Weekend re-cap and April goal wrap-up

In true weekend fashion, this weekend flew by. There was a lot to catch up, but we accomplished a lot and mixed in fun and family time, too. I was super surprised to return home from work on Friday to a beautifully mowed lawn/pruned bushes, as well as a completely re-chipped backyard {our backyard is too shaded for grass, so instead of dirt/mud, we have wood chips which need to be refilled about once/year - see picture below!}. Despite feeling tired from a hard week at work, as well as keeping an eye on Valentino since he stayed home with him, Vic had seriously busted his butt to make our yard look much, much nicer! Once I got home, we went to Home Depot to buy some trim to complete the neat-ness of our yard, then we enjoyed a pizza dinner at Amante Pizza {so good!}, followed by a stroll through Fresh Market and a delicious cookie for each of us. It was a simple, but very nice evening.

The boy LOVES to help out around the house!

After a horrible night of sleep - Valentino was very restless; he woke up twice {1AM and 3AM}desperately wanting to watch cartoons - Saturday started off with an exhilirating 7 mile run {~1:15, which is sub-11 min/mile - albeit slow, it makes me happy} while Vic finished installing the trim in the backyard. It was a cool, cloudy day, so a trip to the mall was in order. We strolled around and I ended up finding a few things for Valentino at 77 kids {my favorite place to shop for him!}. I also needed more Optimum Nutrition protein powder, so I picked some up on sale at GNC. When we got home, Valentino and I planted the impatiens in the front garden bed, as well as his zinnias in the yogurt cup ;-) We ended the night with Chipotle - double chicken burrito for him, chicken burrito bowl with brown rice for me, leftover pasta for the kid.

Sunday morning, I had grand plans to be super mom - clean the house like crazy, do all the week's shopping, take Valentino to the library, prep food for the week, bake muffins. Let's just say I did half of that. I was exhausted from staying up too late and I had a splitting headache made worse by a mischevious little boy. I did dishes and laundry, then we headed to Old Navy and Target to do some shopping. I got some serious deals at both places. For $42 at ON, I picked up 5 pairs of socks, 2 tanks, and 2 tees for Valentino, plus a super cute dress for me. At Target, I signed up for the Target RED debit card {where you get 5% off of your purchase when you use it - score!} on top of coupons and I ended up saving over $22 {on things I would've purchased without the discounts anyway}. After dropping off the groceries and eating lunch outside, Valentino and I stopped at the library to return/pick up books - the kid LOVES the library! We came home and I literally worked up a sweat cleaning up the house - putting away winter clothes, rearranging drawers, folding 83,209 articles of clothing - washing dishes, vacuuming, cleaning up toys. It all needed to be done so bad - none of us could stand all the clutter and "projects-in-waiting" that were hanging out in every corner of my house. All in all, YES - there was/is/will always be more that needs to be done in our house. BUT, it's presentable and usable for now.

On the eating front: This is day two of being super strict, sticking to a "plan." Yesterday I was so conscious of everything I ate. Grilled chicken for dinner instead of hot dogs. No popcorn/cookies/food while watching TV. I went to bed hungry - stomach growling HUNGRY. I know that's what I need to do to lose the lbs though. So far today has also been successful, and I am VERY committed to staying "clean" {okay, now I totally sound like an addict. a food addict, that is}.

Today I have a 4.5 mile run scheduled after work, then we're having a grilled turkey breast, mashed potatoes, and broccoli for dinner.

Since it's the last day of April, I'll wrap-up my goals:

1. Lose at least 5lbs. In progress... I'm down about 2, but that's from Saturday morning until now. I don't really count that.
2. Keep to the 1/2 marathon training schedule. Partial success... I've stayed on schedule with my long distance runs on Saturdays {even while on vacation}, and for the most part I've done 2 additional runs/week, so I'm mostly keeping up. BUT, my intention was to totally stick to the plan.
3. Add money to savings. SUCCESS! I've added a fair amount each paycheck, and I smile in pride when I see our savings account balance. YAY!
4. Get stuff DONE. SUCCESS! I purchased a calendar to use for meal planning, and so far we've stuck to it. I put away our winter clothes. I planted flowers. All small things, but it feels good to get them DONE and off the list. Still on that list - get my car fixed. Doh.

Tomorrow I'll post May's goals -- after I brainstorm what they should be :-)

"If it's important to you, you will find a way. If not, you'll find an excuse."