15 Weigh-In Wednesday

Well I'm back on track this week, been sticking to my calories and working out consistently.  High Five!
And thankfully it is starting to be reflected on the scale.

This week -.5 lb
Total Challenge -4.0 lbs

As I had been saying for the last few months now, I finally started the Couch to 5K program again.  And it feels good.  I'm on week 2 and excited about my progress so far, can't wait to keep going this time!  Last fall when I was doing it, I got up to doing 3 minute intervals.  I'll get there again.  Right now I'm just happy with my 90 seconds of running.  I am trying to walk at least a mile on my off days to keep my muscles stretched out and get some activity in.

So this weekend is the 4th of July.  It's a little intimidating I have to be honest.  We will have a family cookout on Sunday, and in lieu of hamburgers and hotdogs, there will be shredded chicken and pulled pork.  Oh joy, that should be easy to resist...not so much.  I am going to bring a few low cal buns with me and try to stock up on fruit and veggies instead of the macaroni salad and other yummy treats that will be there.  And I'm limiting my alcohol intake, drinking a water in between.  At least that's my plan. Good to start with a plan, right?

Another thing that I have mixed feeling about...swimming.  I won an awesome swimsuit from Shrinking Jeans and Lands End and got it last week.  The Berry color is amazing! My aunt has a pool and I haven't been swimming in it since probably 2005.  I afraid I'll still feel uncomfortable, like I'm not ready to be seen yet since I'm still fluffy.  I know it's a personal issue and I'm probably the only one who will be judging me,  but I just hope I overcome that fear over the next few days and not worry about I look like.  Just enjoy the awesome swimsuit and feel beautiful in my own skin.  I'm gonna try. I'm gonna try.

How was your week?  Have you been tracking your calories and getting your activity on?  Stop by and share with the Sisters.

8 I'm gonna be a runner...mark my words

I did it.
I started running again.
Granted it was only for 60 second intervals. And it was 1 gazillion degrees outside.
But I did it.
~~~
I even got up early on Saturday with the purpose of running before the day began.
Plus I knew we were headed to the Lake that night, and I wouldn't have time to do it later.
And you know what, I had my best time of the week! It felt great to get back to challenging myself.
~~~
But you know what's even better then that?
Last night I ran for 90 second intervals.
Yes I'm serious. This is huge for 2 reasons.
 ~~~
First, last time I started C25K, I stayed at each level for at least 2 weeks.  Guess I was afraid that I would fail and thought staying where I was had to be better then failing. Second, I wasn't sure until I put on my HRM and went to set the intervals of what I was going to do.  I just thought, I have to at least try it, I can always go back if I need to. But I didn't fail.  I did it.
~~~
And to my surprise I felt less like vomiting then I did last week. 
Except when I was done and sat on our front step, which I attribute to burping up the spagetti I had for dinner, but still no urge to vomit while running!
 ~~~
Oh and did I fail to mention that I did this run in my husbands black mesh basketball shorts?  Yeah, I did.
My other capris that I run in were in the washer and dryer respectively.  I started to put on my terrycloth capris and knew that was just sitting myself up for failure because I was hot before I even walked out the door. I had to wear some biker shorts underneath because the inseam kept riding up, but it was much cooler then the other option.
~~~
Now it's not all rainbows and unicorns.
My inner calves feel like someone is bouncing razorblades off of them when I walk, and my left ankle has a random twinge, but other then that I feel good. I think the mental rush I got from it overpowered any pain that I had.  And I hope that continues.

*I  made a new page (see above in the menu bar?) that will track my C25K training. Gotta stay focused!

4 Saturday Cell Phone Mosiac

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend.  It was a relaxing Saturday, a hot one but I got a few things done that I wanted to (running, downloading iOS4, weeding the back, and cleaning my bathroom) and ended the evening at the Lake with my husbands family.  We left just as storms were getting ready to come and the lightening began.  Was pretty zonked when we got home so I wasn't' long out of bed.  Had a little tummy ache which has lingered on a little today.

Click thru the image below to flip thru my day, then go over and check out what Ace and friends were up to yesterday.  If you did a cell phone mosiac, feel free to link up there!

25 You Capture - Getting Low

Sometimes you need to look at things from another angle to really appreciate the beauty in them.

Some things take on a whole new shape when viewed from the bottom up.

Following a drop of water as it disappates into the table only takes a few seconds.

Come share your low shots with You Capture.

18 Weigh-In Wednesday

It was inevitable that the events of this last weekend where I was *less* then stellar at watching what I put into my mouth would bite me on the scale this week. 

But actually it wasn’t as bad as I had thought it would be.

This week +.5 lb

Total Challenge -3.5 lbs

When I got home Monday night, after weighing in the morning for our Biggest Loser contest at work, I knew I had to get my walking in that night. So after dinner and watching some DVR, it had cooled down some and I was ready to go for my walk. I thought…should I try to run a little and try to get back into c25k? Was my body ready for that challenge or should I just keep walking the 2 miles like I had been doing? I sent a friend a msg and asked her what I should do…after a few responses back and forth, she said “you can do anything for 30 seconds”. I was like you know…you are right, I have to at least try to do it.

And you know what? I did it! I started with the normal 5 minute walk, then alternated between 60 seconds of running and 2 minutes of walking. I did 2 miles in under 35 minutes! Sure a few times I felt like I was going to pass out, but I kept pushing saying, I can do anything for 60 seconds. Just finish this interval and then you can walk. When the next one came, I did the same thing. A few times I may have walked for 2.5 minutes between, but I always ran for at least 60 seconds. This is my version of c25k w1d1.

When I was done, I was a sweaty mess. 

Don't believe me...take a gander at the redness below.

But I felt so proud of myself! It’s only 60 seconds, but its so much more then that to me.

It’s a beginning to training for a race like all of my Sisters have done and are doing in the upcoming months.

It’s taking control of what I will push my body to do. 

It’s empowering to know that I am not afraid of running. At least not today. 

Sure my legs feel it today, especially in my lower right quad, but I am hoping that when I start my next session tonight that energy and determination will once again fill my soul and soles and push me.

6 I've been a bad bad girl...sing it Fiona!

Well well, it's Tuesday already!  There are a few things I need to get off my chest so good thing it's time to fess up and let it all hang out.

• Even though I probably sweated out 142,785 calories while setting up and having our garage sale in 90 degree heat, it did not equal out the Chinese we had Thursday night (and leftovers on Friday for lunch) or Pizza at the lake on Friday night (and again on Saturday night at home).  Soduim...party of 1?  Yeah, bloated a bit...and surely that will be reflected in this week's WI.
• Didn't get any walking in since Wednesday evening (unless you count the 1/2 mile I walked around looking at yardsales).  Boo me.
• So here I am all in my bloated unexercisiness when I check Shrinking Jeans on Sunday to see that Bari had put me in the Sister Spotlight!  Wow...didn't really feel like I deserved that after my behavior the last few days.  But like she said, I dusted myself off and straightened my ass up. Thanks Bari...gave me more motivation to get back on track more then you know!
• I think I am obsessed with peeing on sticks.  It's a condition, I swear it is and there really should be support groups for people like me.
• I think I spent at least 6 hours trying to figure out what bathing suit I wanted to get from Lands End.  Seriously would I look better in Rhododendron or Deep Sea Blue or Plum?  Tough call.  I so went with a Tankini though because these abs are not ready to make their debut anytime soon.
• We were exhausted on Sunday and decided to make it a movie day and just lounge and spend some much needed QT with Miss Emma.  Sherlock Holmes and Extraordinary Measures were sitting on the counter from the library..and we watched them both.  You can probably guess it, but I didn't get out of my pajamas all day....and it was excellent!

Ok well that's enough dirt for one week, my halo is pretty tarnished this week.  Anything you need to get off your chest...come share with the Sisters...we won't laugh at you.  Well maybe chuckle a little, but definitely not laugh.

6 Happy Fathers Day Grandpa!

You were the only father I ever knew...and I wouldn't  have had it any other way.

I was the first grandchild that lived close and therefor got a lot of attention when I was a baby. My Mom and I lived with my Grandparents so they were around me from the beginning. Yep that's me about 6 months old on Grandpa's lap chewing on their anniversary present.

You may have looked like a big tough guy, but they said I had you wrapped around my finger from the day they brought me home. Normally whatever little Mendie wanted....little Mendie got. Some call it spoiled...I call it being Grandpa's little girl.

You made that clicking noise to get the neighbor horses to come over so I could pet them.  I thought that was the coolest noise ever!  You knew how to do everything, how to fix anything and how to make a little girl who lived in the country not get bored.  You taught me it was ok to play in the dirt and to pick up frogs.

I can't believe you have been gone for almost 10 years.  I wish that you would have been around to meet my husband, I think you guys would have gotten along pretty good.  He reminds me of you in some ways.  Rough and tough on the outside but with a big heart that loves me more than the moon.  A man that I know will make a great father someday. 

Happy Fathers Day Grandpa, I miss you and love you.  Thank you for being a great Dad to me!

3 Saturday Cell Phone Mosiac

Well I'm not sure about where you are, but it was a hot one today here in Ohio!We had a yardsale this weekend, so I was at the house all day and it felt like it was probably 150 degrees with 125% humidity.  Seriously.  I honestly thought I was going to be melting. Oh well it was fun, got rid of some stuff and made a little extra cash.
Click thru the image below to scroll thru my day.
Then go check out Ace and see what she was up to this weekend!

16 Weigh-In Wednesday {on my new unintentional blog design}

Good Morning ladies...happy hump day. Yesterday was an interesting day, I couldn't get on my blog in the morning, kept getting a unavailable message from blogger.  So then when I did get on at lunch, it appears my background and header had been deleted and replaced with a picture of clouds.  Wha?  Somehow a new layout was applied and stuff was not as I left it.  Yeah not sure how that happened, but I ended up changing my password in fear I was hacked, and started trying to get back my green and aqua theme I had worked so hard to make a few months ago. Looks like there is an easier way to do a menu, so I'm going to be tweaking that this week so bare with me if the pages up top lead you to nothing. I'm working on it. ;o)

So onto the topic at hand.  Time to see how we really handled the week when we step on the scale.  We started a Biggest Loser contest at work last week and had our first weigh-in on Monday.  To keep things simpler I'm going to report that weigh-in so I can keep track of my progress on here.  Plus it lasts 8 weeks so it fits in nicely with the Shrinking Days of Summer Challenge over at the Sisterhood. 

I lost 4 lbs this week. 
4 lbs people...my hard work is finally starting to show...my scale is not broken!

I have been walking 2 miles a few times a week and have been tracking my food, humph....who knew that would help? Me...that's who.  Its crazy who easily it is to cave into temptation and just have a little extra at dinner or sneak a handful of M&M's.  This is all fine if you allot for those extra calories, which I was not doing previous.  You'd be amazed at how much all those things add up if you start actually tracking them.

So how are you....did the scale make your day this week?

Don't forget to stop over and sign up for a chance to win one of 8...yes I said 8 Lands End swimsuits that Shrinking Jeans is giving away this Friday.  They are awesome, love the fact you can mix tops and bottoms. Go enter here.

4 Saturday Cell Phone Mosiac

Click on the above picture to flip thru all of them.

Hope you all had a good Saturday.We slept in and then went to a few yardsales and ran around to make a few returns.  It was pretty rainy off and on all day, and had planned on getting stuff ready for the yardsale next weekend but that didn't happen. I totally forgot about my sister in laws college graduation party last night so we ended the night at his brothers place hanging out with his side of the family.  By the time we got home, we sat to watch SNL and I fell asleep before the musical guest was finished.  Have Precious to watch, so that will have to wait till tonight.  Because today will be spent going theru the basement finding things that we don't need and putting them in the sell pile!  Wish me luck!

Stop over and share your Saturday with Ace.

15 You call that FUN?

Sometimes fun is found in a glass. Pretending a Monday night isn't just that.

Roadtrips can be fun, even if it's just to the gas station.

It's fun to cut the last 2 blooms from your backyard. Sad but fun.

Hoping you had fun this week....my fun may be tame this week, but it made me smile!

6 Weigh-In Wednesday

Well the scale hasn't budged. Not once ounce. But I am not giving up.

I will not give up. 

I have been walking 2 miles a day a few times a week and it feels good when I walk back in the house knowing that I burnt a few hundred calories.  I have missed that feeling.  And I am regularly tracking my food and staying within my calorie limit, splurging a little but not in excess on Saturday at the graduation party.

I'm sticking with it, I know the scale will start shifting soon...so I just continue to strengthen my foundation. How did you do this week? Are the changes you are making starting to show?  Stop over and share with the Sisterhood!

*Love my necklace I won from Renee several months ago.  Its from Kristen's Shop! I'm pulling strength from it today!

4 Tuesday Ramblings

I have been the worst blogger ever the last few days...haven't had the time to stop by or do a Saturday Cell Phone Mosaic (that will have to wait till next Saturday) and recap my weekend.

Besides having tons of rain and horrible storms on Friday night, to which we were oblivious as we ran to Columbus for dinner, it was a fun weekend.  My niece graduated from High School so we had her party on Saturday and then had to go sit thru the actual graduation on Sunday.  The Main speaker, who was a Social Studies teacher was a graduate of another local high school that had all kinds of athletic and academic success....and he graduated in 2004.  From high school.  Talk about making me feel old....geesh.

Sunday afternoon my uncle, who is a mechanic stopped over to check out hubs car....which wouldn't start last week.  Ends up he needs a new timing belt and water pump...cha-ching.  Not good, puts a damper into my Chicago trip I have been planning for August.  Oh well, looks like I'll have to start pinching a little harder to make it happen.  At least it was at home when it wouldn't start, and I am blessed to have an awesome uncle who will work on it and I trust will do it right.

We started a Biggest Loser contest at work yesterday.  Teams of 3 people, and I think there are like 10 or 11 teams so that's exciting!  1st place team gets $100 each and a 6 month membership to a local gym!  AWESOME! Biggest individual loser gets $230!  AWESOME-ER!  So yeah, besides being challenged by the Sisterhood...I am focusing even harder on trying to win this contest!  Been walking my 2 miles a few times a week and am diligently tracking my food in my handy Lose It! i-phone app.  Love it!

Oh I did forget to mention one thing that occupied alot of my time Sunday Morning.  I had to pull myself away from the PC because I kept checking on all the sisters who were in the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon!  I didn't get to see any of them cross the finish line, but I was trying to send encouraging tweets and supportive thoughts their way.  It is amazing what they accomplished that morning!

So if you haven't already, swing over and congratulation Kirsten, Christie, Heather, Christy, Lissa, Lisa, Tiffany and Tiffany  and all the other members of Team Shrinking Jeans on a job well done! Mel had an injury and wasn't able to finish but she still did awesome training and raising money for LLS.  I'm so proud and humbled by all of you, you are truly inspiring, especially to all of us who aren't runners.  Pat yourself on the back...you did an amazing thing this weekend! I know you will be rewarded in good karma for stepping up to the challenge! Maybe next time I can join you...well unless I get a bun in my oven. LOL...who came up with that phrase anyway.

Anywho, happy Tuesday everyone...hope you are having a good week!

8 Versatile Blogger...that's me!

  Last week Mary over at Musings of the Sixties gave me this award.  Thanks Mary!  If you haven't visited Mary's Blog, stop over and say hello.  She is a fellow lover of Koi and has great posts about her walking adventures and lovely stories about her grandchildren...she is a such a dear!  The rules are to thank the person who gave you the award, tell seven things about yourself and pass the award along to some bloggers you love.

So here are some things you probably don't know about me, whether you want to know them or not!  LOL!

1) When I was young I had 2 make believe friends, Susie and Dobie.  One of them was blue. I guess I loved the smurfs a little too much.

2) I will eat ketchup, salsa and spaghetti sauce, but don't like raw tomatoes on sandwiches or in salads.

3) I am a big fan of salty and sweet...and may or may not have been known to mix popcorn and swiss cake rolls at one sitting.  Not for a while, but it has been done.

4) I can't draw a stick figure.  Seriously, no artistic talent in these bones, at least in the sketching way.

5) I took Tae-Kwan Do when I was younger from my high school boyfriends father.  I got a yellow belt.  By breaking a board with my foot.  For real.

6) I haven't ridden a bicycle for years...because I am so short, it's hard to find one without spending hundreds of dollars. And I don't miss it that much!

7) I made our wedding cake.  Well it was boxed cake mix, but I made the buttercream icing and layered it and decorated it down to the scarlet ribbon.  That is something that I will hold close to my heart forever.

I would love to pass this along to some of my versatile bloggie friends!

Ace of  If You Think Round is Funny
Sarah of  Mommy Elephants Everyday Adventures
Elaine of Miss Elaine-ous Life
Bari of Diary of a Shrinking Chick
Jaime of Not Just an Ordinary Girl

16 You Capture -Save the Best for Last

This will be the best and last picture of my peonies this year...the severe winds that came thru last night have them in pieces on the ground. 
A reminder to enjoy all the beauty that surrounds you, because you never know how long it will last.

8 Weigh-In Wednesday

Wow...back to reality...it's Wednesday! Time to rise up and stand tall beside all the Sisters and see how my weight loss journey is going.  I go back to work today after being off since Thursday.  Lots of time with friends and families and graduation activities and babies and food...oh my!  What would the scale tell me today?

I'm up 1 lb this week. 

No doubt due to the combination of hot dog and baked beans I had for dinner yesterday. (or the excess of beers I drank on Sunday...take your pick)

I did get 2 miles in a few times last week and did lots of activity over the weekend, including joining Lissa and some other ladies in a situp/crunches challenge, oy my abs.  Back to doing that this evening.  Not beating myself up too much for the gain this time, it could have been way worse.  I'm just grateful that I had a few extra days off to recharge...sometimes just hanging out around the house and playing scrabble can make all the difference!

So tell me, how was your week?  Did you handle the holiday well?