Mich...

IGAN! We are half way though this week, which means half way to Michigan!! With our vacation on the near horizon, I am already mentally packing my suitcase! To run or not to run...that is my question. Maybe the more realistic question is "will I run?" Today was a bit discouraging in that I felt like my bones were going to shatter during my run. I was only about 5 minutes into the uphill battle before I turned around and came home having decided that maybe Yoga would be a better idea for today.

So, I am going to finish up my day a little early today and head down the hill to yoga. It's good exercise and much easier on my body. Weird that I say that and know that my muscles will probably be sore from it!

Again

I am so excited! I know it's been too long, but try and keep up. We have a great apartment on a golf course and we face west with unobstructed views of the Front Range and the 9th green. It's incredible. My new "thing," now that I have new shoes, is to walk up the hill and jog down it. And I use the word "hill" very loosely. It's a 5% grade for you mountain lovers...that means you have to downshift on the way down or you run the risk of burning up your brakes. This spring, it took me 20ish to get up the hill and 15 ish to get back down. It is exactly 1 mile each way. Needless to say, I will never be a marathon runner! This morning, sun shining, birds chirping and hot air balloons in the air, I made it up in 16 and down in 12. I am so excited about that. It's a real achievement for me.

My friend Lisa Z. asked me to run a leg of the Denver Rock-n-Roll Marathon Relay with her. It's in October and she said I could run the short leg, but it's still 4.1 miles. Should I do it? YIKES! What about my foot? Can I handle it? What am I afraid of? I think I can. I should try. I'll get back to you!

BBQ chicken with dirty red skins for dinner tonight! Should be yummy...if I can handle the heat of grilling outside and having the oven on for an hour!!!

Fresh start with new motivation...

I feel a little guilty for not keeping up with this blog. So much has happened since I last checked in that has eaten into my time. For starters, I got a job! YAY! I am living, breathing proof that my dad was right...you should NEVER burn a bridge. I have gone back to with with Marquis Software as a marketing analyst. So far so good. Two months down and I am still enjoying the work for the most part.

My inspiration for writing again came from a new mom. Amy K. had her baby about 3 weeks ago and is managing to blog. So why is it, exactly, that I can't keep up when I sit in front of a computer all day long? Ugh. Thanks, Amy K., for the kick in the pants!

Two weeks ago, my nutritionist, another Amy (I'll call her Amy R. today) suggested that I start a blog about my nutrition experience and the interesting recipes that I come up with. This is a challenge I would LOVE to live up to. So, maybe today will be my start (again).

This week I am in Plano, TX (just north of Dallas) for work and have realized that I am really good about getting up in the morning to get in my cardio, but I am also easily tempted to get ice cream at Spouts to wash down my nutritious all natural roasted chicken. For me, eating in is much more difficult than eating out.

I sometimes get hung up on "calories in and calories out." My diligence can quickly cross into obsession causing me to actually gain weight. I have to constantly remember that my only goal is overall health. Ideally, weight loss will be a byproduct of that, but if not, that's OK too. I am sure the guy on the elliptical next to me this morning must have thought I was crazy with all the talking to myself I was doing!

My goal of the rest of my time in Plano (when I am not with friends or at work) is to go through the 2009 Cooking Light Best Recipes magazine and reinvent them to fit into my life. Making quinoa instead of rice, new pastas, different oils...and maybe even a desert or two! I am, after all, a McFarlane by blood and we can't deprive our sweet tooth forever!

Gift of the year

With our Christmas vacation on the ten day forecast, I thought it would be a good idea to share an under $20 gift idea that also supports a cause close to our hearts. We lost Grandpa Doug to Alzheimer's in 2006 and Chris' Grandma received her diagnosis in August. When a colleague of mine told me about ForgetMeNotInk a year ago, I jumped all over it!

ForgetMeNotInk was founded by a fellow bank marketer, Jennifer Dilly, in 2008 after losing her mother too early to Alzheimer's. With the mission of "Writing out Alzheimer's," Jennifer and ForgetMeNotInk have embraced her mother's hobby of writing letters and designed note cards to encourage you to write the ones you love.

"Fifteen printed notes. One for every occasion. Includes 15 cards, one for each month, plus a birthday, a thank you, and a just because. Comes in three leather pouch colors: Rose, Blush and Teal."

It's a gift that truly keeps giving.

Fresh Oysters and Darts

Garren (my brother) called on Saturday to ask me if I liked oysters...he wants to bring fresh oysters from Florida to MI for Christmas and thought we could cook them "out at the shop" while we throw some darts.

What a thoughtful and adventurous brother I have. Tragically, I try not to eat things that remind me of buggers or are the texture of an egg white. It's my quirk I suppose. Chris on the other hand really likes fresh oysters and the sinus-clearing fresh horseradish cocktail sauce concoction to eat with them. Can't wait to see how they turn out! I will cross my fingers that nobody gets sick from oysters that have been cooked, stored or transported improperly. Not that I don't trust my brother...I'm just sayin'.

In the meantime, I will brush up on my dart skills and begin liver training this week. If you know my family and/or the river families, you will understand.

Cheers!

The extra pay day

Back in the "olden days" I would get really excited for the two months a year that paid me an extra time. It always felt like it was "free"money! You know, the kind you haven't already spent!!

Today I have decided that it would be a lot easier if employers would just pay us twice a month and call it even.

This morning we are putting the finishing touches on our 2010 budget and are really excited about the plan and how we have been able to scale back so much during my unemployment. It's pretty remarkable that we have increased savings, decreased debt while 66% of my income was lost.

So over our budgeted for, brewed at home, Starbucks coffee we realized that our monthly budget took Chris' salary and divided by 12. Which, in theory, is correct. What I forgot is that in most months he is only paid twice and the above mentioned math "counts" those extra pays. Ugh.

Back to the drawing board. This afternoon we will work on the revised budget assuming we are only paid twice a month. In January and July when those "extra" paydays happen, it will just be money in the bank...literally!

SQUIRREL!!!!!

Sitting here, minding my own business when all of a sudden this pesky (and ballsy) squirrel appeared as if from nowhere just to torment the beagle, Abby! When you hear the coughing, that's her version of a bark...