Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Adventures in Home Improvement
When I went out to the garage, I flipped on the main light and it blew. Seriously? I grumble over in my grubby Crocs that make me look like I have club feet hence the reason I never wear them for anything other than home projects. I make sure the garage door is closed but the light is on because I don't need to end up on the internet attempting to change a light bulb. With my luck I'd fall directly onto the semi-dry banister, get the wind knocked out of me and have a white paint stripe down me like Pepe le Pew's cat friend while Earl the Loner comes in for a tight shot on camera phone. I grab this step ladder thingy that always makes me angry because it never wants to set up right for me. The Mr whips it open like nothing. Me? I'm like Snoopy fighting with the beach chair at Thanksgiving dinner for those bastard neighbor kids that invited themselves over for dinner. I realize it's going to be too short anyway. I grab the bigger ladder, a light bulb and try to center myself without disturbing the banister. I climb up the ladder, reach toward the bulb...click. The garage light shuts off leaving me in complete darkness. You can imagine my glee. I think I made up a few new curse words. I climb down and open the door into the house and trudge back up the ladder. I'm not comfortable going up another rung with no one else home so I somehow get the bulb screwed in and out by my fingertips. I was finally able to put the next coat on after all of that.
This project is going to prove that we are essentially comic strips for the universe to snicker at. I have deluded myself into thinking my dad's DIY genes have kicked in where there is no proof of that to be found. So this may morph into a weight loss/DIY/DIY disaster blog over the next few weeks. I'm doing a lot of research and trying to not be scared to jump into things instead of always paying someone do stuff for us or buying something new and pitching something that could be salvaged. I'm down with giving it a go, are you down following my adventures into the unknown?
Do you fancy yourself a DIYer? If so, what's your best tip for a noob?
(It should be noted I accidentally typed boob the first time)
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Monday, January 30, 2012
Sanding off the Veneer
I don't know the the whole vibration of the sander or the alone time with the white noise of it got me all zen or what but I actually got a little sad. This is our first house. You know, the place we were going to stay for 5 years and then move on? Well, it's been almost 16 years and living beneath our means has allowed us to live a good life especially since its just the two of us. I thought of all that banister had seen. I thought of the 21 and 23 year old us doing their final walk through and grabbing the newly painted banister as we headed upstairs to inspect the rest of the house; excited that it would be done 2 weeks prior to our wedding. I thought of holding onto it my first night in our new home in exhaustion from a wonderful wedding day after having eaten groom's cake and counting our money until 2am when we had a flight to catch to Hawaii in 6 hours. I thought of the people it had hosted from friends to family both here and gone to repairmen to a little black and white short-haired pooch that was the light of our lives who might've walked under it quite a bit as she'd peer through the open back stairs but was never tall enough to reach it. I thought of what a bitch it was the paint behind when we were too stupid to remove it the last time we painted. I thought of all of these things as I tearfully sanded away the times that were now etched into this piece of wood...times that were now in a pile of dust on my garage floor. I kind of felt like I should save the dust to hold on to those things. But I was proud of what was revealed. A beautiful, fresh piece of wood.
As I began sanding off the veneer of the banister that had seen it's better days, I also couldn't help but think of how it related to this whole weight loss thing. You have this strong, sturdy foundation that gets taken for granted and one day you look at it a go "hmm, that's seen its better days." You either choose to let it get worse and degrade, get a whole new body and throw away the old one by whatever means necessary or you do what you should've done all along...sand away the veneer to reveal the beautiful clean slate waiting for all of us.
I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. I guess a 5 pound loss will do that to a person.
I hope you're all ready to do a little "sanding"...what's your plan to kick things into gear this week?
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
And we're off....Weigh In
Back to more painting today! I'm super pumped but also wanting it done. The Mr has been beyond a trooper painting the ceiling and cutting in a little last night. I'm baking him some breakfast to give him the fuel he'll need to get jazzed about going to Home Depot in an hour.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
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Friday, January 27, 2012
Found out what I was missing
In looking for other things to throw in our routine, I wondered if adding the gym when the Mr teleworks would be a good idea. He was home today so we decided to go check it out. Thankfully there was one old dude who was finishing up and the rest of the time we had it to ourselves. I was kind of appalled at the condition of the equipment. It was very obvious some things have been there for the duration as they were taped up and rusting at some points. I did the leg press (my favorite) and was just so disgusted by the condition of it, I got 3 wipes and wiped that sucker down and took 10 years off the look of that thing. As I was going around from machine to machine, I found out what I was missing...nothing. Our stuff isn't abused by people, it's in good visible shape and we can do everything we could do there, here. I'm so thankful that we don't have to rely on that place anymore. Maybe I'm a germ-a-phobe to a certain degree and I like not having to share my sweaty stuff with anyone other than the Mr. I'm glad we went, I don't have to glorify it in my head anymore and be thankful we're blessed with such an awesome place to improve our fitness and health.
Do you have a home gym? If not, what would your ultimate home gym be like with the space you have?
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
20 Questions...because I need a mental hiatus
1) What is one of your favorite ways to spend a Saturday?
I like being out and about even if we don't have any particular plan for the day. I get twitchy if we're sitting at home on the weekend doing nothing probably because I work from home and need to be out of the house. When I was at maximum density, I never left the house and was quite content to waste a perfectly good day getting sucked in to HGTV shows or a TV marathon. Sooo glad that's not who I am anymore!
2) List your top three favorite TV shows.
Person of Interest, Dexter and American Horror Story (though that may change since season 2 is an all new cast. BOO!)
3) Would you rather be in pictures or take them?
A good balance of both. If there's one thing we learned from my FIL's death it's that it would've been nice to have him in more pictures. We're not going to make that mistake. I have a 3 year time span where there are no pics of us because we didn't want our pictures taken.
4) Why do you blog?
Why not? Seriously, I have no big drawn out answer for this. Support is a good thing and you guys are like my "co-workers!" (The good ones, not the a-holes we'd gossip about in the bathroom) I also want to give hope to those people who have a whole person, or two, to lose to get to a healthy weight range that this can be done and it can be done without surgery. I've already had to privilege of having people tell me they cancelled consultations because they didn't think it was possible until they read our story. That alone is enough reason to continue blogging.
5) Share five websites that you visit regularly…
Facebook (though I honestly don't use it like some people do. Clogging news feeds with random thoughts gets you "hidden")
Yahoo/Gmail (since it's mail, I'm counting them as one because I can. HA!)
Blogger
Pottery Barn (seriously, I must know when new stuff arrives there. It's a sickness really)
Various food blogs for dinner ideas (yet I still seem to make the same things. Weirdo)
6) If you could have lunch with one person from your Twitter list who would it be?
Well my Twitter list isn't very long but I guess to not offend followers, I'd choose someone I'm following. Probably Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman) because I'd want to see that big ol' Lodge!
7) List a few of your favorite snacks.
Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding (which I really miss this week)
Clementines
1 oz of super sharp cheddar
Honeycrisp or Pink Lady Apples
Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches (pretty sure I'm going through withdraw)
8 ) Do you have a pet? If so, what kind?
Sadly no. She passed a few years ago and our lifestyle on the weekends and with the length of travel when we vacation doesn't make another nugget practical for our lifestyle. We visit shelters and pet shops to get our "fur fix."
9) Which three material possessions would you struggle to live without?
Laptop, TV (I know but I need background noise as I work), camera
10) What’s your favorite drink?
Iced tea
11) Do you enjoy cooking?
LOVE it. I hate that I have a kitchen so small its like cooking in a bathroom size wise so I don't get inspired to go in and stay in but I try to make the best of what we've got. I want to take cooking classes at some point this year to see if I can get a different point of view on how to look at food.
12) Do you have children?
Nope. Next.
13) What are your favorite hobbies?
Photography, writing, traveling, cooking/experimental baking.
14) Would you consider yourself to be shy or outgoing?
A hearty mix o' both. Depends on the situation and the type of people I'm around I suppose. Funny how that can change with your weight.
15) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would you change?
Obviously I'd be at goal by now. The process is long and frustrating after 3+ years in. But if I couldn't choose that as my answer, I guess I'd say let my walls down a bit. I was unfortunately taught at an early age that people important to you will let you down in major ways that it became my expectation.
16) Who is your favorite actor/actress?
Jeremy Sisto. I swear I'm still waiting for them to drop the axe on Suburgatory any time so I treat each episode like it could be the last and I'll miss him doing comedy because it makes him that much hotter but honestly, his dark roles are the best. Vissago, Billy Chenowith, Earl...all whack jobs brought to life by that hot toddy. As far as actresses, no one floats my boat.
17) What’s the coolest thing you’ve done this week?
Bought granite countertops. We don't have them yet but we're poorer in the bank account.
18) Do you live near your family or far from them?
Near them. My grandma lives about a mile away when she's not being a snowbird. (Though with this crappy winter, they should've stayed here. HELLO, I'd like to snowshoe please!)
19) List three of your talents.
I'm told writing *shrug*, cooking/baking, photography is evolving (thank God) but people have told me it's a talent so I'll go with that.
20) What is your greatest attribute?
I'm no longer afraid to do things that people would automatically say "I don't think so" to. It amazes me how many people freak out when I tell them we've done a hot air balloon ride. It was so not a big thing once we did it but I suppose if it puts me in some daredevil club, I'm good with that. I have many other things I can't wait to do but I'm much more willing to say yes to life experiences just to have a cool story to tell.
Pick 3 questions above and answer them in the comments. For those grimacing just play along, ya fuddy duddies! ;)
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Empty guest nest and being domestic
Hello McFly!
I knew that wasn't going to end well so I turned around quickly and I hear THUD and "ohhh." I went inside the house so when he turned around I wasn't there then I peeked around the corner and saw he was outside the garage and closed the garage door. Sorry bub, don't you try to come back and get my tax receipt because you broke it! I was a little ticked because there was nothing wrong with that desk. Sigh. Hopefully they were able to fix it.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Two projects? No problem
We started noticing over the past year that little nicks were forming by the seam and its not like we use the counter as a cutting board. Then The Mr asked if that's where I core my apples. Oh, you mean the when I push down with all of my weight with a metal apple corer on a paper towel? Pssht, please! Give me a little more cred...
Yes...yes, I do. *shame*
Yeah, so I started using a potholder under it and lamented my stupidity. Then it was time to head back to the ol' Depot and just see how much granite or quartz countertops would be...you know, for curiosity's sake. We're getting the new countertops next month after we approve the slab. We decided to go with granite because in talking with the woman about resale value she said even though we are down with quartz, many people aren't savvy enough to know it's the better choice maintenance wise. We agreed and since resale is something we now have to think about where home projects are concerned, we thought it'd be the smarter choice right now. Incidentally, she's the lady who put together the design for our kitchen 9 years ago! We're there all the time and haven't seen her there so we thought it was a sign. She said "you guys look great, you haven't changed a bit! I wanted to say "you didn't see us 3 years ago!" So there's a new thing on the checklist.
Wasn't I supposed to be turning the guest room into a studio? Yeah...two projects? No problem.
I have to say though, I'm really proud of us. The Mr worked some overtime, not by choice and it looked like I was going to have to workout alone but then it was looking like he was wrapping up. By the time he got home, we said he had to get over to Home Depot to sign the papers and thought it would be a quick thing. We had to pick out a sink, faucet, new disposal then off to the grocery to buy Home Depot gift cards so we could get a few free tanks of gas and back to HD. By the time all of that was done, it was 8pm. We went straight downstairs and did Power 90 original which is just over 30 minutes. I got a good 700 calorie burn in which isn't bad. It would've been so tempting to say we'd make up the workout later in the week or double up but we didn't. We took care of bidness like the exercise badasses we are. *wink*
Do you have any home improvement projects you want to tackle this year?
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Monday, January 23, 2012
All over the place
We had company over and it was a good excuse to try a recipe I pinned called Volcano Cookies so we wouldn't have a bunch of these bad boys sitting around the house. I bought a muffin top pan and went to work. I put 2 dark chocolate Dove candies in the middle and watched them puff up in the oven. I made them the day before so I wouldn't be slaving over a hot stove when they were here. I baked them for 13 minutes and left the four I was using slightly undercooked so they'd be gooey in the middle. When it was time to serve, I put it in the microwave for 17 seconds so the cookie wasn't scorching hot but the Dove was still lava like in the center, then scooped some crushed vanilla bean ice cream and fleur de sel caramel sauce and a little hot fudge.
If that didn't give me diabetes, nothing will. By the way, I never want to see a chocolate chip cookie again. It was good but I wanted to barf later on and was still full from it 10 hours after I ate it. The others are going as payment for moving items. But I plan on putting that muffin top pan to good use in the future. It should be fun!
The male half of the friends that came over graciously helped us get the computer desk we tried to give away to the garage. Man, I just pictured that thing giving way and crushing the poor guy. I could tell the Mr really wanted to be on the bottom so he could control it and use his brute force to stop it in case it started breaking apart on the stairs but thankfully all was well. A local charity is coming to pick it up today. Luckily yesterday was pick up day for people who got freebies from us so the former guest room is now almost completely empty except the nightstand that goes to its new home tomorrow.
Guess what I get to do this week? Paint. The Mr hates to paint. He makes no bones about it. I say I'm going to burn some extra calories without having to step on that dumb ass treadmill so score for me! We looked at some desks and antique stores and this one table I was planning to use for photography just didn't look right in person so it's kind of back to the drawing board to some degree. I found this chair on West Elm's website and totally love it. I like the cocoon feel of a barrel chair but don't want something that will invite me to sit for too long. Plus I like how the tufted look gives it that grandma appeal but the lines are modern. I'm surprised we like this look and I know it's not for everyone but I think we nixed the idea of a twin sleeper. No one stays here and if they do..."sofa city sweetheart." *snap* (I know people know what movie that's from, right?)
So that was our weekend, well that and getting up at the butt crack of dawn to make sure we got to Trader Joe's when it opened yesterday morning so we could get our groceries for the next two weeks before people started coming over. No skinny cows or sugar free puddings for evening snacks, we got clementines instead. Tons of chicken for chicken and brown rice lunches. New light bacon to go in with my brussels sprouts. Can you believe we've let the past 3 packages of bacon go bad!? Who are we?? They're going to revoke our bacon carrying license! But we use it so rarely and since this batch came from Trader Joe's that means no preservatives which means I'll need to freeze it and use it as needed so I'm not wasting money.
What did you do this weekend?
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Saturday, January 21, 2012
I give up - Weigh In
I'm really beginning to wonder if having to switch my pills yet AGAIN back to what I was originally on but wanted to get off of is what is fighting me this month. I'm going to wait to see what my options are when I go back to the gynie in 2 months but I seriously don't know what else it could be. I burned 4500+ calories this week, was spot on with my calories, fiber was decent but not where I usually like it but the water suffered again this week. I think I only hit my goal one day and I can't believe that it made SO much difference that I can't move my rings this morning. I am so beyond frustrated. So down comes my big accomplishment of 200 lbs lost because it's no longer true and I said I'd give myself 3 weeks. I feel like an utter failure.
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Friday, January 20, 2012
To Fan Page or not to Fan Page
I'd like to hear from both sides, the perspective of someone who has a fan page and is it a pain in the butt to run in addition to everything else. How often do you post and does it end up being more than you can keep up with.
From the "fans" perspective, does keeping up on Facebook make it easier for you than subscribing? Do you see any advantages to me doing one?
I honestly don't know which way I'm leaning so I wanted to go to the peeps on this one for input.
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
Perceived pusher vs. Personal Responsibility
I will say that yes it leaves a bad taste in my mouth that she is partnering with a diabetes company instead of say partnering with her son on his new show that "makes over" her high fat recipes. (Though my feeling is that was very carefully planned to air about the same time that her diabetes news was released and viewers could see that her recipes could be made over. Well, some of them can. I don't call going from Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding to a Fresh Fruit Bread Pudding a makeover, I call it a heavily adapted recipe that tastes nothing like the original but I digress.) That's neither here nor there at this point and I need to say up front I'm not some Paula fan. I think she's fine but I don't watch her show and frankly her down home ya'lls can end up grating if heard for an extended period of time but I feel the need to address that headline..."Paula Deen hid diabetes, pushed high fat."
1) "Paula Deen hid diabetes" Since when is a celebrities health our business? I could understand if she was cooking healthy recipes on camera but in real life eating like crap 80% of the time that people could call her a hypocrite but she has never apologized for the kind of high fat food she prepares. Even then, it's really none of our business. I don't need to know if a chef has high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol issues, etc. It doesn't effect their ability to do their job or whether or not I'm going to make it. Don't they deserve some amount of privacy? I don't buy the whole "they signed up for it when they became a celebrity" crap because I'm sure on their contracts they didn't say "must disclose every aspect of your life including health issues to the public." Now would it be nice if Paula developed a show that focused on eating healthier? Sure. But that's not what she grew up on, it's not her passion and God forbid we should force people to live a passionless life where their jobs are concerned. Think about what you wanted to be when you were little or what you went to school for and how many people are actually in the field they dreamed of? If you are, congrats... unfortunately many aren't. I don't begrudge her living out her dream just because others don't approve of or eat the foods she prepares.
2) "Pushes High Fat Food." Did she go to the grocery, buy the butter, show up on your doorstep, help you prepare the recipe and shove it down your throat? No. Some may call her a "pusher" but there are plenty of other so-called "pushers" in disguise. I looked up super skinny Giada DeLaurentis on Food Network's site and clicked her first popular recipe. Guess what it called for? 9 tbsp of butter, 2 tbsp of olive oil, whole milk, heavy whipping cream and parmesan cheese. I decided to calculate the nutritional info for the Chicken Tetrazzini which is 6-8 servings. I went with 6 servings because let's face it, we're more likely to go for the bigger serving if we're eyeballing it. The nutritional info was 940 cals, 48g of fat, 29g sat fat, 220mg cholesterol, 1679mg of sodium, 62g of carbs and 59g of protein. This recipe was the most popular as voted by users on the Food Network site meaning they CHOSE to look at and possibly prepare the recipe. Then I went over to Paula's page and her most popular recipe as chosen by the people was Chicken and Rice Casserole where the servings are 6-8 for that recipe as well so I calculated 6 servings just like Giada's. The nutritional info for that was 557 cals, 38g of fat, 10g sat fat, 101mg of cholesterol, 923mg of sodium, 18g of carbs and 34g of protein. Paula's recipe, while not low fat, is clearly the healthier of the two as chosen by the people yet I don't hear people calling Giada a "pusher." Is it because she's skinny? I mean that's the only glaring difference between the two chefs is age and weight. So what, the older, heavier chef is a high fat pusher while the skinny, younger chef isn't??
In the end, we ALL have the choice whether or not to put the food we see on TV on our table. Whether it's Paula, Giada or grabbing a Big Mac on the way home because you saw or heard a commercial that enticed you, in the end the responsibility of what you eat or prepare is yours.
This is my own personal opinion on the subject.
I welcome others to share their own opinions in the comments section.
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Shoulder update and collectibles
Other than that just continuing on with our tackling of the house. We took 3 boxes up to Goodwill last night before our workout. I think that guy hates us. We go the last 30 minutes before closing and I'm beginning to think he's making voodoo dolls of us. I went through a few things in my closet and while 2 bins were pretty much not able to be thinned, I was able to thin out one bin and my box. My box is one I swore I'd never sell. I started collecting Wizard of Oz ornaments in 1994 and stopped in 2010 when it was made clear they were really in it for the money and starting to recycle scenes. So 33 ornaments later I had them in a box and they never saw the light of day. At one point when we first got married, I did have a Wizard of Oz room and it was really cute but after about 4 years I got tired of it and wanted something more adult. So into boxes they went as I got one or two for gifts every year. When I came across the box it just reminded me that while I had good intentions and enjoyed them at the time, they weren't going to be something we would retire off of since they're mass produced. It's kind of sad to let them go, if they sell, but I really want someone else to enjoy them and show them off. So I've got them in the closet and will wait until we have a sell pile of things together before listing them in about 2 weeks or so. I have a pic of them and I thought whatever great table I get to put in the studio with the money, I'm going to print out a picture of them and tape it to the bottom to remind me how I got such an awesome piece. I know, I'm a sentimental dork but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Do you collect anything?
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Sigh
The Mr bought me this countdown ornament from Hallmark this year. He said the little girl on the commercial reminded him of me and my obsessive countdown to Saint Nick's arrival. We both watched it eagerly at midnight on Christmas Eve/Day to see what would happen. Would Santa dance? Would it blow up? Would it play a jingle? Nope. It spelled out Merry Christmas and then flashes Ho Ho Ho. We made sure to take the battery out of it because it never shuts off. The Santa reminds me of Father Time from one of the Rankin Bass specials.
This one's a little dark, sorry about that. But that was the one we got at Graceland this year. It has the gates of Graceland then the mansion behind it and says Graceland below it. I'm not too huge a fan of these thin brass ornaments but you should've seen some of the ones we had to choose from. This was the best they had to offer.
This is an ornament I got when I was about 5 or 6 from my Grandpa and his wife on St. Nicholas Day. Their family did the tradition of putting your shoes on the porch and you'd get something in them. I'd never heard of this so when I spent the night with them that night, I tore down the stairs the next morning to find a patchwork ornament for the tree. When I told him about that in a letter I wrote him before he died a month later he said he couldn't believe I remembered that.
This Nutcracker is from Woodstock, IL. Aka- Punxsutawney in the movie Groundhog Day. This place is about an hour north of Chicago and believe me when I tell you it has NOT changed in 20 years and it is like being on the set of the movie! You should absolutely go there. We picked this guy up in a store in the town square.
This otter is a memento from our trip to Carmel, CA for our anniversary. I love otters and was so happy to see some floating around when we went to Point Lobos to hike and enjoy the beautiful NoCal scenery. I love that it has the date of the year we went too.
This San Francisco ornament has all of the required scenes from the Golden Gate Bridge to the skyline to the Wharf sign, Painted Ladies and of course a trolley.
This one is my favorite from our 2010 trip to Chicago we purchased this ornament at Christkindlmarket. It's replica of "The Bean" (or Cloud Gate depending on who you ask) with the ice rink in front of it and the city reflected in it. It always makes me smile when I see it remembering the wonderful time we had and the great people we know there.
Our newest addition...a cupcake. How appropriate right? We purchased this at the Bent Fork Bakery in Highwood, IL in the northern burbs of Chicago. They have not only some of the best cupcakes we've had but I would trample old ladies to get their frosted ginger molasses cookie. Sooo amazing. I know it doesn't go with the color scheme at all but I couldn't resist it.
Sleep well until next year Christmas tree. You know I can't wait to see you again!
When do you usually put up and take down your Christmas decor?
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Monday, January 16, 2012
My Word for the Year
We're renewing our commitment to doing whatever it takes to forge ahead and lose more weight this year than we have the past 2 years with the slow down. We know where improvements can be made and we're going to do that. I also want to renew our promise to do one new thing each month that is different for us. Whether it's going to a gallery or a festival we've never been to or trying a new activity when weight loss allows us to do so (kayaking without having to look for a heavy duty one), zipline and fingers crossed ride a roller coaster by the end of the season if the bod cooperates. We're also renewing our commitment only eat things that make us sink back in our chairs in culinary bliss. I'm not going to eat things I don't love to be polite or because its there. I'm only eating calories that are worth it.
Do you have a word to represent your intentions for the year?
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Saturday, January 14, 2012
Weigh In
I burned about 1000 calories less because of the shoulder injury so I need to just suck up that 2 lbs is decent for burning less and get to planning next week. It's gonna be a doozy. Punishment week. After I dig myself out of the clutter mountain we're about to create in the bedrooms. Wish us luck!
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
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Friday, January 13, 2012
Product Review: Amy Dixon's Super Fit Bod!
Since no one was buying me workouts, the Mr bought it. Amy Dixon's Super Fit Bod!
It had been so long since I added it, I didn't even remember what it was from when I previewed it but for me to add it to my wishlist means I liked what I saw. When we tried it for the first time, I was a little surprised to see that it required an aerobic step. I must've added it during my short lived step phase. I could tell the Mr was a little turned off by that and honestly, I wasn't overly jazzed either even though step workouts do really torch the calories. But we got them and a set of light weights out.Boy did this deliver! I remembered after doing some of the moves why I got it. Some of the strength moves were challenging the muscles at different angles than we were used to which is what I thought we needed. I like that she provides a person doing modified versions of the moves on a smaller step to make it easier and another doing super-charged moves to make it harder. She tends to stay on the harder side herself and that really appealed to the Mr because he's at a point where he is burning much less now and needs harder moves to burn more calories. I tend to fall between modified and "normal" pace because there are some things I'm not comfortable doing but will allow me to keep the workout challenging because I can work up to the harder moves.
As an instructor she's a good middle of the line personality. She's positive but not annoying. She'll say things like "now that you're finished doing the left side, you get to do the right side" to make it seem like evening up is a gift. I can see how that could either be motivating or annoying depending on your mood. I didn't mind it. She has a no nonsense attitude but isn't a task master which I like. I don't need some trainer yelling in my face. That doesn't motivate me.
For the cons, I'd say the only con is the amount of lunges in it. If you have bad knees or are working to build up the strength, you may need to modify a bit. We had just done over 30 miles of walking in Chicago and nary a sore knee...less than 10 minutes into this workout and our knees were killing both of us. (Yes, we know how to do a proper lunge...no knees over toes, etc) So that's the only thing we didn't like about it.
I burned over 950 calories with it and that was a real surprise because I wasn't expecting that. So this will be a regular one in our rotation and one that will only get better as I lose more weight and can push my body further. Super Fit Bod!
...it's a keeper!Have you gotten any new exercise DVD's you really like lately?
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Thursday, January 12, 2012
Attempting to heal...keepin' it real
We bought some Trader Ming's (Joe's) General Tso's sauce last night to add a wee to our new lunch. I'm doing brown basmati rice and adding some veggies to it and cilantro chicken breast. It seems to be really doing a dance through the Mr's system but not so much in mine. Hopefully a little more of it will do some good. I just feel like this weight is trying to hang on for dear life. I don't have a good feeling about this week's weigh in between the lesser amount of calories burned due to injury and my uh "system" being off this week. It was like friggin' clockwork last week. This week it's like "are we going for some kind of record for the longest time without a true #2?" Sorry, TMI I know but this is my world right now. I do need to up my water intake as its suffered a bit too. I've got less than 6 months until vacation and while I no longer do the whole "I'm going to lose XX pounds by the trip" because that's like jinxing it, I really just want this weight to get a move on. We both have a good feeling about this year and I'd like to run with it. (Hear that fat cells?)
This weekend will be more decluttering. We'll get most of the basement in order and then move on to the guest room. That is a disaster but a table became available at an antique store that would be perfect for photography and I need to clear a space for it in there. So I gots motivation, peeps!
Do you alter your workout routine when you're injured or not workout at all?
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The town that dreaded sundown
As we pull into the park there is a beautiful brilliant sunset. Note I said sunset. Not the sun was starting to set, I'm talking the sun was kissing the treetops goodnight before settling into its bed for the night. We hit start on the heart rate monitors, start walking and about 5 minutes in I said "we're going to be really screwed in about 15 minutes." He agreed. The ground squished beneath our feet as we walked. This is January, right? It should be cold hard ground with frozen footprints from previous hikers in the mud making getting your footing difficult not squishing along like we're slogging through a swamp. We crossed the road onto the "extra" trail where we get some decent heart rate action and this huge bird flies into the treetop as if to claim dibs on us when one of us expires in the darkness. I envisioned running antler first into a deer and my carcass having to be retrieved in the morning as the Mr curled up in my skin or something for warmth. We walked a little faster. As we crossed back over the road and the oranges of the distant sunset faded into a cream, light blue and navy blue sky with no moon, we spotted a creepy little man crossing the trail that intersected ours. I kept my ears open and kept looking behind me to let him know "we know you're here and we will not be taken out by a serial killer in a park. Prepare to die little man." Thankfully he kept on his trail whilst we kept on ours.
I told the Mr we should consider having a stick on us to ward off deer, squirrels and Sasquatches. He picks up this stick that is like the size of a shank and I said "what are you going to play fetch with him?" On we trudged and it was getting dark quickly and the temp was dropping. He found a more suitable (read: longer) stick so that we could at least attempt to beat dingoes off from 4' away instead of 12". We were holding hands and he was kind of dragging me along a bit in the mud which I didn't like because I felt like I was holding him back and/or I would fall in the mud. I wanted to dramatically yell "save yourself and send help in the morning. I'll try to hold on" but I refrained. The sound of the creek made me realize I had to pee. I wondered if I could stop and wee in the woods? Probably shouldn't. Every second counted. Besides, I may need to pee on myself for warmth ala Harry and Lloyd on the scooter in Aspen. We finally came to the intersection of the beginning of the trail which said we had about 1/4 mile left just as we were getting to that panicky darkness. In the end, it was an interesting brisk hike but I suppose it could've always been worse...
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| Source: The Blair Witch Project IMDB page |
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Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Do we fall for the marketing?
Extreme! Ripped! Shred! Turbo! Power!
At this point in my adventure, I found myself drawn to these things because right now that is what I need is something above and beyond. I mean I never thought I'd see the day when Tae Bo would be an easy workout for me! Then I felt like "NOOOO! I'm falling for the marketing!" It was like telling Indy not to look directly at the Ark. I felt like if I previewed them, my face would melt off like the poor bastard with no willpower.
In the end, I didn't end up buying DVD's with those words in the title but I admit those were the ones that got my attention. I already feel like those are overused as everyone is trying to out rip and shred each other so it'll be interesting to see what the next buzz words in exercise will be over the next year or two!
In your opinion, what are some of the most over used fitness phrases?
Reminder! Today is the last day to enter the Ralph Lauren winter gloves giveaway! The giveaway closes at 5pm today EST. Just click over and enter a comment if you're interested and haven't entered already!
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Monday, January 9, 2012
The first full weekend of the new year
I am not sure what it is around these parts but the availability of corn tortillas that are bigger than 3" is like, nil. Given mama makes a mean rendition of Chi Chi's Chicken El Paso and it requires corn tortillas, flour just doesn't cut it. So we got a tortilla press, some instant masa and busted those babies out.
They tasted right but a wee thick so I couldn't finish them but we'll just roll 'em a little thinner next time. Once I get my technique perfected, I'll share some creations. I am looking forward to mastering a small bit of Mexican (Latin? Spanish? I have no clue what is considered PC these days) cuisine.
After that it was time to tackle the clutter I'd been talking about. We started in the basement. Holy balls, man. We have like 10 bins down there and none really labeled properly so we had to go through them and the bags in them. You know the ones where you give up, chuck a bunch of crap in a bag and throw it in a bin to go through next time? Well, this was next time. I'm a pack rat and there were a lot of things I was holding on to because what if we needed it sometime? But I decided to tell family and friends local to us that if they wanted stuff, it was free. I took pics of everything we were considering donating and had an online freecycle for locals.
I got rid of about 10 things so far and told people that round will be available until Wednesday then we take it to Goodwill. My mom took a lot of it! She said "let me know before you give stuff away, you always give away GOOD stuff!" I don't know if I'd say that with this round but I do this with my aunt all the time. She has a pool so we've given her our outdoor sectional, patio table and chairs, we're giving her daughter the guest room dresser, our old universal gym...all for free because we knew it'd go to a good home. I highly suggest it if you're looking to declutter! You can also have a "freecyle party" and if you have a big enough house people can "shop" from each other's stuff!
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Post Vacation - Weigh In
I injured myself last night doing Jillian's Ripped in 30. Let's hope the shoulder heals up by tomorrow when another strength rolls around or we might have to do cardio and let it rest.
Hope everyone has a great weekend and don't forget to enter the giveaway below if the Ralph Lauren gloves interest you! Ends Tuesday!
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Friday, January 6, 2012
Giveaway: Ralph Lauren Gloves (Closed- Winner Announced)
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Okay, I think this is the last Chicago post but I'll make it worth your while. While in the windy city, we stumbled upon Nordstrom Rack. I don't have one of these. I want one of these. Wait...I probably shouldn't because I bought like more friggin scarves than I know what to do with. Seriously, look...
That's 7 scarves. I'd better get to ironing!
But I also found these beautiful non-functional but super cute Ralph Lauren gloves while I was there. I thought they were so adorable, I bought a pair to give away here too! I almost bought a pair of really pretty ice blue ones but my practical side won and I got an off white that would go with almost any coat the winner could have.
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| Click to enlarge |
Apparently it's a form of rayon. There. Fact learned for the day...check.
If you'd like to enter it's easy, just leave a comment below.
The contest is open until Tuesday, January 10th at 5pm EST. This is open to US residents only because I just spent way too much money at Sur La Table's blowout sale on myself and giveaways for later in the year and I gots to save a little scratch right now but I promise I'll have an international one later in the year. The winner will be selected by using a random number generator based on the number of entries. One entry per person please.
I hope everyone has a great weekend and good luck!
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Thursday, January 5, 2012
Seeing yourself through someone else's eyes
We were listening to some of his plans for the new year and I can't tell you how excited we are to support him on some amazing things he wants to do this year. The guy is so positive and I swear when we left, we had this renewed attitude that I would kill to feel everyday. It was like this feeling that anything was possible. Then we came home and I hopped on the scale and let that stupid piece of machinery make me feel less than, then I thought back to our meeting with our friend, wrote yesterday's blog and tried to look at the positives of our trip over the negatives and how things had improved. It helped some but then I went to his blog that he is looking to get into more and he wrote a lovely post about our time together and I sat there crying like an idiot remembering that the things I do affect others in ways I don't even realize. We are always so quick to cut ourselves down, think the worse of ourselves or feel like others won't "get" what we're trying to say. But for every troll or negative person who tries to bring you down, there are wonderful people like you and our friend who say "no, you DO matter and what you're doing is helping me." I am going into this year trying to remember that and trying to do better.
I would love it if you'd stop by our friend's blog, A Schorr Thing and say hello. The extra traffic might freak him out at first, HA!, but this is someone who has influenced our lives for the better and I think he's someone to watch in the coming year for reasons that'll become apparent later.
Today I issue you a challenge. Tell someone how they change your life for the better. It doesn't have to be some long letter or note but tell someone who may not know how their outlook on life shapes your own life positively. Let's start off this new year by spreading some kindness and smiles!
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Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Chicago- Then and Now
Last year: Ordered hot chocolate every morning for our free beverage then ordered it all over town.
This year: Ordered hot tea every morning and only ordered hot chocolate 3x at places we knew was worth it.
Last year: Logged just over 25 miles walking.
This year: Logged almost 32 miles walking even walking 23 blocks to the same place 2 days in a row.
Last year: Ordered what I wanted, when I wanted even if I wasn't hungry with no thought about consequences.
This year: Went batshit with cupcakes but other places I ordered egg whites, ate more veggies (ugh, what they say about asparagus and your wee is so true and I ate it 3x!), ordered smalls and split more.
Last year: Wearing a size 26/28 top and 26 pants.
This year: Wearing a size 18/20 tops and 24 pants. (Can you tell where I lose my weight?)
Last year: Gained a temporary 11 lbs.
This year: Gained a temporary 9 lbs. (Still pretty ticked at that given how beat up my body was after the walking but buttercream is evil. Delicious, sweet evil.)
As I felt myself slipping into a massive funk over how far I've got to go to get back to my 200 lbs lost moniker and I had it taken down several times because I felt I no longer "earned" it so it shouldn't be up there. But I did earn it and if God forbid 3 weeks from now I'm not back there, I'll take it down because by then it'll feel like a lie. But I know much of this is temporary and freaking out will get me nowhere. Everyday is a new day and it has felt amazing getting back to a routine where *I* have control over what goes into my food.
As noted with the recap blog, there will be no high cal day this weekend because we had enough to last a month in those 5 days but it doesn't mean it won't still be good. I make a mean chicken el paso that I can easily fit into our calories and feel like we're cheating when we're not. It's the Mr's favorite meal so I'll have fun being creative with that and I'm so glad to have fruit and veggies in the house. You don't realize how much you miss eating healthy until you're not. I won't miss the bloat or feeling that food coma on the wrong things.
But I am proud for the calories I burned while there even if they didn't make a dent in balancing things out. 11,510 calories burned in the 4 days I tracked. Thank God for my heart rate monitor so I'm not blindly trying to figure out what I burn. I felt every calorie burned too and I didn't even mind the blisters, screaming quads and shin splints. Okay, maybe a little.
But I'm making peace with all of this because I can see the improvements I made in lieu of focusing on the negatives of it all. I owe that to a special friend of ours but you'll hear about him tomorrow.
Do you focus on what you could've done better on a vacation or what you did right if you see a gain from it?
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Tuesday, January 3, 2012
How I Spent My New Years Eve
Or seeing Cameron's dad's garage from Ferris Bueller.
Paying our respects to the man who gave us such great movies.
Heading to Millenium Park.
Thankfully the rain kept people away from the Bean/ Cloud gate.
I HATED standing on the ledge the hangs out from the side of the building. Took my pic and left!
We went on a fireworks cruise that opened up last minute to ring in the new year. It was amazing and amazingly cold! (Sorry it's blurry, we're on a boat, yo)
Bought my purse at Bloomingdales, it only took 2 years to find one I like!
I LOVED seeing snow our last day coating the Christmas greens!
I'm going to miss seeing the festive decor and beautiful architecture!
I share the same sentiments Chicago Theater!
I wish you all a wonderful 2012 and will have some Chicago oriented posts this week. Right now I'm just plain pooped and am hitting the hay! We never celebrate but this year we are SO glad we did!
How did you ring in the new year?
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Monday, January 2, 2012
Better Watch Out Clutter!
I am going to have to look for some organization ideas for small spaces but I thought I would first come to my peeps and see if you have any ideas I haven't thought of.
What are some of your best organization tips?
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