Weekly Weigh In - Week 2

I am so excited! I have hit the 5 pounds lost mark!  WOOT WOOT!!

Today's weigh in was exactly 244. That is 5.7 pounds down from when I started. It also means my daily points allotment has decreased.

On to what worked and what didn't work this week.

Most of the days, I had points left over. Four out of 7 days, that is. Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday I went over my points. Tuesday because I cooked some of the bacon Mr S received in his first shipment of his Bacon Of The Month Club (Christmas gift from his dad & step-mom). That stuff is NOT diet friendly! And then the weekends are always hard for me. We aren't that great at meal planning for weekends. We're both off and we both kind of see it as two "come what may" days. Again, NOT a diet friendly attitude to have.

I did, kind of, meet my goal of last week for more activity points. I managed to get 6. Unfortunately, I only did two work outs last week. I need to do more than that if I'm going to really do this properly.

Creating my own activity will be helpful. We purchased an XBox 360 with Kinect just before Christmas. I am really enjoying Dance Central. I also just purchased Dance Central 2 and a work out "game". I kind of like using the Xbox to work out with. So far it doesn't really feel like I'm working out.

When an activity, like Dance Central, is not listed on the activity list, there is a guide for creating your own based on intensity and time performed. Low intensity means you don't break a sweat, you can talk/sing, and your breathing is regular. Moderate intensity means you can talk but not sing, your breathing is often and deep, and you begin to sweat after 10 minutes of the activity. And high intensity means you can talk briefly but not sing, your breathing is rapid and deep, and you begin sweating after 3 to 5 minutes. Depending on the songs I choose, Dance Central is a Low to Moderately Intense work out for me.

What I really need to do is get on the treadmill in the fitness room for the complex we live in. I just hate going alone. And I get SO BORED just walking and listening to music. I have TV shows I've downloaded to work out with, that's how bored I get. I've tried audiobooks, random music (fast and slow), and podcasts. Nothing really holds my attention. The TV Shows aren't that great, but they give me something to focus on rather than looking out the window.


Goal for the week:  Figure out how to travel and be "good". Today was a bad day. I decided to do Sonic for lunch...and that took all but 4 of my points! So I'm trying to figure out how I'm doing dinner tonight. I'm leaning towards a large, green salad and/or a lot of fruit for me. Mr S will just have to fend for himself. But I need to figure out how to do this, especially when I'm not local like I am this week. Because being out on the road is what's done me in last time, and I don't want that to be my downfall this time.

Motivation:

(I have to remind myself of this when I only do 20 minutes of work out)

Well, that's all for today. Tomorrow I'll be posting a recipe (the one I was going to post last week and forgot to do). It's a healthy, good to eat, husband approved recipe. And, with the Super Bowl coming up, it's a great one for game day.

Happy Monday!

Monday Musings

I really can't believe that it is already August. Where does the time go so quickly? July was such a crazily unexpected disappointing blur.

Today is the three week mark of my Brother-In-Law's completely unexpected passing. Tomorrow will be two weeks since we buried him. I still can't really believe he's gone. I know it's been especially hard on Mr S. They had such a unique bond as brothers. There is a void in the family now that will never be filled.

I'm revisiting the idea, for about the millionth time this year, of starting my own home-distribution business. A close friend of mine sells Scentsy. As many of you may, or may not, have heard, they have launched a jewelry/purse/accessory line:  Grace Adele. That is what I'm thinking about doing. I was actually looking at doing Scentsy at the beginning of the year, then two (yeah, TWO) of my girlfriends started up within a week of each other. Well, there went my initial target audience. So I've had to change my tune a bit. I've looked at different jewelry lines, but never really made a decision. And I want to do something that my friends will buy, so it can't be too expensive. Well, I think I've found that lovely piece of middle ground with Grace Adele. I'll keep you posted on how this goes! Of course, if I do decide to sell, you'll know...it'll be all over this little blog of mine!

Well, I thought I had more to write about today, but I guess not. I hope everyone had a great weekend.

Have a wonderful week!

Monday - a look at the week ahead

I'm still playing with a catching title for my Monday posts.  The plan is for the post to be a bit of a look at the weekend adventures that just occurred and a look at what the plan is for the coming days.  I'm open to suggestions!! 

I'm sure you noticed (all 8 of you) that I was MIA last week with postings.  That's what happens when a crazy work schedule (aka, conference) interferes with normal crazy schedule (aka, general travel).  I was in San Diego for three days last week for a conference that the university I work for was a vendor at.  The days weren't as long as some others I've participated in, but when I'm around other co-workers and my boss it kind of throws the days for a scheduling loop.  The conference itself is pretty schedule friendly:  11-5 for two days and 10-2 for the last day.  It's the after hours events that wreck havoc!  But it's always so much fun!  I get to see people I normally only see once a year (I work out of my apartment here in sometimes-sunny SoCal and the main office is in South Alabama).  Depending on who it is, there is usually a good time to be had by all.  This time around was no different.  Tuesday I went to dinner with two ladies I work with and we had a great time.  Wednesday I was at dinner with my booth co-worker, our boss, the manager of our special programs team, and two famous people (more on that in a another post later).  And then Thursday the conference ended, so I headed home after break-down of the booth space.  We met about 10 of our students.  I met a lot of people I've had email contact with over the last three months, so it was nice to finally put a face to a name/email address.  And we met some great new folks too. 

After that, the Mr and I kept the weekend pretty low key.  These events tend to wear me out, so I usually take the weekend to recoup.  This weekend was no exception.  Saturday we ventured out and went to eat at Lazy Dog Cafe then took a loop or two around the mall.  I drug Mr S in to Charming Charlies and found some great ideas for hair clips to make my long do dolled up (I'm trying to decide if I want to try to make them from scratch or just buy them).  While we were at the mall, we also ventured into Game Stop.  The hubs began toying with the idea of getting a Nintendo 3DS.  While we mulled it over, we went to see "This Means War" (funny stuff).  After the movie we decided to find out what Game Stop would give us for our old DS and some old Apple electronics (my iPod Touch 2nd Gen and his iPhone 3G).  The decision to trade was made and we ventured home to gather our old electronics, reset them to factory settings, make sure they work, then head back and make the trade.  We ended up with a Nintendo 3DS and a new game (sonic generations, I think) and only paid about $50 out of pocket!  And we got rid of stuff taking up space we didn't use anymore!

Sunday was another low key day for me, but Mr S went to play volleyball.  After we went to eat at Yard House, took a lap around the mall, and then went home.  Knowing we needed to get groceries (fridge/freezer were looking might bare) we ventured out for that later and it paid off - not many people at the store and we were in and out in under an hour!  VICTORY!! 

Since I'm in office this week, I'm back on a fairly regular schedule.  I'm really trying my hardest to keep to the laundry/cleaning/cooking schedule I start a couple weeks ago.  Obviously, being gone most of last week, it wasn't hard to keep to it as there really wasn't much of one.  We'll see how it goes this week.  And working out and dieting/eating right - total fail last week!!  I seriously need to start planning my snacks better for when I'm out all day.  Here's hoping for a great week on exercise, healthy food choices, and all around greatness!

Hugs...

Monday's Some Days...

Someday...

...I want to make an fantabulous scrapbook (working on one or two ideas now, just not a whole lot of fundage).
...I will finish my BS in Psychology degree (just not right now due to lack of time).
...my office/kitchen/closet/spare room will be organized the way it should be/I want it to be.
...I will have a beautiful curio cabinet to put my obsession vinlymation in rather than a random book case shelf.

...I will have a beautiful curio cabinet to put my turtle figurines in.


...I will learn the art of grocery shopping and paying less than planned due to proper use of coupons and sales.
...I will decorate the new place...but probably just in time to move again. :)


And today I am going to start working on something special for the ladies I plan to ask to be my bridesmaids!!

Happy Monday...or something like that

I am not a morning person...ever! I am a night owl at heart. But last night...I was in bed before 9 pm!! That is most odd for me. And I fought it, too. But Mr. S told me not to fight it...he's so sweet that way. I really wanted to stay up with him for another hour or so (also knowing that if I went to sleep before 10 I'd have a headache in the morning). But I just couldn't fight my eyelids anymore! So I finished the last few pages of my book (The Princess by Lori Wick) and drifted off to dreamland.

Unfortunately, I was right about the headache. My body doesn't process excess sleep very well. I can be completely exhausted and go to bed early, like last night, and get a lot of sleep to reenergize my body...but I'll wake up with a headache, and not feeling very energized. Basically, if I get more than eight hours of sleep, I'm still miserable. Mr S was kind enough to bring me some Aleve, 3 of them, this morning before I was up. And now, with coffee coursing through my veins, I'm feel a little bit better. But there may be some more medicinal remedies in my future before the day gets fully underway.

In other news: Hooray for the Packers winning last night!!! I'm so tired of the Steelers...it was nice to see a different team win the Super Bowl for a change.

I made my decision for the iTunes gift card money I have left. I decided to re-read some of my books and hold onto that balance for a bit. I've got plenty to read, so it's not like I'm missing anything. However, on the flip side of that, it's a lot easier to have the book on the iPod when I travel (like I will be this week and next) than to have one more thing to pack in the backback or suitecase. So I may buy one before I leave Weds morning, or I may just suck it up and take a paperback with me. Oh decisions, decisions...why must you be so difficult to make!?