Unplugging for a couple of days...

Tonight I'm leaving for a woman's retreat and I'll be back on Sunday. This will be my last post until Monday and I will miss blogging for a few days.
OK, now that my PSA is out of the way... :)
I got in a really good Zumba class and I ate very well yesterday. :)  Of course I am continually really busy and I have a lot to do before I leave tonight, but I am planning on another good Zumba class today.
So while I'm away, I'm going to have to get creative with my exercising to keep that going. Hopefully, I will have some good food choices this weekend (all the food is so wonderfully and graciously provided) so that I can stay on track with healthy eating.
With all that in mind I'm looking forward to 'unplugging' this weekend and just taking in everything that I will experience. Believe it or not, I'm REALLY looking forward to not knowing or needing to know what time it is. These past few weeks have been so packed (in a VERY good way) and I'm really ready to just sit back and enjoy the ride. I can't wait to see what's in store for all of us on this retreat! I love meeting new people and inviting more people into my life. I will only know probably one person who is going and I LOVE that!! That means that there are a whole bunch of new friends to get to know. :)
Ok, I have some laundry and packing to do plus some last minute cleaning.
Enjoy the rest of your week and enjoy this beautiful weekend!
See you Monday!!
ox~N

Better Day...

Yesterday was a better day food-wise than it had been all weekend. Exercise-wise, not so good. It was very hot and humid here and being that it's the start of the summer, I'm not use to it just yet. So, I didn't exercise yesterday unless you count going up and down 2 flights of stairs to do laundry. I swear I sweated 2 pounds of water.
I will again attempt to do some type of exercise today. It seems to be less humid right now than it was yesterday at this time. So, today is another new day!
Lately, I have been thinking about what is hindering my progress with my health and I have learned some things about myself. I have had a lot of things swimming around in my head and there have been circumstances with people that have caused me to become defensive, angry, sad and just plain untrusting. What I have learned is that when I have these things happening to me and around me I seem to not want to do anything for myself. It's strange, I know and I'm still not sure what it is exactly that makes me become this way.
I have told you in previous blogs that I crew on a friend's sail boat. When we get on the boat we need to remove all jewelry that we have on our hands, especially if we are pulling lines. So, they have this little duck basket in the cabin that holds all our valuables like cell phones, sun glasses, wedding rings and such. They call this duck basket the Lucky Duck. I was thinking of the Lucky Duck yesterday and how I should be more like a Lucky Duck. I need to let the unimportant things roll off my back and only hold the valuable things.
The thing is, there are always going to be circumstances, people, places and things that are going to be negative and offensive and disheartening, but I cannot allow it to always affect me in my daily life. So, today I'm going to be a Lucky Duck. I know it won't be that easy since I am a sensitive person, but I know that I can only do all this with God's help.
Be a Lucky Duck with me today! It will be fun! :)
Have a wonderful day!
ox~N

Holiday Flop...

Yesterday was a wonderful holiday and we got to hang out with good friends and some family. There was a lot of delicious food, as usual and I totally flopped when it came to eating. :/
I ate some things that were ok, but then the chips and dip got a hold of me. Oh and also, a yummy chocolate dessert. I didn't have a chance to work out either. I feel like I failed and I'm at a point were I need to just keep moving forward with my healthy plan.
I didn't Zumba or anything yesterday either. The only sweating I did was because of the heat and humidity.
SO I weighed myself this morning. I wasn't going to because I would rather stick my head in the sand than have to face my failure. But I digress, I haven't lost anything nor did I gain anything. I guess that's good and it sounds about right. When I did get Zumba in I killed myself so I guess that made up for the bad food intake.
Today is a new day! It's going to be a hot one, so I will try to get my workout in sooner than later.
Have a wonderful day!!!
ox~N

It's ALL about the sweat...

This one's going to be really short!
Ok, so I did Zumba yesterday YAY! I am really enjoying it and I sweat SO much, which is perfect for burning the fat.
Today I will be crewing on a sail boat after church, and that's a workout so I will not do Zumba unless I can find the time.
Have a great day everyone!!
ox~N

BUSY!!!

I was SO busy yesterday I didn't get a chance to blog! I won't run down my whole crazy schedule with you but I will say I have been helping my Sister move for 2 days. I guess that could be considered exercise, but I still feel like I should have done something. I really, literally had NO time at ALL.
Isn't it amazing how when we get so busy the first thing that gets put aside is our health? I REALLY need to change this! I HAVE to find it somewhere in my day to get my exercise in. Or maybe it's more like I need to MAKE the time in my day. I will do this today. I have another busy day, but I have made time to spend time with a good friend and just have some girly time today amidst of all the chaos this weekend. Tomorrow it's church and then I crew on a friend's sail boat for a race THEN it's a BBQ at another friend's house. Monday is another BBQ with more good friends and my Husbands co-workers. :)
Even though our weekend is VERY busy, I'm looking forward to everything we are doing.
I will continue to make better choices when it comes to food and I will be making time to exercise. I have to change what I'm doing going forward and not look back at the past 2 days. That's when I usually get into trouble thinking about the mistakes I made and then I give up. I'm putting a stake in the ground today and changing that!
Have a wonderful, blessed day everyone!
ox~N

Tried Something New...

Since my day started late yesterday, I decided to try a different workout. Zumba! I ended up doing it for 2 hours! I LOVED it even though it really kicked my butt. I was sweating so much I could wring out my shirt when I was done. I felt SO good though. It kept my heart rate up for 2 hours which is so good for burning fat.
Food intake was ok until I went to the mixer. There was nothing, I mean nothing that wasn't fried, swimming in BBQ sauce or stuffed between 2 giant pieces of bread. The only vegetable offered was breaded and deep fried and I'm not exaggerating. So I had 2 meatballs, a sandwich (I didn't eat the bread) piece of cheese and olive, a chicken penni and one BBQ wing (the BBQ sauce was REALLY good). All of it was small finger food. When I got home I had my usual snack before bed which made me feel like I ate something healthy before the day ended.
Today is moving day for my Sister and Brother in law! I'm not sure what kind of workout I will be able to get in besides moving furniture, but I will try to make the time for something.
Have a great day everyone!
ox~N

Late Start...

Today is already hectic! I have now gotten a late start to my day because I didn't sleep very well. So, here I am blogging way later than I usually do.
I am going to a mixer tonight with my Sister to promote my design business. I wish it was an actual business in the sense that I made a living doing it, but for now I have only had one 'real' client who was a nightmare to work with. Anyway, tonight my Sister invited me to the mixer so I can hand out some business cards and meet other people who own their own businesses. With that said I had to print out some business cards since I don't have any on hand. I have the template already made on the Mac but I had to get more cards to print and the layout is completely different. After about 2 hours of fiddling, I've got some business cards printing.
Yesterday was a really good exercise day. I did Jillian's for 10 mins and increased the intensity. Then I did 45 mins of Pilates. :) I'm sore all over, it's a good sore and I'm looking forward to doing it again today!
Food intake was good yesterday too! I made more ceviche and had that on lettuce for dinner. I had my usual breakfast and lunch with a healthy snack in between.
Starting today, the weekend is already creeping up! I have a hectic day today then the next 2 days I'll be helping my Sister move into her new home. Saturday my Husband is working a wedding at our church and I'll be in charge of taxing the kids all over. Sunday is church early then I crew on a friends sail boat. I love IT! It's so much fun and I learn a lot, never mind it's a great workout and now that I am feeling stronger I'm excited about the next race!  
Have a great day everyone!!
ox~N

It's one week today!

I made it one week!! WWOOOHOOOO ::throwing confetti::
I have lost 5 pounds, so now I weigh 160. :) I would have LOVED to lose 10 pounds, but there I go again. I never appreciate what I accomplish. I always see what I did and try to figure out how to do it better. I guess that's not a bad practice as long as I can appreciate what I DID accomplish. So today, I'm proud of myself and my 5 pound loss accomplishment. :)
Like I said yesterday, I feel like my posture is better and I feel stronger. That makes me VERY happy. Also, my clothes are looser. My Sister mentioned that I looked a little thinner too! :)
Yesterday I did 10 mins of Jillian's masochistic workout and I was actually not totally dyeing at the end. That's an accomplishment in and of itself. Then I did another 20 min Pilates DVD that makes my whole body ache the next day. I'm starting to enjoy the Pilates more and more because I feel like it gives me a could stretching as well as strength and control. Don't worry, I'm not leaving Jillian out completely. I really like the cardio that I get with her workout and now that I can see that I have more endurance after just one week, I'm totally sticking with it.
I have not jumped rope for a few days because I spend more time tangled up in the thing than I do actually jumping. I'm hoping as my workouts progress, I will be able to master the jump rope and get a good workout with that too.
Mondays are family night so my Husband talked about ordering pizza. My first thought was to scream, "NO!!!!! I'm getting healthy and losing weight!!!!!!".  But I held that in and just said that I can't eat pizza, so if we get it I will just have to make a salad for myself. Then he mention that I 'could' pick something up if I wanted to while I was out picking up our oldest daughter from a friend's house. So I thought....hmmmm....what could I pick up that everyone would love and I could eat too? The answer....SUSHI!! I come to find out, our favorite sushi place closed (that's how long it's been since we had it). So, I'm with my Daughter and her and I are trying to figure out what to get then we both realize that there's a sushi place right where we were headed that was recommended to us. So we go, place the order then, while we wait we go the the pet shop right next to it. We buy 2 Comet gold fish, or giant gold fish (my Daughter has a fish tank in her room), really pretty fish, then we go to pick up the sushi. I tell you this because it was kind of ironic and my Daughter didn't want to walk into the sushi place with the Comets in a bag....lol. So we head home and I set up our coffee table in the middle of the living room with pillows around it and we all sat there with sushi and chopsticks and had a wonderful family dinner. :) Everyone was happy and we didn't eat junk!
Today is the start of a new week! I can't wait to see  how it goes. :)
Have a great and blessed day everyone!!
ox~N

Day #7...

It's been a week since I started this blog and my dedication to health and wellness. I feel healthier and I also think my posture is better. 
My husband came home last night (YAY) and I'm so glad he's home. He told me I looked like I lost some weight (lets hope that I did) and asked if I knew how much I lost. Well, I don't really know because I'm not going to weigh myself until tomorrow. :)
Like I have said before, weekends are tough for me so yesterday I worked out before church. I did a 20 min. Pilates DVD and today, I'm sore all over. 
Since I started this blog later than usual, it's going to be short because everyone is up. The morning shift has started! 
Today I plan on more Pilates and some of Jillian's workout. I'm hoping to knock out more cardio than usual. 
I have already eaten breakfast (I'm getting the hang of this morning eating thing).
If it doesn't rain today, I think I'm going to take the kids to a park where we all can rollerblade. Yes, my kids are home with me. Well, my 2 youngest are because I homeschool them. My oldest goes to high school. This is why I  don't have a lot of time for exercising. It's not the kids fault, it's because I put everything and everyone else before my health. This is not good for me (or the family as a whole) and my kids are very supportive of my exercise regimen. I have some great kids. :)
Have a great day everyone!!!!
ox~N

Last Day of a Beautiful Weekend...

Sunday is here and my Husband will be home tonight. :)
SO yesterday, not a good exercise day. I just did a little Yoga, nothing else. I had a pretty good food day, I guess. Like I had said before the weekends are tough.
I took my Son out for lunch just to two of us and it was really nice. I had a yummy salad, but I could have made a better choice. It had blue cheese and candied pecans on it, so not the best choice, but better than I usually would choose.
Then some great friends came over and I made a mango chutney, ceviche with flounder and a cheese platter. Everything I made was from scratch, nothing processed and I didn't add sugar like the recipes called for. All the cheese I have is really good quality (I'm a bit of a cheese snob too). Normally, I would bake some bread to go along with all this, but yesterday I didn't. My friends brought some yummy wine to go with all of that, and it was a lovely evening.
My downfall with the weekends is my food intake and when I eat as well as what I eat. Yesterday was a new day with that since I ate my breakfast within an hour of rising and then I ate a good lunch. Normally, I wouldn't eat all day knowing I was having people over and we would be eating later. That was SO bad for my body!
Another weekend downfall is lack of time. I usually have SO much to do on the weekends and I just don't have the time to exercise. I HAVE to change that, so I'm making this blog brief today so I can workout before going to church.
Have a beautiful, blessed day!!
ox~N

AHH...The Weekend...

So yesterday was crazy busy AND I was dead tired. However, I did my workout and even increased it a little. I did 2 minutes of jump rope this time (still quite uncoordinated though), increased my 'Jillian' time, did my Pilates and my Yoga. I have to say the Yoga does help me have better posture and makes me feel longer and taller, if that's possible for someone 5'2". 
My Sister and Brother in law have recently purchased a new house. They have been doing some cosmetic renovations and asked for my help. So, my Husband and I have helped with some painting and just giving a little 'home owners' advice with things here and there when asked. My Sister's new home has stairs that were carpeted when they bought it. I say 'were' because my Sister was skeeved out (for good reason) about it so my Husband removed it for her. The carpet on the stairs was really warn and quite disgusting. Anyway, she had asked me about what to do with the stairs once the carpet was removed and I threw out the idea of leaving them uncarpeted, which of course, requires work to make them ascetically pleasing to the eye. So, yesterday was the 'fill in the holes and sanding' day. Once the wood filler had dried, my Sister started to sand but was soon called away by my Brother in law to look at something in the next room (he COMPLETELY renovated the master bedroom and bath. It looks so beautiful now!). So naturally, I grabbed the sandpaper and continued sanding. Well, it was quite a workout and I insisted to continue after my Sister returned. I loved it!! I was getting something done and was really getting an extra little workout for my arms, core and legs...it was perfect. Now, the stairs were ready for the stain/sealer stuff that my Sister could do without me. :) It was a good day!
Later that day I had my Transformation Group (a small home group) that my Husband and I lead. With him away this weekend I had to lead it without him and although I was a little concerned that I would totally flop at it, it went really well. Our group is awesome and everyone who is in it is so wonderful to spend time with. It ended up being a really nice relaxing evening and that is totally due to all the wonderful people who were there. It was a perfect end to a very hectic day for me. 
Well, my Daughter put the video up that she made the other day and I'm going to try to put it in this blog. I have never done this before so please excuse me if it doesn't work the first time.  High School. There it is! Let me know if it works...or not.
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!! :)     
ox~N

It's Friday!!

...And I have about a billion things to do today. This is where I can get into trouble with eating poorly and not exercising. But, I digress...
Yesterday I added to my Jillian workout, did my usual Pilates thing, did some Yoga, some extra cardio on the Wii fit game AND...drum roll please...I jumped rope out on my deck!!!! I really didn't want to. I really really really didn't want to. My husband and 2 youngest children were watching (hubby was timing me) and I jumped for about a minute. I looked more like I was fighting with the jump rope than jumping with it. I have gotten SO uncoordinated, but I just kept trying. I'll do it again today too and eventually, I won't look like the jump rope is attacking me. :)
Oh, and I TOTALLY forgot to tell you that the day before I took a nice power walk while I was waiting during my oldest daughter's ukulele lesson. I didn't plan it well though, and I power walked with flip flops and now have a blister on the bottom (you read it right, the BOTTOM) of each of my feet. That made jumping a bit interesting, but my feet are much better today.
So, my oldest is into photography and videography (as well as the ukulele) and she makes funny, cute videos and posts them. She is really quite talented and entertaining. Well, for a couple of days now her and I have been doing some funny role playing joking around, so of course her videographer lightbulb pops on. She tells me yesterday that she HAS to do a video with me. This is a huge deal for me because since I have gained this weight I do not want my picture taken and I especially don't want to be on any video. She said that she really needed me to do this with her so I asked if I actually had to be seen. With the first clip, it was just my voice, then it was just my hands, then all of a sudden I needed props, my hair up and makeup. She's such a good kid, telling me I looked FINE...lol So I did it, not because I'm happy with the way I look, but because I'm not going to stop my life and time with my kids because of my insecurities. I did it because, I'm NOT going to look like this again. This video will be the LAST video of me this size. Most importantly, I did it because my teenaged daughter wanted to have fun with ME...her Mom. How often does THAT happen with teenagers?!? So I gave it my all and although I haven't seen the finished product (she was editing last night....LOTS of editing because we just kept cracking up) I know that this is one awesome moment in time that has been captured. I do not have ONE regret! I'll add the link once she gets it up on YouTube.
Today is going to be interesting. I have been awake since about 3:30 this morning. My Husband is away for the weekend and left last night. I was sleeping FINE until our Mastiff realized that 'Daddy' wasn't in bed with me. Bear (that's our big boy's name) sleeps on a separate bed in our room every night, so when he woke up at 3ish and saw no Daddy, he started whining....for HOURS. That dog is REALLY lucky he's not dead. I could feed the kids for a week!! (just kidding, just kidding). I finally crawled out of bed a little after 6, cranky as ever. I made a cup of coffee. I know that's not the best thing to do and I have been staying away from coffee because is suppresses my appetite, but this morning was one of those exceptions. With my Husband away I will be pulled in a million different directions this weekend and I have quite a bit of juggling to do starting today. My plan will be to get my exercising in and juice some of my meals so I can get the right amount of good calories into me despite my busy schedule.
Well, I'm off for now! Have a wonderful day everyone!!
ox~N

A New Day...

Here it is, another day another blog. Yesterday was a good food and workout day. However, I did not get a chance to do any Yoga. I REALLY REALLY just need to force myself to make the time. 
Eating first thing in the morning seemed to up my metabolism and I seemed to be hungry more often throughout the day. This could be very bad, but I made it a point to eat lots of veggies and some good proteins and I think I did pretty well. What seems to help me is not having junk food in my pantry. So if I have a hankering for something crunchy I make popcorn, ya know, the old fashioned kind. Corn kernels on the stove with some olive oil, no butter added. Or I'll grab some walnuts, non salted, not candied, just naked walnuts. The walnut snack actually will kill the hunger with just a few so I usually gravitate toward those. If I'm looking for something sweet I will mix craisens in with the nuts. 
So today, I will attempt something I haven't done for years and is very difficult for me. I plan to jump rope out on my deck. This is a HUGE milestone for me. Not the jumping rope part, it's the outside on the deck part. See, many years ago when I was an instructor I LOVED working out with people and as an instructor they were watching me as I lead them all through the workout. I absolutely loved instructing and being part of a person's life change. As an instructor, that's what it's about. People who come to you have made themselves vulnerable to you so you can help them change their health for the better. It's really kinda emotional and that is the main reason I loved to teach and train. I could see the difference in a person's life and I was honored and privileged to be allowed into that part of their life. 
So, what does that have to do with me working out outside? I'm ashamed of the way I look and how weak and unsteady I am. Yup, it goes right back to that again. The disappointment. I have my little 'workout cave' in the basement of my house and no one....I mean NO ONE is allowed to even be downstairs when I'm working out...not even the dogs. I don't want to be talked to, looked at and most certainly...don't friggin watch me unless you plan on shortening your life. And this is how far I have gone from what I used to be. Now, I have known this about myself for a while, but for some reason typing out in this blog has given it more of a tangableness (I know that's not a word, but go with it for me). Because of how sad this sounds, I am going to to it today. I'm going to get my jump rope and put on my sneakers and jump outside on my deck. I'm not going to focus on how bad my fat looks bouncing around. I will do what's best for my health today and it won't matter who watches. 
I'll let you all know how it goes for me!
Have a great day!
ox~N

Good Morning...

I know I said I would 'see' you last night, but I have soon realized that mornings actually work out better for me to blog. It seems at night I have way too many people up and about and EVERYONE needs to say SOMETHING to me when I'm sitting here. So mornings it is!
Well, yesterday was a good food intake day and I suppose a good exercise day. Lets just say it's a good thing I didn't blog right after working out. I'm still struggling with how weak and out of shape I am. I know, I know I just have to keep going and my strength and endurance will get better. It's just SO discouraging to me every time I exercise. I really need to get over that.
Today I plan to push myself a little more than yesterday. I figure if I keep progressing a little each day that I will get somewhere with my workout. I've been doing this 10min. Pilates thing that's on Netflix and then I do a Jillian Michaels Wii game workout to burn fat. I usually do the game on light, but yesterday I increased it to medium and yes, it made a difference. I like the game because it has different workouts that do different things so that I don't have to navigate all that and try to figure out what exercises are best for me now. Eventually, I will get to the place where I will know what's best for me and the game has that option, but for now I'll just use the pre-set training.
Today I think I'll add a little Yoga that's on the Wii fit. I think I need to do more stretching and flexibility training. I actually really like flexibility training. It was always my favorite thing to do when I was training or teaching a class.
My least favorite exercise is running and, you guess it, that's the majority of the Jillian Michaels workout. God give me the mental strength...seriously. I really hate running. You may be wondering how I run with a Wii game, well it's jogging in place...agh. Just typing about it brings on a blanket of dread.
Well, I'm also trying to eat a healthy breakfast within an hour of rising. This is REALLY difficult for me. Many, many, many times throughout my life I have routinely skipped breakfast. This is the WORST thing  for me to do. It must be some hereditary thing, or it could be a learned thing? I'm not to sure. My Mom, Sister, and oldest Daughter have a VERY hard time eating anything for breakfast. Thing is, my Mom, Sister and Daughter are inherently thin, I was/am and never will be their body type so in addition to this practice being extremely unhealthy, it packs on the pounds for me. Couple this not eating breakfast thing with the fact that I'm an early riser and there you have it, the perfect storm. So this morning I woke up at 5:44 and it is now 6:39 and I still haven't eaten. Please excuse me for a moment. Ok, it's 6:44 and I am eating. I made oatmeal (plain rolled oats) 4Tbs with water, one small apple chopped and a little cinnamon. No milk, no sugar, no salt, no butter, no syrup and it's really good. It's also just enough that I'm not overwhelmed with a huge breakfast. This should get my metabolism going.
Today is a new day and I'm confident I will get a good workout in and I will push through my disappointment!
Everyone, have a wonderful day!!
ox~N

The first step...

So here it is, my first blog post. I'm really not sure how to ease into this so I'm just going to dive right in.
Over this past year I have gained 30lbs. Being 5'2", I blew up like a balloon. The worst part is that I'm not healthy, or physically strong and my self esteem is in the toilet. I'm super ashamed at how I have gotten this way in such a short time, so for now, I'm just sharing this blog with those I know love me for who I am and will support my journey. Hopefully, I will eventually be brave enough to share this with all the World on the internet.
I started getting back into exercise and better eating habits about a month ago. As of today I weigh 165. I figure I'll weigh myself about once a week and I'm going to try to blog daily to follow my eating and exercising everyday. Hopefully, this will keep me on more of schedule knowing that all of you could be reading this or looking for it everyday. 
Now, a little about me; although, most of you here for now may already know this I just think I want to put it all out there incase I eventually do make this public. 
I pretty much eat healthy food. No fast food, no processed foods that I can make fresh. So I think I narrowed my biggest weigh-gain issue down. I don't eat enough, so when I DO eat my body stores everything because it thinks it's starving. I truly believe that's how the 30lbs came on so suddenly. I was very depressed and just didn't eat....couldn't eat and so when I finally did put something in my mouth is was the 'comfort foods' that I clung to. My comfort foods are cheese, chocolate (REALLY good chocolate...I'm a bit of a chocolate snob) and wine with a side of bread. Yes, I buy locally grown organic wheat berries, mill it myself and bake it fresh with all the nutrients, but again, if that's ALL I'm eating, my body will (and did) hang on to it.
So, now I am eating more leafy greens and lots of veggies and fruits. My proteins are mainly beans, fish and very rarely white and red meats. Don't get me wrong, I'm really NOT a vegetarian, but if I'm going to get healthy I have to get more vitamins and minerals into my diet than I was before. 
Also, I have started juicing. One of my very best friends gave me a juicer for my birthday (<3 you Mo!) and although I'm not doing a cleansing juice regimen, I HAVE been getting more veggies and fruits into my daily diet than I did before. I still have to get the hang of juicing veggies to the point where I'm not choking it down. It's a learning curve, but I'm confident that I WILL get the hang of it and master the art of drinking veggies without holding my nose. :) 
Now onto the exercise topic...agh. Ok, when I was in my 20s I was an aerobics instructor, step class instructor, weight trainer and aerobics choreographer. Suffice it to say, I KNOW how to exercise, but I think that it's a double-edged sword for me now. I am SO disappointed in myself for not keeping up with it and so now when I do exercise I am mentally fighting this disappointment because of how weak and non-flexible I am now...never mind the amount of weight I'm lugging around. :/ Thus, another reason for this blog. If I know I have to tell you when/if/and how I exercised to day, I will have the mental capacity to push my own disappointment aside so that I don't disappoint you. I know, maybe that's not the healthiest way to go about it, but it will have to work for now. 
Well, if you have gotten through all this, thank you! And I will see you tonight. ;) 
~N