Author: Celeste E.

Celeste Edenloff, a blogger from Alexandria, MN, is a small-town, community newspaper reporter and an asthmatic. She is also a running enthusiast who, along with her husband, Al, has been running races since 2010. Celeste enjoys running, walking, biking, shopping, playing on the computer, Facebooking, Instagramming, SnapChatting and spending time with family and friends. Most Saturday nights, you can find her and Al at home for their “date night” trying new healthy (and sometimes not-so-healthy) recipes and learning about and enjoying red wines and dark beers.

Find what works for you

Celeste E.

For me, WW (Weight Watchers) works. It always has and I am guessing it always will.

I first started with WW in 2009. And after being away from it for a number of years, I started back up. And let me tell you how good it feels to be back on track.

After last week’s weigh-in, however, I will admit I was dreading stepping on the scale this morning. I didn’t gain last week, I stayed the same, which is truly a win, but as many of you know, it is still deflating – especially when you are in the beginning stages of your journey. Feeling a little apprehensive, I stepped on the scale and to my surprise, I had a good loss. A great loss, really.

I started back on WW on Jan. 3 and have since dropped nearly 12 pounds.

To be honest, I am quite shocked. I think I am even doing better this time around compared to the first time I ever started with WW. And yes, of course, I would love for the extra pounds to just melt off and not have to work so damn hard at it, but I have to say, I am happy and actually a little proud of myself. I have been working hard by way of making sure I get my exercise in and in making healthier choices. I have yet to feel deprived. I feel great. I am eating normal portions sizes again and am still enjoying the foods I love.

Although, I have to say this past weekend, I skipped cake. Yes, me. I skipped cake. If you know me, you know my love for cake. If you don’t know me, let’s just say if I could, I would eat cake every damn day. I love cake. But I knew if I had one piece, even a small piece, I would spiral and give up and eat three more pieces without even blinking my eyes. I felt powerful saying no. It felt good to say no. Will that happen every time. Nope, it sure won’t. But this time it did and I was happy.

Anyway, like I said, for me, WW works. I know that not everybody likes WW, but that’s the cool part, they don’t have to. Everyone has to find what works for them. Everyone has to find their thing and for me, it is definitely WW.

I was chatting with a friend recently and she told me about a program she is starting. I was excited for her. I didn’t try and steer her toward WW because that is what I love. Instead, I listened intently and am genuinely excited for her. I am cheering her on and hope what she found works for her. I am proud of her and seriously super stoked. I am 100% behind her and will help in any way I can.

Stop the stigma

I have to share something that popped up on my Facebook feed.

Ironically, this popped up on the day I made an appointment to talk to a counselor. I won’t get into all of it just yet, but I am here to say that if you know things are not right in your head, if you feel off, if you are feeling down, if you are just not feeling like yourself, there is absolutely NO SHAME in reaching out for help. I am not sure what is going, but I know things are not right. It is really hard to try and explain. I am not sure if it is all related to menopause or if it is just genetics or what, but after a recent meltdown, I knew it was time to reach out. I may share more about this part of my journey, I may not. I am only mentioning it because I want and need people to know that it is OK to ask for help. If you feel you need help, just do the damn thing and ask for it. Please, just do it.

Finding new foods, falling back in love with some I forgot about

Celeste E.

I started back with WW (Weight Watchers) on Jan. 3. Tomorrow will be my fourth weigh-in. So far, I have lost 8.6 pounds and I am very happy about that.

Of course, I wish I hadn’t let myself go and have this much work to do again. But I do. I have almost 20 more pounds to lose to get back to where I was happy. And that is where I am heading. Back to feeling good about myself and back to feeling healthy again. And hopefully back to feeling happy.

Besides my weight, I am working on getting my endurance back and hopefully running at a pace that I am happy with. Currently, that is not the case. I have had some decent treadmill runs, but honestly, the majority have been shitty. Could I push myself a little more? Probably, but running is still really hard yet. Is it all my weight? Probably not. Even though my lungs weren’t really impacted when I had COVID last November, it is still semi hard to run and I get SUPER tired when I push really hard. I know it will come, but I wish it would come a little faster.

My husband and I signed up for a St. Patrick’s race on March 19. It’s the “Shamrock N Run” in Fargo and we decided to sign up for the 14K, which is 8.7 miles. Does it scare the hell out of me? You bet. But does it also excite me? Yes, yes it does. I want to get back to running some longer distances and hopefully this will give me the incentive to keep at it. Since Jan. 3, my longest distance has only been six miles and I still haven’t been able to run the whole thing. I have had to do some walking, which really isn’t that big of deal, but I kind of wish I could run the whole thing. I’ll get there. I know I will. I just sometimes don’t have a lot of patience.

On the food front, things have been going really, really well. I feel good with where I am at. We have been making some super delicious meals and we are still having our date nights. I have just switched up some things and again, I am super happy about where I am at with food.

Here’s a look at some yummy things we have had in the last couple of weeks:

These are coffee-cardamom date balls. So delicious. The recipe came from my new WW cookbook, which I received as a bonus for signing up when I did.

I have been making some suppers lately as Al does his treadmilling when he gets home from work. I will admit, it’s been kind of fun. Kind of. This is a stir fry I made, which by the way, was the first stir fry I have ever made it my life. It turned out pretty good. I was kind of impressed with myself.

For our appetizers on Saturday night date night, we have been turning to my favorite hummus, Tribe. We get the roasted red pepper one and have it with raw veggies. So yummy!

Al made a delicious mahi mahi with a mango avocado salsa on top and we had it with a sweet potato recipe I found on WW. It was sweet potatoes, crushed pineapple, Splenda and cinnamon. SO TASTY.

Super easy to make. Just combine all the ingredients and bake. I would have never thought to put pineapple with sweet potatoes but seriously, it was so good.

This was a vegetarian taco casserole that Al made from the WW cookbook. We had enough leftover for me to have it two days for lunch. I loved it!

This is a Greek pizza we made, which is a favorite of ours. We made it for the first time in 2007. We switched up a few things from the recipe, but damn, it is still SO GOOD.

Al brushed garlic infused olive oil on the crust and then topped with spinach (not shown), artichokes, kalamata olives, green pepper, fat free feta cheese, oregano and parmesan cheese.

So tasty!

This is what our kitchen looks like during a Saturday night date night meal. Yep, it is messier than messy, but it doesn’t matter. It literally took me like 10 minutes to clean up. And so worth it.

These are a couple of wines I found – one is very WW point friendly, while the other I expected to be, but it was not. The Cupcake LightHearted was very WW friendly. If one would happen to drink a whole bottle, it is only 15 WW points. The other one, the FitVine, which comes across as being so much better for you than regular wine, is the same amount of points per bottle – 22 – than regular wine. I did still drink it, but I think I will stick with the Cupcake LightHearted, which by the way comes in five different varieties.

I bought the WW 2-Ingredient Dough Bagel Kit and I made some this morning. They were decent. Maybe a little dry, but still better than I expected. I will definitely make them again.

Another food item that has been a staple for me the last three weeks and something I kind of forgot about is my turkey roll ups. I don’t have a picture, but I take six pieces of Oscar Meyer smoked turkey and make three “stacks” of two slices each. I then take a wedge of the light Laughing Cow cheese and divide it into thirds and spread each third on each stack of meat. I then put a pickle on it and roll it up. It’s so good.

Throughout the last few weeks, I have tried some new foods that I found out I love, re-discovered all the veggies I had quit eating and remembered some of my favorite foods I quit eating because I quit my healthy living journey. It feels good to be back.

As I continue on this journey, I know there will be some ups and some downs, but my goal is to just keep going, one day at a time. I am feeling good with how things have been going so far and I hope that continues.

If you are on this same journey, how is it going for you? Leave me a comment if you want to share. I would love to hear from you!

Good days…and wish-I-could-do-better days!

Celeste E.

It’s been nearly two weeks since I started back on WW (Weight Watchers) and for the most part, it’s been going well.

At least food wise. Exercise wise, it’s been going just OK. I still have days I struggle and days I have missed and days it takes me two hours in the morning to talk myself into getting on the treadmill. Yes, for real. Two hours. That is why I get up for frigging early. And honestly, as I type this, I should really be on the treadmill, but I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t have it in me this morning. Will I regret it later. Probably. But for right now am I OK with it? Yes. Yes I am in.

Here’s a look at a few of the workouts I have done. I tend to do the manual mode most often. And for right now, I usually do a combo of walk/run. Because of my weight gain, it’s obviously harder than it was before and also, I think there are lingering effects from COVID. I am always SUPER exhausted and I have been dealing with headaches – some pretty bad, others just are there and kind of linger all day. So, the treadmill wears me out pretty easy and I can’t – at least for now – run the entire time.

I will have to say, I was pleasantly surprised with my first weigh-in after starting. I lost almost four pounds and I was happy with that. In the past, I have usually lost between five and six pounds my first week, but almost four is really good. My first go-round with WW, which by the way last for about eight years – yes, I tracked and did all the WW things for about eight years straight – I lost on average about 0.8 pounds per week. So not even a pound a week. And I was happy with that. I have no idea how it will go this time. I am going to take it one week and sometimes one day, at a time.

Food wise, like I said, is going well. I am happy about my choices. It feels good to be eating healthy again and it feels good to be eating normal portion sizes. Yes, I am back to measuring and weighing my foods because that is what I needed. My portions were OUT OF CONTROL!

I don’t feel like I am staring and I definitely don’t feel like I am depriving myself. And, my hubby and still have our fun date night meals and I still drink beer or other alcoholic beverages. I am just making different choices.

For instance, last weekend we ended up in St. Cloud. We went out for lunch at Mongos Grill and I made good choices food wise and portion wise. And it was so much fun.

We spent the night in St. Cloud and stayed at a hotel that we knew had kitchens in their room. We went grocery shopping (at three different stores) and then for supper, stayed in and cooked in our hotel room. This is not a first for us. We actually love to do this. I have a bag filled with kitchen things we might need and I bring that with when we know we are going to be cooking in our room.

Here’s what we had:

It was swordfish with a strawberry sauce and roasted sweet potatoes.

We also had a piece of tuna steak with it. Both were DELICIOUS.

We found these frozen sweet potato planks that you could make in the toaster. They kind of worked, but would be better roasted in the oven or on the stove.

Although a tad on the pricey side, they really were good and I would have them again.

We also went to a brewery, which was right across the street from our hotel. And I even had two beers. Dark beers. Really, really good dark beers. When we got back to the hotel, I switched and drank a couple of Michelob Ultras. And you know what, they tasted good, too!

So, I am usually a really good water drinker. I actually LOVE water. But, I never really knew how much I drank in a day. I thought I drank enough, but after I bought a new water bottle, I realized that maybe I really didn’t. It’s amazing what a stupid water bottle can do for a person. I now know I am getting my water in. I usually drink two of these bottles while I am at work. Plus, I drink water before I go to work and then I drink even more water at night after I get home from work. I definitely am getting in my water now. The only downside? All the DAMN trips to the bathroom. So annoying, but I guess worth it as I know drinking water is SO GOOD for a person.

So, I have to brag a little. I am not the best cook and honestly, I don’t really like to cook. I am not the best follower of recipes and greatly prefer just whipping stuff together.

On Wednesday night, I whipped up a little hotdish using 99% lean ground turkey, a bag of frozen veggies, Israeli couscous and a packet of French onion soup mix. It was super delicious and SUPER low in points. And it reminded me of tater tot hotdish. It was actually creamy without using any cream soup.

On Thursday night, I whipped up a pasta dish using turkey cheddar brats, garden rotini, bell peppers, Laughing Cow cheese, parmesan cheese and of all things, a can of Michelob Ultra. Point wise, it was a little higher than our meal on Wednesday night, but it was still mostly healthy and it tasty SO frigging good. Amazing really.

I have to say for someone who doesn’t like cooking, making whipping these two dishes was actually kind of fun. Fun fact: I believe this is the FIRST time ever that I cooked supper two nights in a row. When I say I don’t cook, I really mean it. My hubby does 99% of the cooking. I maybe cook one or two times a month. Two nights in a row for me is super impressive!

I am hoping over the course of the next month, I can step up my exercise game. My goal is to at least get some type of exercise in at least five times a week. I know I can do it, I just have to get my head in the game and not be such a lazy a$$! Lol.

Feel free to share your goals. I’d love to hear what everyone else is doing. And feel free to share ideas for healthy meals!

Thank you for the support!

Celeste E.

WOW! I first have to say I was so overwhelmed by all the support. Thank you to each and every one of you who reached out to me through Facebook comments, Messenger and text messages. It sure made this gal feel loved, supported, inspired and appreciated.

Second, for all of you who signed up for WW, or just started the journey on your own, way to go! I am so proud of you. Thirdly, there was a lot of you who joined WW yesterday…I should probably get a bonus from them or something. Lol! What do you think, Tammy? (For those who don’t know, I actually used to work for WW as a leader and Tammy was my awesome manager!)

Anyway, I am super excited and even more energized for my journey thanks in part to ALL of you who reached out to me. It truly meant so much…more than you will ever know.

So, how did the first day go? Surprisingly, it went better than expected.

I actually got my butt out of bed early for a treadmill workout. I did three miles doing a two minute on, two minute off approach. Meaning, I walked for two miles with my treadmill set at a four and then ran two miles with it set at five. My average pace ended up being 13:22, which I was actually really happy with. And I have to admit, it felt good to get back on the ol’ mill!

I do not plan to run/walk every day, but am hoping for three to four times per week. I will also be doing at least two days of strength training, which I know I need. My plan is to use the iFit program through our treadmill. I will keep you posted on how that works out. I love that I can access the iFit programs either through the treadmill, our TV using our Roku, or on either my iPhone or iPad through the iFit app. I will probably try all of them and see which one works best. Below is a screenshot from my phone. iFit has TONS of workouts to choose from and they are categorized by treadmill, bike, rower, elliptical, yoga, strength and mind.

I honestly have never done any of the programs except for a few of the treadmill runs. Normally, however, I just put it on manual as I like to watch shows on Netflix. My current fave is Chicago Med. I think I am on season two. Anyway, I will keep you all posted.

Again, I want to thank you all for the encouragement and I promise to keep you all posted. Oh, by the way, I did step on my scale and I didn’t cry, so that was a good thing. However, I will let you know, I am nearly 30 pounds from my goal weight! A very reasonable goal weight. So, let’s do this!

Back at it…again

Celeste E.

Hey there, it’s me again. My road to 50 got sidetracked and derailed.

If you have seen me in person or in recent pics I’ve posted and thought to yourself, “She’s gained weight,” or “Wow, she’s gotten chubby again,” or “Yikes, she’s let herself go,” or “Holy smokes, she’s put on a few pounds,” you are absolutely right in every one of those statements or any others you might have had run through your head. And it doesn’t hurt my feelings one teeny tiny bit.

They are the same sentiments that have been running through my head.

I have gained weight.

I have gotten chubby again.

I have put on a few pounds.

I have let myself go.

I stopped caring. And I don’t even know why.

This picture was taken on Dec. 15. There were several taken that day and most were taken by my son, Brandon. And when he looked at them, he told me I wouldn’t like them. Not to be an asshole, because he knows his mother so well. He was right, I hated every single one of them.

But I still didn’t care. It didn’t make me get back on the treadmill. It didn’t make me stop eating an insane amount of food. If anything, it did just the opposite. I ate more in fact. I ate and I ate and I ate, like I didn’t have a care in the world. And I didn’t.

And then, I realized that my jeans weren’t as comfortable anymore. I bought a new pair and had to go up a size. And that, frankly, pissed me off. But still I didn’t do anything about it.

And then here we are, it’s the start of a new year.

I am not sure if that is what did it, but I am ready. I am not a resolution person and I wasn’t ready to start on Jan. 1 or Jan. 2, but I am starting on Jan. 3, on Monday. And I am excited. It feels right. It feels like it is time. I am tired on feeling like a can of biscuits ready to explode. I am tired of being tired. I am tired of hating what I look like, how I feel about myself. I am tired of feeling unhealthy. I am just tired. Of it all.

I have tried so many “programs” in my 49 years of life and the only one that has ever worked for me is good ol’ Weight Watchers, which apparently now is just referred to as WW.

So I did it. I signed up again. Tomorrow, I start and I can seriously cannot wait.

I am not going to lie, though, I am dreading the scale. But I know I have to. I have been avoiding it and I know if I hadn’t, I may not be in the predicament I am in now. Maybe. I know it is just a number, but for me, that number is what motivates me. The scale motivates me. And I am doing this me. I am doing what works for me.

I want to get back to how I felt and how I looked in the following pics, which were all in 2015 and 2016. I felt healthy. I felt strong. I just simply felt good about myself.

I think things started going down hill for me in 2017. That was the year my parents died and I was a mess. Their deaths hit me way harder then I expected and way harder then anyone really knows. Losing them changed me. And not in a good way.

It also didn’t help that the last few years I have been in menopause hell. Menopause changed me, too. I have become bitter. I have become more depressed, more irritable, more on edge, more of a bitch, less happy, less of who I used to be and the list goes on.

I want to get back to who I used to be. I want to be a happy person again. I want to have energy again. I want to sleep better. I want to feel like I am in control again. I need to be in control again.

So, here I go. My WW journey is about to start again and you know what, it’s OK. I am OK with it. I am happy about it.

Now I just hope I am as happy tomorrow morning when my alarm goes off SUPER early!

I did it! (And it’s been a stressful couple of weeks)

Celeste E.
It’s been awhile and there is good reason. Well, kind of. I will first say this, the last few weeks have not been good (except for a long weekend in Sioux Falls, which was absolutely amazing! I will share about that someday soon!).
It has been stressful, I have ate like crap, I have barely exercised and sleep eludes me. For me, stress = binge eating and it’s not fruits and veggies. It’s sugar. ALL THE DAMN SUGAR!
Why? Well, one is our treadmill, which I will also fill you all in on next week. And two, I have been car shopping. UGH!
This is not a task I enjoy by any means but it was something that needed to be done as my husband’s car is on the last of its nine lives.
But, as of today (Oct. 28), at 5 p.m., my husband’s POS (yes, that stands for piece of shit) will no longer be needed. We will no longer be having to put brake fluid and coolant in any of our vehicles on a regular basis like we did with his car. And, we are going to be donating his vehicle for parts to the Douglas County Car Care Program.
And, because he is THE MOST generous man on the planet, he is is taking my 2009 Chevy Impala, which I don’t really like anyway, and I am getting the new vehicle. Or new to us, anyway.
But let me just share a moment how the last few weeks have gone.
I have been to five dealerships – three in Alexandria, one in Fergus Falls and one in Glenwood.
I have scoured cars.com for hours.
I have enlisted the help of – or more accurately, bugged the crap out of – my son and his dad (my ex) as they KNOW cars, and my brother as he KNOWS cars as he has been a mechanic much of his life.
I have prattled on to my hubby about this car and that car and hemmed and hawed to him about SO MANY vehicles.
Seriously, I am sure I was SUPER annoying to all of them, but they are all awesome and they never let on how annoying I am sure I was. (THANK YOU to Brandon, Rod, Mike and Al!)
I have searched and researched numerous other dealerships in St. Cloud, Fargo, Moorhead, Detroit Lakes and Morris.
I have researched Kelly Blue Book. I have read numerous reviews on numerous websites. And, I have read the CarFax reports. ALL the CarFax reports.
I even enlisted the opinions of my friends and family on Facebook. Thanks to all those who shared about their vehicles.
And lastly, I have test drove about a dozen vehicles because honestly, I had no idea really what I wanted. Kind of. Maybe. Let’s just say I knew what I didn’t want and there were some things that I knew I did want.
Side note to smokers. Just quit. PLEASE, for the love of God, just quit. Or DO NOT SMOKE in your vehicle. OMG, there were some stinky ones. OK, rant done.
And lastly, lastly…THANK YOU to all the VERY patient salesmen. You guys were so awesome and I was lucky to have worked with all you. A huge thank you to Chad, Patrick, Jed, Bryce, Bill and of course, Luke, who ended up finding the one that checked all the boxes. He was polite, patient, not high pressured and just overall seemed very genuine. He was great guy to work with.
So, what did I end up getting?
Here’s a pic from the dealership:
It is a 2014 Honda CR-V EX-L. It was in my price range. It is AWD. And it has some great features like auto start, sun/moon roof, heated seats, pretty good gas mileage and much more.
I am excited. But at the same time, I ain’t gonna lie. I am still a bit stressed and still have some anxiety as I wonder, did I make the right choice? Car buying is a big deal. A HUGE deal for me. And Al and I have not had the best luck with vehicles. So of course, I am going to question my decision. But…..I know it felt right when I got in it. It felt right when I drove it. It felt right buying local. It just felt RIGHT.
I guess time will tell.
The one thing I know for sure is that I am glad the process is over. And I am sure Brandon, Rod, Mike and Al are happy, too! Lol!
Now, if only our treadmill situation was completely resolved.
Maybe then I could sleep, not be so stressed and actually start eating right and exercising on a regular basis again. (And yes, I know I could have been doing that this whole time but I am me and it just didn’t happen.)
But damn it, it will.
Right?

Good days and not-so-good days

Celeste E.

Oct. 8 through Oct. 12

It’s been an interesting four days. Friday and Saturday were great! Felt great, got my exercise in. My mood seemed fine. My hubby and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. It was seriously awesome.

Dessert on our anniversary.

I had the bison burger and cheesy mashed potatoes. To my surprise, I only ate half my burger and half my potatoes. Although I’m not gonna lie, I wanted to eat ALL of it. So happy I didn’t.

My hubby’s meal – the pork tenderloins, veggies and cheesy mashed potatoes.

We hiked Inspiration Peak on Friday for our anniversary.

Not many miles, but it was a great workout as it is HILLY!

So pretty.

This was on the Central Lakes Trail Saturday morning during my run.

I ran to Garfield and then my hubby was waiting there with the car. I drove back and he ran back. My pace was not great, but my legs were tired after the hike on Friday.

Saturday night date night was awesome. And I didn’t entirely stuff myself.

Yes, there were leftovers.

It is a Greek dip with hummus, tzatziki, olives, cucumbers, zucchini, green onions and feta cheese. SO GOOD!

And then we had meatballs with tzatziki sauce. And yes, there were leftovers of these, too.

I even made Greek drinks called Greek Mati. Interesting, but good. It was vodka, blue curacao and cream. Al made the meal as he is the chef in the house, but I usually whip up the cocktails as I love mixing drinks.

Sunday is when things started to go down hill. I felt moody, crabby and all I wanted was SUGAR. I had to work a little bit as I had to take pics at an apple pie baking contest. I did buy a big bag of apples, which are fantastic. But, I had to wait a bit for the winners to be announced and the place I was at, Country Blossom Farm, has a fantastic bakery. Like REALLY, REALLY good. I wanted everything. But, I didn’t. I did, however, have a pumpkin cream cheese Danish thing. It was SO GOOD.

But…the guilt set it. I am not sure why. I hate when that happens. It made me feel crabby the rest of the day.

Luckily, my hubby made a LARGE batch of minestrone and that made me feel better about my eating. And, there was plenty for me to divide up into containers and use that as my meals for the week. LOVE THAT.

The minestrone was seriously so good!

Even though I had the minestrone, I also munched on a bunch of other things – animal crackers, thin pita chips and more. I felt like I could not get full. I tried to drink a bunch of water and I did eat an apple, but nothing seemed to satisfy my hunger. AARGH. I hate when that happens.

Monday and Tuesday were no better.

On Friday, we found out our treadmill was broke. We had a technician come out because our belt was wonky and he found that the frame was cracked. I was not a happy camper and on Monday is when I started dealing with the NordicTrack people. I am still waiting to find out what they are going to do. In the meantime, we cannot use our treadmill. To put it bluntly, it sucks!

Now that it is dark in the morning, I have been running on the treadmill. And being without a treadmill, I have not ran since Saturday. I am not an evening runner and it is too dark in the morning. I can run in the dark as I have all the gear I need, I just really, really don’t like it.

So, no running means no exercise, which means I am extremely crabby and instead just want to eat all the things. And I feel like I have been eating all the things. In reality, I haven’t, but I feel like I have. And this makes me super cranky.

I am hoping to get outside for a run this afternoon (It’s Wednesday) and then maybe just work later. I have my fingers crossed! Exercise puts me in a much better mood and a much better place, mentally.

One positive thing…I moved again at work. This time, into an actual office. A real office. I have NEVER had an office. It’s a little weird and I am starting to get used to it, but it’s a lot of space. My walls are still empty, but my son is working on that and hopefully I will have some of his photographs hanging up soon!

I am going to try to live by the words on my new mousepad.

Here’s to hopefully having a better rest of the week.

What about you? How’s it going? Feel free to share how life has been going for you! I would love to hear from you. Just

Sometimes, life seems hard

Celeste E.

Oct. 6 and 7

Tuesday came and went with not much happening. My eating was OK. My run was decent. My mood was fair. For the most part, it was a fairly good day. Mostly.

I have started drinking tea again at work, just to try and get more fluids in. I love water, thankfully, but sometimes I just forget to drink it. If I make tea and it’s sitting right in front of me, I’ll drink it. I love many flavors and brands of tea, but one I am loving right now is Good Earth sweet and spicy. And the best part is the quotes on the tea bag tag. They have really been hitting home. Hard.

Kind of struggling with that one. Kind of.

Really? I mean, come on. Was this box designed for me? Kind of spot on, if you ask me.

Good Earth has several varieties and they are good teas. Check them out.

Oh, here is my run from Tuesday. Not bad for me. I was happy with my overall pace.

So yep, Tuesday was nothing special.

But let’s talk about Wednesday. Below is what I posted on Instagram, which by the way, if you are not a follower and want to follow me, you can find me here. 

Literally, that is what I felt like when I woke up. But I will explain it a bit. I am menopausal. I have been for a couple of years. My doc and I worked together to find the right meds for me, but we are still trying to find the right balance. They are not your usual hormonal replacement therapy meds. There was a whole big process I went through and am working with The Apothecary, a compound pharmacy, in Sartell. The meds I use were based on a blood test and are compounded for what my needs are. It is called Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy. I use a cream in the mornings and take one pill and then at night, I take another pill. If you really want to know more about this, send me a note and I will respond.

For the most part they have helped, but like I said, I am still trying to find the right balance. Unfortunately, I did run out of one med and after about four days, I finally remembered to call in the prescription and I think that is why my irritability was off the charts. And probably why I snapped at a few people. To those who know who you are, I am sorry.

It kind of started on Tuesday, which is why that was just an OK day. I was extremely emotional and honestly, kind of a bitch. To put in bluntly. Wednesday was worse and honestly, I could have spent the day curled up in bed crying.

But I did get in a run and that helped. Tremendously. And I didn’t let my emotions dictate my food choices, which is so not typical of me. My food choices were good. Great, in fact. So that helped.

My Wednesday run. Yes, I watch my iPad instead of use the iFit programs as watching TV holds my interest and then I don’t mind running on the treadmill. I just started watching Chicago Med and so far, I love it.

My meds should be delivered today and here’s to hoping they help. I did chat with the awesome pharmacist at The Apothecary and that actually seemed to help. We are upping the dose of one of the meds and he’s thinking that should help. The people at The Apothecary are all just amazing.

So that has been the last couple of days. I am hoping today, Thursday, is better and I am really hoping by Friday, which is Oct. 8, and my hubby and I’s anniversary, that I am not so grouchy and irritable. We will be celebrating 13th years of wedded bliss. And yes, I truly mean bliss. I love him and I love our marriage and I love our life.

Here’s to a great Thursday and Friday!

Weekend was great

Celeste E.

Oct. 3 and 4

Well, I made it through the weekend and feel pretty dang good.

Saturdays, as most of you all know, are for date nights. Yep, after being together for 17 years, we still love our date nights. Saturday for me, like probably most people, is my favorite day of the week.

This Saturday was no exception. I slept in a bit, had my coffee and banana and then eventually got on the treadmill. I did a 5-mile run on the treadmill, trying something new. I ran my normal pace, then ran a way faster pace, then walked. I did this throughout the whole five miles. My pace ended up being slower than the day before, but I was totally fine with that. It felt good.

I had some errands to run as soon as I was done, so I took my shower later on. Typically Al and I will do our shopping together, but I still have a hard time in grocery stores – I want to be buy ALL the things that are not healthy. So, Al will be shopping on his own on Saturdays for a little while until I can get my mind right again.

After he got back from the store, he prepped a bit for our date night meal – spiced cabernet boneless short ribs with chocolate. The recipe came from one of his favorite sites, Food 52.

Once he was done, the dish went in the oven where it cooked for about three hours. We opted to head to our local winery, Carlos Creek Winery, for something different. We usually head to a brewery, but we both want to get back to drinking wine again. For those who don’t know, we were actually married in a hot air balloon overlooking the vineyards of Napa Valley. So yep, we love wine. Not that we are giving up beer by any means, but we might be sipping on wine more often. We ended up buying two bottles – Solmani Rosé and Marquette – at the winery and had them with our meal.

Our supper turned out amazing! And I was very proud of myself as I actually measured out my rice and only took a reasonable portion of meat. Best part, I didn’t actually eat it all, even though I really, really wanted to. I listened to my body and when I felt full, I stopped. I felt happy with that decision. We did also have an appetizer of toasted baguettes with balsamic and vinegar along with grapes. I may have had too much but I still felt good. Not stuffed. And there was ZERO guilt again with my eating choices and decisions.

When it comes to our meals, mainly those we have on Saturdays, I am all about the presentation. Both Al and I are, really. And I love food photos, if you didn’t already know that. I not only LOVED how our meal tasted, but I loved how the presentation turned out. Seriously, isn’t food beautiful?!?!

We didn’t have dessert, which was 100% OK. I am a dessert person, but I didn’t crave it, which is a little unusual, but I’m good with it.

I took our leftover food and portioned it out into four meals for me for the week. And now I can’t wait to eat them!

All in all, it was a great day and I really did feel pretty good. I am happy that I didn’t pig out and that I ate reasonable amounts.

Sunday. Sunday’s are hard. I tend to eat A LOT on Sundays and it usually is not the healthy stuff. My morning went great, although I didn’t eat much for my breakfast, just my banana. I  had an assignment for work and was offered a piece of cake. It was a small one so I had it. It was fantastic and again, I didn’t feel any guilt eating it. Maybe because I knew what my plans were hopefully going to be later than afternoon.

My plan was to hike out at Kensington Rune Stone Park. And luckily my plan came to fruition. I made it out to the park around 2:30 and ended up hiking about 5.5 miles. It was GORGEOUS OUT.

My hubby was making turkey chili, but I knew it wasn’t going to be ready before I went on my hike, so instead of just grabbing something quick, which probably wasn’t healthy, I heated up one of my leftovers from Saturday night. And damn, it was good. After I was done, I headed to the park for my hike. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

I forgot to start my watch right away, so this was at least 2 miles, if not a little more.

After I got home, I had a bowl of that chili that my husband made and MAN, WAS IT GOOD! I didn’t measure it out, which I probably should have because I probably ate too much. But my stomach didn’t hurt, I didn’t feel overfull or bloated, but it was probably still too much. We have some leftover so that means more meals for the week.

I didn’t end up doing any meal prepping because of the leftovers and the chili. I should be set for this week.

All in all, it was great weekend – food wise, exercise wise and just overall well-being wise. Let’s hope it continues.

Off to a good start!

Celeste E.

Oct. 1

My mind is ready for this challenge, but I will admit when my alarm went off at 5 a.m., I said, “Screw this!” and reset it for 6 a.m. But when it went off at again at 6, I knew it was time.

I got up, took my morning vitamin and meds (asthma, menopause and Vitamin C), drank my coffee and ate my banana. I am creature of habit when it comes to the morning and have the exact same routine every morning, or nearly every morning.

After some time spent perusing IG and FB and just relaxing, which is what I love about my mornings, it was FINALLY time to hop on the treadmill. And I am not going to lie, my head, my heart and my body struggled to do it, but as usual, it felt SO DAMN good when I was done.

I ran 3.1 miles and then my cool down was a walk for .4 for a total of 3.5 miles.

After I got done, my breakfast was a vanilla protein shake. It was then off to the shower and off to work. Luckily, I didn’t have to be in early. I was there by 10 a.m.

I took a late lunch, which was also a protein shake.

And before you ask, no, I am not planning on doing shakes for my meals. My plan is to do some meal planning and prepping on Sundays. This is something I have really never done before and thought I would give it a shot. But my road to 50 started on Friday and so the shakes worked. I may rely on them from time to time, especially for breakfast they are super easy. But my goal is to make my lunches for the week on Sunday.

Not sure how that is going to go as I am NOT a planner, but I am going to give it a try. I know a few good websites that have some great ideas for meal planning and my goal is to check them out on Sunday.

Supper was chicken breast that had cooked in the crock pot that we shredded and put on French bread. I added a slice of provolone cheese and BBQ sauce to mine. My positive for the day is that I ate half the amount I usually eat. And you know what, I was just fine. I also had some sliced apples with it.

AND…I had two Truly lemonades. I had never tried these before and they were so good.

A coworker of mine had given me two lemon bars earlier in the day for a birthday treat. My other positive is that I didn’t scarf them down immediately. I brought them home and instead of eating both of them, I shared with my hubby. He got one and I had one. And I felt good about it. There was ZERO guilt.

So, that’s my day. Overall, I felt good about it. Could there have been some improvements? Of course. But at the end of the day, I felt good. And right now, that is what I am focusing on.