The post about the last three days...

• Meanwhile, Wednesday on Instagram...
• It's coffee time and I went to bed last night at 8pm. You'd think I'd feel well rested right now. Nope. Groggy as hell. Hoping coffee will perk me up. Back to the old grind today. Gotta shake it and get moving. Team meeting this morning followed by pot luck lunch then back to back meetings. Busy day. See what happens when you're away from work for a few days? 
• My body is so stiff and achy this morning. Most notably my shoulders and abs. Those damn pull-ups and crunches. Now that my house guest is gone new rules in place. No wine for a while and back to strict Paleo. 
• Yesterday I brought him for Vietnamese in Toronto. I eat there all the time so there are options for me and they basically accommodate me any way I ask them to. Thought I'd treat myself and get Pho (which surprised the guy who takes my order). Huge, huge mistake. The stomach cramps that followed weren't worth it. And I know how grains affect me. So it's back to the basics. Protein and lots and lots of veggies. I feel best when I fuel with the good stuff...

• This is my current situation. Gotta pop the melatonin and hopefully reprogram my sleeping. It's been pitiful over the past week or so. Such incredibly restless and broken sleep patterns. Gotta fix this because I'm mostly exhausted all the time and I'm not sure how I'm functioning properly. Plus, I'm getting back into my heavy training schedule and sleep builds muscles.
• This does not help me fall asleep. What it does is help me stay asleep.  I've no problem falling asleep but I wake up several times throughout the night and if you add up the actual sleep time I get, it's probably only about 4 hours. I got some comments on Instagram about the dangers of melatonin and that I'm taking too high a dosage. This has worked for me as per my doctor's instruction because I do not want to take prescribed sleeping aids. I take melatonin for a week, and my sleeping returns to normal. I've used it off and on over the past couple of years when my sleep gets messed up. Especially when I'm dealing with a lot of anxiety.
• I'm off to bed. Tomorrow I'm up at 4:30 to get to the gym. I'm doing 20 minutes of HIIT, 1/2 hour of legs, 15 minutes chest and 15 minutes core. I prefer legs to anything else. My leg game is strong...

• Meanwhile, Thursday on Instagram...
• There's no crying at the gym. Unless I'm doing the trap bar. Then my crying game is strong. But my grip is weak...
• Thank God #coffeetime has arrived. Day 2 of operation "get Leigh's upper body ripped" is in full effect. I feel like I've been abused. Worst thing about that is I've asked for it. Can't fully remember my entire workout because the names of things escape me. But I did 20 minutes of HIIT followed by a bunch of torturous things a la Tony. Which were not limited to but included:

• The dreaded trap bar
• Back extensions
• Pull ups
• Push ups
• Knee lifts
• Single arm pulls
• Other stuff I don't know the names of

• The good news is my push-up game is strong. The bad news is that I've promised to do them everyday. Ugh. Hate them right along with the pull-ups. I've also promised to go to the gym two times before I see Tony next Tuesday. Help me...

• It's Throwback Thursday and I found this picture at my in-laws house. It was taken around the campfire of my husband's family cottage. I look thrilled don't I? And don't even about what I'm wearing on my feet. I'm not sure why and I have no defense for my footwear choice. Lots of cute wide width shoes available. This is probably circa 2005. And if you're wondering, when I stood up, the chair came with me. I was gingerly sitting in it hoping that it wouldn't break. Resin's not that strong. 
• When I look at this photo it makes me sad. I feel a disconnect with that woman and I'm not sure how I feel about that. She's an incredibly important part of my journey. Without her struggles, I wouldn't be where I am now. Nor would I be where I am without her determination. I never feel ashamed or embarrassed when I see these pictures of myself. There are reasons why I struggled for all those years and it's made me stronger. But she was strong too. I've the utmost respect for her because she never gave up...

• Meanwhile, Friday on Instagram...
• It's coffee time and you wanna know what today is? Massage day. And I could use it so badly. Right now my hamstrings, glutes and delts are beyond achy. And before I start getting the inevitable messages about how I'm pushing myself too hard, I'm using new muscle groups and doing different exercises at the gym. Just working through the kinks here. No pain, no gain. I'll feel like a million bucks tomorrow and go back to the gym to do it all over again. 
• There's no point in having goals if you don't push and challenge yourself. And I need to really work my upper body. That's where I'm weakest. Long term goal is to be able to do unassisted pull-ups this time next year. Yesterday Tony wanted to see if I could hold myself up unassisted on the pull-up bar. Major fail. All I managed to do was get some good wind as I fell to the ground. I still get the giggles thinking about it. Work today and hanging with my sister later. Haven't seen her in a while and I'm missing her...

• This happened today. My massage therapist spent my hour session just working on my back, glutes and hamstrings. It hurt. It was enjoyable, not at all:-( He did tell me my thighs looked good and he could feel definition in my glutes. So there was that. But I felt abused afterwards. He advised me to come back sooner than a month because I'm so stiff. He only worked on my back end. Didn't even flip me over today. I do have to admit that I feel looser than I did this morning. But it's after 1pm now. It's only taken all day. Really, really looking forward to hanging with my sister later. Winetime will be mucho welcome...

• #Winetime in Brantford with this girl. Having some laughs and telling some stories. It's been almost 3 weeks! Gonna belly up to the telly and watch the Jays vs Royals. It's a do or die situation. Either way, it's been quite a ride. No one expected this. It's like being invited to an awesome party you never thought you'd go to. Thanks for that:-) #cometogether...