Burgers, Beer and Backbends

A life without burger and beer nights would be a life not worth living.  I mean, why else would you live in Wisconsin if not for the awesome beer?  In my case, I prefer Spotted Cow from New Glarus.  I'm going to have to get that stuff shipped regularly if we ever move out of state.  Another completely fantastic option: pasta and wine.....or dessert and wine....or really just the wine.

I like wine.

Tonight was burger and beer night, however.  Me and Nathan are both particularly stressed out at work right now and it was exactly what we needed.  I'm a big fan of the 80/20 rule of being healthy 80% of the time and splurging 20%.  Hey, anything that equates it back to math is going to work for me because I'm just....that...nerdy.  :)  The splurging helps me stay sane during high stress points at work and also helps me not break and go on a "oh my god what is that, I must stuff it in my face!" food-n-drink-a-thon.  The good news is the work stress should subside soon....should....

Most recent workout:  yoga!  I blew off working out tonight (see above).  But yesterday's was yoga.  I may have started yoga as just a way to supplement my running, but it has since become much more than that to me.  It has become a very effective way to de-stress and challenge my body to do things it has either never been able to do before or hasn't been able to for a very long time.  Case in point:  Upward Bow pose (yogi sanskrit name Urdhva Dhanurasana.....I think....I'm still learning those)  I still can't believe I can actually do that now!

Yes! OK? Yes, I was so excited that I got up into that pose that I made Nathan come in and take a picture.  Yes.  I'll admit it.

Ok, so basically it's a back bend.  But you wanna know when the last time I was able to do that was?  Gymnastics.  I WAS SIX.  For those keeping track, that's 23 years ago.  I'm probably not executing it perfectly but I'm still completely jazzed about the fact that I did it after practicing for over a year.

My next hurdle is Crow pose.  Look it up, if you wish.  It is the current bane of my yoga existence.  Basically anything arm balance related has been very difficult for me to get.  I would probably be able to progress faster if I attended classes in person, but my work schedule makes it difficult, so finding teachers online has been my way of doing things so far.  One thing I can say is that yoga absolutely teaches patience and not trying to push your body into poses it's not ready for.  A knee injury early on helped me learn that REAL quick.

If anyone is interested in teachers/dvds/yoga books that have helped me, just let me know and I'd be happy to give recommendations!

Back in the saddle.

What? It's only two years later.

Also, I heard that AWESOME Aerosmith song on my way to work this morning and it's stuck in my head as I'm writing this.

I've decided to pick this blog back up for two main reasons:  1.  Other blogs I read routinely have picked back up and it made me think about doing it again (yes, I am, occasionally, a follower).  2.  I've decided to use it as a way to keep up with my health maintenance.  If you know me at all, you are already aware that one of the major changes in my life over the past two years (in addition to new jobs and relocation) has been my health.  I started running, doing yoga (neither of which I am particularly great at but vastly enjoy) and trying my best to eat better.  When I started I came up with a plan, stuck to it and managed to lose a significant amount of weight.  The hardest part of all that was the initial effort of coming up with the plan and forcing myself to stick to the schedule.  I don't mean to trivialize that to anyone who might read this that is currently in the process of where I was then.  It took me over a decade to have a successful attempt.  Keep going!  However, now that I'm at my goal weight, there's one aspect that I wasn't expecting:

It turns out maintaining is HARD.

The difficulty has caused me to start overly obsessing about numbers (calories, etc.) and taking the fun out of the whole thing.  I know, I know what you're thinking, and YES, running can be fun.  In a way.  I never actually thought I would agree with that sentence, but it's true.  So, I mostly intend on using this blog as a catch-all for updates about our life, running progress, yoga progress, any fun new workout I discover, and new recipes I find and really just a way to get it all out of my head.  The recipes will NOT all be uber-healthy-insertlatesthealthcrazehere recipes.  One of the main reasons I've focused so much on the working out is I love food.  A lot.  And I didn't want to give any of it up.  Cut back? Sure.  Give up? No.

Oh, also you can probably expect random geek references.  Sorrynotsorry.

I will probably not be posting when I update this blog to my facebook page mostly because I'm doing this for me as a way to get my thoughts out.  I may decide to later, but right now I don't feel like it's necessary.  I do, of course, still welcome any and all who might be interested in reading!

Also, despite the fact that I've been showing it off like a new parent shows off pictures of their kid, I'm closing with my before/after picture.  (I feel slightly guilty about how much I've been showing it off....but...meh) See it as a "here's part of what I've been up to!" thing.

Ta-daaaa! :)