Thursday, March 31, 2011

Poopy moods and Super Sonic Cheeseburgers

Here I am, sitting at my desk, just starting the day, and I’m bored. And I’m in a bad mood.  I have no clue why, either.  I’m a little tired, but got the same amount of sleep as I usually do. I’m a little sore, but that usually makes me feel good and energized.  I’ve got a little headache, but I didn’t even have any brewskies last night.
I don’t want to do anything; I would be perfectly content to crawl underneath my desk, curl up in a little ball, and sleep the day away. 
A few moments ago, I thought: I really want to eat those delicious looking Butterfinger Chocolate Eggs that are sitting on my desk in my pretty little KSU candy dish. They’re calling my name.  Actually, they’re more like shouting my name.  Damn, I’m hearing ‘food voices’ again.  Watch out, the crazy-wagon just fish-tailed into the parking lot, screeching to a stop in front of my door.  Then I thought, maybe I’ll eat out for lunch instead of drinking my Herbalife.  Mmmm, a Super-Sonic Bacon Cheeseburger sounds freaking phenomenal. With cheese topped tator-tots. And a Butterfinger Blast Shake. 
(I think a new obsession for Butterfingers is starting. Shit.)
This is what an emotional eater goes through.  I know all that crap food doesn’t solve any of my emotional problems, but instead it semi-instantly transforms into jiggle that gets permanently attached to my bubble-ass.  Then I have to spend the next week, getting up at the ass-crack of dawn to work extra hard, sweating my skin off, to some supped-up muscle head that talks gibberish half the time, all in order to get back to my ‘magic’ number that I weighed pre-Super-Sonic Cheeseburger.  So even though I know what the outcome is, why do I want to put myself through that? Or why would I even THINK about putting myself through that?
Well, I haven’t succumbed to my depression-induced eating craze….yet. Instead of eating all that fatty crap, I’m sitting here, typing away, and describing my agony, hoping that these cravings from Hell return to the fiery pit they came from.
This blows.
I should be in a Mary Poppin’s teaspoon-full-of-sugar good mood.  I exercised twice yesterday.  Yep, you read correctly. This girl, that was born to absolutely despise any traditional exercising activity, rocked it to KenpoX in the early morning hours AND did Biceps and Shoulders PLUS Ab RipperX after she cooked her husband a deliciously healthy dinner.  So, I’m declaring myself officially ‘The Shit’.  After all that, I should be flying high on cloud 9, but instead I’m slowing trudging through in my poopy mood.
Poopy moods blow.
Tomorrow is Friday.  If I can hold on for another 30 hours, I think I’ll survive.  Because you know what happens on Fridays??? Mr. Bud Light and I reconnect our wonderful friendship in a blissful place I like to call ‘My Back Deck’.  Nothing puts me in a better mood that a lawn chair, a frosty malt beverage, and no real-world worries for 2.5 days.
Weekends do not blow. Weekends are my savior.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

It's all about the food, baby!

The other weekend I was talking to my friend Lindsey, who reads my blog (whose husband is the guy that Ryan 'shares' custody of the mounted deer head with) and she was wondering what are some of the recipes that I make. She's loves to cook. And after I married Ryan, I've found that I love to cook.

So I thought I'd do a little special treat for you all peeps and start putting some of the recipes I make on here.  I *try* to cook as 'diet friendly' as possible all the times. However, sometimes you just need two gianormous, fat-loaded, juice running down my chin,
scrumdealeeumptious beer-bratwursts. But that's not what the below recipe is about.  God, now I want to cook out tonight.

Anyway, here's a great, quick, easy chicken taco recipe that takes NO effort and turns out freaking amazing every time. BTW-I like my food spicy, so for those of you that don't, you might want to tone it down a bit.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
(8 servings)

4 skinless chicken breasts
1 t  chili powder (more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
1 t  cumin
1 cup salsa (I use Pace)
1 16oz can diced tomatoes w/ juice (I don’t use Rotel, because the sodium is through the roof, I  just buy the generic diced tomatoes in the canned veggie aisle)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped (for less spice, de-seed then chop)

Put chopped onions in bottom of the crock-pot, then lay whole chicken breasts on top. In bowl, combine chili powder, cumin, salsa, tomatoes, and jalapeno, and stir. Pour over chicken in crock-pot. Cook on low for high 4-6 hours or low 6-8 hours.  Once done, remove chicken breasts with tongs and using a fork, shred the meat. Replace back in crock-pot and that’s it!

I serve them with corn tortillas, cheese, and sour cream. Delicious!

TIPS:
*If you can use frozen chicken breasts, the meat comes out so much tender. Don’t thaw the breasts, just put them in the crock-pot frozen. I buy chicken breasts in bulk and individually package them and store them in the freezer, so I always have frozen chicken on hand.
*The end result comes out pretty juicy, so after shredding the chicken, I put it back in the pot and stir it around, then drain the whole thing in a colander.  Once drained, I put the chicken back in the crock-pot on low setting till we’re ready to eat.

Nutrition for chicken only
Calories: 156.2
Fat: 1.6g
Sodium: 333.5
Carbs: 5.6
Fiber: 2g
Sugars: 3.1g
Protein: 27.8

So there you go! Hope you enjoy!

On another note, I have a new workout buddy.  This 'buddy' is about 80lbs, yellow, and really furry. 

I got up to work out this morning (YES, I GOT UP! YEAH!) and here comes the spoiled canine, trotting down the stairs.  So I ask him (yes, I have full-blown conversations with my dog, it's ok), "you going to work out with me this morning Wyatt?" His answer was to lay on the floor next to me (btw, I'm on my back on the floor doing some stretching), he then proceeds to roll over on his back, spread eagle, tail a-waggin', tongue sticking out, with a big ol' smile on his face.  Nice. Really dog? Do you have to lay right next to me and do this at 5:30 in the morning? 

I couldn't help but laugh, give him a good belly rub and continued with my KenpoX (P90X). It really put me in a better mood.  And there he sat, in the corner of the room, watching my every move like some mute peppy cheerleader.

Sheesh, the things I have to go through when I exercise. :-)

I kinda had a bad weekend last weekend. We found out that one of our favorite restaurants, that recently closed for 6 months, is now back open! And only a measly 15 minutes from the house. Hallalujah!  That's actually not the bad part, this is: So we went out and I chowed down on a monster burger and fries.  I felt like total crap that night and next day, but oh well.

And I didn't exercise last weekend. Unless you count the 6 hour shopping marathon on Sat.  Oh my giddy aunt, that was awesome! And exactly what I needed. I got all the towels and floor mats and crap for the 'new' downstairs bathroom (pics coming soon). Then I got 8 new shirts and 2 new tank tops. LOVE IT!

Then to combat the 6 hour shopping marathon on Sat., I did a 6 hour CLEANING marathon on Sunday.  That really was no fun at all.  AT ALL. And I'm not even done yet.  Uggghhhh. 

So I gained a little weight, 2 lbs, but I have already worked half that off and it's only Wed.!  I don't know what energy burr is stuck up my pooper, but it's going to stay there all week, as far as I'm concerned. I already worked out for an hour this morning and am seriously contemplating working out again tonight.  WHAT? Did I really just say that? Someone check my pulse? Am I dead? Is this some surreal fitness heaven I'm living in? 

Wow, how things change.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Weigh In Day-Week 9

Current Weight: 150.8
Last Week: 153.5
Goal: 138

I’m down 2.7. Seriously…..2.7? That’s the best freaking amazingly fantastic news EVER!  I almost can’t believe it, except that my feet have been glued to the scale this week and the weight loss Gods have shined down upon thee all week.  I was 153.5 on Saturday, then 152.5 on Monday, 151.7 on Wednesday, and finally **blinky-blink-flashy-flash** (picture neon sign flashing) 150.8!!!!

Doing a little happy dance right now, be right back……..

Ok, that was fun.  And really bad, at the same time. Good thing you all couldn’t see that, it would have tormented your dreams forever.

So obviously I’m not going to make my goal of 138 by April 7th (30th B-Day), but that’s ok. I’m completely fine with that. I basically just pulled that number out of that jiggly place where the sun doesn’t shine, just so I had a number.  I’m just happy that I’ve actually lost weight these last few months.  But I still have two weeks to go till the big day. So, my ‘new’ little personal goal for the next two weeks is to at least get down to 145. That would be my all-time lowest weight for since 2003.  And I definitely think I can do it with the way things are going.  To be quite honest, if I just get down below 150, I’ll do a little happy dance, buck-naked, down my street on Sunday morning.  Just kidding. They would for sure put the straight jacket out then.  Basically, what I’m saying is that I’d be thrilled with any sort of loss.  I’m simple that way. And then the new date for the 138 goal is in June 7th.  That gives me an extra two months to get the job done!

So even though I’m at the awesome 150.8, I’m pretty sure that number is going to be a little teeny glimpse of memory tomorrow.  You want to know why?  Because today is gloriously-delicious-crap-fatty-food day at work. AKA, Snack Day. So far I’ve had 3 cream cheese tortilla roll-ups, a slice of berry-topped homemade cheesecake, a chocolate brownie with cream cheese frosting (umm, there’s a theme here), guacamole and tortilla chips, and finally my weekly chocolate cake donut with sprinkles on top. Yep, that equals the recently lost fat returning to my ass, pronto.

But again, I’m ok with it.  I’ve eaten nothing by broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, hummus, low-fat cheese, and drank my breakfast and lunch (Herbalife people, not beers) for the last two weeks. So I COMPLETELY deserve to have pig-out time.  The funny thing is though, I had all that and I’m stuffed, like ready-to-puke stuffed. Two months ago, I would have eaten all that then went back for seconds by now, with the plan of going for thirds before lunch.  That’s good, either my stomach has ‘shrunk’ so much that I’m eating way less, or that type of food just doesn’t sit well with me anymore.  Either way, that’s goody-goody gum drops with me.

I did prepare for this ‘Day of Gorge’ though, I did the workout from Hell on Wednesday, then Arms and Shoulders last night, and I actually got up this morning and did CardioX (See Beth Ann, I said I’d get up and work out this week, I just didn’t say how many time’s I’d get up!)  And I’m committing to you all that I’m going to work out this weekend too. It’s supposed to be poopy, rainy, and cold this weekend, so no running outside, maybe I’ll do some more weights with P90X. 

I’m also going to do some much needed shopping therapy this weekend.  The bathroom renovation is complete! And Ryan and I have not killed each other, that’s a miracle in itself.  It looks fantastic, phenomenal, DIY Network-worthy greatness. However, I need get the final touches of new towels, floor mats, and a shower curtain.  Then, I’ll take some pictures and post them, so you can get the FULL effect.

There are also some MAJOR sales at JCPenny’s and I have a $50 gift card for there.  Can you say, “NEW BIRTHDAY PARTY OUTFIT”? I sure can. Especially since I’m 8 pounds lighter than the last time I went shopping.  Look out crazy mall walkers, this girl’s on a mission….to look spankin’!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Hardest workout ever...DONE!

AAAAHHHHH, UUUHHHH, AAAHHHH, UUUUHHH. (Breathing hard.)

Holy shit. Gonna die.

Wait.....I think i caught my breath......Nope, still gonna die.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph. I just finished Plyometrics from the P90X series. What the F-bomb was I THINKING?!

Ok, so this is how it breaks down:

Earlier today I was reading my blogger-buddy's post about her getting up early to do yoga, and how great she felt. I think "perky" was the term. As I read her post, I was like, "I wanna feel perky. I love perky".  And since I haven't been the most physically enthusiastic this week, I thought, "Hey, if Beth Ann is getting up at the crack of dawn, I think I can at least do something after work today."  So she's my inspiration for the next chain of events that sent me into hyperventilation and near cardiac arrest. (But in a good way!)

So I get home from the store and put crap away and head downstairs to put in some CardioX (P90X series).  As I'm flipping through the 16 DVDs that go into that series, trying to find the Cardio one, I come across Plyometrics.  Hey, I think to myself, you haven't done this one, and it's cardio-like, so lets take it for a spin. 

Bad, bad, bad, freaking horrible idea.

As the DVD starts, there's ripped-up Tony Horton (creator the 'Plyo of death', as I'm calling it now) talking about how this is "THE ultimate 'X' workout. You gotta bring it people. This will push you to the max, this will get your heart racing and your lungs burning."  (More like heart and lungs EXPLODING into teeny tiny pieces all over my basement carpet.)

I'm doomed.

So, already I'm thinking, just eject the damn thing and put in the Cardio. But NOOOOooo. I push on. Because I love torture. I live for it.

The DVD is set up in 30 second intervals for the first 3 exercises and then a minute for the fourth. You repeat, take a 30 second break, then start a new set of different exercises in the same format. And you keep going for 58 minutes. (10 min. of warm up and cool down included.)
The first set of exercises wasn't bad.  Some of them you squat to the floor then jumped in the air. Others you jumped  from the back of the room and did this twist motion, like you were jumping over a creek or something. 

But then it got worse. Much, much worse.

First was the 'Mary Katherine's' (i think). Basically you start in a full out lunge, then jump and switch your feet. And do that for 30 seconds. Just kill me now.
Then, as if I thought it couldn't get much worse, it did:  'Squat Jacks'. Seriously buddy, you want me to be in a squat position and do a jumping jack? You must be out of your bulging muscle mind.  Well, I did them.  And I sucked at it. But at least i tried.

I made it for 46 minutes of the 58.  There I am hunched over, hands on my knees, hyperventilating, thinking about puking, wondering if I'm ever going to be able to stand up straight again.  I seriously contemplated falling face first onto the floor and not moving till next Tuesday.  And this is what I hear from the other room, "Ya gonna make it?"  This is what's going through my mind: No you bleep-bleep, stupid bleeping husband. Just keep to your bleep, bleeping bleeeeep self and leave me the bleep alone.  But what came out of my mouth was this, "uuugghhhh, *weeze*, yep, *weeze*, I'm just fine, ooohhhhh. Now carry me upstairs."

Anyways, this is what the aftermath looks like:

I'm pretty.
Note the sweat on my shirt. I never sweat through my shirts. Never.

I think I'm going to build up some endurance before I try that again.
(Still breathing hard by the way.)

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

The epiphany.

The other day I was thinking that for having a blog about getting healthier, I haven’t spent that much time writing about it.  I mean in the beginning I wrote a lot about my ‘new’ physical endeavors, but lately there has been so much going on in other parts of my life, I think I lost track of the whole ‘health’ thing.  I mean, yes, I’m still weighing myself and losing weight and exercising (most of the time), but I really haven’t had that be my main focus lately.
Well, it’s all changing with this little post folks (and by little, I mean extra-long).  Put on your reading hats and get ready for the ‘health post’ of the century everyone!
When I first started this little blog of mine back in January, I found a few ‘new’ loves: yoga & running.  It was NOT love at first sight with those two by the way. As you’ve read in older posts, coordination is not my strong suit.  So when I did yoga, I looked like a 300 pound truck driver trying to be a ballerina in Swan Lake. With a Slim Jim hanging out of his mouth.  And a Natural Light in hand. But as I did more yoga, I found I really liked it. And my coordination got a little better.
Same goes for running. Running and I have despised each other for many years.  When my college girlfriends would ask me to go to the gym and run on the track, I looked at them with disgust and replied, “Are you kidding me, there’s a perfectly good 12-pack in the fridge. I plan to do some arm curls for my workout today, thank you very much.” Hence why I gained 40 pounds in four years.  But I started running/walking on the treadmill at the gym before yoga class and soon became best friends with that conveyer belt of death. Well, not best friends, but we did make peace about 45 minutes, three times a week.
Then my husband ruined my mojo and had to up and go work out of town.  That left me taking care of the canine, which meant I had to get home right after work to let him out of the house. That equals ‘exercise at home’.
So I tried something different: P90X
That was about a month and a half ago, or something, and I have yet to make it a solid week, but I have kept my goal of exercising at least 3 times a week, and that makes me proud. 
But I’m getting a little bored with it, and it’s all sunshine and loveliness outside right now, so I think I’m going to mix it up a bit.
New plan: Continue with P90X at least 3 times a week (mixing up the DVDs) and add some outside running back into my pathetic exercise routine.
We’ll see how this goes.
In other news: I have stuck with my nutritional experiment of adding Herbalife into my diet for breakfast and lunch and have decided that it’s exactly what I needed.  I tried the chocolate first, and it was ok, but I recently got the vanilla and I love it!
At first, I didn’t do very well on the Herbalife plan on the weekends, but the last two weeks I’ve done amazing. And it shows, because I’m down another 1.8 pounds! I’m at 151.7 and I haven’t been that low since last summer.
I also had a little epiphany this morning about exercise, nutrition, weight loss, health, blah, blahbity, blah-blah.  I have been on this roller coaster of weight loss/getting healthier for most of my post-college life (equals 5 years).  I mean, I joined food journaling sites, read all the latest diet books about good nutrition being the key to weight loss, watched countless, somewhat boring, shows about the human body and what causes it to be obese or healthy.  I freaking did a shit-ton of research on health, of not only the body but the mind too.  I also would do everything ‘by the book’ and not see any damn results. I did P90X (the first time) for 45 days straight, following their nutritional guide to the T. Want to know how much weight I lost? 2 pounds.  Yep, just a measly 2 pathetic pounds.
Now, I don’t want to mislead you. I know that the ‘numbers’ don’t mean shit, i.e. muscle weighs more than fat, judge your weight by how your clothes fit, etc.  But when you’ve started something that claims to change you to a healthier and skinnier person if you follow this simple plan, then it doesn’t do what it said, you get pissed. And I’m not just talking the P90X workout plan and diet either. It was everything. I counted food and exercise calories like it was goin’ outta style! I tried 1500, 800, and 2000 cal a day diets, I exercised 5 times or more a week, I DID IT ALLLL! I didn’t try any of those fad diets, I stuck with the boring ‘good nutrition’ of lean meats, low fat, low processed carbs, low sugar, lots of fruits and veggies kind of diet.  And most of the time I rarely lost any significant amount of weight.  The only reason I got down to 147 for my wedding because I was taking prescription diet drugs. Not a good idea by the way. It kinda made me a teensy bit psycho, and not in a good way.
Everywhere I looked, the same thing was said: Consume fewer calories, either by eating less (or better) or exercise more or a combination of both, than your current caloric intake, and you will lose weight.  It sounded so simple: to lose one pound of fat you need to cut/burn 3500 calories per week. Easy math, 3500 divided by 7 equals 500 a day. (Look Mom! I did learn from you! {My mom was my math teacher}) I was eating a 2000 calorie a day diet, so I dropped it to 1700 and added exercise to equal 1500 a day. After a week, that pound should be bye-bye, right?  Not so much. I never did figure out what I was doing wrong. As some people were jumping for joy because they lost pound after pound of excess blubber I kept wondering if they could do it, why can’t I.  I mean I got to the point that if one more toothpick bimbo Barbie wannabe posted about ‘another pound lost, yippee!’ I was going to go on a full-on drunk fest and binge eating rampage and pummel their ass.
So, I gave up. As many of us do in moments of desperation or when we don’t get what we want. Oh, maybe not many of ‘us’, but that’s what I typically do. Until January, when I decided that the last 4 month bender of sugary, fatty, fried goodiness was probably not the best idea, and that I needed to make a change. Plus my face looked like a New York pot-holed street. That wasn’t appealing, let me tell you. And since January, I’ve done pretty well. I’m down 6 pounds and I’m eating a lot better and I feel great. But most of January and February I barely made a scratch in the poundage loss department.  I was frustrated, but I kept with it, basically because I felt I owed it to all the people that read these crazed ramblings. (Thanks by the way!)
BUT the last two weeks have been stellar! I think I’ve lost 3-4 pounds in 14 days. Just the progress I wanted.
Which brings me back to the epiphany: Each individual has to find ‘their’ balance in their quest-of-health. 
Meaning, every person is different; physically, mentally, emotionally. So why wouldn’t that apply to losing weight?  It’s so easy; I can’t believe I didn’t figure this out sooner. (Sometimes that ditzy side of my family sneaks up on me.) I was doing what all these doctors and books and articles said to do, but with no effects. What really changed me this last two weeks is I thought that maybe I was still getting too many calories. I was again ‘following the book’ on what my diet should be. So I decided to shake that baby up. (Mind you I don’t count calories because through trial and error I found that it just doesn’t work for me. I stress too much on the little things, so I removed that stress.)
The changes I made were so small. Just cut back a little here, trim a little there, and *shazaam* weight loss.  Instead of putting 8 ounces of milk in my two shakes, I used 4 and added 4 ounces of water.  I cut the daily Girl Scout cookies (only 2) to zilch. Well, let’s be honest, I can’t just go zilch on chocolate otherwise bad things happen to the people I love, i.e. I get all Mrs. Cranky McGee on Ryan. So I have 2 cookies once a week.  I also stopped gorging on the weekends.  I’ll have a meal I love that is not healthy in the slightest, but I’ll only eat half, or sometimes a quarter. I also quit the bad snacking during work. A Babybel cheese here, some homemade pita chips there, maybe throw in a banana. Done. I also have almost cut out my beloved tortilla chips. I still have them, but only in moderation, and only after I’ve eaten something ‘good’. That way I fill up on the ‘good’ snack and don’t eat as many of the ‘bad’ chips.
I don’t know what my daily calorie intake is, and I don’t give a rat’s ass. (If I was to guess, I’d say somewhere around 1000 a day.) I’m not hungry, my tummy isn’t doing the grumble dance of love, I have tons of energy, and I feel fantastic. And FINALLY I have lost some freaking weight.  My abs are starting to show; it’s so stinkin’ sexy!
I am not saying, by any means, that anyone should cut their calories to barely anything. I know that 1000 calories a day isn’t a lot, especially if I’m burning more when I exercise. But for me, this is working right now; this is my balance.  When I hit a plateau, I’ll add more. Or if I reach my goal weight, I’ll start filtering in food instead of the shakes.
It truly is about getting healthier. But having a smaller number on the scale is healthier to me.  Plus, do you know how much junk food I’ve stopped eating because of this little health adventure? LOADS.  And that will help me in the long run, to keep a healthy diet even after I reach my goals.
So find your balance and all your dreams will come true. Yeah right. More like: find your balance, work your ass off, eat a quarter of what you were eating before in your ‘fat days’, scream at the piece-of-shit-never-shows-me-the-numbers-I-want scale, and then all your dreams will come true. Easy as pie.


Saturday, March 19, 2011

Weigh In Day-Week 9 + A day in the life of my mom, Julie

Current Weight: 153.5
Last Week: 154.9
Goal: 138

I lost a 1.4 pounds! Woo Hoo! I did work extra hard this week and really watched what I ate (with the exception of some awesome pizza on Friday. Hey, a girl's entitled to splurge a little.)

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. It was just one of those crazy busy days, then Ryan got home (he's been working out of town all week) so we spent the evening relaxing with a little March Madness. 

I think I'm becoming obsessed with college basketball, by the way.  Coming from a girl that played only tennis in high school because you ran the least amount.  I'm just not very sporty.  Once when I was in kindergarten (and my Mom LOVES to tell this story), she signed me up for T-ball, possibly thinking that I just may be a future softball champion. Who knows.  Anyway,my best friend Frannie and I were on the team together and coach conveniently put us both in the outfield. Probably because he knew we were about as coordinated as a sumo wrestler trying to do Yoga. About 20 minutes into standing out in the middle of no mans land, not paying a bit of attention to the game, Frannie and I decided that we were thirsty and hungry. So what do we do?  Trot straight off the field and to the concession stand. Leaving the game in the middle of a play.  Both Mom and Frannie's mom were in the bleachers, cheering on the game, when they notice we are just strolling off the field. My mom looks at Frannies mom, and was like, "where do you think they're headed?" Both moms watched as their budding athletes bought Snickers and Mt. Dew and plopped right down on the grass by the stand to chow down.  That was about the last adventure I had in pee-wee athletics.

I was going to write about a whole bunch of scintillating topics, but my mom, Julie, emailed me the most hilarious story this morning, and I just have to share to you all.
So this is in the words of my mom:

Wow, what a trip. I took Colt, Chumko, Frank, and Jesse to the vet yesterday for their annual shots, with Trinity's help. (I'm going to break in to explain: Colt-Huge blue weimaraner, Chumko (means 'big bear')-extremely overweight black lab (he has an eating disorder), Frank and Jessie-outside orange cats, Trinity-my 9 year old niece.)
 
 First, I had to get a stool sample from Chumko and Colt, which only took a few minutes by going on a quick 30 yard walk. Then, I had to get Brougham (my brother's yellow lab) and Corn Dog (Mom's other dog, an assistance dog in training, yellow lab puppy, her real name is Serenade, but mom calls her Corn Dog because well, she's corny) in the kennel without getting Chumko and Colt in the kennel.
 Next was getting the cats in the cat carrier, but found out the door is missing and I couldn't find it. So I put them in a Rubbermaid tub.
 Finally, loading up the dogs.....I had to load Chumko first, because he is difficult to load since it scares him and he needs LOTS of room. So I had Trinity attempt to hold Colt while I loaded Chumko, but every time Chummy started his big run and jump into the backseat of the Jeep, Colt would break free from Trinity and jump in ahead of Chumko. Then I had to get Colt out of the car and try to coaks Chummy into the car.
 We finally got everyone loaded with Trinity and Chummy in the back seat. Colt, Frank, & Jesse behind the back seat. Got 5 miles away from home and remembered I forgot the POOP. So we turn around and headed back home. By this time Colt had his 2 front legs over the back seat with Trinity and Chummy, and his back legs behind the back seat. He seemed perfectly content to sit like that. Then the cats figured out if you press on the lid hard enough you can get the lid open. So Trinity was trying to turn around and hold the lid down. I didn't think we would ever get home, but we did.
 Once we got home, I got the POOP and then went to Plan B. I put Colt in the Back seat between Trinity and Chumko. He sat with his butt resting on the back of the seat (where the headrests are), back paws dangling, and front paws on the seat, as normal for him. I got a bungee cord and put it around the cat tub and put them in the front seat with me. So off we go, again.
 Once I got to the vet, I went inside to get help for the BIG unload. We put them all in one room at the vet and kept the cats in the tub for fear of opening the lid and having them jump out like a jack-in-the-box and never catching them again. Dr Dan came in and we just opened the corner of the lid to the cat tub about 2 inches. Frank peeked his nose out and I reached in and grabbed him by the neck and Doc shoved the shot in, then we slammed the lid shut. Repeated this process on the opposite corner of the tub and Jesse peeked his nose out, again I grabbed Jesse's neck and Doc again shoved the shot in, nearly shooting my fingers with the rabies vaccine, and again slamming the lid shut. Chummy and Colt thought getting a shot was just getting extra attention with lots of tail wagging. Chummy has lost 10 lbs since I took him in last (I have gained 10, so I'm thinking I should let Chummy have the 10 back and maybe I would loose 10). He now weighs 128 lbs and Colt weighs 98.
Now the loading up process again. Doc loaded chummy first and I held Colt. Colt was loaded next, then Trinity. Back seat is now full. Doc went back in and got the cats and put them in the front seat, while I paid the bill. The ride home was fairly uneventful until the last 3 miles, when the cats figured out that if they push hard enough that they could raise the lid even with the bungee cord on. So I had to hold the lid down and drive. Finally, HOME. I let everyone out including Brougham and Corn Dog and we all went on a walk (well except for the cats, who were just content to be home and out of that tub).
Whew..........
 
I was laughing so hard when I read this I about peed my pants. 
 
Here's some pictures of everyone.


Chumko
(Sorry I couldn't find a picture that really showed his girth. But this is a good one.)

Colt

Colts typical sleeping position.

Brougham is the one looking at the camera.
Seranade (Corn Dog) is sleeping.
And Trinity is in the background.
Sorry, no pictures of the cats.
 
Anywho, I did get up and exercise this morning. That makes 4 times this week. And I drank my little Herbalife for breakfast and lunch. So far the weekend is off to a good start!
 
Well, I'm off to go stain some trim. Have a great weekend everyone!
 

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

A little springtime madness. I mean loveliness.

I don't know how many of you garden, but I do. And I love it. I didn't always love it. One time, not so long ago, I could easily kill a cactus in as little as a week. My grandma Betty (GB is her cute little nickname) is an avid gardener. Flowers, veggies, trees, grass: you name it she could grow it. And whatever she grew, turned out amazing.

GB tried to turn my thumb green for as long as I remember. And me being the ever-so-respecting granddaughter, merely nodded and went off to hang with the boys. (Because I kinda like to do boy things. As I'm sure you've notice, hence the beer guzzling, hunting, 7-hour hiking, etc.)  Eventually, that gardening thing kinda grew on me. (Ha ha, I'm hilarious.) I started small, with pots on my little college apartment balcony. Those died quickly. But then Ryan and I bought our first house and GB took every opportunity she had to fill up my trunk with more clippings than I knew what to do with.  I asked a thousand questions, and her reply was, "oh, you'll figure it out." And what do you know, year 4 is upon us in our beautiful home and my gardens are doing splendid.

I'm addicted now. And with the price of veggies hitting the freaking roof, I have all the more reason to grow my own produce. (I 'can' the produce also, but that's a whole nother blog post.)

My mother was never a gardener. My dad, Mike, was though. (Note: I had two dads. One biological, Martin who's still with us, and one step-dad, Mike. Both are/were equally important to me. Just in case someone gets corn-fused. There I go again. lol.) He loved to grow veggies. The last year he was with us, he wanted a garden soooo bad. And of course, mom was like, "whatever you want, Mike." So he got his garden (which was three times the size of mine).  I'll never forget when we went shopping for the plants. Every time I turned around he had loaded another 26 plants in the cart. I mean, he was having a hard time getting around at that point, but he could sure zip around that garden shop like a 2 year old that just chugged an energy drink.  I asked him, in the middle of him putting MORE plants in the already overflowing cart, "Mike, what the heck are you going to do with 12 green pepper plants? I mean really man, 12?" He just replied with this shit-eating grin on his face, "I'm gonna plant 'em." The plants did get planted, but by my mother, who was none too thrilled. And produce did get picked, by me, who was ecstatic.

Anyway, it was a beautiful spring day today, so I decided to get a head start in cleaning out my garden beds. And I've been noticing a few bloggers posting unfortunate exercise accidents, i.e. skinned knuckles while running on a treadmill (still think that's hilarious, in a good way), scrapped palms, etc. So I thought I'd share my scratched up skin with you all.  Lucky you.  Hey, gardening is vicious.



Check out that bat-wing.
You'd think being a pro photographer I could have done a better job.

How you get scratches on the back of your shoulder is beyond me.
Only I can pull off something that ridiculous.
I ended up getting all but one of my beds in the backyard cleaned up, I turned my compost, and spread dried grass clippings from last year on my veggie garden. All that deserved a few brewskies. Hellooo chilled Bud Light. 
I am now in the best mood.

Here's a few pictures of my garden from past years.


My first veggie garden. And Wyatt (who loves to walk through the garden.)

First veggie garden mid-season.

Flower bed by the deck/chairs my mom made me (aren't they killer!)/and Wyatt.
 
Another flower bed with a bench my Grandpa Jack made me. And Wyatt.
 There's a theme to those pics, huh? A big yellow canine. Surprise, surprise.

Any of you garden?  I love to talk 'garden', so if any of you want to email me with tips or tricks or advice, or if you want me to give advice (not that it'd be any good) just give me a holla!

Later gators!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

A little handwriting fun + I DID IT!

I saw this on my bogger-friend Draz's site and thought it was kinda neat.  So feel free to do your own thing and post to your blog!
Now what's your handwriting look like? Here's the what you need to write:

1. What is your name?
2. What is your blog name?
3. Write: the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.
4. Favorite quote
5. Favorite song
6. Favorite band/singers
7. Say anything you want
8. Pass it along to a few bloggers

On the second part of this little post: I actually worked out last night! Goody-goody gum drops for me!

I was going to work out this morning, but for some dumb ass reason I set my clock one hour forward and set my alarm to PM.  I'm a certified genius.  I don't know how I pulled that off, but apparently I can. 

I've decided to blame it on my husband, because he's out of town and his alarm usually wakes me up.

I'm also blaming my sorry excuse for a mutt.  Since the hubby is away, Wyatt gets to stay in bed with me all night.  Well, usually Wyatt wakes up around 6AM like clockwork. Even on the weekends.  Actually sometimes earlier on the weekends.  But today is different. He thought he'd enjoy a few extra hours of snooze time and was still zonked out when I finally woke up at 8:05.  Seriously dog? The one time I need you to give me a big slobbery lick on the face as a wake-up call, and you drop the ball.

All cozy in 'his' bed. (Sorry the pic sucks, my camera phone is pathetic.)
Needless to say I was 30 minutes late to work, so no workout this morning.
But I'll make up for it tonight!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Weekend Challenges

So my goals on Friday were to eat better last weekend and do P90X every day this week.  Well, I’m happy to announce that I did pretty well, on the eating part anyway.  I didn’t get up to exercise this morning, but I AM GOING TO WORK OUT TONIGHT! I freaking swear it!
Ryan, Wyatt and I headed up to Kansas City last weekend for some good ol’ times at our friends’ engagement party and to see his parents.  But on the way up there we had to stop and eat.
Challenge #1 for the weekend: Taco Bell. So, did I order my regular meal (2 chalupas and a volcano taco) or did I go for a more healthy approach like I promised I would???  Challenge #1=Conquered!!! I went with two Fresco tacos and a Fresco burrito. Yeah for me!  It equaled about 600 calories, but that’s still not all that much. And I was full after the burrito. Next time I’ll just order that.
Ok, I just looked up how many calories my regular meal would have been. Holy Toledo Batman. Hang on to your butts for this people: 1050 calories!!! Are you freaking kidding me?!?! I am never ordering that again. The Fresco menu and I are now best friends.
Challenge #2: Drink my Herbalife for breakfast and lunch and don’t gorge on anything else. Normally, when we travel I don’t bring my jug of Herbalife with me because it’s a hassle and then people ask me what I’m doing and I have to explain crap and then I feel stupid for not eating a regular meal like everyone else.  I feel like I’m the ‘outsider’ because I’m trying to be healthier. (Herbalife, for those that don’t know, is like Slim-Fast, but much, much better for you. It’s all natural and really keeps me full. I’ve been on it for a month and a half now and love it!)  Challenge #2=Conquered!  I actually thought about my feelings about people treating me different because I was doing a shake diet, and decided I didn’t care.  I mean really, if they think it’s stupid or if they think I’m stupid, they can just go eat worms.  And actually, no one said anything. Ryan was a little ornery about it, but he always is.
I did very good and drank my little shake for breakfast and lunch on Saturday, then for breakfast on Sunday.  I didn’t drink it Sunday for lunch because we went to Cabela’s and then wanted to eat out.  Challenge #3: BBQ.  I ordered a beef bbq sandwich and fries; which isn’t that great. Actually it’s horrible. BUT, I only ate the meat, not the bread, and then only half the sandwich. I had a handful of fries and put the rest in a to-go box for later.  Challenge #3=Partially conquered.  I was still proud of myself for not eating the whole dang plate.  I’m taking baby steps here, but it seems to be working.  One thing at a time.
All in all, I think I did pretty well.  And we did go for another hike on Sunday morning. This one was only 2 hours, but it was still a good work out.  We didn’t find any antlers, but Wyatt had the time of his life! That dog makes me giggle.  He just raced ahead of us, running back and forth across the field at about 100 mph.  It was like he had a firecracker up his butt. It was hilarious.

Here's a rare moment when he stopped to smell something. Notice that he is oblivious to all the wild turkey behind him. (That's those 'specks' in front of the tree line.) And he's supposed to be a bird dog.

And I got some killer hunting/hiking boots at Cabela’s. I almost wore them to work today, but I would have had to tuck my jeans into them, because they rubbed on my legs funny if I didn’t, and I’m sure I would have gotten some interesting comments about my camo boots from co-workers. So I opted not to wear them.  The last thing I want on a Monday morning is to be talked to, so why encourage it.  (Note: I am NOT a morning person, as some of you have read, so if people start talking to me before I’ve had 8 cups of coffee, they have a death wish.)

New boots. Aren't they fabulous?!

I also want to say that the last several times we've been to Cabela's, I have walked out with shopping bags, and my big, bad, hunter husband has walked out with nadda.  How does that happen? The wifey buys more at Cabela's than the hubby. LOL!
Oh, and I said I’d post some pictures of our hike two Sunday’s ago. So here they are:

I think this is facing South.

Facing North.

There are about 8 ponds on the property. You better believe Wyatt had to dive head first in all of them.


See the mud on his ENTIRE lower half? That was fun giving him a bath when we got home.
 
 Anywho. Hope you like the new pictures.

I'll keep you updated on the exercise goal this week. I'm going to do it! Just to prove to you all that I can. :-)

Friday, March 11, 2011

Weigh In Day-Week 8 + 7 hour hike from Hell.

Current Weight: 154.9
Last Week: 154.6
Goal: 138
Ohhhh, what a week.  I know I haven’t been around at all, but I have been keeping up with the blogs!  It’s been a tough week. Last week I told you all that we had some family issues come up and that I couldn’t post a super long blog. Well, the ‘issues’ escalated and turned into down-right devastating news.  My husband, Ryan’s, grandmother passed away on the 4th. 
Dorene was a wonderful woman, full of energy and love.  The first time I met her I couldn’t believe she was Ryan’s grandma. She was about 4 foot 10 inches and weighed no more than 100 pounds. She was the cutest, littlest, petite person I’d ever seen.  And Ryan is the exact opposite. Wait, I didn't mean on the 'cute' part, because he's a hotty, otherwise I wouldn't have married him; but on 'little' part. He is 6’4” and about 240 pounds (I may be a little off on those numbers, but you get the idea.)  He is a giant. So for him to stand next to his little grandma was a little shocking. She came up to his ribcage.  It was so adorable. Dorene had two children, Ryan’s mom Pam and Ryan’s uncle Trey.  She also had three grandchildren; Ryan has two younger cousins Alexa and Mikenzie. So it was a very small, close-knit family. This is the exact opposite of my very large, obnoxious, loud, and lives-to-party family.
I am eternally grateful to Dorene for immediately making me a part of the family. She treated me with the same love and respect that she treated all her ‘biological’ grandchildren and I soon began to call her ‘Grandma’.  

Ryan, his mom Pam, and Grandma Dorene at the lake house.

Ok, whew. Deep breaths, deep breaths.
See, not only has this been very difficult to lose Dorene, but her passing and funeral was the first since my father passed away last June.  That’s just a double dose of poopiness.  Deep breaths again.  Ok, that’s enough of that.
Onto better topics.
If you notice on the top, I have gained a measly .3 ounces since last week. Not bad, considering I haven’t exercised all week, we ate out nearly every meal last weekend, and I indulged in every sugary, chocolaty, and delicious crap-food that was ever made. (On a side note, not once did I order a ‘healthy’ meal when we ate out, I went straight to the fried, fatty goodness.) I’m not worried about it in the least. When something devastating happens, sometimes just letting go for a little while helps in the long run. I mean, you have so many important things to worry about, why worry about something as insignificant as a little gained weight.  In the big scheme of things, for me, being a little overweight is not affecting my health or causing any major problems for me physically, it’s just that I’d like to be healthier. Not necessarily skinnier, or thinner, but healthier.
But, because I didn’t do any physical activity, wait, I take that back. I completely forgot about my 7 hour hike through the south-central wilderness of Kansas.  How in the HELL could I forget that?!  In the midst of our bereavement, Ryan’s mother wanted us to keep our original plans of going to the owner of my company’s hunting cabin and land and walking around to look for deer shed antlers.  So we did. I loaded a very excited puppy and husband up and we drove two hours south of our home to the beautiful flint hills. 
First, let me give you a little background: My husband is an avid hunter. He pretty much hunts anything that moves, including deer, turkey, pheasant, quail, coyotes, blah, blah, blah.  He actually buys hunting ‘movies’ and will sit downstairs for HOURS and watch people hunt some animal.  Our downstairs is his ‘man-cave’ and is wonderfully decorated in deer antlers, deer heads, pictures of deer, and turkey feathers.  Ryan and a buddy actually have joint custody of a huge mounted buck head.  Half the year it’s at our house, the other half it’s at his buddy’s.  We’re talking borderline obsessed about this sport, people. Freaking obsessed.  (But it doesn’t bother me, because I am not a city girl, if you haven’t guessed already.  I am a country girl and grew up hunting with my father and grandfather since I was about 7. So am used to guns, wilderness, and the whole she-bang.) So for him to be able to walk around 800 acres of ‘new’ property was like 15 year old girl getting asked to the senior prom.
Back to the 7-hour hike: This property is in the absolutely gorgeous flint hills of Kansas, which means a lot of hills, lots of rock, and lots of woods.  So for 7 hours all I did was hike up a hill, down a hill, up a hill, down a hill, then in the middle of woods, hunched over so the pine tree branches didn’t cut my head off. It was exhilarating. Truly. Until I felt blisters, the size of pancakes, begin to form on every area of both feet (note to self: replace hiking boots). Then it was no longer exhilarating, but extremely freaking painful.  And the whole time we are hiking we are looking for deer sheds.  For those of you that don’t know, a buck (male deer) grows antlers ever year, then around March or April the buck will ‘lose’ or ‘shed’ his antlers like a child loses a baby tooth. Then the next year they grow back, bigger and badder than ever.  This process goes on every year, until, of course, the deer gets shot or dies of natural causes.  So to find these coveted sheds, you have to scour the ground searching for something that looks like any fallen tree branch but only it’s off-white (basically it blends in with just about everything else on the ground).  It’s nearly impossible, in my experience anyway. But it’s like an Easter egg hunt; once you find one you’re hooked and want to find more.  I have found only one in the last three years that I’ve gone out and searched. Ryan has found a lot more than me.  And believe it or not, these antlers are actually worth some money. But would we sell them???? NOOOO. They are prize positions that need to keep residence on our basement walls, or our garage walls, or our fence, or in a box underneath the stairs. We keep them ALL. Big or small, whole or broken. ALL.
I'll post some pictures of our hike later this weekend for all your enjoyment.
And yes, for all you city-folk, we really do walk around in the woods looking for parts of animals.  I am a redneck and sometimes a hillbilly: deal with it. LOL.
But the hike was actually good. I really wish I would have worn my heart rate monitor because I bet you I burned like 3000 calories.  If we lived closer to hills like that, I wouldn’t need a gym membership or work out videos, just boots and a bottle of water.
This week my goal, once again, is to do my P90X every day. I’m also going to try and do better with my food this weekend (we’re going out of town again, so eating out is going to happen). Order salads Laura, order salads. No cheese fries. Sorry, little pep-talk to myself there.
One more note: my husband read my blog last week and I think I need to clarify something. Yes, he did order the biggest Chicken Fried Steak that has ever been created, but he DID NOT eat the whole thing. I didn’t want you all to think that he just gorged down that whole table-sized steak.  Really, he only ate about a ¼ of it, saving the rest for a rainy day (which ended up being later that weekend).
 Have a great weekend everyone and keep up the good healthy living! (Or at least try to keep it up.)

Friday, March 4, 2011

Weigh In Day-Week 7

Current Weight: 154.6
Last Week: 154.4
Goal: 138
 
This is going to be short and sweet people as Ryan and I have had some family issues come up. I'll do a more lengthy post when I get back from visiting the fam.
 
Basically gained .2 lbs. Not surprised or pissed. I ate like crap and I only exercised once this week. After my 'candy aisle' post I woke up on Wed and went to town on the P90X. (And, I did eat some chocolate BUT, only one!! That's restraint, right?!) But then on Wed night I started to come down with some BS spring cold. Sore throat, weak, my eye feels like it's got 600 grit sandpaper as a contact, etc. And it looks like no work outs this weekend because I'll be with family and won't have time.  But, next week is always a new week!
 
Last night I did do something good though. We went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse (it's a steakhouse) and I ordered grilled chicken and loaded steak fries (that's not the good part, well it was good, but bad on the health-o-meter). But, I only ate half the chicken, and a few of the fries!  Just a few! I could have mowed down the whole plate, but I restrained. Yipee for me.  On another note, Ryan ordered the chicken fried steak and I am not kidding when I say we could have ordered that for the entire table and still not finished it.  I mean, it was the size of the table.  Freaking enormous! THE biggest CFS I've ever seen. I should have taken a picture.
 
Also, I've concluded that every time I work out I lose some weight, so I need to work out everyday and maybe I can get under 150 by the time my B-Day rolls around. (By the way, only 34 days until I'm the BIG 3-0!)
 
More to come later! Enjoy your weekend.