When It Rains, It Pours

I'm holding on, people, by my fingertips. When I'm not doing have-tos, I'm laying down to heal my brain and heart. Bad news is coming in. Some of it directly affects me. The world, my world maybe, feels like a difficult and scary place at the moment. There is light at the end of the tunnel; I just hope it's not a train.

I know there is good. Fred and Sidney continue to pop a little more. The scale reads a lower number for multiple days (so it must be true, right?). I may need a belt with my skinny jeans; I really hate belts though. And then there's the kid who doesn't ask about Chinese food or Oreos as often. I continue to have a hankering for celery. I struggle with trying to eat enough, sleep enough, move enough, be enough to those in my life. The other day I was questioning if the PCP is just selfish and vain in the pursuit of eye-candy bodies or something that makes us better so we can better serve those important to us, by sticking around longer with better health AND eye-candy bodies.

I miss my old jumprope.

Day Six: PCP or Bust

Another thing I am realizing with the PCP is you've got to plan ahead, be it the exercise, the food, the blogging or heck the sleep/rest to get all this done.

Yesterday as I was trying to head back to Colorado, I visited a Walmart store in central Nebraska (on a Sunday no less; can you say hell on earth?) to pick up some incidentals that would improve the five hour drive ahead of the kid and I. I picked up some baby carrots, but when I ate them later they tasted like they were washed with soap. I switched to a bag of pretzels. To circumvent the kid's request for Crunchy Cheetos, I got her some yogurt. Color us both happy.

But after the road trip, which got us back home after 11 p.m. MST, it left the fridge looking empty, vegs from last week limp and wrinkly, and my body was stiff from driving and I was so, so tired. I ended up skipping this morning's boot camp to get at least 6 hours of sleep. Did PCP exercises after work (have to say I do really prefer the a.m. workouts; isn't that weird for a night person to admit?) and I'm anxious to see what comes next. Tonight, my lovely neighbor made her killer brownies, and per the usual, offered me one. I took half one and will soon enjoy that on the eve before the start of the official PCP diet. Bring it.

Day Three: A Moveable Feast

Pictured to the right is what I packed for my 7-hour drive through Nebraska.

Traded in my orange Crunchy Cheetos for orange crunchy baby carrots (which really helped me through the last three hours of the drive). The sandwich, half left over from lunch would be my half dinner on the road. Two bottles of ice water, two audio books (which were mediocre) and, can't lie, the bananas weren't for me. I hate bananas. Those were for the kid while she stays at The Grandparents, who are lovely and generous people. But the kid DID get a bag of Crunchy Cheetos (see? even she knows the drill when we make a pit stop. Oh wait. Is that bad?), and she shared three with me. Three is better than half a bag, right?

When I pulled into Lincoln, I was STARVING. My stomach had been growling for about two hours. I called a friend, Cara The Marathoner, and asked her what she would get at Amigos. Amigos is a staple of Nebraska dining, and many of my pals who no longer live here discuss cravings for this fast food staple. Now in the four years I lived in Lincoln for college, I ate at Amigos fewer than five times, and I think most of those times it was 1. not my idea 2. massive amounts of booze was preceded its consumption. But suddenly I envisioned myself getting a drive-thru burrito or taco and inhaling it before I left the parking lot. By the time I left the Interstate, I snapped out of it, hit the sandwich shop across the street from Amigos (that's right, I stared that SOB in the face and walked away from temptation) for a simple provolone and bread sammie with mustard, and ate half. I even waited until I got into the downtown apartment I am staying at to eat, and it was good.

I know food will be my personal challenge during the PCP. (Seriously, Mel. It's Day Three. Get a grip!) And then to throw travel on top of that? I already worry how an upcoming trip to Northeast PA (NEPA, as us locals call home) will be: the land of pizza, Yuengling beer, pierogies, funnel cakes, meatballs as big as your head and other delictables from Polish and Italian cuisine. I'm doomed. Must get game plan now.

But I am happy to report that while I am in my Lincoln favorite coffee shop, I was able to resist the second half of my cheddar bagel with veggie cream cheese. But barely. Onto tomorrow!

Day Two: Sick and Tired

It's just after 7a.m. MST here in Colorado, and I've done my PCP exercises for the day; they were very doable and tolerable, especially outside in the cool air and new sun. But I'm definitely feeling the fatigue from two workouts yesterday (PCP and a boot camp I almost done attending) and a head & chest cold that's hopefully on its way out. Is there any advice on how to handle sickness with working out? I took an easy pace and completed every exercise in full. But man, I miss breathing through my nose. My head feels full of cotton, my throat full of broken glass.

I'm heading out of town this afternoon for the Fourth of July weekend. Dropping the kid off at her grandparents in Kearney and I go on to Lincoln, both cities in Nebraska where I went to college and lived for four years. (How does a girl from the Northeast end up in the Midwest? My mom's from Omaha and Nebraska is where those Irish ancestors of mine settled. I keep going back, though, for the friends and my godmother, one of the most important people in my life and a true role model. The free babysitting from the paternal grandparents is just a bonus).

Wondering how being on the road will be with the PCP (another reason for the early exercise today). It's about a five hour trek to Kearney, then another two hours to Lincoln. What are your favorite travel foods? The kid and I are fond of Crunchy Cheetos, but must find a better alternative for snack food on the road today. My jump rope and PCP exercise sheets are already in my purse, so even if I forget to pack a suitcase, I will at least be able to stick with the program. Bon voyage!