So glad you like the picture - yes definitely more motivational. The pic was taken at Pike Market in Seattle a couple of years ago or maybe a year ago...can't remember.
Anyway, so everyone is talking about weight right now....so I will start with that. It has been hard to stay motivated. I'm not too happy being in Portland right now so it is hard to find the strength and the will to do more than what I am typically expected to do during a normal day. I did great a couple of weeks ago with working out in the morning, then I felt like I didn't get to see my son very much so I opted to sleep and cuddle with him in the mornings versus working out....now this week my husband has been taking him in the mornings so I can get up and work out....and I have been sleeping in. Tomorrow I have a very early morning meeting with Germany so I told myself that since I have to get earlier than normal anyway - I should work out. I did decide that I was no longer going to think too much about food...so this Sunday I went to Costco (which I never do because it typically doesn't save us crap and the fact that I HATE GOING THERE)....and I stocked up on veggies, ground turkey and the fixin's for turkey burgers. I then went home and made about 20 patties and also about 2 dozen of the egg quiches. I also bought new lunch containers and each night before we go to bed we pack our lunches for the next day. I even premade some chicken (kept it raw) and added items that I wanted to cook with the chicken and froze them. So if we want chicken for dinner we take it out in the morning and it marinades in the stuff that is already in the bag and then maybe add some fresh vegetables and a salad and it will take us maybe 10 minutes to make dinner. I just want things to be a bit more simple so that it is easier to eat healthy. The key is to take time out of the weekend and prepare for the week.
Finances. No one is talking about this. Right now I am constantly looking at msn.com. They really do have some good articles about various topics on money. I'm also waiting until February when I'll start having my normal paychecks (the holiday shutdown for 2 weeks plus snow in Portland plus being a consultant doesn't equal large paychecks). I'm looking forward to trying to save as much as possible and the fact that I haven't had normal paycheck for a few weeks has got me to rethinking what I want to do with the money I save. I'm reprioritizing right now. There is so much I want to do in the next year. And there are going to be some major changes possibly - in our living situation. Who knows if we will still be in Portland so I have to plan for that and vacations and a new car and and and....once again. I'll plan all of it out a bit better here this next month. Right now it is all about paying bills and keeping us fed.
Family time. We have decided that we take 30 minutes to straighten up at night and 30 minutes to deep clean one room. This way we have more time for each other and the baby. So far it is working pretty well. Although some nights I just want to sit and veg. Like tonight....
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
all right, MO, you motivated me
I'm here! I'm still trying!
We've been bedeviled by the flu bug as well. So, suffice to say, our schedule is totally off. The kids are sleeping, eating, pooping whenever. It's fine. We were even making potty-training progress until the sickies caught us.
Ah well, one plus side is a lack of appetite. Which served me well for a few days as I couldn't really put much on my tummy and I ended up eating like 500 calories a day. Apparently, however, that's what I need to do to make some headway on the weight. My pants are fitting looser but I feel my appetite slowly returning. Now, if I could just find some way to trick myself into thinking I'm forever on the verge of hurling, that's a diet trick!
But seriously, the Girl Scout cookies are calling my name, too. Thankfully, not being in an office this year, I did not order any. However, I may or may not have googled how to buy some off the scouts who ordered extra. I'll neither confirm nor deny.
:)
The plus side of the sickness is that my sugar cravings have subsided a bit -- so that tells me that it's a learned habit and as I've read somewhere before there is no such thing as a craving. There are only habits.
I much prefer our new picture up top. Much more motivational for me. Makes me feel good to see happy little healthy fruits.
Yay!
Who else is out there?? Post!
We've been bedeviled by the flu bug as well. So, suffice to say, our schedule is totally off. The kids are sleeping, eating, pooping whenever. It's fine. We were even making potty-training progress until the sickies caught us.
Ah well, one plus side is a lack of appetite. Which served me well for a few days as I couldn't really put much on my tummy and I ended up eating like 500 calories a day. Apparently, however, that's what I need to do to make some headway on the weight. My pants are fitting looser but I feel my appetite slowly returning. Now, if I could just find some way to trick myself into thinking I'm forever on the verge of hurling, that's a diet trick!
But seriously, the Girl Scout cookies are calling my name, too. Thankfully, not being in an office this year, I did not order any. However, I may or may not have googled how to buy some off the scouts who ordered extra. I'll neither confirm nor deny.
:)
The plus side of the sickness is that my sugar cravings have subsided a bit -- so that tells me that it's a learned habit and as I've read somewhere before there is no such thing as a craving. There are only habits.
I much prefer our new picture up top. Much more motivational for me. Makes me feel good to see happy little healthy fruits.
Yay!
Who else is out there?? Post!
Too Motivated???
Is there such a thing as being too motivated? I am so ready to lose this weight, but now I think I have gone too far the other way. My goal was to try to shrink my stomach so that when I cut my portions I wouldn't be as hungry all the time. Well, thanks to the flu - mission accomplished. Except that now I don't think I am eating enough each day, so the weight is not dropping as fast as I would like.
A friend suggested using Fitday.com. So far I love it. I can enter everything I eat, when I exercise, etc and it helps me see where I am messing up. You can search their database for foods that have already been entered or you can enter your own foods (using the labels on stuff you eat).
I hope this helps me battle my bulge! I thought some of you might like it too!
A friend suggested using Fitday.com. So far I love it. I can enter everything I eat, when I exercise, etc and it helps me see where I am messing up. You can search their database for foods that have already been entered or you can enter your own foods (using the labels on stuff you eat).
I hope this helps me battle my bulge! I thought some of you might like it too!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Setbacks
It's Girl Scount cookie time! Dang it! I was doing really well on my diet until the local Girl Scout rang my doorbell on Thursday night. She was delivering the 5 boxes of cookies that I ordered last fall. Dang it! What was I thinking? It didn't help that I was holed up at home with a sick kiddo and those darn cookies were literally calling my name. So, I had what I like to call a 'setback'. More specifically it was a cookie setback.
Thankfully I was able to somewhat restrain myself. Then I took all the cookies to a get together at a friends house and left them there. Yes, you heard me right - I left 5 boxes of heavenly cookies. Ok, what was left of 5 boxes... ;)
So, I have gained a pound or so, but the important thing here is that I did not fall completely off the wagon. I hit a pot hole and then regained control!
Ok, so now I have confessed my setback, but it seems as though several (or most) of you have had blogging setbacks. Our goal this week ladies is for everyone to post at least once. Even if it is just to say 'hi! I finally posted to a blog"! I don't care what it says, but get out there and post. We all need some support - let's hear how you are doing. It doesn't have to be long or even have a point - just blog it! :)
Thankfully I was able to somewhat restrain myself. Then I took all the cookies to a get together at a friends house and left them there. Yes, you heard me right - I left 5 boxes of heavenly cookies. Ok, what was left of 5 boxes... ;)
So, I have gained a pound or so, but the important thing here is that I did not fall completely off the wagon. I hit a pot hole and then regained control!
Ok, so now I have confessed my setback, but it seems as though several (or most) of you have had blogging setbacks. Our goal this week ladies is for everyone to post at least once. Even if it is just to say 'hi! I finally posted to a blog"! I don't care what it says, but get out there and post. We all need some support - let's hear how you are doing. It doesn't have to be long or even have a point - just blog it! :)
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Javagirl, do not feel bad about letting the kiddo watch Baby Einstein. We have all done it - you are only human. There is no way that we can all watch and hold them every second of the day. Just think, you are allowing him some independence and you are letting him get some visual stimulation - now don't you feel better! I honestly tried to make sure that my little one learned to play alone at an early age. Believe me it will only make your life easier later. Once he got a little older I would put some toys on the floor near the computer and let him play while I paid bills, give him some pots while I made dinner, etc. It's not always easy because they prefer your undivided attention, but it is good for both of you to have a few minutes a day to yourselves.
As for me, I am doing pretty good on all fronts. I have paid down my debt and restructured all of it to lower interest cards - which has in turn improved my payments siginificantly. This is allowing me to put more of my extra money towards payments. It is fun to watch the balances go down. Now if I can just keep my job...
I also just bought a new car. Was this a good idea? The jury is still out. My old car had been wrecked when it was only a year old. They should have totalled it, but didn't. After being in the shop 4 times to get it right, it was over the threshold for being totalled but was of course too late at that point. Almost a year after the wreck I started having trouble again. The body shop told me that I would have to pay out of pocket for a rental and diagnosis and that even though the exact same parts were not working, they could not conclude that it was from the wreck. Let's keep in mind that we are talking about a 2 year old car with around 40k miles. So, long story short I found out that the car was worth next to nothing since the car facts report showed a serious wreck (which just sucks because I was sitting still people!) and they were now telling me that I was going to have to dump even more money into it. I decided that it wasn't worth fighting, so I traded it in (at a different dealer) and got a smaller car for the same payment. And it is brand new and under warranty - thank goodness! I will tell you that this is the time to buy if you are in the market. I got my car for almost $10k under sticker and almost $5k under invoice.
On the weight front I have lost 11.8 pounds in the last week. I haven't started working out yet, but I plan to start within the next week. Treadmill at first, then work my way back up to pilates and yoga a few times a week. I know that 12 lbs in a week sounds like a lot, but remember I have almost 100 lbs to lose so it comes off faster in the beginning. It also doesn't hurt that I am doing a weight loss contest at work. I am really competitive and so are my co-workers, so we are really egging each other on. It doesn't hurt that the winner will get $420. That coupled with the fact that my health hasn't been the greatest lately, my knees have been hurting, I'm always tired, etc really motivated me to finally get started.
I hope everyone else is still doing well too. Let's post more girls!!! We need to keep each other motivated!
Monday, January 12, 2009
So this last week I got up early and did the eliptical for my 20 min. workout. Every day except for Wednesday and Friday. Both of those days I was super tired and bitchy. I ate pretty darn well all this week as well since I made up some turkey burgers yum yum and had those for lunch. I need to just remember how great I felt when I worked out in the morning!
Finances...well, we need to get back on track. We paid off one card and I'm hoping another one will be soon on it's way to financial freedom...my freedom that is. Did anyone see the article on msn.com/money regarding how you should not close your credit card but just pay them off? If you close them they go against you on your credit score and actually looks worse that if you would just have a balance. Go figure. I was pleasantly surprised that one of my husbands school loans went down this month....it is based on the interest rates....so keep falling. But being the good wife that I am I went ahead and paid what we used to pay...the $20 at least might get some more paid off sooner???? hahaha....but I'm a creature of habit. If the $20 wasn't going to the student loan it would go to my lattes and god knows I don't need any more lattes. Although I did find a $30 visa gift card in a purse that I pulled out. This will be buying my lattes for a bit!
So those with kids....do you think that it is bad to stick your 4 month old in front of baby einstein for 20 minutes or so while you pack the car? or get some email sent? Hmmm...I've been feeling really guilty about doing this but I figure that I do need to get some things done and 20 minutes really isn't that long. He mainly played with his monster doll anyway....How do you handle your kids or infants when you really just need your hands free for a few minutes?
Finances...well, we need to get back on track. We paid off one card and I'm hoping another one will be soon on it's way to financial freedom...my freedom that is. Did anyone see the article on msn.com/money regarding how you should not close your credit card but just pay them off? If you close them they go against you on your credit score and actually looks worse that if you would just have a balance. Go figure. I was pleasantly surprised that one of my husbands school loans went down this month....it is based on the interest rates....so keep falling. But being the good wife that I am I went ahead and paid what we used to pay...the $20 at least might get some more paid off sooner???? hahaha....but I'm a creature of habit. If the $20 wasn't going to the student loan it would go to my lattes and god knows I don't need any more lattes. Although I did find a $30 visa gift card in a purse that I pulled out. This will be buying my lattes for a bit!
So those with kids....do you think that it is bad to stick your 4 month old in front of baby einstein for 20 minutes or so while you pack the car? or get some email sent? Hmmm...I've been feeling really guilty about doing this but I figure that I do need to get some things done and 20 minutes really isn't that long. He mainly played with his monster doll anyway....How do you handle your kids or infants when you really just need your hands free for a few minutes?
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Who's with me?
Goal: Run/Walk the Kansas City Express Mother's Day 5k May 10th, 2009
Tell me whose in!
Tell me whose in!
Monday, January 5, 2009
A year...
A year to do what? So I went out and register for the National thingy as well and we'll see how it goes...I think it will be beneficial in just keeping my weight updated and seeing the ticker marks reach my goal.
I decided that I needed to get the kiddo on a better daycare schedule for both of our sakes so I decided that I would get into work at 8am so I could leave at 4:30 and that would also force me out of bed early in the morning to work out on the eliptical and I wouldn't have to worry about it when I got home. So far it has worked. I got through day 1. Accomplishment.
The thing that I will find hard is the fact that I sit at a desk all day. When I get up from my chair my hips hurt so bad - even my pubic bone feels like it is going to separate. This all started when I was pregnant and I think my quads are just too damn tight right now so they are pulling my hips forward. So in the evening I thought I would stretch prior to going to bed so I would be a bit more relaxed and at ease.
Financials - well I blew a lot more money over my 2 weeks off. There were some unexpected expenses as well due to the weather being sucky...had to buy snow chains. SNOW CHAINS!! Then it was all the baking, etc. that was done as well and the New Years eve dinner....hmmmm...the money starts adding up. Hmmmm. I'm got a new french press so I'll start taking my coffee with me to work in the mornings - I can't give that up but I can limit the lattes I spend money on.
I've been looking at a few "events" that we could possibly due so that we all have a goal date to reach for our "In Shape" portion...the Trolley Run (April 26th), Hospital Hill Run (June 6th) - each one has a 5k that we could run/walk. I would rathe do the Hospital Hill run so I'm not flying back and forth within 2 weeks of each other but...I would love to do the Trolley Run so I could probably swing it if tickets are not too expensive AND if other people would join in. Let me know who would be interested and for anyone just reading the blog - let us know if you would like to join us!
Okay - that is enough for me. My kid rolled over from front to back today and ate rice cereal for the first time...and I need to veg - all of this in one day and the rolling over thing was at the babysitters....hmmm...I need to recover mentally. He did roll over for us tonight and I think he actually rolled over last night because I couldn't figure out how he got where he went from where he started. Ya - I'm going with that.
I decided that I needed to get the kiddo on a better daycare schedule for both of our sakes so I decided that I would get into work at 8am so I could leave at 4:30 and that would also force me out of bed early in the morning to work out on the eliptical and I wouldn't have to worry about it when I got home. So far it has worked. I got through day 1. Accomplishment.
The thing that I will find hard is the fact that I sit at a desk all day. When I get up from my chair my hips hurt so bad - even my pubic bone feels like it is going to separate. This all started when I was pregnant and I think my quads are just too damn tight right now so they are pulling my hips forward. So in the evening I thought I would stretch prior to going to bed so I would be a bit more relaxed and at ease.
Financials - well I blew a lot more money over my 2 weeks off. There were some unexpected expenses as well due to the weather being sucky...had to buy snow chains. SNOW CHAINS!! Then it was all the baking, etc. that was done as well and the New Years eve dinner....hmmmm...the money starts adding up. Hmmmm. I'm got a new french press so I'll start taking my coffee with me to work in the mornings - I can't give that up but I can limit the lattes I spend money on.
I've been looking at a few "events" that we could possibly due so that we all have a goal date to reach for our "In Shape" portion...the Trolley Run (April 26th), Hospital Hill Run (June 6th) - each one has a 5k that we could run/walk. I would rathe do the Hospital Hill run so I'm not flying back and forth within 2 weeks of each other but...I would love to do the Trolley Run so I could probably swing it if tickets are not too expensive AND if other people would join in. Let me know who would be interested and for anyone just reading the blog - let us know if you would like to join us!
Okay - that is enough for me. My kid rolled over from front to back today and ate rice cereal for the first time...and I need to veg - all of this in one day and the rolling over thing was at the babysitters....hmmm...I need to recover mentally. He did roll over for us tonight and I think he actually rolled over last night because I couldn't figure out how he got where he went from where he started. Ya - I'm going with that.
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