jogging through the hood.

i don't know if it's the fact that i now know i have to pull a bikini on in two months, the 90 degree weather we finally have that begs for pools + beaches, or maybe i just woke up from a chub-induced nap.  but i don't feel like i've been taking great care of myself.

i was going through some serious blues for a while.  only in the last month have i really felt well enough to do a decent job of taking care of myself again, including the occasional trip to the gym or jog outside.  of course, then i did this, so i took another break for a while so my knee could heal up.

i know, i'm just full of excuses, aren't i?

but PI made a really great point yesterday [as he always does, the bastard!] - that getting out and jogging might help get my 'creative juices' to flow and help my writing.  i figured it couldn't hurt any, so for the first 90 degree day this summer i went out, bright + early, for a jog.  it was LOVELY.

the best bridge to run over, ever.

what more could i ask for while running?  i live in such a beautiful city.  there were even moments while i was blasting ellie goulding's 'anything could happen' that i caught myself smiling super wide, all alone, while staring at the cityscape past the charles river.  maybe it was some of her water-themed lyrics...

strip to the waist / we fall into the river 
cover your eyes / so you don't know 
the secret i've been trying to hide
we held our breath / since we found out
that anything could happen / anything could happen

or maybe it was just me.  that's probably it.  but i have to say, that's just what happens the first time you get out in the summer.  the sun is out, the weather is hot, the coffee is cold, the hair is up, the sundresses are on, and blogging is done from our loft's courtyard.  not too bad. 

well, that was my day.  it's salads + white wine for dinner over here... i spy a trend coming along.

til next time...

off the wagon & loving it.

for those of you who read fairly regularly, you may remember that not too long ago i blogged about the paleo diet.

well that's over.

truth be told it's been over for quite a while... about three weeks.  i was on the diet for about a week or so and lost four pounds, but it just wasn't working for me.  i had hoped that paleo would help me with some health issues i had last year, but after looking more into it i learned that it wasn't giving the proper calcium or vitamin D to a woman of my age and health concerns.  so screw that.

now to venture somewhere i don't think i've ever really gone before... my body.

if i am being totally honest - i've just never been a diet person.  i do enjoy eating healthy, and for the most part most of the foods that i love to eat on a day-to-day basis are pretty healthy.  i love fruit, i don't eat much meat and really do enjoy my vegetables.  but on the downside is that i am italian - which means some form of carbs at every meal, and no shortage of cheese either.  and now that i am home all the time, i have really enjoyed cooking new and more complicated recipes, and even baking - which is something i could never successfully do before [side note: now i am only semi-successful].

now, i don't have a perfect body.  but generally speaking, i am happy with how i look.  i am happy with my dimensions.  i am a curvy girl, but in a 50s pinup kind of way [i like to think].  i'm not overweight and have a healthy BMI, so i can enjoy the bit of excess that i do have.  i don't believe that a full life should have too much 'nos' on it... no carbs after lunch, no eating after 8, no fried foods, no sweets.  that's just not my style.  i don't eat dessert every day, but i like knowing that if i see an old-fashioned doughnut, i'm gonna eat that bad boy. 

nor do i enjoy the regiment of having to go to the gym every day.  i love having a healthy lifestyle, but for me that's jogging when it's nice out and hitting the treadmill when it's not [and i feel like it].  it's swimming as much as i can in the summer, and relaxing my body, mind and spirit with yoga.  do i want a bikini body?  bet your ass i do, but i'm just not one of those girls who is willing to give up everything to have it.  and i'm becoming more and more ok with that as i get older.

my weight has never fluctuated a huge amount.  yes, i still have some clothes from high school that i fit into.  but i've gone up a few cup sizes and my ass has definitely filled out.  but i am pretty happy.  i don't believe in scales in the house [much to pi's annoyance] because i think that if you can look in the mirror and like what you see [and of course are healthy], what else matters? 

for the record, i did yoga and ran two miles today.  and i plan on doing it again soon - but after i take the weekend off and eat homemade spaghetti tonight :)

and just to prove i'm not full of it, here's a shot of my bikini body from last may i hid.  you can tell it is very impromptu by my less-than-smiling face. 

tomorrow i will probably wake up, feel fat, and delete this post.  but today i feel pretty great.

til next time...