Friday Fun

Happy Friday everyone! The weekend is upon us, and it's a three day weekend for most as well!

 

I did a run this morning. Ok, once again, a walk/jog. I jogged almost all of it, probably only walked about a half a mile, but it was still a slow jog. My pace sucks! I don't know if it's because I've been jogging with the stroller and it's slowing me down or what. Or it could be that I subconciously am slowing myself down so I can go a longer distance because I know if I speed up I'll just have to walk sooner anyways. Either way, I'm still proud of myself for jogging as far as I did, and I can't wait until I'm able to do the entire distance without stopping to walk.

 

My app did tell me I did my fastest 5k to date, so that's a good thing. As a matter of fact, Lance Armstrong's voice told me he was proud of me. I wonder if the next app update will take his voice off since he was caught doping. Which, by the way, I think is kind of crap because let's be honest, what competitive athlete doesn't take stimulants, so what's the point of stripping him of his Tour de France wins? Not that I condone doing drugs, but... I don't know... whatever.

 

So since it's a holiday weekend, I have to work in the store (I've mentioned before in a previous post that I don't feel like searching for to link to that my husband owns a campground and occasionally I work in the office/store checking people in, manning the gate, etc.). It's a terribly boring job, so I always take my laptop and blog. Right now, though, as I'm typing, I'm watching Rachael Ray cook some amazing looking food. I wonder if she uses her own brand of pots and pans? I doubt it. I've never used them, but they are cheap enough for me to own, so therefore I'm sure they are not professional grade enough for her. But I digress. Anyways, there's always a part of me, when watching these cooking shows, that wants to be some amazing cooking goddess and make delicious dinners every night for my hubby. Then reality sets in and I realize I'm too lazy to even boil water.

 

Well the whole point of this is that Rachael's theme today is 'the last supper' and she keeps talking about 'what would you eat for your last supper'?

So, what would you eat?

Me? I'd definitely have our family's recipe - chicken puppykosh (I actually don't know exactly how it's spelled, so that's phonetic). It's the WORST thing to eat on a diet because it has pounds of sour cream, butter and flour. But it's the most delicious meal I've ever had. It's a pain to make, so we only have it every once in a while, but when we do - watch out! I'll bite your arm off for the last bowl!

 

Anyways, I'm really thinking of doing a weightloss challenge on here. I'd like to know who all would be interested in joining? There would be prizes for the winners! We could do, maybe 8 weeks, with a weekly weigh-in. And there would be prizes for the top three with the highest percentage lost. We could set goals each week and talk about our progress with them. And there would be prizes. We can link to each other's blogs and encourage each other - it'd be a great way to get to know new people. And did I mention there would be PRIZES?

 

If there's enough interest I'm definitely hosting one. :)

 

Well that's it for today! Have a FABULOUS  weekened everyone! Stay safe!!! 

 

 

 



Happy Thursday!

Happy Thursday!! Wow, I can't believe it's Thursday already. If I were working I'd be counting down the hours until the weekend begins. Luckily for me, though, I'm NOT WORKING!! Woohoooo!! Anyways, I found this quote and it made me really miss the days when Jillian Michaels was on Biggest Loser. :(

I mean, I like Bob, and that new guy Dolvett is HOT, but I liked Jillian a lot. One thing Biggest Loser has taught me is that any body (not anybody, any BODY) can do anything for 30 seconds. So that's what I always strive for. Hold a plank for 30 seconds, sprint for 30 seconds, pedal as fast as I can for 30 seconds. If I go longer, fine, but that's my minimum.

 

I don't have much else to mention today, since it's a rest day. I did jog yesterday. As a matter of fact I did a full 5k in about 40 minutes. Not great but not bad. I jogged the entire first mile and then jogged most of the rest. Again it was a slow jog, but a jog nonetheless!

 

Oh, and a shout out to A at Asking... Why NOT Me!?! I really liked her post today titled I Don't. She talks about how we should change our mindset from 'I Can't' to 'I Don't'. Therefore, instead of saying I can't have bread, it should be I don't eat bread. I really like that idea!

 

So I leave you with a pic of my handsome little man (come on, did you really think I'd make it through this post without a pic of him?). I can't believe how he's grown!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catching up...



WOO WEEE!!! It's been a while since I've had even a second to sit down and post. WEDNESDAY of last week to be exact. That's almost a whole week ago. So, let's start with Thursday.

 

Presenting, Lexi:

 

She is a Trek Lexa, which is where "Lexi" is derived from. She's a beauty. And she's FAST. It was an interesting change from my first bike, which is a Trek 7.2 FX to her. She's a road bike, so the handlebars, which you can see, are supposed to be just about in line with the seat. Her gearing is much different too, hence the ease of speed, and she only has 10 speeds, where I'm used to 24.

 

We had to take my husband's daughter back to school, so we stopped at a bike shop on our way back. I've been wanting a road bike for a while now. There's nothing wrong with my old bike by any means, it's just, well, I wanted a new one. If you read my last post about getting a new bike, I said I wanted a cute one. Well, I had to compromise a little bit. This one is cute, but it doesn't have the little flowery designs that I wanted. No big deal, I took one ride and fell head over heels (luckily not literally).

 

My maiden voyage happened to be Saturday morning with my dad. Friday I had to go in to school and get stuff ready, and then I had a doctors appointment, so I didn't have time to take her out then. Anyways, we did 18 miles. Here are the app pics, though I forgot to start it right when we left so the mileage and time is slightly off.

 

Friday morning I did a walk/jog. I didn't do too bad. As a matter of fact, for the first time in over a year I was able to jog ONE WHOLE MILE!! Woooohooooooo!!! I was so proud of myself!

 

Then on Sunday I went on a walk/jog with a friend of mine. We've been going for the last couple Sunday mornings in a row, but this time we went the furthest. We mostly jogged the first 2.75 miles and then walked the rest. Once again, the mileage and time is off because I forgot to start the app at the beginning (GRRR! I do that all the freaking time! I get so distracted!), so add .5 to the total.



 

I went for another ride this morning. I usually go for a ride by myself on Mondays, but yesterday it was raining all morning and then I had to go back into school, so I never got around to it. I usually take Tuesday as a rest day, so I figured I'd just switch them around. No biggie. Remember how I've been trying to get back to my average pace of 14 mph? And I've just barely been making that each time I've gone? Well, BAM, I blew that away this morning too!! What's up now bitches! (sorry for the language, it was an excited utterance)



 

And now, for the best part of all. My weigh-in. Like I said in my previous post, I weighed 202.5 at the doctor's office on Friday. My weight on my scale this morning? Drum roll please...

Yeah, you're reading that right, 201.6. I've lost 8 pounds so far. If only I didn't have, like, 70 more until I reach goal I'd be ok.

 

So, fitness-wise, I'm doing great. I'm so proud of myself. I really didn't want to get up this morning and ride, but I made myself. And I feel good I did. And my reward is seeing that number on the scale drop. I mean, I know it's just a number, but ultimately it still feels good to physically see some results from my efforts.

 

Now, if only my personal life was going as good as my fitness life. I haven't been getting along with my hubby or his two daughters. The one daughter did something that really disappointed me, the other one stuck up for her sister, which then led into a huge fight between us, and my hubby is sticking up for both of them regardless of the fact that they are in the wrong. Being a stepmom is a reallly rough job. Blended families are hard. This is not what God intended, so of course it's going to be difficult, it always has been. I know it'll work out and things will go back to normal, but in the moment it can cause so much pain and heartbreak. I found this quote and thought it really described what I needed to hear lately.

 

So, since I had leaving on a negative note, check out my adorable son! (You know I wouldn't be a good mom if I didn't plaster his picture all over my blog, right? :) *wink wink*)



 



So busy!!

I am still here! I've been so busy the last few days. Even though I'll be on maternity leave I still have to set up my classroom and get stuff ready. Plus it's football and volleyball season already so we've been running around between each watch my stepdaughter.

I actually have been keeping up with reading everyone's blogs, I just haven't commented due to lack of time.

I went to the doctor's on Friday for my six week check-up after having the baby (yes, he's 3 months old so I'm a little late, don't judge me). I weighed in at 202 on their scale. Hopefully that's a good sign for my weigh-in this week.

I went for an 18 mile ride on Saturday with my dad again. I walk/jogged 2.5 on Friday and on Sunday a friend and I did 4 miles. We walk/jogged the 3 and walked the rest. Friday, though, I jogged the entire first mile nonstop! I was so proud of myself. It was a SLOW jog, but a jog nonetheless!!

My eating has been ok. Nothing to be real proud about there. I've also been getting to bed a little earlier the last couple of nights because with all the exercise I've noticed that I've been extra tired.

I got a new bike!! Pictures will come! Plus the story of buying the bike is kind of long, so I'll be sure to post it soon.

Well everyone, happy Monday and have a great week!

Worst. Day. Ever.

Yesterday was the worst day of my life (disclaimer: ok, nothing majorly serious happened, in the grand scheme of things it was a good day, I count my blessings and appreciate everything I have and thank God for giving me life each day and blah blah blah, but for the sake of this post let me over exaggerate).

First I got stuck with a three inch needle in my knee. Yeah, the doc talked me into a cortisone shot. It all happened so fast - I was just sitting on the table talking to him one minute, and the next he's just lunging at me with this huge needle! He stuck it in, injected the stuff, and didn't even offer me a kiss goodbye or a cigarette afterward! I felt so used. In all seriousness, though, I hope that crap works.

Probably not what the doctor really looked like, but in my mind he was a mad scientist!





Then, I got home and logged onto Facebook - big mistake! In my notifications I found this lovely invitation to my high school reunion. Ten flipping years. Where has the time gone? I hated high school when I was there, why in God's name would I want to go back and revisit those a-holes? I went to the page that listed who all was 'tagged' to be invited and didn't even recognize half the names. Then I saw where everyone can comment and began scrolling through. Here's my thought process as I looked through their pictures: a-hole, biotch, biotch, what the EFF happened to her, who the hell is that, he didn't even graduate, I swear she didn't go to our school... good Lord ten years can do a doozy on some people! Ok, yeah, I need to look at myself because let's be honest, I'm not looking so hot these days either, but if I've gone as far downhill as some of them please shoot me now. Alright I know I'm being mean, but these people weren't exactly nice to me back then. I told my hubby about it and he said, "So I take it you don't want to go?" (someone slap him for me). One thing's for sure, though, it makes me really REALLY ambitious to lose weight before next June, just in case I see anyone around town. Eh, I really don't want to relive those memories.

They say all bad things happen in threes, but this, man, you have no idea what this is going to do to me. After the shock of the reunion thing, I continued to look through Facebook. I found a post that hit me like a ton of bricks. My favorite show, The Office, is going to be in it's final season this year. I actually shed a tear. How can they cancel my favorite show? HOW? HOOWWWW? Ok I'll stop screaming now. But seriously? You guys don't even know my obsession with that show. I have watched literally every episode since it started. I still remember watching the pilot episode! How many shows can you say you've seen from the very beginning? I mean there are other shows I like, but none that can compare to The Office. I have all the seasons on DVD. I have random memorabilia scattered around my house and on my desk at school. I have tshirts. I have the bobblehead of every character. I named my son after the main character for goodness sake! That show started around the same time my hubby and I started dating. I hold him at knife point to make him watch it with me all the time! What am I going to do with my Thursday nights now???? Alas, the tragedy! This really is detrimental to my life.

 Yes, every Office bobblehead ever made. In my possession. And a shirt that I framed for my baby for his namesake.
 

Yeah yeah yeah, I'm sure you're thinking that man, if that's all I have to worry about in my life I'm doing good. And I agree, thus my disclaimer at the beginning. But I could have done without those things happening.

 



In better news, I did go for a run today. My knee felt tremendously better (hallelujah) and I KILLED my best average pace so far! Check it out!! Woot woot!! Too bad I couldn't go longer (time restraints, the hubby had the baby... alone... not that I don't trust him, but he's a man).





 

To leave on a good note here's a little more inspiration. Enjoy your Wednesday!

 

 



Weigh-in and Ramblings

Ok first off here is my official weigh-in:

Down 3.4, not too shabby. Like I said, though, I peeked at the scale Sunday and I was less than that (204.4), so it's kind of discouraging. This is why I really need to stay away from the scale except for once a week! Oh well, I still lost, so I'm happy overall!

I don't have much to post today since it's a rest day for working out, so I'm going to take this time to ramble.

1) I've been looking around for new blogs to follow. Is it weird that I almost immediately close a blog if the person has more than 200 followers, if it's a .com or .net, and/or if that person has already hit goal weight? I mean, I follow a couple bigger bloggers, such as The AntiJared or BitchCakes, but I just get turned off if that person is so popular that he/she would never stop by my blog to comment or read. I guess I just want to surround myself with 'real' people who would take the time to get to know me like I get to know them. Is that selfish? Try not to hold it against me if it is, I'm just rambling.

2) I'm trying to convince my hubby to buy me a new bike. I desperately want a road bike. And it has to be cute :). I jumped into buying my bike without really looking around. Even though I LOVE my bike and am super happy I bought it and have been through a lot on it, I feel like it's time to trade it in for something made a little more for what I ride for - speed and endurance. Plus did I mention I want a cute one? I deserve one, too, I hit 960 miles on that bike this week! That's a lot of miles on a bicycle! Well at least that's what I'm trying to convince my hubby of, because in reality I don't NEED a new bike at all, I just really want a cute one.

3) I really need to start tracking what I eat. Did you know I'm paying for a monthly subscription to Weight Watchers online? No, you didn't, and neither does my hubby. If he did he'd be so ticked that I'm paying that money for something I'm not even using. I've been terribly lazy with food. I haven't been eating healthy foods, and I've been practically starving myself. That's really really REALLY not good because everytime I do that, I end up freaking out and bingeing for a week straight. That's when I gain a ton of weight, quit trying, and get very depressed. I'm good at taking care of myself when I'm focused. I just have to find that focus!

4) I found this picture online. Everyone needs a little inspiration sometimes, so here it is. :)

Well that's enough for today. See you in bloggyland! :)

Some workouts...

Happy Monday all! I have quite a bit to post about tonight, but nothing really exciting. I'm going to start with this picture I found on Google+ because it's too cute (and a good inspirational quote).



That's so going to be my son when he gets a little older. ;)

Yesterday I ran, well walk/jogged anyways. I did so at the best pace so far since I started back to exercising - 13'52"! Although, I didn't go very far, only 2.53 miles, I was happy I could even do that with my knee. As a matter of fact I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon to get my knee checked out. I just want to make sure I haven't done anything too drastic to it, even though it's been feeling better. My problem is, I hate taking pain medication, so I have to live with the pain until it becomes so unbearable that I don't have a choice but to take it. Anyways, here's my Nike+ log for my run. I was so impressed with how far I was able to keep up a jogging pace. My walk breaks (which you can see in the darker orange/reddish color) were much shorter than my jogging distances! I know if I want to finish the half marathons next year in 2 hours I'll have to pick up my pace, but it's not too shabby for right now.



Today I rode. My short term goal is to do 20 miles at an average of 14 mph pace. I was SO close to it today! Grrr! Next time for sure. Miles 15 and 16 were rough, I started to get pretty tired, but after that it's quite a bit downhill, so I was ok to make it home. Eventually I'd like to hit an average of 20 mph pace for the 20 miles, but I'm sure it'll be never a LONG time until I get there. I honestly don't think the app I use for logging my biking miles is quite accurate, though, because according to the speedometer on my bike, I didn't ride above 20.6 mph and this says my max speed was 25.7, which I KNOW isn't right! Also, I'd like to think that I burned more than 568 calories. It should be more like 750, so even if it isn't, that's what I'm going with. I lie to myself. Don't judge me.

I'm still looking for a fall challenge. If you know of one, link it in the comments section. Maybe I should just start one of my own, though I don't know how many people would join. I weigh-in tomorrow, since it'll be a full week since I bought my scale. I cheated and peeked yesterday and saw some pretty good results. I'm hoping it stays that way! I'm definitely doing the good old weighing-in-first-thing-in-the-morning-naked-after-a-good-poop-and-before-breakfast thing.

Well I leave you with this picture. It was taken on Sunday. My hubby swears he doesn't see himself in our baby, but come on, look at those profiles! Little Mikey is a mini-me!









Fall Fitness?

So I'm jealous. I just recently got back into blogging and I've missed all the fun summer weightloss challenges. There's the Lose a Marathon, Lose a Half Marathon, Summer Sizzle Slim Down Challenge, etc. etc. etc. I love being a part of those type of things because A) it keeps me on track, B) I get to meet new people, and C) it gives me something to talk about on my blog when I get writer's block. :)

Anyways, my point is, does anyone know of any challenges that will start soon? Anything for the fall? I'm so ready to get involved!

Happy Saturday!

I went for a nice bike ride this morning with my father. We did about 18 miles in an hour and a half, which is two miles longer in the same amount of time as what we did the last time we rode together. My knee didn't bother me at all so I definitely am planning on a run (walk/jog, let's be honest) tomorrow morning. I'm praying that I do ok and if I do I won't even need to go to my doc appointment Tuesday!

Tonight is the steak fry at our campground. My husband, bless his heart, will be grilling over 140 steaks. Yesterday I made four cheesecakes, Ambie made four pumpkin pies and my MIL made 10 apple pies and 4 cherry pies. I think we will have enough dessert!

My plan is to eat light all day. I'm not normally an advocate for not eating during the day like that because by the time dinner rolls around you will binge and defeat the purpose. But, let's be real here, I'm going to binge tonight no matter what I eat throughout the day, so I had might as well try to skimp on the calories as much as I can.

Anyways that's all I have to report today. Have a fabulous weekend everyone!!

Working out...

I have not been working out this week like I should. I did my 20 miles on Monday and then yoga on Tuesday. After that, nothing. Nada.

Dang.

Maybe it's a good thing though, since my knee has been bothering me. I'm anxious to go to my doctor's appointment on Tuesday to see what he says. It has been feeling much better and I haven't had to take any pain medication all week. I'm considering trying another run on Sunday to see if it still does bother me. At least then, I will either know I'm healed and just needed the rest or I'll have more information for the doctor by being able to say that even a week off of running doesn't help. I REALLY hope it's the former rather than the latter, but we'll see.

On the other hand, I do have a bike ride planned in the morning with my dad. Last Saturday when we rode, we went 16 miles. Hopefully I can talk him into going further this time! I'll be sure to record the ride on my app and post it on my Daily Mile widget. I love being able to watch the mileage add up.

Anyways, I had sort of an epiphany tonight. When my son hit one month old he got crazy. He was so fussy and cranky all the time. He cried and screamed pretty much all day and refused to take any sort of a nap. He would literally stay up all day and finally pass out from sheer exhaustion when he couldn't keep himself awake anymore in the evening. If you would have asked me a couple years ago if I ever thought I would have a kid, I would have laughed in your face. Something just hit me one day, and I decided I wanted a baby. So, while he was screaming and crying, and I was ripping my hair out with frustration and massive lack of sleep, I started seriously thinking of leaving. I was very, very, very close to packing my bags and disappearing forever. I regretted having a baby and thought I'd never be able to handle raising him. I honestly didn't feel a whole lot of love for my baby through this time. I even kind of blamed him for ripping away my happiness and leaving me with so much stress and anxiety. My husband, being the forever optimist that he is, tried to comfort me and told me that we were blessed to have him. I blew him off and continued to ask God why he hated me and cursed me with such a horrible baby, especially when I really never wanted a kid in the first place. Needless to say, at his two month check-up, my son was diagnosed with acid reflux, promptly put on a liquid Zantac prescription, and has been a completely different baby since. The day he started taking his prescription was the first day he smiled and laughed. He's stopped crying, only when he's hungry of course, he's stopped fussing, only when he's tired of course, and he hasn't quit smiling, laughing, playing and learning about his environment.

My epiphany is this - I AM blessed. And I feel awful for ever thinking I wasn't. I'm so blessed to have such a handsome baby. I'm so blessed to wake up every morning to his smiles and laughter. I'm so blessed to have the ability to give him his bath and sing to him every night before bed. I'm so blessed to look into his beautiful eyes while feeding him. I'm so blessed to be able to play peek-a-boo and pinch his nose and hug him. And boy do I hug him. I can't get enough of rubbing my nose into his neck and giving him lots of kisses. I'm blessed to have been able to even have him in the first place. My hubby is older, which could have effected our ability to get pregnant, but it didn't (we only tried for three months!). There really is no better feeling than the love you feel for your child.

I have to get this in writing now so I can be reminded of these feelings when he grows into a teenager (wink wink).

He makes me want to be a better person.

I've worked with needy children in my community for the past six years and have always felt terrible for those whose parents neglect or abuse them. Now, though, it's even worse because I could never imagine treating my son like that. I want to give him everything I can afford and then some. I want him to have all the opportunities in the world and will do anything in my power to make that happen.

Well, now that I'm all teary eyed and sentimental, I think I'll head to bed. Just give your kids an extra hug or kiss for me, would ya? And for Pete's sake, don't let a day go by without telling them how much you love them, ok?

Inspired...

I had too much time on my hands was inspired today! Presenting the new ThunderThighs look! :) It needed refreshed anyways.

I also went through all of the old blogs I 'followed' and cleaned them out (so many didn't even exist anymore) and will be checking out some new ones. Comment below with any of your favorite weightloss blogs! Be sure to leave your own website address, too!

Glorious Morning!

It's such a beautiful morning. I must take a second to praise and thank God for a cool breeze, a warm sun and a handsome baby. How could you not love life when you wake up to this every morning! :)

Anyways, so I went grocery shopping last night and bought some healthy foods - fruits, veggies, lean proteins. I also bought some not-so-healthy foods. Being the talented cook that I am, my hubby requested some Lean Cuisine meals (ok, maybe I'm not that great of a cook). I have never really considered frozen 'TV dinners' to be very healthy, or even taste all that great, but he lost a ton of weight several years ago by eating them (and a salad) most nights of the week (at that point he was working weird hours and needed something decent that he could eat during his break since he wasn't home at dinner time). Really it's the same concept as the Jenny Craig diet so I decided to be open to the idea.

This morning I had some oatmeal with a couple scoops of ground flax seed, a dash of skim milk and a sprinkle of blackberries. Talk about heaven in my mouth!

I don't have too much to report today so I'll leave you with this - my son is a man after my own heart! Check it out, gotta love him. :)

 (He's going to be a hooligan, I can see it already)

Weigh-in

Well, here it is and it's not pretty.

Goal weight? 130. 79.6 pounds to lose. Here we go!