2020 Archives - Mom Works It Out by Angela Gillis

Hello, friends. It’s time for the week in review. We made it to the end of November, which means Christmas and Hanaka are around the corner. Covid scaled-down Thanksgiving this year. It was different and weird, but still enjoyable. It was nice not having to stress about big preparations or even trying to map out what Black Friday shopping I would be doing and when, since most shopping was done online.

This week, I planned to get some freelance and content planning done, but Tiny Tot had other plans. She came up with a case of pink eye, which I don’t think was pink eye. The doctor prescribed eye drops, but I couldn’t send her to daycare like that. She wasn’t feeling well, so it was a bit harder to get work done. I did the best I could, and I still got things accomplished, but not as much as I wanted.

My food this week:

It’s Thanksgiving, and I’m not one to throw food out. I’ve been eating the leftovers, so it’s not the healthiest, but it’s the most economical thing. Sometimes, that’s just the way it worked out.

Last week, I mentioned I grew tired of the HelloFresh box, so I put my subscription on hold for a bit.

Monday was a bit stressful, and I ended up ordering Jason’s Deli for dinner. I haven’t eaten it in a long time, and this was my first time ordering the chicken tortilla soup and a deli club. The soup HIT just right, and I highly recommend it.

I ate some pulled chicken and baked beans for most of the week. I kept it simple because I couldn’t load much food in the fridge in prep for Thanksgiving. Plus, I wasn’t very interested in cooking because I knew I would cooking for Thanksgiving.

The Thanksgiving menu consisted of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes (for Tot), sweet potatoes, green beans (because I couldn’t find any collard greens), cornbread dressing, macaroni and cheese, cranberry sauce, and the worst rolls ever. The desserts were carrot cake (for my mom), apple pie (for me), and a buttermilk pie because it came with my catering order.

I’m over the leftovers, though, so I transformed my turkey into a turkey salad, and I’m going to make some turkey chili to go with the chilly weather.

My workouts this week:

Workouts this week came easy. Lately, I struggled to work out, but now I’m learning it’s due to time. Because I didn’t have to work in the office, I had more time to get in my workouts without worrying. I also finally got my new running shoes.

Monday: 45-minute pop ride + 10 min cool down. I woke up at 5 am to get my workout done because I thought I would spend most of the day working. Little did I know, Tot would have to stay home, so I’m glad I woke up early to workout.

Tuesday: 3.14 mile run at 13:33/mile pace + 1 mile walk. I got new running shoes, and I wanted to check them out. My run turned out to be great. I am still working on more running and less walking. I am still making progress.

Wednesday: 5 min warmup + 30 min Beyonce ride + 5 min cool down. The day was super busy, and I put my workout off until the last minute. I didn’t think I had time for a full 45-minute ride (but I did) and chose to do the 30 min Beyonce ride. This ride was more of an experience ride instead of a fitness-based ride. All in all, this ride turned out to be more challenging than I expected.

Thursday: 3.40 mile run with Tiny Tot. The turkey trot is a family tradition that was put on hold this year. That doesn’t mean we weren’t going to go out to run. This is most likely the last year I’ll be pushing Tiny Tot in the stroller. I let her out to run, but she fell and didn’t want to run after that. We still had fun in the crisp air.

Friday: REST DAY

Saturday: 45 min full-body strength + 15 min pop ride. The rain derailed another run this week, but that’s ok. I need to do more strength workouts. It was the first 45-minute strength workout I’ve ever done. I thought I would grow bored with it, but I enjoyed the workout and felt like I did some great work. I need to get some heavier dumbbells. After my strength workout, I did a 15-minute pop ride to end with some cardio.

Sunday: REST DAY

My outfits this week:

I didn’t have anywhere to go or anything to do, but I wanted to make a point of wearing some cute clothes. It does boost your mood and sometimes gives you the motivation to get things done. I’ve been dealing with body image issues lately. I’ve gained some weight, and I’m not happy about it. BUT I know do things are in my control, and I can change. I’m going to start doing some things differently this week and get back into a training mentality. The goal is to lose 8 pounds by the end of the year.

Miscellaneous:

I sold my car this week. I bought this car when I finished graduate school in 2006, and it was my first all on my car purchase. After 267,000 miles, we had our goodbye when I sold her to Carvana. My experience with Carvana was quick and easy. The quote process, the paperwork, and pick-up went very smoothly.

Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline came out this week. Ready Player One is one of my favorite books (too bad the movie wasn’t as good), so this was a pre-order for me. I haven’t started reading the book, but I am going to get on it very soon. If you haven’t read the first book, do it, and maybe you’ll love it and want to read the second book. These books aren’t chick-lit or a beach read, but a dystopian type read.

I’m trying out new coffee this week from Free Lunch Coffee. It’s a fair trade organic coffee. When I opened my package, the smell was heavenly. Every bag of coffee helps feed ten children in need. The company’s goal is to end hunger in the lives of young children. It’s a great cause and great coffee.

As I mentioned earlier, I got a new pair of running shoes. I used to keep a hefty supply of running shoes, but with the pandemic happening and loss of income, running shoes weren’t at the top of my list. I caved because my shoes were so old (beyond 300+ miles) I shouldn’t be running in them. I wear the Hoka One One Arahi 4, which is a stability shoe. The four is an upgrade to their previous version. So far, things are good. I did have some rubbing of the shoe tongue, but I ran again with no problems the second time.