What's Working for ME

I've made a real committment to eating better and sticking to a fitness routine as of late, and it's been paying off - to the tune of 6lbs lost! I'm nearly to the weight I was at the start of last summer, which I'll take. This year started off so rough with me in the body {okay, and mind} department, and this shift in thinking, eating, and exercising has been GREAT for me mentally and thankfully now physically as well.

I'm committed to losing 30lbs by the big 3-0 this December, so I'm on my way! Six down, 24 to go :)

A few things that are working for me:

1. The return of the 5:30am alarm. People are always *shocked* that I get up at 5:30 to exercise, and it makes me laugh. What other time of day would you like me to fit it in? I'm either working, cooking, cleaning, or spending time with my husband and child. Exercising before work {and before any of those demands get to me} ensures that I get 'er dun and have the rest of my day to take care of everything and everybody else. And frankly, I'm just too tired to put any big effort in at the end of the day. Plus, you get used to getting up early {and then you end up freaking out on Saturday morning when you think your alarm didn't go off, until you realize it's Saturday and you don't have to get up that early!}.

2. Meal prep and go-to meals. A no-brainer, really. Meal planning and prep is so beneficial in so many ways, but I've always had a hard time getting on board with it. Mostly because I was trying to change it up to often. Lately I've been sticking to salads for lunch {see next item on the list}, then a simple protein {usually grilled BBQ chicken} with a carb {rice or baked potato} and salad for dinner. I cut and wash lettuce a few times each week - thanks to the OXO salad spinner hubby got me for Mother's Day! - along with veggies to add to the salads. I'll also slice up some fruit to enjoy throughout the week {a la fruit salad... fruit - fruit salaaaad...} and marinade some chicken. For lunch I'll pack a salad with either grilled chicken or some lunchmeat, then have a cup of yogurt and a piece of fruit. Easy peasy. Dinner is quick and easy on the grill. Voila.

Big serving bowl o' fruit, which lasts us the week

3. SALAD, gone gourmet. Way back when I did the South Beach diet, I spent the first 2 weeks choking down plain salad. It was so hard to eat and I never felt satisfied. I loved {and still love} restaurant-prepared salads, so I knew I could like eating salad as a meal, but I had such a hard time eating salad at home. As of late, the lightbulb went off and I thought "I'll just recreate restaurant salads at home!" Dur. So that's what I do. I make my salad like those I have at a restaurant. Lately, it's been a cobb salad - lots of romaine, broccoli, cucumber, red pepper, hard boiled egg, sprinkling of cheddar cheese, 1 slice crumbled bacon, grilled chicken and lite honey mustard dressing. Delicious and satisfying, with lots of veggies and protein!

Mmm salad.

4. Having a PIC named VIC. Vic was shaping up and dropping pounds for a 24-hour endurance race over Memorial Day weekend {24 hours of BURN}, so he was committed to cutting out the junk and getting off our butts. That made it so much easier for me to stick to my routine and good eating. It's always good to have someone to hold you accountable; it's even better when you live with that person {and they see you nakey!}.

5. Summer! It's FINALLY here {2 months late!}. The rain has ended, at least for now. Nothing better to remind you that you will need to eventually wear shorts and tanks. Better shape up those legs and arms! Not to mention the sweating... oy. You know summer is in effect in NC when you stand there doing nothing and sweat profusely. I'll take it any day over winter, though - no complaints here!

This week I started the Fitnessista's Summer Shape-Up, and it's been going well so far! She provides a workout plan along with instructions and pictures to help you out. I love her blog!

So that's what I've been doing lately. Habits I hope to keep up to keep myself and my family on track.

Have you made any changes lately that are working for you and your family?

Today I am thankful.

Things I’m thankful for lately:

1.       Warmer weather – hallelujah! Although, as mentioned in my previous post, I am not *physically* ready for it yet! It is nice to get out in the mornings for a run, or at lunchtime for a walk. I’ve been trying to be outside as much as possible. I’m pretty sure I was sick so much this past winter from the lack of sun and fresh air {not to mention the stress!}.

2.       An amazing husband who is also a stellar dad – he’s always been great with Valentino, but lately I’ve been very pre-occupied with side projects in the evening, so he’s been keeping the boy occupied with bike rides, bike tricks in the street, and other fun projects. Even when the man is exhausted after his very physically-demanding job, he gets out there with our son. My heart is so full of love when I hear them together J

3.      Being mostly done with vehicle maintenance that has been looming for the past few months… I hated knowing that we needed new tires {so. much. $$!!) and some other normal maintenance things. Car maintenance is an annoying necessity, and I’m glad to have the big $ stuff done and off my mind. Plus, my new tires are snazzy! Big thanks to the aforementioned super-husband for spending one of his days off getting most of this done!

4.       New paint in my kitchen! The transformation is pretty amazing, and I’m so glad it’s {almost} done. The original, builder-white paint was filthy and BLAH. Pictures and details soon!

 

Painting is dangerous business!
{He was headed out with Super Daddy to ride bikes}

 

Since I last posted...

Life has been CRAZY. Truly, a rollercoaster of ups and downs, with little in-between.

All of this has happened since the end of November:

On my 29th birthday in December, I announced to family and close friends that I was pregnant and expecting a baby in July.

• We celebrated Christmas, then rang in the New Year with high hopes and expectations for 2013.

• After realizing that we would need to put our kids in public school, we firmly decided it was time to move into an area supported by better schools, so we found a new place to live.

• Valentino found out he was going to be a big brother at my 12-week screening ultrasound, where we all got to see the healthy, growing baby.

• We took a road trip to Disney World and spent 5 days there with Vic's brother's family.

• Vic and I caught a horrible cold/virus that had us literally laid-up in bed for four days.

• At 15 weeks, I went to my Ob/Gyn to be checked out for the aforementioned cold and found out that I had experienced a "missed miscarriage" - our baby had died, but I never knew {I had no symptoms}.

• I was "put under" for my first ever surgical procedure, and spent a week on leave from work.

• Less than two weeks later, we moved into our new house over the course of a long weekend.

Like I said - CRAZY. I plan to post about each of these experiences at some point. Right now, we're still working on settling in to our new house {which we love!} and getting life back to normal. Overindulging during the pregnancy {and the holidays!} and the "grief gain" has left me with extra weight that I've started to work off, which I'll be writing about as well.

All in all, however - I'm feeling better and like I'm getting to a better place. Vic and I have had some great discussions about our family and what the future holds, and we feel content with our choices. I know the future is bright for us!

Needless to say, I have quite a bit to write about - now I have to find {MAKE!} the time.

Today I feel...

Confused. I don't understand some peoples' thought process. Yes, we're all entitled to our own opinion, but when things seem so blatantly, in-your-face obvious {like being lied to about horrific things, over and over again}, how can people look the other way and make such bad decisions? This doesn't just pertain to the election - there are many examples of this in people I know.

It's making me question people and everything I know, which is very uncomfortable. Perhaps this is part of maturing?

Upset.

Down. Mostly stemming from the election {which I'm shocked is affecting me so much}, but about some other things too. Seems to be hitting hard as I enter my hormonally emotional time.

Pissed off. It's true, I secretly want to remove all liberals from my FB friends list. But I won't - I read their posts with an open mind, but then I roll my eyes at their general selfishness and ridiculousness.

Pensive. There must be some higher plan, something we don't know about yet. I believe that all things, good and bad, happen for a reason. Time will only tell what that reason is.

Restless.

During my workout this morning {30 minutes on the stairmaster to burn those buns!}, a million thoughts were running through my head. Only were they calmed when - this sounds totally cheesy - I heard the song by John Cougar Mellancamp "Jack & Diane" where he says, "...life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone..." Like I said, TOTALLY cheesy, but it gave me my mantra for the day - no matter what, LIFE GOES ON. We get up, go to work, and live our lives every day with little control over the "big picture." No sense in dwelling on what we can't control.

No Non-*cents* November

Alternate title: Target, we’re taking a break… it’s not you, it’s ME.

First off, I can’t believe this year is almost over already. 2012 started slow for me, but the summer and this fall flew by… and now I’m almost a whole year older. Sheesh.

Of course the arrival of November means that Christmas is very much in sight… and that is always a stressful time for us tight-budgeted folks. There are gifts to buy, parties to attend, and food to make/bake. Add that to the fact that we’re Disney-bound in mid-January, and you see my need to get a grasp on spending so that we have maximum funds available for Christmas and our trip.

I am the sole “spender” for our house – I do all the grocery shopping, I fill up the gas tank, and I whip out the debit card for all other purchases {usually eating out and purchasing clothing, shoes, and other small odds and ends}.

Two things really need to be corralled:

Groceries/TARGET. I usually shop at Target {using my Red Debit Card to get 5% off!}, because I like one-stop shopping, and I’ve found that prices on several items at Target are better at “regular” price than local grocery stores {peanut butter, waffles, bread, most HBAs, etc.}. However, I’ve come to find that in the long-run, this is muy, muy no bueno for the old budget-o. For whatever reason, even when I think I’ve “done good,” I end up shaking my head at the register in disbelief that what I thought was "not much" is costing so much. I wouldn't say I go overboard with impulse purchases, but somehow it ALL. ADDS. UP.

Target Hypnosis, as pinned on Pinterest (originally from jennifermariemiller.tumblr.com)

I started receiving the Sunday paper, purely for the coupons. I've never been a huge coupon fan because I don't buy most of what there are coupons out there for - we don't eat much cereal and I don't buy many frozen meals/canned veggies/soups/etc. However, I've found that the $1/week I'm spending for the newspaper is offset by the few coupons I do use for HBAs and other houseware products {paper towels, Tide, etc.}.

I've also started to shop at grocery stores for our weekly food needs. My favorite is Kroger - whenever I shop at the neighborhood Kroger {using the kid-sized cart for Valentino to push, of course!}, I end up spending less and getting higher-quality produce. PLUS, I get fuel rewards {$0.10 off for every $100 spent} and they have some sort of rewards program too. I stick to only buying what is on sale, and so far I've been pleased with the amount of groceries I walk out of there with for the money.

@Super Target - I love that place. It's very super.
See the heavenly sunbeams illuminating the store?

This month, I plan to only buy absolute necessities from Target and get the rest of our groceries from Kroger, using coupons and taking advantage of the rewards. I also plan on sticking to a meal plan for our dinners and my lunch, which brings me to...

Eating food at/from Home. I'm no cook, that is FOR SURE. I don't enjoy cooking at all, and we have three different palates in this house - I'm picky, but open to adding in "health" foods for the sake of health; Vic is pretty picky and usually won't sacrifice taste for health; and Valentino is a horribly picky eater {whom I've created, no doubt}. Valentino usually gets his own meal {#1 on my "I'll never do that when I have kids!!" list... ouch}, and I make the same ol' things for us. Since I'm the one who cooks dinner, if I'm not feeling up to it... we order/go out. We have pizza far too often since it's a sure bet for all three of us. Obviously, this is not good for our health or our budget.

I've meal planned in the past, and I've always felt so happy when I was able to stick to it - it's truly a time and money saver. Lately though, I've fallen way off that wagon {story of my life...} and for the sake of our budget and our waists, I need to jump back on. So this month I will be planning out our meals in an effort to be easier on our budget and clean up our food intake.

So those are my major focuses for our budget this month. I also plan on bringing in some extra money by selling some items on ebay and through craigslist. Every penny helps!

How about you - are you taking steps to save money for the holidays? What are your favorite tips for saving money?

I know, I know... I should've been on top of this months ago. Severe procrastination is my Achilles heel.

In the past week {or two}...

In the past week or two, I've:

1.   Rekindled my love of swimming with three 1 mile+ early morning swim workouts.

2.   Enjoyed having a new workout buddy who not only joins me in the pool, but who also invited me to a class that I've been wanting to take for over a year {but was too chicken to go to on my own}. We've been motivating and keeping each other accountable, which is awesome! She's trying to convince me to do the Ironman 70.3 when it comes to Raleigh next August... we'll see about that!

3.   Attended the aforementioned class - Functional Fitness - then suffered with some intense muscle fatigue and ache all down my backside {arms/back/butt/hamstrings} for four days straight {sitting down was a challenge!}. While I love that I know for sure I got a good workout, I'm hoping to use those muscles more so that I'm not laid up for so long after the class!

4.   Ran after/biked along with Valentino on several 4 mile rides on the Greenway around the lake. He's really building up endurance, and he loves our rides {so do I!}.

5.   Went on a solo 12 mile road ride last week, then a 31.7 mile road ride with Vic over the weekend. It felt so great to get out, ride, and SCORCH some calories! The long ride was really tough at times, but I survived and I'm glad I did it :-)


As far as non-fitness related activities:

1. Celebrated Vic's birthday!

This is what I wanted to get Vic for his birthday... they were sold out of his size ;-)
{No, in reality - this showed up in my search for a "Speedo Women's Swimsuit" on Amazon... WTF?!}

2. Spent quality time with Vic :-)
3. Took Valentino fishing twice - both times we caught four {very small!} fish.
4. Enjoyed some cooler, though still very warm, summer weather {and thankfully, lots of sunshine!}.

I'm hoping to find time to write more for the blog. I have a whole list of post ideas, as well as some drafts I'd love to finish and finally post.

Must scoot off to bed - the alarm's set for 4:45am so that I can make it to the pool around 5:10 :-)