The “I LOVE ME” List

This was hard….

1. What do you absolutely love about your body? LOVE? Honestly, nothing. I suppose I like my legs because they have shape.  Can I say my hair? I do like my hair…. I guess I’d have to say my womanly figure. What I mean by that is that I do have an hour-glass shaped body (big chest) that does look nice when you can see the hour-glass (: That’s the goal right?? That you will be able to see my hour-glass one of these days!?! (: ( I don’t love my big chest, but I guess I love that my husband loves it (TMI - I know!))

2. When did you surprise yourself with your physical strength? Boot camp. I did an 8 week woman’s boot camp at my gym the months before I got married. The first week it was every day at 5am for an hour and a half. After the first day I could barely walk… and each day didn’t see much improvement (: It WAS however, the first time I ever ran 5 miles in my life… let alone 5 days in a row! (: After the first week it was only MWF, still and hour and a half…. but I saw huge changes in my body during those 8 weeks! I went down 1 whole wedding dress size, and truly felt amazing at my wedding

3. When were you braver than you ever thought you could be? I guess when I went through my miscarriage last year. It was a fear I had long before I was ever married or pregnant.. and it was the hardest thing I’ve ever gone thru. I learned a lot about reaching out to people as they grieve, and I also drew closer to God… I am grateful for those 2 things.

4. When did your self-control blow you away? Hmm… honestly, kinda cheesy but I think the day Allison and I baked all day and did soooo well! We didn’t graze or eat out of control at all (too bad it didn’t last the next day!) I’m sure there’s a deeper answer than this… it was just all I could think of at the moment!

5. What is your proudest moment ever? The day my daughter was born. What joy!

6. When was the last time you felt absolutely beautiful? absolutely beautiful??? like amazing?? I guess my wedding day. I’ve felt pretty and nice and all dolled up for various occasions, but nothing like my wedding…

7. Why do you deserve to meet your goals? For me: to feel good about myself. Confident and secure. For my dh: to have a sexy wife… not a mom that lets herself go and forgets that he is the most important person in my life! For my dd. and for my future children: I have enough problems with my joints (knees and wrists)… I don’t need extra weight to add to that. I want to be able to live long and enjoy my grandchildren someday… and I want to be a mom that can chase my kid on the playground, get down on the ground and wrestle, and just be a healthy example to me kids as well.

Ok… if you’ve read my list… it’s your turn!!! DO IT, YOU HAVE BEEN TAGGED!!!

Yep.. I said it.  Now I’m putting it in writing so the “whole world” will know and keep me accountable.  I’m quitting sweets/sugar.  FOR THE REST OF THE MONTH (at least). Today was definitely UG. (see my post from earlier today…)

Well… today started out well… I ate my raisin bran and headed to the gym for a double whammy: group power and 30 minute Cycling. Well.. I tried to head to the gym. But my car door was frozen shut.  So… I defrosted my car and poured water on my door, and then headed to the gym (10 minutes late!).  So instead of 1 hr POWER it was 45 minutes POWER. Then the cycling instructor started cycling 10 minutes late and since I only have an hour and half slot for TINY GYM, I only got 20 minutes in before leaving to pick up dd (believe me… it felt like 3 hours!!!)  But NEVERTHELESS… I worked out hard today!

Came home, made a huge salad… ate that… and 2 cups of coffee… and some baked chips and dip… and then another coffee and some stupid chocolate laying around my house from post Christmas (DUMB!!!)  Not even a real dinner… but I dont’ really want to make one now that I’ve wasted my points on stupid stuff…   WHAT WOULD YOU DO??? ANYONE?? Would you just call it a night and not eat anymore?? Or would you make a fruit salad or something with some substance like some chicken??  I never know what to do in this situation.  I obviously have flexies and used them…

O one other thing… I was thinking about giving myself more points today because DD nursed more than usual… but I don’t know if I can vacilate between my total daily points…  CAN I??? Right now I add in 3 nursing sessions, but I probably do more like 5 on a “normal day” and a range of 4-6 on other days… Anyone know??

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Got a lot done as far as cleaning around my house is concerned… so that feels good!

For food today, I counted points and after lunch had 11 points left, but I don’t have my journal here to post online.

11 points - coffee creamer (3) =8

8 points - popcorn (1) = 7

7 points - reduced fat ritz crackers (2) = 5 points

5 points - hot fudge sundae (6) = -1 points

-1 points - stupid candy (3) = -4 points

TOTALS 35 points - 4 flex points.

Goal (Week Jan 6, 08 - Jan 13, 08)				Sun	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat
Cardio totaling 3 hours each week
50 crunches (daily)				x
50 obliques (daily)				x
2 sets of 20 push-ups (daily)				x
Group Power 1+ time/week
if daily goals accomplished

I usually begin my weeks on Tuesdays (after I weigh-in in the mornings)… but we are going to switch and start going to a new Saturday Morning meeting… so I decided now was a good time to start my week over. I have used less than half of my flex points.. so I am going to start them over today and make them last till next Saturday.

It’s 9:30 am and I have already completed 50 minutes of Aerobic activity and it feels great! I’m about to send my stats to Swizzlepop.. so be sure to check out her EXERCISE CHALLENGE!

It’s now 11:28 pm and I have not eaten well today. Started out great w/ some dry cereal and a yummy fruit salad! Bean & Cheese burrito for lunch and dinner, grilled in olive oil spray and olive oil… ended with candy, junk and more candy as I gave in to ever mouth-watering craving that hit me in the face. SIGH. I’m done now. I’ve chugged water all day. And got in 4/5 fruits and veggies. And 2 good workouts… so I do have some positives… just not as great as I was hoping for! OH WELL.. tomorrow is a new day!

Its been a crazy week (:

Goal (Week Jan 1 - Jan 7, 2008)				Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun	last Mon
Cardio totaling 3 hours each week				65 min		45 min		50		20 min
50 crunches					x		x	x
50 obliques					x	x	x	x
2 sets of 20 push-ups					x		x	x
Group Power 1+ time/week					x
if daily goal accomplished

So… First Run… we got into Eugene around 7pm last night, checked into our hotel and watched a Law & Order Marathon for a couple hours while eating crappy food (BAD idea!) and waiting for our midnight run. We had fun, just dh, baby, and my friend Allison who was running with me. Allison and I headed out around 11pm to find the place where the run began, and check in. It was funny to look at some people who were dressed to the hilt, stretching and warming up hard-core, as if this were a marathon and not a 5k I can’t believe how hard core some the the runners were either. Today we saw the best times and one guy ran it in around 16 minutes. That’s a 5 minute mile!

Anyways… we ran the first 5k together (in the dark!) and had a good time. We def. FELT the junk food as we were running, and decided maybe pizza an hour before wasn’t the best idea Also I usually run 1st thing in the morning so this was a new experience for me since I’d been up since 7:30am! Anyway, I was pleased with our times… just under 33 minutes, a little less than an 11 minute mile… and considering I ran 12 minute miles in highschool, and I’ve been out of HS for 10 years.. I felt it was a good accomplishment! (pictures to come… for the 1st race, they’re on Allison’s camera. Scroll down for pictures of the race today)

So after getting lost (long story!) and arriving at our hotel around 2am… Allison and i slept here and there, in between dd ’s fun awakenings as she realized she was in the same room as us, and didn’t want to go back to sleep.. twice! (did that sentence make sense?) Needless to say this morning, we were tired!

!The run today was quite a bit different. Allison went on ahead alone, so she could push herself (at my request!) and get a good time. I was curious to see what a difference it made in my time when I was on my own. I was def. feeling the night before… little sleep, junk, and a 5k! I know I didn’t push myself quite as hard but I was only 1 minute slower… 34 minutes. And so, I feel good about today too!

Here we are right after the race. I was so red!

I didn’t post yesterday about my weigh in… I was just too overwhelmed because my parents came to town for the day and we were also trying to get out the door to head to Eugene for the First Run.

So… last week’s (or was it 2 weeks ago??) scale reading: 153.2 (I was up .2)

This week’s scale reading: 152.4! Down .8 I’ll take it! After Christmas success!

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    Well… I don’t know how sensational it was…

*I got rear ended… (but maybe my car’s totaled and I can get a new one!)…

*I didn’t eat the best (but I didn’t eat much either so I’m pretty sure I didn’t go over points!)

*DD is teething and a grumpy grump (but she’s asleep now and maybe she’ll feel better tomorrow!)

*Tomorrow’s my Weigh In and I’m kinda dreading it… (BUT I weighed today and was only up .8 from my lowest weight… the damage could have been MUCH worse!)

So… there were the goods and the bads.. but overall not too bad!  DD and Allison and I have little-to-no injuries from the car accident and for that I am very thankful! We must have angels watching over us… cause I pray for my baby that she will.. lucky us (: and I’m grateful that we have good insurance so that we can have a rental car while it’s getting fixed as well.

So… while this was probably the most random post ever… it’s all I’m giving tonight.  I’m tired.  But excited for tomorrow’s 5k!!! Woo hoo! I’ll be sure to post an update after we get back.

First of all… we had SNOW on Christmas day! I know a little late.. but I must share! (: To those of you who have snow all the time or almost always have a white Christmas, it may not seem like that big of a deal… but for this part of Oregon, it IS! I haven’t had a white Christmas in YEARS! Not since I was little! I snowed for several hours straight and barely stuck (my dh was thrilled cause he had an hour commute the next day!) but is was o-so-beautiful and made my day! (This is me w/ my niece Taylor)

Secondly… Roni posted a link to Pasta Queen on her post yesterday and I have to include it too.. It’s titled “Guilt-free Christmas Cookies” and it is very true.  If all of us could just grab a hold of this mentality and not beat ourselves up… that would probably lead to more success in the end!

Lastly, my day: Quite a contrast from yesterday…. no cardio or working out (besides my abs and pushups…)… but lots fruit and veggies! Woo hooo! and tons and tons of water! Woo hoo again! My knees are still hurting… I will give them a rest today and then do something like the elliptical that’s easy on my knees… The 5K will be the last times I run for a while… but that’s ok.

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Goal (Week of December 24-Jan 1 )				Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon
Cardio totaling 3 hours each week				I’m	40	60	35	0!
50 crunches				back
50 obliques				on
2 sets of 20 push-ups				track!!
Group Power 1+ time/week
if daily goal accomplished!

Well… just not a good day. Poor eating all around (at my parents and in-laws…) and no fruits and veggies… Good on water. And I ran 3 miles… I guess those are the positive..

My knees on the other hand, are having problems.  I’m not sure what caused it, possibly my recent running… but they hurt alot, mostly when they are bent… but even today while I was running.  Obviously I am running a 5K on Monday and one on Tuesday, but i think other than that, I am going to stop running and focus on aerobic activity with less impact. UG.  I like just running and getting it over with quickly… and yet feeling like I worked out HARD.  I guess I will have to find other things…

Daily Points Target					30
Food				Points	Left
cereal w/ milk				6	24
bread				4	20
pb & j on WW				4	16
pecan candies				12??	4
bite of pizza				2	2
Quiznos				7	-5
baked lays				3	-8
random grazing
+4 activity points				+4	-4
Totals
Day __4__ Week - Flex Points Remaining: ??
8oz water: x x x xFruit/Veg: 0
Exercise: 35 minutes treadmill (3 miles)

Goal (Week  of  December 24-Jan 1 )				Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon
Cardio totaling 3 hours each week				I’m	40	60	35
50 crunches				back	:-)
50 obliques				on	:-)		:-)
2 sets of 20 push-ups				track!!	:-)	:-)
Group Power 1+ time/week				:-)
if daily goal accomplished!					:-)	:-)