Thanksgiving Edition...

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope that everyone enjoyed time with their family & friends & of course some good eating! Clarence, our Thanksgiving turkey was a very good bird. Yes, I like to name the turkey. After you spend time seasoning & stuffing the turkey you bond with it (mom cleans it not me) & therefore I kinda feel like it deserves a name. He cooked perfectly & I couldn't have been happier with the taste.

Before I forget, I promised a review of Rascal Flatts new CD & the new Harry Potter movie. Rascal Flatts new album "Nothing Like This" is pretty awesome. I can't say it's my favorite... I think "Unstoppable" probably wins that title. However, it's a very solid album. "Easy" which features Natasha Beddingfield is probably my favorite track with "Sunday Afternoon", "Nothing Like This" & "Red Cammaro" as my other favorites. If you're a country music fan I recommend downloading the album.

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows. WOW was all I could say when I walked out of it last weekend. They did an amazing job sticking to the book, and it really was exactly how I imagined it in my head. This movie is by far the most intense and the darkest of the saga. It definitely had me at the edge of my seat & made my sister jump a few times. Really, really well done & I can't wait for part 2 in July!

Okay, so onto the quest... I currently feel like I got hit by a truck. Joe decided to change things up a bit on Tuesday & I am feeling it everywhere. We did a full body work out with a little more focus on upper body... He had me do a kneeling chest press, an alternate pull up (I had to walk my feet out in front so my legs were straight, arms were straight on a bar that was on a bench press bar & had to pull my chest to the bar), shoulder raises and bicep curls while kneeling on a bosu ball & triangle planks (hold yourself in a plank position on your forearms and then push yourself up one hand at a time and back down on your forearms). The last one in particular was absolutely awful. By the 3rd set I could only crank out 5. I pretty much dropped right on my face. Trying to do that after doing the majority of the other exercises was rough. As I went to do my cardio afterward, I couldn't help but think of how sore I was gonna be the following morning. Still, I reminded myself that you're supposed to feel that muscle soreness after working out, which was something I had missed for a long time.

Carrying Clarence fully stuffed in a heavy pan down two flights of stairs with sore arms certainly was a challenge but it was worth it. The shin splints however, were NOT worth it. I was very proud of the dinner I put out with mom's help, but I was constantly hearing Joe's voice in my head saying, "Eat small portions!" When you're the one cooking the dinner you are usually inclined to eat less because you've already spent so much time preparing the food, worrying about how it'll turn out that by the time it hits the table you don't really wanna look at it anymore. I definitely enjoyed what I ate, it was just less than everyone else at the table. Portion control is a big issue for those of us who like to eat. You tell yourself you're just gonna have a little bit of something, and then you find you're staring at it so you decide you'll just have a little bit more, and all of a sudden you've eaten way more than you intended to. That is how the vicious cycle of over eating starts. It is difficult to remind yourself that eating that little bit extra is damaging and will only make things worse. Realizing that is probably the hardest part.

Unfortunately, the rest of the week & weekend were full of activities so I didn't make it back to the gym. (Friday night saw Michael Buble <3 & Saturday hit NYC with dad & my sisters to see Promises, Promises--which I highly recommend & have dinner) Next week I'll be back in my normal work out routine so I can step it up before Christmas rolls in. Weigh in should be next week so it'll be good to get that out of the way before Christmas. Joe told me Tuesday that I look like I'm losing weight so that's definitely a good sign!

I hope that everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving & a great weekend! Until next time...

Marisa