Bootcamp

So Saturday was my first day of Mama Bootcamp and I'm sore! We did an hour and 1/2 workout with lots of core and strength training plus about 20-30 minutes of cardio. It was tough, but fun and I am totally digging this program so far.

I actually met with the owner/coach on Friday night for my intake, at a Starbuck's in the middle of a Border's book store. That meeting was kind of rushed (she was running behind), but it ended with her taking my measurements and calculating my body fat and taking before pictures. A little awkward being in the handicap stall half naked with another women sizing you up. I told her it was weird, but not as bad if she had done it in the middle of the coffee shop. I didn't cry though! Probably because we were so rushed I didn't really have time to talk about my issues.

I'm pretty stoked though, my actual coach is different than the owner. She is super fun and I think she will really help me stay on track. I told my coach that I had a hard time getting out of bed in the morning to do my workouts, so she said she would call me to get me going! So low and behold I got a call this morning at 5:30 telling me to get in gear! Pretty awesome huh? I guess this is what a personal trainer is like? Plus, she went through the bootcamp herself so she was showing me her before and after pics, which was neat to see.

Anyway, the way it works is you go to your bootcamp every week and turn in your homework (daily food logs and workout log) and they give your workout assignments for the next week. I'm suppose to stick to 1200-1400 calories a day, no refined carbs (white bread and sugar), 8 servings of fruits and veggies, and 80 - 100 ounces of water. My coach told me that you don't burn as many calories when you are dehydrated, which I didn't know! Even if you are just 2% dehydrated you would only burn 400 calories when you would normally burn 600 - what a difference!

My homework this week is to do 4 cardio sessions and 2 strength in addition to the bootcamp. I am meeting with my coach again to write out my goals - she told me I she could make me look like a Barbie if I want! HA! I would make a hilarious Barbie! Not for me.

this and that

We had a great weekend last weekend. It was my sister's birthday and we and several of her friends surprised her with a limo and a trip to some wineries close by. It was a blast...plus no kids.

I think I'm ready for Christmas, but with all the recitals, performances and Christmas shows I have been to this week it has been quite a whirlwind. I guess I'm about 90% ready, I just need to wrap and do a dry run on the stockings to make sure they are good...oh and I need to sew a couple skirts for my girls, but those are simple.

I'm caving in in my weight loss efforts. I can't do it myself. I start a boot camp class on Saturday and I meet with a coach tomorrow night for an intake to a 12 week program to try and get back in control of myself...which I really haven't been in the past four to five years. Oh, I can do okay a few weeks at a time, but the big picture is not good. Hopefully this works. After I made the call, I felt a big relief...I don't know why? I think there are a lot of emotional things going on that I'm not really aware of. I'm pretty sure I'll cry when I meet with her tomorrow, but I cry easy. I hope I don't freak her out. I'll post more after our meeting.

Quote of the week: Charlotte at Delaney's piano recital (after I've explained to her that we need to be on our best behavior so Delaney has a nice recital) with a devilish grin on her face, "I like messing things up." Hmmm, this one is going to be fun to raise.

Rocking It Char Style

Remember this ragamuffin hair style?

Well now she's sportin' this cute cut...

For a full view of her outfit. Yes, that is knee high boots with overall shorts.
She comes up with at least one new ensemble every day, but usually 3 to 4. I was telling my babysitter I need to start keeping pictures of her outfits. She replied, "Why, do you think she's actually going to grow out of it?" One of today's outfits: Strawberry Shortcake top, pants and skirt layered, soccer shin guards (no she doesn't play, they are just an accessory) and flip flops.

Its freezing cold out too, but she still manages to find the spaghetti strap tops that I've tried to hide.
The other day she had actually used a marker to give herself full sleeve "Christmas" tattoos on her arms and legs. She had to wear a short sleeve shirt because she didn't want to cover them up. It takes a lot for me not to make her change into outfits that actually match or cover up tattoos.

When I tell her "Char that is quite an outfit, you look...(pause)" She chimes in "Absolutely Adorable!" Yes, you do.

Look What Came in the Mail Today....

Which had this in it.  The Christmas Story is my favorite Christmas movie.  

Which is now prominently displayed in my front window, next to my pathetic tree ( I let my little girls decorate it by themselves so 90% of the ornaments are on the bottom foot of the tree...if they aren't playing with them...or breaking them).  Notice how the solid red bulb lights outside really accentuate the leg?  Kind of like a brothel.

I LOVE IT!

Today's Turkey

Motley Post

Guess what's cooking?  TURKEY!  If you don't get the humor in us cooking another turkey check out my last post.  To answer some questions from my last post...the new turkey cooker works great, I would have to say it was the juiciest, most flavorful turkey I've ever had.  Chuck did brine it too, so that helps, but somehow the cooker seals the juices in.  Since the new cooker is oiless I would guess it is as healthy as if it was cooked in an oven.   But just in case Chuck reads this, the fact that the turkey was fabulous IN NO WAY justifies buying 4 turkey fryers.

Thanks for all the compliments on the bathroom.  I love it too, the tub is the best as it has an overflow channel so you can fill it to the rim.  The only problem is my kids love it too so it is more of a family bathroom than a master bath...and yes Charmaine there is room for a small bed in there, but you'd have to deal with everyone traipsing through.

I have to share this snippet from Family Guy cuz this happens to me ALL THE TIME.  I don't usually lay on the bed comatose, and I usually have two of them doing this to me at once while I'm trying to have a convo with my husband or oldest daughter or trying to work...but it is a taste. 

I've been sort of silent lately on my diet and exercise.  I guess I just felt stupid because every time I talk about it, set a goal, I seem to get derailed...then I feel like I failed.  So I am still running, training, exercising, dieting and trying to look like a 22 who has never had kids...but I'm just sort of keeping my goals to myself until I actually accomplish something.  Hopefully, I will have something to brag about soon.

In other news, my dad is in Tunisia on business and he sent me these pictures that I thought were pretty cool of some ruins there.

This is an ancient toilet.  

And this is my dad sitting on an ancient toilet.  Doesn't he look cute with his little pocket protector thing...he is such and engineer. 

In case you're wondering, Tunisia is on the northern coast of Africa (the continent - just in case Sarah Palin is reading)  nestled between Libya and Algeria on the Mediterranean Sea..just south of Italy.  We're not sure what he's doing over there, probably installing some spy equipment...we think he may secretly work for the CIA.  He looks pretty covert, eh?  Since I haven't been able to travel further than Disneyland lately, this is the best I'm getting in travel pics.

Welcome to My House

Hello! Welcome, I'm so glad you could stop by for a virtual visit to finish off your holiday rounds!  By the way, I first want to start out by thanking you for calling first, I always appreciate having a little bit of time to prepare for my guests (i.e. clean frantically for four hours).

So as you come in you will probably try and say "hi" to my girls.  Immediately Charlotte will plant hear face in my butt crack to hide (she is shy, and thankfully for her my butt provides ample hiding space).  Delaney is probably standing next to me glaring at you while she sizes you up.  Elli on the other hand is probably still in her bed sleeping, or just emerging from her 1/2 hour shower - she's a teenager, nuff said.  Chuck is probably in the kitchen cooking something for your visit...actually he is probably cooking lots of things and will immediately offer you a drink and more food than you can eat.

By this time I have probably dislodged Char from my rear and you will notice her eclectic outfit choice for the day.  If you came by today, she would have this on...her superhero whale panties and her Dora swimsuit top.

Oh yeah, you haven't seen my house yet!  Well last year we finally finished the last of our big projects here...you should have seen this house when we bought it!  Anyways, we remodeled our master bedroom and bathroom last year and I'm so happy with it.  Look at my shower and bath!

Oh wait, Delaney wants me to take her picture and get it in here too...she can't be outdone by her sister.  In fact she may even play the piano for you later...naked so she won't get her dress dirty.  

Well so much for the tour, lets sit down and enjoy some food.  Elli will chat your ear off probably telling stories about her dad, or the new contacts she just got for her 16th birthday, or her latest crush.  Would you like a glass of wine?  We're having turkey by the way, again.  Hope you don't mind, but we need to justify the four turkey fryer's we own.  Yes, you heard that right, we own four turkey fryer's and they have all been bought in the past five years (this is where Chuck puts his head down in shame while I tell the Turkey Fryer story). 

WE (Chuck) bought the first fryer... and really fried turkey is very good.  But every year Chuck finds some reason to buy a new one  a) the pot was too round and took too much oil to fill, b) the pot wasn't big enough for the turkey c) some other reason.  Well this year he got an oil-less fryer "for safety."  I guess I can't argue with the safety thing - but when he showed me the fryer after hiding it for two weeks I cried...and laughed at the same time. 

 

Oy.

Would you like some more wine?  Feeling a little tipsy?  It's about time for Chuck to make a comment that will annoy me so I don't want to talk to him for the rest of the night.  Like "Having 3 kids didn't make HIS body go to hell."  Pardon me while I glare at him with death lasers.

What?  Your going so soon.  Feeling a little uncomfortable with the tension?  Its okay.  Thanks for coming by and I hope you visit again soon!

Anatomy Lessons

Living in a house with two young girls has really made me wonder where they get their ideas on the male anatomy. I mean really, they are 4 and 5 and don't have a brother, they should know nothing...right?

On Halloween we were driving down the road. We passed a small truck that had a gentleman probably in his 20's driving the car. He had on a blond wig and makeup as his costume. I pointed him out to Delaney who responded, "That's a boy!"

Chuck said, "Yes, you know how you can tell? Boy's have Adam's apples," as he pointed to his.

Delaney replied," And Wieners!"

Silence, as I look at Chuck a bit dumbfounded. Delaney chimes up, "They have skulls too, that hang down." Still looking at Chuck even more confused "skulls?" Chuck whispers to me, "testiskulls!" Oh jeez.

Then there was the lesson on how daddy pees - folks, our girls have no problem walking in on us when we are trying to get a little privacy to pee - we don't invite them in, they just come. First, Delaney thought Daddy had a magic thumb that he could pee through...now Charlotte is telling me that Daddy squeezes his shirt to pee - not that I asked, it just came up. They both think boys are gross though, and should sit down to pee.

Ribolitta

Just wanted to share this recipe my hubby has been making lately...courtesy of a recipe book we have from Williams-Sonoma called "Soup & Stew."  

Ribolitta is a staple of Tuscan peasant cooking.  It is great this time of year with the fall weather...a comforting vegetable stew that makes about 8 servings.  It does take some time and planning, but it isn't difficult and it is worth it.  It is actually better the second day, so it is good to make on a Sunday than have several easy reheat dinners and lunches during the week.  Plus it is super healthy (Gillian McKeith would be proud).

Ingredients:  

• 1 lb dried cannellini beans (pick over, rinse and drain)
  
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 5 fresh sage leaves
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 2 russet potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 small savoy cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped
• 1 bunch each Swiss chard and Cavolo Nero (black cabbage), thick ribs removed, coarsely chopped
• One 14 1/2 oz can crushed tomatoes
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

• Place the beans in a bowl of cold water and soak for at least 4 hours (up to overnight) - drain and set aside.
• In large soup pot, combine the drained beans, 3 qt of water, garlic, and sage.  Bring to boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer until beans are tender yet firm (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours).  Remove from heat.  Using a handheld or standing blender, coarsely puree the beans, leaving some texture.  Set aside.
• In a large saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onions and saute until softened, 7-10 minutes.  Add the carrots, celery, potatoes, savoy cabbage, chard, and cavolo nero.  Toss to coat evenly.  Add the tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes (until the greens are tender).
• Add the cooked vegetables to the pureed beans and cook covered until nicely thickened...about 40 minutes longer.  Add additional seasoning to taste.  

Traditionally this is served over stale or toasted country style bread and drizzled with a little olive oil when served...but we've been skipping that part and it is still dee-lish!

I've been using About.com's calorie count plus to track my calorie ins and outs lately.  I love this site!  It has every tool you could want to track your calories needed, consumed, and burned, and a daily  nutritional analysis.  Plus it is free, so you can't beat that.  Anyway...I used the recipe analyzer feature on the Calorie Count site  and each serving is only 345 calories, and packed with vitamins.  Low in saturated fat and sodium, no cholesterol.  High in Iron, potassium, Vitamin A and Vitamin C.  But the best thing is my kids like it so it's a winner here...and it is cost friendly.  

Tagged

I've been tagged by Nikemom, so here we go.

The rules of this post: The rules are to list 6 things I value and 6 things I don't and then pass this award on to 6 people!

What I Value (in no particular order):

1. Laughing -especially at the little quirky things in life
2. Ice Cream - my favorite dessert
3. Security - having a family and husband I can rely on, a home I can pay for (I think)
4. The excitement of new adventures - I love to conquer something I've never done before or learn a new skill
5. Having time to read a book, or take a bath by myself
6. Being strong - mentally, emotionally, and physically

What I don't Value:

1. Politics - so tired of all the bullshit and not being able to trust anyone
2. Shopping - I hate to shop, sorry girls
3. People who take themselves too seriously...can't you make fun of yourself at all?
4. Sales calls...need I say more
5. Greed
6. Incompetency

As for tagging, I leave that open to anyone who wants to participate.  Have fun!

Time To Get My Shit Together

I've been a little blue lately...

Because of this, my muffin top hasn't disappeared, my house is a mess, I'm behind on my laundry,  I've been eating crappy and not exercising as regularly as I should, no blogging...all of this makes me more depressed.

So I just need to start doing stuff that I know will make me feel better.

• Make exercise and running a priority to get my endorphins going to improve my attitude.
• Quit eating candy corns (the truly evil part of Halloween).
  
• Try to get at least one household chore done each day.
• Hug and love my kids every day (easy peasy).

Thats enough for today...really I think that is all I can focus on right now.

Boss update:  things are actually going okay on this front considering.  It is an emotional roller coaster...somedays everyone is positive and hopeful...other days reality kicks our butt.  My boss is a lot stronger than he was a month ago after he had the reaction to his meds, and has really cut back on the pain meds.   He had very little side effects with his first round of chemo.  He has started losing his hair and leaves for Chicago on Sunday for a second round of Chemo.  My fingers are crossed that things go well in Chicago.

More Life

I have nothing fun to report...I feel guilty not posting, but on the flip side I feel guilty posting anything that seems frivolous at this point.

Here's the deal, last month my boss was diagnosed with lung cancer. The cancer has also spread into his liver and back...evidently it is a very fast spreading cancer. He has been given a year to live. He has never smoked, lives a very healthy lifestyle, a great family man that has been married to the same woman for 25 or so years, three great kids. He is 56, and by all accounts has had a great life and been very successful...but it is just so shocking still and things are moving fast.

I don't work for one of his companies, I work for him personally managing the financial aspects of the many companies he owns. This means I am having to take over on a lot of stuff and keep it running while he is in treatment, etc. Also, one of my jobs the past few weeks has been "training" his wife and kids on how the companies are structured and work so that they can understand things when he is gone. It has been tough...I don't like to cry at work, but I have been.

This week was bad...he had an adverse reaction to some of the meds and had to be admitted to the hospital for several days with internal bleeding, fluid in his lungs, a fever, and they thought his organs were shutting down. We thought we were going to lose him now, rather than in a year or so. Once they took him off those meds though he improved and he is coming home today.

When I first heard the diagnosis I thought if anyone can beat it he can, he is strong and healthy other than the cancer...and determined...but now I don't know.

So I haven't fallen off the planet...but really some days I wish I could just vegetate in front of the TV all day and not think about anything.

I appreciate any and all positive thoughts sent this way.

Life Changes

I've been abducted by aliens (sick with the flu) the last week, but that is no biggie...I will be back later today with my Gadget report.

Things are super duper heavy at work right now...in a bad way, not a busy way...and not layoffs. Just some really depressing personal stuff going on...sometimes life sucks. Lets just say I wish I didn't have to deal with this, but I'm sort of in the middle of it and need to step up.

TGIF Pictures

I've Been Thinking...

My husband hates it when I say that cuz it is usually followed by something like:

• "We should get some goats."
• "Wouldn't it look great if we opened up that wall and put a fireplace over there?"
• "The local vet clinic has some St. Bernard puppies that were abandoned, we should adopt one."
• "It would be really nice to have a pool - all the girls friends could hang out at our house."
• "Look at the cute birdie..."
• "If we just take out that hall closet and make it part of our bedroom, we could have an awesome master bathroom and bedroom."
• "The girls want a baby brother...we could always adopt."
• "There is this really cool house a few miles away that is a bank repo. It has five acres, just think how many goats we could have then!"

I jest not, everyone of the sentences has come out of my mouth...but anyway, that is not what I was thinking about today.

I have been contemplating why I (in particular, women in general) torture myself so much to be the perfect weight. Isn't the whole point to be healthy? I know I am healthy - I can run miles and miles. I can do a pretty decent plank. My weight isn't perfect, this is true...but I look pretty decent.

My husband thinks I look good. My daughter's think I'm beautiful. Why do I want to obsess over this? Why do I want more? I'll never be one of those perky PTC mom's wearing a jog suit that has never been sweated in. It isn't like I don't have a million other things to better occupy my time and mind.

And I know, I KNOW, once I get to my ideal weight...I will want to lose more. I know because when I weighed this before, I thought I was fat. I know this because I am a woman and as that I can't seem to be happy with me the way I am....curvaliscious.

It really isn't that I think my husband will be more attracted to me or love me more if I lose weight...and I certainly don't want to lose weight to attract other men (no way in hell, one is enough for me thank you).

I can say that, I feel most self-conscious about my "flaws" around other women, most judged by them. Why? I don't know...maybe I am just paranoid, because they could probably care less if I have a muffin top, double chin, etc.

Anyway, that is what I have been thinking...but I'm still doing my challenges to be more fit, thinner...no my obsession will not stop. Now, off to do my run for today.

Must Have Monday

My husband likes to shop...I really don't like to shop myself so I guess we're a little backwards there, but I digress. The problem with my husband's shopping, is he finds these totally crazy gadgets that really aren't practical, but he "must have" them. He can justify buying anything...really he is very talented at that. He could justify buying a tractor if we lived in a flat in Manhattan. And I really don't even try to say no, it isn't worth the argument unless pennies are tight. Now he even has one more reason to justify his purchases...blog material.

So needless to say we have a garage and cabinets full of useless crap. Crap that is only a year old that has already been replaced by something newer and better. Crap that has never been used.

I thought it would be fun to feature some of these "Must Have" gadgets we have acquired over the years. He will probably be mad at me for doing this little featurette, but hunny it is really kind of endearing in an annoying sort of way.

Near and dear to my heart is my first featured gadget...I must say it is one of my favorite purchases he has made because I have given him buckets of crap over it...

The Lemon Squeezer Pusher Into Beer Thingy

Here is how it works. Place a lemon or lime in the slot, squeeze the side lever in so it releases the juices. Then push down the plunger so the lemon/lime is pushed into your beer. Basically, it works like a human THUMB folks. Yeah...worth every penny if you don't have a thumb.

Cost: Hopefully he found it in the 99 cent bin at Target....but I'm not sure.

Times used: About 5...he likes to bring it out when we have friends over just to prove to me it isn't a useless gadget.

Props to my hand model...Charlotte. (don't call CPS, the cap was never removed from the bottle).

Core Meltdown - Week One Check In

Okay, so today probably isn't the best day to check in. Yesterday I was out and about with my family and I got so hungry I ended up eating a bunch of salty chips...sigh. So I'm a little bloated today. But one day is just a drop in the bucket, the big picture is much better. And now that I am participating in Glam's Muffin Melt Off too, there are others involved to keep me competitive and focused.

I actually did pretty darn good on my exercise plan last week...I only missed one short run due to an upset stomach. Although I know I haven't really lost much weight this first week I do know that things are changing. I've taking measurements and things are definitely rearranging themselves.

So my goal for this week is to get a little more organized and planned out with my food. I wasn't really following a plan last week...just trying to be more aware and careful of what I was putting in my mouth. I did manage to stay away from milk and cheese (which wasn't easy for me) mainly because it just seems to reek havoc on my system, I'm not morally opposed to milk and cheese and I don't think it is bad for most people. But I think I need an actual meal plan, and keep a protein bar in my purse for those days when my husband keeps me out for hours shopping (not kidding).

This weeks exercise schedule:

• Sunday - 10 mile run, abripperX


• Monday - Shoulders & arms


• Tuesday - 4 mile run, abripperX


• Wednesday - YogaX


• Thursday - 5 mile run, abripperX


• Friday - 4 mile run, Legs & back


• Saturday - rest

And now a moment to vent on some pet peeves I'm having at the moment...how come no one else in my family seems to know how to change the damn toilet paper! Nor do they even seem to know how to flush the toilet...I can forgive a four year old for this, but a 15 year old? or better yet a forty-five year old! and don't get me started on no one else seeming to know where the garbage is located in our house.

Okay, better now.

Hope everyone's weekend was great...off for my run now!

TGIF

Better late than never, eh? It took me all day to get this picture up, but here it is Nikemom's TGIF Picture.

Cute Quote of the Day

"Whatever you give a woman, she's going to multiply:

If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby.

If you give her a house, she'll give you a home.

If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal.

If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart.

She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her."

So - if you give her crap, you will receive a bucket full of shit.

Ah, Memories....after rereading this I remembered when I was about 20 or so my friend and I dumped a bucket of horse manuer all over a guys truck in the middle of the night because he was trash talking my friend. We even went so far as to cover my license plate so we couldn't be "traced" - I was such a goody two-shoes it made me nervous to be so naughty.

1 Day Down, 29 To Go

Day one went pretty good...but my first attempt at AbRipperX was pathetic - I think I was only able to complete about a third of the moves....and I am SORE today.

I'm thinking I shouldn't have worn spandex that sucks in the gut in my before pictures...cuz really my tummy don't look good, and there is back fat, and I just hate it when I feel like a roll of fat is restricting my movement...but thanks for the positive comments. Marcy...I was very lucky to only get one very small stretch mark on my lower tummy in my 3 pregnancies...hate me if you want, but on the bright side you're faster and skinner than me.

After posting my before pics, I noticed that Glam is doing a little Muffin Meltdown challenge of her own starting next week. I've decided to join in on her challenge for a little extra motivation...so if you have a muffin top your wanting to get rid of go check that out.

So today I'm taking off work early, picking up my girls and our family is going to the lake to try out our new kayaks! Woot! We got two sit-on-top kayaks so we can toodle around the lake with our kidlets. The kayaks just came in today and it should be so much fun to be able to go to the lake, picnic and get some family exercise too.

Core Meltdown - In the Beginning

Today is the first day of my Core Meltdown Challenge. Well I did cheat a little, I actually did Yoga X yesterday...anyway.

Here we go, before pictures of the culprit. I can't believe I'm actually posting before pictures...but I figure it will keep me more motivated to stick to my plan.

I can't believe I can run with a belly like that!

Week one workout plan:

• Sunday - 8 mile run, ab ripper X
• Monday - Strength shoulder & arms
• Tuesday - 4 mile run, ab ripper X
• Wednesday - 5 mile run, strength legs & back
• Thursday - 4 mile run, ab ripper X
• Friday - Yoga X
• Saturday - rest

My food plan is pretty basic. I'll be having Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal for breakfast, fruits for snacks, veggies and lean proteins for lunch and dinner. NO CHEESE or MILK products.

Obviously I have some hard work ahead of me to meltdown the belly, love handles, muffin top, etc. Not just toning involved but lots of fat loss needed.

CORE MELTDOWN CHALLENGE

Labor Day is over. Summer is gone. I have made no progress over the summer to improve my body. I don't mind the thick thighs...I have them, will always have them, they are strong and muscular (although currently a little too much chub on top of the muscle). I have always had a "pear shape" because of my thighs....what is getting to me though is my increasing belly size. Rather than a pear I am starting to look like a Butternut Squash. Not good.

Sigh....I NEED A CORE MELTDOWN!

So, I am initiating a self-challenge to reduce my core and regain my shape over the next 30 days. I can do 30 days...can you? Join me if you like...but I'm doing it with or without you. We can post pictures or stats that show middle meltdowns...the prize is a boost to self-esteem.

Start Date: Sunday, September 6
End Date: Monday, October 6

My Plan:

• AbRipper X (from P90X) 2-3 times per week


• YogaX (also P90X) once per week


• maintain running schedule (er start again)


• keep my diet to lean proteins, fresh veggies and fruit.


• Stay away from cheeses, processed crapola, etc.

My goal is to reduce the roll when I am sitting. I'll post my start on Sunday and link to anyone who wants to join me.

Seven Things - Week in Review

Seven good things last week:

1. My husband and I rocked out making a landmark out of Delaney starting Kindergarten. I took Delaney out for a special mother daughter day. Plus, my husband and I made her a special dinner the night before, pancakes the morning of, and took her out to lunch when we picked her up the first day.
2. Got my bills paid.
3. Got caught up on my laundry…but now I am behind again, and my house completely cleaned…but now it is messy again. Oh well, gotta love those kids.
4. My Mom, step-dad, two sisters and a brother-in-law are visiting and we have had lots of good family time…my house is a little more chaotic than normal, but it is worth it.
5. I went kayaking with my girls on Saturday. I took both of the little ones out with me individually on the lake and let them have a shot at rowing. It was fun, and now my arms are a little sore…I’d love to do that more often.
6. Danced and sang with a bunch of little kids at a birthday party on Saturday night (Saturday was busy). One year olds are funny.
7. Made it to church.

Notice how none of my good things related to diet and exercise? That will change this week, I am ready to recommit, my mindset is there…next weeks list will rock!

Three things I will do this week:

1. Get on a better eating plan.
2. Get all my runs in.
3. Spend one-on-one time with each of my three girls.

First Day of Kindergarten

Char wishing her sister off...

The kindergarten class lines up
A little tentative (or cold)

Her teacher is going through menopause and hot flashes, so several of the students were shivering...the teacher sweetly said "I don't get cold!" I guess we need to pack jackets for the classroom.

There's the door Mom and Dad!

Really! You need to leave!

Pick-up...I'm a star!

A good first day.

Slow Train Back

It is taking me forever to get back on track after our vacation to Disneyland! I am still behind in work, home, diet and exercise...but each day I get a little closer to being caught up, at least that is what I'm telling myself.

Disneyland was lots of fun, we probably spent close to 45 hours in 3 days at the parks. Everyone was exhausted, but we did every ride we wanted to. My favorite ride was Soaring Over California in the California Adventure park...way cool. I had five girls with me ranging from 4 to 15, and they were all pretty good...no major meltdowns (other than my husbands), and no one got lost. Charlotte is ready to go back (she has a list of character signatures she still wants), but Delaney thinks staying at home is just fine since we don't have the earthquakes and fire alarms here that we experienced on our trip.

Now I am ready for a real vacation where I can sit on a beach, stare at the ocean, and drink pina coladas or beers or margaritas...sigh...

My running has been sporadic at best, I have been having a hard time getting out of vacation mode with the diet and exercise. I think I will only be doing a half marathon on October and push my full out to December...otherwise I will probably hurt myself and it just isn't worth it. But I need to do it in December or I will be disappointed in myself. I need to do some more late night trips to the gym to launch my undercover surveillance of the "massage" parlor next door...so far my day trips have provided no conclusive evidence.

Delaney starts kindergarten today...wah! Ask her if she is excited...NO! Ask Charlotte if she is excited...YES (now she gets mommy all to herself when Delaney's at school). We got all of her clothes laid out last night. Got her backpack packed with her supplies and a snack. I need to find a box of tissues cuz I'll be crying in a couple hours when we do drop-off. I'll be updating with her first day pictures later.

Disney Days

We're Here! Actually, we have been here since Sunday but today is the first chance I have had to get on the Internet.

Packing on Friday and Saturday was torture! I think I did about 30 loads of laundry, and we had to squeeze Charlotte's birthday in there. She turned four on Saturday and was happy with the presents and fun, but would rather just stay three...she wants to be my baby forever...aw!

We left on Sunday morning with my three girls plus my two nieces for a seven hour drive. The drive was actually pretty good - at least I couldn't hear any major fight over my ipod earplugs! Thank goodness my car has a DVD player in it - a lifesaver for long drives with kids.

We arrived at our hotel around four and within the first two hours of being here the fire alarm went off and the hotel had to be evacuated! Delaney is a bit of a nervous nelly so she immediately wanted to go home...she didn't care if it meant another 7 hour drive. We convince her we were okay though and spent all day Monday at Disneyland - got there first thing in the morning and stayed until after the fireworks...lots of tired girls.

Coolest thing - you can now make customized mickey ears. Each girl picked their own base hat from basic black, pink, fur, metallic, etc. - their own ears in another cornucopia of selections, and patches. It was really fun! They all have there custom ears on here with Mickey.

Tuesday we went to California Adventure - 15 minutes into the first show we were watching an earthquake hit...only we thought it was part of the shows special effects, so we didn't realize that the earth was really rolling until they opened the doors and told us to evacuate the building! Poor Delaney was really freaked out now. We hung in there and most of the rides were reopened within a few hours - and there was still lots of other stuff to do, so we still had fun.

Today we are resting before our final day at the park...just hanging in the hotel, coloring, swimming, watching TV, catching up with work and blogland...actually my girls have devised a ramp off the bed with cushions and are using their paddle boards to surf down the pillows.

I haven't ran this week at all and I missed my long run last weekend. I might run on the hotel treadmill today...and I might just hang by the pool and drink some cervesas with my hubby.

Random Nonsense

Four days until we leave for Disneyland, three days until Charlotte turns four. My laundry isn't done, haven't packed a wink, haven't bought Charlotte's presents yet, have lots of stuff I need to get done at work before I leave....AAAHHH!

A new gym opened up 5 minutes from my house and I joined - yesterday was their first day open and I went twice I was so excited. I did a 4 mile run on my first trip. Twenty minutes of an elliptical/stair climber and weights on my second trip. Yeah me!

Funny thing though, I live in a fairly rural clean-cut area but this gym is located right next to a one of those special "day spas" that only men frequent. It got busted last year and was suppose to be cleaned up with new staff. Well, when I got there for my second visit to the gym at 9:45 pm I noticed that the day spa was still open (Odd), and the middle-aged, clean cut, fellow that pulled in next to me in the parking went past the gym to the spa...hmmm. Shortly after he went through the doors, the neon sign switched from open to closed (and he obviously did not work there)....double hmmm. While I was working out I noticed him leaving solo, looking much more relaxed. I talked to the owner of the club and she said she has noticed this too, only men go to this day spa, and she called the sheriffs department and said they may want to check in on the spa again. Small town drama!

Monday Mellow Drama

Aren't they cute! When there are sweet moments like this, it makes up for having to tell them three times a day "Don't look at each other, don' t touch each other, don't talk to each other, don't even breath on each other if you can't get along!" They are actually fighting as I type this, I just said IT again, (sigh)!

Today's plans: I usually go into the office on Monday's, but my family is a little under the weather today so I'm working from home so they can take it easy. Today is not a scheduled run day for me so I will be doing some cross-training instead...probably elliptical and some strength training.

I watched a great movie this weekend, "The Station Agent." It was actually made back in 2003, so many of you may have already seen it, but I hadn't and I loved it. It isn't action, not a chick flick, I don't really know what it is about. Well friendship would be my best guess. Three people who are kind of in solitude, have nothing in common, become friends...and the friend Joe is just adorably cute (good looking, but I mean he has a really cute personality). It's a quirky indy film, which I like. Anyway, I highly recommend it if you haven't already seen it.

Well I hope everyone has a great day, back to breaking up the chicklet fights for me....and I need to start getting ready for Disneyland! We leave this coming Sunday.

Lessons Not Learned

I did my long run on Saturday and I was up and out of the house by 6:30am, which is huge for me! But lets just say I wasn't very well prepared for my run and there are a lot of things I need to get through my thick head to make these runs go better.

• Planning for a long run involves more than just putting it on your calendar.
• Drinking a few glasses of wine the night before is not the best way to hydrate for a long run.
• Garmins need to be placed on a charger to actually have enough juice to make it through a long run - let alone even making it on your wrist.
• If you feel like you are walking out of your house without something, you probably forgot your ipod and you will be doomed to hours of running with nothing to distract you from dwelling on all the thoughts that pass through your stressed out head.
• Maybe if I actually stretched before running I would be less likely to get the foot and knee pain I've been having.
• The cute little water bottles that go in your fuel belt get moldy if you sit them on your dresser half full and forget to wash them...and don't notice until 10 minutes before your run...so you have to carry a big bulky bottle.

I think I need to spend a half hour each night preparing for the next day...whether it be work, home with my girls, or running...things would run so much smoother. I have my doubts I'll actually make this happen, but it sure would be a good habit to get into.

Time to Pull Up My Socks

The past two weeks my exercise has been crap, my diet has been crap, and my attitude has been crap.

The smoke didn't help, but things have cleared up...but I actually sat on my couch Saturday and cried, for no real reason at all other than I just feel like I am doing a crappy job at everything.

And now my husband is down too, he has been laying in bed until 11 or so the last few days. Doesn't he know it is my turn to be blue! What is wrong with us!

My weight loss has been stagnant lately (see paragraph one)...and I was feeling so great last month, this definitely doesn't help with my mindset at all. It just pisses me off knowing, overall I eat pretty healthy, I'm pretty active, and there are people out there who eat worse than me and never exercise and have great bodies. Waaah!

So I set my alarm to get up at 5:45 this morning and run...I woke up at 7, and ran at 8...but I did run. Tomorrow I hope to get up a little earlier to get my butt in gear and quit feeling sorry for myself, because my life is really pretty great.

Needless to say, I have been contemplating things a lot lately and my approach to life. I am hoping to make a bit of a transformation in the next few weeks in how I can have more of a positive impact on my kids, my family, my community and live a healthier, cleaner and simpler life and not feel so frazzled.

Blah, Blah, Blah...

On the brighter side, finally some decent shows are coming back to TV this week.

I would have to say The Closer is my favorite TV show of all TV shows right now. Just love Brenda and the whole cast of characters with all their flaws and grumpiness (I really like grumpy TV characters, hmmmn)...and it came back Monday night, yah! I have been looking forward to this season for months, and the first episode was pretty good!

We also enjoy Monk and Psych and they start up again this Friday. They aren't necessarily the smartest shows on TV, but they are cute and fun and everyone in the family can watch them...and again great characters.

Ahh, the things we look forward to when we are old and married with kids.

Smokin' Hot

Required running gear here in NorCal
The air is a hazy grey, thick...it smells like a campfire you can never escape due to all the wildfires going on right now. To top it off it is triple digit temps all this week...112 today.

Thursday Thoughts

24 days until we leave for Disneyland! Our big vacation this year. It will be hot. It will be crowded. But dammit, we are going to have fun! Delaney is five and Charlotte will be turning four and we can no longer put off their childhood right to stand in line after line at the happiest place on earth.

• I need to get serious (again) on my weight loss plan. I did pretty good in May, okay in June...but now I need to step it up again. I'd like to lose another 5 to 10 pounds before Disney - gotta look good for my main man Donald Duck (I like him cuz he's grumpy, Mickey is just to perky for my taste). So I guess I better put all that wine I just bought in my cellar (uh, little refrigerator), stick to my exercise schedule, and update my goals.



• My foot hurts. It was hurting pretty bad Monday and Tuesday so I have been laying off the running. My foot feels much better today, just a twinge, so I think I'm going to try a light run today. Hope I don't aggravate it again.



• OK, tmi ,but I either have IBS or I am lactose intolerant...it is time for me to deal with this properly cuz it just ain't fun. I'm going to try cutting out dairy first to see if that helps at all. I don't eat much dairy anyway (mostly just a limited amount of cheese and ice cream), so it shouldn't be that hard.



• I am going to start researching switching our house over to solar. Our energy costs have gone through the roof the last year, and I can't figure out why since our lifestyle hasn't really changed. Anyway, I'm going to check into it - we'll see, it may just be too expensive to be worth it. I like the idea of being a little more self-sufficient and greener like Kermie though.



• My boss left yesterday for a month long vacation to Ireland and Switzerland (where he owns his own Chalet - disgustingly rich) - whew! Now I have a month of being able to get caught up at a nice steady pace instead of frantically trying to get 3 projects done at the same time, that he wanted last week. I needed this vacation!

Girls Weekend!

Hello all! I can't believe it has been a week since I have posted, the last week just flew by! I was super duper busy at work last week, with a huge deadline job that was sprung on me Wednesday morning and needed to be done by Friday. I rocked it out though and got it done.

I had an awesome girls weekend with two of my sisters and my stepmom. We went to Napa Valley! So beautiful, one of my favorite places to hang and relax and if anyone comes to visit California - a must see!

My stepmom, Julie, won tickets at an auction several months ago to see Love, Janis - four tickets, so she invited her 3 daughters. It was really great because my sister Amy and I are pretty close but Maggie is 18 years younger than me so we haven't gotten many chances to bond and it was nice to spend time with her without all of the kids, husbands, and rest of the family around.

So we didn't go to Napa until Saturday afternoon, and I was able to get my long run in before we left. My stepmom is a little dingy, and she forgot she was suppose to pick me up on the way to get Amy...and she forgot her purse...she had me a little worried about her. She is doing a raw foods cleanse right now, and I just think it isn't working too well for her brain function. But anyway... the show was Saturday night and it was pretty good - a lot like being at a Janis Joplin concert, but without the smell of pot. The girl singing sounded EXACTLY like Janis, so that was pretty cool.

Julie, Amy and Me >

Me and Maggs

Sunday was the best, we didn't really have anything planned so we threw around some ideas...spa treatments, wine tasting, tattoos, and we settled on walking around and shopping the quaint little town of Calistoga and maybe hitting a winery or two. Calistoga is one my favorite towns, it is just really cute and has lots of cutesy, artsy-fartsy shops, good restaurants, lots of spa places...basically a great tourist stop.

The first store we hit was the "Wine Stop" that is located in The Train Depot - where we did a wine tasting (at about 10:30am) and bought a case of wine. We had a very pleasant, funny server named Tom, who actually owns the shop. We even met the guy who buys all of Michael Jordan's wine for all of his restaurants and personal collection (at least that is what he told us) - he was a pretentious ass, but entertaining.

So we walked, and shopped, and ate lunch in Calistoga which was tres fun.

We finished off the weekend with a wine tasting at Cakebread Cellars. My stepmom is actually a granddaughter of a Cakebread, so we thought that was the best winery to stop at...we didn't know we needed a reservation! but luckily we were able to get in.and the wine was fab, so we bought a second case to split...