Sunday, November 30, 2008

Just a quickie

If I work out today I will have accomplished my goals...for 3 days a week. I knew that if I told myself to work out every day then I would get at least 3 in...wow how the mind works.

Thanksgiving was not too terribly bad. Although making a cheesecake AND having left overs of said cheesecake didn't help anything. I don't care for turkey so I unfortunately ate all the wonderful sides! But kept it to a minimum and probably drank more wine than I ate food - well, actually I'm sure of that. Didn't someone say something about a liquid diet?

This next week is the start of 3 weeks of work prior to our 2 week shutdown. So I am going to have to hunker down. Next weeks goals:

1. Work out every day.
2. NO Carbs.
3. Go over budget
4. Decide on what is going to go into savings (and what for).
5. Dinners as a family at the dinner table (even when both of us are not home at the same time).

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

My scale hates me...

I think my scale is lying to me. It is lying to me in order for me to not stand on it for more than 2 seconds...I figure it is thinking "lie to her so she gets her fat butt off of me!" Ha. No, seriously, gained 5# then the very next day lost 3#? What? So I figure it just wanted to give me a boost of self confidence. I think you can get these scales at Target...

My whole work out every day for 30 minutes is actually working. I kind of figured that if I said that I would do something every day I may reach my 3 days a week goal. This way if things come up or exhaustion creeps back in - well - I haven't waited until Sunday to do my 3 days worth of working out.

And the eliptical is back in working condition. Ahhhh....

So far we have had one dinner at (or near) the dinner table - no tv....just a book and the computer...hmmm...maybe have to work on that one. However, we did manage to touch base on a few things. It was actually quite nice. Who knew you could eat without hgtv?

Tonight - well - I was tired. Baby boy was up at 1am instead of 3am and it just screwed me up. Plus my 2 quad lattes didn't help either. Although I did crash but then couldn't sleep from 1 until about 4am...

By the way - I just remembered something that really helped me get back into shape at one time - running or walking or biking for only 20 minutes. You start out slow and then every minute you build up to a higher intensity until you reach 18 minutes and this should be your highest then you start back down for 2 min. It burns more than walking or running or biking for 30 minutes. I completely believe in this as this is what our trainer in college would do for our workouts. It was a constant build up of intensity and then worked our way back down. So - this is something that I am going to do differently the rest of the week. I figure 20 minutes - no problem.

Good luck over T-day! Remember - small portions. You'll thank yourself!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Topping my Talents

Week 2? Thank goodness I made a fancy spreadsheet to keep track of myself. Too bad I'm not managing to acomplish any goals. I did stuff. I rearranged the basement and rearranged the stuff in the kitchen cupboards. Completely avoided any of my goals and managed to gain 2 pounds in the process.

And I super-glued my fingers together. I'm not joking.. and they're not in a confortable position either. I think this tops my list of talents!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Thanksgiving Week (aka Hell Week)

Ok, I'm going to keep it pretty simple this week, everybody. The focus this week is not backsliding on the things I've had success with (no drive thrus, exercise, no outside food).

The no sugar thing is going to be a nightmare this week. If I can keep it to 2 days clean, then I'll say I did pretty well.

Jes -- I wanted to say way to go on the organization thing! I love that idea of having a Do list around the house.

On finances, I wanted to tip you all off to www.mint.com where you can track expenses and budgets and even input your cell phone, credit card info and loan info and they will compare rates and current deals available out there to give suggestions on cutting back on your bills. Another one with supposedly even more tie-in's with more bank databases is http://www.yodlee.com/

Javagirl Sign in Sunday....

I have gained 5# this week.

Boo frickin Hoo.

And the eliptical is broken.

The first day (I should have started on Thursday) that I get on the thing and it is broken. Dodo is trying to fix the thing now.

So mentally how do you think I feel? The first thing I thought when the eliptical all of a sudden broke with me on it was that I was too damn fat to be on the thing. Maybe not but criminy.

Anyway. I did do very well with food in the mornings and for lunch but then...the drive-thrus were too darn easy. There is a Burgerville on my way home from LiDo's sitter. Right there. Why does it have to be right there. I am considering taking an alternate route home but that one takes me by Dutch Bros. Coffee. Either way - I'm screwed if I don't start getting some self control.

The egg cupcakes - FANTASTIC ladies. Just make sure that you put in enough cilantro. For one big egg-beater thing I use a 1 bunch of cilantro and make sure you add tobasco. It was so nice having them already made up as well. I just kept them in a bag in the frig and popped one in the microwave in the mornings and then I would pack 4 with me to take to work and have 2 for lunch and then I'd have 2 if I had any cravings in the afternoon.

So I have breakfast and lunch covered and this next week - dinner will be cooked by me! Plus I think that you add 1# every time you put your arm through the window of your car.

Finances: Well - since this was the first day back to work - I'm making money. I did buy something that I hope will keep me organized and financially on track. It is called an UnCalendar. You put in the dates and it has colorful pages and boxes and places to list things and boxes just to doodle and put notes in. I LOVE IT. Because Dodo has a very weird schedule and because we don't get much time at all to really see each other this calendar is going to be kept on our desk - right in front of the monitor. Any household supplies, grocery items, etc. will be written down in one of the list blocks. Then at the end of the week - well I either buy it or it goes on the next weeks list to accumulate for a bigger shopping trip rather than a small one where I would end up buying needless things.

I am also putting down items that I need Dodo to do (Dodo's Do List...hahaha). Oh - by the way - they do not call it a "to do" list but a "do" list. I like that. This will help both of us because like any husband and wife...we both get on each other (or mainly me on him) for not doing enough. Now - he will know exactly what I want done around there and what I would like for him to do. And the best thing is he is fine with that! It has already helped out a lot. The only thing that I will probably do is put sticky notes on the page of lists for the grocery and supply items. This way I can just take the sticky in with me vs. the whole calendar.

By the way - does anyone have a Wii Fit? If so - do you like it and is it worth it?

My wonderful goals for this next week (Week 3?):
1. Thanksgiving meals...I will only take enough food to have 2 or 3 bites of one thing especially if there are a gazillion items that I want to eat. This way I am not overstuffing myself AND I get to at least taste what I love...

2. Budget...I feel like whatever I do have will be blown since I am making some dishes to take to the T-Day places we are crashing. Oh well. I love cooking for others. I'll just not do as much as I normally would do and make them want more next time.

3. Excercising...Hopefully the eliptical will work. This week - well - I am going for all of it. I can't do the 3 day or 4 day thing. Like my Mom said - work out 30 minutes every day (just a walk). So that is what I am going to do. 30 minutes a day (as long as the eliptical works).

4. Family...When we can have dinner together - it will be at the table and not in front of the TV. Also - we are going to implement a bit of an evening schedule (I hate schedules) for Lido. So every other night it will be bath time at 7:30ish and then a bottle and book. Hopefully this may get him to sleep through the night. On the other nights it will be some play time and then bottle book thing happening.

5. Sanity...I'm still trying to figure this one out.

Good luck girls over the Thanksgiving holiday! Pace yourselves and you'll love yourself for it! Keep the mindset that it is not about the food - it is about the company!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Reposting my goals for this week

I thought it would be good to list out my goals here so I can track them here. I noticed I've dropped off on some of these this week. Update on Sunday to come.

1. Organizational: Get control of our daily schedule. Map it out (done!). Schedule playdates around that schedule, not the other way around.
Goal for Week 2: Set aside 15 mins before bed to pick up toys, straighten up as much as possible in 15 mins.

2. Organizational: Get the kids' afternoon nap to start at the same time. Work on freelance during that time.
Week 2: Same

3. Fitness: Walk or play outside 3 times a week.
Week 2: Walk or play outside 4 times next week.

4. Spiritual: Before my feet hit the floor, give thanks and praise for the day. Ask for help to proceed through the day with loving kindness.
Week 2: Same.

5. Spiritual: Go to church Sunday. Confession monthly.
Week 2: Same

6. Fitness: No drive-thru's. No sugar. (starting small here, girls)
Week 2: No buying meals out at all for next week.

7. Financial: Put money that would've been spent on outside food into a jar to work towards 'big give' in February.
Week 2: Same

8. Mental: Don't beat myself up if I fall off the wagon for a day. Get right back up the next day.
Week 2: Same

Welcome to the Peer Pressure!

Okay ladies - our new venture into the web. Or should I say "adventure". This blog has been born from a couple of us seeking an easier way to communicate our goals, trials and tribulations, our successes, our moments of weekness, our moments of triumph, and ideas. Instead of emails going back and forth we will be sharing with the world...lets see how it may grow!

Since we are sharing with the world - maybe we should do some background information....

We are a group of women from different walks of life, different economic 'levels' (if broke has different levels) and different family structures (those with kids and those without kids). We decided that we needed some support in the middle of our younger days to reach some of our weight loss goals, savings goals, budget goals, and organizational goals. Plus we thought it would be a good avenue to share our ideas with our friends.

Each week we share how our previous week has gone. What goals we reached, what we want to work on, etc. We also share ideas on what to cook/eat, how to pay off those pesky credit card bills, how to save money and how we may become better organized.

Personally, I think this is a very cool thing we are doing especially since we can all learn from each other and appreciate the fact that we are not alone out there. Even if we have financial or family differences - we all will end up sharing something similar.

The final reason why I think this is a very cool thing - no one is doing this to "compete" against another person. Why do we say "making peer pressure work for you"? Well, because it can work for you and it can work in a positive way. This is a positive approach to reaching your goals. It is a positive approach to supporting your fellow women and friends.

So girls - start blogging!