* Clean Up *

I feel like i spend more time cleaning up than i do anything else. But i guess that just comes along with owning a house, living in it and having people to share it with. When you look at it that way, it doesn't make the cleaning seem so bad. I do not despise cleaning because i love things organized and in their spots. However, the way may house looks right now, things are definitely NOT organized and in their spots. I have about 15 John Deere tractors in my kitchen floor right now. Yes, those belong to Chayton. And if you move them, he will get highly upset. I learned that the hard way. I am hoping later that i can coerce him into taking 1/2 upstairs and putting the other 1/2 in the floor of his closet. Wish me luck with that one!! Tonight will be a cleaning night for me. The upstairs needs to be cleaned and re-arranged. I am hoping that i have cooperation from my 2 boys in letting me accomplish this. It will make one less room that needs to be cleaned for Saturday or Sunday.
The weather is going to be so nice on Saturday that i think the rest of the cleaning will have to be postponed for Sunday. I may just plan on sitting outside and watching football for the majority of the day tomorrow!! I will just have to see what things i get accomplished tonight!!

That is FUNNY stuff right there! If it were only that easy!

-> Weight Loss Game <-

I am not sure what is going on with my weight loss, but i feel like i am playing a game that i am not doing very well at. I guess i need to re-phrase that... I have been playing the game VERY well until this week. I have not done anything different and have not really changed anything. I have still been working out every day and eating healthy. I have not felt good since Monday but i am feeling better today but surely that is not why i am stuck. I am stuck at a 14 pound loss. All i need is to lose 0.1 lb to get to 15 and i CANNOT do it!! I do weigh myself every single day like you are NOT supposed to do but i have always done that. It is not something that i can do just once a week. Yesterday, i weighed and the difference is + 2.2. Yes, that would be me gaining!!! HOW?? WHY?? I have no clue but i am totally frustrated. I have re-traced everything that i have put in my mouth and cannot figure it out. And i know i will not figure it out. This morning i weighed myself and i was back down 2.4 pounds, which puts me 0.2 less than i was on Tuesday morning. I am going to continue on the rest of the week and weekend like i have been and see where i am come Sunday morning.  If i have not lost a few more pounds, my diet will change to low carb for a little while to get out of this rut. I hate to cut out fruit and some veggies that i love but i gotta do what i gotta do!! This too shall pass (i hope) and i will be back on the road where i need to be. Having said all of this, my clothes are still continuing to show a difference in the weight loss so i am not going to be too discouraged just yet. I will WIN this game. I will not let this weight loss game defeat me.

OOH La La

I would have never thought in a million years that i would tell someone that i love a pair of socks!! Socks, really?? YES! The picture is a pair of Zensah compression socks that i ordered from Zappos to run in. Here is the description of what the sock claims to do...

• Whether you're looking to break your P.R. or training to set your first, the performance enhancing technology of these Zensah® compression socks are sure to keep you on your feet.
• Ideal for runners, cyclists, triathletes and any person regularly on his or her feet.
• Made with a gradient compression that provides support for muscles in the shin and the calf.
• Designed to prevent blood from pooling in the foot and help increase circulation.
• Can be worn pre-workout to help activate muscles and reduce the risk of injury, during exercise to enhance performance, or post-workout to promote speedy recovery time.

I got the package yesterday and decided to put them on and see how they felt... OH MY GOODNESS, i actually left them on and slept in them. They make your legs feel so good. I actually have them on today at work also. I am going to try them out later when i workout and see if i can tell a difference. Who would have thought that a $50 pair of socks were worth the money?? If i wouldn't have had a scare with my legs swelling something awful last Friday, i can assure you that i would not have paid that much money for a pair of socks regardless of the hype. But, since i was not sure if the swelling was from pounding the pavement running or from a heater on my feet daily at work, i took the chance and ordered them. I also ordered a pink pair and that brand was Vitalsox. Here they are...

This brand was a little cheaper so we will see how i like these as well. I hope i love them as much as the Zensah. We shall see!

| PROGRESS |

I have now been on my path to a healthier life for 3 weeks and 1 day...but who is counting right?! I am HAPPY to say that i have lost 14 pounds so far. I am 0.2 pounds away from 15 pounds. It is going really good. When you are trying to lose weight, you never lose fast enough but i am trying not to focus on that at this point. I have already convinced myself that this will take at least 4-5 months to get to where i prefer to be. I hope i am not disappointed with that time frame but it is better than saying it could be done in a short 2 months (which would be pure perfection)! However, i am trying to be realistic. I am just making sure that i workout on a daily basis and i make smart choices with my eating. I am doing fairly well with running/walking 4 miles a day. I still need a little help on getting my weight training video done but that is a work in progress. I am hoping to at least do it 3 times this week. Time management is always a challenge...especially now with the time change. I am going to make it happen. By adding weight training, i am hoping to maximize my weight loss!

- NOT Feelin' It -

Today is one of those dreaded days where i am just not feelin' it! I did not sleep well at all. I think i watched the clock every hour and sometimes, more often than that. I woke up with a sore throat and headache and i just feel yucky. Not feeling well was not in my plan for the week but things do not always go as planned, now do they?? With the time change, i was hoping that i would just jump out of bed, be ready to go and be way ahead of schedule this morning. That, however, did not happen. Instead, things were very slow to start and still are. Jackson's school called me at work about 9:30 this morning and he wasn't feeling well either. I am really hoping that this was just a crazy Monday and tomorrow will be better for everyone!

This is PERFECT for today!!

< Cooking Up a Storm >

I pretty much spent most of today cooking! Yes, it  literally took me ALL day long but all of our food for the week is planned and and most of it is already cooked, with the exception of Thursday-Sunday. Here is what my meal planning looked like for the week...

Monday- Roast with Mushrooms and Wild Rice

Tuesday- Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup (crockpot)

Wednesday- Muffin Tin Meatloaf (made with Ground Turkey) with Green Beans

Thursday- Baked Potato Soup (crockpot)

Friday- Turkey Burger with Baked Beans 

Saturday & Sunday- Grill Out... i usually do not plan my meals for the weekends because so many things can change. 

I was just in one of those moods to get as much done for the week as possible, and that i did! With the time change, I am not sure how my running is going to go. I love going outside but by the time i get home from work, change and leave, it will be getting dark. The route that we go is not lined with street lights, so that may be a problem. It would be easy for me to get home and get it done on the treadmill, but that is just SO BORING! We shall see how it goes.

~ SEW Much to Do ~

It was not coincidence that i spelled Sew in my title rather than So. I went on a shopping frenzy for fabric about a week ago and bought Chayton like 9 new different fabrics for pants (and of course for shirt appliques as well). It has been an entire YEAR since i have sewn him a pair of pants and probably do not remember how. But, (somehow) this weekend, i am planning on getting started on making him some outfits. I have been telling myself that i did not purchase that sewing/monogramming machine to just sit there. I have SO many things that i need to make and monogram that i will probably never finish. It will make me happy if i am just able to get back in the swing. It requires quite a bit of time but i am going to try to dedicate a bit of time on the weekends to get my projects done now that Jackson's baseball is over. My fingers are crossed that this is a success. Here are a few fabrics that i purchased...

There was one other print that matches a HOG shirt that i have appliqued for him, 3 different ginghams and brown corduroy. I am excited about them and cant wait to get started (hopefully)! HAPPY FRIDAY Y'ALL!! 

Halloween 2012

Usually on Halloween, we invite family and friends over and have food, drinks, treats and a hay ride. Our Halloween was a little different this year. I have been so focused on getting back on track with exercising that my plans for Halloween were thrown to the waste side. It was not intentional at all, but we did not even discuss the "H" word until this past Sunday...yes, that was just a few days before the event. I really do not think that anyone in my household was feeling it this year. However, on Tuesday, we made up our minds that we would go hang out with the neighbors and walk to the haunted cove on Halloween. We have not WALKED around on Halloween since i can even remember. It was good though! Our afternoon/evening went a little like this...I got off of work at 3:30 (horray for early), went home and immediately changed clothes to go run. We got back home a little before 5:00 and i started getting our broccoli cheese soup heated for dinner while the boys played outside for a bit. We ate, got dressed and headed down the street to our friend's house a little after 6. We hung out and talked there for about 30 minutes, grabbed some of the kids and headed down the street, around the corner and to the haunted cove. Our neighborhood is so good for trick or treating and we always see a ton of people. We had a fun, relaxed night. And were home by 8:45. Maybe we will get on track next year!

 Yes...this is how it started with the pictures!

 He got a little better, thanks to Luke

 Now, he is ready. This was the only second he wore the hat

 Our neighbor's house...the only one he went to without one of us

 Luke, Grant, Jackson and Chloe

 Scary dude walking around in the haunted cove that jumped in the picture with Jackson and Savannah

Jackson and Carley

{ Promise to do Better }

This is SO very true! I have exercised some off and on since Chayton was born (2.5 years ago) and i am totally ashamed of that. I have had periods of time over the past 10 years where i was totally focused on taking care of my body and other times where it really did not matter to me. It only takes one de-railment of the train to get you off track. And, it happens! It has happened to me many times. I am in hopes that it has happened for the last time. I actually like to run/exercise...i really do. But i do have days where i am just dreading the fact that i have to do it. IT HAPPENS. Although, once i have actually started, that dread goes away. And once i am finished, i feel so much better and tell myself that there is nothing to dread. It is so much easier exercising when you are at your goal weight. There is not as much pressure on you because you are just maintaining. I want to be there! It is going to happen...some how, some way- i am going to accomplish my goal.

My BOYS are My ♥

When i ran across the above picture, i had to save it. It is perfect for parents. I have 2 boys that i love more than anything in this world. They are literally my heart! I could not imagine my life without either one of them. They are both special in their own little ways. They are growing up too quickly and i just want time to stop for a little while. I spend as much time with my kids as i possibly can because i will never have this time with them again. They grow daily and if i did not pour everything into them, i may miss something. I have been trying really hard to not worry about the days ahead (except for planning purposes) and really focus on every single day. The small things are really those that matter most.

* DOWN 10 lbs *

I have hit the 10 lb mark on my weight loss!! YAY...and it only took me 2 weeks and 2 days. It is really good motivation for me to keep going. I am totally in my routine of walking/running in the afternoons and (for now) that is working out really well. Starting this morning, i have decided to get up at 4:30am to get my weight training video workout done before i have to get ready and get the day started. I am planning on doing this Tuesday and Thursday mornings and then i can decide between Saturday and Sunday for my 3rd day of the week for the videos. I am doing Core Secrets videos with Gunnar Peterson and Brooke Burke and i love them. They are good for me in getting back into my work out routine. I purchased TurboFire a little while back and cannot wait to be more in shape where i can start those! They are HIIT (high intensity interval training) videos and they will knock the fat right off of my body. I tried them right after i got them and they were a little much for me at this point. I am probably going to do Core Secrets for about a month and then i should be good to start TurboFire. I am still eating well and drinking my green smoothies every morning. I have so much more energy every single day because of the things that i have been doing...HUGE DIFFERENCE!! I plan on just continuing on with everything until i hit my goal weight! And my ultimate goal is...

-> SUNDAY FUNDAY <-

The boys and I have had a fun day today. We had tickets to the Corn Maze that i bought a while back and we decided that we would go today. It is a little bit (a LOT) chilly outside but it was manageable. I had to get my exercise in for the day so we decided to go to Shelby Farms and walk the Greenline while we were waiting on the Corn Maze to open at noon. This time we decided to walk around Patriot Lake inside the park and it was a nice 2 mile walk around. We were going to just do that twice and then walk back to the car but Jackson wanted to try out a trail called Chickasaw Trail...so we did. It was a nice "woodsy" pathway but it was not even 1/2 mile long. So we walked that twice and then headed back to the car. We didnt quite make 4 miles but i decided that was ok because we were going to walk the Corn Maze and who knows how far that was going to be. My Garmin battery depleted in route so i have no clue how far we walked there. But it was ok! The Corn Maze was fun (but cold). It actually took us about 45+ minutes to get through it and we COULD NOT get from question #6 to question #7. I have no clue why so we saw a path through the corn to where we needed to be and took it. HA! We, then, got to question #8 and were back on track. We wanted to go back and re-track to question #7 but it was WAY past lunchtime and we were hungry. Of course Chayton fell asleep as soon as we got back to the car. So, we grabbed Lenny's (salad for me and sammies for the boys) and headed home. 

I am so happy to be active again!! We had the best time today being outside and doing fun things. There are going to be a LOT more days like today and i cannot wait. Now, outside i go to play baseball with the boys and watch football. HAPPY SUNDAY Y'ALL!

- Gettin' with It -

Well, it has been exactly 11 days since i FINALLY got back on track with exercising. I was not going to update my weight loss until Sunday because that would be the 2 week mark but i decided to because i have lost 9 lbs!! I was hoping and praying by the 2 week mark that i would have hit a 10 lb weight loss and i am in hopes now that it will be more than that. I know losing 20 lbs the first month would be totally stretching it but i would be SO elated if that happened!

I have noticed a huge difference in the way i feel every morning when i get up and i have so much more energy throughout the day. I have only had one rest day out of the past 11 days so i think i am doing pretty good on the fitness part. I am hoping next week that i am able to start adding my weight training videos to the mix. I am pretty proud of myself right now and i just have to keep it up!!

{Crockpot Recipe Review}

I have been trying to make things with cooking a little bit easier than i had been doing previously. I was cooking things that took a lot of time to prepare and cook. I would start getting things together as soon as i got home from work and it would easily be 6:30 before we ate. I do not have that much time every day to dedicate just to cooking. If i continued this way, i would never get to workout!! So, i decided to find some HEALTHY crockpot meals to try to help facilitate things in the afternoon. Last week we tried 3 different ones. They were all good and i will definitely try them again. I have listed the meals that i cooked along with the link to the recipe in case you want to try them.
Sour Cream & Onion Chicken...  http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=205590
This was very flavorful! We ate it with green beans but next time i will make healthy mashed potatoes or brown (or wild) rice. The sauce that it makes is too good not to drizzle over something.

Black Bean Chicken...  http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=16385
This recipe was good fixed as the recipe states, but i think next time i will add corn and a few spices and see how that tastes.

Easy Taco Soup (with chicken)...  http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=486329
I do not like kidney beans so i used 2 cans of Great Northern Beans and omitted the 1 can of Kidney Beans. This was delicious!!

I LOVE getting recipes from Sparkrecipes.com because they are healthy and most of the ones that i have tried are really good! Today, we are trying Chicken Bacon Ranch in the crockpot and i cannot wait to try it!! Here is the recipe for it as well...
http://www.laaloosh.com/2012/02/07/bacon-ranch-slow-cooker-chicken-recipe/

An Hour a Day



That picture pretty much says it all!!! I have really realized this past week that it is up to ME to make time to workout every day. Things are pretty rushed to get everything done, but that one hour a day that i have dedicated to making myself feel better has helped tremendously. I know how good exercise makes you feel every single day, but i guess i forgot because i had not done it in a while. I have told myself that i cannot go back down that road anymore. It is almost a difference of night and day in the way i feel. I am hoping to add some more time for working out once i get adjusted to doing things around it. I have walked a little more than i planned because Chayton loves to go with me. But, as long as i am moving right now, i am satisfied. Here is an update on my miles logged from the past few days...

Friday 10/19...    4.0 miles/452 calories

Saturday 10/20...4.0 miles/516 calories

Sunday 10/21...  4.0 miles/520 calories (ran 1.5 miles)

Monday 10/22... 4.0 miles/457 calories





Weekend Recap

I haven't posted in a few days but we have had a busy weekend. I have actually worked out from Friday-Sunday. We have also had baseball games, a birthday party and a soccer game to go to so we could hang out with our best friends. Today after we got home, we hung out outside and watched football and watched the boys ride ATVs. Mom even came over and brought the boys a chocolate chip pie. I had a small bite and it was good but sweet stuff is not up my alley. I will give a better update tomorrow!

~ Chayton gets his 1st Haircut ~

Yes, you read that right. Chayton got his 1st haircut...by a professional! He has had haircuts in the past but they were just "trim-ups" done by yours truly. His hair grows like a weed and he was at the point that i was scared to try to shape his hair up myself because he WILL NOT sit still for me anymore. I am really not sure why i thought he would do any better for anyone else, but i had my fingers crossed. He has seen Linda cut Jackson's hair a few times and i thought that would have made this situation for him better. Well, needless to say, it didnt. But it wasnt just totally awful either. It just took a bit to get him bribed (with candy) to sit on her platform that she puts in the chair. Once he saw that was ok, it was a little better. But the boy does not sit still!! She may have decided after yesterday that she does not want to cut anymore 2 year old's hair. HA! Maybe next time he will know that everything is going to be ok. Here are some pictures...

Sitting in the chair waiting like a BIG BOY!

Here we go...he would not wear the cape in the beginning. YES, he had hair all over him!!

I finally coaxed him into putting it on.

His hair was SO long!

And he did NOT want me taking pictures!!

Shaping up

Almost done...thank goodness!

Sweet boy at home after he shed all of his clothes because they were covered in hair