Day 48 - Truth

Forgive me scale, for I have gained. The 5 days of straight binge eating for Thanksgiving resulted in a 2 pound up swing. That's right, I'm back up to 160. It feels like driving the wrong way on a one way road, fear and panic with the desperate urge to turn around and go back the other way. This whole fitness journey to a marathon finish line and a mountain top has never been about losing weight, but it still stings.

No time to dwell on the negative, there's too much to be done. I've got a 20 page paper due Wednesday and then finals start shortly after. It's extremely important to me to keep exercising throughout finals to help combat the stress. So, tonight Charlie and I got our workout in the pool. We swam and ran laps in the pool for 30 min. It was a hard workout, but I walked away feeling much more relaxed. We're thinking of making Monday night swim a weekly tradition. Have a great night!

Day 47 - Working hard (or hardly working?)

I promptly got out of bed and hit the gym at 9 AM this morning.  I ran 2.5 miles at a 9:50 minute/mile pace and then ran the next 2.5 miles doing interval sprints.  This is the type of workout I used to do when preparing for Sea Gal auditions.  Needless to say, carrying an extra 25+lbs  does not make the workout any easier.  While I struggled to finish, I felt great when it was over.  Again, my music saved me today.  The songs that got me through the sprints were Pink - Raise Your Glass, Glee - Marry You, MJ and Akon - Hold My Hand, and the Biggest Loser theme song Proud by Richard Niles.  If these songs aren't on your workout playlist, you are missing out. 

After the gym and a shower, I met up with my adopted family (the Cahalans) to see HP7.  I don't want to give anything away for those who haven't seen the movie or read the book (all 9 of  you out there), but I will say that it was two and a half hours of adrenaline and emotion.  I was physically and emotionally exhausted by the end.

The rest of my day consisted of reading law review articles and writing a paper on the barriers women face in running for political office.  Exciting.  At least it stopped snowing... for now.  I hear we're supposed to get another 6-9 inches by the end of Tuesday.  Are we sure this is November?  Oh well, I hope you have a great start to your new week!

Day 46 - Snowmen

Today, I was duped.  I got up early to take Zumba from a new instructor, but she forget the iPod attachment she needed for her music.  Thankfully (or so I thought), another Zumba instructor was ready and willing to fill in with her own music.  I was on-board with the last minute switch until I realized that it was the AWFUL, couldn't find the beat if her life depended on it, spastic instructor from Day 31.  I gave her the benefit of the doubt for the first song, but by the end the second I was fuming with rage.  Not only did she flail about like a baby giraffe just learning to walk, but she insisted on making ridiculous bird call noises.  I couldn't handle it.  At the end of the second song, I pretended to take an urgent phone call and left.  I'm sure no one bought it, but it was my feeble attempt to be less rude.  Looking back, I should have done everyone a favor and told her to her face that I was leaving because she lacked the ability to move to the music in a cardio-DANCE class.  Perhaps then she would take a moment to reconsider her career path...  Probably not.

I wound up walking on the treadmill at an incline for about 25 minutes and then lifted weights.  Not my proudest day at the gym, but you have to draw the line somewhere.

Later in the day, I decided to get an additional workout outside.  We have at least 10 inches of snow and, until today, said snow had been going to waste.  Although I should have been studying, I decided to build the biggest snowman I could.  Previously, the only other snowman I've ever built maybe measured a foot tall.  This one was going to be at least 5 times that size.

Charlie decided to join in on the fun and we created a snow couple in our yard.  We did not have any carrots or coal, but we did have a bin of props (from our interactive dj business) and a can of black spray paint.  We were quite pleased with our snowpeople and rewarded ourselves with large mugs of hot chocolate and marshmallows.  I still detest winter, but at least I now have something funny to look at outside my door.

Day 45 - Door Busting

It is a Wilson family tradition to wake up before dawn the day after Thanksgiving and bust as many doors as we can.  My mom, brother and I share a passion for bargain hunting and will not think twice about rolling out of bed at 3 in order to save a few bucks.    It sounds like Boo and Moo (that's what I lovingly call my brother and mother) snagged some great deals.  Even Shaina, the bro's girlfriend, got in on the door busting action and grabbed the last X-box 360 at Target.  Way to go girl!!! 

Unfortunately, this year I missed out on the door busters.  Charlie and I hit the stores once he was done with work, but it didn't have the same excitement as being there before sunrise with the other die-hard Black Friday shoppers.   We did, however, finish almost all of our x-mas shopping.  I've got to find something for Grandpa Muchow, but besides that I'm done. 

I fully intended to gorge on T-day leftovers, so I made myself go to the gym first.  I did 45 minutes on the stair machine and lifted some weights.  I haven't done any weight work in a long time, so I have a feeling I'll be sore tomorrow.  Again, I consumed WAY more than I needed.  After tomorrow, I hope to be back on the health train.  For now, I'm going to take my full belly and digest in bed.  Goodnight!

Day 44 - Thanks

I had much to be thankful for on this day of Thanksgiving.  My family members are in good health, I am loved by a wonderful man, and I have what I need to work towards my goals.

The day started with a fun run in the park.  Spokane holds an annual Turkey Trot at Manito Park and I was determined to participate, despite the weather.  When I left the house for the run, it was 13 degrees and snowing.  I certainly wasn't the only one to brave the elements, quite a few people turned out for the run.  By the end of the run, a half inch of snow had accumulated on my car.  Brrr....

After the run, Charlie and I went over to the soccer fields to play football with some of his co-workers.  Unfortunately, only five of us were brave enough to play in the snow.  We tossed the ball around for a while, but never really started a game.  After tackling poor Charlie a few times, we decided to call it quits.

This was my first solo Thanksgiving cooking attempt, so I was eager to get home and make sure we had everything we needed.  Although I think turkey prep is one of the most disgusting chores of the holiday season, I managed to get through it without incident.

Charlie got a nu-wave oven from my mom for his birthday, so we decided to cook the bird in that instead of the regular oven.  It turned out to be a fantastic choice!  Not only did it free up the oven for all of the side dishes, but the turkey tasted great!  The skin got nice and crisp while the inside remained perfectly moist. 

Two of my law school friends joined us for dinner.  Either my cooking wasn't too bad, or my friends are very polite.  After downing a ton of food and wine, we enjoyed some time sitting around chatting and digesting.  Kate brought a delicious pecan pie, so I found just a little more room in my stomach for dessert.  I'm sure I rendered my workout worthless with how many calories I ate, but all in all it was a great holiday.  I hope you also enjoyed a nice day with family and/or friends!

Day 43 - ONE?!

Just before 10 AM this morning, it was a balmy 1 degree outside.  Although the forecast warms up later this week, we apparently are going to get a ton of snow.  Again, I find my self wondering why I ever left southern California...

Although it meant braving the cold, I got myself to pilates (with weights) this morning.  There were a bunch of newbies in class.  They clearly had no idea what they had gotten themselves into.  I don't want to revel in their misery, but god bless them for being worse than me.  My self-esteem needed the boost after weeks of being shown up by ladies in their 40's. 

Besides pilates (with weights) and catching up on sleep, the only other productive thing I did today was color my hair.  It takes FOREVER, but I probably save $200-300 a year.  Hopefully the DIY color it isn't too obvious, because the budget isn't going to change for a few more years.

Tomorrow will be a full day of fitness, food and friends.  I'm going to run the Turkey Trot and play a little football in the morning before I start cooking.  This is my first solo (w/o mom) Thanksgiving meal.  I'm hoping I paid close enough attention the last two years to what my mom was doing so I don't blow it.  We'll see...

I hope you have a FANTASTIC Thanksgiving!

Day 42 - Symplicity

Four things occurred today.

Brief done.
30min of cardio.
Taco Bell.
Red wine with a friend.

Not a bad day.

Day 41 - Hard at work

Although the day is technically over, my work is far from done.  I've still got quite a bit of work to do on my appellate brief before I turn it in approximately 11 hours from now.  That said, this post will be short.

It has continued to snow in Spokanistan.  I scrapped my windshield three times this morning in the process of traveling to and from pilates.  Speaking of pilates, I actually felt as if I had made some progress today.  I was able to do just about every exercise without getting dizzy and having fuzzy black dots float in front of my eyes.  I'm a long ways away from having "core strength," but I can at least feel that my efforts are doing something positive at this point.

After pilates, Charlie and I decided to let Tucker play in the snow for awhile.  We have been too busy lately to give him the attention he needs.  That said, Tucker has been EXTREMELY energetic the last few days, begging us to play with him and let him go outside.  I don't think he'll be begging anymore.  The poor little dog turned into a snowball.  Snow chunks stuck to every inch of his furry little body and he had to have a bath to get them off.

Charlie had a lot of homework to complete today as well, so it was nice to get out of the house and play in the snow for a quick study break.  Due to the fact that the impending blizzard is the biggest news to hit Spokane this year, Charlie has to go in to work early tomorrow.  I'll be waking him in a few hours to help him get out the door.  I'm hoping to be able to catch a few hours of sleep myself at the point.  In order to make that happen, however, I've got to finish this damn brief.  Back to work!

Day 40 - Brrr...

Although I could make several jokes about hell freezing over, I'll just say that winter has come to Spokanistan.  After hitting the snooze button a few times, I threw on my running tights and dug out a head band and gloves from my winter wear box.  I knew the forecast had called for temps in the 20's, so I was prepared for the cold.  What I wasn't prepared?  The snow.  About 3 minutes into my run, the snow started blowing in all directions.  I strongly considered turning around and heading to the gym, but there is no way that my thighs are ready to be seen in my running tights in close proximity by other gym patrons.
 
I finished a full 5 miles in just nuder 50 minutes, but it took me a good two hours after to feel comfortable again.  I was FREEZING.  I tried to slowly warm up so that it wouldn't be so painful when I hopped into the shower, but I apparently didn't wait long enough.  The water stung like crazy and then my skin itched for the next few hours.  I've got to invest in some cold weather long sleeve running tops if I'm going to continue running outside this winter.

The rest of the day was spent working on my brief and celebrating Charlie's 26th birthday.  We snuggled on the couch while watching the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe (GREAT movie), got an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen and had a reverse dinner (dessert first) with his brother.  Charlie is anti-birthdays, but I hope he had an OK day.  We're going to try to do something more exciting to celebrate later this week when our schedules settle down some. 

I know you aren't likely to read this, but Happy Birthday Hubs.  I am honored to have witnessed another year of your life and look forward to the many years to come.  Love you!

Day 39 - Nike

Today was all about channeling Nike. As in, "Just Do It." I'm really starting to feel the stress of the end of the semester and am having to make a conscious effort to not let myself get overwhelmed to the point that I can't focus on my brief. Once it's done, a huge weight will be lifted off my shoulders.

I had a fairly large setback today when I realized I had misread an important section of the WA law I'm working with. Thank goodness I caught and corrected it while there's plenty of time left. Unfortunately, it meant having to reformat the whole flow of the brief. Such is life. Make a mistake, recover, move on.

I got limited physical activity and ate pure junk. I took Tucker for a long walk and to play catch this morning and did a few sit ups during a study break tonight. Otherwise, the only calories I burned were those from shaking from anxiety. Tomorrow I hope to get up early for a 5 mile run. I'm assuming Charlie will choose to sleep in (it is his birthday after all), so I'll hopefully be able to exercise and put in a few hours of work before he wakes. After that, it's 100% non-stop birthday fun. Maybe. It sounds like Charlie has a lot of homework this weekend too, so this may be a birthday spent with the books.

Day 38 - A little late

I am a little late getting this blog post published.  I try to post before I go to bed each night, but last night that just wasn't going to happen.

The day started EARLY.  I was at the gym by 5:30 for a solid four mile jog.  It felt FANTASTIC.  I think I could have easily run an additional 2 miles without much more effort.  I certainly would have tried if I wasn't in a hurry to prepare for my Street Law class.

Street Law is a program where GU law students go to Rogers High School once a month to teach a lesson on a legal subject that may be interesting to teenagers.  We cover topics like search and seizure, freedom of speech, etc.  Some of the kids get REALLY into the activities.  Others could care less if we were there.  But, I guess that's high school for ya.  I don't know how Charlie plans to teach this age range day after day.  Once a month is enough to wear me out.

After street law I had evidence and then I donated blood.  As many may know, I am not particularly fond of either blood or needles.  I've been known to throw some minor temper tantrums and ball my eyes out when needing to get a shot or have blood drawn.  And that's just been the last few years, I was probably worse as a child.  Anyway, after politely asking the blood bank guy to please stop telling me what he was doing and to go ahead and just do it, I successfully donated a pint of my blood.  I didn't even cry!  It wasn't a delightful experience, but I will try to do it again when I can. 

After donating blood, the last thing I wanted to do was get to work on my appellate brief (about a blood bank of all things).  BUT, I put in a few hours of productive work (and probably an hour or so of time-wasting nonsense to protect my sanity).

Charlie met me at the law school and took me out to dinner at the OG.  When we were living in Pullman for undergrad, Charlie and I would drive an hour and a half to Spokane to go to the Olive Garden for a "nice date."  My how things have changed.  I still love the chicken alfredo pizza, but the OG is no longer a place I'd get dressed up for.

After dinner, we went over to a sports bar for a going away party of one of Charlie's co-workers.  As they say "Every party needs a pooper and that's why we invited you."  I was that girl.  After completely overloading on carbs, donating blood and waking up too early, I had started falling asleep on the walk over.  We stayed for awhile, but I couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to really see the party get started.  Several of the party attendees were high energy, attractive and bubbly TV personalities.  I simply could not keep up.  Sorry Krem peeps, I'll rest up before the next one. 

Charlie said I was asleep before he even crawled into bed.  After the last few weeks of insanity, it's probably best I was out before 11.  I'm off to finish my brief.  With a little luck, I just might finish this thing today (unlikely, but a girl can hope).

Day 37 - Rest

Today was a rest day physically. Mentally, it was full steam ahead. Until I shut down at 4:30. I really had the best intentions for kicking butt on my brief, but it just didn't happen. I've had trouble getting to work tonight on the brief. I haven't done much writing, but my apartment is the cleanest it has been in a long time. Tomorrow holds street law, class, donating blood and extremely focused brief writing.

On a side note, welcome to the world Sarah May Addison!

Day 36 - Productivity

Pilates (with weights) was rough this morning.  My whole body started shaking when we did leg lifts in the first 15 minutes.  I survived the rest of class by focusing on my time line for the rest of the week.  I have a ton to get done and very little time to do it.

First on the priority list is finishing my appellate brief.  I put in a few good hours tonight, but I still have a long way to go.  For comparisons sake, assume a quality completed appellate brief is analogous to a drive across the country.  Tonight I filled the gas tank, checked the pressure in the tires and cleaned the windshields.  All essential tasks, but not much progress was made towards reaching the end goal.  Hopefully I'll start "driving" (writing) tomorrow.

I've got a sick husband and a misbehaving dog.  I'd better turn my attention back to home matters.  Goodnight!

Day 35 - Slippery Slope

This was definitely an eat your feelings kind of day. I woke up feeling like I had never fallen asleep. Not a good start. Then, after evidence, I had a doctor appointment of the lady nature. I need not say more as I know my female friends empathize. I got my motion for summary judgment back in LRW, and although I got an ok score, I really thought I had aced it.

Still reeling from the stress of the weekend, I decided to treat myself to one soft taco supreme from heaven... I mean Taco Bell. While I put in 45 min on the stair machine and taught my two dance classes, I also ate several handfuls of cheezits and two dove chocolate squares as I waited for dinner. I then washed down a large piece of lasagna and two large slices of sourdough bread with a Mikes Hard Lemonade. I don't even want to try to add up how many unnecessary calories I consumed. It will only make me want another piece of chocolate.

Which, by the way, is an interesting phenomena. Why is it that when you are having a really crappy day that you feel entitled to eat junk food? Last time I checked, the cure to a bad day wasn't getting fatter. Wouldn't it make more sense to say "today sucks so I think I'd like to lose a pound?"

When I figure out the secret to preventing emotional eating, I'll be sure to let you know. Until then, goodnight.

Day 34 - Homeward Bound

San Fran to Redmond.  Redmond to Portland.  Portland to Spokane.  It took FAR too long to finally get home, but I am here safe and sound.  I registered for next semester and was able to enroll in all the classes I wanted.  My legs were pretty sore from all the walking I did in San Fran, so I decided to swim for about 25 minutes at the gym.  Now, I am going to sleep in my own bed.  Goodnight!

Day 33 - Stuck

The day started with watching my fellow Zags beat up on a team.  They were doing awesome, but the courtroom was even hotter today and I had sights to see.  That said, I'll walk you through my day as through the pictures I took.  It started with the recycling of my trial notes.  SO LONG & GOOD RIDDANCE!

I then went down to the Fisherman's Wharf area where I spent the greater portion of the day.  I walked for HOURS while my teammates biked the bridge (I am not so confident in my biking skills).  But, I saw lots of fun things.

Golden Gate Bridge

In-N-Out for lunch

I found Heaven (but was good and refrained from eating any chocolate)

I spotted Alcatraz

And a pack of Sea Lions

After having walked all day, we decided to walk to China Town for dinner.  Jason promised it would only be about 9 blocks away, so of course it was closer to 20 blocks on some of the steepest hills I've ever seen.  Dinner was fantastic and it was nice to celebrate our hard work all together.  After the ridiculous walk back, we got our luggage and piled into cabs heading for the airport.  We had trouble using the hotel internet to web-check our flight, but we figured that we had left early enough for it not to be an issue.  WRONG.  Three of the seven of us did not have confirmed seats on the plane.  I knew I wasn't going to be making the flight from the moment my boarding pass printed without a seat assignment, but of course I had to sit at the airport for 5 hours after that while everything got figured out for how I was going to eventually get home.

Jason and Cherlyn also stayed behind, so at least I was not alone.  That, and United gave me a decent travel voucher which will come in handy this Summer when we go to Maui.  I can feel my blood pressure start to rise just thinking about my frustration over the whole process, so I'll just leave you with a few more pictures.

Sad and waiting to learn how and when I would be getting home.

The hotel United put us up in for the night

Check out that TV!

So the room is nice, but I'd still rather be home in my own bed.  Oh well, hopefully tomorrow will go more smoothly. 

Day 32 - Competition Day

View from 18th floor of the Courthouse

I woke up early, put on my freshly dry cleaned suit, tied up my running shoes (it's REALLY hilly in San Fran) and confidently marched my way to the courthouse.  The boys told us there would be breakfast and coffee available at the competition, so we didn't bother stopping on the way.  We'll call this Mistake #1.  There was no breakfast, nor was there a way to purchase water (or anything else for that matter) once we were in the courthouse.

Our team first represented the plaintiff, which meant I was a witness for the first round.  I was told I was "more than feisty," which I chose to consider a compliment.  The opposing attorney tried to get me to admit to having said something that was not in the prepared deposition.  In such situations, an attorney may ask a witness if viewing a copy of their previous statement would help refresh their memory.  Instead of properly asking if viewing the deposition would refresh my memory, the opposing counsel asked if I would like to have my memory refreshed.  My response? "Not particularly."  SHE WAS PISSED!!!!  The jury members (who scored the trials) started laughing out loud and had to turn away to compose themselves.  Sorry girl, but you asked for it.

Our plaintiff's attorneys did an excellent job and it was definitely a close round.  Unfortunately, the court room was at least 80 degrees.  The result of not having breakfast and sitting in a sweltering courtroom for a 3+ hour trial in a suit was that we were all moments away from passing out.

We only had about an hour to quickly eat lunch and prepare for our next round, during which I was a defense lawyer.  Mistake #2, about 3 minutes prior to the start of trial I managed to spill a cup of water all over myself and a stack of our exhibits.  Fortunately, it wasn't noticeable when I buttoned my jacket and the documents dried out before we needed to use them.  It threw me off my game for the first few moments of my opening statement, but it didn't take too long for me to find my stride.

The opposing counsel for the team we were against in this round were ridiculous.  The girl introduced herself and said her name was Vassi, as in "V" for Victory.  I threw up a little in my mouth.  To their credit, they were very competent in regards to how to work a courtroom and had clearly memorized EVERYTHING they had planned to say.  BUT, they made up evidence, grossly misconstrued evidence and raised objections that were contrary to their argument.  For example, V for Victory Vassi objected to the fact that John used leading questions on cross examination.  Genius.  Those are the only type of questions you are supposed to ask on cross.

I also managed to frustrate this team.  They had blown up an exhibit, which I objected to because they had rearranged and eliminated some information.  For the purposes of competition, the judge allowed them to continue with their questioning of their witness.  Then on cross examination, I told them that they had created a fantastic document and asked if I could use it (of course they couldn't say no).  I then made their witness on cross examination use their exhibit to prove MY case.  Suckers.

Team C Girls

At the end of the day, we did not advance to the final rounds.  We got some great feedback (apparently I talk too quickly and thanked the witness on cross every time they said what I wanted them to) and learned a lot going through the process of preparing for and going through a full trial.  I am really proud of my team and of the performances we gave.

Team C Boys

After learning that we were not moving on, we walked what felt like a million miles in heels (mistake #3) to find a mexican restaurant.  The food was great, but we had a LONG uphill walk to get back to our hotel.  Due to the extreme heat in the courtroom all day and not drinking enough water, I got pretty dehydrated and woke up in the middle of the night with a terrible migraine.  I forgot to pack any meds, so I got to walk the city streets alone at 2 in the morning trying to find something to stop the excruciating pain.  Not the greatest end to a long day, but at least it was over.  Nothing left to do but enjoy the rest of the weekend in sunny California!

Day 31 - One month down

This has been a long, but productive day.  It started with Zumba.  FYI, I will not be going back to Friday morning Zumba.  The instructor was unable to dance to the music which irritated my beyond belief.  I wasn't going to walk out of her class, but I was certainly tempted to after she just barely missed hitting herself in the face with one of her awkward arm flails. 

After Zumba, I hustled down the GU and then off to a lunch meeting with a local law firm.  Speaking with someone who practices in the field of law I'm interested further solidified that my career is heading in the right direction.  Then, it was off to the airport.  I made it safely to San Francisco on what was a mostly an uneventful flight.  One of my GU teammates has a fear of flying, which kept the rest of us entertained. 

The most exciting news of the day is that just after one month of working out, I am down 5 lbs!  I really haven't changed my diet much yet, so I can attribute the loss to hard work in the gym.  I will try to assess my eating habits more this next month.  I don't want to diet, but I am sure I can do better.  My mom got Charlie a NuWave oven for his birthday and I am sure that will help us make healthier choices. 

I've got to be at the courthouse at 7:30 tomorrow morning so I am turning in for the night.  Bring on the competition!

Day 30 - Glee

Glee music got me through this crazy day.  While studying, driving and during my run, the upbeat vocal stylings of the Glee cast kept me positive and Gleeful as I hurried to get everything done.  My current favs are Teenage Dream (WAY better than the Katy Perry version), River Deep Mountain High and the Start Me Up/Living on a Prayer mash-up.  If you're not a Gleek, you are missing out.

I only had one class to prepare for today (again, thank you evidence prof for some much needed time off!), but I did have a lot of last minute trial team stuff to finish.  Also, I intended to get a lot of work done on my brief after class.  Some work got done, but not nearly enough.  It is becoming VERY clear to me how I will be spending my nights next week.  Charlie's birthday is next weekend and I'd really like to be done with writing so I can celebrate properly with him and only have some minor editing left.  Even with the best of intentions, I have a feeling I will still be up all night Monday the 22nd scrambling to finish.  Fortunately, there is only one more semester of LRW.  Like my good pal Gloria Gaynor, I Will Survive.

Survival is the instinct that has taken over at this point.  If law school is a case of survival of the fittest, it's a good thing I'm getting my fat butt in shape!  I can already tell that my cardiovascular fitness has improved.  I ran with a local running club (the Flying Irish) several times this summer and joined them again tonight.  I seem to run a much faster pace when I run with a group, which usually renders me gasping for air and walking stretches of the route.  Not today!  I finished the 3.25 mile run with energy to spare!  Go Katie!  Go Katie! Go! Go! Go Katie!  When you are the cheerleader in your group of friends, sometimes you have to cheer for yourself.

Although I ran like the wind, I looked like a freak.  I sported my running tights (which perfectly accented that lovely lady lower belly pooch), a hot pink long sleeve shirt, a hot pink headband, a blue fleece and a head lamp.   Yes, I said a head lamp.  It was DARK by the time we started running and I was terribly afraid of twisting and ankle because I couldn't see where I was stepping.  I was prepared to be scoffed at, but I was one of many sporting this awesome forehead accessory.  In fact, I noticed some runners would run closer to me when we were on some of the darker stretches to share in my brilliance (speaking of course about both the light produced and my level of genius).

After my run, it was time to start packing.  I struggled to stay awake and eventually gave up and went to bed. At 9PM I couldn't keep my eyes open, but now at 3AM I am wide awake!  I am packed and ready to go (I hope), so I should really try to get back to sleep for a few more hours before the madness begins.  I'm going Zumba in the morning before heading out to an informational lunch meeting with a local law firm.  After that I've got to rush home, grab my bags, meet my teammates and head to the airport.  I'm not sure how much time there will be for exercise and blogging this weekend, but I'll do my best to keep you posted.  Have a great weekend!

Day 29 - Fail

I did not earn my chocolate. Although I got everything I needed to done for class and survived another pilates (with weights), I did not make any progress on my appellate brief. When I got home, I sat down on the couch to eat dinner and woke up an hour and a half later swimming in my own drool. I only snore and drool when I am truly exhausted, so I don't feel too badly about catching up on sleep. Good thing I am already married and the hubs puts up with those traits that are less than attractive.

The next few days will be insane, so I'm going to sleep right... now.

Day 28 - Starting to Panic

It's that time of the semester again.  You can feel the building anxiety and panic from the instant you walk in the front doors of the school.  In legal research and writing, I started to experience the crippling fear of running out of time associated with the month of November.  I've got an appellate brief due in two short weeks and I will need every last moment of free time to complete it.  The only times that do not count as "free" out side of school are a daily hour for exercise and a weekly episode of Glee.  So if I'm not in class or doing one of those two things, make sure I am writing my appellate brief!  Please!

My stress level stayed around a 9 (of 10) through my Tots tap and Jazz class.  I REALLY try to not let them know that today isn't the best day of my whole entire life.  I want them to learn to love dancing as much as I did at their age.  They deserve to have a teacher who is enthusiastic and supportive of their efforts, even if my mind is concurrently working out the elements of Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress as they do leaps across the floor.

I have to say, though, by the time I was done teaching my advanced tap class, I was downright jolly.  I really have a fun group of girls in that class and they don't seem to mind a little bit of teasing.  I am really going to push them hard in terms of technique so they can be ready to compete by next year, but I also want to keep things light-hearted enough that they don't burn out before the year is over.

After gobbling down a plate of spaghetti (with whole wheat noodles), I headed to the gym.  I have got to stop going right at 7PM.  I had really wanted to just run tonight, but EVERY treadmill was taken!  There were a few elliptical machines open, but I tend to think of the elliptical as the last resort.  I could be VERY mistaken, but the people who frequently use the elliptical don't seem to make much progress towards their fitness goals.  I like to pattern myself after people who get results.

Instead of just leaving (as I may have done a month ago), I decided to give the rowing machine a try.  The dudes who use it are always RIPPED, so I figured it must do something right.  After about 10 minutes, a treadmill became available and I decided to switch.  I think I'll need someone to show me proper rowing machine technique because it felt like it was really straining my knees.

I had only 30 minutes to finish whatever remaining exercise I was going to do.  I had to make it home in time for Glee!  I decided to put in three miles on the treadmill and call it good for the day.  Note to self: allow at least 20 more minutes for digestion on spaghetti night.  A belly full of noodles and bouncing on a treadmill do not and should not mix.  I missed the first few minutes of Glee, but thankfully it didn't affect my viewing experience too terribly.  For those Gleeks out there, did any one else LOVE that Teenage Dream number?!

I'm heading to bed early tonight with the goal of waking up at 5 tomorrow, doing both my Employment and Constitutional law reading before Pilates (with weights), doing Pilates (with weights), and then spending the rest of the morning researching for my appellate brief until class starts.  If all goes as planned, I will deserve some sort of chocolate.

Day 27 - Guess Again

Pilates was awesome this morning. I was a little terrified going in because I had a pretty good idea what was in store, but I kept up surprisingly well. If there weren't 20lbs of fat covering them, my abs would be amazing! I think I'll need to start doing 30 min of cardio after pilates. Although it's a great core workout, it's not exactly going to help burn off the several pieces of pumpkin bread I enjoyed today.

After dinner, plopped down on the couch thinking to myself how nice it was to be completely done with the day by 8:00. Guess again! Without naming any names, someone in the Hilen household spilled the beans. No, I don't mean that someone shared a juicy secret. Someone literally spilled a pot of taco soup all over the fridge. After a few expletives and a lot of paper towels, the mess got cleaned up and the situation seemed more comical than frustrating. These are the moments...

Good Night!

Day 26 - Blah

I woke up this morning feeling like P. Diddy, assuming P. Diddy drank too many sugary drinks the night before and didn't want to go to trial team practice.

There's really not much to share about my day. The majority of it was spent at GU. After practice, I enjoyed a typical Hilen dinner of steak and potatoes. Gotta love when the hubs cooks! Dinner was so heavy that I needed a bit of time to digest before heading to the gym. I did 45 minutes on the stair machine and was ready to call it a night. I've got a few dishes to clean in the kitchen and then bed. I hope you have a great week!

Day 25 - Bad Choices

The day started out well.  I got up and went for a 3 mile run around my neighborhood.  Each shoe felt like it weighed 50 lbs and the cold air stung in my chest, but I finished.  I think I'll take a day off of running and do something lower impact to give my legs a break.  They felt like rubber by the time I got back.  I lost my balance when I kicked off my running shoes, resulting in the banging my "funny bone" on the wall... which turned out not to be so funny.

After some swearing and a shower, I headed down to GU for trial team practice.  We put on a full practice round, both plaintiff and defense presenting their full cases.  Our competition is now less than a week away and I am starting to feel more confident that we are, in fact, going to win.  Some (most) may call that arrogance, but I like to think of it as a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

If there is one thing that I've learned through this experience, it's that I LOVE LITIGATION!  For the most part, law school is awful.  I am certain, however, that being lawyer will be awesome.  Litigating is the perfect meld of my talents (exercising compassion and being argumentative while putting on a show for the jury).  Again with the arrogance, but I can't help it.  I've found my calling and am excited to see where it takes me.

Before my head gets much more inflated, I must also share the low points of my day.  I mad some BAD choices in terms of consumption.  After practice, I CRAVED pizza rolls.  Charlie and I lived on pizza rolls in college and for some reason I had to have them today.  They weren't nearly as good as I had remembered, but that didn't stop me from eating 2 servings worth.  I was starving (impatient), so while they were cooking I had three chocolate chip cookies.  Why three?  Because one wasn't enough and I am not a fan of even numbers.  It's fascinating how much less sense that makes now that I've written it for the universe to read, but at the time my logic seemed spot on.

Having gorged on pizza rolls and cookies, I decided to skip dinner.  Had I known then how much alcohol I'd consume later that night, I probably would have made a different choice.  One of Charlie's co-workers was celebrating his 30th birthday at the piano bar and since we didn't have a high school dance to attend we decided to go out for the night.  Charlie and I going out is about as rare as a Cougar football win (sorry Cougs, but it's getting ridiculous).  I don't want to know how many miles it will take to burn off the calories from the booze.  Don't get me wrong, we had a great time.  But the day after you start to think that three shots after two sugary mixed drinks and a glass of wine was probably a bit excessive.  Live and learn!

That said, I think I'm going to lay off the sauce until finals are over.  I rarely drink to begin with, but it's definitely time for me to buckle down and focus.  Plus, when I am struggling with each step on my way to summiting Mt. Rainier, I doubt I'll regret having skipped a glass of wine every now and then in exchange for running a few more miles.

Day 24 - TGIF

There were many reasons to be thankful today beyond just the fact that it was Friday.  Although I was EXTREMELY tired all morning, I managed to pull off a correct answer in my Evidence class.  VICTORY!!!  To celebrate and try to boost my energy, I treated myself to 12oz nonfat and no whip salted caramel hot chocolate from Starbucks.  I bumped into a group of classmates that I rarely get a chance to chat with and enjoyed spending a few minutes hanging out outside of the law school.

I then returned to the library where, THANKFULLY, I convinced myself to be productive.  I've got a 20 page paper due in a few weeks for my Comparative Women's Rights class and it has yet to write itself.  Looks like I'm going to have to write it after all.  So much for all of that darn star light star bright nonsense!  Apparently wishing on a star only works if you've been locked in a tower of a castle by your wicked step mother.  Anyway, I got a few hours of research done and am feeling much more confident about where the paper is heading.

This semester I've been working with a group called The Ministry Institute and have had a blast.  Catholic Fathers and Sisters from around the world come to Gonzaga to learn English or to obtain an advanced degree.  I've met several individuals from China, Kenya, the Philippines and Tanzania.  On Fridays, the group usually has some sort of social activity and today it was card making.  We spent a few hours making beautiful Christmas cards and socializing.  I am always thankful for the time I spend with this group, because they make me forget the stresses of school.  Despite some language barriers, we always find a way to make each other laugh.

This picture is of Sister Agatha (Tanzania) and I with our cards.  Try explaining the concept of snowmen to someone who has never seen snow...  "You do what with the carrot?"

I was most thankful today, however, to not have a trial team practice.  I enjoy my teammates, but we have seen WAY too much of each other these last few weeks.  We've got LONG practices scheduled this weekend where we'll put on a full trial and then evaluate what still needs work.  There's only one week left until our competition in San Francisco and having the night off will definitely go a long way in helping me power through the next few days.  In it to win it baby!!!

I probably could have taken the night off from physical activity, but then I would've had no excuse to watch the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Making the Team.  We don't have cable at home, so I walked the treadmill in our apartment gym for 30 minutes so I could watch one of my guiltiest pleasures.  I've got to be at school early tomorrow morning, but I am hoping to get up and do a quick three mile run outside.  Forecasts call for snow starting next weekend.  I am determined to run outdoors as much as possible until it is no longer safe to do so (or I get too wimpy and don't want to deal with the cold). 

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!  Peace.

Day 23 - Done

I did indeed get up and do 5 at 5. That's what I call starting the day off right!

After my first class, Charlie asked me to join him for an etiquette lunch for one of his business classes. Ironically, I stood up abrupdtly from the table to take a phone call. What could have possibly been important enough to be so rude? I took a call to schedule a lunch interview for the following week, during which I'll probably need the etiquette skills I missed while away on the phone. I ate a deep fried oyster. Scratch that off the list of things you only need to try once. YUCK!

My shoulder started to hurt as the day progressed. It's not too bad when rotating my shoulder in little circles, but it hurts like crazy to raise and lower my arm as if I were asking qustion.

I've fallen asleep twice trying to finish this post. Must. Go. To. Bed. Now.

Day 22 - What self-esteem?

Yikes, today was more than slightly demoralizing. It started with Pilates (with weights!) and ended with business slacks shopping. Nothing does more for a girl's ego than having a fitness instructor look you in the eye when she explains the "easy modification" or having to pass the sizes that used to fit and go to the back of the sales rack. I understand the rationalization for putting the clothes in size order, but how many 2's, 4's and 6's does one need to sort through before finding their size? Perhaps Macy's is trying to give us bigger girls a little more exercise during our shopping experience. Thanks for helping a sister out!

By the time I got home, in felt the need to go back to the gym and put in an hour or two on the treadmill. BUT, this was the first night in a long time that I could crash on the couch. It may be a really ugly and uncomfortable flower covered couch, but I've missed it and it's missed me.

I've got a full day tomorrow and will only have time to work out in the morning. If I snooze, I lose! I'm going to try for 5 at 5. That is, 5 miles at 5 AM. Night!

Day 21 - Boring

I've got nothing really exciting to share about my day.  It consisted of class, teaching my little dancers, trial team meeting and a workout.  The highlight was that one of my classes was canceled.  I do not find joy in my professor's poor health, but I applaud her decision to stay home and get well.

My trial team meeting was scheduled from 6-8, so naturally we didn't leave until after 9:30.  By the time I got home, I did NOT want to workout.  I even made Charlie get on the blog to see how long it had been since my last rest day.  Not long enough.  I wound up doing 30 minutes on the elliptical and 20 minutes on the bike.  I debated going home after the elliptical, but one of my good friends arrived just in time.  We were long overdue for some girl talk and gossip and the last 20 minutes flew by.

That's pretty much it for today.  Hopefully I'll have something more exciting to post soon.

Oh, and an Owl's favorite subject is clearly Owl-gebra.  Duh.

Day 20 - Not your Grandma's Pilates

So I have done Pilates-Relax at the dance studio and I tried Pi-Yo at the gym last week, but NOTHING could have prepared me for this morning's straight up intense Pilates class. The classes I've taken previously weren't easy, but they had nothing on this bad boy.

It was basically an hour of non-stop core work. We did every crunch, twist and leg lift known to man. It was the hardest workout I've had in a LONG time.  My muscles got so fatigued that I begged and pleaded with my legs to lift of the floor, but they just wouldn't budge.  Yet another reminder of how far I have fallen on the fitness ladder.

The icing on the cake was that after class, a bouncy brunette came up to me and said "I hope to see you on Wednesday, we do this same thing, but with weights!" I almost punched her in the face.

I'll give it another try, but I will not be using weights.  I will probably hide in the back so no one notices when I pass out.  I am working on convincing a friend to go with me.  Would you be sold based on this description?  I'm sure they're going to say yes.

The rest of my day was pretty much awful, but I survived it.  I'll spare you the sordid details and leave you with this riddle from a Laffy Taffy wrapper:
What's an Owl's favorite subject?

You'll have to tune in tomorrow to find out!

Goodnight!