hello again. remember me?

first of all, i'm back! it's been a crazy few weeks, but things have finally settled down enough for me to drop you all a line.

where did we leave off? oh yes — riley.

she has been settling in well. we're all still adjusting to our new schedule, but overall, we're doing great. alex and i are so proud of how far she's come in the past six weeks!

and when i'm not spending my time watching/continuing to train her, i'm working. a lot.

with that said, it's been really difficult to find the time to work out (or blog). i made it to the gym a couple of times (seriously, just two) since signing off.

my logic? well, i walk the dog every day, so that counts, right?

apparently not. i'm back up to 201.

in retrospect, i didn't watch what i ate as well as i thought i did. with alex's birthday and traveling, we ate out more than normal. (and did i mention cake? there was an abundance of cake!) i didn't shy away from pastas (although i'm still avoiding red meat and pork, for the most part) ... i drank caffeine. if there was one "let down," it would be that.

now that i'm back, it's time to get on track with things.

my new goal? work out EVERY morning before work. (fallback plan: if i miss my morning workout, i can make it up when i get off work)

and given my "type A" personality, i've decided to multitask during my 30-minute workout. instead of just listening to music, counting down the seconds until i'm done, i'll be reading all the books i want to read, but don't have time for. HAH, two birds with one stone!

(i did this for "the last lecture" — it really helped to pass the time!)

i am ready to feel better. i am ready to look better. i am ready to lose weight.