Getting My Burn On!

So this week I did my first day of training for my Warrior Dash! (Which by the way I decided to do on my birthday again in June!) This is what it consisted of:

Cardio: Run/Walk 1 mile ( I ran)

Strength:  You have to go through them twice completing each one for 30 seconds followed by a 30 second break.

DB Bench Press

Plate Crunch

DB Step Ups

Bicep Curl

DB Front Raise

Squat Jump

V-Sit-ups off Bench

The three I didn’t do: Leg Press, Pull down, Leg curl

This was a KILLER workout after running a mile! It gives me a bit of an idea at where my fitness level is at…..and where it needs to be.

I’m very excited to get started on this training program and see some results. I really think it’s going to make the most difference in the strength training area. This is the one part of working out that I don’t work on that often!

I think I’m going take some before pics later this week and see if we don’t see a little bit of a difference come June.

Meanwhile, on the subject of our house buying process, everything is still up in the air…..hopefully we hear something this week!

Shopping Fun

So today was the big day around the world. For football fans it was almost like a second Christmas! That’s right boys and girls, today was the big Superbowl!

For me it was just another lazy Sunday afternoon. I’m really not big into sports at all so I decided to do something I really enjoy instead! I headed out to do some retail therapy.

It was so interesting to be out and about tonight. It literally seemed like a holiday because there was next to no one out and about or on the roads! It was actually quite nice and relaxing to not be in the midst of any hustle and bustle.

I’ve lost some weight lately, as you may have read here. Enough to need to get some new smaller clothes! So I’ve been trying to re-stock my wardrobe little by little. In the midst of this turn over of clothes I’ve become a little adventurous with my style. I think I’ve stumbled upon some styles I love!

What were your plans this weekend? Superbowl party or weekend fun?

Keeping the Faith

This past week month has been packed full of ups and downs! Nothing has stayed the same or leveled out.

It all started with this house process…..

First, we decided to move forward and put down our deposit on it and set up the inspection. A few weeks later after things falling through, getting back on track, and us feeling like we didn’t know if this was really going to happen, we did it last week! Finally! We decided that we liked what we saw and would move forward with purchasing it.

Then came the appraisal that had to be done for the mortage. Well, apparently our house is listed on the town records as a multi-family. It is in no way set up as a multi-family at this point in time so now we have to throw everything up in the air again and hope the seller will do what’s needed to get it listed as a single-family again! So far things have not been moving and they have not been responding to the realtor who is trying to contact them. My realtor is getting nervous because it all isn’t going smoothly and called me yesterday to see if we wanted to just back out of the whole deal.

All along in this whole process my faith has been tested! I have had to completely trust God to take care of things through every step of the way. As you all can see things have been completely out of our hands. So here was the moment, the one where I said do I just back out now after all this hard work we’ve put into this or stand firm. I know that me and Jason are in LOVE with this place. I also know that through all of the crazy things that have happened so far, all of them have actually worked in our favor! So, I have decided. I’m going to “Keep the Faith”, I’m going to stay in this deal and trust that God is going to work it all out for us! If it doesn’t work out than I know that at least I stuck with it until the end. The sellers have really been very considerate this whole time, even if they haven’t been doing things at the pace I would like! I’m just going to hope and trust that they continue in the same way now.

So, here I stand. Me. The most impatient, want to be in control all of the time, doesn’t like to rely on other people, kind of girl. Here I am deciding to let go, keep the faith, and trust that things are going to work out for the best!

Have you recently been in a place like this? A place where you had to let go of the reigns on something and trust that it was going to all work out?

Weekend Fun

What a great weekend this has been! Have you ever had one of those friends who you could tell anything to, at any time and know that they would be there for you? Even if you lose touch here and there, your friendship is always there as if you’ve never left it!

My friend Erin is that way for me. We’ve been friends for 11 years and she is probably the one person that I can truly call my “bosom friend” (for those of you Anne of Green Gables fans!) or my “kindred spirit”. We’ve had a lot of changes come throughout the duration of our friendship but we are still as close as sisters!

Once you have children and are married it is very difficult to plan times to get together and see each other and keep up with all your friends. It’s definitely something that every mom struggles to find the balance to once motherhood comes their way. All that to say it has been very difficult to plan regular times to see Erin with both of our schedules and our children’s nap schedules and the fact that we live about an hour away from each other.

This past week we just happened to plan a sporadic get together for Saturday. Me and Alannah went down to spend the day with her and her son and it was wonderful.

She is also my friend that I can talk to for hours and never run out of things to say. You know the ones, you have so many stories/memories from the past to reminisce upon, let alone the things that are going on currently in your lives! Also, it always works out that whatever struggle, difficulty we happen to be going through in our lives the other one either just went through that same thing our is in the midst of a similar situation. It’s uncanny!

How was your weekend?

On a side note, with my first weekend on my new overnight schedule I have fallen off the healthy eating/exercising routine a bit. Looking forward to starting this week off fresh! Hoping you all have a wonderful week as well!

Crossing Our Fingers

Well today was the day! It finally happened! We finally had our home inspection!!!!!

I would like to say, “We had the inspection, and now we’re getting the house!!!” but apparently it’s a bit more complicated than that. It seems that when you are buying a house there is never a definite, “yes it’s ours everyone, we’re getting it!”, until the papers are signed and they place the keys in your hand.

But I can say that if everything goes as it’s supposed to go, we are getting this house and will be closing in the beginning of March!  It’s very confusing, I really want to be excited but things can still fall through at this point so I’ll guess we’re left in limbo until the end…. :/

This is the second time that I’ve been in the house and I just love it SO much! I can’t wait to post pictures once I’m a little more positive that everything is going to go through!

Now come the hard/annoying time in the process of starting to declutter and pack things up. I swear this Is my most loathed thing to do! The only upside is being able to go through our stuff and get rid of all that junk that we never use.

I really do love the fresh new start that moving into a new place brings though. You can start new with all your decorating and change things up in all your rooms!

I think I’m most excited to decorate Alannah’s room! We don’t really have anything up in her room right now. Our apartment is so small that there is not too much space to move stuff around and work with. She’s into so many different things right now that I’m going to have a blast picking a theme and putting it together! Here are some of my inspirations:

Owl Coat Rack

Button Tree

Where do you get your decorating inspirations from? Do you love moving or hate it?

On a side note I have decided to do the Warrior Dash this year in September! I figure that gives me plenty of time to get strong and in shape and get in some good running time outside. I did my first ever circuit training class and discovered how incredibly weak I really am….my body is literally sore from my shoulders to my toes! lol.

Have any of you ever done an adventure/obstacle run?

Lifes Little Frustrations

Sorry I haven’t posted in a couple days! I started at a new house this week taking care of an elderly woman. It’s an overnight shift so I might be a little sporadic with my posts for the next week while I adjust!

So today was supposed to (FINALLY) be the day we had our home inspection! We’ve literally been in the process of scheduling it for about a month now and it just has not been going smoothly at all. We were so excited to find out that it was finally going to happen this week! We could finally know for sure whether or not we would get this house.

Our appointment was at three so we showed up at about five minutes of.  We got out of our vehicle all excited knowing that this was it, this was the day! Then we see the construction worker…. apparently there was some miscommunication and the house was not at all ready to be dewinterized yet.

Now our inspection is scheduled for Friday, I’m really hoping with all my heart that this will finally be it!

So, you all know how much I’ve been obsessed with finding decorating/DIY ideas for this house. Well I just went looking for a good direct selling home decor company and stumbled upon this website:

Signature Home Styles

I absolutely LOVE everything in this catalog! I can’t wait to get a magazine and plan a party!

Have you ever done any direct selling parties? Which companies are your favorite?

Pressing on and Looking Forward

As I may have mentioned before I am extremely goal oriented and very motivated by the goals I set for myself! I’ve been keeping up with my running and today I ran 1.5 miles then walked and completed a “5k” on the treadmill. I can already feel myself getting stronger and more used to running. I set a goal to be able to run this year and I’m well on my way!

This is the only way I’ve come as far as I have! I started my “weight loss” or “get healthy” journey a little over a year now. I’m a part of this amazing gym that lets you do “childwatch” (watch kids in the nursery) for 3 hours a week and I get a free membership! It has been the only way that I could have a membership and stay motivated.

At the beginning of my journey, last year  in November I looked like this:

I had just started working out but was in a very depressed state of mind. I had a TERRIBLE self image and was so disgusted with myself any time I went shopping and saw the sizes I was in. Everything about how I saw myself was negative.  I hated going to the gym because when I was on the Elliptical machine even my FACE would jiggle! It was a rough start, but I eventually got in the mindset that I had to do this for me, and nothing was going to change unless I kept pressing on.

The following June I participated in my first 5k (That’s me on the right!):

I didn’t do so great due to an injury I was recovering from ( you can read all about that here: Running Against My Fears)  but I was on my way and was getting more, and more motivated. I felt so good when I got home from working out, healthier, happier, and I was starting to feel comfortable in my own skin again.

Then next goal I made was to participate in and finish a Triathlon that fall. It was an all women event and the course was 1/4 mile swim, 8 mile bike ride, 2.5 mile run. I finished it and felt SO amazing after that! I felt like I was really starting to become a bit of an athlete

November was my one year mark at my gym and on my journey! Here are my goals for this year:

1.I want to be able to run 5k by May and participate in the Fitcon 5k at the end of that month

2. I want to complete and compete in the Warrior Dash (for some reason I can’t link it here but look it up! It’s amazing!) at the beginning of June!

3. I want to do the Transformational Triathlon again this fall and beat my time from last year!

So here is a picture of where I was at my one year mark!

I’m pressing on and looking forward to all the challenges and goals I have set before me for this year! What are your health goals this year?

Learning to Cook

For those of you who know me, you know that cooking is something that I struggle with! For those of you who don’t know me here is a little info so you can see what I mean by the previous statement.

I can count on one hand how many meals I have made completely from scratch! Most of the meals I make on a regular basis are made using more premade ingredients than not. I also have a very difficult time cooking chicken when not in the crockpot! It’s always either too dry, or under-cooked.

I realize this morning that I am going to really have to learn to cook from scratch if I want to start eating wholesome and without much preservatives. This is a very daunting thought for me!  Here is an example of my “Signature Dishes”. :

Crockpot Salsa Chicken:

1 pkg. Chicken Breast

1 Jar of salsa

1 Can of Cream of Chicken Soup

1 Packet of Taco Seasoning

1. Place chicken in bottom of crock pot.

2. Mix remaining ingredients together in a bowl and pour over chicken.

3. Cook on low for 4-5 hrs. Serve over rice, or on whole wheat tortillas

 

5 Ingredient Crockpot Beef Stew:

1 lb. of Stewing Beef

1 Can of Tomato Sauce

1 Bag of Baby Carrots

5 Potatoes

1 Packet of Dry Onion Soup Mix

1. Braise meat, then place in crockpot

2. Chop potatoes and add in with carrrots

3. Mix together can of tomato sauce and onion soup with 1/2 can of water and pour over everything.

4. Cook on low for 4-5hrs.

 

Shepherds Pie:

1lb. of Ground Turkey

1 Can of Vegetables

1 Jar of Gravy

1 Packet of Instant Potatoes

1. Brown meat, then add gravy to it and place on bottom of casserole dish

2. Pour can of vegetable over it.

3. Follow directions for cooking potatoes, then spread over the top

4. Cook at 400 degrees for 20 min or until potatoes turn a golden brown

 

As you can see, I need a little help in the cooking wholesome and natural department!

I’m very excited because me, my mom, and my sisters are about to start a once a month cooking day! We’re going to rotate between our houses and whichever one of us is hosting at our house, we pick what recipe we’re all going to make together! I’m really hoping to learn a lot through this. My mom and both my other sisters are really good cooks so there is no way that I won’t come away from the experience with more knowledge!

What are some wholesome easy recipes that are your “signature dishes”? It looks like I need to be replacing mine soon!

 

Moving Forward

Things are finally moving forward! Our home inspection is finally supposed to be this next week! I feel like we’ve been waiting forever but I guess it’s only been a few weeks. This will be our final deciding factor on the house and I’m at the point that even if the decision is “no”, I will be relieved to finally have an answer!

In the process of house hunting and dreaming and planning how we will want things I have fallen in love with Pinterest! I have found a ton of amazing blogs through there with AMAZING do-it-yourself decorating ideas!

I am such an independent, decisive, and goal oriented person, that the thought of doing all these different crafts and project ourselves, for our own home just fills me with such a sense of pride. I know, I know, I haven’t even done anything yet, it’s a little too early for pride! But this is exactly how I am. I love researching how to do things, doing them myself, and being able to look at it and see all your hard work in something that is yours! Sometimes I feel like I’m such an odd duck because the majority of my friends/family are not half as decisive and driven as I constantly feel. I love planning and accomplishing things! But it definitely does help balance out a lot of my relationships.

Here are a few of the sites I’ve found through Pinterest  that I really like!:

All Things Thrifty

Ucreate

Becoming Martha

Penny Carnival

I can’t wait to try some of these amazing ideas out on my own home!

What are some of your favorite DIY sites?

Working on a New Me!

First of all, let me update you all on my running adventures.  So…. only about 2 hours after I finished my run yesterday, my legs were HURTING! Somehow I made it through the night and woke up to slightly sore muscles. I went to the gym, ran .6 miles to take it easy, then did my CX WORKS core class, only to find out that we were going to do a lot of gluteal/leg work! Phew! Somehow I made it through and am feeling quite accomplished today. (although very sore again!)

Now to move on to the new things I’ve been trying out.

I’ve recently become interested in changing my diet and switching to more of a plant based diet. I’m also trying to stay away from things that are processed. (for the most part)I want to cut down my dairy and meat intake so it totals only about 15-20% of my daily food intake.

I’m  still very open to being flexible on special occasions and such but I really want to make this the base of how I eat.

In light of these changes, this week I went out and bought some Almond Milk. It has the same amount of calcium as milk but it’s 50 calories less per serving. It’s also only about fifty cents more than what I usually buy! I’m generally not a fan of milk unless it’s chocolate so this works out good for me.

I’m not sure what to do about cheese. I really like my cheese and would love to try a healthier kind/alternative. All the substitutes or “healthier choices” I have tried in the past have been too processed for me to try again. This is definitely something I’m going to have to research and look into.

I’m hoping to get subscribed to a good food and recipe magazine so I can find some good recipes to keep me going. Any recommendations?

Any and all suggestions, recipes, or things that have worked for you are very welcome!!!

I will keep you informed as I go along, and maybe you’ll be inspired to embark on this journey with me!