and do some stretching. I took this as the perfect opportunity to go back to the gym tonight for Yoga Chill. I love yoga so much. I don't know why I tend to forget this. The last time I did a traditional organized Yoga class was at the ETC grand opening (like 3 or 4 months ago). Surprisingly, I did awesome. The Pilates I have been doing on Fridays has done amazing things for my flexibility, so I was able to get in and out of the poses with ease. I felt amazingly strong during the class as well. Yoga used to wear me out, but this time I wasn't tired. I was invigorated. At the end, Heidi, our instructor, put essential oils on a cloth and placed it on our heads during final pose. It was magical and just what the doctor ordered.

I think I am going to have to make this a weekly thing. One day of Pilates just isn't enough. I need to keep stretching all the things! Now that I am nice and relaxed, I am off to sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

 

Day 28: All is Not Lost... Or is It?

Well, my condition has no change. As such, I have lost all faith in my diet and fitness routine and have firmly decided the only thing that will make me feel better is a delicious Hawaiian pizza. 

So, this afternoon I picked up my phone, went to the Pizza Hut app, ordered my delicious "skinny" pizza and waited the 30 minutes for my magically delicious pie to show up at my door... Then the phone rang. THEIR FREAKING OVEN BROKE!

How does this even happen?! You have one job Pizza Hut! You are to deliver me hot and delicious pizza when I am miserable and all I want is to destroy everything I've worked for the last month. But since you couldn't even do that, I was forced to eat edamame and a fruit smoothie.
 

You won this time diet... but if I don't get better soon, I cannot be held responsible for what I may end up eating. All I want is to swim in a pool full of ice cream and lay on a bed made of pizza. I'm so close to loosing it. Pray for me friends, I'll talk to you tomorrow.

 

Day 27: Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

Well, nothing new to report. I'm still sick. I thought I was feeling better, so I decided to go out with friends to a fire and ice show.... but as it turns out, I wasn't and I think I made it worse. Now I'm in bed AGAIN! If I don't get back to physical activity soon, I fear I will succumb to the call for pizza. Maybe tomorrow, I'll talk to you then.

 

Day 26: Drip, Drop, Drip, Drippity, Drop

That's what my nose is doing right now. Also, I may have cracked a rib I'm coughing so hard.

I woke up this morning and made another noble attempt to be productive. I cleaned my house, unpacked my car, cooked breakfast, and went to the gym. I decided to keep my PT appointment today because I could not lay in bed a second longer. I figured the best thing to do was sweat it out.

For the most part I was right. I told Q my equilibrium was off, and begged her to take it easy on me. If I was to do anything that required me to complete quick movements I may have passed out. She ended up putting me on my good friend the treadmill and jacked it up to level 20 and did interval cardio training. After finishing, I spent 30 glorious minutes in the sauna. I was happy to be out of the house and even happier that I felt better for the two hours I was there. 

Unfortunately, the momentary lapse in sickness didn't stick. Once I stepped out the sauna, within 20 minutes I was back to feeling like complete hell. I sat at the smoothie bar chatting with Matt before heading home. He told me about a cold remedy they sell down at the Mexican grocery store that was the best he ever had. He even ran down there and grabbed me a box. Unfortunately, it hasn't done much in the way of making me feel better. On the upside, it has definitely dried me out and I'm coughing less... so I guess it's a small victory. I should have stuck with the yellow box instead of the blue box like he recommended. Silly advertising tricking me with their "cough suppressant". The original is always better.

Well that's enough wining for one evening. I wish you excellent health and a fabulous weekend. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Day 25: Is TB Still a Thing?

I may be dying according to Google. I think I may have TB, I'm not sure. All I know is that I feel like hell and I can't stop coughing. One can only drink so much dandelion tea and honey.

I made an honest attempt to make a go of it today, I ran errands and went to my studio to pack... but now I sit here dizzy and in pain wanting nothing more than to go lay in a Jacuzzi or steam room so I can breath. Doesn't my body know that I don't have time for this?!

Today I have discovered there is a direct correlation between feeling like asshole and eating shitty food. I just went to Chick-fil-a with the intention of getting chicken noodle soup and a salad. What came out of my mouth was "can I please get a number one with a lemonade and a small ice dream cone? thanks!" So now, on top of feeling like death warmed over, I feel guilty about eating fried food... scared I'm going to gain back 5 pounds from my moment of weakness. This is a vicious cycle. Can someone just knock me out and wake me up when I feel better?

Day 24: Tawhata Training?

I think one of the reasons I fell in love with Crossfit so easily is because as I turns out, Q takes some pages from the Crossfit playbook and adds them into her workouts. This morning we did Tabata training.

This version of Tabata training we did 4 rounds of 30 second intervals instead of the standard 20. The workout included lunges, air squats, battle ropes, leg press, shoulder press, jump rope, kettle bell swings, leg/arm lifts with medicine ball, and some other things that I know I'm forgetting. It was exhausting to say the least, but one thing is for certain... I loved it. At times I felt like I wanted to pass out and die. Thankfully I did not die.

The endorphins I get from pushing my body to the next level is addicting! I would think that it would never be as good the second time (like that first Percocet, the second one is never as good), but it gets increasingly better each time. I totally get the addiction. Unfortunately, I may have pushed myself a little too hard because I feel myself getting sick. God help me, I hope not. I really don't have time to be sick.  I am going to go to sleep and try to get a head of this. I will talk to you tomorrow.

Day 23: #WeAreAllAthletes

Greetings and salutations from your newest Thick 2 Thin apparel rep my darlings!

Do you remember last weekend when I told you about the epic day I had shooting the video for Thick 2 Thin's new Kickstarter campaign to revolutionize female fitness clothing as we know it? If not, well, that happened, it was amazing. 

During the day, all of my suspicions about Andrea (the totally rad chick that started the company) were confirmed. She is, in fact, a magical unicorn who has been sent from heaven to change the world. When we weren't singing #throwbackthursday music at the top of our lungs, we were talking about business and her vision for the future. This is when I knew I had found a company who's message and purpose I could really get behind. This isn't about making money, it's about community and support. As such, I am now the newest proud member of the Thick 2 Thin family. 

This evening was my first trunk show at Gold's Gym ETC's open house and it went smashingly. This entire morning was a whirlwind. I met Andrea at 11 to pick up the inventory, headed to IKEA to buy racks and displays, and got to Gold's by 4:30 to set up for the 6:30 beginning. I really couldn't have done it without my ETC family, Caes, Q, Morgan, Vicki, Sabrina, Brittany all helped me with something. We drug in boxes, put together clothing racks, set up tables, folded shirts for display, and made sure everything was presentable. (Q is a beast. She had an entire rack put together and was pulling out the shirt displays before I ever had the first bar correctly put together. I am not worthy!) 

I am so blessed to have all of these people in my life. Thanks to all their hard work, we set up a legit pop up boutique equipped with a long mirror in the back for the necessary modeling to ensue. This was the result:
 

The next show will be at the inaugural ETC Combine on February 21, 2015. If you're local, we would love to see you. This is a great opportunity to support up and coming athletes and local business.

 

 

If you are having an event and looking for vendors, give me a shout at nicole@thick-to-thin.com. Also, if you check out the website and find something you love, let me know. I'd love to talk to you!

We had a great night. Sales were good and most importantly I made new friends. When I got home, I celebrated with two fingers of my favorite bourbon and cheers'd to a night well spent. Shhh, don't tell Q ;-)

On that note, later tater, I'll talk to you tomorrow. 

Day 22: Ain't No Half-Steppin'

When I walked into the gym this morning, Q tells me we are going to be straight cardio training today. My first thought was "Shit, she is going to put me back on my arch enemy, the stair climber. I am going to have to make a run for it".... thankfully, she did not. She stuck me on the treadmill for an hour and jacked up the incline to one billion. My head was basically touching the ceiling. It didn't suck like I thought it would though. She does a really good job of keeping my mind off of what I am actually doing.  I ended up burning over 750 calories, I tried to take a picture of the incline, but it turned out all wonky and you can't read it. So Q took this one:

 

 

I am a bit surprised with this picture. Wendy mentioned the other day that she could tell a difference in the side pictures. I could not.... but when I look at this photo, I can. Maybe it is because my arms are up. I don't know. I mean, the numbers don't lie... I know there are major changes going down. I checked my weight again this morning... Since first seeing Q for nutrition in September last year, I have lost 17.1 pounds. 10 of those pounds were lost in the last 21 days. The weight is melting off with this whole insane training schedule I have going.

 

Speaking of melting. Q has me in the sauna for 20 minutes after our workouts now. Apparently its good for your muscles. I had never been in a sauna before. They honestly just looked like a really hot box and not very much fun.... but I was wrong. Saunas are awesome. It reminded me of my once beloved tanning bed. (I used to be an obsessive tanner, but stopped a few years ago because I became absurdly paranoid about skin cancer.) I went to sleep and ended up in there for longer than I meant to be, but not before taking a selfie... 

 

 

After I left the gym I went on about my business. I ran up to Alexandria and had lunch with my friend Desi. I love her. She is the best. She is kind of a social media genius, so she gave me a crash course on all things social. I have my work cut out for me. I left around 5:30 and headed back to the gym for round two.

 

I told you once before I am a bit of a voyeur when it comes to the trainers. I love watching other peoples sessions. When I went back to the gym, I was 20 minutes early for my Kettlebell class with Steven; so, I posted up on one of the stationary bikes. I am fairly convinced those things don't do a damn thing for you body, but I can easily sit in the corner, play on my phone and take unsuspecting pictures of Joey with no one any the wiser. I sat there with my hood up for about 15 minutes before my peoples noticed I was there. See:

 

Hi Joey. I miss your hair (Seahawks lost so he had to shave it all off this morning. Boys an their bets, I will never understand it.) The dude in the yellow is that Josh guy I talk about sometimes. He is one of the Crossfit coaches and personal trainers. He is cool.... kind of... ;)

 

After I got my kicks from watching Joey, I waddled over to the KB class. Sabrina had just finished up with Q so she made her go to the class with me. Poor Sabrina. This is why you have to run out the gym as soon as your time is up, otherwise you end up getting thrown into something else. KB was "fun". I used the 17 pound weight again and realized that I really was tossing that thing around like it ain't nothing. So, Wednesday I really am going use the 26 pounder (I know I said I was last Wednesday, but I was scared). After all, ain't no half-steppin' when it comes to fighting this battle.

 

On that note, I am out. I will talk to you tomorrow.