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

^ Happy Hump Day ^

I always have a sigh of relief every Wednesday afternoon when i get off work because that means only 2 more work days left in the week!! And today was no different. I cannot wait until FRIDAY. We have a busy weekend with baseball, a birthday party and special friends coming in town. I dont have much motivation going on today with blogging so i will just update my workout and call it a night.

It was kinda hard this afternoon because it was me and Chayton going on a walk which meant pushing the jog stroller and no running at all. I cannot run with that thing at all!! I also had to fight the wind over half the time which made it difficult. But, i got 4 miles done and that is all that mattered to me today.

Summary

Distance:	4.00 mi
Time:	1:05:24
Avg Pace:	16:13 min/mi
Avg Speed:	3.7 mph
Elevation Gain:	162 ft
Calories:	514 C

	Your swim efficiency is calculated by your total time plus strokes normalized to 25 meters (fixed distance). This allows you to compare your swim efficiency to another pool or open water workout.

	Your SWOLF score is the time in seconds plus the strokes it takes you to complete one pool length. For example 30 seconds plus 25 strokes equals a SWOLF score of 55.

Details

Timing

Time:	1:05:24
Moving Time:	1:04:14
Elapsed Time:	1:05:24

Avg Speed:	3.7 mph
Avg Moving Speed:	3.7 mph
Max Speed:	5.8 mph

Avg Pace:	16:13 min/mi
Avg Moving Pace:	16:04 min/mi
Best Pace:	10:24 min/mi

Speed

Pace

Elevation

Elevation Gain:	162 ft
Elevation Loss:	159 ft
Min Elevation:	252 ft
Max Elevation:	417 ft

Heart Rate

Avg HR:	145 bpm
Max HR:	169 bpm

 

- GOALS -

Here are a few new goals for myself...

I really need to print this out and add it to the front of my notebook!! That will be on the agenda for tomorrow. Another goal that i am working on with my running/intervals is that i will at least run 1/2 of the total distance that i am doing each day. This way i get back to it at an ok pace and hopefully i won't overdo it in the beginning (because i have a tendency to do that). For the next few weeks, i am only plannning on doing 4ish miles total and that way i won't be running more than 2ish miles for now. I am trying ... and trying really hard to manage my time better. Here is today's workout...

Time- 37:53

Distance- 3.0 (intervals- ran 1.75 miles/walked 1.25 miles)
Calories- 461
Carbs- 79.2
Incline- 1.0

Monday Workout

Well...this is what you look like when you do a treadmill interval workout upstairs in your house and the temperature is hotter than it is outside!! Yes, you read it correctly. It was 85 degrees upstairs when i went up there to work out. I thought i was going to DIE! Here is this chick that is getting back to working out and is outta shape, right? The last thing i needed was to burn up. But, it is ok and it is all DONE! I wont forget to go turn the air back on when we have a warm day outside again. I left it on but turned it to 75 so it should be tolerable next time i work out. WHEW!!!

Since i was indoors and couldnt use the GPS on my Garmin, i had to use the stats that the treadmill calculates. They are right on with time and distance but may be off a little with calories and carbs but it still gives me an idea.

Time- 43:53

Distance- 3.25 (intervals- ran 1.5 miles/walked 1.75 miles)

Calories- 488

Carbs- 82.3

Incline- 1.0

. . . Meal Planning . . .

I usually try to plan my meals out for the week, or at least for Monday-Friday. I have realized how much this really helps things flow smoother in the afternoons when i get home from work. I have not been a huge crock pot chick but yesterday when i was looking through a stack of recipes that i have not tried, there were 3 that were healthy crock pot recipes that i decided to try. I REALLY need to love crock pot recipes because they do make your life so much easier after working all day. Naturally when i decided to try new recipes after already going to the grocery store, i had JJ make a quick trip back to get a few things. I usually pick my meals based on what i have gotten from the store but if i am going to try new crock pot recipes, i think it would be WISER to plan my meals first and then make a list. We will see how it goes. Here is what our menu looks like for the week...

Monday- Sour Cream and Onion Chicken
Tuesday- Pot Roast and Potatoes (non-crock pot but i cooked it yesterday so it is ready minus the potatoes)
Wednesday- Black Bean Chicken
Thursday- Creamy Parmesan Broiled Tilapia (not crock pot)
Friday- Easy Taco Soup (with chicken)

And for Saturday and Sunday, we usually eat out one day and/or decide the day of what we will have. Planning for the weekends are hard because that is usually when we have more to do. We will see how these turn out.

Sunday Workout

Well, i can check off exercise for today. YAY!! I knew that even though my quads were a little sore, i had to at least walk today just to keep things going. My usual route is 4 miles exactly and that is what i did today. I actually planned on walking the entire time because i wanted to be able to walk tomorrow. However, after the 2 mile mark, i decided that i was going to run exactly a mile and no more. So, i did it. My legs actually felt pretty good while running but i didnt want to do too much damage for tomorrow's workout. I was tempted to do 1.5 miles but decided to just stick with a mile. I will be glad tomorrow that i did. My legs were a little like jello once i got home but it is a good feeling. Best pace 8:36...pretty good for just starting back!! Depending on my time later, i may even try to get a workout video in. If not, no biggie!! Now on to my meal planning/cooking for the week. HAPPY SUNDAY!!

Summary:

Distance:	4.00 mi
Time:	55:15
Avg Pace:	13:57 min/mi
Avg Speed:	4.3 mph
Elevation Gain:	145 ft
Calories:	503 C

	Your swim efficiency is calculated by your total time plus strokes normalized to 25 meters (fixed distance). This allows you to compare your swim efficiency to another pool or open water workout.

	Your SWOLF score is the time in seconds plus the strokes it takes you to complete one pool length. For example 30 seconds plus 25 strokes equals a SWOLF score of 55.

Details

Timing

Time:	55:15
Moving Time:	53:22
Elapsed Time:	55:15

Avg Speed:	4.3 mph
Avg Moving Speed:	4.3 mph
Max Speed:	7.0 mph

Avg Pace:	13:57 min/mi
Avg Moving Pace:	13:56 min/mi
Best Pace:	8:36 min/mi

Speed

Pace

Elevation

Elevation Gain:	145 ft
Elevation Loss:	142 ft
Min Elevation:	252 ft
Max Elevation:	329 ft

Heart Rate

Avg HR:	159 bpm
Max HR:	184 bpm