Review, Excerpt & Giveaway: YOU CAN SEE ME by A.E. Via

You Can See Me

A.E. Via

Genre: Gay, Multiple Partners, Erotic Romance

Publisher: All Romance eBooks

Date of Publication:  August 1 2016

Number of pages: 358

Word Count: 72000

Cover Artist: Erin Dameron Hill

Book Description

It takes more than perseverance to recover from tragedy...you also need love.

Following a horrific accident that leaves him blind, renowned chef Prescott Vaughan loses his fiancé and all hope for his career. Recovery and confidence in his skills come slowly, along with feelings he hasn’t experienced in a long time when he meets his new neighbor, Dr. Rickson Edwards.

Unlike Prescott, Ric is open about his attraction to men yet has issues that complicate their relationship. A brief separation threatens his hopes for an eventual reunion when Prescott befriends the handsome aspiring chef Blair McKenzie, who wants more than cooking advice.

Ric doubts Pres can let go of the charming southerner, but after an encounter with the sinfully sexy man, he can't help his attraction as well. Pres feels he must choose but realizes…does he have to? 

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Excerpt

Pres didn’t want to think about being lonely anymore. Last night he’d eaten his langoustine lobster alone when his girlfriend never showed up after happy hour. He’d called her a couple times, but it went straight to voice mail.

The next morning he’d done his usual Friday morning workout with his personal trainer and worked on some reviews since he didn’t go into the office. In the afternoon, he did meaningless organization in his kitchen pantry and marinated some pork tenderloin for dinner.

Cooking always made him feel better. He only wished he had someone besides himself to enjoy it, too. He’d even gone as far as giving his neighbors Jeff and Cindy a couple dishes, just to hear a few compliments. How pathetic.

While he waited a few minutes to cook his meat, he sat at the kitchen island and listened to an audiobook his dad had given him. Josey came over and whined at him, laying his heavy head on his knee.

“Sorry, boy. You need to go out, huh?” Pres got up and moved quickly and effortlessly to his bedroom to change into something a little more comfortable. Josey whined some more. “Okay, okay. I’m coming, Josey.”

Pres slid into his Jordan flip-flops and grabbed a plastic doggie-poop bag and the leash from out of his hall closet. He took his keys off the hook, grabbed his long cane, set the alarm, and left his condo. He didn’t need to put Josey’s harness on. They’d walked this path for over three years now, and he knew it well.

As Pres waited for the elevator, he felt a presence next to him. It was a male presence because the scent was spicy with a sweet undertone. Just when Pres prepared to speak, his visitor spoke to him first.

“Hello,” he said in a deep, sultry voice.

“Good evening,” Pres responded.

“Going for a little stroll, huh? He’s a beautiful dog. May I pet him?” asked the good-smelling stranger. His accent was slightly northern but not overly pronounced. Listening to him speak made Pres think about what the man’s mouth might look like. If a person had a strong voice, he immediately pictured a warm, inviting smile covered by full lips.

“Yes, go right ahead. He’s very spoiled. Any attention he can get, he’s more than willing to take.” Pres lifted Josey’s leash, making him rise up off his belly.

“Awww. So handsome. You’re a good boy, aren’t you? Yes, I can tell you’re a good boy,” the stranger crooned to his dog.

Pres could hear the man ruffling Josey’s scruff underneath his collar as he scratched him.

“So do you live on this floor?” Pres figured he’d spark a little conversation since the elevator was taking forever.

“Yep. Actually, just a few doors down from you,” he replied happily.

“You know where I live? Well, now I have to kill ya,” Pres joked, hoping his neighbor had a sense of humor, which he did because he heard him let out a genuinely deep laugh.

With a laugh like that, he definitely has a nice smile.

“Funny guy, huh? My name is Rickson Edwards, but everyone calls me Ric. I’m sorry I haven’t introduced myself sooner, but I’m fairly new to the building, and every time I see you, you’re either just getting on or off of the elevator.”

He felt Ric take his hand that wasn’t holding Josey’s leash and slide his into it during his introduction. Damn, he has a strong handshake.

Pres returned the firm grip. “I’m Prescott Vaughan. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Edwards.”

“How respectful of you, but there is no Mr. Edwards, just Ric…Mr. Vaughan.”

Pres mocked him right back. “How respectful of you, but Mr. Vaughan lives in Richmond with my mother, just Prescott, or Pres, if you like.”

“I do like…I mean the name. I like your name,” Ric stammered.

Pres smiled as he imagined a slight blush creeping up on the man’s face.

At its arrival, they both stepped into the elevator, leaving the introduction awkwardness in the hallway. Neither said another word. There was only the humming of the elevator gears as it descended its way to the lobby.

Pres was overly aware of Ric’s gaze on him, and it made him smile.

“Why are you smiling?” his neighbor asked.

“Why are you staring at me?” Pres retorted.

“Because you’re—” He stopped quickly.

“Because I’m what?” Pres questioned, wondering why Ric didn’t finish his sentence.

“Nothing. Didn’t mean to stare, and I’m not even going to ask how you knew that I was, either.” He laughed.

“It’s within my power,” Pres joked back.

Pres found himself trying to imagine what Ric’s face looked like. If the appearance matched the voice and humor, then he probably had light brown hair and light green or hazel eyes. His cheekbones could probably make a woman envious, and he didn’t breathe heavily, so Pres assumed he didn’t have any weight issues. His voice came from slightly above Pres when he spoke, so the man was taller than him, making Ric probably six-foot-two or three. Being closed in the small compartment had Pres’s sensitive nose filled with Ric’s unique scent. It had him feeling dizzy and a little disoriented. That spicy, sweet combination was like nothing he’d ever smelled before. He liked it…a lot.

That thought did not freak out Pres at all, and liking the man’s smell was an interesting feeling for him. He wasn’t squeamish that a man had given him such a sensual reaction. If he was going to be totally honest with himself, everything he did when he was in his fraternity didn’t scream hetero from the word go, but that was over twelve years ago. Pres had not met a man he was attracted to since…until now.

The elevator doors opened, and Pres extended his hand, telling Ric to go ahead and exit first.

“Thank you, Pres.”

“You’re welcome. It was nice meeting you, Ric. Have a good evening.”

“Likewise,” Ric said.

Pres walked through the lobby having a nagging urge to turn around and look back. But that was f*cking pointless…right?

Carra's Review

When I first started You Can See Me, I wasn't sure what to expect.  It's got a bit of everything in it, an initial M/F relationship, horrible trauma for one of the main characters, devastating emotional impact, an awakening to a previously explored M/M tendency, love, loss, another love, reuniting...and finally the emergence of the menage.  What's surprising?  Even with all of that going on, it all actually does flow as a good story that doesn't feel too busy and yet takes the reader through a broad range of emotions as the main characters find their way.

Prescott is simply awesome.  After a not-so-gentle nudge from his mother after losing his sight, he turns his entire life around to become wildly successful despite the challenges he faces every day.  You can't help but feel for him and want him to find his own happiness and love.  Rickson is a strong, warm character who is not afraid to express what he wants with Pres, though he's careful not to show too much of himself at work.  And Blair...he's a sensitive spitfire, ready to make sure things turn out right for all three of them.

The first half of the book played with some pretty strong emotions, and really grabbed my heart.  I was proud of Pres and the way he stayed strong once Blair came into the picture.  My confidence in the story wavered a little when Blair and Pres made their feelings known to Ric since until that point there really wasn't any indication that things were heading that way.  But things have a way of working out, and I was still happy with the way things ended up with the three of them.  Oh, and don't get me started on the hot and steamy parts...you'll have me running for the ice and fans-again-because those scenes are enough to have you melting on the spot.

Overall, You Can See Me was a 4-star read for me, and I'd recommend it to fans of M/M erotic romance and M/M/M menage who are 18+ (for adult language and explicit erotic M/M and M/M/M sexual content).  

About the Author

A.E. Via graduated in May of 2008 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Virginia Wesleyan College. She's a new author to the beautiful gay erotic genre. Her writing embodies everything from spicy to scandalous. Her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths. 

When she’s not clicking away at her laptop, A.E. runs a very successful paralegal-for-hire business and in her spare time, she devotes herself to her family - a husband and four children - her two pets, a Maltese dog and her white Siamese cat, ELynn, named after the late great gay romance author ELynn Harris. While Blue Moon is her first novel, she has plenty more to come...so sit back and grab a cool drink, because the male on male action is just heating up!

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads 

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And my "Official" Marathon Training starts...now!

Yup, it's that time again.  Actually, the plan I'm following (Marathoning for Mortals-Walk/Run Marathon) doesn't start until the last week in August, but I tacked on these few extra weeks as a way to ease back into things.  Between now and the end of August, I've added some easy 4 min walk/1 min run interval weeks just to get myself used to doing those interval lengths before starting back to the 3/1's again.

If you'd like to see my full training calendar, I've got it here on my blog.  You can click on the Training Calendar tab up top or on this link for more details.  The blog entry I did ages ago announcing that I'd placed my training calendar live here on my blog is actually my most viewed blog entry...guess there's a lot of people out there who are looking for guidance.  For those of you who are looking for a walk/run marathon plan for January's WDW Marathon Weekend, the plan on my calendar starting August 26, 2013 is straight from the Marathoning for Mortals book (a great resource by the way).  From this week until then, those weeks I added myself for an easy get-back-into-the-swing-of-things schedule.

The weight loss side of things hasn't been going exactly as planned this summer.  I'd kicked my soda habit cold turkey and had gone over a month without a sip.  Then I cracked.  *big sigh*  You know how those things can get out of control...but at least I'm still down from my starting weight so things didn't get too crazy.

Been keeping busy...I've been getting many quote requests and new client inquiries lately as well which is keeping me busy along with keeping up with my other blog, The Disney World Files and my website.  By the way, be sure to stop by my other blog to enter my giveaway for a pair of Toy Story Buzz and Woody Vinylmation figures...and I'd appreciate it if you could share the giveaway with others (like on Facebook, Twitter and Google+).  Today's the last day to enter, and you the giveaway is located at this link.  The odds are still really good to win ;-)

Gotta get going...time to crack down and settle in for the long haul...

It Wasn’t Meant to Be...

Back when I first started the whole running thing, I had joined a gym-Bally’s-when they were having a promotion in conjunction with The Discovery Channel as part of TDC’s National Body Challenge.  I signed up with a contract, then went month to month after the contract ended, then finally when we moved further away from the closest club than I was willing to drive, I just cancelled the membership.

A couple of weeks ago, I received postcard advertisements for a place called YouFit Health Club.  Apparently one had just been opened a couple of miles down the street from me (it took over the nearby 21 Fitness club) and they were offering a month-to-month membership for only $29 down and $10 per month.  Considering my month-to-month at Bally’s after my contract was over was $20 per month, I thought this was a great deal.  I checked out their web site and local reviews...everything looked good so I discussed with DH and finally went to the club on Sunday to check it out.

It was larger than the Bally’s I had used with a LOT more machines, both cardio and weights.  They also had a classroom that they had group classes in, plus balance balls, mats, etc just like my Bally’s had.  Overall it looked good, so I decided to go ahead and register.  And yesterday-two days later with no visits for workouts-I cancelled.  The next paragraph is taken almost word for word from my cancellation letter.

I was disappointed by several things with the registration process. First, I specifically asked if there was a contract since I wanted to do the month-to-month and was told no, it was just a simple month to month membership. When I received the email with my forms attached, the first page was a Membership Agreement which clearly states it is a “contract/note/agreement” (and when you look at it, it is clearly obvious just at a glance that it is a contract-no matter what they want to call it).  Second, while I was told there were annual club dues of $29.99 per year every September, I did not realize she meant I would be charged this September-barely over two months after joining (shouldn’t this be something I would be charged for on my anniversary next year?).  I have no problem paying an annual fee, but two months after I join (and just paid $29 to do so)?  Third, I was never informed that if I wanted to cancel in the future that there would be a $25.00 processing fee to do so, I found this out when I received the email with my “contract”.  Finally, when I was told the amount due at signup, I was told $51.94.  When I asked why when the introductory fee was $29 and it is $10/month, I was told members are charged first and last month up front.  I was not told this before I signed off on my registration, only when my card was about to be charged at the very end of the whole process.

I was not given an opportunity to read all of the things the “contract” said when signing up; I was told the highlights at each point I that I had to sign the electronic signature pad ($10 per month with a one-time $5 increase; Annual Dues; club policies regarding dress code and use of the facility, etc) and since I was told there was no contract, I was under the impression that those items were all I was agreeing to.  Um, apparently not.  You aren’t presented with actual paper forms to sign-they tell you the info and you sign the little credit card signature pad after each thing they tell you about, the way the person who signed me up presented it to me, she was saying “oh, you’re acknowledging it’s $10 per month with a one-time $5 increase after a year; this is saying you agree to abide by club policies like the dress code; this is permission to debit your monthly fee, etc”.  Nothing she said made it sound anything like I was signing a legal contract, she basically just said one or two things each time like they were no big deal and then said I’d get an email with my forms for my records.

Now maybe I’m just unbelievably naive.  Other than buying cars (where you sign so many forms you just lose track by the time you’re done), I’ve only ever signed one contract...the one at Bally’s, and they had paper forms and went over everything very carefully with me (and oh, by the way, Bally’s doesn’t charge for canceling, or at least they didn’t as of 2 years ago).  But from the totally nonchalant way the whole signup process went, I got absolutely no impression that I was agreeing to some official contract-until I received that email with it attached.  

And so I was ticked off...and it’s a good thing I read the email and its attachments in time to cancel within the first 3 days.  Though the people at the front desk tried to tell me I’d get my refund in 7-10 days.  Yeah, I don’t think so.  Spoke to the manager (who understandably tried to explain how their agreements worked, “how can I make this right”, the girl that helped you was new, etc etc etc) about the whole thing and she immediately refunded me.

While YouFit seems like a great, low-cost alternative and I was looking forward to being able to go the the gym and not have to wait for equipment or limit my time on any equipment, plus it is literally 5 minutes from the house...the whole registration process just rubbed me the wrong way and gave me a negative view of the club.  I know of others who are members and like it just fine, and maybe I would have liked it too---IF I had received all of the information up front.  To find all the other details out after I was already signed up (the email didn’t come until the next day)...not cool.

And so I’m back to my outdoor miles, my yoga DVD, free weights in my office and using the teeny tiny gym in my complex (2 treadmills, 1 elliptical, 1 stair machine, 1 recumbent bike and a couple of weight machines) plan instead.  Ah well, I’ve done it before, I’ll be doing it again.

Happy Training Everyone!

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Week 2 mini-success; tip for staying on track; other random things

I am happy to report that week 2 finished with a 1-lb loss.  Not spectacular and amazing like week 1's 4 pound loss, but heck--after coming out of the gate with that 4, I'm not going to knock the 1...after all, that's still 5 pounds in 2 weeks.  Only one sorta-iffy eating day last week-several of us had a training class on Friday at work for a new program we're going to be using (not that anyone's interested, but it's going to be for paperless online on-boarding of new hires-can't wait, should be a HUGE timesaver for us), so our boss had us order in lunch, her treat.  The group decided on Italian and I found a spaghetti/salad combo to get.  The portion of pasta I got?  Heaping.  The portion of salad I got?  Teensy-weensy.  And I hadn't had any of my snacks yet-I keep healthy snacks in my desk drawer like carrots, grapes, pretzels and such-so I was really hungry.  Ate almost the whole thing.  But that was my only bad day, and I tried to adjust my dinner but still hit about 2000 calories for the day instead of my recommended range (which tops out in the 1800s).

One tip I use to stay on track is using the nutrition tracker on the Sparkpeople website to track every single thing I eat.  I know it may seem tiresome to have to enter everything, but it really does make a difference.  It's way too easy to just say, "eh, that's about X calories here, another X there, I'll be fine today" and not track, but then if you go back later and enter those same things on the tracker you suddenly see the OMG amount you REALLY ate.  Thankfully they have a mobile app so that makes it even easier for me to track even if I'm not near a computer.  Plus, you can makes groups of food, or copy meals from one day to another....like for me, I often will have a breakfast of cinnamon swirl toast (sprayed with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter), yogurt and orange juice.  I can just copy that whole meal to another day and not have to enter each thing individually.  There's many good food trackers out there in cyberspace, many of them free (like Sparkpeople's), so whether you track online or use paper and pen, try tracking your food-it really can make a difference.

In other news, my work wardrobe has been getting kind of tired so this weekend was a shopping weekend for me (YAY!).  Got some great buys at Sears, plus two extra $10 award cards and 20,000 extra reward points-worth another $10-from their loyalty program from a promotion they were running=successful clothes shopping trip!  Oh, and did you know JCPenney has workout gear?  And in WOMEN'S sizes?  Yup, scored a running tank top on sale for $8.99.  And while the sizes I got this weekend weren't my ideal, I look forward to watching my new stuff get baggy on me by the fall ;-)

One last thing before I sign off for tonight...you may (or may not) know that I have another blog all about Walt Disney World stuff called The Disney World Files.  I've got a giveaway going on over there for a cool Color Block Goofy Vinylmation figure...when you have a moment, head on over to check it out and get yourself entered.  The figure would make a neat addition to any Goofy medal display if you have one, or just a fun thing to decorate with, or even use to trade for other Vinylmations with friends or while you're at WDW.  I'd love it if you'd take a look and share with others!

Success! And the journey begins again...

Last Sunday I did my initial weigh-in to get myself started back on my weight loss plan.  Then on Monday I started off with just the nutrition portion to get myself back on track.  I logged all of my food as well as my water intake (I use Sparkpeople, fantastic free website with trackers for nutrition, exercise, water intake, measurements and so on...plus articles, forums and more).  Oh, and in addition to the initial weigh-in I also did all my measurements this time around.

I was really good all week with my eating.  The ranges I’m supposed to stay in are:

Calories: 1490-1840

Fat: 33-72g

Carbohydrates: 168-299g

Protein: 60-161g

Calcium: 100-150 %RDA

Sodium: 0-2300mg

Fiber (total dietary): 25-35g

Consume at least 8 cups of water per day

Just FYI, these are the recommended ranges for ME based on my current weight, goal weight and amount of time over which I plan on losing weight from the Sparkpeople website.  Just because that’s a range for me and my situation doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what you should do.  If you want to know what your own ranges should be, I’d recommend registering on Sparkpeople, plugging in all your information and you can get your own customized plan.  For me, I’m hoping to lose 85 pounds by the end of the year, though that’s a pretty lofty goal and actually higher than I really should be aiming (but...but...but...I want to be tiny ASAP!  LOL).  If I can get to 65 I’ll be pretty happy with myself and that would have me averaging just over 2 pounds lost per week since there’s 30 weeks from when I started until the end of the year.

I'd love to get this Withings scale, if I could just get over the $149.95 cost!  But I'll take the weight it has showing on it :-)

Calories, fat, carbs and protein were good pretty much all week.  I’ve been under a few days on calcium and fiber...those are the hardest ones for me to hit my numbers.  The other thing that’s hard for me is the water.  Just trying to get to 6 cups a day makes me feel like I’m going to burst.  I think all week I might have had 2 days where I reached 8, all the rest were 6.  Not that I agree with the whole “8 cups a day” thing.  There’s plenty of evidence out there to show that it’s not necessary...and truly, if your urine is coming out a pale lemonade color, you’re hydrated just fine.  And this fall when my training starts to really ramp up while I train for the Disney Full Marathon in January, I’ll be getting plenty to drink with all the water and sports drinks.

Now, one thing you should realize I hadn’t added the exercise component last week.  I wanted to get comfortable back in my good eating habits first.  So when I stepped on the scale yesterday (I weigh in once per week on Sundays), I was totally floored when it showed I had lost 4.2 pounds my first week!  I figured it would be about 1.5 or maybe even 2 if I was lucky so when I saw it was 4.2, I was totally shocked.  And of course, this makes me a bit leery about week 2 since usually that’s a lower week anyway as the body adjusts to the whole weight-loss thing.  BUT-even if this 2nd week isn’t quite as stellar, the first week should make up for it ;-)

So-success for week 1!  Yesterday I added back in strength training with an upper body free weights workout (oh my arms are hollering at me about that!) and tomorrow I go back to my miles...hopefully outside but with the yucky weather we’ve been having lately I’m not going to hold my breath.  I’m actually thinking about joining a gym again.  The 21 Fitness just 2 miles down the street has been changed to a YouFit Health Club and the cost is just $10/month (or I can do $20/month and be able to take a guest every visit if I want, plus discounts on drinks and stuff)...plus there’s no contract.  I’m going to check it out this coming weekend and get DH’s input as well.  Since they just opened as YouFit, they’re running a special with only $29 down instead of their usual $49...and they’re supposed to have tons of machines so you don’t have to wait or limit your time. 

I do have a gym here in my complex, but there’s not much in it (two treadmills, one elliptical, one bike, and maybe 3 or 4 weight machines) and quite often there’s at least one cardio machine down when I go.  Plus the machines here don’t have anyplace for me to put anything, I have to wear my iPod instead of putting it in a holder on the machine (since none of them have one) and my towel, water bottle, etc just get dumped on the floor.  I know, first world problems, right?

All right, gotta go...I still have another 250 calories to consume today so it’s time for an evening snack!

My 1st inspiration board attempt; Week 1 so far

I'm not the creative type.  I'm usually pretty bad at coming up with interesting ideas and I'm certainly not the crafty lady.  The craftiest I've gotten is with my cheering sign, just using markers, sparkle glue and extra sparkles with some letter stencils:

Me and my sparkly cheer sign before the 2011 Princess Half Marathon

So after putting up my last post (from guest post author Michelle Pino) about creating an inspiration board to meet your health goals, I was a little stumped on how to begin.  I knew the central image would be a Mickey medal as that is my goal-to finish the 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon in January...which I'm going to achieve by losing weight, getting fit and training properly.

I've been down this road before-back in late 2008 I got really serious and got back on the Sparkpeople website that I had joined about a year prior (and just never really used) and really focused on losing weight.  Over the next year and few months between diet, exercise and then training for my first half marathon-the 2010 Disney Half Marathon-I wound up losing 45 pounds.  After that first race and several follow-up half marathons, I started to slack off a bit.  And then a bit more...and wound up almost all the way back where I started.  But when I was losing the weight, the things I needed to keep reminding myself of were to drink my water and do my strength training--two things I was very bad at keeping up.  And then once I kind of burned myself out after so many races in a short time period, I took a long (too long) break, after which it was really hard to get motivated again.

So I added pictures of water (my Brita pitcher and some bottled water that I just happened to have left over from my Sanibel trip) and some of my strength and flexibility training accessories (yoga mat, resistance bands, hand weights) to remind myself of their importance.  It's really hard for me to drink a lot of water.  Not just because I find the taste boring and plain-that's what Mio and Crystal Light are for-but also because I'm just not that thirsty.  My body seems to be able to stay hydrated on less water than the "recommended" eight 8-oz glasses a day and no matter how I space out my water consumption throughout the day, 64 ounces just makes me feel like I'm going to burst!  I can handle 48 ounces pretty well every day, so as long as I get to that point I'm happy (and yes, when I go to the bathroom it's always that nice pale lemonade color-if I get to that 64 ounce point it's just about clear...which is not necessarily a good thing).

As for the strength training, I just get bored doing it.  It's very repetitive and is nowhere near as engaging as heading outside to do miles where I can see all the interesting things going on around me.  I do want to get back into doing yoga.  I have a yoga DVD specifically for people who are heavier that I like to use and I always feel good and stretched out afterward.  I know the strength training and exercises to make me more flexible will help me in the long run (figuratively and literally LOL) so that's why I included that picture of some of my accessories.

I also like to have visual representations, being able to visualize what my weight loss will potentially look like is motivational for me.  I love looking at other people's before/after pictures because it inspires me to do the same for myself.  And so I used the virtual weight loss simulator at modelmydiet.com to make a before/after simulation to use on my board.  And yes, I'll be taking pictures to document my weight loss this time...another motivation for me personally as I know I'll push to stay on the wagon so I can have pics that show my progress.

The last picture I have on my board is of some food-a Chicken Caesar Salad specifically (you can find the recipe for the one in the picture here).  This is just to remind me to choose healthy things.  Now granted, a Chicken Caesar Salad could potentially be pretty bad for you depending on how much dressing and how the chicken is cooked, but for me the picture is a representation of healthy eating-not necessarily about the particular entree pictured.  Though just to mention it, I never put dressing on my salads...to me dressing is just yucky-and kind of defeats the purpose of my salad anyway.  Some people say the dressing is for flavor, but I put some cheese and bacon bits on my salads to achieve that (I'm really bad about getting enough protein and fat in my diet, I'm usually a HUGE carb addict-this is just one way to get some other nutrients in there).

Anyway, I added the "NO EXCUSES" since I'm awful about that (too tired, don't feel like it, I'll do it tomorrow instead, etc etc etc).  I'd like to figure out how to fill the empty parts of the background with color fill, but it doesn't seem to be working for me.  I still need to tweak it so it flows better and there's less white space...but, here's what I've got so far.  Let me know what you think:

Oh, and for those who are following along...I restarted my program this week with the nutrition part.  So far this week I've been doing good, staying within my calorie range and doing well with carbs/protein/fat and other nutrients.  My only issue is my calcium.  Most days I'm under, only reaching about 80% of the recommended amounts.  I'd rather get my nutrients from my food and not have to resort to taking a supplement so I'm trying to figure out how to do that.  First week weigh-in is on Sunday...here we go again!

Ya Gotta Have a Goal Part 2

So I’ve been doing this running thing since the Fall of 2008.  I’ve done 8 5Ks, a 10K, a Half Marathon relay, 8 Half Marathons, 1 Marathon relay (basically another half marathon since we each did 13.1 miles)...and one full Marathon.  Now before you go jumping to conclusions, I can tell you that NO, my other current goal is NOT anything longer than a full marathon.  And those of you who are my smartypants friends don’t go :poke: :poke: at me to consider it...it won’t work.  No, my goal is the Disney full marathon in January 2014.  

“Wait a minute”, you say, “you’ve already done a full marathon, how is that a goal?”   

I did my marathon in January of 2011.  I wasn’t in peak condition for it; My peak condition was Winter 2009/Spring 2010.  At that time, I had lost 45 pounds and was easily keeping a 15 minute per mile pace for the half marathons I was running and even got into the 14 minute mile range for my 5Ks.  For the marathon a year later, I had gained back about 20 of the pounds I had lost and finished in 6:59:09, a 15:59 pace...just barely making the pace cutoff (while trying to keep away from the sweepers...you can read about that in my race report if you’d like).  It was hard.  Probably the hardest thing I’ve ever undertaken and completed.

Me after my first half marathon-this was after losing 45 pounds

So why is it a goal again?  As I mentioned in my “Starting Over” post, I gained back almost all the weight I’d lost.  I’m basically starting from scratch again.  Almost worse than scratch since instead of regularly walking or even semi-regularly, I went almost all the way back to doing nothing after being swept at the Tower of Terror 10-miler.  Workouts and miles here and there...but no “real” training.  Plus I have that wonderful added bonus of all this extra weight back on again.

And so, this is going to be just like training for my first marathon...again.  I’ve already mapped out my training calendar through the rest of the year.  It is fairly straightforward through the end of August with no really long mileage until the marathon training portion starts so it’s more like a general exercise program until the end of summer...that way I can concentrate on the losing weight part, though I’ll still be doing miles at least 3 days per week the whole time.  As many of you know, trying to lose weight while training for a marathon can be difficult so I’m trying to get a head start on that part before the longer miles begin. 

I’d love to be at my goal weight before the time comes for the race, but that would mean losing about 80 pounds between now and then.  Just that part alone would be a HUGE accomplishment.  But with the long miles in the Fall and early Winter, I’ll be initially shooting for at least 60 pounds by race time.  The overall goal?  Finishing faster than my first marathon.  My more ambitious goal?  Finishing in 6:50:00 or less.  But as long as I finish without having to take a sweeper bus ride, I will consider my goal attained.  Again.

If you’re out there about to undertake your first full marathon journey, feel free to contact me...virtual training partners are always welcome.  Or if you’re just trying to lose a lot of weight like me...same thing.  Most of this for me is done on my own for various reasons which is really hard.  It’s so much easier to stick to a plan when there are others around that you don’t want to make excuses to.  If anyone out there wants to join up so we can all be accountable to each other (for losing weight or race training-virtual or otherwise), you can use the Contact Me page to get in touch.

What are some goals that you have?  

My goal?  This picture in 2014!

Is The Indulgence Worth It?

Losing weight is hard.  Well, for most people anyway.  It gets harder when you get those sugar cravings, those I’ve-got-to-have-something-sweet-where’s-the-darn-chocolate type of cravings, know what I mean?  And you know how the elusive “they” tell you not to deprive yourself, just have a small portion of that craving every so often so you don’t go overboard by doing something crazy like eating a whole gallon of ice cream or an entire cake because you haven’t had any sweets in forever?  I do totally agree with that philosophy...I mean, if you’ve been having something all the time in large quantities and you stop eating/drinking it cold turkey, sooner or later the dam will break and you’ll find yourself sitting on the floor surrounded by empty containers of those old favorites.  And you’ll feel miserable about it to boot.

I was in Publix the other day picking up a few things and I was having one of those cravings.  Yes, bad timing for the craving to be going on while in a grocery store (especially while in Publix with their heavenly bakery cakes).  Anyway, I came across these little mini-cups of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.  They’re very small, you can see by this pic where I have it next to an 8-oz can of tomato sauce how small it is.

 The serving size is right about a half cup--which is normally what a serving size of ice cream is considered.  Pretty inexpensive-only $1.15.  It came with a tiny spoon in the lid, too.  Maybe they think the tiny spoon will make the ice cream last longer so you’ll feel more satisfied eating the little portion.  I say “little portion” because, even though a half cup is considered a serving size, who really only eats a half a cup?  Measure yourself out a true half cup of ice cream and you’ll see what I mean...even when you get ice cream at a scoop shop, a single scoop is more than a half cup.

So back to the title question-is the indulgence worth it?  Well, it depends.  This particular indulgence-a half cup of B&J’s Cookie Dough ice cream-will set you back 250 calories.  Yes, you read that right.  250 calories.  So for me, I would need to do at least 2 miles just to work this tiny half-cup of indulgence back off.  And honestly, even with the tiny spoon making the eating of the ice cream take longer...still not terribly satisfying.  Did it taste good?  Heck yeah!  But overall--not worth it...not at all.  Especially since the portion size is so small.

What to have instead when I crave something like this?  My go-to desserts are by Healthy Choice-their Pomegranate Blueberry Frozen Yogurt Bars (90 calories, 1 gram of fat) or even better, their Fudge Bars (80 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber).  Both are much more satisfying.  Another choice I like is making Jell-O sugar-free pudding, especially butterscotch or chocolate flavored, and topping it with a small dollop of Cool Whip Free or Cool Whip Light.  All of these are less than half the calories of that mini-cup of ice cream and are also more filling.

Now, I’m not always a good girl and I do sometimes cave and get the “bad” stuff.  But it happens, I shake my head afterward and move on.  I’m working on it...a work in progress...and like I said, losing weight is hard.  I just have to make the right choices.

Do you have a sweet tooth?  What are your go-to treats that fit into your eating plan? Yes...I am looking for ideas LOL.