the day after

hallllo!



and just how are you today??? pretty durned good here! hubby and i had a great valentine's day and he made reservations at a local steak house for our dinner. it was AWESOME!



we enjoyed crabcakes for an appetizer (im notta big seafood person at all, but these were HEAVVVV-ENNN!), then we both had salads and a petite filet (6oz) with potato and a few spears of asparagus for our entree. there was even a complimentary glass of red wine! YUMMY!



and of course, being valentine's day we had to have dessert! they had this cute heart-shaped pastry/crunchy thing with lightly flavored lemon custard, sliced strawberries and chocolate syrup drizzled over the top. a great end to a great meal!!!



of course, i overate, but not half as bad as i usually do on special occasions. slow but steady progress!! the sad thing was, since i have lately been trying to recognize when i am actually FULL, i noticed after the appetizer that i really could have stopped eating and been full... HAHHAAH! that was even before the pre-entree salad! it really is crazy how much we eat!! ;)



i was telling hubby earlier how from eating all that food yesterday, i just feel BLEH today, like my whole body is "all stuffed up!" i feel a bit sluggish and my head is, well, slow, to put it simply. hehe! and i feel like i need to drink tons of water and exercise hard for a long time and sweat like crazy. *LOL* you know, to detox or something! (kinda like how you feel better after you blow your snotty nose! HAHAH!)



anyhoo, he said at least we arent craving more junk--instead we are craving a good day! and he is so right!! THAT is an improvement...progress for sure. physically AND mentally. woohoo :D:D



oh and one other thing...in my hubby's vday card to me, he thanked me for all my efforts to help lead us toward better health *awwwww* (he used much better wording! hehe) that made me feel SO GOOD. not only do i want to be healthier, i want him to be, too! he doesnt realize it, but he helps me a lot. he's got a great, positive attitude and his calm personality is a blessing to me!



anyhoo...good health is something we can strive for together, and i love him so much! YAY ME cause i've got the best guy EVER! (okay you might think that was all cheesey, but i dont care :P hahaha)



so what are you reading these days? welp, like i've mentioned, i finished the Body Clutter book, and also last night i finished Sink Reflections (also by FlyLady). both GREAT books that i'd recommend to ANY woman (men can also read them, but will need to be much more open minded).



a week or so ago, i returned a library book i'd finished--Mariel Hemingway's Healthy Living from the Inside Out. VERY GOOD BOOK!! i dont really care who she is (the granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway) or what she's previously done in Hollywood. she wrote a wonderful book and is very honest about her own shortcomings and what now works for her.



i'm sure i will get the book again so i can put more of it to good use, but the things that stood out the most to me were how important it is to BREATHE (i'll talk more about this in another post!), and how making your home a sanctuary can really improve your health. i have already "redone" our bedroom by removing all the extra unnecessary furniture & clutter, banning the pets (day AND night!), and adding lots of plants!



i got a beautiful algerian ivy hanging in the window and some other ivies and a snake plant on wall shelves. since then, we've been reading and relaxing in there every night before bed. its GREAT!!! all the greens in there are very calming to me, and with less pet hair and air-purifying plants, it just smells and feels cleaner. my next room mission is the office!!



i am also still reading Dr. Weil's Eight Weeks to Optimum Health. this book is my background project! it will probably take me more like 16 weeks *hehe* but that's cool.



there is just something about Dr. Weil that is calming to me. *lol* i think its his balanced way of thinking and living. he really stresses that so many areas of our lives are important to our overall health and well-being, not just food and exercise!



he, like Mariel, stresses how important BREATHING is. okay yeah, we know we have to breathe to live ;) but we really dont realize how shallowly we breathe because our lives are so rushed, we have horrible posture, we have fat guts that restrict it, etc...*lol* im not talking about meditating, either. (that can be quite intimidating to the midwest-countrygirl-what's'OM'mean-kindachick. LOLOL)



its really just about clearing your mind by focusing on your breathing so your body can actually get the oxygen it needs to work! okay so anyhoo, once i get this downpat i'll write more about it and let you know what i think. hehe!



okay well i guess i've rambled on long enuff! time to go move my sluggish body for 15 minutes! im also going to do more stretches each day. it just feels good!!



have a great thursday!



~jos~