A-Ladybugs-Healthy-Journey

Must be doing something right...

2011-01-16T09:36:00.002-06:00

Well, I am feeling lighter, feeling firmer, so I must be doing something right! Yeah!

I know my day Friday was NOT good at all! Spent the entire day shopping for a pair of women/junior snow pants for Holly's ski trip with the HOTH UB Church youth group. Found one pair in the entire city of Adrian! Well, OK....they had the bibbed snow pants, but there was NO WAY she would wear them. That one pair was marked $79.00 and was a Size Medium...which I KNEW would be too big for her. I didn't want to spend that much either, so continued shopping.

I was with my Mom & Stepdad, and we all started to feel a tad bit hungry after about 4 stops so my stepdad pulled into Culver's. You wouldn't think those paper-thin hamburgers could hold so many calories! Then Holly wanted Pizza for dinner before she went up to church to head out on her ski trip.

Then it was a mad rush to get back to the school to pick Holly up. I knew I was going to be late, as when we left Adrian I only had about 20 minutes to be there...so she went to the fitness center to wait for me.

We had a couple of stops we needed to make in order for her to have everything she needed for her ski trip...then it was home to let her get around...

It was then off to the chiropractor. Holly & I have both been having serious issues with our backs lately. Me, because of over-lifting at work and Holly has no clue what she did. Dr. Scott commented on how tight the muscles were along the spine, right between the shoulders. That is where most of my pain has been though...so he worked it good and suggested or hinted that I should go back in on Saturday for another adjustment with Dr. Becky. To which I did.

I've done well with my workouts this week. Curves both Thursday and Saturday...and I've done some strength training, starting back with my challenges. I felt really sore after Thursdays workout though, so it really worked it good but the data on the CurvesSmart computer showed weakness in that area. After my workout on Saturday however, it was my strongest point of the workout. So, maybe a combination of working on Thursday and the chiropractic adjustments have helped loosen things up a bit. I had my adjustment Saturday just before my workout. Maybe there is a connection there...LOL.

I ate fairly well yesterday. A bit over on my fat content as I had kept my calories fairly low during the day, so when I was fixing Chicken and White Bean Soup for my dinner, I munched on two chicken thighs while the soup cooked... then ate just one bowl of soup. Still fell within my calorie range for the day though... so all was good.

OK...guess I should get my day started... Been on here working and reading myfitnesspal.com blogs, my plan, etc. Time to get motivated and get something done. Need to clean off my desk again, and get my files set up and organized.

Keeping the Fingers Crossed....

2011-01-13T15:02:00.002-06:00

Last Night's Facebook Status:

Time for me to call it a night... Going to make myself leave the house tomorrow on my day off and go work out... NO EXCUSES! Night everyone, have a great day!

Well, I did it, I got my self out of bed, showered and went to Curves to work out. I also talked to the owner, as she ran an ad in the local newspaper looking for an assistant manager trainee. This is right up my alley. Gets me a start in the direction I want to go in my life. My goal has been, that once my divorce is final, I would love to become a personal trainer. This could get me the push I need, give me a bit of training in nutrition, fitness, anatomy, etc. I need. I've wanted to get a jump start online with learning a few things before I take classes. I totally do not remember even a quarter of what I learned in school about anatomy!

The owner said she would pull my application as I had applied a couple months ago but they were not hiring. She plans on starting interviews next week...so, wish me luck, say a prayer or two, and keep those fingers crossed! I really could use the job right now not only to give me a jump start in what I want out of my life, but also as my hours at work have been cut.

I did fairly well with my workout today. It's only my second workout in 6 weeks due to injuring my back at work. It still blows my mind a bit that it says my abs are not quite as strong as they should be. I have rock hard abs! I love crunches, and ab workouts. Hmmmmm, time to get the fitness ball back out and use it regularly. Not just when I think I should.

My other area I was low in was the trapezious, or the muscles near the spine between the shoulder blades. That is very much expected though right now, as that is where I injured my back, and it is also where the majority of my curve is from my scoliosis. A week or two of continuous working out and I should be good. I'm already starting to feel less stress and tightness in my back there.

I would share my weigh in and measurements from today, but they are changing computer programs and my information has not yet been updated in the computer.... so I will get it later, when she has my information re-entered. BUT... I did loose 2 lbs from my last weigh in. I am down to 147 lbs. Seven pounds from my happy weight, and 12 lbs from where I would like to see myself. There was a few slight differences in my measurements, but considering it's that TOM again, and it was a different coach measuring today, the placement of the tape measure could be off slightly. But, overall, we are pleased with my results. Maintaining is better than gaining...

I am working on creating a 50x50 mini bucket list. 50 things I want to accomplish before I turn 50 years young. A few of the items I have included...

1. Complete the 200 squat challenge
2. Complete the 200 lunge challenge
3. Complete the 100 push-up challenge
4. Become a personal trainer
5. Go on a hike
6. Make fitness a habit

I'm only created half the list...so any reasonable suggestions would be welcomed!

I have 9 years to complete my list...and being that a few of my physical one's are pretty tough, I best start working on those soon or I will never be able to do it. Not so sure I could handle 100 pushups at 50 years of age...LOL.

Today's Workout:

30 minutes CurvesSmart Workout. Calories burned 509...
1 set of 24 Sumo Squats with a twist
1 set of 50 crunches on fitness ball
2 sets of 10 modified pushups
1 set of 25 hip abductions
1 set of 25 hip adductions

Today's Body Blessings:

Breakfast:

Oops, I forgot to eat before leaving to do my workout. I was too excited about talking to the owner about the job position she has open.

Lunch:

Ham Salad Sandwich (chunk ham, miracle whip, pickle relish), raw spinach leaves, on one slice white bread.

Pineapple tidbits, drained

Dinner:

Meat Loaf
Potatoes of some sort...not sure yet, but will ensure I keep the portion in check!
Veggies

Starting Over, Yet Again...

2011-01-04T21:28:00.003-06:00

Well, my Nothing To Loose Challenge did not go so well... I gained weight, gained inches in some areas, yet lost in others.

My biggest down fall was hours picked up at work, so not as many days off to go to Curves...well, I could have, but I find it so hard to get up and be there at 6:30 in the morning to go before I take Holly to school, then to have time to shower and make it to work in time. Then on top of that, I injured myself at work... my own fault really as I tend to always think "I'm tougher than I look". Well, the sales people continually sold the car jack sets from the floor rather than the stock room, so needless to say, my doing fill floor, I needed to replenish the floor. I should have had the guys do that for me as each box weighs 74 lbs... half my weight. But instead, I did it myself. The last month I have been paying for it with very sore, knotty muscles between the shoulder blades. Even tried going to Chiropractor...it helped my neck but not between the shoulders.

Today I did attempt a workout at Curves. I wasn't sure I was going to make it around the complete circuit twice... but I kept at it. My heart rate was up, I was sweating up a storm, it burned my leg muscles, and I could really feel the tension between the shoulder blades... so not how my usual workout is. It's usually a good workout, but fairly easy for me. I could definitely tell I had not worked out in a month...

Tomorrow is suppose to be my weigh in at Curves...but it's a busy day for me so won't make it there. Hopefully I can make it up there on Thursday either early morning or after work... I will update my weight and start new. I gotta get back to where I was 3-1/2 years ago. I felt so much better then physically & emotionally. It's totally amazing how feeling healthy and fit can boost one's self confidence.

I did make up a HUGE batch of The Miracle Diet Soup on Monday. Well, kinda. Country Market was out of Cabbage, out of a lot of veggies, so I substituted and added a few carrots, summer squash, and zucchini & I added Chicken Stock rather than just water. No, I am NOT following the diet plan. I do not believe in going 4 days with no meat or very few carbs. So, I am eating mainly a bowl of the soup and fruit in the morning, lunch time, fruit for snacks, then dinner time I have a regular meal... Kinda like the Slimfast diet... Two shakes, two snacks, and a sensible dinner...LOL And, this will only be for one week max. It's just a good way for me to flush my system of all the bad things I have been eating and jump start my progress.

As soon as I get my weigh in results at Curves... I will update here!

Let the journey begin...

Nothing To Loose Pledge

2010-11-11T13:02:00.005-06:00

So, I've had an awesome week of working out...and it's not over yet!

As I mentioned in my previous posts, I have rejoined Curves Fitness Centers for Women. I have done a lot of exploring over their website and found the current challenge and am taking on this challenge for the Holidays. Being I joined late, my 10 weeks will fall well beyond the Holidays, but that's OK!

By signing this pledge, I have made a promise to myself that I will continue to live my healthy lifestyle over the holiday season. This is what I am pledging to do...

1. Continue to work out at Curves- 3x a week EVERY WEEK

2. Stretch after my workout- increases the effectiveness by as much as 19%

3. Pay attention to serving sizes- healthy portions fit into the palm of my hand!

4. Have a healthy, fiber rich snack before holiday parties- reduces what I inhale!

5. Move more & Sit less- why sit when I can stand, why stand when I can walk?!?!

6. Relax- Enjoy a bubble bath, listen to music, take a walk... or whatever I find that helps de-stress!

So far this week, I have worked out 6 times! 2 regular Curves Workout, 1 Curves Kickbutt Cardio workout, 2 aerobic classes at Church, and 1 10-jump start cardio workout from sparkpeople.com And that does not even count all the stretches, crunches, and what not that I have done at home while watching TV, playing on the computer, etc...

I'm off to a good start with my fitness...now to get my eating portions under control. Starting RIGHT NOW I will do better!

On Tuesday when I went to the Friends For Fitness Class, I was walking with the instructor (who has been teaching this class now for over 20 years, a member of the church... I even remembered her from when I went there as a child/teen). I explained how stressful my life has been, how I joined Curves a few years ago and learned everything I could about living a healthy lifestyle. And told her that my dream is to become a personal trainer myself once I get through my divorce and get my mindset where it needs to be for me to do this.

Today, I come in and she hands me a paper to fill out for the class and also handed me a booklet on the certification and degrees offered by NETA. This is where she got her class instructor certifications. She's really excited about my goal I have set for myself and I'm pretty sure she's been praying for me too. She also asked me today, if Holly and I would be willing to be greeters on Sunday mornings at church. That is a bit outside my comfort zone as there is so many people I don't know and I get so shy around "strangers"... but I'm willing to give it a try..but gotta do it after the holidays as my working retail is going to make it hard for me to be at church every Sunday morning.

I really am thinking that things are going to start looking up for me! GO ME!!!!!

So far for today...

My Body Blessings:

B: Cottage Cheese, Apple, Iced Tea

L: 2 Chili Cheese Dogs, Mac N Cheese

D: 3 sm. Chicken tenders (chicken Parmesan), spaghetti squash with homemade marinara, 2 slices Texas Cheese Toast.

S: Ice cream

Today"s Work Out:

Curve's Kickbutt Cardio, 30 ,minutes plus stretching

Friends For Fitness Aerobic Class, 1 hour plus cool down and stretching

Day 3... and counting!

2010-11-10T06:55:00.005-06:00

Got up EARLY this morning, reset alarm but still got up early...got dressed and went to Curves. Was there at 6:30 am. Very good group of people there. A couple, very energetic which will be motivating for me. I've not yet picked it up a notch on the cardio/recovery stations as I normally would as I want to get used to the machines again first, and make sure I know the new one's to me.

Today was a different Coach working, she didn't watch me like a hawk as the other girls did...LOL. She did say she had talked to the others about me... The one today did tell me to just let them know and they will get me signed up through the computer to "Go Green". Soon... soon. Hopefully I can do that next week. Just want to get myself back in the swing of things before I have to start paying attention to the machine and if I am keeping a solid green light.

Good group of ladies though, and they all encouraged me to go tomorrow morning and meet them at 6:30 for the Kick Butt Cardio workout. Something new to Curves since I was a member before I guess. Though, the Curves I was at before, the Coaches never worked out with us, encouraged us much, or anything. They were usually at the desk doing paperwork, talking on the phone or what not. Not here! Love that these girls encourage you. Cindy especially!

So, my plan for tomorrow... it's going to be a busy day. 6:30 Kick Butt Cardio at Curves... if I can handle another workout, I want to do the 10:00 Friends for Fitness workout at church and prayer meeting afterward. Holly has a couple of appointments tomorrow as well. Getting her hair cut and dentist appointment. Going to be a busy day!

Off to get my shower, may meet an old friend from school this morning. He was considered my Big Brother as he always told me that if the guy I dated hurt me in anyway, to let him know. He'd take care of him for me! Not seen Danny since I graduated in 87 unless I ran in to him at the High School Football games the following year as he was a year behind me. He's still living near where we grew up and now a cop. He's already told me, he's there for me if the hubby tries anything stupid through the divorce. Gotta love big brothers!

Body Blessings:

B: Grab & Go Cottage Crunch, iced tea
L: McDonald's Crispy Chicken Club Sandwich (left part of bun), about 1/3 of a small size fry, Iced Tea
D: Wendy's Apple Pecan Salad with Pomegranate Vignette Dressing, minus blue cheese... small Chili. Iced Tea

Snack: Twizzlers (they were out of my trail mix!), ice cream (larger serving than I should have had!). Diet Pepsi

Today's Workout:

Curves, 30 minutes + stretching/cool down
3 sets of 50 crunches on Stability Ball

Friends for Fitness...

2010-11-09T11:02:00.004-06:00

Something I had been thinking about doing over the past couple of months...or whenever I discovered it in the church bulletin, was to check out the Friends For Fitness class on Tuesday and Thursdays at church. I even got dressed to go one morning a few weeks ago, then talked myself out of going, because I wouldn't know anyone there... or they might all be older than me, or it might be to hard (I'm not very coordinated when it comes to aerobics), whatever excuse I could find.

Well, after my initial workout at Curves yesterday, I was really anticipating going again this morning to do a cardio workout there on the recovery boards and less emphasis on the machines. Checked out videos on Sparkpeople.com last night so that I could incorporate some cardio moves as I am not sure what the hours of the cardio classes are at Curves...

Well, I got up this morning and remembered, when we had our Missions Benefit the other night, I was introduced to Mrs. Vermeulen. I recognized her from when I was a regular member of the church before getting married. I was told that she was the one that leads the aerobic class at church, so this morning I decided to give it a shot.

I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself into...but figured it would be like any other aerobic class I had done. Hard for me to stay coordinated with! But it wasn't. I liked the way the class is conducted. We started out with a few laps around the gym to warm up, then we did a few stretches then did some aerobics. After a few minutes of aerobic exercise, we did a few more laps around the gym, grabbed a step and did step aerobics for a bit. I was a bit more uncoordinated with that, but I love step aerobics and the routine was not so long and complicated, that I was all that uncoordinated. After a bit of step aerobics we did a few more laps around the gym, then grabbed hand weights and did some strength training, then back to either walking or stepping...to which I chose to step. Then it was time for cool down, a walk around the gym and some stretches.

I think I will continue to join in with the ladies at church when I'm not working. It was fun. Mostly older women from the community. Not even from our church. After the aerobics class we had about a half hour of prayer meeting with those that wished to stay. I decided to stay as I know that getting involved more with the church is something I really want and really need to do. I need the support of my church family during this time in my life. And I truly want to get back what I had before getting married as far as my relationship with God goes. I need to break out of my shell and quit being so shy about stepping up and volunteering to help at church. There is so much that I can do to help...

Today's Body Blessing:

B: Banana, popcorn, banana/pumpkin bread, iced tea

L: Ham & Cheese sandwich. (I tried the "new" Pepperidge Farms Deli Flats Rolls. Not bad at all.) 1 medium tomato, small bowl of green grapes, Iced Tea

S: Banana/Pumpkin Bread

D: 2 chili dogs, mac n cheese, salad with raspberry vignette dressing and grapes.

Today's Fitness:

Friends for Fitness aerobic workout -- 1 hr
Sparkpeople 10-minute Jump Start Cardio Workout -- 10 minutes
3 sets of 50 crunches on fitness ball

My First Day Back...

2010-11-08T14:47:00.003-06:00

Well, today was my first day back to Curves. It's just like I remember it... sorta. This Curves sticks to the Curves Program... to the T. No bending the rules allowed. Which, in a way kinda sucks, because some of the machines can be used in more than one way to target different muscle groups, but because Curves only approves one way of using them, I can't target other muscle groups by altering the way I use it. There is only two machines really that I like to alter, but I guess I will just have to find my weights, jump ropes, yoga bands, etc. to make my workouts stronger for me.

Another things on the downside... with the new Curves Smart Equipment, I am limited to just 2 trips around the circuit... or 30 minutes per session. I like to work them hard, but do 45 minutes, then do my cool down and strength training.

But, on the plus side of things, we are now able to work out everyday if we want. The Curves Smart Equipment logs our workouts and if we workout to full capacity one day, it automatically knows and will only allow you to work out at 80% the second (consecutive) day. So, on the second day, I can still workout, the machines won't allow me full capacity, but I can work the recovery boards hard to get cardio in. I LOVE that idea. I love the cardio. I just gotta find fun ways to incorporate it into my workout. I used to just do 3-4 different steps, moves, etc... but I think I will try incorporating other stuff in too. I should check out the video's on Sparkpeople for ideas...

I've been buying healthy food options again. Eating a lot more fresh fruits and veggies. It's been a while...so, this past couple of weeks I've done way better. Bought more yummy healthy foods today.

I also bought a new Diet Journal to track my meals, workouts, etc. I had actually bought it for someone else, but they didn't want it...so I will use it myself. I like my old one better, but that's in storage so I will make this one work for me.

Well, off to finish up my household chores. Another thing I want to get myself into a routine with. I need to get myself more active and not just sitting at the computer or TV all the time as I had been when Grandpa was home. Not a lot for me to do with the household chores, since Grandpa pays a housekeeper to come in...though, personally, I don't think she does as thorough job as she should considering what she is paid.

Today's Body Blessings:

Breakfast: 1 Egg, 1 English Muffin, 1 slice Colby Jack Cheese, mayo, grapes

Lunch: Apple

Snack: Wesco Popcorn... more than I should have eaten!

Dinner: Chicken Breast bbq'd, Salad, Raspberry Vignette dressing, 1/2 c Fried Rice, 1 slice Banana Pumpkin Bread

Today's Fitness:

Curves Workout... 1/2 hour + stretching, cool down.
3 sets of 50 crunches on Stability Ball
3 sets of 10 push-ups

Water
Unsweetened Tea
Diet Pepsi (64-oz) WAY TOO MUCH. Need to work on cutting it back out again! Time to fill the water bottles!

I Could Use A Few Curves...

2010-11-05T12:48:00.004-05:00

Ok, so I don't really need anymore Curves... but what I DO need is to get back into my fitness routine I used to have. So, today I made the decision after serious consideration, that I was going to drop my monthly Chiropractic visits, which was costing me $43.00 a Month which consisted of about 5 minutes in and out of the office in exchange for a Curves Membership which is cheaper and I get to go 3-4 times a week!

I joined Curves about 4 years ago with great success. I lost 30 lbs, taking me to 3 lbs below my goal weight of 140 lbs... or a size 4/6. I have been fairly successful at maintaining my goal weight, however it has fluctuated between 5-15 lbs off and on since hitting goal and loosing the motivation to work out. Mostly within 5 lbs of my goal weight though.

What I missed most was my full night sleep, regularity in my digestive system, no aching muscles, joints, or bones, & the muscle tone ( I absolutely felt way more sexy when I had buns of steal and a butt of steal, and toned muscular arms and shoulders, which is BIG for me, as I have ALWAYS been self conscious about myself and never liked how I looked). My self confidence skyrocketed! I need to get that back... all of it.

In this new chapter of my life, with going through a divorce, this will help me get in step with my goals I have set for myself. I want to become a personal trainer. I loved learning how to become healthy. I did it on my own, via reading anything and everything I could get my hands on. I blogged my journey, I read articles online, magazines, and bought books. I took my journey to hart and now I want to share that with others.

So, today is the start of a new chapter... or is that a reread of an old chapter? Either way, I'm ready to make this commitment. AND, my daughter may want to join with me. She has asked that if I joined, she would like to start working out too...though, she may want to join the fitness center at her high school where they have treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, etc... and work out with her friends. Either way, it's just an additional $10.00 a month for her.

I forgot to get copies of my measurements when I filled out the paperwork today...so will have to update them after my "training" class on Monday with my Personal Coach. There is only two machines that are different than what I have used before, but I did use them when I visited 3-1/2 years ago...so shouldn't be a big deal. And of course, Curves went Green since I last went, so will have to learn about the Green Card... ;)

This much I do remember... according to the charts, I only need to loose between 3-8 lbs to be at my goal weight. 8 to reach the goal I would really like to see, but 3 at the goal where I am happy with... or my Happy Weight as they call it. 135 is the lower end of my healthy weight, 140 is the median or so. And 140 seems to be the spot I am able to maintain best...

My "problem areas" seem to be my thighs to which I would like to loose 3 inches on each... and my abdomen where I need to loose 2 inches. Basically, my goal is to regain my muscle tone and firm up. I'm happy with my weight, really... it's just the mental well being, and the physical aspects of it that I miss. I want my self confidence, my energy, my restful nights, etc. all back.

An Update...

2010-10-27T22:34:00.003-05:00

Well, as usual, it's been a while since I have posted. I didn't get my reading done on The Purpose Driven Life. I ended up with a cold, not sleeping well, so set the book down, intending on getting back to it when I felt better... but I haven't done it as of yet...but I intend to!

Life has been crazy.... things are good for the most part, but at the same time, I have so many stressful days it's not funny.

My husband is not yet officially retired yet... will be in 4 days... but has been back in the state of Michigan now for about a month and a half. He's come to pick our daughter up for a few hours here and there since coming home, and after each visit, she tends to get very moody... argues over everything and just blows a gasket. She has even gone off on my grandpa...her Great Grandpa.

Our daughter, however has finally started to enjoy being here to a point. She's back to school, making friends, has a boyfriend...met him at church, has class with him, star athlete at school with several school records, homecoming king, member of the choir and has an AWESOME voice (sang a solo part at tonight"s HS choir concert), and best of all, he and his parents are awesome people...members of my childhood church for many years and everyone raves about him and his family. Holly has gone to sleep overs, had a friend stay here, participating in church and school activities...including building the Jr. Homecoming float, marched in homecoming parade, and has been to all but one of the football games. She's in Yearbook class, so I have attended cross country meet and a volleyball tournament with her to help her take photos...

I am trying more to spend more time with her...will be much easier now, as Grandpa has gone to FL for the winter, so it's just her and I at home now. She doesn't like watching sports, which is what Grandpa tends to enjoy watching at night so I will watch that with him, while she watches TV in her room.

Work has still been very slow for me. I'm not getting anywhere as far as hours, so I have started putting out applications. I applied for my mom's job, but that passed me by. She had even put in a good word for me, but since I don't have experience cooking for crowds (she works for the Department on Aging, serving meals to Seniors, and packaging for Meals On Wheels), I wasn't called. Mom told them I was very dependable, a good cook, and what not, but I guess they really wanted experience...oh well, something better will come along for me. My wish... that Curves will give me a call as I talked to the woman in there. Not even sure if they are hiring, but she sounded very enthusiastic when talking to me about my visiting them as a visitor a few years ago, my loosing 30 lbs with the help of Curves in FL three years ago...

Well, I finally got tired of waiting on my husband to say it was OK to go ahead and file for divorce... he wanted me to wait til he got home to get an attorney here... I finally filed a week ago Friday and Grandpa served him the papers on Saturday afternoon when he came to pick up our daughter for the day. Grandpa said he was pretty shocked to have been served... I had not even told him I went back to talk to my attorney again. We attended the Conciliation Conference yesterday and had temporary custody and support set up. We decided to do things "our way" rather than the courts. So really, things are not changing at all right now other than the pay will go through FOC rather than a direct payment to me from him. And there is a set amount, not whatever he can afford for the month.

Well, that's about it...not a lot else going on. Just enjoying being home, talking with my friends, and waiting patiently to move forward in my life.

What on Earth am I doing here?

2010-08-31T10:33:00.002-05:00

To those who have been following my blog here, most of you know that I have been going through a lot the last few months. Lots of changes... going through a divorce...moving back home, leaving the life I knew for the last 17 years behind me.

Well, today is the start of a new Chapter in my life... today I am starting a 40-day Spiritual journey to answer the question everyone asks "What on Earth am I doing here?" Starting today and continuing over the next 40 days, I will be reading "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren.

I ask that Anyone who would like to follow my journey, offer advice, support, etc. join my other blog I started a few months ago as I journey my life to happiness. I am going to attempt to blog my journey to finding God's Purpose for me over on that blog...

I hope to see you there...

Lisa

http://aladybugsjourneytohappiness.blogspot.com/

110...

2010-08-04T22:39:00.002-05:00

The total number of push-ups I have done in the past two days! Arms and chest feeling GREAT! It's a start. Going to start my 100 push-up challenge again soon!

Tuesday... 6 sets of 10 push-ups, with about 1 minute between sets.
Wednesday... 5 sets of 10 push-ups, with about 1 minute between sets

Decided I better take a break today as I don't want to hurt myself...LOL.

Update... I've moved back home to MI

2010-07-23T10:23:00.003-05:00

It's been a long while since I've updated. As I mentioned in a previous post, I've decided to get a divorce and move back home... Well, I've been home now almost 2 months. Living with my Grandpa until I am able to get on my feet and get a place of my own. Not sure how long that will be however, it probably won't be anytime really soon.

The week before I was able to come home, we lost my Grandma. Grandpa had to put her into assisted living back in January as it was getting too hard for him to take care of her on his own. A big reason I wanted to be at home...to help Grandpa take care of Grandma. Things just progressively went down hill fast for Grandma and she passed away on May 22.

Grandpa says he has no clue how he would have dealt with loosing his wife of 64 years had I not moved in with him. He feels it's been a blessing to have me here to help keep his mind off of his/our loss. He has a really rough time of things when he's at home alone, I'm at work, and of course Holly's been in Washington DC for almost 3 weeks now.

The first few weeks we kept busy with going through things in Grandma's office, dressers, closets etc. I can't believe the amount of clothes Grandma had! She even had the dress she wore to my parents wedding 42 years ago hanging in the closet. I wanted to keep it as it's retro in style but not so retro you couldn't wear it today. It was beautiful...but was just too small for me. Everything that my mom, Aunt's, and myself did not take (my mom and aunts are making quilts out of a lot of it) went to Encore which is a non-profit organization that sells donated items to support the Private Christian School in town.

I've returned back to work. Had to go part time, but it's a job. Jobs are not easy to come by here in Michigan so I won't complain. I'm still at Sears, but had to also move to the receiving department again as they had no opening in merchandising. Hopefully soon I will get more hours and maybe move back to the floor. Worked two days this week in Lansing just to give me hours. They needed help, they asked me to go so I went.

Well, not much else to update now...

Health wise, I've gained weight back. Told Grandpa I was NOT going to be eating any more donuts and coffee cakes he brings home... So, he's quit bringing them home....LOL. Hopefully my hours pick up some so I can start going to the gym. I've heard there is one in town near where I work that only charges $10.00/month with no commitments... so, I may check that out!

An Update...

2010-04-21T22:31:00.002-05:00

Well, things are a bit stressful here... time is flying by though! Five weeks from today, a friend of mine will be jumping on a train and riding to ND to take me and my daughter back home to Michigan. I can't parallel park my Explorer so can't imagine towing it on a UHaul...LOL Pray that his wife does not go into labor before he gets back home! He should only be gone about 5 days total...

I've not been doing much as far as workouts go. Just so much to do to get ready for my move back home. We've still not even filed for divorce. I've talked to an attorney, but so far not getting far with it. I need to find out if I can file here or if I have to wait and file in MI...where we were married. My husband's legal residence is still MI...but mine is here in ND for the next 5 weeks anyway.

I'm really looking forward to getting home... Starting my new life.

As I mentioned before, I am seriously considering going back to school and getting a certification to become a Personal Trainer. I've been talking to a friend from school online and he has asked me to help him with his journey to a healthy lifestyle. So, we are making all sorts of plans to get active and whip ourselves back into shape. We want to do some hiking, bike riding, walking, and traditional workouts with weights, fitness ball...my usual routines, etc.

We've also talked about my getting back into freezer cooking so we have healthy meals in our freezers to fall back on for those days that life gets too busy and we don't have a lot of time to spend cooking... So, when I get home we want to work on that too. I know I have been depending way too much on fast food again... and some days I can really tell!

I've been spending a lot of time looking for housing rentals or home for sale back home too. I've got a couple options going right now... one is a modular (though, I'm not totally sure it's still available) that is super cheap... it's a Foreclosure home in excellent condition... My second option is my Great Great Aunt's house is up for sale. Her son owns it now and would really like for me to consider looking into buying it...and If I feel I can't afford to buy right now, then he is willing to work with me on renting it from him. He really wants to keep the house in the family, but none of the family wants to move back into the area... I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one as I LOVE the home! It is a 90 year old HUGE farm home...which Aunt Margret's son has done Lots of updates and remodeling... beautiful home on 3.63 acres of land... AND, it has Aunt Margret's wood burning stove from her kitchen in working order in the dining room! How cool is that... :)

My Aunt Margaret was one of the nieces people you could ever meet... she was a retired school teacher and still hung out visiting with students and teachers when I was a little girl. Always loved her, so think it would be totally awesome to live in her old house. I only remember being at the house one time though as a little girl... Uncle Harry died when I was very young and Aunt Margaret moved out of the house then...

Well, there's my update for tonight...

It Must Be Working....

2010-04-01T19:52:00.002-05:00

On my last blog post, I received a comment left in Chinese. Being I had NO CLUE what it said, I went to a site to translate it to English. All the Hard work I have put into my weight loss and maintaining must be paying off...

路過--你好嗎..很棒的 translated to English means... "Passing By--You good. Very good"

Guess I can't complain about that compliment!

THANK YOU to the person who left the comment. I wanted to leave a comment on your blog but couldn't read it to leave one!

Trouble Sleeping????

2010-03-24T11:32:00.004-05:00

Well, last night I was having trouble falling to sleep... so I crawled out of bed, down to the floor and did three sets of 10 push-ups... that very last one was TOUGH. I barely made it up...actually, I don't think I made it all the way before I had to bring my knees up! It was killer!

Then about an hour later when I still could not sleep, I climbed right back out of bed and did two side planks holding each for 60 seconds...and a regular plank...again, holding 60 seconds. Those too were killer and put me right to sleep! LOL...

So, now I know the trick on how to make myself fall to sleep... Planks & Push-Ups!

That FELT Awesome!

2010-03-23T16:19:00.002-05:00

Woo Hoo... I just returned from a workout at the gym! First time in probably 5 months I have worked out... and it was AWESOME!

4.1 miles on the treadmill with an average of 3.8 mph and 15 minutes of HEAVY strength training. It feels awesome right now... I feel so energized.

Initially I was going to do half hour on the treadmill and half hour in the weight room...but once I worked through the tightness and pain in the calves and shins, it felt too good to stop so I set it for 50 minutes... it was still feeling GREAT so I decided I wasn't going to stop until I hit 4 miles... so I ended up at 4.1 miles in 65 minutes! Go Me!

Didn't really do a lot in the weight room. Didn't work much of my legs since I did so much on the treadmills... but did do some upper body and back with a couple leg workouts thrown in.

Now to just keep this motivation... I wanna look awesome when I go back into the single life... It would be awesome if I could meet Mr. Right at the gym! A health and fitness buff to help keep me motivated :)

OH... Not sure if I have mentioned one of my goals for when the divorce is final and I move back home... I am soooooo looking into and considering going back to school. I have really enjoyed my journey to become healthy and fit so much that it has been on my mind for 3 years now to get a degree in fitness and help teach and encourage others to make the life style changes they need to reach their health and fitness goals. I think it would be such a rewarding career... not only for myself, but each and every person I am able to help.

Hope everyone is having a Health and Fitness Filled day!

Checking In...

2010-03-09T18:27:00.002-06:00

Well, things are going OK at home under the circumstances. I need to find an attorney though...gotta figure out just what all I am entitled too. If not, I have a feeling I am going to be given the VERY short end of the stick. Hubby wants to do everything his way...not the way the courts usually handle child support, retirement pay split (I'm entitled to HALF his retirement being we have been married more than 10 years...he wants me to get NOTHING)...

I'll be so glad when we are actually able to file for the divorce and I get to move back home... I'm ready for a change... ready to be happy once again.

As for my weight... I weighed myself a couple days ago and am holding my goal weight. Was actually the same weight as my end of GAG Challenge weight... 138.2! I had been sick for about 3 days though, so hadn't eaten a lot so that accounts for being below my goal weight, but I don't think I ate so few calories that it made that much of a difference. Still need to get back to the gym though...

Had to go pick up my new glasses today...what an adjustment these will be! I ended up having to get progressive lenses... aka BI-FOCALS! I'm too young for those! LOL... What happened to "Forever Young" that's what I always want to be... Ok, so Forever Young is a state of mind, so Forever Young I shall be! Forever Young with Bi-Focals! :)

Well, that's my mini- update. Not much else going on. Work & Packing...

Hope everyone is doing awesome on their weight loss journey.

SMART Goals are ones that makes sense:

2010-02-04T10:19:00.002-06:00

SMART Goals are ones that makes sense:

Specific– make a clear path to follow and you will be less likely to become lost along the way. Ask yourself the “who, what, when, where” questions.

Measurable– how will you know that you reached your goal if you don’t know what the criteria is? Ask how much (1 minute, 10%) and how many (5 pounds, 20 push-ups)

Attainable– give yourself goals that are within reach. If the goal is long-term, give yourself smaller markers to reach along the way. Safe weight loss is about 2 pounds per week.

Realisitic– decide what makes sense to your lifestyle and build on that foundation.

Trackable– document your progress. You m ay want to include a journal to explore your attitude along the way. Note improvements and how you have overcome hurdles.

NOTE: This was posted over on Sparkpeople.com by the Minot AFB Nutritionist so thought I would share it with you all! Great Tips in our weightloss & fitness journey.

Major Changes Happening...

2010-01-18T19:13:00.004-06:00

Well, during the GAG Challenge I mentioned in one of my post about how things have been in my marriage... my husband's drinking and lying early on and through most of the marriage. The stress and everything that goes along with it.

Well, since joining facebook, I've been talking to several of my childhood friends and have decided that there is no need for me to have to spend the rest of my life unhappy and in a relationship where I no longer really want to be. It's been that way for several years... I tried sticking it out and making it work for our daughter's sake...and now, I believe that I was totally unfair to her by doing so as she is taking this very hard. Though, she understands and knows just how stressful things have been as she has not always gotten along with her daddy either.

Well, Thursday evening I told my husband I was ready to move on... that I wanted to be happy, I was tired of the ups and downs, the mood swings we all have (him, our daughter as well as myself). I felt it was best for us to separate and file for divorce.

We agree that it is probably the best thing and will be going to the legal aid offices on base to see what we need to do to get the proceedings rolling. We are separating on good terms... we have agreed to not fight and argue over anything. We pretty much know who is getting what and whatnot. I told my husband that I want our divorce to be like my parents divorce is NOW. Not as it was in the beginning, but now they are like best friends. My dad stays with my mom and stepdad most of the time when he is home to visit my sister's and his grandkids... Rarely will he ever stay in a hotel unless his girlfriend is with him.

Our decision is mutual and since discussing everything on Thursday night, the stress is gone, we talk like two normal human beings, and have even laughed and joked about the "custody" of the small kitchen appliances and such... ;) We want to end on good terms to show our daughter that not all divorces end up bad... and that things will be OK...

GAG 2009 Final Weigh In

2009-12-22T10:46:00.003-06:00

I'm happy to report, that I did meet my goal of reaching my goal weight again...but sad to report, I didn't reach my fitness goals I set for myself. I was up and down during the whole challenge as far as my fitness goes. I was pretty motivated the first couple months...then I lost it. Even joined the gym and I've been maybe once in the last two or three months. Thinking I will drop the membership to the Y if I'm not going to go...I'll still have free access to the base gym which is only a half mile from my house...

I've been going through a lot of emotional feelings right now...and hopefully things will change after the first part of the new year. I think that all my emotional thinking has ALOT to do with my lack of motivation on the fitness part. I'm just glad that I kept my head in the game and didn't let the stress and emotions cause me to eat mindlessly and gain back my weight...

Anyway... today is the Final Weigh In for the GAG 2009 Give a Gift to Yourself Challenge. My weight...

138.2 lbs That is 1.8 lbs BELOW my goal weight. I'm HAPPY with that even if I'm not as "fit" as I would have liked to have ended up being by the end of the challenge.

I'll post my pictures as soon as I can... as I'm having a few issues trying to figure out the self timer on my new camera. I may have to just pull out my old one which I know how to use...LOL. What the heck... I'll post what I got. I look like I'm falling over, but that's because I couldn't get in front of camera with a two second delay! LOL. Set it for 10, but won't give me that much time...

Congrats to everyone who took this challenge. I hope each and every one of you learned something new about yourself and have learned to face the demons within us that keep us from reaching our goals. Lets not just disappear into the woodwork though now that the challenge is over. We need to keep the support going for each other..

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

Quiz Time... Let's see how much I really know...LOL

2009-12-07T09:45:00.002-06:00

1. Women who lift weights will get bulky muscles. NO... women are not built like men, we will only tone muscles. Those that "look like men" are usually taking steroids!

2. "Spot reducing" (focusing on one area with exercises to see faster results in that one area) is possible. No such thing... Cardio burns fat all over... some areas just seem to loose faster than others. For me...and most, the hardest place to loose is the waist/stomach and thighs. Just keep burning calories on the treadmill, eliptical, or your favorite aerobic workout and you will see your problem areas go bye bye...

3. Exercise boosts brain power. TRUE!

4. No pain, no gain. FALSE every bit of movement improves our health... even if it's just a walk to the mailbox, cleaning house, etc...

5. Movement melts away stress. TRUE! Exercis will make ya just feel way better about yourself and life in general...

6. Exercise requires a hefty time commitment. Nope, put a little bit extra pep in your walk, speed up your housecleaning chores, dance around the room between commercials during your favorite tv shows... short bursts of energy is good for ya! And every little bit equal up to a big difference in our health so get out there and MOVE!

7. If you exercise, you can eat whatever you want. TRUE... and FALSE. You can eat whatever you want in moderation! You just have to make sure you are burning more calories than you are consuming to loose the weight... or burn/consume equal amounts to maintain! It's always best to choose healthy foods though more than the sugary, high fat foods... the "bad" stuff will slowly catch up to you though and cause other health problems. It's OK to have the bad stuff every now and then...but eat those veggies!

8. There’s a magic bullet (quick fix) out there somewhere. NOPE... loosing weight and maintaining it is NOT EASY. It MUST be a lifestyle change. Something you are willing to do for yourself or no diet or amount of exercise is going to help! You can't reach a goal weight and go back to your old habits. The weight will creep up on you again before you know it. The so called quick fixes out there just cause other problems with your health...stay away from them!

9. Exercise gives you energy TRUE! it gets the heart pumping, gets your body ready to conquer the world!

10. All excuses aside, it's actually not that hard to find some amount of time for fitness daily.: TRUE! We all have the same amount of time in our lives. If Jane Doe can squeeze in 20 minutes of exercise in her 24 hour day after a 12 hour work shift... there is NO REASON WHY we can't too!

11. You need a gym membership if you want your exercise routine to be most effective.: FALSE...go grab a can of soup... a rope from the garage, a steady chair, whatever you find around the house... you can "lift weights" with cans of food... jump rope with the rope in the garage... do dips on the chair... run the streets, swim in the local lake or river, jog in place, do whatever it takes to just get moving!

12. People who have exercise partners stay with their programs and reach their goals more often than those who try to go it alone. TRUE! Who wants to let their workout partner down by saying "I don't feel like going today"... Having a partner encourages us along... make it a fun competition and see who can do the most reps.... run the fastest. Push yourself to better your performance... HAving a partner also gives us that encouragement from someone else...they can give you praise on a job well done!

13. Exercise helps ward off disease.: TRUE! Gets the blood flowing, the heart pumping. Makes all our muscles and organs work stronger and healthier...

14. Exercise is good for the heart.: TRUE! Think I've covered that a few times already...LOL

15. Pound for pound, muscle burns more calories at rest than body fat -- so you can eat more calories and still lose weight if you exercise regularly. TRUE: a pound of muscle burns about 6 calories a day... A pound of fat burns 2 calories in a day. That's 4 calories more per pound of lean muscle! Let's get out the weights and tone tone tone... the more muscle we have, the more calories we burn at rest!

This Holiday Season...Put yourself First!

2009-11-24T13:27:00.000-06:00

By Jillian Michaels

The holiday season is upon us, and this time EVERY year I write diet, fitness, and motivational tips (and now blogs) about how to not gain weight and let your health spiral out of control. In fact, I just had to write two others on this same topic.

It’s ironic that during a time when we should be celebrating the blessings in our lives, we are most prone to depression and dysfunction. The holidays bring out our co-dependency in spades: doing, buying, being for everyone except ourselves. And the symptoms of this behavior are obvious: Eating becomes gluttonous. Family issues become magnified. The gym becomes a distant memory. Stress levels go through the roof, and so on.

So I ask you… Are the standard tips about white meat instead of dark meat, or going for a walk before your Thanksgiving meal the answers to these problems? Isn’t it obvious that if you consume healthy foods in moderation and move your body more you won’t gain weight? And since it is that simple, the real question becomes, Why aren’t people doing it? The solution isn’t reiterating self-evident information, but rather discussing ways of remedying the problem's origin – lack of self-worth.

This issue is a major one and not something we can fix overnight, but by taking small steps like redefining our holiday experience we are moving in the right direction. Let’s start by shifting our thinking, behavior, and overall attitude to one of self-preservation instead of self-sacrifice so we are heading into 2010, and subsequently, many new years to come, with our bodies healthy, hearts happy, and minds centered.

Every day this season I want you to wake up and think about how the actions you take throughout your day will make you a happier healthier person. If holiday parties create temptation for you, avoid them. Find a healthier way to celebrate with your friends like a night on the town dancing. If stressful family reunions throw you off track, set boundaries and stay away. Take a healthy vacation with close friends instead. If the memories of holiday seasons past cause you to feel lonely, channel those feelings constructively instead of destructively. Take them as a sign that it’s time to form new connections. Join a club, support group, or online community where you meet new people and make new friends. If buying presents for everyone and their mother crushes you financially and puts you behind the eight ball, offer the ongoing gift of your love and friendship instead.

These things might seem impossible at first. You might be plagued with concerns about what people will think. Will they be angry or disappointed with you? Stop talking to you and so on? Honestly, who cares? If someone doesn’t love or appreciate you for putting yourself first they have done you a favor and identified themselves as someone you don’t need in your life.

So stop wasting time and start putting your health first, physically and emotionally. Make the holidays a time of inspiration and possibility, one empowered step at a time. And remember, taking care of yourself is a gift to everyone else because everyone ends up having a happier and healthier holiday.

Jillian Michaels is one of the country’s leading health and wellness experts. The New York Times bestselling author, trainer and life coach on the NBC hit series The Biggest Loser, and star of the upcoming NBC show Losing It With Jillian, has become a household name by helping people achieve healthier and happier lives. Every week she motivates 10 million TV viewers and approximately 3 million subscribers to her Web site, www.JillianMichaels.com, through daily e-mail newsletters. As a motivator and role model, Jillian has a unique connection with her audience that stems from her own personal journey toward wellness. Before she was a TV success, Jillian struggled with her own weight and was determined to reach her goals. Her dedication and hard work has empowered her to inspire others to achieve total wellness through bestselling books, DVDs, video games, weight-loss supplements, fitness equipment, and other life solutions. Become a fan of Jillian Michaels on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/jillianmichaels and follow her on twitter @JillianMichaels.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

2009-11-22T18:32:00.000-06:00

TWAS THE NIGHT OF THANKSGIVING,
BUT I JUST COULDN'T SLEEP.
I TRIED COUNTING BACKWARDS,
I TRIED COUNTING SHEEP.

THE LEFTOVERS BECKONED -
THE DARK MEAT AND WHITE,
BUT I FOUGHT THE TEMPTATION
WITH ALL OF MY MIGHT.

TOSSING AND TURNING WITH ANTICIPATION,
THE THOUGHT OF A SNACK BECAME INFATUATION.
SO, I RACED TO THE KITCHEN, FLUNG OPEN THE DOOR,
AND GAZED AT THE FRIDGE, FULL OF GOODIES GALORE.
GOBBLED UP TURKEY AND BUTTERED POTATOES,
PICKLES AND CARROTS, BEANS AND TOMATOES.

I FELT MYSELF SWELLING SO PLUMP AND SO ROUND,
'TIL ALL OF A SUDDEN, I ROSE OFF THE GROUND.
I CRASHED THROUGH THE CEILING, FLOATING INTO THE SKY,
WITH A MOUTHFUL OF PUDDING AND A HANDFUL OF PIE.
BUT, I MANAGED TO YELL AS I SOARED PAST THE TREES....
HAPPY EATING TO ALL - PASS THE CRANBERRIES, PLEASE.

MAY YOUR STUFFING BE TASTY,
MAY YOUR TURKEY BE PLUMP.
MAY YOUR POTATOES 'N GRAVY,

HAVE NARY A LUMP.
MAY YOUR YAMS BE DELICIOUS.
MAY YOUR PIES TAKE THE PRIZE,
MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING DINNER,

STAY OFF OF YOUR THIGHS!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

THANK YOU & my weekly weigh-in

2009-11-17T18:38:00.007-06:00

First off, I would like to shout out a great big THANK YOU to everyone who nominated me last week in the GAG Challenge. I feel guilty about being away and not participating much the last few weeks as I've been in this slump lately... It's always makes me smile when I am awarded anything for my blogging. At times I just feel like I'm the "outsider" as I'm not really in to loose weight...but to maintain what I have lost & to share what I have been learning through my journey to a healthy lifestyle, etc. When I am awarded these blog awards, it gives me a bit more encouragement that maybe I am making a difference to someone even though I don't always feel like it. So, THANK YOU to each and every one of you that has helped me along my journey and to those who nominated me in the various categories. I really do appreciate each and every one of you!

This week has definitely not been great for me. I woke up Monday morning last week with congestion... as the day/days went on, it got worse and worse... major sinus infection wearing me down this week. Then to top that off, Sunday started TOM. Yesterday I was just miserable and even contemplated calling out sick from work. I had planned on making it to the Y a few times this past week, but being as congested, coughing, & sneezing like I was, I felt it best that I do not spread the germs with other members...

Considering the week I have had, I'm happy to weigh in that I at least maintained my 144 lbs from last week. Honestly, I have considered making 145 my "happy weight"... that seems to be where I stick to all the time when I'm not working out every day or at least every couple of days. That is, as long as I pay attention to my food intake.

I consider it, then I think... "Why?" Is that copping out on myself? Giving myself an excuse to not workout...? I really need to have my goals... to make "myself" happy...not just a weight my body is happy with. I know, it's only about 5-10 lbs from what my personal happy weight is for me to be happy with myself (135-140 lbs) . Decisions, Decisions...

I had today off, and got major housework and laundry done that needed to be done.... I have family coming this weekend so wanted to get things done. Still gotta sweep and mop the floors (which I hate as base housing is nothing but tile floors...other than the upstairs) and I still need to clean my bedroom/bath

... washed my daughter's laundry (she usually does her own) as well as ours from yesterday
... folded, and took care of clean laundry (weeded through ALL clothes and threw a bunch away)
... made up the guest bed and put my new quilt on it that my Mother In Law made. :)
... dusted the guest bedroom
... dusted pictures, mirrors in upstairs hallway and guest bedroom
... cleaned my office/craft room/workout room (vac floors & furniture) & dusted
... dusted breakfast nook, formal dining room, and put fall table cloth on in formal dining
... rearranged the things in my china hutch
... polished my kitchen cabinets
... tightened the knobs on cabinets which were becoming VERY loose
... took out trash in each of the rooms

As for last weeks challenge... I actually did participate but never posted my Thanksgivings here on my blog... LOL. I was already doing that over on Facebook when the challenge was posted! LOL. I know, the points don't count over there... But the Thanksgiving comments are what matters...right?

I will share here in this blog post my Thanksgivings... :) Better late then never right? LOL...

Today I am thankful for my "breakfast in bed"...well, it would have been breakfast in bed if I hadn't spoiled the surprise hubby was planning when I came downstairs to see what all the noise was...LOL.

Today I am thankful for all my friends who make each day a brighter day. I look forward to seeing all that everyone has been doing in their life and reconnecting with lost friends. Thanks everyone!

Today I am thankful that the Ad Set went well considering we had NO SIGNS to start with as the size we needed are back-ordered... Had to do a Request A Sign for just about every rack in softlines in another size...but we got it done. Three hours after the store opened, but it's done!

I am thankful for my family who supports me in everything I do... Love you all!

Today I am thankful for my In Laws who have always accepted and loved me as their "chosen" daughter.

Today, I'm thankful for my hubby who loves me unconditionally. Even when it's hard too! LOL....

Today, I'm thankful for my daughter, who even though can drive us wild, she is a kind loving daughter...and cracks me up at times with her silliness!

Today I am thankful that ND is not feeling the effects of the recession and I have a job that is pretty secure!

Today, I am thankful for my Grandparents...two of the most awesome people I know!

Enjoy your week GAGers and followers of my blog. It's going to be a busy busy week for me as we prepare for the Black Friday Sales at work... I know Wed. will be a BIG day for all of us next week as we have to set the signs for Black Friday before we leave...but after the store closes before we can set the Doorbusters! Will be a late night.

Food Choices...

2009-11-12T07:56:00.002-06:00

Your Daily Horoscope: November 12, 2009

Gemini May. 21 - Jun 20 (Wrong Sign?)

There may be a responsibility to a family member or a child that you have to attend to Gemini, but outside of that, it looks like your focus may be on fun for most of the day. You need to be extra cautious today, however, because the wellness sector of your chart is somewhat overburdened, and this can sometimes mean trouble. Although you seem to be prepared for weather changes, and cautious enough about food, sometimes, in the spirit of the moment, you may think that it's OK to break rules of diet and such when it most certainly is not.

Post my horoscope to my profile!

Hmmmm, guess I better pay close attention to my diet and meal choices today!

Quick Check In...

2009-11-05T20:23:00.002-06:00

Not a real bad week so far...overall. I have snuck in a few snacks from the vending machines at work, but I'm pretty sure my calorie intake has been pretty close to my goals. I can't wait to make it to the grocery store to replenish my healthy lunches and snacks though...need to pick up some Diet Green Teas to take for lunches and breaks at work too so I am drinking less Diet Pepsi.

I made it to the Y today after work...as much as I really didn't want to as I was really starting to feel tired. Was a busy day at work today doing markdowns. Guess it's better than a busy day cashiering because I hate that! LOL... I worked out on the treadmill... 45 minutes total. Set the incline to minimum of 5% for a minute or two... then alternated that with about 3-4 minutes at a 15% incline! Talk about a good workout on the back of the calves! The base treadmills only go to 10% so the 15% was nice!

Well, I'm off to get around for bed I think. Going to try and make it to the gym again tomorrow since I get out of work at 4:00. I've got early shifts on Saturday...and a split shift on Sunday so my plan is to make it to the Y on those days too! That would make it 4 days straight! Wish me luck!

If I Could Live My Life Over, What is the One Thing I Would Do Over?

2009-11-02T16:27:00.004-06:00

If I could change one thing about my past, it would have to be to have learned more patience so that I could handle the issues that we face all the time with my daughter's ADHD. As I mentioned in a previous post (What is the accomplishment I am most proud of) I feel that I am ADD myself. I think that Holly and I have trouble understanding each other most of the time and we tend to argue over silly things. Things like one joking with the other but the other not taking it as a joke.

Over the past several years, it seems like Holly and I rarely get to spend much Mom/Daughter time together. I'm either busy with work or work around the house... money is short, or she's off with her friends.

So, if I could change that one thing it would be to understand Holly more so that we can have more Mom/Daughter times together...

What Habit Do I have that I Find Impossible to Break?

2009-11-02T16:23:00.001-06:00

This one is easy... it' a habit I've had my entire life... biting my nails! Even when I have acrylic nails on I have those nails in my mouth. Not so much biting then, but clicking them on my teeth...sometime biting. It's a nervous habit I guess. If I'm faced with a deadline, boredom, fear, stress, or anything of the such, I'm biting my nails...

What is One Thing I would Change About Myself

2009-11-02T16:16:00.003-06:00

Well, a few years ago I would have said to be more outgoing and not so shy...but I've come a LONG way with that. I'm more open and outgoing now than I ever have been in my entire life. Part of that is due to the changes I made in myself with my weight loss... the more fit I got, the more comments and appraisal I got from the "guys". I was one that always felt as an outcast who was never paid much attention too.

So, I guess if I could change one thing about myself NOW, I would have to say that it would be to be able to have more time in my day for doing things that make me happy, spend time with friends and family when I want. It seems that in today's economic standings, parents need to both be working full time to make ends meet. We are no exception to that. In order for us to have the things we want, need, or to have family vacations, emergency trips home, etc... I've got to work.

There are times I just dream about being an at home mom/spouse. Stay home and bless my home, bless my family, sit on the porch and sip tea with my friends. Or if I wanted, I could lounge around my house in my PJ's all day and just enjoy some me time...

What is My Greatest Fear....

2009-11-02T16:13:00.001-06:00

I would have to say being lost somewhere unfamiliar to me. I have a terrible sense of direction. I once got "lost" in the woods up in Honor, Michigan while mushroom hunting. I was terrified! Thought I would never see my sister, parents, daughter, hubby, again. I would take a few steps and stop, yell "HELLOOOOO", walk a few more steps, stop and yell again. What a relief it was to see my mom standing there over the hill.

What Is My Most Embarassing Moment?

2009-10-30T17:24:00.002-05:00

Wow, off the top of my head, I think that my most embarrassing moment was one which happened a couple years ago while I still lived in FL.

I worked at Sears as the RTV associate...returning merchandise to the vendor that was either damaged, recalled, end of season, etc. Well, we had some pants that were going back and one of the guys asked me to hold them for him so that he could purchase them after he got out of work as they were dirt cheap...and working receiving, you never want to wear "nice" things...

Well, he kept forgetting to pay for them so I told him he had to get them before such and such a day or they had to be shipped back as they were going to Zero Value. He didn't have cash on him for them at the time, so asked if I would pay for them and he would pay me back as he was working an over nighter that night and would be leaving before the store opened. Well I agreed and bought the pants for him... Instead of leaving them in the office, I just took them home with me and left them in my truck.

The next morning, I got to work all of the opening MCA's, Cleaning Crew, and Receiving team were outside waiting for the manager to show up to open the door. As Rob was walking across the parking lot, I yelled over to him "Hey Rob, I have your pants are in my truck". As soon as I said "your pants are in my truck" I realized just how bad that sounded! Everyone got a huge laugh out of it.

Me, I'm sure I turned a few shades of red, but laughed it off as I knew it was too darned funny! Embarrassing, but funny!

Gorgeous Blogger Award ~ I accept!

2009-10-29T20:55:00.003-05:00

Sheila sent me a lovely blog award! I am honestly HUMBLED and honored all at the same time.

To make it official, I need to 1.) recognize and link back to the person who sent it , 2.) share six interesting things about myself, 3.) award seven other bloggers with the Gorgeous Blogger Award and 4.) let them know about it. In that order! LOL

Six Interesting Facts About Me

1. My father was adopted as a child. After many years of research we were able to locate biological siblings. Unfortunately both biological parents were deceased. We were given books on our family history and it states that my dad's birth mother's family line is tied to Princess Diana's mother.... as well as to Kevin Bacon. On my mother's side of the family, our line intertwines with John & Elizabeth Proctor... of the Salem Witch Trials.

2. Growing up I had a few interests in what I wanted to be "when I grow up". None of which has happened. In 5th grade, I wanted to be a truck driver...why? Because I had it in my head that kids had to do what their parents did... and since mom didn't work, I had to be a truck driver. It never occurred to me that I could be a stay at home mom! Other "interests"... a nurse (couldn't handle biology...and my grades were never good enough due to my trouble studying), beautician, secretary, accountant.

3. I have been on TV three times that I remember... first time was when I was in Girl Scouts. My troop went to the local radio station back home to be on the kids after school program. The show played cartoons but between the different cartoons, they talked to the kids in the studio. The second time was after my husband returned from overseas after 9-11. The Clovis News interviewed us on the difficulties of families being separated during war. The third time, I was caught on tape during the March of Dimes March here in Minot...

4. I love to scrapbook and tell my childhood stories. My dad and his girlfriend think I should open my own scrapbook store and teach people to scrapbook and write their own stories...

5. I took piano lessons when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade... my parents divorced and that stopped. I played clarinet in 4th grade but really wanted to play the saxophone. My parents couldn't afford it and the clarinet was given to me by the owners of the campgrounds we were seasonal campers at. In 5th grade, my mom bought me my Alto Saxophone through a rent to own program. I played Saxophone up until I graduated High School. I was never really very good at it, but I loved it. It's really the ONLY thing I miss about high school.

6. I have two all time favorite movies... the first is Grease. Why? I guess because it is such a classic. It came out when I was in about 3rd grade. I had the album (yes, album..not tape, not cd...) and it was taken to school on every rainy day in 4th grade as my entire class would spend our recess singing & dancing to Grease. My second favorite movie is The Little Mermaid. This was My niece and my all time favorite thing to do. As soon as I got to her house on my days off work, we watched The Little Mermaid...then went shopping. When she graduated High School 2-1/2 years ago, she had her family only open house in conjunction to my birthday party. She insisted we have a Little Mermaid Cake and it had to be made by our Aunt Rhoda... :)

7. I absolutely LOVE thunderstorms or storms of most kinds. I don't really know what it is about them, but I find them very relaxing to me. I remember in 1st grade, my classroom had one entire wall lined with windows. I would just sit and stare out the window during storms. There is just something about the rain, the lightening, thunder that I find so awesome. Another time, I was in my bedroom doing cross stitch when a very bad storm rolled in. My grandmother called out to me to come look out the bedroom window. I was so relaxed that I had not even noticed that the sky was green, the trees were all bent over and touching the deck & it was a torrential downpour outside. Living in FL, I went through several hurricanes and all but one or two of those actually gave me a calm peaceful feeling. Hurricane Ivan & Katrina however had me a bit worried... it was a bit too close for comfort...LOL

My 7 bloggers I want to recognize:

1. Alina over at on my way to my perfect weight! Alina is one of my co-workers and friends. She has an awesome fun personality and will be totally honest with me about just about anything. She's totally awesome!

2. Melanie over at Melonie's Monday. Melanie always makes time to stop over and leave encouraging comments on my blogs and those of Team Cupid and other GAG2009 challengers. Thanks for all your encouraging words!

3. Martha over at Fly Away Birdie. Martha has endured a lot of challenges in her life and through it all she keeps her focus on her life with God to help her remain strong. I also LOVE the fact that she is involved in Needles for the Needy where she and a couple other of her deaf friends crochet blankets for needy people.

4. Karan over at Karan's Holiday Corner. Karan aka my mom, is just an awesome mom. She's always been there for us girls. Not just my two sisters and I, but always been there for my step sisters, my nieces and nephews, and even friends in need. She works for the Department of Aging as a cook and spends many hours working with the Sr. Citizens of the county writing music and conducting Senior performances with hand bells as well as crafting with them.

5. Christine over at exquisite_Christine. Christine has been a follower and supporter of my blog since the start of the Sizzlin Hot By Summer Challange. Christine's determination, motivation, encouraging comments & enthusiasm is outstanding! I can gain so much motivation from seeing the accomplishments she has achieved in her weight loss successes!

6. Sabrina at Seeds of the Heart. I love reading Sabrina's daily pictorial blogs...seeing the pictures of her beautiful baby M... the awesome garage sale and discounts she finds shopping. I'm a frugal shopper for the most part and it's exciting to see the things she comes up with...

7. Heather over at Arcticmal's Journey. Heather's part of the team Cupid and has faithfully been over there encouraging us along with her posts as well as comments to the team.

What is the Greatest Accomplishment I am most proud of....

2009-10-29T11:37:00.003-05:00

I would have to say that my biggest accomplishment is that my husband and I, no matter how rough things get in our marriage, we have made it work. I have 5 sisters... 3 of which have given up on their marriages... one has given up on 2 marriages and is currently married a third time... One of those who has "not given up", the family thinks that there may be something up as she is no longer living at her home, she's always out with her friends, and such. She doesn't come around to see her dad that often...so, they are not really sure if she is going through a divorce or what is going on. Even on my husbands side, his sister is also on her second marriage.

While at home a couple weeks ago, my Sister-In-Law made the comment that Drew and I are the ONLY one's of all the cousins to make our marriage work.... as each of their cousins (with the exception of one whom has never been married) are divorced and/or on second marriages.

My husband and I have been married now for almost 16-1/2 years. We have a 15 year old daughter. Most of our marriage has been turbulent. My husband had promised me before we got married that he would quit smoking. For years he tried to hide the fact that he hadn't quit... I could smell it on his clothes and knew that his "walks" were to go smoke as they only lasted 5 minutes or less. I used to snoop around trying to find where he was hiding them. Then while he was in Cuba, our neighbor slipped and commented that Drew was the only person he knew that had to hide his cigs in his socks so to not be found out.

Then on top of that, when we were stationed at Barksdale AFB in Shreveport, LA he took up drinking. Our neighbor used to provide everyone in the apartment complex unlimited supplies of beer while out to the pool. Drew had already told me he had a drinking problem before we got married due to his partying in Germany. He had admitted himself to AA over there to get his drinking under control before it got too far out of hand.

He knew before we got married that I was not going to tolerate heavy drinking as my dad was a drinker... I hated what it did to my family so I didn't want to live my life that same way. He understood that and agreed that it would not happen.

The stress of his job recruiting took it's toll on him and he began drinking every night...more and more. It ended up to where he was drinking almost a 12 pack a night. I basically just started to hibernate in my room, on the computer, talking to friends I met online. It was my escape from reality, the hurt, betrayal, & anger I was feeling.

No matter what was said between us, it almost always ended up an argument. Our daughter felt that the only time her daddy was mean to her was when he was drinking. Which was EVERY night. I read to her some of the comments that the ladies on the Al anon group had suggested regarding her thoughts, feelings, etc. She then asked me if I would go with her to talk to the school counselor. I did so, and he was and is a totally awesome person! He used to pull her out of class to talk to her each week and check on things with her. She could go to his office whenever she needed to talk. It made a huge difference for her.

I had found an unofficial Al-anon group online... basically a yahoo group where women, men, or anyone affected by people with alcohol abuse got together to talk, offer support, etc. Through this group, I found that I needed to quit my snooping around and trying to prove to myself that my husband was still drinking even though he promised me he'd quit or limit it to just Friday and Saturdays... I knew it was happening so there was no reason to let my own actions pull me down even further.

Eventually, we bought my husband a laptop computer, bought the equipment needed so that we both could be online at the same time (I still hibernated in my room chatting with my friends most of the time at this time).

It was actually through the Internet that we were able to work out our problems. Talk to one another without letting tones of voice, mis-communication, etc. get in the way. We were able to type what we wanted to say, reread it to make sure it was saying exactly what we wanted to say without the other interrupting or misreading our words. We really started to open up and share our feelings, thoughts, hurt, etc.

I really think the turning point was when I told my husband about Holly's comment on how he was only mean to her when he drank. I think it hit him hard, like a ton of bricks as it was then that he really started to make changes in his life. He still drinks, but he limits it to Friday and Saturday evenings only. He's no longer drinking as much as he did in one sitting... or maybe he is, I don't know as he's no longer drinking beer. He drinks Vodka mixed with his Diet Pepsi. To me, anything is a lot or too much. I just know he doesn't appear as drunk and withdrawn as he did when he was drinking the beer.

We've made our marriage work. It's no were close to perfect or as happy as we would both like. I still have a lot of issues to work out. I really withdrew a lot from the marriage when he was drinking all the time, lying to me about it smoking (which by the way, he is now smoke free for over 2 years!), etc. For me, I find it hard to get back to the happy, loving, feeling I had before the problems arose. I try, but I know I do not always try hard enough. I guess I just do not really know where to start. I've bought the self help books to attempt to make sense of things, but with my problem reading (I'm pretty sure I've got adult ADD, but not diagnosed) I can read something and forget what I ready 5 minutes later.

One thing I know I really need to do is get back into going to church. With my schedule at work though, that's hard too as I have to be to work on Sunday mornings at 7:00 for ad set and I work Wed. nights...so that is pretty much out too. Maybe I just need to find some study materials for home and read my bible more at home. Really get my life turned back to the Lord as I know I've been far from him for a long time. Not so much as I don't try and live my life like God would want me to as a Christian because I do know what is right from wrong. I know what I was taught as a child/teen/young adult when I did go to church every Sunday. It's more because I do not go to church, I don't read his word, pray, etc. like I should be... like I used to do before my life seemed to fall apart.

Well, so there you have it. the one accomplishment I am proud of. It's far from where it should be for sure...but we are still working on it. We are not giving up no matter how stressful things get. We promised each other for better or worse, in plenty or lack (yeah, that's the way our vows read...not the traditional richer or poorer part...lol). It's a promise we have each taken seriously and will continue to take seriously.

What makes this weight loss effort different than any previous attempts?

2009-10-28T23:52:00.003-05:00

I honestly think that this attempt at weight loss is different as I am much more stressed out, have to worry about hubby and daughter liking the meals that I prepare... or more so the meals my hubby prepares as he does most of the cooking since I don't get out of work until just before dinner time. We tend to eat a lot of prepared foods when he cooks. Meat is almost always grilled which is good...we always have fresh veggies and a cooked veggie on the table, but pasta, rice, or potato is almost always boxed unless it's mashed potatoes and gravy.

When I initially started this journey, my husband was in Korea for a year. It made it much easier on my food intake as I eliminated almost all of the prepared foods.. or I only limited myself to about a 1/4 cup of it maybe once or twice a week.

While hubby was gone, I also did not have to worry about interrupting his programs at night as I tried to work out... Or his coming in to "watch me" workout. I could come and go to the gym whenever I wanted (usually 4:00 as I was out of work by 3:00). Now that we are moved to a new location & he is no longer in Korea... my work schedules are way different as I don't get out until about 5:00 or 5:30... and it's a half hour drive home so can't just go to the gym after work like I used to as it's dinner time... and I don't like to go up to the gym too late in the evenings as I am too wound up to go to sleep...

Working out on my days off are good... but days I go in to work late, I don't want to head to the gym (the Y for the classes) as then I miss out on my lunch with hubby. We don't get all that much time together so we kinda cherish that time...

I'm really hoping however that my work schedules will continue to be like they have this week... I am going in to work at 7:00 and home about 3:30 or so... which will give me time after work to go to the Y for my workout...or if I don't have my stuff with me, I still have time to come home and change and go to the base gym before coming home for dinner...

I really need to make it work... and I really need to start doing my morning workouts on my days I work late... FitTV is awesome and give me no real excuse for not working out.

Time for me to head to bed so I can get up and work out tomorrow as it IS my day off...and I have no real excuse not to head to the gym!

Play Lists...

2009-10-28T22:56:00.004-05:00

I was reading through my new Self and Fitness Magazines and came across some play lists which I wrote down as I am wanting to buy a SD Card for my phone to use as an iPod... :) So because another GAG2009 Challenger has requested ideas, I'm going to share these with you all!

Kristi Yamaguchi Pilate Playlist:

"Elevation"-- U2
"Beautiful Day" -- U2
"Sexyback" -- Justin Timberlake
"Rock Your Body" -- Justin Timberlake
"Don't Stop The Music" -- Rihanna
"All for You" -- Janet Jackson

Body Confidence Playlist:

"You Gotta Be" -- Des'ree
"It's My Life" -- Bon Jovi
"Don't Stop Me Now" -- Queen
"I Run For Life" -- Melissa Etheridge
"You Are So Beautiful" -- Joe Cocker
"Baby I'm A Star" -- Prince

Maria Menounos Fit Playlist:

"Born To Run" -- Bruce Springsteen
"Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" -- Gloria Estefan
"Sweet Child Of Mine" -- Guns & Roses
"Let Me Clear My Throat" -- DJ Kool (can't read my writing on this one...lol)
"Turn the Beat Around" -- Gloria Estefan
"18 & Life" -- Skid Row

Sara Hall's Running Workout Playlist:

Warm-Up Songs

"I Have Found" (Track 1): "This song reminds me of the work God has done in my life this year, and always puts me in a good mood."

"O Taste And See (Remix)" (Track 2): "It puts me in a state of thankfulness to God for how he's blessed me."

"Can I Have More of You" (Track 3): "Captures my thirst for more of God."

Songs for Running Hard

"Let it Rock (clean)" (Track 4): "This song makes me want to sprint so wildly that I don't listen to it during easy runs."

"My Dreams Will Come True (Original)" (Track 5): "My running dreams haven't yet come true, but this reminds me to keep pressing on towards them."

"Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song) (Radio Edit)" (Track 6): "Brings back good memories of Stanford days, drumming on the inside of the track at meets."

"Love Lockdown" (Track 7): "Ryan downloaded this song, and we like to dance to it in our house. The chorus always getting my legs turning over a little faster."

"Disturbia" (Track 8): "I actually thought this song was saying 'Stir it Up' instead of 'Disturbia,' and I like that better. So that's how I sing it in my mind."

"O'Saya" (Track 9): "I love the movie Slumdog Millionaire, and the soundtrack is equally amazing. The beat in this song makes me excited."

"Dance" (Track 10): "This song captures the freedom I've found in my running when God's spirit is moving me instead of striving through my own effort."

Cool-Down Songs

"I Want You Back" (Track 11): "One of my favorite songs since I was young, this always puts a smile on my face."

"Shadow of Your Wings" (Track 12): "Reminds me of a time in my life when I was struggling and God carried me through it."

"Latika's Theme" (Track 13): "In Slumdog Millionaire, this song plays in the last scene when Jamal kisses Latika's scar. I think it's a beautiful picture of redemption and how God heals the scars in our life with His love."

Answers to your comments and questions... :)

2009-10-28T22:28:00.005-05:00

cmoursler said...

Keep up the working out and you willdrop the lbs in no time. Glad your back and feeling better.

October 27, 2009 8:36 PM

THANK YOU! It really does feel good when I am working out. I love love love the way my muscles feel after a good strength training workout and cardio session. I wish I could just use that as motivation...it just does not seem to work for me though... :(

Heather & Chaos said...

I LOVE the Namaste Yoga on FitTV. But I TiVo it and then watch it so I can fast forward through the commercial. Otherwise, I guess just stretch??? But I hear ya on the what to do?? I need to get back to it though as I haven't done it in MONTHS!!

Sorry Sue forgot ya on the lies post! But look! You get your OWN post. =) Hee hee!!

October 28, 2009 10:26 AM

We don't have TiVo, but we do have the digital cable box which DVR's it... that would be a great idea for me to do. I just need to have hubby get me a box of my own as he records so many shows on his that if I get too many recorded, he can't record his games, races, shows, etc...LOL.

Christine said...

I used to do Fit TV all the time. I stopped paying for TV this spring though. I used to play Namaste in the mornings just to listen to the relaxing music but I wouldn't do the yoga because I hated it, my body wouldn't bend right and I had no balance! Then after *listening* to Namaste Yoga, I would be in the mood for the workout show afterwards! Lol!

Hooray for setting the weight machine to 110lbs! That's awesome!

October 28, 2009 12:16 PM

I too LOVE LOVE LOVE the soothing music they play on there. In fact, the other night when I went to bed and couldn't sleep, I was watching FitTV... I loved it when Namaste Yoga came on because that was GREAT music to fall asleep too!

Lisa Jones aka "Jones" said...

good job with the weight machine! your doing great!
and I'm sure Sue's sorry her phone is dumb and she didn't get your lies post up till today... :)

October 28, 2009 12:40 PM

THANKS! It was honestly no problem that she missed them. I knew that I had to do it right away or I would forget later in the week. Sometimes I'm just absent minded and forget so wanted to make sure. When I didn't see my "lie" I thought maybe I had typed her email in wrong... wouldn't put it past me! LOL...

Mommy2Joe said...

Jones, my phone isn't the one who is dumb, it's the user. Sad state of affairs when the machine is smarter than the operator.

SORRY LISA!!!

But look at you trying 2 new things and crushing the OUT OF THE BOX challenge!

October 28, 2009 12:43 PM

Definitely NOT a problem! I know that taking over the challenge is a big step and lots of hard work. You are doing great!

I was actually going to do a third new thing...but when I went to the gym the other day, I didn't see the row machine I was going to try...LOL After I started in on the treadmill, I noticed it back in the opposite corner of where I was looking...LOL. Oh well...there's always my next trip to the gym!

Annie, The Amazing Shrinking Girl said...

Awesome job so far!

October 28, 2009 2:14 PM

THANKS!!!!

jrmiss86 said...

Good Job this week. I know how if feels to be losing slowly. I feel like it is taking forever for me. Good luck this week.

October 28, 2009 5:23 PM

Thanks... I'm not letting it discourage me that it's going slow. I keep reaching my goal weight (140) but I just have trouble keeping it there. So, I'm still not that far off. I just need to get my workouts consistent and I know I that the weight will come off and stay there.

Sab said...

During commercials, I would just jog in place or do jumping jacks. :) and 144 is great! :)

October 28, 2009 5:32 PM

Thanks! I thought about that too... it would give me a bit of cardio in with the yoga workout. Cardio is the one thing I really do enjoy also. I didn't do it though as I kinda thought that the workout was a more relaxed feel to it and that bringing in the cardio would break that relaxation...

Arcticmal said...

Lisa, awesome for making to the gym twice... good stuff for trying the back extension machine :)
Yoga? how was it??

Yes here is to a new week, keep up the good work!!!

October 28, 2009 10:16 PM

Thanks! I did enjoy it...just thought it was a bit slow for my liking. I DID get a very good workout with it though as I could really feel it in my legs a few hours after completing the workout. I tried it again this morning, but got really frustrated with the program as I do not yet know the poses nor the names of them... so, as I was trying to follow along with the workout, the camera angle was just horrid and I couldn't tell what they were really doing. I think I need to check out the websites to see what the poses are, how they are done... learn them before trying to do the workouts again. It might make it much better for me that way!

Weigh In for week 8...

2009-10-27T18:38:00.002-05:00

Well, here it is, week 8 of the GAG 2009 Challenge and I feel like I've made little to no progress... nobody's fault but my own. I keep slipping into the lack of motivation role when work gets/got stressful...when things at home are stressful, or I just plain feel warn out.

On the UP side... I have made it to the gym twice this week! I went and worked out Saturday after work... walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes then did about 30 minutes of strength training using one machine which was totally new to me... a back extension machine. I LOVED it. It felt so good on my back and also gave my legs quite the workout as I had it set at 110 lbs! I was feeling it a bit yesterday but nothing too unbearable.

Not only did I work out at the gym 2 x this week, I also did a new workout for me. Namaste Yoga. I wasn't really so sure I liked it or not. I actually prefer cardio or strength (with weights) training... but a few hours after doing the workout, I was really feeling it in my muscles. It was a good workout. Only thing I really didn't like... it's slow moving and it was on Fit TV so there was commercials and I had no clue what to do during the break. At least with cardio, I can continue with the same thing or walk in place, walk the stairs waiting for it to come back, etc... with the yoga, it's not so easy to hold a pose for the length of a commercial! LOL...

My eating wasn't too bad this week... though, my weight just seems to stick around the 144 mark each and every day. I guess it's better to maintain there than continue with an upward trend when I am not working out as I should...

Here's to another good week of working out. I need to find my schedule and start planning ahead so I can make sure I'm doing them and making time for them... :)

Today's Weight: 143.6

Back Home...

2009-10-16T21:43:00.002-05:00

Thank you to everyone who offered thoughts and prayers during this time of loss for my husband's family.

Everything went well with the visitation and funeral. I was actually kinda surprised at how few were actually there to visit or even fewer at the funeral. But, as other's mentioned, Grandma was 83 years old and most of her friends have already passed...and she spent the last 3 years in assisted living.

My husband's sister talked to the minister before the service and asked to be allowed to say a few words. During his sermon, it was fairly calm in there...but as soon as Dana took the pulpit to read her letter she wrote to Mimi, not a dry eye was in the room. Dana said to Grandma what everyone else was unable to say.

The nice thing was that EVERY grandchild was at the funeral home at the same time during the visitation...one was not able to take the day of the funeral off as he had to be back on the road for his job. The cousin's had not been together in years. I'm not sure they have actually all been together since maybe before Drew and I were married 16 years ago.

The other nice thing... the siblings (Drew's aunts, uncles, parents) were all actually civil with one another. There has been a family fued going on for a while between them. I have no clue what words or actions had broke the family, but I do know they came together to support one another through the loss of their Mom. I just pray that they will continue to support and be there for one another.

I'm suppose to be off the next two days before going back to work as we were not totally sure when we were going to be home... I may head in Sunday morning to help with Ad Set...but not sure as of right now. Tomorrow I hope to get the house cleaned up and get my laundry done, get suit cases unpacked... just get things in "order" so we can get our regular routine back in place.

This week has been a lost cause as far as my healthy living goes. I don't really think I did terrible every day...but there was a few days I know I over ate or had not so good choices... I will put that all in the past though and look only to the future. Now that I will have a better control over the meals prepared for breakfast, lunches, & dinner, I'll have a better handle on my calorie intake. I will also be better at getting in my water each and every day...

I also need to get my workouts scheduled out better... not have to worry about having someone to go with me. Seems mine and Alina's schedules just don't work out here lately to head to the gym together. I did read today on Facebook that they are reinstating the Spin class on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the base gym! Yippie! I'll have to work those into my schedule as long as I do not have to be to work at 7:00. If I have a 9:00 or even 9:30 schedule, I should have NO PROBLEM getting to class, showering, getting dressed and being at work as I don't usually get up until 7:15 or so anyway! I'd be home by then... :)

Off to get myself a shower, changed into my night clothes, and head to bed...been a long 2 days on the road... lots of rain and even snow! Yuck! I'm so not ready for winter yet...

Made It to Michigan

2009-10-09T23:10:00.003-05:00

Just a quick check in... I made it to Michigan this afternoon. We drove over 850 miles yesterday... stopped about midnight last night and got up fairly early this morning... not intentionally, but we just woke up and left. Was only 5 hours of drive time left to get home, but it took us about 8 hours as we got stuck in Chicago construction at rush hour... three hours to get through Chicago... wow!

I've not done great at all... except for water. I've had a pretty good time with water with approx 109 oz yesterday and probably close to 60+ today...but foods not so well. I did buy a bag of popcorn and that was my snack in the car...but meals not so good.

Tomorrow I will be visiting with some of my friends and family while my husband helps his dad with some things for the visitation and funeral. It's so hard to get so much in when time is short. I can't come home though and NOT see my family. My Grandma is older than Drew's grandma and she's not doing well at all either... so I have to make sure I visit them again too. I'm not even sure they know we are home as I've not had a chance to talk to them.

Well, I'm off. Thanks to everyone offing thoughts and prayers for my family. It truly is appreciated. Everyone is taking Grandma's death very well.

Lisa

SHEILA: Please Read... I'm Leaving For Michigan

2009-10-08T07:52:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to check in... Drew's grandma passed away yesterday about noon. We are leaving as soon as my husband and daughter get back from dropping our dog off at the doggy hotel. Visitation is on Sunday... Funeral Monday. I will try and check in on Tuesday morning with my weigh in but being away from home, not sure If I can weigh in or not...so Sheila if you do not hear from me, please use my Second Free Pass...

Hope everyone on Team Cupid and the GAG Challenge have a great week. I'll be home late next weekend.

Lisa

If I become MIA this week...

2009-10-06T20:46:00.003-05:00

It's because I may be making an emergency trip home to Michigan as my husband's grandma is not doing well. She has Alzheimer disease and her body is shutting down. she has not eaten since Friday, her skin is cool to the touch, test reveal she is in no pain, but they are not sure she will make it more than a day or two... So I may end up leaving Thursday of Friday go home and be with the family.

I'll check in when I can if I do have to leave...

Prayers will be greatly appreciated.

Sheila, if you don't hear from me, you'll know why. Just use my last free pass next week if I'm unable to keep up.

Thank You.

Lisa

PS: Read this in a Sparkpeople email I received today... another reason for all of us to get off our tushes and work out...

Exercise Keeps Your Mind Sharp

A new study from the National Institutes of Health found that the most sedentary individuals (i.e. couch potatoes) are 2.5 times more likely to develop dementia than regular exercisers. Dementia is a condition of declining mental abilities (especially memory) that affects your personality, skills (like driving a car), and verbal abilities.

Action Sparked: Stay on a consistent exercise program throughout your lifespan. Try not to view exercise as a temporary means to and end (weight loss). It is part of a healthy lifestyle, and while it does help you lose and maintain weight, it can steer off plenty of health problems, from heart disease to depression.

Time Involved: 20-60 minutes, most days of the week

Body Benefit: Healthy body, healthy mind

My Baby Girl is Growing Up....

2009-10-05T12:28:00.002-05:00

Just wanting to share with you all a picture of my beautiful baby girl...who is no so much a baby anymore. Where does time fly. I miss the days when she was little and depended so much on mommy and daddy for her everyday needs... She's grown to be so independent.

This pic was taken on Friday night as she was getting ready for the Homecoming Dance at school. I just love love love the blue on her!

Sunday Sunday...

2009-10-04T20:23:00.003-05:00

Well, woke up early this morning... Had no choice to be up by 5:30 so I could get my butt up and dressed for work as I had to be there at 7:00 for "ad set"... say that in quotes as there was "no ad" but we had over 500-600 signs in softlines alone today. Geez... don't they understand the concept of "no ad"... No ad should mean no signs to put up!

It litterally took us from 7:00 in the morning until 3:30 to get the "no ad" set. Signs were terrible. They switched to a recycled ink cartridge because it's "cheaper" and the ink smears so bad that we can't even scan the barcodes on the signs to log the set up/take down signs... so much for really knowing if we missed something! LOL...

Let work and came home, checked my blogs, email, and facebook... worked on putting the binder together of all the information I have gathered for my friends Journey to a Healthy Lifestyle as I want to get it shipped to him tomorrow since I'm off work. I am definitely going to try enjoying my day off tomorrow and not spend it cooking all day. I will do some housecleaning and laundry again...but that's about it. I want to go up to the base gym tomorrow too so that I can workout. I need to get back into doing it daily or at least every other day. Was thinking it might be nice to go to the Y and use the pool too...but not sure I want to do that on my own. Would rather do that on a day I can go with Alina or some of the other girls from work. I think it would be fun.

I've also thought that I should call up to the Y and ask them about a tour of the place and get information on getting a trainer to work with me on the machines so I know how to use them...since I was never informed of that info when I signed up. If I'm going to pay about 40.00 a month for the use of the facilities, I want to be able to get my monies worth.

About time for me to head to bed... I had a VERY short night last night as I closed at work... didn't get home until after 9:00 and never able to go right to bed... need my relaxation time. Then up early...so will do my best to get a good nights sleep tonight. I feel the real need for it. ;)

Today's Body Blessings:

B: Granola Bar
S: Almonds and Cheese Crackers with Peanut Butter
L: Vegtable Tortolini Soup & Soy-Garlic Chicken
D: Steak, Mashed tators/Gravy, Fresh veggies & boiled cauliflower.
S: Popcorn

I think Fall is really here...

2009-10-03T21:00:00.002-05:00

The weather sure has been wet, cold, and dreary here in North Dakota this week...today was no exception.

I got up fairly early...well, my usual time, but I didn't have to be up for a couple more hours. Anyway, got up, fixed our "Sunday" breakfast today since I work tomorrow morning and won't be home to fix it. Way too many calories...but that's "OK" as it's a planned meal each and every weekend. Hubby has diabetes and this is his favorite breakfast so he too breaks his diet each weekend for this one meal...

After breakfast, I was in checking out my boards while Drew took our daughter out to drive around base. Holly's in Driver's Ed this semester at school and has been begging us to let her drive as she's so embarrassed to be criticized by the driving teacher in front of classmates because she has NEVER driven before and the other kids have. Benefit of being farmers and ranchers kids I'm sure... they learn young here...

Drew came home and suggested that we hit the yardsales on base as there were several of them... We took off to hit them...and they had all but 2 shut down already! We figure it must have been because it was cold and rainy so probably not too many out shopping today. There was one we would have LOVED to have bought the BowFlex machine they had there... but we didn't have $300.00 cash to spend on one since we bought the snow blower and the new washer/dryer set... So, we had to pass...

Took off for work...and realized, all that time I spent cooking yesterday, I walked out and didn't even grab anything for lunch... so to Arby's I went... kept it healthy though and just had my turkey sandwich and no cheese sticks... :)

Came home and hubby had a pan of popcorn on the stove...so that was my evening snack along with some applesauce and a glass of OJ.

Work was buys rearranging the Jr. Department...so moving hands full of clothes, climbing ladders, and walking around was my workout for today... it's a big job, but not that hard really...LOL

Enjoy your Sunday everyone! Don't forget to GAG to yourself this weekend!

Ya Might Have Missed It... LOL

2009-10-02T17:36:00.001-05:00

Ok, so I went and posted a new blog for today...but then posted a few recipes...so you might have missed the blog. Just wanted to let you know in case you missed it!

I also went through my entire blog today and posted links to the recipes I have contributed over the last year or so that I have been blogging here... with the exception of a couple...which I will probably just repost later as I've not yet made them to know if they were/are any good...

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Savory Onion Chicken

2009-10-02T17:19:00.000-05:00

Savory Onion Chicken
recipe by: Julia Anderson

1/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1 broiler/fryer chicken cut up (I will use boneless chicken breasts)
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Envelope Onion Soup Mix (I will see about a lower sodium version though)
1 Bottle of Beer or non-alcoholic beer

Place 2 Tbsp. flour into a large Ziploc bag. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time, shake to coat. In a large skillet, brown chicken on all sides. Remove from pan and keep warm.

Add Soup Mix and remaining flour to pan, stirring to loosen browned bits. Gradually whisk in the beer or non-alcoholic beer. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until mixture has thickened. Return chicken to skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

Yield: 6 servings

1 serving equals:

231 calories
11 g fat (2g saturated fat)
73 mg cholesterol
469 mg sodium
7 g carbohydrate
trace of fiber
25 g protein

Onion-DiJon Pork Chops

2009-10-02T17:03:00.002-05:00

4 boneless pork loin chops (approx. 5 oz. each)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3/4 cup red onion, sliced thin
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. brown sugar (we use Spenda brown sugar blend)..but oops, I think I forgot this!
2 Tbsp. hone Dijon Mustard

Sprinkle Pork Chops with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook pork over medium heat for 4-6 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove and keep warm.

Add the remaining ingredients to the skillet; stir to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Return chops to pan. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 4-5 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 160°.

Servings: 4

Soy-Garlic Chicken

2009-10-02T16:57:00.001-05:00

6 chicken leg quarters, skin removed (I used 6 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut in half)
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar (we use Splenda brown sugar blend)
2 tsp. minced garlic

With a sharp knife, cut leg quarters at the joints if desired. Place in a 4-qt. slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the tomato sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, & garlic; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 180°.

Yield: 6 servings

Veggie Tortellini Soup

2009-10-02T16:53:00.002-05:00

5 cups chicken broth
1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen California blend veggies
1 pkg. (8 oz.) dried cheese tortellini (I used whole wheat cheese tortellini)
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian diced tomatoes, undrained (I used Italian Stewed Tomatoes)

In a Dutch oven, bring broth to a boil. Stir in veggies and tortellini. Return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-12 minutes or until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomatoes. Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes or until heated through.

Yield: 6 servings

Festive Corn "n" Broccoli

2009-10-02T16:50:00.002-05:00

1 pkg. (16-oz) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 can (7 oz.) Mexicorn, drained
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. salt (I omitted)
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. black pepper

In a large skillet, combine the broccoli, corn, & butter; cook over medium heat until butter is melted. Stir in the basil, salt, garlic powder, & pepper. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes or until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally.

Yield: 5 servings

VERY productive day...

2009-10-02T16:20:00.002-05:00

Well, I had a VERY productive day today. A day which I have been wanting to get done for weeks now... Better late then never. And the weather is finally right for it... :)

My freezer is now stocked with foods for my lunches at work... :) I did buy a couple of Lean Cuisine meals to put in the freezer, but today I also did the following meals and froze for my lunches (which I will post recipes for later...)

Festive Corn & Broccoli (5 servings)---calories not calculated
Veggie Tortellini Soup (5 servings)---calories not calculated
Basic Hearty Vegetable Soup (12 servings)---45 calories per 2 cup servings
Onion-Dijon Pork Chops (5 servings frozen, one eaten)--- 261 calories per serving
Party Meatballs (approx. 15 servings)--- 52 calories per meatball
Soy-Garlic Chicken (12 servings)--- 201 cal per serving (as prepared in recipe, I used breast instead of leg quarters)

So, there you have it...my productivity today... though, it started with grocery shopping (only paid 100.00 and got everything to make the above meals plus some extra stuff...so lots of meals for a pretty good price. Probably about less than $2.00/meal. My fridge is now also full of fresh veggies... plus I got snacks (granola bars), cereal, and I don't recall what else...LOL.

Off to switch my loads of laundry over as I've been working on that too today!

So So Off...

2009-10-01T20:24:00.002-05:00

I've been so off track the last few days that it's pathetic. Thank God that today is payday and I'm off tomorrow so I can go to the commissary and replenish my health snack foods, veggies, fruits, etc. I'm also going to buy the stuff to make my soups to freeze for lunches at work since it's now starting to get cold and rainy most days... They are predicting that 4 letter word that starts with "S" for tonight though... ugh, not ready for that yet! It's still too early.

I also got a grocery sack full of fresh apples from Jackie at work... so my plan is to make some apple sauce tomorrow too. Yummy! Was wondering and may check the commissary in the morning to see if they have sugar free red hots...they would be so good in the apple sauce! I love red hot applesauce but do not want the added sugar from them...

I'm going to call it a short night I think tonight... crawl into bed here shortly and hope for a good night sleep. Not had one of those in a while either. Last night I spent half the night thinking about "POGs" or Plan O Grams from work... the reset of the children's department. I hate when I can't get work off my mind when I go to sleep. On the upside though, I am so enjoying being out on the floor working! If I could do resets/POGS everyday I would be so happy! I love doing that...

Hope everyone has a great day tomorrow.. I'm hoping I get a lot accomplished so that I can get myself back on track too...

Here's to tomorrow...

Cold, windy, blustery day... brrrrrr

2009-09-30T11:39:00.002-05:00

Wow, I feel like all I have done today is eat... Me being the "responsible" one I got up and ate breakfast like I normally do... cottage cheese, fresh blueberries, and granola cereal. Well, my darling daughter, who is not always so responsible wasn't even up by the time I got my shower so I got her up, told her to put the dog out and get ready to go as she had an orthodontic appointment at 8:15 and we needed to leave by 7:30... she had almost an hour to get around...and she didn't even shower and still did not have time to eat... So, after her appointment she wanted me to take her to get breakfast before dropping her off at school. Since it had already been 3 hours since I ate my breakfast, I ate again... and now, I've eaten lunch with hubby...and it's not even noon! Man, I think I better make myself a light salad for my dinner break at work tonight or I will definitely be WAY over on calories...

One of the girls from work sent me a text earlier to say she had lots of apples in her back yard ready for picking if I want some to come get them... YUMMY! Not sure exactly where she lives but I know it's by the mall somewhere. She's going to be taking a bunch to work today so I will pick some up at work... and maybe I will try and make it over to her house and get more if I get a chance. Might be nice to make up a big batch of homemade applesauce to incorporate into my menus. Yummy! Wonder what other yummy healthy recipes I can come up with using apples????

I didn't make it to the gym this morning either. I took my tennis shoes and my workout clothes. But decided it was WAY too cold out today and I would freeze if I didn't put on warmer clothes for work. I had dressed for work, but just had on a polo shirt and dockers. So, I headed home to put on long sleeves and a sweater vest... that should keep me warm. I hate being cold all the time! Hubby always picks on me as he says I'm the only person he knows that when it's 80° outside I'm cold...

I talked to my friend this morning...and suggested that he might like to try blogging too... and join a group of people who will also give him support. Told him it would give him ideas on ways to incorporate new workouts, foods, habits into his everyday life and his healthy lifestyle he wants to create. We will see what happens. He also commented or asked me to not give up on him... my response was "NEVER". I wouldn't do that to a friend. I've told him I'm there til the end... and we all know that a journey to a healthier lifestyle is a never ending process because once we reach our goal weight, there is still a matter of maintaining that weight. We're all in this journey together... I'm not going anywhere... :)

Well, I'm about to head to work...but first need to make myself a big low cal salad and maybe see what soups we have in the cupboard. Soup on this chilly day might be something I will consider... :)

Helping a Friend in Need..

2009-09-29T19:48:00.003-05:00

It's not even 8:00 in the evening yet and I'm already beat... Not sure why as I slept pretty good last night.

I've missed a few days of posting on my blog... not because I was hiding from failed days in my attempts to maintain my weight but because I have had a friend ask me to help him loose weight. We live in two totally separate parts of the states (He's in Florida, I'm in North Dakota) so everything has to be done over the internet or on the phone. I've been working out a general plan for him. He knows I'm not certified, but knows that I have succeeded in my journey to loose weight so wants me to help him figure out a plan for him.

I've spent the last couple of days online calculating his BMI, BMR, setting calorie goals, weight goals, fitness goals, menu planning etc. for him. It's been a lot of time and effort, but I want to help him with this journey just like so many here on my Blog have done for me. He just does not have much of a support group at home. He and I have been friends since I was in about 8th grade... we rode the same bus to school. We lost touch after I graduated HS. We just "reconnected" about a month ago on FB. It's been fun getting to know him again. He has had a really rough life since leaving HS. Right now he feels almost like I'm the only friend and support he has.

I keep telling him, that together we will get his health and weight back to where he wants it to be. He has over 140 lbs to loose to be at a healthy BMI. I'll do whatever I can to make it happen, but ultimately, he is the only one that can make it happen.

We would appreciate any prayers that my blog friends can offer to help him and I through his journey. Him to courage to move forward and work hard to get what he wants out of his new lifestyle...and for me the knowledge to help him get there...

As for me... I've not had the healthiest weekend this weekend. Yet, it wasn't really all that bad either. Yesterday I splurged when taking my daughter shopping for a homecoming dress... since when did Homecoming dances become a formal dance????? Luckily, she found a dress and shoes for the same price of the dress she initially wanted. I really did not want to pay $150.00 or more for an outfit she would wear once... and it's not even PROM.

Anyway... Holly asked for ice cream, so we did go to DQ and I ate a Peanut Buster Parfait. I love those things! It was yummy, but I did kinda feel bad about eating it considering I hit my goal weight and need to learn to maintain...

Today I ran out of time to pack a lunch for work...so at at BK for lunch. I did go with the small fry though...and the Whopper JR rather than my usual large fry and regular whopper. So, at least I made the decision with my maintenance in mind.

I have discovered something though... now that I am working on the sales floor, I tend to snack much less than when I was in receiving. Once, because I don't get bored. There is so much to do to catch up. We've been without a softlines manager for so long that things just are not getting done on time... or they are only getting half done. Me, I like to do it right the first time...not wait and have to redo it later. Two... because I'm not near the breakroom all day long where I'm tempted with the smells of everyone's lunches, the vending machine, the pop machine... out of site, out of mind!

Well, there's my update for the day. I'm not sure how tomorrow will pan out. I work late but my daughter has to be at the orthodontist at 8:15... so, more than likely I will be in town all day. Maybe I can plan a workout at the Y after her dentist appointment if I have time... will just have to take my work clothes with me, shower there, and then head to work... will have to see how long it takes for the appointment though.

Good luck to everyone this week with their weight loss goals as well as your blogging points!

Overall, a pretty good day...

2009-09-25T20:27:00.003-05:00

Got up and around this morning... took me a long time, but I finally managed to head out the door and into town to get some shopping done and a couple errands.

As I posted earlier, I broke my goal weight this morning... yeah! Back to where I was weight wise when I initially lost my weight so I'm pretty excited about that. Now to just increase my endurance and continue with my strength training. This time I really really really want to learn to maintain my weight and not let it creep back up on me like I did after loosing the thirty pounds a couple years ago.

By the time I finally got around to head to town, it was almost lunch time and I was starting to get pretty hungry so I stopped at work and paid our final layaway payment on our snow thrower. It will be here October 1st! It will be so nice not to have to pay someone else to do our driveway every day or two and will be even nicer not having to shovel it all by hand too. I just hope we do not end up with 60+ inches of snow again this year...LOL.

I also picked up a couple more workout shirts for when I go to the gym... and bought two blouses with matching tanks for our "color days" at work. Can't wait to be able to wear them... actually, I think this weekend is a color weekend!

Then it was off to get some lunch... did well and ate my usual at Arby's minus the Mozzarella Cheese Sticks... and instead of a diet Pepsi, I had a diet Peach Tea. Yummmy!

I then went shopping at Walmart... wanted to get a purse sized day planner so that I could track my work schedule and plan ahead for the Y classes which correspond with my work schedule. Then I can check it daily and know when to take my workout clothes and tennies to work with me... :) While shopping, I also discovered some really cute scrapbooking stuff on clearance that would match the idea I had in my head for wall hangings over my bed. So, I bought those and came home and played with that. Hubby even likes the layout. Have not yet decided if I want to actually add photos to the layouts or just make the layout...

I then came home and decided to do some strength training as I had not done any of that in a while again. Still want to keep it up even though I want to put more focus on my cardio. I had wanted to do that too today, but forgot to take my workout things to town with me...and then got home and decided I really did't want to go to the base gym. Better to do it at home than not do it at all though...

Hubby decided he wanted to go to town for dinner, so we were going to try the "New" restaraunt in town TR's (I heard it's named that for Teddy Roosevelt, but not really sure) but they were totally packed so decided to head to Grizzly's instead.

Hubby and I then did a bit of shopping then headed back home to relax for the rest of the evening... I will head up in not too long to take a long hot bath I think... soak and read one of my new magazines.

Today's Body Blessings:

B: Planter's Trail Mix
L: Arby's Roasted Turkey & Swiss Sandwich, Diet Peach Tea
S: Blueberry bread my daughter and her friend made...
D: Apple & Pecan Salad, breadstick

Today's Workout:

Push-up challenge
Squat Challenge
Crunch Challenge

Week 4 Challenge....

2009-09-25T16:18:00.003-05:00

This weeks challenge is all about getting prepared for the upcoming Holidays...

It is comprised of 3 sections where we can choose to participate in none or all of them... with a chance to earn up to 800 points if we do every part of the challenge! Woo Hoo!

Just the type of challenge I need to get me headed and thinking about the upcoming Holidays.

1- There will be a survey (100 pts)... which I have completed and sent to Sheila already.

2- 3 parts to this challenge:

a) make a Christmas card list (50 pts)... did this last night! Have even pulled out my cards to start writing out my envelopes!

b) make a gift giving list (50 pts)... found some cute lists online and printed to start my gift giving ideas. Now to get my daughter to give me some hints on what she wants "Santa" to bring... :)

c) plan a Christmas party with healthy options & a date (50 pts)... Bonus 500 points if we follow through! The easy part is planning the party. The hard part will be following through as my hubby hates to entertain! Maybe I can convince him to invite some of the single guys or gals from work over for Christmas or Thanksgiving Dinner like we used to years ago... :)

3- Casserole, Stew and Soup!!! Looking for recipes... looking for comfort food recipes... (100 pts) already posted recipe to Sheila... :)

1.4 lbs below...

2009-09-25T11:22:00.003-05:00

1.4 lbs below my goal weight this morning! Weighed in at 138.6 lbs. Wooo Hooo..

Now to really learn the maintenance part of the weight loss journey. This is the part I failed at about 2-1/2 to 3 years ago when I lost the 30lbs then gained half of it back. I will succeed this time though! I thank God we have the challenge going on through the Holidays to hold me accountable and to help me to learn to maintain through a busy time of the year when we have temptation upon temptation facing us.

I will update the rest of my day later on...as it's time for me to head out to do some shopping and run some errands!

2009-09-23T22:18:00.002-05:00

I kept myself very busy today... I definitely had a strong surge of energy hit me I guess... Yesterday was such a stressful day, today's surge of energy was definitely needed..

I got up this morning fixed myself breakfast and started in on laundry. Seems like laundry is a never ending job...that or I'm just really enjoying my new front load washer and dryer! LOL... Not only did I work on laundry, I cleaned up my breakfast dishes, fixed a good lunch for hubby and I...then he wasn't able to make it home for lunch, so I ate by myself then cleaned up the kitchen again. I vacuumed the living room, kitchen, laundry room, and hallway...then got around and headed to work.

Work was BUSY BUSY BUSY today. Out of Stocks HAD to be done so I got all of them but Men's jeans done, but they will be completed tomorrow morning before the deadline for getting them done. I spent the rest of the night straightening racks, organizing, and cleaning out fitting rooms. Man or Man, why do people have to be such slobs when they try on clothes! Let's just all throw them on the floor inside out, tear the tags off, throw the hangers everywhere! And they wonder why things get so expensive... they gotta pay someone to clean up after them...

Seemed like all I did at work today was rush rush rush...so I'm beat now that I'm home. About ready to hit the bed for a good nights sleep... :)

Today's Body Blessing:

B: Cottage Cheese, Mandarin Oranges, Cranberry Pecan Granola
L: Sausage Veggie Casserole (Polish Sausage, Navy Beans, carrots, green peppers, onions, with a gravy)
D: Arby's Roast Turkey & Swiss Sandwich, Diet Pepsi
S: Peanut M&Ms, Tortilla Chips with melted Cheese and Homemade Salsa

Today's Workout:

Loads of walking and rushing around at work...

Glad this day is almost over...

2009-09-22T18:32:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm soooooo glad this day is almost over. Our Compliance Auditor showed up today at work. We've been expecting them for about a month or so...

Being I'm "new" in my position, I forgot a couple of morning procedures as my other associate usually does it automatically so I forgot all about it as she had requested today off... I did my best though to stay hidden from her as I didn't want her asking me questions on things I had no clue on...LOL. I just stuck to hiding out deep in the departments working on my markdowns...LOL. I didn't even go to the training room to eat lunch with all the managers... I sat in the employee break room and ate my salad I fixed for lunch...It worked! Didn't have to answer any questions...

I felt a bit stressed after leaving work and really did NOT want to go to the gym. Well, I did want too, I just didn't feel all that motivated to work out. BUT... I did it anyway! I had to just keep saying, I'm going to do this... I'm not going to stop until I have walked for an hour... I walked for a little over an hour on the treadmill. I didn't push the speeds as fast as I usually do (my fast paced walk... 4.5 mph). In fact, I never went over 4.0 mph. That's OK, I worked out at 3.5 mph on a 5° incline... so was getting a pretty good workout. I could feel it in my buttocks and back of my legs... :)

Been home now for a couple hours. Not felt up to doing much of anything... was thinking I wanted to do an ab workout, but still not so convinced I want too. I may just hold off. I just finished dinner, so too soon to do that...and I want to watch Dancing with the stars tonight. I'm so rooting for Donny Osmond! I've loved him since I was probably 5 years old when he and Marie did the Hawiian Punch commercials! LOL... He was my first crush! And, he's even better looking now then he was then!

Today's Body Blessings:

B: Shaved Ham
S: Planter's Trail Mix
L: Spinach Salad (spinach, shredded carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, radish, celery, grapes, cranberries, shaved ham... no dressing as I forgot it.), diet green tea, block of cheese.
S: Jerky Stick (small 40 cal. one)
D: Sirloin Steak (small portion this time), Stove Top Stuffing, Fresh Veggies, Olives, Green Beans
S: Popcorn, Fat Free Tapioca Pudding

Today's Workout:

1 hour plus cool down on Treadmill, 3.47 miles.

Kinda a high Carb Day...

2009-09-21T20:22:00.002-05:00

Well, today was a high carb day that's for sure... It's TOM again so I wasn't really motivated to do much of anything as usual on my first day... I did manage to get some laundry done, fixed myself breakfast, lunch for hubby and I, and had dinner in the crockpot for when I got home from the Y.

My workout was a spinning class at the Y. Man, the instructor there really kicked our butts! She's way tougher than the instructors we had at the base gym in the mornings when I went. This one was really good!

I got a good laugh from her though as she went around the room, making sure everyone's bikes were set in the correct position, we were in good form, etc. She noticed some newbies so asked for names, and introduced everyone to us. She kept forgetting my name though...LOL. At one point, I had to laugh because she had us standing on the bike as we spun, leaning forward on the handle bars... which gives me a good grip and tightens up those arm muscles... she looks at me and calls me "Lady Muscles"! I think the whole class got a kick out of it...

I told the instructor after class that she was a lot tougher than the instructors on base and that I have a lot of strength, but when it comes to endurance, I'm not very good. Explained that for 3 years I have put more focus on my strength training and not cardio, so all this cardio is new to me.... other than the occassional treadmill workouts I would do here on base. Even then, I don't run...

Alina had to jump in with her smart comments though...LOL. Love Ya Alina! Telling the instructor that it's OK, they can all outrun me though! She ain't lying there!

Today's Body Blessings

B: Shredded Wheat Cereal with milk (2%)
L: 2 chili dogs, tator tots (way too many)
D: 1- 1/2 bowls of beef stew... yummy!

Beverages: 2 small glasses Diet Pepsi, 2 bottles of water with Crystal Light Immunity mix, bottle water... so far today. Day's not over yet...

Today's Workout

1 hour plus warm-up Spin Class

God's Pharmacy!

2009-09-21T20:21:00.000-05:00

It's been said that God first separated the salt water
from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and
fish... all before making a human. He made and provided what we'd need
before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw.

We're such slow learners...

God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!

God's Pharmacy!

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and
radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows
carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four
chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and
are indeed pure heart and blood food

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart.
Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows
grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere,
upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut
are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than
three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and
yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones.
These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and
these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your
diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak.
These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function
of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs.
Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances
hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers.
And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado
from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of
these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the
mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome
male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the
glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries
Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just l ike the mammary
glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the
movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions
help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears
which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also
helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

Week Three Challenge Results.

2009-09-20T21:26:00.004-05:00

Well, today I did not make it to the gym, nor did I work out at home... I'm not going to make any excuses for it because it's my own fault for letting myself get sidetracked...

Today was a good day overall however, so I will not complain. LOTS of walking in at work as we had an ad set today...so climbing ladders and walking. Then we had some small projects I took care of.

I'm off tomorrow and already making plans to meet up with Alina at the Y for either a Hatha Yoga Class or a Cycling class...though, I'm really leaning toward the cycling class before dinner tomorrow night. And, since I'm off, I may try and go up to the base gym and maybe get an early workout in up there. That should start my day off good!

Today's Body Blessing:

Breakfast: none... I was running late.
S: TGIF Potato Skins (chips as I was starving by 9:00 and didn't pack my snacks or lunch... I so need to take a few to work and leave them in my locker.
L: Subway (Ham & Turkey, loaded with veggies, no cheese, no dressing), apple slices
D: Grilled Roast Beef, 1 cup Mashed Potatoes with mushroom/onion gravy, fried okra, fresh veggies, olives
S: Pan Popped Popcorn... sprinkled with butter flavoring.

Today's Workout:

None...

Week 3 Challenge Results

Friday: 1 hour 5 minutes on treadmill... 4.25 miles
Saturday: 1 hour Zomba Class...4 miles
Sunday: none

Zoom Zoom Zomba....

2009-09-19T20:57:00.002-05:00

WOW! What fun Zomba class was today! It was my first time attempting anything like that before and I had a blast! I might have no rhythm and two left feet but I sure did enjoy it!

I didn't even laugh at myself as much as I thought I would... ;) Though, I did laugh a few times! I wanted to be able to shake my little tush just like the instructor, put a bit more hip hop into my step, and make it look a lot better than it did...but wow, I couldn't coordinate it all at the same time! With practice hopefully I can do it! LOL...

Today's Body Blessings:

B: Cottage Cheese
L: Arby's Roast Turkey & Swiss Sandwich
D (very early... like 3:00): Spinach Salad (with shredded carrots, celery, radishes, cauliflower, broccoli, grilled chicken & French Dressing
S: Peanut M&Ms and a small helping of tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, & homemade salsa since I had to work late tonight and got no lunch break...

Today's Workout

Zomba Class, 1 hour

It's Fun To Stay At The Y M C A...

2009-09-18T18:59:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I've never stayed at the YMCA, but I finally broke my spell of not working out and went to the YMCA Family Center tonight and worked out! Yea Me! Only did the treadmill...but as I mentioned in a post a couple weeks ago, I really want to start putting more focus on my cardio.

It's been a really busy week at work... doing Plan-o-grams all week long... some of which should have been done about a year ago... From what I'm being told, they "did" the POG but didn't have all the new product in so fudged it... well, that's NOT the way it should be done. Needless to say, that's what I've had to work on this week. And to top that off, we've had lots of new POGs to set, straightening, organizing, and new merchandise to put out before our Annual Inspection which is sometime next week.

With everything going on at work, I really slacked this past few weeks when it comes to working out. Thankfully, I've kept the stress at bay and not gone overboard on my eating habits. They have actually been pretty darned good since starting the new challenge. It's hard to believe it's been almost 3 weeks already! Three weeks down and 13 more to go! We can do it ladies and gentleman. Let's kick it into gear this week and really work it!

Today's Body Blessings:

B: Cottage Cheese, Mandarin Oranges, Special K Cereal
L: Spinach Salad (with shredded carrots, grape tomatoes, radishes, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, grilled chicken breast, topped with Raspberry Vinaigrette) Cheese, small jerky stick
D: Pork Rib, small fried potato with onion, fresh veggies, veggie mix
S: doughnut (was bought for me by a co-worker so didn't want to turn it down...though, i did pick on her about ruining my diet...LOL. She said "Oh My Gosh, I forgot!" LOL...)

Today's Workout:

60 minutes on Treadmill, 4 miles + 5 minutes cool down, .25 miles

UPDATE... I totally blew the rest of my day. Was invited to a picnic/bbq at a friends house. Went up there totally not expecting to eat anything since we'd already eaten dinner... but I did... chicken, fruit pizza, a brownie, pita bread with spinach dip, a cookie, chips and homemade salsa (mmmm, it was so yummy!)...

Thank God I went to the gym today after work...and Thank God Alina and I are planning on meeting at the Y tomorrow morning for a Zomba Class....

2009-09-17T19:39:00.002-05:00

Well, yesterday was not such a great day calorie wise. I was in town all day... Chiropractic appointment first thing... breakfast at McDonalds... Made appointment for my facial waxing... signed up for my Y membership... had my wax appointment... filled the Explorer up with gas... made layaway payment on our snow thrower... then went to work for an 8 hour closing shift... Kept me busy all day long!

Hubby hooked up my washer/dryer/pedestals with the help from the Chief. So, i was excited to wash a load of laundry this morning! LOL...

Yesterday's Blessings:

B: was actually early Lunch... 1/3 lb Angus burger delux, sm frys, Iced Tea
L: was actually dinner... Subway Roast Turkey & Swiss sandwich, small mozz cheese sticks, Lg. Diet Pepsi
Snacks: popcorn & Yogurt

Yesterday's Workout:

None, too busy with my errands and work

Today's Body Blessings:

B: Chicken... while fixing my lunch salad
L: Spinach Salad with shredded carrots, celery, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, cranberries, roasted chicken, drizzled with raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Block of cheese.
D: Ribeye steak, sm. baked potato with butter, corn, fresh tomatoes

Beverages: 6 cups water, 2 bottles Flavored Water

Today's Workout...

None

A Day Late...

2009-09-16T07:38:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm a day late posting my food journal so will do it now... Got my new washer/dryer/pedestals yesterday as well as my new phone so was kinda preoccupied...LOL

Daily Body Blessings:

B: Omelet: 2 egg, sm. tomato, 1/2 can asparagus
L: Roast Beef with Gravy, 1/2 -2/3 c. mashed potatoes with gravy, dinner roll, 1-4 c corn, salad with ranch dressing.
D: Spinach Salad with almonds, shredded carrot, grapes, cranberries, raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Cheese, small jerky stick
S: Planter's Trail Mix... worked late and was hungry so had tostitos with melted cheddar cheese

No Workout for the day...

GAG2009 Week 3 Weigh In & Challenge Points...

2009-09-15T09:22:00.002-05:00

Wow, considering I did NOT workout but once this week... and a 4 inning softball game (which I did count just as 15 minutes of a workout in the challenge) at the company picnic I was amazed with this weeks weigh in...

Starting Weight: 142.6
Last Week Weight: 142.2
This week Weight: 140.4

Loss This Week: 1.8 lbs
Total GAG Loss: 2.2 lbs

Points earned for the GAG 2009 Challenge for week 2

8 hours sleep... 80
Drink H2O... 620
Track Meals... 140
Workout... 30

Total Weekly Points: 870

I think I am going to continue with this log each week! It really helped me to get my water in, be aware of my time for sleeping...which, still just did not happen. I hate when my brain won't stop working! And I want to use it to motivate me more to get my workouts in...I am going to try and make it to the Y this week to pay for my membership... :)

Good Luck everyone!

Lisa

Long Long Day...

2009-09-14T19:17:00.004-05:00

Wow, got home from the store picnic last night, posted the pics and my blogs... went to bed and couldn't sleep. Finally fell asleep and my alarm went off at 5:30 as I had no clue on what time I had to be at work as I forgot to bring home a schedule. Since the earliest I would have had to have been to work was 7:00, I got up, got dressed, and headed to work. Only to find out, I wasn't scheduled until 9:30!

I went back home, checked my posts & email then went back to bed for about 45 minutes. Was a busy day at work... managers meeting, putting out new stock, etc. Came home helped fix dinner, had a couple girls from work drop by unexpectedly...LOL. Gave them a tour of my house and chatted for a bit...then headed in for dinner, cleaned up kitchen, played a few games on Face Book... Now thinking I might head up and take a long hot shower then crawl into bed for the night... I so need a good night sleep. Not had many this week.

Today's Body Blessing...

B: 2 Fried Eggs
S: Planter's Trail Mix (nut & chocolate)
L: Spinach Salad with shredded carrots, grapes, cranberries, grilled chicken, cauliflower & celery topped with Balsamic Vinegar Dressing.
S: Tuna Salad with crackers
D: 1 open faced Sloppy Joe, Tator Tots, lots of fresh veggies, green olives

Ooops, almost forgot. I've been doing so good, I didn't even think about the oatmeal/chocolate/caramel dessert I tasted twice today...and the three Oreo cookies. Leftovers from the store picnic. Hopefully they will all be gone from the break room tomorrow!

Todays Workout

None

WAY TO GO TEAM MINOT MANAGERS!

2009-09-13T21:05:00.009-05:00

<----Alina & I pose together for a pic before the softball game!

Minot Managers kicked butt this year & beat the associates in the annual softball game 15-1! We Rocked this yr. I was up to bat 2x (we only play 4 innings) & made it to base both times. I even crossed home plate once! In the 2 yrs I have been on the Managers Team. I am 4-4! I've never been a soft ball player. Today was a rather productive day for me...but a lazy day the same. I got up to Drew having breakfast almost completely fixed. The smell of fresh cooked bacon is an awesome scent to wake up to! After breakfast, I decided to work on getting all of my laundry done as I wanted to try and use up the rest of our laundry detergent before our new front load washer and dryer arrives on Tuesday. I guess you have to use "special" detergent in them... the High Efficiency detergent. Needless to say, I spent most of my day doing just that... laundry. I also put together a big veggie tray to take to the annual store picnic. It was really nice as there was many more healthy options this year than last year. From Fresh veggies, to Fresh Fruit, to pasta and fruit salads. Yum! I did try a bit of three salads (chicken/pasta salad, snickers salad (I didn't realize it had snickers in it until after the fact...lol) Tri-Pasta salad, and cole slaw. Each was just a very small portion to try them... All very yummy!

Today's Body Blessings:

B: Veggie/Ham omelet, 3 slices bacon
L: Spinach Salad (Spinach mix, apple, cranberries, shredded carrots, walnuts drizzled with honey
S: 2 Planter's Trail Mix (nut & chocolate), peach, fat free tapioca pudding
D: Hamburger with pickles and onion, salads listed above, and a taste of Rose's yummy oatmeal chocolate chip & caramel dessert.

Beverages: 2 diet Pepsi, 72-oz water

Today's Workout:

Softball game at store picnic

Rainy, Wet, & Dreary Day....

2009-09-12T19:18:00.007-05:00

Well, today did not go as well as he had hoped, according to the Weather Radar in the truck last night, we were to have a nice day today...

Drew had planned on taking Holly out shooting today. We did that, but was only able to be out there about an hour if that as it started to rain. I wanted to get pictures, but it was so cold that I sat in the truck most of the time...though, I did get a few pictures of them.

We got a late start today as we all actually slept in until after 9:00. It felt good sleeping in as I rarely ever get too. My body just doesn't allow it anymore. Since it was a late start, we didn't get to go out for breakfast as we had planned. Well, we could have ordered breakfast, but it was already 11:00 so I opted for lunch as did Holly. Drew stuck with his breakfast.

We also stopped at the mall and check on Holly's phone as it's no longer charging again...they suggested we call the repair center as they usually do...so we called, and it's better for us to just upgrade her phone since we are within the upgrade period now...and they will not automatically upgrade the damaged phone (it's the third time sending it in!)

We then came home and Drew and I went to the commissary and did some grocery shopping. Had not planned on grocery shopping, just picking up fresh veggies for the store picnic tomorrow but ended up buying a lot of pork and beef too as it was on sale pretty cheap. Our freezer is about full again after our loss off a freezer full when our door got left opened and everything inside thawed...

I also picked up more veggies and salad stuff for my lunches...and dinners. Yum, I love my salads!

Today's Body Blessings:

B: Yogurt
L: Cranberry Pecan Harvest Salad with French Dressing, Calico Bean Soup
D: 1/2 - 3/4 cup mashed potatoes with 1/2 cup beefy gravy, 3/4 cup French style cut green beans, salad (spinach mix, walnuts, grapes, shredded carrots, 15 sprays of Raspberry Bliss Dressing)
S: Popcorn

Beverages: 1 20-oz Diet Dr. Pepper, 122 oz water (so far)

Todays Workout...

None ( I gotta get better about these workouts!)

Banning Drama... as requested

2009-09-12T17:27:00.005-05:00

Well, I was asked the other day by one of our fellow GAG Challengers the following...

"Annalisa201 said...Okay. I am playing catch-up tonight, commenting on TONS of blogs for GAG, and one thing I've noticed. YOU are the first person to not have DRAMA about their eating habits. What's your secret? A big long post would be appreciated ;)"

I'm not sure that I can really post a long post, but thought I would share with everyone a bit about me, my thoughts, my eating habits, etc.

I have always pretty much been able to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Even as a kid and teenager in school.. in college, etc. It was just something I never had to worry about. My grandma used to tell me, "It's going to catch up with you someday". I still never gave much thought to it.

Well, I got married in June of 1993...got pregnant 2 weeks later. Was put on TOTAL bed rest from the time I was 20 weeks along...actually before that, but it was more or less off my feet more than I was on. That I believe is where my "problem" with weight began. I had to eat for two, could not get any physical fitness or anything in. I wanted to cry the first time I went shopping for new summer clothes after Holly was born. I had gone from a size 9 to a size 12/14. I had NEVER been that big before. It was depressing to me. I started my journey to loose weight when Drew (my husband) was sent to Cuba for 3 months about 9 months after our daughter was born, but I gained it back.

Almost three years ago, when my husband was sent to Korea for a year, I decided it was high time that I do something about my weight. Most people would say that I didn't need to loose weight, but I was not comfortable with who I was, what I looked like, how I felt on a day to day bases. By doctor standards, I was only a few pounds over weight...but I was far from what I was in high school, college, and even when I got married. I worked a very physically demanding job, but still found that the weight was not going anywhere.

I joined Curves in Feb. 2007 and by July I had lost 30 lbs. I did it by working out daily and watching everything I ate... I was going to Curves 3-4 times a week, doing strength training at home in the evenings, and would walk at the walk park on my off days from Curves. I was motivated to loose the weight, I was excited about the attention I was getting from the guys I worked with. I was NEVER one to get attention from the guys at work, at school, anywhere. I always felt like the Ugly One... But more importantly, I was excited about the way I felt about myself! I for the first time in my life felt like I was "sexy", I was fit and toned. I was sleeping better through the night, I felt more energetic throughout the day, I just felt totally awesome about myself.

Once I hit my goal weight (140) I kinda lost my motivation. Partly because it got HOT outside (I lived in FL), the Curves did not have a/c, and I found it too hard to work out when I was so hot all the time... then my husband came home and we were busy getting ready to move to ND...to our final duty station before hubby retires.

Next thing I knew... 15 lbs had creeped back on. All that hard work I had done to get where I was was slowly disappearing. That's where Sheila's first challenge, Sizzlin Hot By Summer Challenge came into play. It was with her challenge that I again met my goal and got my weight back where I wanted it. It's only been up and down about 5-9 lbs since the end of the challenge.

So, now that you have a bit of my background... on with how I keep the drama from my life when it comes to my eating habits.

I honestly think that it is because I have always believed that I can eat whatever I want whenever I want. OK, so I can't have ALL that I want, but I can eat whatever I want in moderation. That is what I feel is the key to loosing weight. Knowing when to eat, what to eat, and HOW much.

In my journey to loose weight, I turned to books, magazines, online articles, etc. to learn all I could about loosing weight and doing it the healthy way. At one point, I would say I was becoming obsessed with fitness, eating right, etc. But, all in all, I think that is a GOOD thing because I learned something. I learned that I CAN eat what I want in moderation. Besides, eating what I want keeps me from getting bored with eating "diet food" all the time.

When I go down to Arby's and order a large Side Kick of Mozzarella Cheese Sticks... I know that it's "OK" but I need to make sure that I incorporate more veggies in that day, cut the fat & carbs down a bit in my other meals. Why, because I need a healthy balance of each and the cheese sticks are high in fat, carbs, and calories.

I followed the sparkpeople program to measure my calories, carbs, protein, sugar, etc. for the 5 months I was initially on my diet. It helped me to learn where my problem areas were. For me, that was carbs, sugar, and fat. Once I learned the right portions I needed (you can NOT go by the serving size on package unless you are on a 2000 calorie plan) I found it a lot easier to manage my food intake. I eat a wide variety of foods... I love love love salads and fresh veggies, so that makes up HALF my dinner plate. The other half, is divided in half and one portion is protein, the other portion carb. It WORKS! You would be amazed at how filling vegetables really can be. I will also start my meal off with a salad and still fill half my plate with steamed, boiled, and/or fresh veggies.

Another thing I learned about my journey and about me. Pop is NOT good for me. Even though it is diet, it still makes me feel bloated, constipated, sluggish after the caffeine wears off, and just plain fat. For 5 months, I drank NOTHING but water, and an occasional juice. It was amazing how much better I felt. I still drink them now. And I'm really trying to cut them out. I know it's hard but it can be done. Just know that when you drink a 20 oz bottle of Pop, wash it down with an equal amount of water! It really does help with the bloated feeling, helps flush the "bad" things out of your system. Having to run to the little girls room more frequently isn't really a bad side affect to drinking water! It's doing your body good getting rid of the bad things we tend to put into them.

I think another thing that helps me to keep the drama away is that I have actually switched the foods I eat up. We rarely ever eat regular pasta anymore. We have found a carb friendly brand (Dreamfields) that is only 5g of digestible carbs. Meaning it's not all going to turn to sugar and stick to your hips! We eat a lot more fresh fruits & veggies every day. I've switch to cooking with more Olive Oil, less salt, less sugar, and have switched to Fat Free or Sugar free puddings and jellos for those days I am craving something sweet. You'd be amazed at how small changes in the things we eat can make a huge difference in our diets. And I'm not meaning diets as in just loosing weight. I mean in our overall health.

Another change I made. I have NEVER been a breakfast eater, but have discovered that the experts are RIGHT! I snack way less if I eat a healthy breakfast every morning. It does not have to be anything big. Me, I usually will just have a 1/2 cup fat free or low fat cottage cheese, 1/2 cup fruit, and 1/2 cup of granola cereal...all mixed together for a yummy breakfast.

OK...and to be totally honest. I think another reason I do not stress much about what I eat IS because I had a physically demanding job. I knew that if I went a bit over calories on a truck day... I would work it off by offloading the trucks. Knowing that I would be able to burn the calories allowed me to splurge on those days. Those are the days I would usually give into my cravings, moderately... I say "had a physically demanding job" because I am no longer working in receiving! YEAH! I have finally been moved to the floor where I asked to be moved to back in April.

Speaking of cravings... I don't let cravings get to me. If I am craving ice cream, then I give into that craving. I know that if I don't eat what I want then I will eat anything and everything trying to satisfy that craving. In the long run, I would have been better off just eating that ice cream because I may have consumed twice the amount of calories of that ice cream trying to satisfy my craving with other foods. It's not worth over eating with other foods trying to avoid what you really want.

I guess that is how I would have to say that I deal with keeping the drama out of my diet. All in all, I guess I would have to say is you HAVE to learn what works for you. Pay attention to your body, your cravings, how your body feels after eating certain foods. Food journals are a GREAT tool. If you eat a chocolate cake and feel terrible afterward...sluggish, bloated, constipated, etc. log it. It helps you to identify how your body reacts to certain foods. Once you know how foods affect you, it is so much easier to loose weight because you will be able to get the healthy balance your body needs.

Try new foods... try coming up with healthy alternatives when cooking. Do you "really" need to add the salt to your boiled potatoes? Do you really need to add bread crumbs to your meatloaf when you can add oatmeal for added fiber? Do you really have to have full fat pudding or full sugar jello? Do you have to have regular pasta over whole wheat pasta, white rice over brown. Give the healthier versions a shot! They truly are better than one might think. Little changes can make a huge difference.

Well, I hope this post helps someone out there in the challenge. My suggestion, read all that you can in the magazines.... Shape, Woman's Health, Fitness, Prevention, etc. There is so much good articles, tips, workouts, and so much more in there. They are what helped to keep me motivated. They gave me new things to try, new ideas to keep me motivated.

Good Luck Everyone!

Jump Rope Lovers Unite...

2009-09-12T09:43:00.001-05:00

If you enjoy jump roping check this out! It sure would be an awesome routine!

Video:
A Physical Education teacher, Lynn Kelley who founded the Kings Firecrackers13 years ago, said the video of their performance at an Army vs. Navy game in February was posted to the team's Web site in early April, and has ignited national interest.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1418565565?bctid=23207933001

Almost forgot to log in...

2009-09-11T23:12:00.003-05:00

Wow, I've been pretty good about logging in and posting my blogs. But got sidetracked with a conversation with one of the guys I went to school with regarding the Military and it's vets...

Well, today was a pretty good day other than I didn't get my sleep nor did I get my workout in yet again. No plexi-glass cubes falling and hitting me in the head, no falling off ladders, no nothing to cause injury or illness... so it had to be a good day...LOL.

Today's Body Blessings:

B: Cottage Cheese, Granola Cereal, Grapes, V8
S: Tuna Salad & Crackers
L: Arby's Turkey & Swiss Sandwich (again, not cheese sticks! Yeah Me!)
D: Smothered Center Cut Serloin (topped with sautee'd Mushrooms, Green/Red Peppers, Onions), Grilled Mixed Veggies, Salad with Ranch Dressing, 1 slice Garlic Toast

Today's Workout:

None

Not so great a day... but still OK

2009-09-10T19:23:00.003-05:00

Well, it started off good anyway... other than I did not get my 8 hours of sleep in last night.

I got up and fixed myself a healthy breakfast, threw my clothes in the dryer to de-wrinkle them as they did not get folded after drying. Got dressed and headed to work. That's where it seemed to start the bad part of the day...

One of the girls asked if I would help her pull down the triple cube plexi-cubes. She is pretty short and they were stacked pretty high up on the top shelf, so I went back to the stock room to help... good to go for the first 5 cubes... then the last one bounced back as I tried to pull it down, nailed me right above the left eye... left a nice little gash. No stitches needed, thank God. Got a little bump and cut and that's all. Doesn't even hurt anymore.

The rest of the day went pretty good at work. I finished up a couple of small projects we wanted to do which got out a bit more of the last truck that was waiting to be taken to the floor... Then I worked with the Manager to finish up my schedules...then it was off to the dentist.

My part of the dentist appointment went well. No cavities, everything with previous fillings OK, and my personal hygiene was better than before she said... but it had been a year and a half since my last cleaning when I went 6 months ago...so less time for it to build up this time...LOL.

Holly has to go back for a few more appointments though... fix one of her seals they did last time, filling, and a consult to an orthodontist to get braces done...

After our appointments, we headed to the mall as Holly wanted to get her ring cleaned...the we went to dinner together. Holly chose Mi Mexico for dinner, so there went my days calories out the window. Oh well, it was a great time spent with my daughter. Something we rarely get anymore since she's in HS and spends most of her time with her friends...

Today's Body Blessings:

B: Cottage Cheese, fruit cocktail, Granola Cereal
S: Cheeto's (Bad bad bad choice, I know. But I was STARVING and didn't have healthy snacks)
L: Arby's Roast Turkey & Swiss Sandwich (NO CHEESESTICKS! I did good and didn't even have to resist the temptation. I went knowing I wasn't going to order)
D: Fajita Burrito, Rice, Refried Beans Chips & Salsa
S: Yogurt

Today's Workout:

None...

Slow Day to Start... little motivation.

2009-09-09T10:59:00.004-05:00

I started my day off with a good nights sleep. Unless you count the half hour or so that hubby did not get out of bed when his alarm went off at 3:40. He said to me last night to make sure he gets up as he has a hard time getting up that early and that would be the start of the exercise on base. I always am afraid to fall back to sleep when I hear his alarm go off as I'm afraid of his being late. I wish he wasn't such a sound sleeper.

My daughter woke me up about 7:30 though to inform me that her alarm did not go off so she missed the bus. I got up, got dressed, took her to BK to grab a bite for breakfast... then took her to school. Needless to say, that put a damper on wanting to accomplish anything this morning.

Today's Body Blessing

B: Double Croissant with Ham & Bacon, tators (too many)
L: Spinach Salad with blueberries, apples, walnuts, carrots, and a drizzle of Honey
D: Spinach Salad, with grapes, blueberries, carrots, ham... 100 cal. pack Whole Almonds
S: Planters Trail Mix (nuts, dried fruit, chocolates), Cottage Cheese, Granola Bar

Today's Workout

As of right now...none and have to work 1-9:30

Points for Give A Gift challenge WEEK 2

2009-09-08T17:59:00.013-05:00

Points for Give A Gift challenge WEEK 2

8 oz water = 10 points
15 min exercise = 10 points
Daily food tracking = 20 points/day
8 hrs of sleep = 20 points/night

Log (to be completed)

Tuesday:

Sleep 8 hrs: 20
8 oz H2O: 8 glasses x 10 = 80
Food Track: 20
Workout: 2 x 10 = 20

Daily Total: 140

Wednesday:

Sleep 8 hrs: 20
8 oz H2O: glasses 8 x 10 = 80
Food Track: 20
Workout: x 10 = 0

Daily Total: 120

Thursday:

Sleep 8 hrs: 0
8 oz H2O: glasses 5 x 10 = 50
Food Track: 20
Workout: x 10 = 0

Daily Total: 70

Friday:

Sleep 8 hrs: 0
8 oz H2O: glasses 10 x 10 = 100
Food Track: 20
Workout: x 10 = 0

Daily Total: 120

Saturday:

Sleep 8 hrs: 20
8 oz H2O: glasses 15 x 10 = 150
Food Track: 20
Workout: x 10 = 0

Daily Total: 190

Sunday:

Sleep 8 hrs: 20
8 oz H2O: glasses 9 x 10 = 90
Food Track: 20
Workout: 1 x 10 = 10

Daily Total: 140

Monday:

Sleep 8 hrs: 0
8 oz H2O: glasses 7 x 10 = 70
Food Track: 20
Workout: x 10 = 0

Daily Total: 90

Weekly TOTAL: 870

2009-09-08T17:25:00.003-05:00

Well, I accomplished what I needed to at work today plus some... only worked 2-1/2 hours then went to pick my daughter up from school so she could test for her drivers permit. She PASSED! Yea! Now for her to complete Drivers Education this semester at school, then she should be able to get her drivers license this spring sometime after she turns 16.

I have had a decent day today with calories so far... though, hubby forgot to take something out for dinner after he came home from lunch...so I'll be fixing myself a big salad to eat before we eat the pizza he is ordering for dinner...

Today's Body Blessings:

B: Cottage Cheese, Oatmeal, Blueberries
L: Roast Beef with Gravy over top, 1/2 c Mashed Potatoes & gravy, corn, roll, & a salad with ranch dressing
D: Spinach and Fruit Salad, 2 slices of pizza, Cucumber Salad

Today's Workout:

1/2 hour of strength training.
Arm work with 8lb weights, crunches, squats & lunges
Beyond Crunches workout from Runners Magazine

GAG2009 Week 2 Weigh In

2009-09-08T10:37:00.003-05:00

Considering I didn't get much in as far as actual workouts... one day at the Y, One day of Running, and not much else...maybe a day of strength, I really don't remember now without going back to check...LOL, I did end up with a deficit of .4 lbs. So, I'm happy overall with that considering I am not trying to really loose weight anyway. Though, there is still some fat I would like to turn to muscle in the hip,butt, & thigh areas since that is where I tend to gain my weight...

So my stats to date:

Start Weight: 142.6
Current Weight: 142.2
Loss: .4

Another Really Good Day....

2009-09-07T22:09:00.002-05:00

Another really good day for me...

I got up early to hubby's snuggles. After showering and getting dressed we went downstairs to fix some breakfast. Normally, I only fix breakfast for the family on Sundays. However, now that I am working on the floor at work and not in receiving, I have to be at work at 7:00 for adset. Needless to say, I can't fix breakfast. So, I did it today since I was closing and the family was home.

Work went well too. I worked basically on resetting a wall in the Men's department as it wasn't set by standards. Being we have a big Procedures Audit coming up this week I figured I should go ahead and do that while I was putting out the new merchandise. That kept me busy for quite a while, then it was off to re-merchandise the coat department too as that was pretty much just thrown together. Both areas are looking much better if I do say so!

Tomorrow is suppose to be my day off, but there is a couple of minor things that we MUST get done before our Audit, so I will go into work for just a couple hours to do that since I'm having to leave early on Thursday due to Holly & My dentist appointments. Tomorrow, Holly also goes in to get her learners permit so she is able to learn to drive at school during her Driver's Ed class. They do it so different then when I learned. We drove with an instructor, no permit given before hand. We did the book part of the class, then driving. The kids here have to learn on their own, get a permit, then take the class at school...

Today's Body Blessings:

Pre-Breakfast: Yogurt
B: 2 biscuits with Sausage Gravy, 3 slices bacon
L: None since breakfast was later than normal
D: Salad (Spinach, blueberries, grapes, shredded carrots, ham, Balsamic Vinegar Dressing), Cheese
S: Tuna Salad with Crackers

2009-09-06T18:54:00.002-05:00

Let's see... not a bad day for my calorie intake I'm sure. I've not calculated it, but do know I've had LOTS of veggies and a bit of fruit... very little carbs, a good amount of protein, little fat.

I was on the sales floor today doing ad-set so my fitness came from walking, bending, climbing ladders, etc. I am not throwing in the towel on some excercise though. My plan is that in an hour or so to do some strength training. Think I shall pull our my runners magazine and do that workout again. It's a GREAT one!

With the new week starting, my working on the sales floor more this week and less time in receiving, I'm really hoping that I can get more workouts in at home. I've just had some crazy hours at work lately, not been totally motivated, and not getting enough sleep at night. I need to work on that! My mind just seems to be on the run constantly some nights... things to do, things I want to do, things that have happened, things that haven't happened...

I want to get back into a regular routine with my workouts, get more cardio in, work on strengthening and toning my body, etc. I've set my goals, not to achieve them! I can do it. I know I can. I've done it before...

Today's Body Blessings:

B: Cottage Cheese, V8 (plus a nibble of chicken & fresh veggies as I made my lunch)
L: Salad topped with Grilled Chicken, Cheese, Jerky Stick
S: Tuna Salad on 4 or 5 crackers, Jerky Stick, Power Bar
D: Beef Ribs, Salad with fruits & walnuts, drizzled with a bit of Honey, Brussels Sprouts

YUMMY Salad!

2009-09-05T20:24:00.006-05:00

I don't recall where I saw the recipe... but someone here in blog-land posted the most yummy salad recipe. There wasn't really a "recipe" per say but rather just a list of the ingredients she used to make the salad. Well, today I made my own version of it to go with the beef roast & green beans that my hubby made for dinner. I worked late so got leftovers and did not want the baked potato.

This is my version of the salad...

Toss into salad bowl...

1 cup or a good handful of fresh Sweet Red Butter & Baby Spinach
1/2-3/4 of a Granny Smith Apple (hubby snacked on the rest...lol)
1/2 cup or so of Blueberries
1/4 cup walnut halves
1/4 cup or so of shredded carrots

Drizzle honey over top.

The "recipe" actually said to make a dressing out of the Honey and Lemon Juice...however, I didn't have lemon juice so just used the honey . It also suggested Romaine Lettuce but the commissary did not have any in stock when I went shopping for the ingredients... Can't wait to try it with the lemon juice though!

If this recipe looks familiar to one that YOU posted, I appologize for not recalling where I found it... feel free to post a link to your blog site where others can see the yummy looking picture you show of your salad... and thanks for sharing the recipe!

Today's Body Blessings:

B: Cottage Cheese & a fresh peach
L: Bourbon Chicken, rice, mixed veggies
D: Beef Roast, Green Beans, the salad I posted above
S: Granola Mix
Drinks: Too much Diet pepsi again... Diet Green Tea with Citrus

Todays Workout:

Didn't get it in today. Was a long day at work. Lots of walking, lifting & unboxing of merchandise, then processing it...

Happy Labor Day Weekend Everyone!

2009-09-05T08:31:00.002-05:00

I'm off to a good start. I'm up, had my breakfast, and almost ready to head out the door for work. I am working all weekend, so I will not be temped with all the Holiday BBQ stuff... thankfully, because I don't do well with that!

I had a GREAT night out with the girls last night and have decided I need to do it more often. My husband is ALWAYS telling me I need to make friends, go out and do something instead of sitting at home on my days off doing nothing but housework and playing here online... I've just always been that shy one that finds it hard to open up and be close to anyone... and I'm not a drinker, so it never thrilled me to be going out and sitting in a bar.

I hadn't planned on being at the bar as long as I was. Got there around 9:15 and waited for the others to show up. Deb and I went inside and got a table as we waited for the other girls to show up. We laughed the night away! It was so fun. I did splurge and Deb and I each ordered an appetizer to share (we'd already eaten dinner)... We were indecisive on what we wanted, so we each ordered something different and shared. Luckily, they were small portions so not a lot of over eating. But they were still loaded in FAT as they were fried. I did not drink any alcholic beverages. I stuck with 2 cans of Diet Coke and 2 Glasses of water.

Today will be spent at work. Will be in receiving first thing in the morning until Don shows up...so that will end up being my workout for the day I'm sure. Though, I am hoping that I can work in at least a few strength training exercises tonight as I'm finally able to move after my run the other day. After Don shows up I should get lots of walking in out on the sales floor... then back to Receiving for the last couple of hours.

Tomorrow is another early day at work...will have an ad set to do so I should be working the sales floor all day tomorrow. Yeah! I like that so much better... :)

Have a Great weekend everyone... and GO TEAM CUPID!

Girls Night Out

2009-09-04T18:45:00.002-05:00

Well, today was my day off of work. Had a pretty good day today overall, though, I didn't get a workout in and my eating wasn't really on plan.

Hubby wanted to get up early and head to breakfast then head up North (we went all the way to the Canadian border) to find a ranchers property as he was mailed a letter from the state and received it yesterday. This rancher got a list of everyone requesting to hunt in a certain area and choose my husbands name to hunt his property. Hubby's pretty darned excited about it as there is a lot of trees around the house area and also a low laying river... So, it looks that if things go well, we will be filling our freezer with venison this year. I'm NOT big on Venison, so we shall see how this goes...LOL.

After our trip up North, we headed back to town where I checked my blogs and saw that I was assigned to Team Cupid! Let's go Team Cupid...we can do this together. I've got faith that each of us will succeed with the encouragement of each team member. TOGETHER, we CAN DO IT!

I then took off to town where I got my hair cut and colored again... had to cover my gray's... don't want people starting to think that I'm 40! I love having people tell me I don't look my age...so, will keep my 40 a secret a bit longer..>LOL Not that I keep it secret. But nobody ever believes me anyway... :)

Tonight I'm meeting up with a few girls from work for a girls night out. This is something I never do... but Alina (check out her blog...she's on team Dancer) is so much fun to be around that I couldn't resist... that and most of the girls I work with are a lot of fun... so I think I'll have loads of fun hanging out tonight.

Today's Body Blessings:

B: Omelet loaded with veggies, a bit of bacon and a bit of ham, hash browns, & Toast.
L: Nodda... we not even hungry so didn't get anything.
D: Ribeye steak, 1/2 cup stuffing, boiled cauliflower, fresh veggies, & olives
Drinks: too much Diet Pepsi today... Diet Green Tea

Workout:

None. Still extremely sore from my run the other day. Hard to move much today...

Holiday Game Plan

2009-09-04T12:09:00.005-05:00

My first challenge offered to me is to come up with a game plan for this Labor Day Holiday Weekend... As a family, we rarely celebrate the holiday's outside Thanksgiving, Christmas, & Easter. We recognize the significance of each day, but not with big parties, cookies, (oops, I meant cook outs...lol) etc. With that being said, I won't have to change much at all about how I will treat this holiday. However, I will be faced with our end of summer store picnic on September 13th. With that come hotdogs, hamburgers, chips, sweet desserts... lots of them!

So this will be my game plan for that day...

Take a Veggie Tray to pass... Fill my plate with fresh veggies! Limit myself to one hamburger, skip the chips. And limit my dessert to once small serving.

We will also be participating in the annual associates vs managers softball game... so, I will be active with that since I am one of the managers... :) That will help me to burn off the calories and get a workout in at the same time.

Part two of the Holiday Challenge is to share a recipe to incorporate into my Holiday Plans...

Here is a nice dessert I found online and modified to make it a bit more low cal. It's so yummy!

Banana Cream Pie

Submitted by: LADYBU6205_1969

I adapted a recipe I found online to make it lower calorie...

10 Minutes to Prepare and Cook

Ingredients

Directions

Mix Splenda, Flour, and Salt in saucepan; add milk gradually, stirring until smooth. Cook until mixture boils, stirring constantly. Mix a small portion of hot mixture into egg yolks, return to saucepan and boil an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat, add vanilla and butter. Cool. Place bananas in bottom of graham cracker crust, add filling.

Number of Servings: 8

Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 235.7

Total Fat: 10.8 g
Cholesterol: 38.2 mg
Sodium: 274.2 mg
Total Carbs: 29.4 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.6 g
Protein: 5.4 g

NOTE: because it calculates to about 235 calories per serving, I usually count it as 16 servings and eat a smaller piece...

Enjoy your holiday weekend everyone!

Overall, not a bad day...

2009-09-03T21:40:00.003-05:00

Well, today wasn't too bad... other than the fact that I ache all over...LOL Yesterday's run really did me in. But, it won't stop me from trying it again.

I got up and dressed for work this morning, called and told Don that I would come in early if he wanted to go ahead and break the seal to start today's appliance truck as it was actually there last night. I got there and he had just started offloading it so I grabbed a handcart and went to work offloading the appliances. Fairly large truck again today... and just the two of us to offload it.

After finishing the truck, I walked and walked and walked all day on the sales floor working on putting merchandise out, working on paperwork (or at least trying to figure it out...lol) and what not. This putting out merchandise is so different from how I've had to do it in the past... but, still not really hard.

Overall, a very good day...

Today's Body Blessings:

B: V8 & a can of chicken
L: Ham & Cheese Sandwich (not very good...hubby had bought it. Had half slice tomato and about a bite of lettuce), cheese
S: Granola bar, 2 sm. sticks Jerky
D: Salad with Ranch Dressing, Pork Rib, & 1/4 cup corn

OH Yeah...gotta admit to my two choclate chip oatmeal cookies... but they were so yummy.

Today's Workout:

Just offloading truck and walking on the sales floor

I Did It!

2009-09-02T12:08:00.003-05:00

Well, I got out of bed this morning, ate a granola bar for my breakfast...and then went RUNNING with Desiree and Alina. I definitely think I need to change my focus some on my workouts... I have always loved doing the strength training as I LOVE LOVE LOVE having the muscle tone...that in my mind is what makes me look good...makes me feel sexy. BUT, my endurance is definitely lacking... I think I really should work more on getting my endurance built up.

Alina was awesome as we ran... for the most part, she and Desiree kept at a constant pace and would slow down and run in place to let me catch up. By the time I caught up, I would be totally winded again, my body would just feel tensed up and whatnot. Alina dropped back at the last 1/2 mile or so and coached me... offered suggestions on what I needed to do to help build that endurance. I need to just push myself through the "I'm going to die" part and go just a bit further...and each time I run, I need to push a bit further!

All in all, I felt really great about being out there and running. I've not run since high school...and lets say that was a LONG time ago. Let's see... 22 years ago that I graduated...and not ran for two years before that... so 24 years it's been since I have run at all.

Another good thing... my hubby has now given me approval to join the Y with Alina... Yeah! I had so much fun in the Muscle Pump class last night... and the Zomba class looked like so much fun! I'm far from being a dancer...always felt like I was clumsy and not coordinated enough to not look like a food. More a self confidence thing than anything I'm sure...but that's still something I am working on and have improved A LOT on so am excited about trying that class too... That should definitely build some endurance...

Today's Body Blessing:

B: Granola Bar
L: 1 small piece Fried chicken...minus the skin, 1/2 cup or so Au Gratin Potatoes, 1/4 cup or so baked Beans, Salad with ranch dressing
D: Arby's Turkey & Swiss Sandwich... I SKIPPED the cheese sticks! Yea Me! LOL..
S: TGIF Bacon Cheddar potato chips... I know...bad bad bad but I didn't have my healthy snacks with me at work...

Today's Workout:

3 Miles walking/jogging/running...

Good Luck Everyone!

2009-09-01T22:30:00.001-05:00

I started off posting messages to everyone withing them good luck during this challenge...but it is getting late and i need to head to bed...got plans of getting up and running with some girls from work in the morning... before I head to work

I look forward to sharing this journey with each and every one of you!

GOOD LUCK!

Outstanding Start to the Challenge...

2009-09-01T21:12:00.003-05:00

But I'm almost embarrassed to put up my "before" pics... after the great pics I took at the end of the Sizzlin Hot By Summer Challenge. It really is an eyeopener for me that I can't just reach a goal, then slack off. There has got to be consistency in my workouts and my food portions.

Today's Body Blessings:

B: V-8
S: Granola
L: leftovers... 1/2 Chicken Fried Steak, 1/2 c. Mashed Potatoes with gravy, Broccoli, V8
S: 2 sm. Beef Jerky Sticks, Cheese, V-8
D: Subway Turkey & Ham on whole wheat, loaded with veggies, no cheese, no dressing
S: Granola Bar

Today's Workout:

Off-loading the majority of a 114 piece appliance truck by myself
20 minutes on the elliptical
1 hr. Muscle Pump Class... THAT WAS KILLER!

All Set and Ready to Go!

2009-08-31T21:20:00.002-05:00

I'm ready for the challenge to begin!

I did get a head start on my workout today as I want to start the 100 push-up, 200 squat, 200 crunch challenge over and do it with STANDARD push-ups only... no modified.

Today's Workout:

My P-U, Squat, & Crunch challenge:
33 squats (starting this over too)
25 push-ups, all standard
120 Crunches

Additional Strength Training: 2 sets of 12 with 8 lb weights...

Dumbbell One Arm Row
Modified Push-ups
Dumbbell Squats
Double Crunch
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Dumbbell curls
Dumbbell Triceps Extension
Crunch
Straight Leg Reverse Lift
Standing Calf Raises
Dumbbell Flat Chest Fly
The Plank (25-30 seconds each)

A funny for the day...

2009-08-28T10:27:00.007-05:00

Bran Muffins

The couple were 85 years old, and had been married for sixty years.
Though they were far from rich, they managed to get by because they
watched their pennies.

Though not young, they were both in very good health, largely due to
the wife's insistence on healthy foods and exercise for the last decade.

One day, their good health didn't help when they went on a rare vacation
and their plane crashed, sending them off to Heaven.

They reached the pearly gates, and St. Peter escorted
them inside. He took them to a beautiful mansion,
furnished in gold and fine silks, with a fully stocked
kitchen and a waterfall in the master bath. A maid
could be seen hanging their favorite clothes in the
closet.

They gasped in astonishment when he said,
'Welcome to Heaven. This will be your home now.'

The old man asked Peter how much all this was going to cost.

'Why, nothing,' Peter replied, 'remember, this is your reward
in Heaven.'

The old man looked out the window and right there he saw a
championship golf course, finer and more beautiful than any
ever built on Earth.
'What are the greens fees?' grumbled the old man.

'This is heaven ,' St. Peter replied. 'You can play
for free, every day.'

Next they went to the clubhouse and saw the lavish buffet lunch,
with every imaginable cuisine laid out before them, from seafood
to steaks to exotic deserts, free flowing beverages.

'Don't even ask,' said St. Peter to the man, 'this is Heaven, it is
all free for you to enjoy.'

The old man looked around and glanced nervously at his wife.

'Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol foods, and the
decaffeinated tea?,' he asked.

'That's the best part,' St. Peter replied, 'you can eat and drink
as much as you like of whatever you like, and you will never get
fat or sick. This is Heaven!'

The old man pushed, 'No gym to work out at?'

'Not unless you want to,' was the answer.

'No testing my sugar or blood pressure or...'

'Never again. All you do here is enjoy yourself.'

The old man glared at his wife and said, 'You and your bran muffins. We could have been here ten years ago!'

KIND OF BRINGS A TEAR TO YOUR EYE DOESN'T IT?

OK start for the day...

2009-08-28T09:56:00.003-05:00

My workout for today is complete. Just my strength training and very basic at that but it's still a good all over workout. Next week, I'll be adding to it though with my Muscle Pump class I have planned at the YMCA with Alina as well as weight training with Alina at her house... I'm so looking forward to that!

Today's Workout:

50 bicycle crunches
25 squats
15 modified push-ups
50 crunches on fitness ball with 8 lb weight
25 squats
15 modified push-ups
50 crunches on fitness ball
25 squats
15 modified push-ups
50 crunches with legs up
25 squats
15 modified push-ups

Totals: 200 crunches, 100 squats, 60 modified push-ups

My Body Blessings:

Breakfast: Just a 40 calorie jerky stick and water... I know, not a good start to my day.

Lunch: Buffalo Chicken Salad with Ranch & 1 glass diet Pepsi

Dinner: Grilled Chicken Apple Salad from Applebee's

Snack: Popcorn & Two yogurts

My Time in Receiving is coming close to an end...

2009-08-27T20:44:00.004-05:00

Yeah! I found out yesterday that I will be on the Receiving Schedule this next week...but I will ONLY be working to cover lunches and help with truck... the rest of the time, I am to spend out on the floor as the Temporary MCA (Merchandise & Customer Assist) Lead until the lead comes back from her surgery. When she returns, I will be on her team...but not as a Lead. Which is OK as that is what I have requested. I'm so excited about this.

I honestly think that this transition will help me in my journey to become healthier and more fit. I am so stressed all the time and totally exhausted after offloading trucks and loading customer merchandise each day...not to mention my "problem child" I tend to have to deal with so often... With this transition, I think I will be less stressed and much more willing to WANT to go to the gym.

I'm geared up and ready to GAG! I can't wait for the challenge to begin... and I am REALLY looking forward to having a co-worker to help hold me accountable! Alina totally ROCKS! She is super fun to hang out with and we have made plans to work out together twice next week... Once at the Y doing a Muscle Pump class...and another day we will go running together and do some weights at her house too... I'm really looking forward to having someone to work out with

Please check out Alina's Blog at http://aliflowergrl-onmywaytomyperfectwieght.blogspot.com

Today's Body Blessings:

Breakfast: Omelet (2 eggs, can of asparagus, & sprinkle of Sharp Cheddar Cheese)

Lunch: Arby's Roast Turkey & Swiss Sandwich & SMALL Mozzarella Cheese Sticks (I usually get large) with Marinara

Dinner: Pan Popped Popcorn (Because I worked til 7:00 and HATE eating late)

Beverages: 1 Bottle Flavored Water, 1 large Diet Pepsi with heavy ice, 1 Fuze Slenderizer, 33.8 oz bottle of water with Crystal Light hydration (I worked up a major sweat today at work...needed to rehydrate good)

Today's Workout:

Loads of running around at work today... building bales, offloading a 500 piece truck, loading customer merchandise... it was NON-STOP all day...

Foods That Can Kill Your Diet

2009-08-26T09:58:00.002-05:00

Passing along another article from Health eLiving newsletter I am sent daily...

Foods That Can Kill Your Diet

Friday, August 14, 2009 -

By Shawn McKee
Staff Writer

I like to eat -- and I don't always eat healthy. So when I was given the assignment to write an article about the most dangerous foods you can consume, I was hesitant. I did not want to ruin some of my favorite foods by realizing how absolutely terrible they are for me. I plowed forward anyway, for the sake of mankind.

What I found out, in reality, was not particularly shocking. It's pretty easy to discern if a food is nutritious or not. However, seeing the facts, figures and actually realizing how bad certain favorites were was an eye-opener.

The scenario is similar to learning the Easter Bunny doesn't exist: Sure, I had my doubts, but I was willing to play along because it was fun. Ignorance is bliss, so if you want to continue eating doughnuts, chicken nuggets and French fries, stop reading now.

The squeamish have fled for the candy machine, so it's time expose the foods that ruin your diet, hurt your health and wreck your waistline. There's no turning back now.

D'oh -- Nuts! Start from the top and take a look at the most important meal of the day -- breakfast. If you've been starting your day the doughnut way, you're basically handicapping your nutrition for the rest of the day.

A Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut weighs in at 200 calories with half of those calories coming from fat while being rich in the most dangerous trans and saturated fats. Additionally, donuts carry nearly no nutritional value and are almost exclusively white flour and sugar.

A breakfast at your local doughnut shop will not only add unwanted calories, but it will throw off your blood sugar and won't stay with you so you'll be hungry again soon.

If you're supplementing your sugary breakfast bun with your favorite specialty coffee, like a 20-ounce Starbucks Venti Caffè Mocha with whipped cream, then you're getting an additional 490 calories and 16 grams of bad fat. Rethink your breakfast, because these fatty franchises are serving more calories by 9 a.m. than most places serve all day.

No soup for you! That college staple, the food that sustained your existence for the 4 to 7 years you spent getting your degree in communications, ramen noodles, should be banished from your diet now that you can afford to buy real food.

It's just noodles and broth, right? You should've paid more attention in health class. If you eat a full pack of ramen (and who doesn't?), you're looking at 14 grams of fat (7 of which are saturated), two-thirds of your daily recommended sodium intake and very little nutritional value. Ramen is cheap, but your body pays the price in the long run.

Drive-Thru Disasters
Fast Food? More like fat food! Chicken nuggets are a good choice if you have to eat fast food, right? Anything breaded and deep-fried is going to be loaded with fat, so nuggets are not the solid gold choice you might think.

Here are the facts on the 6-piece nuggets at Micky-D's: 250 calories (more than half from fat), 15 grams of fat and one-third of your daily sodium. But let's be honest, you're going to eat more than a sixer of nuggets for lunch, so how's it going to add up?

Fry Guy -- Unfortunately, the most popular "vegetable" side in the US is the French fry -- and it's hardly a vegetable at all after its trip to the fry-alator. When your fries come out of their dip in the grease Jacuzzi, they're weighing in at 380 calories (for a medium) and 19 grams of fat. The only things you're super-sizing are your waistline and risk of heart disease.

Hot Diggity Dang! Standard hot dogs are high in fat (13 or more grams per serving), loaded with sodium, and don't provide much protein or nutrients for the calories. Plus, the starchy, white flour bun and condiments.

Adding a cheese and chili coronary clog is optional. And have you ever seen how a hot dog is made? Well, it would switch you to peanuts at the ballpark before you could yell, "Hey batter!"

These foods will crash your diet, but healthy living is all about the small things, so as an added bonus, let's look at my favorite condiment and the drinks that destroy all the hard work in the gym.

Mayo-noways --Mayonnaise is good on your turkey sandwich, but just one tablespoon of mayo has 12 grams of fat and 110 calories, so your healthy sandwich just flew out the window. Try mustard.

Drinking Yourself to Death
The soda with your value meal may not seem that dangerous, but consider this: Soda can contribute to obesity and tooth decay with one can containing about 150 calories and about 10 teaspoons of sugar.

According to one study, drinking one can per day without changing anything else in your diet, and you could gain 15 pounds by year's end. The average fast food soda is much larger than a can of soda. Switch to water. Your waist, heart and teeth will thank you.

"Most Americans dig their graves with their teeth," says Dr. Jay Kenny, nutrition research specialist at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Florida. "You have to eat badly for decades before it starts to show its damage."

It's not too late to change the way you eat, feel and live. Just avoid these dangerous foods.

Shawn McKee is a writer who is happy to never eat ramen noodles again, but will miss his morning doughnut. Goodbye, old friend.

On The Right Track...

2009-08-25T09:28:00.009-05:00

I'm off to a good start... though, I totally forgot that it was Tuesday and Spin Class was this morning. So, I missed that. But I did get up, drank a V8 veggie drink and then did the Beyond Crunches workout from a past Runners World Magazine I have in my collection.

I was reading my previous posts yesterday trying to psyche myself up for the upcoming challenge and read about this workout. I had totally forgotten about it and it's such an awesome workout! Awesome for the core.

One of my friends from work... the one that got me to go to the spin class... well, she's thinking about getting certified to teach the Spin Class in the mornings! She figures since she's already there at the gym working out at 6:00 am, she might as well do it for the people from class that want to keep coming to class. When we went last week there was a good 10-12 people there at least. So obviously, people are going and WANT to be there. I so wish they were not canceling the class. Maybe if Desiree is certified, we can keep it going even if it's not an official class offered by the Base Gym...

Today's Body Blessing:

Morning Snack: V8

Breakfast: 2 waffles topped with raspberries & Sugar Free syrup

Lunch: Lasagna & veggies (leftovers)

Dinner: Roast Beef, Small Roasted Potato, carrots

Today's Nutritional Totals:

1,440 calories
50.8 fat
182.1 carbohydrates
75.9 protein

Today's Workout:

Beyond Crunches. The 15-minutes workout designed for runners which consists of:

Superman: 10 reps, made it harder! lifted both hands and legs together rather than separate.

Bridge: 10 reps, holding each for 10 seconds

Metronome: 10 reps

Plank Lift: 2 reps on each side

Side Plank: 30 seconds on each side

Back in shape & Perfect Posture exercises from Runners World Mag.

A Refresher Course...and CHALLENGE to you!

2009-08-24T20:16:00.002-05:00

This is just a re-post of my April 15, 2009 blog entry. I'm reading my previous posts as I plan ahead for the GAG '09 challenge. As Sheila challenged us then, I challenge you to create your own list!

Why I Became Overweight

In Response to Sheila's "Why I Am Fat Wednesday" post...

1. Because I love junk food. I don't keep it in my house for the most part, but when I am at work, I get hungry (or maybe not even hungry, but the urge to eat strikes more often than not) and the VENDING MACHINE is way to convenient. I will grab Peanut M&Ms, M&M Cookies, Cherry Licorice Bites, Cupcakes (yeah, they took those out of the machine)...

2. Pop's were too convenient to buy out of the vending machines at work. Water selection always tended to be empty when I wanted water... and I never thought about taking my own bottles to work. Before Coke & Pepsi switched their Diet Drinks to Aspartame, I had no choice but to drink Regular Pop as I got migraine headaches with the NutraSweet

3. Working Full time... I gained 10 lbs the first summer after graduating High School... not a big deal, it was still within my healthy weight by Doctor Standards. I was very physically active as a teenager in high school, so never gained weight no matter how much I ate. I also went to college full time. I rarely ate at home since I was in school all morning/early afternoon and worked 3:15-11:15 every night. I ate mostly out of the cafeteria in college and fried foods from the Deli at work. I worked as a Cashier in a grocery store, so only physical activity, if you want to call it at, was grabbing groceries and scanning them across the scanner...

4. Lack of Physical Activities... same as in #3. Working full time and going to school full time left me no time to work out... Before graduating HS, I used to run track, march in the band, and was physically active at home riding bikes, gardening (we had several HUGE gardens to tend too all summer long), or when I was with my Dad in FL, we spent the summer swimming and water skiing.

5. High Risk Pregnancy. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I was put on bed rest when at 1 month... total bed rest at 4 months due to my High Blood Pressure and Incompetent Cervix. Most physical activity I got was learning to knit and crochet and working my cross stitch.

6. Lack of Motivation... "No one to work out with me" I tend to better when I have a partner to go to the gym with me.

"Stress at home"... hubby and I have had a really rough marriage. My husband went through some major bouts of depression and turned to alcohol. Being from a family where both my dad and step-father drank heavily, I took it really hard. I NEVER wanted to be in a marriage where my husband was a heavy drinker. I basically hibernated in my bedroom, addicted to my Internet and my friends online that I could vent my stresses with...

7. Mindless Eating... I would eat food without even thinking about it. If it was there, I would eat it. Did not worry about how it was going to effect my health in the long run.

AND NOW... What have I learned from all of the above...

1. Eating healthier... Fruits, cheese/crackers, nuts, granola bars, trail mixes. Choosing salads over high calorie foods when I do eat out or grilled chicken over fried.

2. Switch to Diet Pepsi... once they switched the formula to Aspartame, I could drink the diet. I cut back on the intake though as I continually felt bloated, constipated, and just plain blah after drinking large amounts. I drink alot of water now. Even when we eat out, it's usually water with a lemon slice. At home, we installed a water filter on my kitchen sink to give me no excuse for not drinking water. (I hated all tap water... always tasted like dirt to me )

3. I no longer work behind a cash register. I work a physically demanding job so I do get a workout each and every day without trying. I try to avoid the vending machines and take my own snacks to work and my own drinks. Though, I still have issues with the machine...

4. No longer an issue with a lack of physical activities. With my job, I have no choice but to be active. I also work in time whether at home or in the gym to get a workout in.

5. Not ever going to be pregnant again... Once on total bed rest was once to many. I'm happy with my little family. Doctors have told me if I was pregnant again, I would probably be total bed rest the entire pregnancy. That's NOT for me.

6. As NIKE says, "Just Do It"

Initially, my motivation was I was the younger healthier, more fit one when going to Curves. It really motivated me to be just that, though I did have weight to loose. Seeing women my age and older extremely overweight, motivated my by causing me to see just what I do not want to be like.

Motivation...To look like I did in HS for my 20 year class reunion...

Motivation... For me to look better than I did when I got married to surprise my husband when he returned home from his year long tour to Korea.

Motivation... To feel better both physically and emotionally about myself.

Motivation... To protect me from the illnesses that are passed down through the generations in my family. High Blood Pressure (which I was on meds for for 15 years. luckily, my body became regular so I no longer take meds), Heart Disease, Diabetes, Cancers, etc...

7. Making a Conscious effort to eat healthy. And when I am not eating healthy, I still make a conscious decision knowing just how it is going to affect my goals. I don't let that bad decision keep me from reaching for that goals. I just keep on trucking and eventually, I know I will make my goals and learn to keep my habits healthy.

Started My Day Off Right...

2009-08-24T10:49:00.009-05:00

So, I've started my day off right with a good healthy breakfast... now to get myself motivated to do more. I'm thinking I might head to the gym this afternoon and work on the treadmill and maybe the weight room. With all the hectic days I've had at work the past few weeks...think I might just enjoy my day off today and do the housework and stuff tomorrow...

Daily Body Blessings:

Breakfast: Grab N Go Cottage Crunch (cottage cheese, pineapple tidbits..drained, Cranberry Pecan Granola Cereal) V8 Spicy, diet Green Tea with Citrus.

Lunch: Grilled Pork Loin, Broccoli Alfredo Pasta, Wax Beans, Green Olives

Dinner: Lasagna, Veggies, 1 slice Garlic Bread

According to FitDay calculations, I'm within goal on each of my Daily Nutritional Goals:

My Daily Goals (from Sparkpeople calculations):

1200-1550 Calories
162-236 Carbohydrates
32-56 Fat
60-127 Protein

Today's Totals:

1,458 Calories
49.2 Fat
158.8 Carbohydrates
102.3 Protein

Today's Workout:

200 Crunches... 4 sets of 50 each set a different variety

100 Squats... 4 sets of 25

60 Push-ups... 4 sets of 15, modified

Not too shabby on my workout considering it's been close to two months since I've done any of my strength training... Really struggled though to get the last set of 15 push-ups in. Arms are aching now!

Daily Doer Plan...

2009-08-22T22:40:00.002-05:00

This will be my workout plan for the upcoming challenge. It comes from Denise Austin's book "Fit & Fabulous After 40". (This is a GREAT book by the way...) And this time, when I use it... hubby can't make fun of me that I'm not 40 yet... LOL Never too early to be fit and fabulous though so if you've not yet reached 40 years of age, don't let it stop you from checking out the book!

I will attempt to do the Daily Doer Plan but I know with my hectic work schedule, I won't always be able to complete my workouts daily...so I will show the alternate plans here also...

Daily Doer Plan

Monday: Cardio (Total: 30 minutes)
Tuesday: Strength + Flexibility/Balance (Total: 30-40 minutes)
Wednesday: Cardio (Total: 30 minutes)
Thursday: Strength + Flexibility/Balance (Total: 30-40 minutes)
Friday: Cardio (Total: 30 minutes)
Saturday: Strength + Flexibility/Balance (Total: 30-40 minutes)
Sunday: Cardio (Total: 30 minutes)

Time-Crunch 4-Day Plan

Monday: Cardio + strength training + flexibility/balance (Total: 60-70 minutes)
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: Cardio + strength training + flexibility/balance (Total: 60-70 minutes)
Thursday: off
Friday: Cardio + strength training + flexibility/balance (Total: 60-70 minutes)
Saturday: Cardio (Total: 30 minutes)
Sunday: off

Weekend Free Plan

Monday: Cardio + strength training + flexibility/balance (Total: 60-70 minutes)
Tuesday: cardio (Total: 30 minutes)
Wednesday: Strength + Flexibility/balance (Total: 30-40 minutes)
Thursday: cardio (Total: 30 minuets)
Friday: Cardio + Strength + flexibility/balance (Total: 60-70 minutes)
Saturday: off
Sunday: off

Weekend Fat Blaster Plan:

Monday: strength + flexibility/balance (Total: 30-40 minutes)
Tuesday: cardio (Total: 30 minutes)
Wednesday: cardio + strength + flexibility/balance
Thursday: off
Friday: strength + flexibility/balance (Total: 30-40 minutes)
Saturday: cardio (Total: 30 minutes)
Sunday: cardio )(Total: 30 minutes)

Recipes to Try...

2009-08-22T20:59:00.005-05:00

As I posted the other day, I'm working on Planning ahead for the GAG Challenge starting on September 1, 2009. Tonight I am working on my lunch plan in order to have healthy nutritious meals while at work rather than fast food. I'm planning on making these up and freezing them in individual servings for lunch..

Here is a few recipes I found in the current issue of Simple & Delicious Magazine put our by Reiman Media Corp.

Savory Onion Chicken
recipe by: Julia Anderson

1/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1 broiler/fryer chicken cut up (I will use boneless chicken breasts)
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Envelope Onion Soup Mix (I will see about a lower sodium version though)
1 Bottle of Beer or non-alcoholic beer

Place 2 Tbsp. flour into a large Ziploc bag. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time, shake to coat. In a large skillet, brown chicken on all sides. Remove from pan and keep warm.

Add Soup Mix and remaining flour to pan, stirring to loosen browned bits. Gradually whisk in the beer or non-alcoholic beer. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until mixture has thickened. Return chicken to skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

Yield: 6 servings

1 serving equals:

231 calories
11 g fat (2g saturated fat)
73 mg cholesterol
469 mg sodium
7 g carbohydrate
trace of fiber
25 g protein

Onion-Dijon Pork Chops

4 boneless pork loin chops (5 oz. each)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 Tbsp brown sugar (I will use the Splenda Brown Sugar Blend)
2 Tbsp honey Dijon mustard

Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook pork over medium heat for 4-6 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove from Skillet and keep warm.

Add the remaining ingredients to the skillet; stir to loosen the browned bits. Bring mixture to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until mixture has thickened. Return chops to skillet. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 4-5 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160°

Yield: 4 servings

1 serving equals:

261 calories
9 g fat (3 g saturated)
69 mg cholesterol, 257 mg sodium
17 g carbohydrate
1 g fiber
28 g protein

Italian Roasted Vegetables
recipe by: Simple & Delicious Test Kitchen

2 medium yellow summer squash, sliced
1 medium sweet red pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
1/4 cup sun-dried tomato salad dressing
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp pepper

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Transfer to an ungreased 15-inch x 10-inch x 1 inch baking pan.

Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 15-20 minutes or until tender, stirring once. Serve immediately

Yield: 4 servings

Each Serving equals:

61 calories
3 g fat (trace saturated fat)
0 cholesterol
322 sodium
9 g carbohydrate
3 g fiber
2 g protein

Sauteed Corn with tomatoes & basil
recipe by: Patricia Nieh

1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

In a large skillet, saute corn in olive oil until tender-crisp. Stir in the halved cherry tomatoes, salt, and pepper; cook 1 minute longer. Remove from heat; sprinkle with basil.

Yield: 4 servings

Each serving equals:

85 calories
4 g fat (1g saturated)
0 cholesterol
161 mg sodium
12 g carbohydrate
2 g fiber
2 g protein

Planning Ahead...

2009-08-21T09:40:00.002-05:00

OK... I think I am getting bored this morning sitting on my computer while my hubby is at work and the daughter is still in bed sleeping...

Think I shall dig out all my weight loss/fitness magazines and start planning out my plan of attack on our upcoming challenge. There is so much good information to be found in them... With all the different workouts listed, one should never get bored...

I can start planning new and exciting workout routines, start planning for my lunches at work (which can not include ARBY's every day), etc...

So, it's really time to get my brain focused and win this battle once and for all. I can do it... I will do it!

BUMMER!

2009-08-18T20:26:00.002-05:00

Well, my plans on making the gym for Spin Class may be going down the drain with no choice to any of us in the class...

I dragged my butt out of bed again this morning at 5:10, got dressed and met Desiree at the gym for a half hour of walking on the treadmill before attending the Spin Class being held on Tuesday & Thursday mornings. We get to class, have yet another sub (we had one last week, my first week of class too) and she informed us that the Base or whoever is in charge has decided to cancel the 6:00 am classes in order to make room for two more classes in the evenings. They are adding a Zomba & a Yoga class at 6:00 in the evenings... at times which both Desiree and I will both still be at work.

Everyone in the class is bummed by it as it's the best time for us to be there... Desiree has a baby, so her hubby is still home to watch the baby while she works out... Me, I'm just not always motivated to go on my own and evening classes just do not fit my schedule at work. Having Desiree to motivate me (she's actually a certified fitness trainer...which I just found out on Thursday while in class) is great for me. Besides, she inspires me. She loves to RUN. She starts out running for 30+ minutes straight. Such endurance she has. I don't have the endurance yet...but hopefully in time I can build it up too.

Work has been CRAZY for me lately. I've been down to about 5 people working for the past couple of weeks... 5 of us to cover almost 200 hours and to offload trucks, run merchandise pick up, process merchandise, etc. It's been taking it's toll on all of us, but we've all stuck it out and stepped up to make sure things are getting done. I really do have an awesome team back there... just wish we could always get along, though we have been doing much better.

I will slowly be making the transition to the sales floor doing merchandising and signing though. I did help out this past Sunday and really enjoyed it. It was nice to be back out there again. Hopefully with the change in my job, it will give me more motivation to make it to the gym and or at least work out at home.

We're getting closer to our new challenge... sorry to those who I joined up with their challenges for the summer and not made it in to report, encourage, and whatnot. I never expected my summer to be as hectic as it has been at work... plus we had family visit for a few weeks last month. First my MIL & FIL visited...we had a great time hitting places of interest here in ND...then we took a weekend to head to SD and saw Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, & Deadwood. It was an awesome time and a much needed vacation time for the entire family. A week after they left my Grandparents came to visit. That was great too. We mostly sat around the house, I had to work a couple of the days though. Grandma is not doing well at all anymore and can't get around without Grandpa's help. It's so sad to see a woman who was once so active be so inactive now.

Well, I shall close for now. I think I need to work over the next couple of weeks planning out my plan of attack for the upcoming GAG Challenge. I remember last Christmas I found it to not be so easy when everyone kept bringing homemade bake goods to work...so I really need to find something to keep me away from it... being out of receiving should help big time though as I won't be that close to the break room to sneak just one more... :)

Good luck to everyone with the challenge... and for those in the other challenges, I hope you are all meeting your goals you had set for yourself.