Immediately upon waking up, I hit the treadmill for W3D2 of C25K. (Okay, it wasn’t quite immediate. I lazed in bed, checking email and Twitter for about 15 minutes after my alarm went off.)

The workout went as well as can be expected. I sweated buckets and those 3-minute run intervals still seemed to take for-ever. I bumped up the speed on my walk/run intervals (to 3.7/3.8 and 4.1) and racked up mile 1 at the 15:53 mark. (Last time, I finished my first mile sometime after 16.)

2.5 miles in 41 minutes total (28 of them official C25K). 300 calories burned and 126 vertical feet conquered.

Mile 2 was complete just before 32 minutes — after the end of the C25K portion. I kept walking for an extra 15 or so minutes because every time I hit a milestone (a new lap or certain number of calories burned), I was in the middle of a song. And when the next song came on, it was one I didn’t want to miss.

Guess it’s time for me to sit down with iTunes and create a timed playlist for C25K workouts, eh? Or maybe it’s better that I don’t. I end up doing more this way.

My errands included stops at the health food store, Walmart and Safeway. I went to New Frontiers first, specifically to pick up my unsweetened almond and coconut milks. Turns out I could have gotten the almond milk $1 cheaper at Walmart. I didn’t even know Walmart sold unsweetened almond milk. I’ll have to remember that for next time.

After writing time, I hit the grocery store. I’d picked up most of the items on my list, but needed produce and meat. Found a great deal on pork chops — 4-plus pounds for a little more than $7. Tomorrow’s dinner suddenly changed ethnicity. (It went from a Crock Pot full of Italian beef to pork/green chile stew.)

When I got home, it was time to make dinner.

This:

Chunks of rice and shredded cauliflower

Became this:

Curry with Cauliflower Rice Pilaf

It tastes better than it looks. Trust me. The recipe called for chicken, but I used pork instead. It is “the other white meat,” after all. I’m glad it turned out well, since I have three more servings. I left one in the fridge and put two in the freezer for dinners on work nights.

After dinner, I ran out to the mall to use a Cost Plus World Market coupon. You can never have too many sugar-free flavored syrups. On the way back home, I was seized with a craving for cake. But I couldn’t just stop at the store and buy a slice, the way I used to do.

Luckily, I remembered the Molten Chocolate Cake recipe from the Atkins website. I made it last summer and knew it’d hit the sweet spot for very few carbs.

The only problem? With all the ingredients that need to come to “room temperature,” it’s not a quick fix. I got home from the mall at about 9 p.m., and didn’t sit down with my cake until 11.

Delicious topped with a few berries and homemade whipped cream.

It was worth the wait, though: Rich, chocolatey and delicious. Even better, the recipe made two, so I have another one for later in the week (probably Monday).

After enjoying my cake, I decided another short walk on the treadmill wouldn’t hurt. Treadmill at midnight? Don’t mind if I do. I can’t disturb anyone when I’m the only one at home, right?

This time, I tried the ifit.com personal trainer workout preloaded on the treadmill. At first, it was a little strange/annoying to have Jillian Michaels talking to me while I was walking. But it was kind of nice, too — made me feel a little like I was on “The Biggest Loser.” Of course, the contestants on that show would have been running until they barfed instead of walking at a max speed of 2.6 mph.

Now I’m watching a very old episode of “Law and Order.” Chris Noth looks so young. In contrast, they’re showing an ad for the new “Dallas” and JR and Bobby look ancient. The new blood next generation is hot, though. It’s enough to make me want to sing “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy.”

Sorry. That was one of the songs I listened to during my workout Saturday. What can I say? My iPod has a strange, strange mix of music.

• Play three games of Bejeweled Blitz
• Microwave bacon almost to my desired crispness
• Boil an egg (? I thought that took a lot longer, but not according to Mr. Google)
• Brush my teeth

Today, I can add run without stopping to that list. 

That’s right: I finished Week 3, Day 1 of C25K, which included two three-minute runs. I finished them both without stopping, even though that first three minutes d-r-a-g-g-e-d out forever. (Okay, the second one wasn’t much better.) I hope it gets easier, or I’ll never make it through that 20-minute run in Week 5.

Today’s workout stats:

Two miles in 33 minutes. 245 calories burned and 90 vertical feet climbed. Speeds of 3 mph (start of warm-up) to 4 mph (jogging intervals), with walk breaks at 3.6-3.8 mph. Clocked Mi. 1 at a hair over 16:00.

Happy shiny person?

Not too bad, even if I was a hot mess when I finished. Seriously — I can’t remember the last time I lost that much sweat. Probably not since the first weeks of Tina Reale’s Best Body Bootcamp.

Speaking of bootcamp, I wonder when the next one starts. Despite having all my bootcamp workouts printed out, I haven’t been able to push myself to do one since the program ended.

The scale wasn’t so kind to me Thursday morning, though. Even though I’m feeling fine and expected to see a number in the high 210s, I’m back up.

What, exactly, happened? I can’t begin to say.

I feel actually feel lighter and stronger and like I’ve been making good choices this week. My clothes even seem a little looser. Perhaps last weekend’s vacation indulgences (a couple of Frappuccinos, a cookie and way too many handfuls of those delicious TJ’s Chili-Lime Cashews) finally caught up with me? Maybe I just didn’t drink enough water Wednesday.

It could also be the difference in scales. I was back on my own trusty WW scale, instead of the one at the Boyfriend’s. Maybe my “the scale weighs 2.4 pounds too heavy” wasn’t as accurate as I thought. (I swear it’s correct, though. I hopped on that scale directly after weighing myself on my WW scale one morning and came up with a number exactly 2.4 pounds higher.)

Anyway … here’s where I remind myself that the number on the scale is just that: A number. It doesn’t measure my success or happiness, or my self-worth. If I feel like I’m on track, I just need to keep doing what I’m doing. The scale will catch up eventually.

Pep talk over.

Thursday morning’s kitchen time didn’t include the pancake breakfast I included in the day’s menu plan. I did, however, have time to make meatballs and cauliflower risotto — both of which are delicious.

I had five meatballs with 2 T of tomato sauce for lunch after writing time. Dinner was cauliflower risotto and ham salad in lettuce cups with a side of cucumber spears.

No rubbery whites here.

In between, I snacked on a couple of deviled eggs. Thank goodness this batch tasted better than the last one. The difference? I boiled these eggs myself.

That’s definitely the way to go, even if it’s not as convenient as the hard-boiled eggs in the deli.

Better yet, I’ll be able to eat more homemade meals. I have leftover ham salad, risotto and meatballs.

I love rediscovering home-cooking.

Why does that happen? I had a perfectly relaxing week off, spent doing exactly what I wanted to be doing (writing and hanging out with the Boyfriend). Yet I’m totally exhausted after a few hours at the office.

Why couldn’t I have won the lottery while I was off work? Oh yeah — you can’t win if you don’t play.

No workout this morning, unless you count time running around the kitchen. After a quick trip to the grocery store, I made a half-dozen hard-boiled eggs, whipped up a batch of Atkins Classic Ham Salad and grilled a chicken breast for my dinner salad.

Better yet, I got all that done and still had time to get to Starbucks for writing time before work.

Today was a kitchen-loving kind of day, because I tried a new recipe for breakfast, too: This Almond-Berry Smoothie. Yeah, I lifted the picture from the Atkins site. Mine wasn’t nearly that photogenic … but it was tasty. My only complaint? Raspberry seeds. I’m not a huge fan of getting seeds stuck in my teeth — or sucking them up through a straw.

Seeds or no, this was one seriously delicious smoothie. I’ll definitely make it again (soon, to use up some more of the raspberries I bought).

Thursday weigh-in and W3D1 of C25K are on the agenda Thursday morning, followed by writing time at — where else? — Starbucks at noon.

Hmm. Maybe I’m so tired because I can accomplish more before noon than some people do all day. I have to stop burning the candle at both ends.

Not that Lucy, although Lucille Ball was one funny lady. Does any TV station air reruns of “I Love Lucy”? I watched them when I was growing up. Yes, they were reruns at the time. I’m not quite that old, even if some days I feel like it.

When I was in Scottsdale for my writer’s conference in April, I couldn’t leave town without hitting the high-falutin’ Fashion Square Mall. It was right down the street from the conference hotel, after all.

I’m glad I took the time to stop, because I finally had a chance to set foot inside an Anthropologie store. Sadly, I found it too rich for my blood. Things were super-cute, but also cost a lot more than I was willing to pay. $18 is too much to pay for a kitchen towel, no matter how brightly colored it is.

But across the aisle from Anthropologie, lucy beckoned to me with its adorable workout gear in vibrant colors. I wandered in the store and immediately fell in love. The clerk was super-helpful and knowledgeable about the brand. Better yet, she didn’t look at me like I didn’t belong there. No “what’s a chubby chick like you doing in a store that sells fitness apparel?” vibe from her.

Me, modeling my new favorite skirt. Pay no attention to the messy bathroom. I have better things to do than clean …

She brought me a bunch of different items to try on, including several pairs of pants and fitness skirts. I had some cash that didn’t get spent at the conference, so I treated myself to a skirt (with built-in shorts) that was on sale.

I’m not sure if it’s this Walkabout II Skort — it sure doesn’t look like that on me.

Walkabout II or not, I love it. I’ve already worn it several times and run it through the washer and dryer. I want to buy one in every color available.

My desire to wear my new skort all the time isn’t surprising. The lucy philosophy (according to the company’s website):

Yoga. Training. Running. Explore. Whatever activity you choose, lucy wants you to look good and feel good. We believe fitness should be stylish so we design workout clothes — yoga pants and yoga tops, sports bras, running apparel, hoodies, skirts and dresses — to support your active lifestyle. Women live in lucy all day long. We make workout clothes with your whole life in mind.

Too bad I wasn’t able to spend a little less cash at the conference. I’d also have loved to pick up a pair of these pants, the Lucy Everyday Pant II. They fit beautifully in a large (not extra large!). Unfortunately they’re not exactly cheap — one of the hazards of shopping at the most expensive mall in the state, I suppose.

So I made a deal with myself. Those pants are going to be my reward after I lose 10 more pounds. That’ll be a total of 50 pounds gone, definitely deserving of a reward, right?

That’s what I thought.

Hopefully, having something fun to look forward to will make me work that much harder to take off the weight.

Another bathroom, another view of the goods

That’s the plan, anyway. Tuesday was the first day in a while that I used the Atkins app on my iPhone to track everything I ate: 22 Net Carbs in all.

Why does it never cease to amaze me that I feel fuller longer on fewer carbs? You think I’d have learned that by now.

I also completed W2D3 of the C25K program Tuesday morning. A good night’s sleep did improve my attitude — a little. I still wasn’t fired up about doing it, though.

No matter. I did it anyway … and by the time I got through the first interval or two, I felt great. I finished strong, with an extra several minutes of walking just to hit a total of 100 vertical feet climbed. (The roommate’s treadmill counts that kind of thing.)

Here’s what my workout looked like:

Walked/jogged 2.135 miles in 35 minutes, at speeds ranging from 2.5 to 4.1 mph. 259 calories burned. The incline ranged from 0.5 to 2.0 and I climbed a total of 100 vertical feet. Not sure what that means, but it sounds impressive!

I overslept this morning, then had an omelet for breakfast. Didn’t get a chance to do a C25K workout, though. My last one was Friday. I’d best get back on the stick, eh?

Since I’m at my place and not the Boyfriend’s, it’ll be back to the big, fancy treadmill. Dare I say I can’t wait?

Uh … wait a minute — that’d be fudging the truth. As tired as I am right now, the thought of running — even for a minute and a half at a time — exhausts me. A good night’s sleep had better refresh my attitude.

Goodnight, all. Hopefully, I’ll have more — and more exciting — things to talk about next time.

That’s right. After a week straight of sitting at Starbucks most of the day, hard at work on my manuscript, I decided to treat myself to an oatmeal cookie and a mocha-coconut Frappuccino  today.

Even though I got the Frappuccino made with light mocha and base and whole milk, it was a big mistake. Huge. I shouldn’t have done it. I know better. And now I’m paying for it. I can’t stop eating … cashews, cheese, an Atkins brownie … and nothing’s filling me up. Blech.

Okay. It’s time to take deep breaths and know that one day of indulging won’t make me blow up. I just need to get back on track now.

I don’t weigh in until Thursday. Plenty of time to undo the damage before then. I’m back to work tomorrow, which means back to my routine … and that has to be good for my diet. I’ll be in my own kitchen, with the ability to cater to my own healthy, low-carb whims.

Anyone else out there a fan of “Criminal Minds”? What does it say about me that my entertainment of choice is cop/FBI shows or true crime stuff on Investigation Discovery (now ID)? Maybe I ought to try my hand at writing romantic suspense.

Five things I can’t get enough of this week

1. Writing. I’m trying to whip my MS into shape by May 31.
2. Reading. I finished a cute, humorous mystery called “Phone Kitten” and have moved on to the PB Fingers May Book Club pick, “Still Missing.” That is one seriously disturbing book so far, but I can’t stop turning the pages. I hope it has a happy ending … if not, I’m going to be disappointed.
3. Playing with the Boyfriend. I need some down time, don’t I? I am supposed to be on vacation, after all.
4. Completing C25K workouts. W2D2 is now under my belt. W2D3 is on the schedule for Sunday morning (I think).
5. Writing some more. Did I mention I do my best writing at Starbucks? Just the smell of coffee puts me in the mood to work.

That’s right — I’m down another pound this week, even though I’m spending vacation at the Boyfriend’s and not hitting the veggie carbs as hard as “New Atkins for a New You” recommends.

In fact, my scale success without so many vegetables makes me wonder if I should permanently go back to the diet as written in “Atkins New Diet Revolution.” After all, that is the plan I followed when I lost 100+ pounds the first time. And it’s not like it’s bereft of veggies — I ate plenty of salads, green beans and zucchini.

So far, since restarting Atkins in May 2011, I’ve lost 39.4 pounds. While I’m glad they’re gone, that’s not the rate of loss I’d like to see. In October 2004, after being on the old Atkins plan for a year, I’d lost 100-ish pounds.

Sure, I’m a few years older now, so my metabolism is probably slower. But THAT much slower? I don’t think so.

Food for thought, my friends. Food for thought.

The diet is going about the way it usually does when I’m at the Boyfriend’s: Lots of meat, cheese, nuts and Atkins bars; fewer veggies. But the carb count is under control, so I’m still hoping for a good scale reading in the morning.

Treadmill results for Week 2, Day 1. The 101 is fat calories burned … The display had me burning more than 300 regular calories.

Exercise is okay. I’ve gotten more than I would have before bootcamp, but not quite as much as I was getting while doing bootcamp. I did W2D1 of C25K Tuesday morning, then took another 20-minute walk on the treadmill after dinner.

Imagine that: I had time to kill and had just read Roni’s inspirational post, Wouldn’t it be fun to find out?

Sadly, when Wednesday rolled around, I used the “I walked twice Tuesday” excuse to skip getting on the treadmill Wednesday.

Ah well. What’s that saying? Progress, not perfection … Two walks in one day is progress, definitely.

Love this color.

— While I was at Starbucks in Flagstaff Tuesday for writing time with some friends, I saw the cutest car. It’s a Mazda, I believe, and I just love the color. If I were in the market for a new vehicle, I just might go for a green one. A few years ago, I was in love with metallic copper/orange, but that green looks mighty appealing. You don’t see many that color out on the road.

The one color I won’t be getting? Any shade of gray. Three of my four vehicles have been that color.

My first, a Mazda GLC, was what they called “Toronado Silver” — but it was really a dark, metallic gray. My second car, a red Chevy Cavalier, broke the mold. But car No. 3, a Nissan Sentra was again — you guessed it — dark, metallic gray. The saving grace was that in some lights, it shimmered kind of purple-y. When the Nissan got totaled in 2005, I ended up with a slightly used Ford Focus in … silver.

So you see why I want my next vehicle to be some other — any other — color. A sapphire blue would be nice, too.

What a great view!

— On Tuesday, I found myself with time to spend in my favorite “office,” the terrace outside the Starbucks in Sedona.

When the Boyfriend had an apartment in Sedona, I used to hang out there to write all the time. Who wouldn’t love that view?

Unfortunately, my regular writing sessions with a view ended when he moved in December. I spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon there on Thanksgiving (inside, because the wind was a little chilly that day), and that was my last long visit.

The sky’s not usually gray.

— Apparently, Arizona is on fire. There’s more than one wildfire burning, and the smoke has settled in the Verde Valley.

There are at least five fires, according to this news report. One of them is near Crown King, about an hour’s drive from the Boyfriend’s. Another is somewhere around Payson, about an hour and a half away. The result is a lot of smoke blowing this way. The sky is usually a brilliant blue, not yellow-gray.

Hmm. I’m beginning to think I might have something against the color gray.

I know I have little desire to read “Fifty Shades of Grey.” I don’t have anything against erotic romance … Some of my favorite stories to read are in the Harlequin Blaze line, the company’s raciest. And I’ve bought my share of racy e-books. But anything that started life as “Twilight” fan fiction is suspect in my book.

Y’all can start throwing things at me — or leaving hateful comments — if you want, but I’ve tried to read the “Twilight” books and cannot get through them. I can barely get past the first chapter. They’re poorly written; the characters are whiny. If “Fifty Shades” is anything like them, there’s no way I’m plunking down $10 for an e-book I won’t be able to finish.

An addictive snack.

— I have a new snack obsession. I finally cracked open the bag of Thai Lime & Chili Cashews I picked up at Trader Joe’s on my last visit, and they’re fantastic. They’re a bit spicier than I expected them to be … they’re even spicier than the “tangy lemon” almonds supposedly made with real Tabasco.

Maybe my Midwestern taste buds are finally adapting to their new home, because spicy or not, I find them seriously delicious. I need to measure these puppies out carefully lest I down half the bag.

Yeah, I know the bag already looks empty. That’s because I transferred the nuts to a bag with a zippered top. Can’t have my favorite new snack going stale!

Last week, I was listening to John Tesh’s radio show and heard a report on how weight affects brain size.

Yep. Apparently some researchers at UCLA found that people who were overweight had 4% less brain tissue than normal weight folks. Obese participants were missing 8% of their brain tissue.

The article goes on to say:

The majority of the loss occurred in the areas that coordinate movement, but regions associated with decision making, long-term memory, and attention span also took a hit. Unfortunately, it gets worse. Carrying extra weight also aged the brain prematurely. The brains of the overweight people looked eight years older than normal, and the brains of obese people looked 16 years older! What does that mean? That fat is bad for your brain.

Even worse, the overweight/obese are a lot more likely to develop dementia. Yikes.

That’s just one more reason for me to keep making low-carb choices so I can get to a healthy weight. Not only will I fit into a smaller size, but I can boost the health of my brain, too.