Time to re-focus

It's too early in the year to become lost, or to give up. So far I have done really well at some items on my list of Goals, but in this goal to drop weight and keep it off, I am not doing very well.

I won't say I will not meet this goal, I am still up for the challenge, but I really need some solid weight loss soon. Cold hard numbers that go down and not up. This pattern is getting old. Up, up, up, then drop and then up, up, up and down week after week. After week. I at least know the pattern, and have figured out many foods that attribute to this. It's not even a massive eating binge, but one small item here and there, and I have to wait 3 days to see the swelling go down.

Salt. I think that is one of my biggest enemies. Not even fatty foods, because that isn't the diet, it's more like dinner at a friend's that cooked sausage and BOOM, 4 pounds. It's not even a big bag of potato chips. It's one chip and my calves are too tight in my tall boots. I can only attribute this to the Hasimoto's, but again, it's one of those things I will ask the Dr. about. My appt is next Wed. So, hopefully some answers when my next post is due!

So, for the positives this week? I've been successful at sticking to the following:

Day 41 posted of my A Day In 365 Photo Project which is also Day 09: Passions and Hobbies of The Joy of Love Class I am taking. Here's today's photo:

Day 21 - 21 miles walked of the 100 miles in 100 days challenge. (thanks @aprilshowers for getting me up and off my keister!) and I have been tracking it on Dailymile.com

Have a great week everyone and Re-Focus Re-Focus Re-Focus!

I've Got the Power!

I've got the power hey yeah heh
I've got the power
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh yeah-eah-eah-eah-eah-eah
I've got the power
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh yeah-eah-eah-eah-eah-eah
Gettin' kinda heavy

It's gettin' it's gettin' it's gettin' kinda hectic
It's gettin' it's gettin' it's gettin' kinda hectic
It's gettin' it's gettin' it's gettin' kinda hectic
It's gettin' it's gettin' it's gettin' kinda hectic…


Okay, showing my age, just a little with the fact that every time I think of the Challenge "The Power of One" that song comes to mind. I need to get that download because I am quite certain I need to add that to my run track for this summer's 10K!


This was a good week, well, starting Monday it got pretty good. Before Monday, I was a slug. I felt like and acted like and was a complete slug. But I think I am back on track. Got in a good workout Monday, Tuesday's Tworkout and then Tonight was Kickboxing. Finally getting into a groove and burning some calories. It feels good. And the bonus? I am dropping the holiday weight. Ya! 4 lbs to be exact.


Last week we were asked for part of the challenge to talk about the goals we had as an outcome on the challenge. and also for the year. I have thought about this a lot. I felt so out of sorts by the end of this last year, I just have not been able to really get it on track yet. 


That is goal numero uño. Get my life on track. That is a broad goal, but I need things lined up. Quick! I cannot go another year feeling this unorganized and without a real purpose. So, it's that time. And it's the Power of One. Only I can change it, so I am!


Step one on that track is for me to get into shape. Physically feeling better is something I have been working on for 4 years. 2011 is the year I succeed in this goal! 


Step two is another challenge I gave myself. I am focusing on my photography skills and increasing my capabilities with my camera. I want to do more with this, so I started a 365 Photo Challenge and even a new companion blog to this one.  A Day in 365. Right after this, I have to head over and post my next photo for this. I really love photography and somehow it took me 20 years to get back to it being a higher goal than my design goals. A lousy college teacher squashed my plans on this and well, it's time to prove that I really have the ability to do it. 


Step three - I want to have a fun year. Last year was a challenge for me and my family. I do not want this year to be that way. Hopefully some things I have put into place will help us there. Crossing my fingers!


Okay, that's going to sum it up for tonight and this past week (all 3 days I feel that are count-able) and it's time to get rolling for week 2 of The Power of One!


"Bang the bass turn up the treble
Radical mind day and night all the time"


(those are some crazy lyrics, but they rhythm is what we want to keep going right?)

Holiday Hoedown Wrap-up

Happy Weigh-in Wednesday!

Okay, it wasn't exactly a win. It wasn't a gain either. I stayed at the same weight. I'm not going to complain. There were holiday parties on Friday and Saturday and Sunday I spent the entire day in the kitchen baking.

I got in a good deal of workout minutes but it could have been better. I cannot wait until the holidays are wrapped up. Literally. I can't wait until all the packages are wrapped, and then Saturday will be a lot of fun and I can sit back and relax. And gear up for the next challenge.

This challenge was a great start for me. I needed it. Shrinkingjeans has been great with tworkouts and teams and different things to challenge us. I loved every minute of it and I especially loved that I met people I had or never would have known if it weren't for the team they created for us. I didn't just lose weight, I gained friends. I will even get to meet one of the ladies in June because we're signed up to run the Annapolis Zooma in June!

I am looking forward to even more challenges, friends to meet and weight to lose in the new year! I just signed up for The Power of One that begins December 29th. See you all back on shrinkingjeans for the first weigh-in!

Yes, this is a short and sweet note. I am editing photos as I type and looking forward to the actual wrapping of presents so I can get some sleep! I also need to start my 2011 goal list. I need to set some so I get a plan for my new year. I cannot do another year of "wish I'd done's"

Night all!

Something Old — Something New — Something Blue

Whew! Another week is over for Team Winter Wonders and our ShrinkingJeans challenge and another week closer to Christmas! Yikes! I have got to start wrapping presents.

Today was weigh-in day. Whew = relief! I am down 2.4. That is a huge accomplishment for me. I really hope it sticks! I guess it's more like - I need to make it stick. I also got in more minutes than in the past couple of weeks and that is great for me too.

OLD - I stuck to some old routines, walking and walking and more walking. Last night was another fabulous tworkout. I am sore in the abs and thighs from that. I walked more in between the exercises - when I had time.

NEW - The new class I took was right before this week's challenge - last Monday. It was a kickboxing class which was fun and hard all at the same time. I have not had time - but had planned to take another class. I'm meeting a friend tonight for it "a modern mix of yoga and pilates".  We'll see how flexible I can be - I fear lots of achy muscles tomorrow.

BLUE - I think the biggest challenge for me this past week (besides the normal fitting it all into the time I have free) was staying clear of the sweets surrounding me during the holidays. To make matters worse, I co-hosted an annual cookie party. It's always a lot of fun, but it also has lots to do with bad calories. We make 6 dozen cookies to exchange. I must say, I am quite proud of how I didn't taste test every single cookie. It was not easy. Look at these beautiful blue snowflake cookies and melted snowmen cookies one wonderful participant made. Really?!! and I haven't tasted them yet. I left them for sharing with my son and friends!!!

All in all, I think this was a very successful week. I am hoping that next week is another successful one. Now it's time to head off to this new class and stick to my guns, um, goals!

Visualizing

I cannot believe it's already December 1st! Does anyone have an explanation for why time is flying by so quickly these days? Is it because everything we do in life is done in a hurry hurry hurry mode? I know it seems like fast forward anymore myself.

My clients are always late getting me things, but I have to Hurry Up and finish it at the original agreed to time. I do meet these crazy deadlines, but it's always at a cost.

For me, the cost is that I lose out on ME time and FAMILY time. When it all adds up, it's an incredible loss because I miss workouts, relaxation, reading, and the fun I could be having with my family watching my son grow up. It also adds up physically in weight gain. My health has to do with part of it, I know that, but I also stress eat, which is horrible. If I could only figure out what I can eat continuously, all day, and not gain weight!

All that being said, this past week was not that way. I had just come off a crazy overtime schedule with work, and was able to sit and relax. Almost too much and I really was antsy because I wasn't used to it. I was supposed to get in as many exercise minutes as possible for the week with my Holiday Hoedown challenge, and unless I can track shopping from 5am until 2pm, I had a pretty low number to record this week. I did walk a 5K as part of my Winter Wonders team plans. Most of my team mates recorded theirs for a virtual Turkey Trot on Thursday, but I was traveling. I made mine up on Sunday finally. I did pretty well with eating on Thanksgiving despite unhealthy food options placed in front of me to tempt. Tasted small amounts vs eating big helpings and I think that made a world of difference. I didn't feel like the stuffed turkey at the end of the day.

I was really pleased when even though my workout minutes were low, my weight decreased again. I was down 1.6 pounds this week. YEAH!

As I have dressed for work this week, clothes are starting to feel a little less stretched to snap or fasten. It's such a good feeling!

The Holiday Hoedown challenge this week wants us to post three things I'm going to do to stay on track this month.

1. Prepping for Breakfast and Lunch.
2. Getting outside the house to workout
3. Continue to visualize a smaller ME.

Number 1 is very important. I am always running out the door to the office, and most of the time it's about 5 minutes late. It never fails that as I am leaving my son decides he is hungry and I am a sucker for getting him his breakfast. Instead of telling him to wait until his father is ready to make him food, I prep it. What that does is hold me up from leaving. (And as a mom it still is hard to leave him at the kitchen table eating solo.) If I get things together, even in my mind, the night before it makes it so much easier to just head out. It's still another late night thing for me to do, but I have always been more of a night owl than an early bird!

Number 2 will be easier to do since I got a great deal on some classes at a gym to use for a bit. It's a little more out of my way, but it's a 20 class deal, and I am going to try to get in there for 1-2 early morning classes to help me get back to a morning workout routine (long term goal!)

Number 3 is the most important. I have so many nicer clothes in my closet from just before I got married, and before my pregnancy. I have stopped shopping for lots of clothes, I buy only necessities. There are more than one item in my closet I am visualizing fitting back into. It's what helps me keep going.

I pass my wedding photos hanging on my wall and see a really different me. A ME without this extra weight that pulls down on me, and makes my clothes not fit, and say - I can get back to that ME. A ME that I was really proud of, and looked healthier.

A ME I visualize being again soon!

Busy. Busy. Busy.

Whew what a month! It's been a whirlwind. Not quite over, but just about, and that is what matters.
I type this using my new iPhone. It's an early birthday present. Gee I hope my DH gets a job soon so we can continue to eat AND pay our bills.

Last week was so insanely busy, I never had time go sit and type in a blog post. I did weigh in but it was not a good weight. It was back up. There were foods I ate that caused the water weight to creep up. I know that, but it did more than creep, it spiked. I had one dr appt that day and according to their scale I had lost 1 pound in a bit over a year and a half. I had another dr. appt today and explained how frustrating it is. The dr. retested my thyroid and hormones and we'll see how that goes as a start. She also has me keeping track of my food for a week and she'll give me some feedback. Thing is, I went and stocked up on my apples, red pepper and snap peas. She won't see how I cut soda and coffee (loaded with chocolate and milk) from my diet. Or that I increased my workout minutes over the past months. What hopefully she will be able to help me with is what my diet has too much or too little of.

I know one thing I absolutely know I am running low on. Time. If there is some magic answer on how to be super mom, super wife, and fit in working out while also making dinner or taking time to play a bit, puhleeze fill me in. Mkay?!!
Thanks!

Hopefully the much awaited surprise party photos will get posted. I have lots go go through, and edit. I will do my best!!

Wednesday Weigh-in #4

It's time for the Shrinking Days of Summer Challenge weigh-in. This is week 4. I've not blogged about this prior to today, but am going to attempt to return to my blog with updates more consistently. I logged in to post today and see that there have been two posts I began and never finished. One being week #3's weigh in.

Okay enough of that. Here's the are the numbers. ding ding ding... 138.6.

<< BUMMER >> My weight is up slightly again. I am fluctuating up and down like a roller coaster. Where the heck is that descending hill to the end goal?

Since I haven't posted any numbers previously here (and am still a little freaked out to post them) I'll face the music.
Week #1 - 138
Week #2 - 141
Week #3 - 137
Week #4 - 138.6

It's interesting. The big jump up was a cycle week as well as a race week. I felt puffy all over. I feel better, but it would be so nice to be back down about 10 pounds. Photos just don't look good. My eyes are dark and I just don't look like me.

I know my body has taken a beating over the past couple of years. (for those of you reading this and who don't know my story -in short I gained 80# with my pregnancy and after the birth of my 10lb 4oz son was finally diagnosed with Hypothyroidism almost 2 years later.) Now that my hypothyroidism is finally under control, my body has been a priority for me, though responsibilities have consistently gotten in the way. I manage a couple of weeks being gung-ho for working out, and getting IT ALL done, and then crash pretty hard. It takes me a couple of weeks to recover and then I have to start all over again. I am not sure what the right answer is, but if anyone knows it - definitely let me know!!! I wish hiring a nanny and a housekeeper/cook or personal assistant were options for me because I would jump at those solutions in a moment.

Since a personal trainer and all that other stuff isn't in the budget, I am once again attempting to Get My Shhhtufff Together. I have been working pretty hard at watching what I eat. But it's not enough, it's definitely important to get the workouts in. In effort to get back into the swing, today I got up and worked out before work. It wasn't easy to get up at the crack of dawn, but I managed. It felt pretty good. These creaky bones do not like the am workouts. I didn't have as long as I would have liked, but 27 minutes of cardio is better than none! Tonight I took my son to the pool, so got a few walking laps around with him. AND that kind of cardio is way more fun for me. Looking forward to some more workouts like that.

Okay, time to end this if I am going to make it up again tomorrow morning!

Ready to roll

The Zooma Annapolis 10K is coming up on Sunday. It's too soon!!! I am not prepared. Mentally or physically. I am hoping for some kind of epiphany by the time I hit the starting line. I will do my best, but as of today, things are not looking very good. 

Yikes! Time to change the subject and stop freaking myself out. Can't wait to get through that.

Today was fun! A coworker and I signed up for the rollout of the Chick-Fil-A spicy chicken sandwich. It seemed like it was just a coupon for a new sandwich. And I am always game for spicy food. More like a sucker for it. My friend and I slipped out for lunch thinking, we'll be in and out of there in about 15 minutes. No biggie. It says you have to dine-in on the coupon. Sounds okay, right? What we were not expecting was the red carpet, balloons, hostess, waitress, or the table cloths and the real looking plastic silverware! Our server was fabulous. Christina (or was it Christine) was wonderful. She took our order brought it to us, took our payment, brought back our receipts, refilled our drinks, got our to-go bag, and then she and the hostess actually took our photo to post on facebook. How funny is that? I think Chick-Fil-A is such a fabulous company. Hmmm. Thinking that the fact that this young lady had a badge that said she had worked for them for a year is a great sign. She was enjoying her job waiting on people, we felt that she really was happy with her job. Would it be insane that a career with them is sounding quite luxurious right now? It wouldn't be the craziest idea I have ever heard of?! And notice, I said career, not just a job. I want to work with the fun people that make the cow calendars and make the cow ads and billboards. Hanging out with some creative people would be so nice. People that want to give critique in the designs I do. 

Lastly, I finally broke down and bought some presets for Lightroom. Trying to learn to use LR properly, and smarter. I have lurked around this fabulous website, Pretty Presets. There are some amazing photographers out there. It's kind of intimidating to me. So, then I tried out some of the free presets they have available on a couple of photos. They worked so well, that when the site offered a special discount yesterday, I decided to take the plunge and not just buy one set, but the combo pack of Pretty Presets Collection I and II. I had one new photo that I had taken on Saturday and used it to test a few of these presets out. Here is the photo I decided I liked best. 

This photo used Deep Blue.

He's following in his mommy's footsteps, and I am not going to fight it!

Right now Pretty Presets is offering a giveaway. All the rules are on their website. Of course I am entering the contest. I want all of their presets now. I am officially hooked! 

Biggest Loser, and Big Goals

Tomorrow is the finale for Biggest Loser 9. I am so excited. I think each season I seem to get more emotionally tied to the contestants. This has been a great season. To the point that I really don't know who I think should win. It's a hard call. I am sure we'll all love the outcome. I think the reason I liked this season so much is because it was a team effort throughout. It wasn't so much about ME ME ME, which I think is why we disliked those that really just wanted to win. The rest of the contestants wanted everyone to be the biggest loser. It has been a great ride with these inspiring people. I am going to be very sad to see it end, however I am excited to see Jillian's new show. I hope it is just as inspiring. I work hard to keep Tuesday nights all about ME and getting myself back in shape, and really want to keep it that way, besides, I will miss all the twitter about!

Speaking of getting back in shape. I have been having some physical limitations again, and with that, I have put off working out as much as before. It's amazing how quickly weight comes and settles in when I don't workout. And then it is twice as hard to get moving again. But it's time. I am going to have to work through the pain. As much as I would rather not. It's kind of hard -it's my spine, which obviously is huge when it comes to working out. It's really hard when you are signed up for a race that you know you are no where near prepared to run and it's only a week and a half away. (YIKES!)

Regardless of pain and all that, I am now the proud owner of EAS more workouts and am very excited to get using it. I started yesterday with the first of the 6-week challenge workouts. I went ahead and used the low intensity mode, but mainly because it was pretty late. Tonight I boosted it to medium, then did a few extra boxing workouts to see which I liked best. So far the workouts are good. I like the warm up and cool downs. I am a huge fan of the boxing, hence me adding more of that in later. I hope that as I progress, the workouts change up and get faster.

Other than that, I am working on a new challenge for myself. Not that I really need to add anything else t my list of challenge, but I was already thinking of taking a photo a day or something like that. I realize that those have been done, so I keep trying to figure out how to change it up a bit. One blog I ran across tonight has a challenge on it where the goal is to take a photo of yourself with your kids. I think that would be really hard for me. I LOVE taking pics of what is going on around me, HATE taking photos of myself. Wonder if that is why I should try that one? I am going to wait a bit longer before I set my goal. I just am not ready to commit to this one just yet.

What I am ready to do, is get fit!

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!

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!!!

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!

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!!!!"