Friday. The wait was worth it!

We were able to go on the beach today!  It was a mix of sun and rain.  We enjoyed the sun and the occasional rain shower.  It wasn't raining too hard, actually refreshing.

Her fave snack.  Fresh cucumber from the garden

 Breakfast:  french toast.  This is a recipe from Candace Cameron Bure's book.  It's so sweet, no need for syrup!

  

crushed pineapple

made with cinnamon raisin bread

lunch: meatballs, romaine, ketchup

kinda cool!  sun setting underneath house.

Yes it's open!  I've been waiting for my hand pattied cheeseburger & ice cream for weeks.

Had my heart set on banana pudding.  They were out.  I said, "NOOOOOO!"  Ended up with strawberry cheesecake.  It was delicious, but nothing compares to banana pudding.

After dinner we walked on one of the piers in the inter-coastal waterway.  We saw a crab swimming in the water.  I had no idea they swam...just thought they crawled.

Then after tucking in the kiddos, I did my Rocky styled workout on the stairs at the beach condo.  I went slowly so I could make it last 30 minutes, then came squats, push ups, abs and stretching.  I did the Britney Spears' workout from this post.  I was super sweaty!  Ever tried a workout on real stairs?  It's tough!

How do you keep up your healthy lifestyle on vacation?  Do you allow yourself extra treats?  Exercise?

I hope you have a great Saturday!  Make it a joyful, healthy one.

Be healthy.  Be strong.

Take care,

Thursday, a snacky kind of day

Somedays on vacation are just blah and have to be written off as such and try for a better day tomorrow. Today was one of those days.  My DH was in a irritated mood, which aggrivated my daughter.  It wasn't long before it started raining and they were inside again.  So all we could do was to sit, sit, sit....sounds like the beginning of The Cat in the Hat.

I had some business and family phone calls to make.  I don't want to go into too many details, just that it was stressful and emotional.  Couple that with small children inside on a rainy beach day and a husband off fishing in the rain and I was ready to crawl in bed and pull the covers over my head! 

I did eat breakfast, my vacation usual, apple peanut butter oatmeal.  The other meals of the day didn't really exist, well except for snack kind of meals:  cheez-its with applesauce (lunch) and popcorn (dinner).  I just gave the kids snacks throughout the day as well. 

Tonight the kids made up a movie theater in their bedroom with ticket sales, lounge chairs, and popcorn (which I made).  The movie playing tonight was Robin Hood . 

Since it was a late movie, all movie goers had to wear pajamas. 

Hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Take care,

Wednesday, Wednesday and super cool GiveAway!

My friend over at Living Lindsay is doing an awesome giveaway Brooks running shoes.  Don't walk.  Run over there to check it out.  Open until Monday, September 26th, 11:59 P.M., 6 ways to enter.


Breakfast on the run



Followed by an afternoon at the Aquarium

a cute pic of my little Nemo friend.  Looks like he's waving at me.

check out the staff feeding the gators.  Not a job I'd want to have.  What about you?

me and my girls

My family eating ice cream again.  Really.  Do they have to do this everyday on vacation?

Then we rode the ferry, which the girls had never done.  It was the highlight of their day!  My hubby said we could have saved a lot of money by not going to the aquarium.

For dinner we went to Riverview Cafe .  Last September we treated my Dad to dinner here.  It was his last beach trip.  I think he thoroughly enjoyed his time here with us.  I'm so thankful we could give him that gift.  Lord knows he's given me more than I deserved.  He died in August from from lung cancer.  So in honor of Dad, we dined here again.  It was a planned treat, not using the word cheat (too negative).  I had hush puppies, broiled shrimp, french fries, coleslaw, and tea sweetened with Sun Crystals.

Remember the "Rocky" styled workout I said I would do on Wednesday?  Well I'm a woman of my word, so I hit the stairs & worked out like a girl!  Seven flights up and seven flights down times five!  I was not breaking any speed records for sure.  I stopped when my knees started feeling weak.  I wasn't about to risk an injury.  Then I came back to our condo and did push ups, squats, abs, and stretching...my regular workout for the week.  When I came back to the condo, my husband said, "Hey Rock, next time I'm gonna have you chasing chickens!"  It gave me a good giggle.  At least I still have my sense of humor.

That was Wednesday.  Hope yours was great!

Be healthy.  Be strong.

Take care,





A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

Today was a rainy day at the beach, which was O.K. with everyone in our family except our 8 year old.  She was pretty bored with whatever could be dreamed up for inside play.  The rest of the week's forecast doesn't look very promising, so tomorrow we're planning to go to the aquarium, which includes a ferry ride!  That will be a first for our kids.  Hopefully they'll love it!





Breakfast:  my favorite oatmeal:  old fashioned oats, peanut butter, apple, Sun Crystals



Lunch: 2 slices of pizza and tea with Sun Crystals

Dessert!:  Luna Pop chocolate fudge brownie

healthy snack time - peaches!

Dinner was leftover meatloaf for me, which I absolutely loved, paired with a garden salad (romaine, red bell pepper, cucumber, grape tomatoes, balsamic vinegar dressing).  The edges of the meatloaf were a little crispy from warming up in the oven...so yum! 

I noticed my pants were feeling too big, so I thought hey I'll just take a picture to document my journey. I may keep using these pants as a reference point.  These pants used to fit me perfectly.  Take a look now...

4 weeks + 1 day = 4 inches lost in the waist

I've worked hard, but have so much further to go, 57 pounds to be exact.  It's a very lofty goal at my age, but I know I can do it.

I haven't worked out as much as I would like this week, but hey I'm on vacation.  My husband had the idea tonight to do a stairs workout.  Tomorrow night it's me verses the stairs!  Pair that with a little body resistance work & I'm good to go.  Rocky workout here I come.  I've had some treats this week, but for the most part I've stuck with my healthy eating plan, which is what I'm going to do for life.  This is a lifestyle change after all, not a fad diet.

Oh, and we watched the best movie tonight, Just Go With It.  I love a good chic flick, but this one was really good and just hilarious!  I think it's the funniest Adam Sandler movie I've seen yet.  Here's the trailer:


I hope everyone has a great Wednesday.

Be healthy.  Be strong.

Take care,

A Grand Day of Victory!

Today was a gorgeous day at the beach.  It began cloudy, but the afternoon was sunny with highs in the low 80s.  September at Topsail rocks! 

While the ocean is still warm, the cold nights have cooled down the pool quite a bit.  Ashleigh finally admitted to her frozen state.

dusk

Candace Cameron Bure's turkey meatloaf.  Yummy!

snack before dinner.  I'm trying to limit afternoon snacking to real food.

dinner

My family had dessert.  I didn't.

This was the result of an UPWORDS game between hubby & me.  My husband, a.k.a Mr. vocabulary, UNC grad, who considers his vocabulary far superior to mine, lost.  Yes I won.  I stopped just short of doing the I won dance!  It was a great night!

For exercise I walked for 30 minutes barefoot on the beach at a swift pace.  It was actually fairly difficult.  I was surprised by that. 

The forecast for tomorrow is rain, so we'll probably go out to lunch and spend the day inside. 

Hope your day was great.

Be healthy.  Be strong.

Take care,