….and the saga continues

Friday night we got an email saying “HOA Guy” was interested in making an offer.  We haven’t heard anything else from him.  “Late Low ballers” countered OUR counter with 2,000 less than our counter AND they want our fridge.  We had 4 showings Saturday and have one tonight at 5:30.  I am over it ya’ll.  That’s all I got to say about that.

P90 is going much better this week.  Jeremy and I did Kenpo X (I kept calling it Kempo…until I saw the DVD ) on Saturday morning.  I loved it!  It was so much fun!!!  I can’t wait to do it again.  I don’t think Jer feels the same…Yesterday was my second chest and back workout and I did much better this time.  My chest is still tight, my gluteus maximus is still pretty sore but over all I am feeling much better.  This morning I decided to do Plyo first thing before I ate breakfast.  Saturday I did Kenpo first thing and felt so much lighter and had more energy.  So I thought I would try PLYO on an empty tummy.  “They” say that cardio on an empty tummy burns more fat too so….that’s a plus.  It was MUCH easier today.  I didn’t peter out in the end.  I was able to complete most of the exercises, got super sweaty and burned about 100 more calories this week! 

My friend posted this on her Facebook today and I can’t stop laughing at it!

I am so in-love with this program.  Even though I am borrowing it right now, I am planning on buying one for myself.  I think it will be a great tool to use when I am training and counseling.  When your 11 year old says, “Mommy!  Look at your arms!”  “Let me see your abs…..MAN!”, you know the program is legit.

We were so busy this weekend & I wasn’t able to get all my food in but tried my best to stick to the plan.

Friday night I made some ground chicken with homemade taco seasoning.  I served it over 2 cups of spinach and 1 1/2 corn tortilla.

Saturday after Kenpo I made my protein shake, showered and then had to leave because of a showing, so I grabbed a protein bar.  This was DELICIOUS!!!!!  Love it.

Clif Builders Bar

I read that these are a good substitute for the P90X performance bars so I grabbed a couple to try.  Impressed!

Saturday afternoon I took L for a B&N/Ice Cream date.  We hung out looking at books & drinking coffee (don’t freak out…decaf/fat-free/white mocha for him) like hipsters for a few hours before heading to Braum’s for the best ice cream in the world.

He got Peanut Butter Ice Cream

I got Pineapple Almond fro-yo.  Probably the best thing ever……

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Aidan is my little workout buddy.  He hangs in there like a boss most of the time! Yesterday he was lifting this 15lb weight up over his head, making me super nervous!  He also did 40 “push-ups”.  More like 1-2-3-4-567891011123940!  Watch out Arnold!  I have a secret dream that he will be my actual workout/running buddy when he is grown up!

Today after PLYO I made my protein shake.

Later I had a snack of 1.5 oz. avocado, 1 cup cucumbers/carrots, 2 light cheese sticks and my daily vitamins.

about 30 min later……

A Luna protein bar.  YUMS

I am sort of off on my eating schedule today since I didn’t eat breakfast but I am sure I will make up for it later!!!

I have to get going so I can get the house “show ready” *eyeroll*.  I should be thankful for lots of traffic, but look, I am not.  I just want the Lowballers to accept that we aren’t going accept anything less than what we countered with!

On the bright side….I had a game changing conversation with Aidan’s preschool teacher on Sunday.  It was definitely a God thing that we ran into each other and had some time to talk.  What we talked about is possibly why we haven’t accepted an offer yet.

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Speaking of church….As I sat in the service a young lady and her little baby girl (~3 months?) sat a few aisles over and in front of me.  I kept looking at that sweet baby and thinking how beautiful it was to see a young woman holding her little baby.  My womb ached a little.  Then I went to volunteer in the nursery.  I held a crying baby for two hours and changed a poopie diaper….ache no more my friends, this kitchen is closed!!!!

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Waiting…..

Jeremy and I went to Starbucks to wait out two showings earlier today.  This has gone on long enough folks.  Even Jeremy was irritated we had to leave the house. “What?!?  I have stuff to do today!”  Welcome to my world Green…welcome to my world.  “The Late Lowballers” are “thinking about it”.  Meanwhile one of the showings today was a second showing with “The HOA Guy”.  So lovingly called because he wanted more information about our HOA and his realtor keeps calling our realtor.  We don’t have any information other than we pay $195 a year and we have gotten two notices to fix our fence pickets when they were broken.  So….Mike called to let them know we just countered an offer then he came for second showing! I suppose that could be good.  That’s where we stand as of now. 

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I had kind of an off day yesterday.  I woke up late, ate my breakfast late, took a two hour coma nap, didn’t get all my food in (my stomach is in KNOTS) and didn’t get the Yoga X in until around 8pm because I wanted to wait for Jeremy.  He was working an extra job and wouldn’t be home til 5.  Then we had two showings from 5-6pm so we were all kinds of off schedule.

Speaking of coma naps, we are exhausted.  These workouts are taking everything out of us.  Thankfully the soreness is working its way out but the persistent pain is making me physically tired too.  It’s such an effort to get around.  Jeremy has been totally passing out every night.  P90X is not a joke friends.

I got all of my breakfast in yesterday morning.

The same as the rest of this week.

This morning I had time to make steel-cut oats. I was only able to finish half of it, thankfully Aidan finished the rest.

1/4 cup steel-cut oats, 1 1/2 cups water, Ideal, cinnamon and vanilla, 4 slices turkey bacon

For lunch yesterday I had 2 oz mashed avocado, 1/2 cup cucumbers, 1/2 cup carrots, and 2 light cheese sticks.  Then I had my zone bar.  Super yummy and filling lunch.

I didn’t get another chance to eat until about 6:30 and I knew we were doing yoga in a little bit so I made my protein smoothie.

After yoga I had my fruit bar and 1 tbsp. peanut butter.

Yoga X was awesome.  It was 1 1/2 hours but it didn’t seem that long.  Jeremy was completely bored with the first part but liked the second part.  The first part was all Vinyasas and the second part was balance poses and “Yoga Belly X”  Once again I have A LOOOOOOOT of room for improvement.   We couldn’t stop laughing at the end.  Those who have done P90X know what I am talking about.

TODAY’S workout was legs, back and our favorite Ab Ripper X.  It was (excuse me) pure hell.

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It was by far, for the both of us, the hardest DVD so far.  I totally hit the wall at about the 45 min mark.  At that point I was just moving.  I sat out an entire pull up round but got back into it and finished it.  The Ab Ripper seemed easier today.

After today’s work out I had my protein shake….I needed it SO bad today!

When we were able to finally return home (after waiting for “HOA Guy” to leave) I wasn’t super hungry but knew I needed to eat. 

This morning I prepped two tuna salads for Jer and I to eat for lunch.  I was glad this was ready to go.

Tomorrow is Kempo X, which I believe is like kick boxing.  Could be fun?  Maybe the boys will get into it with us!  Sweet Aidan wanted to do yoga with us so bad last night!  But it was bed time. Sunday is a rest day or we could do a stretch video.  I think he would like that!

Hopefully I will be able to pop in over the weekend with some good news!  Until then….keep  us in your thoughts and prayers!!!!

THE phone call

Last night as I was sitting down to write about Day 3 of P90, we got a phone call.  THE phone call…..a legit offer from the “Late Lowballers”.  One day last week I had an appointment for a 1:15 showing that didn’t show up until 2:20.  I had already returned home and was about to eat a very late lunch when they finally showed up.  They were the ones who sent our realtor two VERY lowball offers. So hence the term of endearment. But they have finally offered something we are going to work with!  Hopefully they take it because it is the bare minimum we can take and have enough to put toward our new home without having to dip into our nest egg!

It’s so surreal to think that what we have been waiting for all this time has finally come.  It’s very anti-climactic.  I think because I had it all played out in my head a different way.  I completely dismissed these people and was thinking that any day now we will have a surprise offer from one of the many that have said our home is their favorite but are still looking.  I have/had this theory that we would get a call from our realtor saying “Ok guys….got 5 offers on my desk!”  Everyone realizing that yes our house is the prettiest!!!  A girl can dream & it’s a fantasy that has gotten me through 111 long.arduous.days…..

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DAY 3

Jeremy and I rarely take anything like Advil or Aleve unless it is absolutely necessary.  Yesterday was one of those days.  Jeremy could barely walk because his hip flexors were so sore.  I could barely move anything.  It is a whole new level of muscle soreness.  I decided that in order to make it through this first week, it would be a smart move to take something for the soreness.  We both took one Advil in the morning and then took two last night before bed.  We are both still sore this morning, but not anywhere close to what we were yesterday.  I am so happy that today is yoga day.

Teaching Aidan how to foam roll!  He kept calling it a “Foam Ruler”  Silly Billy!

Day 3 was Shoulders, Arms and that blasted Ab Ripper X.  I am happy to report that I was able to do more of it this time.  Not a lot more, I sat out one whole exercise because it was physically impossible to do what he was asking me to do.  I did try though,  that counts right?  One of the things I like about this program is that I can’t get through it all.  It’s challenging.  I am looking forward to seeing my progress and at the end saying “I remember when I couldn’t do ONE of those, now I can do the entire routine!”  I liked the Shoulders and Arms workout.  Dare I say it was easy?  Ok, “easy” would be a relative term.  I would say it was the least difficult of the DVDs thus far.

There are a few things I am noticing physically.  First, my arms and legs are a little swollen and it’s making me feel fat.  Not a good thing for my head.  I just have to remember that it’s just swelling and it will go away.  Second, I have gained a pound….yes it’s just one pound but as a former fat girl….it messes with me.  Third, I am hungry.  The first two days I was not.  I struggled to get all my food in.  But yesterday I had NO problem!  I even had an extra “treat” of some almond butter before bed because my stomach was growling.  It was an extra treat but I don’t drink the recovery drink so I was still within my calorie allowance.  And lastly, I am already noticing muscle definition in my biceps and my stomach.  Hey, THERE is the silver lining!!!

Here are my eats and treats from yesterday….

Breakfast

4 slices turkey bacon and I made steel-cut oats instead of rolled oats.  This bowl was 1/4 cup oats, 1 1/2 cups water, Ideal, vanilla and cinnamon. Cooked on low for 30 min.

Post Workout Smoothie: same as yesterday…. except I used fat free milk because I ran out of almond milk.

Lunch

2 cups spinach and arugula mix with tuna salad.  1 can tuna, 1 tbsp. light mayo, mustard, salt & pepper.

Then my afternoon snacks…

Cucumbers, carrots, 2 light cheese sticks, and a Zone Bar.

Dinner

Dinner was really yummy.  ~ 2 oz avocado mashed up with some Mrs. Dash garlic and herb seasoning, 1/4 cup brown rice and 2 Vegan Boca Burgers.

TREAT

My fruit bar treat and then later a tablespoon of almond butter before bed.

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Here’s to praying I don’t hurt something else doing 1.5 hrs of yoga on steroids!!!!

I need this A.S.A.P

blogilates.com

I stand corrected

I can just pop in quickly today because sometimes (two days in a row for me as of now….) you start out with your day all planned out and then sometimes things just don’t quite work out.

One of the reasons the last two days are not going as planned is because I was absolutely without a doubt WRONG about Shred-It with weights.  The full blown DOMS don’t usually set in until 24 hours after you have done a new workout that your muscles are not used to.  After my post yesterday I got up from my desk and almost fell down because of the PAIN in my hamstrings, quads, inner thighs and butt.  It only got worse as the day progressed.  I am fully aware that the best relief from DOMS is to work it out.  So I tried to stretch, walk, stretch…..every time I got still for any amount of time I was right back where I started.  This soreness is the kind that wakes you up in the middle of the night when you try to turn over.  WOW.  I am STILL so sore.  I am being a complete baby about it but hey, I am just honest.  I don’t want to move.  And when I do have to do something, like getting my house clean by 9 am for a showing…..I am completely exhausted from the effort it has taken.

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This morning I had planned on getting at least a walk in before anything could interrupt me. Like it did yesterday when I got a showing request for 1:15-2:15 and they never showed up so I went home and then they decided to show up late at 2:20 and ask if they could still show they house…..SURE!  Why not?…..I was just about to FINALLY eat lunch but no that can wait…..

But instead of a long morning walk to work out the DOMS, I got the house cleaned up in record time because I got a showing request for 9am.  Look…… beggars can’t be choosers so I approved it.  Then I went to the grocery store, came home, put the groceries away and then passed out for 2 hours.  Why the coma you may ask?  Well I was awake at 2:45 am until I decided to just go ahead and get up at 4:45.  I needed to get a head start on today anyway so why not make the most of my insomnia.

After my coma nap I felt refreshed and I got myself dressed to go on that walk after the boys and Jeremy got home this afternoon.  Well, at about 3 I received another showing request for 4:30…..anymore instead of getting excited about showing, I get annoyed….but this one is a second showing from the one this morning so I am not annoyed.  Not excited because we all know second showings mean squat, but I am not annoyed.  That’s a plus.

I would love to go into all the ridiculous feedback we have gotten on the last few showings but I just don’t want to be a Negative Nelly….I am remaining positive about the situation.  If today’s second showing turns out to be something good, I can not WAIT to talk about the conversation Jeremy and I had this morning…….

Well, I better get going!  Wish us luck!!!!!

Shred-It with Weights

I got myself all ready to go for a run this morning.  It wasn’t raining anymore and running seems to be just the thing I need in my life right now.  I got all my stuff laid out, ready to begin the process of getting prepared for a cold run.  But after I got it all out, the thought of the effort it takes to get it all on, get my gadgets all set, get my key in a certain spot….I was tired just thinking about it!

Then I took a peeksies outside and said forget that…..

I was already dressed for a regular workout so I just put my shoes on and looked in my library of workout videos.  I found one that I had bought several months ago that was still in the wrapper!

Awesome!  New workout!

There are 2 levels and I did level 1.  I am not sure what I think about it yet.  My legs are a little shaky but time will tell if it was a good workout for me or not.  Good Workout = DOMS.  As of right now, it’s not my favorite video.  For me, it didn’t have enough cardio so it would be a nice accompaniment to a run.  She uses a kettle bell and I don’t have one so I used one of my hand weights. It felt awkward using them in that manner.  They worked fine but it would be a more effective workout with the right equipment.

I did break a sweat though so I suppose that’s a good sign!

Since I was warmed up I was able to make that green smoothie I have been craving!

Ok so it’s not green but I know what’s in it and it makes me feel better to call it that.

This smoothie had:

• 1 scoop of Jillian’s vanilla protein powder
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 cup frozen mixed berries (blueberries, black berries, raspberries, strawberries)
• 1 frozen banana
• lots of baby spinach
• 1 cup crushed ice

Cheers!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I think that New Year’s Day is one of my top favorite holidays.  To me it is symbolic of a fresh start.  It renews my spirit with a sense of anything is possible.

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On January 1st 2010 I started a “diet” and through that year and into 2011 I lost 50 pounds and haven’t looked back.  It was such an amazing year for me.  I have grown so much since then.  I know so many people will be embarking on yet another “diet” and I would just like to encourage everyone that will be.  It is possible.  You are completely capable of it.  You are in control of your own life.

I would like to share some of the things that kept me personally motivated through that year.

1. “Treat” yourself without food.  For every 10 pounds I lost,  I rewarded myself.

• Take a long hot bath with some special bath salts or bubble bath.  Listen to music, light candles, read a magazine.
• Pedicure/Manicure
• New clothes (about every ten pounds I needed new clothes anyway!)
• Facial
• Massage

2. Find other ways of coping with stress beside turning to food

• read a magazine or book
• take a long walk
• listen to music
• meditate
• write

3. Change your mindset.

• Envision yourself at a healthy weight.  What does your life look like? Focus on that like a hawk.  Create a vision board. Either in real life or on Pinterest!
• Write down healthy mantras ex. “My stomach is not a wastebasket” “Shut up and Sweat” “I am one workout away from a good mood” One thing that I played over and over in my head was this “Would Jillian eat this?”
• Realize that you were created for and worth more than a vicious cycle of defeat. You deserve the best that life has to offer.
• I thought of the whole process as a project.  A challenge. It was one that only I was in control of.  It was one that I refused to fail at.

4. Renew your habits

• If you always have something sweet after dinner, replace that habit with a peace of gum or a cup of herbal tea.
• go to bed early
• decide to only drink water
• learn to say no and mean it.  “Would you like some cake?” “No…but thank you!”

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5. Find what motivates you and stick with it. These are the things that motivated me.

• Fitness magazines and websites.  I recommend Women’s Health & Fitness Magazine
• Watching The Biggest Loser. A new season starts on January 6th!!!!  With Jillian returning!!!! I am SO excited about that!!!
• Thinking about my overall health.  How eating right and exercising is making my heart stronger.  Envisioning my legs getting stronger, my lungs healthier and more elastic. Lowering my cholesterol.  How good it would feel to go to the dr for my yearly exam and not have that horrid anxiety about stepping on the scale.
• Being an example to my family.
• Finding great workout music and making awesome playlists.

6.  Finally and possibly one of the most important things is DO NOT give up.

You will have days that you slip up on your diet.  This usually occurred about once a month for me.  I allowed myself to have a “treat day” once a month.  On this day I let myself eat anything I wanted without counting Points. (I used the Weight Watcher’s program)   It really renewed my determination and honestly helped keep me sane!  I think it’s very important that you have days like this every once in a while.  Be careful they don’t turn into “treat weeks”.   Here is a GREAT little article about why having a cheat day is important!  I found it to be very accurate in my experience.

You will have times when working out is just not an option.  Whether its because of your schedule, an illness or injury, or you just are plain too tired.  But honestly, in my experience exercise was only about 10% of the equation.

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It’s all about what food you are putting in your body. Think about the behavior and habits that got you to where you are and don’t do them anymore.  If you want to change, then you have to change.

Goals, not resolutions…

I don’t really set resolutions but I do like to set goals or things that I would like to accomplish in the coming year.

My first goal is to sell this house!  We definitely did not think it would take this long but over the past few months I have learned SO much.  There have been so many many things that I needed to see about myself that I never would have if our wish was granted in an instant.  I am so thankful for these last few months and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.  I am so looking forward to the blessing that will follow these trials.

After we sell the house, move into our new one & get settled, I am going to get my personal training certification! My original plan was to begin in January.  Well, I can’t very well do that when we could have an offer on our house any day now.  Then our lives would be turned upside down and I would be a mess.  One thing at a time is my motto. 

In the fall I am planning on going back to school!  I want to get certified as a registered dietician.  My long term goal is to have my own personal training and nutrition counseling business.  I’d like to help others focus on improving their over all health in a holistic natural way. 

There are some other personal goals I would like to work on spiritually and emotionally.

Some fun things:

• Do one Pinterest craft project per week.  Silly I know….but for real there is some brilliant stuff on there!
• Do Yoga with Aidan. 
• Go on a date with Luke at least twice a month.  We never get “just us” time and he really enjoys it.  So do I!

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I wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year.  Good luck with your goals!  You can and WILL do it!

Sites you may enjoy!

4 tips to keeping your New Year’s resolutions – Real Simple

Success Stories – Fitness Magazine

Not Happ’nin…..

Today I wanted to try out my “new” – as in I bought it about 3 months ago and haven’t opened it until today – workout video.

Jillian’s Yoga Meltdown

I did Level 2 of 30 day Shred and then popped my “yoga” video in.  I should have known this wasn’t your normal yoga video.  I lasted  5 minutes before realizing this was yoga on steroids.  After doing Level 2 of Shred, this one was not happ’nin today!  Instead I looked for a yoga video on AT&T’s On Demand.  I didn’t find yoga but I did find a lame 20 min stretch video.  I did that for 10 min and then decided to do some of my own yoga stretches. 

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The mystery of the Sunday afternoon no-show has been solved.  This time the excuse seems legit.  We got a message today saying they ran out of time and the kids ran out of energy so they will try to show the house on Saturday. Awesome!  We also got some good feedback about one of the showings on Saturday,  “House showed well. Clients liked the layout and space.”  That made me laugh because the other showing from that day said “House showed beautifully, like a model.  Clients didn’t like the layout or how the house was open from front to back.”  Geez Louise!   Last night I may or may not have had an emotional breakdown over this whole process after yet another one of our favorite houses went under contract.  One of our other favorites went under contract earlier this week.  But today I am feeling much better and still standing strong in believing our time will come soon.  Isn’t that funny how a good cry can make everything just seem better?

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I was super hungry this morning.  I started out with a good bowl of oatmeal.

Today I added half a banana on top hoping it would last a little longer than yesterday.

I really need to get some more eggs for the morning because I was hungry two hours after this.

Snack #1 at 10am was an apple and a handful of almonds

Snack #2 at 11:30 am was 2 oz. of turkey and a low fat cheese stick.

I was good after that for a while.  I watched Dr.Oz, folded some laundry, talked to my friend and then did my workout.  I got hungry again around 3 but had to go get Aidan so I ate when I got home.

I had some leftovers from dinner last night.

Which was a spoonful of brown rice, Green Giant Tuscan Seasoned broccoli and some chicken apple sausage.

I also had an apple and another handful of almonds.  Hungry girl today!

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Today in Luke’s folder was a letter from the school nurse.

This makes me so sad.  While I am glad that the school is being pro-active, just the fact that they are testing elementary children for Type 2 diabetes is heart-breaking.  When is the world going to wake up and stop accepting obesity (even just being “over-weight”) as a normal thing?  I wish there was more that I could do, but for now I must continue to be the change I would like to see in the world.

3 in a Row!

So yesterday I wrote about how our 2pm showing never showed up.  Apparently they drove up to the house, didn’t like the color of the brick, and drove off.  Yeah….that didn’t happen.  I never even saw anyone slow down or stop in  front of the house. Whatever. When Jeremy told me that today I just started laughing so hard.  I mean, really?  Anyway, it is what it is.  We had another showing today at 3 and I am pretty sure that was a no-show too.  I had to drive down the street from my post and get Aidan at 3:15.  That took all of two minutes.  Unless they “pulled up and drove off” in that time, no one ever came.  Oh well, what-a-ya-gonna-do?

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After not sleeping Sunday night and dragging through the day yesterday, I woke up refreshed and ready to go.  I knew it was going to be a great day!

Breakfast

Two hard boiled eggs, oats made with 1/4 cup old fashioned oats, 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1 tsp. chia seeds, 2 tsp. natural peanut butter & cinnamon.

The vitamins are: a Multivitamin, magnesium, probiotic, fish oil & calcium.

After some housework, I did Level 2 of 30 Day Shred.  It was brutal! I am so out of shape!

But I felt good afterwards!

I showered up & talked to my BFF over lunch. Even though we live miles and miles apart, we can still “do-lunch”.

Tuna Salad and a baked sweet potato.

I made the tuna salad a little different than I normally do.  I used light mayonnaise instead of Miracle Whip and instead of relish I crushed up some kosher dill pickles in my food processor.  I normally use Miracle Whip, but I discovered it has high fructose corn syrup in it and honestly a whole list of questionable ingredients.  So I switched to light mayo.  I have never been a fan of mayo but it is really good in my tuna salad.  I also used relish before and realized that ALSO has HFC so I decided to make my own relish!  It was very tasty!

Tonight is Spirit Night for the boy’s school at Chick-Fil-A!  Our favorite.  So that’s what will be for dinner!

Even though we had a no show for the third time, today was indeed a great day!

Well….um hello!

Hello darlin….nice to see ya….it’s been a long time, you’re just as lovely as you used to be…..If you don’t know Conway Twitty then I don’t want to know you…I’m kidding….sort of!

Conway Twitty

It has been a while.  It’s been interesting over here.  I’ll spare the details but I can list a few things that have kept me from my beloved health obsession outlet that is my blog.

1- We thought we were going to have to put my sweet Trixie down because my wonderful veterinarian told us she needed a $1700 surgery.  WHAT?  I cried for 2 hours only to find out that it wasn’t an emergency.  What in the world could have prompted this?  We were walking her one day and she started peeing blood.  Yes, blood.  We immediately took her in and she has bladder stones.  Upon speaking to another vet in the office, she does need surgery to remove them but there are other options to try first and they are also manageable. They almost never cause blockage in females and on and on…..SO Miss Thang is on a special diet now and we are managing them.

2- We had a potential buyer for our house.  She asked for a seller’s disclosure and came for a second showing only to decide that she needed to move further west.

3- Parenting a pre-teen is exhausting. Mentally and emotionally.  Those of you WITH pre-teens feel me on this.

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My sweet (most of the time) Luke turned 11 at the end of October.  Isn’t he handsome??  Good thing for him he’s got those adorable dimples and the fact that I love him more than anything.

4- I tried to start running again about 3 weeks after my “cancer scare”.  My scar seemed to be healed well enough and I gave it a go.  I started out run/walking on a Monday for 30 minutes, same thing on Tuesday.  By Wednesday I was able to run the entire 30 minutes.  That day I locked my keys in the car and ended up walking another 30 min home……  Clearly not thinking straight….The next day my scar hurt so bad.  I realized running wasn’t in my best interest right now.  Wouldn’t you know this would happen after we cancelled our gym membership. We cancelled it because I can run outside and do my favorite videos now that Aidan is in school (not to mention it saves us some money).  So I wasn’t able to use the bike or the elliptical instead.

All this emotional up and down and not being able to run put me in a funk.  I wasn’t eating right, sometimes not eating at all, not exercising, feeling exhausted all of the time, moody, depressed, grumpy, angry at times …I wasn’t myself in any sense of the word.

I had a well woman exam two weeks ago and while everything is fine and perfectly normal, my cholesterol levels were weird.  My LDL went from 77 to 126!  My HDL went from 80 to 89 and my triglycerides went from 43 to 21.  Even though the good numbers were better, the bad number was worse.  I attribute that to my less than stellar eating and lack of exercise motivation (i.e. burn out).  That report snapped me out of it.  I realized that I can’t just phone it in.  I can’t just base my health on the number on the scale….which was relatively the same.

I took a good look at my diet….made the choice to start making working out a priority again(even if it’s just a good long walk) and made the change.  I decided I can’t continue to let my emotions rule my life.

So after a nice Thanksgiving indulgence I did Dr.Oz’s 3 day detox cleanse.  I will do a separate post on that.  Yes, it was that awesome.  I am feeling back to my old self and back on track.  I have done my trusty 30 Day Shred the past two days….even if it was only level 1.  I am sore as can be and loving it!

We have a potential buyer right now that we have yet to hear anything from.  I am really trying not to let it take over my thoughts and trying to maintain as normal of a life as I possibly can.  You never know when an agent will want to bring a buyer.  Sometimes it’s as you are stepping into the shower …..<——True Story.

So that is that!  I have some SUPER SUPER exciting news happening right now…..but I will save that for later!

I would like to share a few things that kept my head above water the last two months…..

Adorable Lamb

Agreed Grumpy Cat!

What I love about….

Luke:

He makes little gems like this.

Target:

They give away Starbucks K-Cups

The Rain:

That rainbows follow it.

I am SO grateful for my new BFF, my bodybugg.  I was incredibly hungry all day on Saturday.  Like every two hours hungry.  I knew it was coming at some point since last week seemed to be the one week out of the month that I am not ravenous.  I didn’t get the workout done on Saturday like I had planned so I didn’t have the extra calories to play with like I usually do. That’s where my new best friend came into play.  Since the Bodybugg measures calories burned, I was able to see how many calories I had burned at any given time and eat appropriately.  Without it….Saturday would have been a disaster.  Instead I remained in control the entire day.  I even ended up with a good size deficit and my hard work all week didn’t end up in the toilet.  Bodybugg fan for life!

Saturday afternoon I made a recipe form the latest issue of Taste of Home’s Healthy Cooking magazine.

It’s Pizza Pasta!

The guys ate it all weekend!  Minus Aidan…..that’s a blog post in itself…. He has become quite the picky eater and that is an understatement.  Frustration doesn’t even cover the feelings I have when I try to get him to eat.  I am forced to go against every belief I have when it comes to feeding my children…..I am becoming a short order cook and I hate that.  But the child is skin and bones and has lost weight he didn’t have to lose.  I have resorted to letting him eat peanut butter out of the jar because its fun for him…..and one of the only things he will eat voluntarily.  I am on the search for every tip, trick and recipe I can find for picky eaters, as well as encouragement that this too shall pass.

*******

I was sad to see the weekend go but was ready to get back to my beloved routine.

Breakfast:

Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt, 14 almonds and cinnamon.

I jogged for an hour in the park this morning.  It was lovely as usual!

My new favorite thing to have after a long workout is Vitamin Water.  It makes me feel so much better.

I also had an apple and some almonds a little later after a long shower.

Lunch was so yummy today!

Orowheat Sandwich Thin with ham, guacamole, and provolone cheese pressed in my Panini maker, carrots and more guacamole!

I better start meal planning for next week.  I am hoping to have Aidan search recipes with me.  Maybe, if I am lucky and he can sit still for 2 minutes, we will find something!

Good Luck to ME!