3.26.2010

So Glad it's Friday!

It's amazing how long a week can feel when the last hour of work is upon you on a Friday afternoon! Fortunately, I was busy enough that the time passed by - and then some. Finally at home and ready for the weekend.


Can I get a Hell Yeah?!!


Hell Yeah!


Now that the weekend is here, there's more than enough to do. Somewhere in there I am going to actually try to get a couple of workouts in. The weekends have been the hardest for me to get in either the cardio or the strength training. But I have got to stick to it this weekend. Otherwise, the lower weight on the scale is going to switch over again to a higher number. Um-no thank you!


For the most part, I think I did really well with working out this week. Got in either 3 or 4 a.m. workouts. It's that bad. I don't remember which. I know I missed Thursday, other than that, I am kind of clueless. I also managed to get in 4 days of strength. That includes a combination of the Wii Active and Shredding. I really like that when I hit the 15 days of the 30 day Challenge (which I didn't get to finish in time to complete) the game kicked it up a notch. I like using the "hard" program and it is really close to feeling like I have a personal trainer. I can't wait for the new arm band and leg bands to come out so the cords are no longer in my way! That's going to hopefully work really well!  They can't get out on the market soon enough! I am debating on pulling out the Jillian Michael's game I got again. It just was really intense when I got started with it, and don't want to get stuck again where I am doing a program and can't complete it in time. It made me mad that I just needed to work out a little less time and I knew Shred would only take me 20 minutes to do and by skipping just those couple of days, I forfeited my 30 day challenge. I almost had it too!!! I was planning to reward myself at the end by buying the "more workouts." Maybe next time.


Today was a bit of a challenge at work. I sat and watched job after job roll in. It is great to have work, and kind of wish it was all my own business work that was rolling in, but it isn't. And I started to once again get overwhelmed. I got into a groove later in the day by loading Pandora. They played me a great selection today. It was a good mix! I brought 6 or 7 jobs home to work on this weekend. Nothing major. HA! That's like twice as much as last week. If I can get a few of them wrapped up, I can get ahead of the game by Wednesday I think. I am kinda glad it's not supposed to be another beautiful break in the weather. I will need to spend a lot of time inside.


On another note, I tried this recipe today. CrockPot Barbecued Shrimp. She got it from The Pioneer Woman. Let's just say YUM!!! No, really. My husband just left to go buy more shrimp so I can make more. There were 2 pounds cooked. Really. I was lucky to get any. This is a definite crowd pleaser. Thank you for the great recipe. Crockpot365.com is such a great site. I am impressed every time I log in. I still can't believe how she stuck to it for an entire year. I wish I was better at being that committed. I am trying. If you haven't checked out her site before, you should. It has every recipe she tried, along with what kind of rating she and her family gave the meal (or dessert). It's my first stop when menu planning.


I know, this is a long post. Stick with me, I am almost done.


I ran across this fun website today. http://cpbintegrated.com/theherofactory/ You know I had to check it out, I needed to make The Big E (my son) into a superhero. I knew he would be fascinated! Of course, I needed to see how it worked first, and I made myself into a superhero. What would any mother who just went face to face with her 3YO son turn herself into? None other than a Super Grocery Shopping Momma! After doing that, I then proceeded to create The Almighty E and his sidekick Super Dad. Aren't they the best looking Superhero Team you've ever seen? Go ahead, you know you want to try it out! It's okay, I won't tell.


That about sums things up for the time being. I'm gonna try to balance the work and home life this weekend. Right now, it is quiet time for me. I really like it. A lot! 

I am trying to bathe myself in the silence … it would be a lot easier if it were truly quiet. All I can hear is the humming of this really loud hard drive. Not the one on my MacBook, but the one on the Mac Mini I am helping a friend out with. YIKES! But it could be worse. It could be me in the grocery store with the Almighty E! No thank you!!! 

Happy weekend everyone!





3.24.2010

Overwhelmed

Feeling a tad behind and overwhelmed in my existence today.

Why is of course the first question that comes to mind. And my answer is:

Partly because of the insane tantrum my son threw last night at the grocery store and partly because of my inability to regain control of the situation until I forced him into the cart with a seatbelt. He sat there with both of his shoes now kicked off and at least 3 minutes of screaming terror in the aisle (just typing that gets my heart racing). I was then unable to control my emotions upon entering the door of my home. At this point, all I wanted to do was hide out in some unoccupied space in the house. The next thing I could think to do was wii box. So, i got out my wii active and did my workout, which unfortunately had no boxing, but I added in my own workout that included 400 punches and that helped - finally. But I was spent and it was now 8pm. I tossed the "ball" to my DH and he proceeded to put my son to bed for me. WHEW.

Though, that isn't all. I had to do work (not stuff for me work, but work, work). and it took me a bit to regroup and start said work. Due today work. I completed it, but that put me to bed at 11:30pm. Which in turn led to me getting to sleep sometime around midnight. Ugh.

That means, I did not get out of bed for my a.m. workout today. Double Ugh.

I'm feeling it too. The groggy, I didn't get enough sleep feeling. It's already 10:30 in the morning. I should be awake by now and it's not happening. Even with today's home brew of half hazelnut coffee, half espresso roast.

I am wondering how I am going to regain control today. What will allow me to feel less overwhelmed? Knowing I have to rush at the end of the day today starts my heart racing again> I have to make it to pick up my son, take him 30 minutes out of the way to have a bad haircut fixed before 6. I'd also like to stop by the chiropractor for an adjustment on the bad spot I ended up with while wrestling the crazed 3YO and then home to feed him and the DH, plus get in a bit of a walk/run. All that, and I will probably have work to take home again tonight.

I know I am not the only mother out there that feels this way, and would love nothing more than to commiserate with a few on the subject. But, seriously, where would I fit that into my regime?

And, now it's 8:30 at night and here I am just settling in after the crazed list above. I didn't make it to the chiro, maybe tomorrow. That's okay, cause we got the hair fixesd OH SO MUCH BETTER!!! Picked up dinner on the way home, and I fit the wii active workout in. I think "work" work is going to wait too. I just don't have it in me. I want to get up tomorrow and run. Gonna save up my energy and make it a good one!

Can you tell I am feeling a little less freaked out? Not that the list of to-do's is less, but I need a me night. A night of checking out some blogs, maybe fixing this one up to be pretty and some good sleep!

Night night!

3.21.2010

Stolen Moment

Today it was gorgeous outside. It was a decent day, low key. There was lots of laundry to do. Major cleaning up that had to take priority and well, the mommy stuff too. When naptime hit, that is when I decided to sit and just watch a movie and I really enjoyed it.

It really was a full hour and I kind of zoned. Until my sister skyped me and broke the spell. OH, how I crave more. After that, it all went downhill. Dinner had to be made, laundry had to be finished and after arguing repeatedly with the 3 yr old, that progressed to putting E to bed. Now I am sitting here wishing I had a bit more energy. I really needed to workout today.

I am not staying on track with working out during the weekends. I'll get back on track tomorrow. And for that to happen, I need to get to bed in about 15 min! YIKES!

And the brain kicks into overdrive:
What am I going to pack for lunch tomorrow?
What else do I need to do?
Was there something I needed to work on this weekend and forgot about?

AGH!!!

3.17.2010

Today's Free Hour

Today started bright and early at 5am. Got in 30 minutes on the treadmill. It was a lame workout, but I did it. I just didn't have the energy I needed. I can't imagine what tomorrow's workout will be like!

Which is why I am going to make this a quick post. I have to workout tomorrow morning. I won't have time, or probably any energy later in the day.

I have the day off tomorrow. It's St. Patrick's Day. A fun filled day is planned. Hanging with some high school friends (yes, we graduated in ’86) and about a million other people that have also taken a personal day off for some green fun! It's crazy, but I need it. I've already put in 26 hours in 3 days. Today was about a 15 hour day. I'm tired. You know how it works, right?! Got to put in the time to take the time, or something like that.

I think I might take my camera with me. Probably a crazy idea, but I think being away from social media for an entire day will leave me antsy and therefore I will require another creative outlet. Photography would be the easiest. Smart? Maybe not. But it could make for a fun day with many crazy photo ops. HMMM. I need to weigh the options there. It's not exactly a pocket camera.

Okay, well, I was going to say that I found a free hour today, but since it started at 12am, that means I missed a free hour on Tuesday. It does mean that I have started my FULL FREE DAY already. Hopefully this free day won't become the absolute last for another year.

Happy St. Patrick's Day and a Happy Excuse for a Full Day of Drinking to Ya!


3.15.2010

Intervals

Interval training on the treadmill that is. What better way to start out an early Monday morning?

Today is the first Monday of Daylight savings time. At 5am this morning dragging my butt outta bed was kind of tough. It could have been a lot harder since it really was 4am to my brain, and it was a restless night of sleep. All in all it went well.

I decided to listen to an old Podfitness workout (Walk-Jog with Mike Young) I had downloaded this back when Podfitness was the simple solution to use for downloading workouts. If you aren't familiar with them, they are now moving to NextFit which is some type of "keychain trainer" now. I got to mix my itunes music with different trainers and pick the kind of workout I wanted. I have no idea how this new product works, but Podfitness was really easy. I hadn't listened to any of these workouts in a while, so I was really surprised at how motivating this one was for me after all the time that had passed.

It was really a big help to me this am as I kept thinking, I just want to go back to bed!

This was an interval training workout I chose. It said to use dumbbells, and to walk. I did that for a little bit, but when it stepped up to a number 7 on the scale, I ran - without them. For me, a full 35 min interval session is huge!

The music really helped along with the commentary on it. Here's a sample of my am workout.

The first song that boosted my morale was a Keith Urban song. It was possibly because Mr. Commentary had just said to move into the workout segment and to up the level, but part of the lyrics stood out loud and clear.

"Maybe it's a little too early to know if this is gonna work"

I found it kind of ironic even though when you put the rest of the song in there it doesn't really go, but that was exactly what I was thinking at that moment. It also played twice. That is an example of my super fantastic music mixing ability. (HA!)

The next song was good ole Kenny Chesney.

"Suntanned toes ticklin the sand ..."

What other reason than being seen on the beach this summer would I be up at the crack of dawn now?!

"When the sun goes down we'll be back for more"

Yep, that is the plan. An evening strength training session.

I was burning more calories and going a bit further than I have been in the past few am workouts.

22 min into it: 160 cals & 1.5 mi

It may be programmed and kinda lame for some people, but it worked for me. I really have to tell Mr. Commentary, thanks for the little bits and bites like these: "To get to the finish line like a champion," "You can handle it," "Abs stay contracted and strong through this entire workout," "One foot in front of the other, you can do this," and "Let's go for one minute!"

30 min into it: 230 cals & 2.17 mi

2 min into slowdown

Chicago - "I do believe in you and I know you believe in me…"

"…I do believe i'm feeling stronger everyday."

I have to say, I am glad I spent the time I did picking the music I used for these workouts.

"ohhh yeah!"

It was an early morning rise, but I am certain it was worth it in the end. It's time to shower and get cleaned up for work.

35 min total
275 cals and 2.46 mi

"Feelin stronger everyday
Feelin stronger everyday
Feelin stronger everyday
Feelin stronger everyday
Feelin stronger everyday!!!!"

3.12.2010

It's Time

I was on the treadmill this morning and kept saying to myself, "Just. One. More. Minute." and "Okay, you can make it one more minute." It dawned on me, that time is all I worry about anymore (and yes, i get that every day of every year revolves around time).

I find myself saying time related things like:
3 minutes. That's for time out
Hurry up. (CONSTANTLY)
I need more time
Just a minute
Wait a second
Hold on

These are all negative comments and I don't like that I am relaying this sense of hurry, worry and negativity on my son.

How do I turn it around and get back to less rushing. Less negativity, and becoming happy about the time I DO have?

I decided this morning that this was a great blogging opportunity and despite that I am already overworked, rushed and overwhelmed. I am adding this to my plate.

I am setting a goal of gaining at least an hour a week back strictly for me. To read, or sleep, or walk alone. Something that requires no stress, no rush, and gives me pleasure. This goal seems like a low one to most people, but for me a single hour is hard to come by. I have attempted to get up early in the mornings this week to get on the treadmill and workout before work. That means I have to go to bed early, get up early, and I get 40 minutes to bust some calories. I am rushed, I am already starting my day, and the stress creeps in. It's not relaxing.

I want to make this am workout a habit, and maybe this becomes my 1 hour. And maybe, just maybe, that happens 4 -6 times a week (woah - I just got ahead of myself) and I am not stressed doing it any longer. But now it is a stressor because I need to train for a race.

OH, i don't start with small hurdles - this is a 10K. The race is in June, and I can't run much more than 5 min straight, let alone a 6 mile jog!

I know, I am insane.

Okay, so, I am going to try to make this blog about how I am working on becoming, healthier, happier and how this evolution takes place while being employed full time +some, a mother to a super active 3 year old, and a wife to a equally active man who wants me to have more time for him too!

Right now I will not promise daily updates, but maybe as I work towards more free time, I will be able to keep up daily?!

Feel free to post comments, suggestions, thoughts, whatever. I look forward to a new venture with TIME!