just checking in…. missed you all….

I’m not really back… just checking in on a few friends and thought while I was here, I should write something.

Been BUSY!!  yeah, i’m always busy but lately seems i have little time to do anything (think chicken chasing a grasshopper… that’s me!!)

Another wedding coming up in June,  but first my 5yo birthday in May, Baby shower for my grandson-to-be in May, HS graduation for my son in May, 16yo birthday party for my daughter (we always have a dance to celebrate this special year) I think July may be calm…. maybe not.

My husband has been gone all this month working (school, so we pay for him to work) at a clinic in a little town 4hrs away.  He’ll come home around the 27th.  We miss him.

Last soccer game on Saturday, so last practise on Thursday!!!!  yippeeee!!!  I LOVE soccer but i will be glad to have some time again!

K, better go, i hear the girls in the bathtub — the water is getting too full…..

You guys are doing great!! keep it up!

a few picts of a wonderful day….

elliotsfamily.jpgso, a pict of my family — all 9 kids plus a new daughter-in-law and a soon-to-be daughter-in-law.  My son-in-law is missing, we were bummed but he had to work.

the “baby”  is getting soooooo big!!!  she is now 15months old!!! my time flies!

my 5 yo daughter was the flower girl — i made that dress!!!   a lot of fun, but it sure gave me headaches!!!!  after it was completed, my daughter looked at me and said, “i hate it, i won’t wear it!”   i about strangled her.  But, by the day of the wedding, she put it on and said “i kinda like it”  everyone complimented her on her “Cinderella” dress and then she loved it and wants to wear it again.  silly girl….

a pict of me dancing with my son to “wild thing”  k, i look silly, but we had a blast.momsondance2.jpg

I don’t know why the family pict looks so big…. hopefully it can be viewed….

well, gotta get…. i am now babysitting a 16 month old girl.  She and my baby get along really well so it has been fun.

we also started back into soccer so now i know i will get SOME exercise in 2x a week!!!

love you all have a BLESSED day!!

3 birthdays, 2 holidays, and a wedding….

Yeah it has been crazy around here….

A son turned 20 — how can he be that old, just yesterday he was a scrawny wiggling rambunctious boy???  He is so handsome….  and amazing.  God is good, He takes your mistakes and makes something beautiful!!! incredible

Another son turned 18 on New Year’s Eve — 18!!!!!  sheesh!!! i was starting to feel old!! he had a few friends over and we toasted the last night of the year with sparkling grape juice then went outside and yelled “HAPPY NEW YEAR!!”  (we live in the country)  someone yelled back the same and then we ran inside before we were hit with one of the many bullets being shot into the air — our neighbors are all well!!!  (sister told me the story of why that started — neighbors could check on each other’s welfare by shooting and answering with their own shots..)

anyhooo…..  i turned 44 in December.   Wow!! time sure flies.  it was a good day

My 20 year old son then got married on Saturday!  (his bride is older than him)  it was really wonderful getting to spend time with him and his fiance for the week before the wedding…. got to see again that this is a God-made match, they are perfect for each other.  The wedding was made extra special by my sisters and brother’s families…. they all pitched in to decorate, one sister in law made all the bouquets the day of the wedding — what talent!  It was simple elegance — perfect for my new daughter-in-law.  (On a side-note, both groom and bride went into this marriage as virgins…. for all you youngsters — it CAN be done!!!!  they are starting their new life together the way God intended!! wow!!!)

So, all this and exercise has virtually gone out the window — my sisters came over and we ran 3 miles…. i limped for two days afterward…..   my younger sister won her local “biggest loser” award and has been running 5 miles!!!!!   amazing!!!  she is my inspiration.

On the good side, i have not over-eaten!!! there has been so much food around (luckily a lot of it healthy) but i have been too busy to eat much.  At first, i went crazy on the sweets… i hadn’t had any in so long that i went crazy…. but, i think that is under control again….

i won’t be online EVERY day ’cause i have to catch up with all the work that got left behind the last few months.  BUT, as soon as i get them, i will post a pict of the wedding!

OHHHHH, my son wanted to do a “mother-son dance”  He talked to me and told me his dilema of finding the “perfect” song…. we have a great relationship and we love to have fun…. he didn’t see us at his wedding looking into each other’s eyes for 4 minutes and being mushy….  so, he chose “Wild Thing”   we started together like we were gonna slow dance and then when the song actually started, we let loose and just got crazy — it was hilarious, every one laughed and then i made other people get on the dance floor — i couldn’t imaging trying to dance to that whole ridiculously long song in front of everyone by myself!!!!  I used to  sing him that song when he was young and would come out of his room in the morning with his hair sticking up all over — it was a great reminder of our crazy love and fun times.

Sigh…… another one bites the dust……  ha ha

our oldest son gets married in June…..

I slipped and fell than got ran over a few times….

as i was lying there contemplating getting back on that darn wagon…. a few others came by and just ran me over — i think i feel and must look like several hundred miles of used road…

i had been doing so well with my exercising, really working hard, got freaked out with my weight gain but kept going — then BAM!!!!!  BAM! BAM! and bump, screech, whammy….

{{{{{sigh}}}}  not only did i stop exercising — i ate crap ALL week!!!  this weekend marked one son’s 9th birthday and our last soccer game until the spring [[side note…. my boys team beat the “unbeatable” team — they were awesome, playing their hearts out, working every second of the game as a team!!!! it was absolutely beautiful!! ]] 

I, meanwhile was fighting off a migraine — after 3 doses of excedrine migraine and another dose of motrin — i was still barely functioning.  Friday night we went to a haunted barn and haunted cornfield maze — they were awesome!  but an hour and a half drive from our house — after eating hotdogs, and marshmallows, we didn’t get home until 11:30 — then i had to ice cupcakes — THEN the baby started running a fever at about 3am…. only to get up and get going to games around 7am….. i was zonked to say the least and we still had to have a party of more hotdogs/hamburgers/chips/koolaid and fruit salad — i honestly didn’t eat much ’cause of the pounding head…. until later….

soooooo, here i am tring to get myself motivated to work out — it is so easy to hide flab in my winter clothes!!!  “it really doesn’t look so bad”  i tell myself…. what i need to do is get on a sleeveless shirt and wave goodbye to someone and get on some shorts and look in a mirror….

Hopefully everyone else is doing well out there in BS land …. stay strong — before we know it, spring will be here again and if we weren’t faithful during these upcoming holidays, we will be angry at ourselves!!!

Political note — no endorsements though — follow your heart…. i just wanted to say, that

  1. i am ever so glad to not have tv to have to watch all the nonsense i hear everyone else talking about!!
  2. Really study the character of the candidates running — money should not be the issue, race or sex should not be the issue, even the war should not be the main issue — who the person is and what they stand for should be the MAIN issue – are they moral and similar to your beliefs when looking at our inalianble rights?  The first one listed on the constitution is the right to life — then liberty and the pursuit of happiness and so on.
  3. http://68.178.170.193/index.php   an awesome video on youtube

k, better go!! love you all — VOTE your heart and conscience!!!!! 

sigh….. yes, i gained weight…..

Not a big shock — after the ALL additional food i was consuming.  I am gonna have to figure out the balance b/w eating ENOUGH to allow me to work out hard but not TOO much so i am gaining weight.  

I find it very difficult to believe that i gained 2 lbs worth of muscle in the last few days…. so, i can only chalk it up to — i ate WAYYYYY too much!

Someone was mentioning mid-life desires (ie crisis??)  i have been really wanting a small dog variety puppy — lap-dog — cuddly dog — footwarmer.  the kind that won’t shed so i can have him in the house (my husband does not allow animals in the house, but my son’s dog poodle/chihuahua was allowed in — he was killed 2yrs ago and we still miss him terribly!!) 

so, is it b/c i miss Comet or b/c when you get to my age, you need a lap dog????  anyone with a spare puppy around — send him/her to me!!!   {{{{{sigh}}}}} i really should be a gramma, NOT a new mom “again”….. 

SOOOOOOOO, back to weight loss support…..  

unfortunately, i feel undeniably random today…..

this week’s goals –

  • Monday — hamstring work
  • Tuesday — triceps/chest
  • Wednesday — quads
  • Thursday — biceps/back
  • Friday — 3 mile walk/run  (curious to see how far I can RUN…. haven’t been b/c of the rain…..i run on a ditch which equals clay stuck to your shoes…. i can’t run with extra weight yet…)
  • Saturday — soccer games — referee??
  • EVERY DAY — Drink water - 2 waterbottles.

Oh, my son brought me a new “complete nutrition” powder (if i told you about it, i would have to shoot you…. not really, but you have to hear the 20min spiel before you are allowed to use the product — ensures that you use it correctly….)

anyway…. i’m gonna try it for a month and see if it makes a difference — i can’t take vitamins in pill form — they irritate my stomach — so, this should provide all my vits/minerals and other stuff — he is really excited about it and his fiance’s grandparents and great grandparents (94 yrs old!!) have been taking it for several years — they swear by it!!

Here’s to our health!!!!  (raises cup of water in toast)

have a blessed Monday!

Does anyone out there know??? Exercise = Hungry = Eat more???

Is this gonna kill my weight loss??  Or is it just my body telling me i really do need more calories if i am going to continue to do weights??

I am freaking out!! I have eaten twice what i normally eat the last 3 days — TWICE!!!!! 

I still don’t eat breakfast, so i usually work out before i eat for the day (unless coffee with cream counts)  I tried eating b-fast last week ’cause i was trying to make an excuse for NOT working out yet….. I got horrible stomach cramps — so, i won’t make THAT mistake again.  If i just wait for a few hours before i eat, i feel fine, i just can’t eat right after getting up….. yeah, weird, i know.

ANYWAY……  so, yesterday…..normally, i would have eaten ONE of my homemade calzone (rectangle piece about 3inches X 5inches filled with vegies, thin slice of roast beef from deli, and cheese)  but instead i ate TWO for lunch….  

THEN for supper (crock pot meal since we are at soccer practice late) I had mashed potatoes and meatloaf and mixed vegies…. Normally, i am ALL about portion control, just a 2×2 portion of potatoes, maybe 1×1 portion of meat and then 2×2 or more of vegies….  yesterday — TWICE that amount and i finished it all!!!! YIKES!!!!

So, my question……   Is this eating b/c of the up’d workout and i will be ok, or am i using my workout for an excuse to eat more?  Am i gonna wind up gaining weight back? Do you guys know??

I only need to shed a few more pounds but mostly was working on TONING — i want to look sexy for my sons’ weddings next year — it is what has kept me going to my gym…. I have been pretty faithful to workout ~30-45 mins a day (other than last weekend’s lapse) but it will kinda defeat my purpose if i just put back on the weight!  I am really freaking out!! 

One day of extra eating has never worried me, i look at my WEEK’s portions and they usually even themselves out by the end…..  BUT this??!!!  my week’s calories are gonna be higher than normal!!  

So, any suggestions, or input will be GREATLY appreciated!   (i keep finding myself YELLING…. sorry, just freaked!!!!  FREAKED!!!!! sorry….)

don’t know what to write….

[]
i just know that blogging keeps me sane and keeps me on track — so i blog!!

i have been doing well with my exercise regime — my hamstrings are sore, my triceps and chest is sore….

today is quad work….. can’t wait….. trying to do something else, cuz i DON’T want to go exercise…..

 Oh, my reason for not running — mud (the kind that weighs you down about 40lbs when it sticks to your shoes….) AND 

snakes-on-tome-hill-92908.jpgthis is a picture of rattlesnakes on Tome Hill about 3 miles from my house….. yech!!!!!!!

BUT, i know how good i feel when i stick to my plan, so off i go to work my flab into muscle…  i may be fooling myself, but i really do think i already see a difference!!! ha ha, maybe wishful thinking, but i flex and get all excited to see a tiny bulge starting!

ok, now i really AM going to go work out!!

have a great day everyone!!

“Get back in the game!” Or, my take on sports….

i just read an article in Fitness about a woman getting back on a soccer team after many years of just being a wife and mom after her college sports were over — she was encouraging every one to experience those old feelings of competitiveness (??) by getting back in the game.  It was a really cool article but i realized that i was never sports minded — so does it apply to me?

When i was growing up (eons ago) girls played volleyball — it was a good sport — so our private school made a team and since i was one of the few girls, i got put on it.  I learned a lot but i was never GOOD — my sister was good, i was just a member.  I never could figure out how to spike or serve overhand.  My underhand serve was mean — maybe just b/c it was different but, many teams couldn’t figure it out so i usually got a few points for our team until they figured it out.   We also played softball at recess — i used to love playing 1st base.  When you were that close to the pitcher and batter, you didn’t have to throw very far and the throws to you were close — you looked good if you got the runner out! but mostly it wasn’t your fault if the other players couldn’t get the ball to you in time.  It was a good place for me!  i could even hit the ball hard enough to get to first base and sometimes 2nd.  it was a great sport.

Fast forward to college — obviously i am not that coordinated or athletic so i don’t join any teams.  I did run a race intercollegeiatly (?? really must decide if i am using actual words… and how to spell them)  my second year, i was FORCED to take 2 PE classes — it was the best thing i did!!  i learned the basic rules of both basketball and soccer.  Again, i was never good enough to try out for a team — but i had fun in PE.

Now, i have kids, i don’t want them to be as uncoordinated as me so we put them in sports — only ones they want to try — but, we encourage a lot of them.    Soccer, basketball, baseball, taekwondo — whatever we can afford and whatever we can find in the area.

So, since i was never athletic growing up — does “getting back in the game” apply to me??  Yes!!!  i think it does.  i LOVE coaching, i LOVE refereeing — some day, i would love to play on a recreational team myself.  I wouldn’t be the best on the team, i may even hurt the team with my clumsiness sometimes — BUT, the adreneline rush, the power of running and playing — the power of being a benefit to the team once in a while — sounds so luring!!!   As i age (more and more) i have come to realize that life is NOT about always winning — it is about playing!!  get in the game!  i tell my soccer kids, “Winning is great and i love to win. But, losing ALWAYS teaches you a valuable lesson that you can take to the next game.”

So, lets get in a game — be it merely the game of life or an actual sport — lets have fun and learn some lessons along the way!!!  

Go Team BUDDYSLIM!!!!!!!

trying to plan

ugghhhhh!!!  i am SOOOOO bummed — i didnt get in much exercise this weekend.

I had planned for Friday off b/c i knew we had a busy day in the big city — orthodontic appt.,  hair appt., run to Costco, then Greek Festival — watched a girl on my soccer team dance — really cool!! plus REALLY good food — lots of vegies and we all shared plates of food.

Saturday is normally soccer games but i was gonna referee a game for an hour — pretty good exercise == running around with 9yo boys!  BUT, the game got cancelled so i didnt get to ref.  by the time i got home from coaching my 2 teams, it started raining so i couldn’t go for a run….. grrrrrrrr!!

Sunday — up early to do the computer at church — then LAZY!!!  double GRRRRRRR!!!

so, this week, my exercise goals are………    (drum roll please….)

Monday (today, to be done ASAP) — hamstring work

Tuesday — triceps (soccer practice)

Wednesday — quads

Thursday — biceps (soccer practice)

Friday — lunges and squats

Saturday — run/walk 3 miles (soccer games and ref-ing)

Sunday — off

I NEED to get back to drinking lots of water — need to drain my water bottle 2x a day.

I figure if those people on Biggest Loser can look SOOOOO good after working out for a few weeks (how many is it??? 8?) – i should be able to too!!!  so, that is my motivation (along with the health benefits, etc….(plus, i HAVE to look hot for 2 weddings, Jan and May!!)) But, it was really cool seeing the previous winners and how much they had changed! 

Work it HARD and see great results!!  I’ll be my own Jillian….I’m gonna do it!! 

Wed exercise and….my eating habits — a copy of a saved post

Exercise today — Wednesday  (I didn’t WANT to workout, so gave it a little time, legs are sore from yesterdays squats and lunges, so it is limited…. {{{{sigh}}}} — i WILL keep it up!!!

  • Leg Press 20 reps each set — 85lbs, 110lbs, 135lbs, 180lbs
  • Leg Extensions 20 reps each set — 25lbs, 35lbs, 55lbs, 75lbs

 Following is a post i had saved about my eating habits…. i changed a little to make more sense, but, here it is in all its glory — don’t be too harsh…. 

i am almost scared to write what i normally eat — if you have read my blogs — i seldom write of my eating habits…..

 this is just how i have always been — slightly afraid of gaining weight but conscious about what i eat and trying to eat properly.  I don’t count calories, i just am very careful about portions.  I have tried to eat every few hours and after a couple days i find that i can’t eat at all — does that make any sense whatsoever?? it is as if my body got too full and i just CANNOT put anything more in…, also, i have found that i just don’t have the time to do that –

k, so here it goes - days will vary somewhat but, overall this is how i eat…

7:00 – coffee with real cream

11-11:30 — i am finally hungry and my tummy can handle something going in — half sandwich, toast, or whatever the kids had for b-fast like pancakes.

2pm — sometimes, i will find a snack — chile with cheese, or something… sometimes, just a couple cookies (almond alverretes are my favs)

7pm — supper time — if i dont’ eat now, i won’t eat until the next morning b/c i can’t sleep with food in my belly…. i’ll wake up every couple hours, its a drag…  supper is always some type of meat — usually only about 3oz, vegies — potatoes seem to be a staple around here, and sometimes bread product — not usually bread, more often rice.

every once in a while, i will splurge — when we go out to eat i will eat a plate full — if buffet, i NEVER let my foods touch…. by the time i am done with my first plate, i may go up for more vegies… and i always get at least one chocolate dessert.

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