My weekend

This weekend was really good. Especially considering it didn't start out so wonderful. My husband was going to have to work all day Saturday, which sucked. And our cold water pipes in the kitchen froze up, which also sucked. But (here's where the weekend starts to turn for the better) Layne only had to work 1/2 a day because they finished significantly quicker than they thought they would. When he got home he put a heater in the area of the basement where the kitchen pipes are and had water pretty soon (so they couldn't have been frozen up to much. Thank goodness!

I got all of my cleaning done on Saturday so that on Sunday all I had to do was a couple loads of laundry. It was a great feeling!

Layne & I signed up for a couples membership at a local gym. It's less than a mile away and it's open 24 hrs so it will be very convenient for us. He initially suggested it and honestly I didn't want to spend the money (it's not a lot of money, but still...) since we have a treadmill & a somewhat functioning bowflex machine in our basement already. I changed my mind when I went and spent 20 minutes jogging on the treadmill and still didn't even break a sweat because it was so cold down there. I'm one of those people who doesn't feel like I've exercised unless I have sweat running down my butt-crack. So working out in a freezing basement wasn't going to work for me. (And I'll never lose the remaining 10 pounds that the doctor tacked on at my last visit if I don't work out.) Luckily for us we didn't have to sign a yearly contract, it's just a month-to-month plan and since we signed up online there were also no membership fees. Our monthly fee will be $50.

Yesterday I decided to go check the gym out, wondering the entire way if we had made the right decision. I walked inside and honestly was a bit intimidated by all the equipment. I decided to start off with a treadmill (all the treadmills have TV screens on them - how cool is that!) since it would help get me warmed up and I already knew how to do those. : ) After walking and jogging on the treadmill I decided to move on to the weight machines. Each had a diagram and written steps to ensure you knew how to use the machine and did it properly. I was in heaven!!! I used to lift weights in high school (during cheerleading competition season) and loved it then. I forgot just how much I liked it. I did an amount of weight on each machine that wasn't too much and I didn't do too many reps because I knew I'd pay for it. When I left the gym I was excited that we had joined.

April and I played a game called Shut the Box last night. She borrowed the game from my mom, which honestly I wasn't happy about because I don't usually enjoy playing games too much and I didn't want another box sitting around on one of our tables collecting dust. Well, I was wrong to think it wouldn't get used! I think we played a dozen games last night and it was really a lot of fun. Some of the games went by fast and others seemed to take forever! I was so glad later in the night that April had borrowed the game. It gave us a chance to play something that wasn't difficult, didn't have a lot of pieces, and most of all it gave us a chance too enjoy each other - which was the best thing of all.

Ow! Ow! Ow!

Last night I did the "30-day Shred" again. Boy am I a hurting unit. I'm seriously thinking that a wheelchair may be in order. My calves hurt - I don't think I've ever had a workout where my calves have hurt before. The only things that don't hurt are my hands & feet. Seriously.

But I am going to continue to push through this - I mean, it can't hurt forever, right??? And I am really looking forward to being trim and fit. No puss-gut for me! (That's a term my husband introduced me to when we started dating. It refers to a woman whose stomach hangs over her...well, privates. I know it's not very nice.)

Right now I'm doing good to be able to get up and down off the toilet. At least I feel like I'm getting something out of the workout. I guess we'll really see in another 28 days!!!

Work it.....work it.....work it........

This week has just flown by! I’ve been doing good with my exercising & watching what I eat. On Monday I walked about 4 miles & Tuesday I walked about 3 miles. The days I walked I was with one of my Aunts & it was nice to walk & talk. By Wednesday though I needed a SERIOUS workout. I was actually craving it… (What is wrong with me?!?!)

Wednesday evening I got on the treadmill & walked/jogged 2 miles. When I was done with that I did 100 crunches, some arm work with a resistance band, and the cardio DVD for “Hip Hop Abs”. I’m sure you’ve all seen the infomercial for “Hip Hop Abs”. I don’t know that it is going to get my abs all nice & toned, but holy smokes is that DVD fun!! I suppose I think it’s so fun because it takes me back to my high school days when I was a cheerleader & we would work on dance routines. I really think I completely shocked my husband when I did the DVD. Of course he sat on the couch & watched me while I did the exercises. My husband & I didn’t meet until I had been out of high school for a year, so he never saw me do any dancing – other than maybe after I’d been drinking at a wedding – and of course I would just do the “white-girl shuffle” then cause I probably didn’t have very good balance. : )

My weight this morning was 131.6. I’m slowly edging to the 120 mark. It’s definitely getting harder to lose the weight. The first 10-15 pounds just “fell off” so to speak. I was originally hoping to be at 120 by the end of June. Well, obviously that time has come & gone. So now I’m shooting for the end of August. Cross your fingers………

Yes, I am that coordinated!

Last week from Sunday to Saturday I jogged just over 8 miles, which I really didn’t think was too bad for my first week of actual, somewhat dedicated jogging – or the fact that it is honestly the most I’ve ever jogged in my entire life (2.25 Sun, 1 Mon - Thurs, 2 Sat). I was hoping to get in more this week, but well, fate was going to have none of that.

So imagine this …Sunday I was at church & was walking downstairs to my classroom. I fell (I can’t prove this but I really think a troll tripped me) down a few of the stairs. Of course I was wearing heels & my big toe on my right foot starting hurting immediately.

Honestly I was surprised more than that wasn't hurting. After church I went home & changed clothes to meet a girlfriend for lunch. After lunch we decided to go across the street for coffee @ Starbucks. I noticed the top of my foot hurt a bit during this short walk but I had expected it to & didn't make much of it. As the evening wore on my foot swelled up & I couldn't move my toes. Determined not to go to the ER I toughed it out during the night and waited till the following morning. (My medication makes me tired so sleeping really wasn’t a problem.) The next morning it really was feeling quite a bit better though still a little sore & REALLY sore if I bend my big toe when I walk. Today is pretty much the same. The top of my foot looks like it may have a deep bruise working its way up to the surface. (It's really hard to see in the picture, but the one on the right is the injured one.)


I’m a bit irritated at my self for being so clumsy. I’ve been doing pretty good with my weight loss, although this last week I haven’t lost anything – I believe it’s cycle related though. I would really like to try getting on the treadmill at least, but think it would probably the smart thing to wait at least a couple more days to see how it’s feeling. I’m pretty sure it’s sprained, I don’t want to cause more damage than what may be there already. Also, since my foot is still swollen a little bit my running shoes would get a little uncomfortable pretty quickly.

I'm hoping that if I take a few days hiatus it will heal up & I can get back on track. With that said, I am being extra careful about what I eat right now since I'm not getting in any cardio exercise but do plan to maybe do more crunches or whatever else I can do to try to keep doing something.

Hitting the Plateau

I have to admit I am getting a little frustrated. I been weighing in between 140 and 141 for over a week and can’t seem to get below that! I have been careful about what foods I am eating and I have been walking, but I admit it hasn’t been the kind of walking that makes a person work up a good sweat. I think that is exactly what I need to do – kick it into high gear and work up a good sweat. The first 18 pounds came off so easily that I guess I got a little lazy and was hoping the rest would come easy like that. I should have known that it wouldn’t work that way. I always read articles in magazines that say the last 10 pounds are the hardest. So I was expecting it, but I was really hoping that I’d lose another 5-10 pounds before the really hard work began. : )

Affordable exercise

One thing I’ve noticed about trying to weight is that I find myself attracted to all kinds of machines & tools that are designed for exercise. A person could literally spend hundreds of dollars on equipment. I don’t have hundreds of dollars to spend, and I don’t have room to store all kinds of equipment. We do have a treadmill (that was given to us), a Crossbow (like a Bowflex only cheaper), and some dumbbells. I haven’t actually incorporated the Crossbow into my exercise routine, but I do plan on it at some point.

Fullfitness.net is a site that shows you exercises you can do to target specific areas. Some of the exercises even have video examples of how to do a specific exercise. This website offers free information and step-by-step instructions. The equipment shown is pretty basic, a ball and a mat are really the main pieces shown.

If you don’t have hand weights you can always use canned goods for weights. Seriously!

Another tip I read was that you should like the clothing you wear to exercise. That you will exercise more if you are wearing something that you like and you think looks good. I suppose that does make sense. But I would have a hard time justifying buying new clothes to workout in!
I do want to get a ball at some point. I think it would work great for crunches. Maybe then my back wouldn’t be so sore!! :)

Exercise, Money, and Surveys

This morning I woke up with a sore throat. I'm really hoping it gets better as the day goes on. I'm guessing it's because I spent almost 30 minutes on the treadmill yesterday and the sore throat is an allergic reaction to exercise. Just a guess though. : ) I did sleep really good though last night.

I don't know about all of you but I am really having a hard time with Christmas presents this year. I am working with a VERY limited budget but don't think that is it at all. I just truly cannot think of anything to get for anyone. I'm just hoping to get some ideas in the next week so I can get my shopping done.

Lately it has been kind of slow at work. Which I hate because then I spend a good portion of the day thinking of how much I could accomplish if I was home. Of course since my paid time off has been used up it would be unpaid - which is not good when Christmas is coming and I have $1,600 (after insurance) in medical bills that should start showing up any day now!

Todays tip: Looking for a little pocket cash? Check out http://www.myview.com/ you can sign up to take surveys and earn money. You do have to have a paypal account that is tied into your email address. You can earn $1 - 3 typically per survey. After you earn $30 you can request to have the money put into your account. I have earned about $50 in the last several months and am working on a survey now (trying 4 different cans of soups for a national brand) that will pay me $45 after I take surveys on the cans of soup. They even sent me the soup so I didn't have to pay for it. You won't make money quickly, but it is nice just to get that little amount to sit in your Paypal account for online buying! I would like to do a little more of it next year to do my Christmas shopping.