Week 3

So I have made it 2 full weeks of shakes for breakfasts and lunches (during the week) and getting to the gym at least 3 times a week. This week starts the real challenge, though, because softball season has started! I was able to go today easily because we had the day off from school and practice! :) I'm still doing very well with NO SODAS!! I was so very much tempted today. I could've easily had a Dr. Pepper and I wanted it so bad! I'm not sure why in the last couple of days I have been really craving a good Dr. Pepper or fountain Big Red.
The weight loss has not been great. I only lost .2 pounds this past week. I feel like I am working out hard and not seeing results in weight-loss. I know they say muscle weighs more than fat, but how long until I start seeing weight-loss results? I AM losing inches - - which is what I am more excited about, but it sure would be nice to lose pounds too. Joel keeps reminding me it has only been 2 weeks. I have to keep that into perspective...it seems a lot longer than that! I'm sticking to it, though. Even though I didn't lose much weight, I still lost a few inches in different places so that makes me feel good. Plus just working out alone makes me feel good each day. There is a half-marathon at the end of March I would like to attempt. I am going to try to see if I am able to train enough during softball season without losing too much time with Sawyer. We'll see how this goes. Even if I don't run the half-marathon, they also have a 5k I can do with a lot of my friends. We're all planning to do the race together anyways.
Saturday I went down to the canyon with Missy, her friend from back home, and Sawyer. We did the Lighthouse Trail in Palo Duro Canyon. It was pretty. The day was awesome and made it a very nice hike. Sawyer did well. She rode in the backpacking pack Jarrod and Michelle got us last summer. She sure has gotten heavier though!! I was worn out after we finished! Joel will have to get in good shape if we plan to do any hiking this summer!

This week begins the early mornings every single day. It shouldn't be too bad since it will be every day. That makes it a little bit easier to get out of bed that early. We're going to head to bed now since I have to get up so early!! Night everyone! Have a wonderful week!

Days 4-7 (I think)

Well, sorry for not posting EVERY DAY, but I don't have all that much to say and I was spending time with my family :) I made it through the first week of shakes for breakfast & lunch and no soda! YAY! I was getting frustrated throughout the week because I felt like I was working so hard and wasn't feeling any changes. I also kept my goal of 3 visits to the gym. Yesterday morning I weighed and measured. I've lost 2 pounds and an inch in each of the following..bust, waist, belly, & hips! That made me feel more successful and excited! It gave me motivation to keep going! I can do this!! Here we go week 2! Challenge this week is no tea (in addition to no soda)! Lets go!

Day 3 - Rest Day

Today for my workout is my day of rest..and boy did I need it!! I still did well as far as sticking to my shakes and NO SODA! :) I'm exhausted though. I don't think my body has quite adjusted to waking up so early again. I was ready for bed before 8! I had Cubbies tonight, which is always fun. It's nice playing with the little kids and seeing what I have to look forward go with Sawyer :)
Joel and I are watching our show - Chicago Fire! It's great! I'm going to go spend my time with him instead of this blog! ;) later everyone!

Day 2 - Success Feels SOOO Good!

Day 2 was mostly successful!! In my half-marathon training I was suppose to complete 3 miles! I honestly did not think I would make it or that I could do it. I completed the 3 miles in 40 minutes. I know that is probably a terrible time, but it was my first time and I feel so good for just making myself finish! I thought my legs were going to fall off at about 2.5 miles and wanted to quit, but I pushed to the finish! I did not run the entire time, but that is another goal for me. I know if I stick to this I'll be able to run that without stopping eventually! I did a little warm-up walk and then ran a nice, 10-minute mile. The rest of the time I would jog a good pace for about 2-3 minutes and then speed walk for 1-2 minutes, back and forth. I felt so good when I finally finished! I do belive this was a huge accomplishment for me to just dig deep and keep pushing myself to be better. It also helps to be surrounded by all these skinny, fit people because they are really good motivation to keep going!

I also drank only water today and a small cup of coffee. I met with some of my really good friends at a coffee place here in town tonight and felt like it was a good occassion for some coffee. I'm so blessed with the friends and people God has surrounded our family with here in Canyon. We have a wonderful "2nd family" who is always here for us and loves Sawyer just as much as we do. We also have a great group of friends from coaching and from church. I love spending time with any of them.

Joel gets home tonight from Tennessee! I'm excited to see him and I'm sure Sawyer will be too if she gets to see him in the morning before school. She always is excited to see her daddy. :)

That's all I've got for today! I'm heading to work on a very small, quick project before bed! 

Thank God for your blessings (big or small) tonight and remember all the good things in life. It takes on a whole new perspective when you remember what all you have and how good you really do have it when you think about all the blessings from above...then pray for miracles on the things out of your control. Trust in HIM. That's all we can do. He'll take care of us. :)

Night everyone!

Day 1 - Worn Out!!

Today went well! I was worried I would oversleep since we were going back to school, but I woke up just fine. It was hard to get out of bed though! The kids were pretty good today. I expected some craziness, but I guess they were just as sleepy as me!

I stuck to my plan! Day 1 = success! I drank my shakes, ate my snacks, and did not cheat! I did not drink any soda! Let me tell ya, though, I had a huge headache!! I don't know if it was caffiene withdrawals or just a headache from being tired. After school, I so did not want to go to the gym, but Dad gave me a little pep-talk and I made it there. I didn't make it in time for the class I had wanted to try so I did some weights and jogged on the treadmill for 15 minutes. Today was suppose to be "strength and stretch" day so I think I sort of did that. Tomorrow I'm suppose to do 3 miles! Yikes!! Hope I can do it! If you're doing this too, let me know how you're doing!! Have a great week!

Lazy Sunday

Well, Sawyer woke up extra early this morning! I guess she knew I needed a practice run of early-rising before we go back to school tomorrow. We went to the early service at church. That was neat because it was the traditional service and we usually go to the contemporary service. It was nice to hear old hymns. We then came home and she took a nap while I looked up meal ideas and stuff (I'll share more later). I finished up my first little project for her!! It is the quiet book that teaches her to fasten things she'll be wearing. Here are the pictures I promised!

The cover: Close Your Clothes

Button your blouse!    Close your Snaps!       Zip your zipper!

Velcro your shoes!     Button your Jeans!     Tie your shoes!!

 

Close your belt!

 

Sorry they're sideways. I couldn't figure out how to rotate them in the blog page. Everything used in the book is stuff I had at home (except the belt). The clothes and items are things she wore when she was smaller. That makes it a little more fun too!

Alright, on to the workout/eat healthy challenge! YAY! I have my menu for the week set and my workout plan for the week set. I will be having my herbalife shake for breakfast and lunch every day. I have string cheese, lunch meat, apple slices, nuts, and hard-boiled eggs for snacks this week. I will have a morning snack and an afternoon snack. As far as dinner goes, I have to cook what we have so these options aren't the healthiest, but next time we get groceries I can plan a little better. Monday I'm having chicken enchiladas! They're delicious so I'm excited about that! Tuesday I'll be making mini pizzas for Sawyer and me. Wednesday we eat at church. I think it is meatloaf and potatoes this week. Thursday I will be having left-over chicken alfredo casserole. I made that tonight and it was amazing! I made the alfredo sauce from scratch. Friday we're making hamburgers. Saturday I'm making potato soup. Sunday will be a leftovers day. :)

I know this menu and plan isn't perfect yet, but I'm just beginning. I will get better as I get to do more research and plan better.

WEEKLY CHALLENGE:

   I have chosen my weekly challenge. I will be giving up dark sodas. I have been telling myself for a long time I was going to give them up completely. I think this is a good way to start. If I just really really need a soda for some reason, I will have a sprite. They're not my favorite so I will REALLY have to want one to get one. I think I can go completely without soda so if that happens - great! :)

 

I did get a picture of my workout schedule. I've decided to sign up and train for a half-marathon! I will be needing LOTS of encouragement! I know I can do this. It is something I've always wanted to do. Here is the workout plan I found at halhigdon.com

I am trying to find a half marathon around the beginning to middle of April to sign up for, so if you know of any or have any suggestions let me know! One in Amarillo or Lubbock area would be best so I don't have to travel far for my first one, but I'm willing to go as far as Dallas.

That's it for now. I'm off to bed. EARLY morning tomorrow!! I have to get back on my schedule!  Lots of prayers my way and yours if you're doing this with me. Our 30-day challenge starts tomorrow! Have a good one!

 

 

Today was nice. We got a little visit from The Lashley clan :) (Joel's aunt, uncle, and cousins). I always love getting a visit from them!! They're so fun! Sawyer loves Uncle Todd! She just played with him and didn't pay attention to anyone else the entire time! We got to have lunch together before they got back on the road home. Then Sawyer and I went to Amarillo with Katie and Molly (more of Sawyer's favorite people) and we spent most of the afternoon and evening up there shopping around and eating dinner at Sakura (Molly's favorite place, next to Rosa's). I really enjoyed it; especially because Monday starts the kickoff of my 30-day challenge (I'm hoping to extend it to 60 and then 90 days, but I want to set realistic goals for myself). My 30-day challenge is to stick to my Herbalife shakes. I LOVE them but it is hard to drink them for lunch when I see and smell warm food around me at school. I'm serious about this, though, and want to get back into shape and look and feel better.
My challenge is to drink a shake for breakfast (easiest part - I love having them for breakfast) and a shake at lunch (hard to stick to but easy during the week because it will be my only choice at school!) and then to eat a healthy, balanced dinner. The dinner shouldn't be too hard either because I usually cook dinner. I just have to make sure it is good for me and to always include good veggies and some fruit.
Along with the shakes, I'm going to challenge myself to give up one thing that is not good for me each week. This will be the hardest part. I'll post what I choose to give up as soon as I decide. I know what it should be (soda), but I'm having such a hard time parting with that!! I'm also going to be going to the gym and working hard to get fit and toned. My goal for the first 30 days is to get to the gym at least 3 times a week. If you want to join me I got my membership at the Town Club and plan to take some of the classes that focus on cardio and some weight lifting. I'll also most likely run on the treadmill if I can still move after the class. :) I like the Town Club because they have a daycare that only costs $1 for an hour and a half and it is pretty good size with toys and stuff to keep Sawyer busy, so once softball starts I'll still be able to go work out after practices!
I'm also going to weigh myself and measure my chest, waist, hips, biceps, and thighs each Monday morning and keep track of it in a journal so I can see my progress. If you want to do this challenge with me let me know! Maybe we can keep each other accountable! I could also sell you Herbalife shakes if you want to try them. I think they're delicious (especially the mint chocolate chip warmed up on these cold mornings - - - YUMMY!!) Wish me luck and prayers!!
Anyways, other things going on in the fam...
I have started some craft projects =  YAY! I saw on Pinterest a quiet book where you use old baby clothes to make a book to teach your kid how to work their clothes. Examples are buttoning a shirt, buttoning pants, tie their shoes, etc. I have almost completed it. I'm looking for a belt so she can practice closing a belt. I'll post pictures when I finish! It is looking cute and I think she'll really enjoy it, especially when she gets a little older. I also got materials at Hobby Lobby today to do a few projects for some gifts for friends. I'm really excited about these and will post pictures of them as well, after the friend gets the gifts of course!!

Snowy Day

Well, I already missed a day of blogging!! Oh well :) Yesterday we had a lot of fun at our play-date! We went up to a church that has an indoor play area and it was FREE! It was really neat. There were plenty of things to play on and slides. Sawyer loved it! We will definitely be using that spot whenever we can!!
Here is a picture of her playing:



Today has been good so far. I got my gym membership! :) I don't think I will be able to move tomorrow, but I still plan to at least go walk and lift at the gym...or I might even test out a class. I ran on the treadmill for 15 minutes, did some leg weights, and ran another 10 minutes on the treadmill. It was nice, not too bad. My legs are already sore though!
We were suppose to go take family pictures this afternoon, but it is snowing :( I'm really bummed beacuse the chances of us finding a time to take FAMILY pictures in the next 3 weeks is slim to none. Hopefully we can figure something out. Nothing we can do about it now. I'm just glad I hadn't spent all that time curling my hair yet! It is really cold outside, and snowing, so I'm sure we will appreciate not sitting out in it for pictures, but I do think we could've managed. It is not icy and the road conditions aren't bad, and it isn't even really sticking yet.
Tonight we are going to some friends' to watch the Cotton Bowl. I'm not sure yet who I want to cheer for. I usually find myself cheering for whoever is on offense in games I don't have a team playing. I guess that comes because Joel coaches offense and I like it better! :) And I never lose that way! I don't know much else, so I'm going to head off now to get some things done! Have a good one!

Just another day....

Today was nice. Joel and I are just enjoying getting to spend time together. After we took Sawyer to daycare we came back to his office. I went to work out while he did some work. Then we came back home and put together Sawyer's slide/basketball hoop/soccer net from her Mamaw (my mom). It is funny how frustrated men get when building stuff over the littlest thing! I just tried to keep from laughing while I handed Joel materials. We got it built, though, and boy did she love it!! We picked her up from daycare and she put away the toys she was playing with before she let us take her home :) - - such a big girl! When we got home she LOVED what she saw sitting in the middle of the living room (her slide)! We're still teaching her how to climb up the side, but she's pretty good at going down the slide on her own. She was so excited and just laughed every time she went down. We then enjoyed chicken and dumplings from the crockpot! We had been smelling it all day and could hardly wait! It is one of Sawyer's favorite meals too. She ate two bowls full (her little kid bowl). We then played some more until it was time for her to go to bed. She's so much fun to play with. She makes the funniest faces and is just a happy little girl. You can't help but smile when you're around her!
Joel put her to bed and then we enjoyed watching some of the Sugar Bowl (Florida is getting their butts kicked!) and watched Chicago Fire - - one of "our shows" we watch together. I love it!
Tomorrow, Sawyer and I have a play-date with a friend from church and her twin girls! We can't wait!! I should have some pictures to post from the playing hopefully! That's it for tonight!! I'm off to surf pinterest for all sorts of little projects I want to do! :) If you don't have an account you should definitely get one! Be warned, though; it is addicting!

New Year 2013!!

Wow - - been over a year since we've posted here!! A lot has happened and a lot has changed! Sawyer is here (obviously!) and she has been a huge blessing in our lives! I hope to do a better job of sharing what's going on in our lives with you guys as well as try to come up with some fun/interesting posts. I'd like to be  "good" blogger! :) We'll see how it goes....

First I'm going to list some of the things I want to accomplish this year. Hopefully I can remember to come back here and post as I accomplish some of this stuff.

1. Work out more - I'm not saying an exact number of days or what exactly I want to do. I want to leave it open. My ultimate goal is to be in better shape and be more active. I plan to join a gym and give that a shot to see if it fits our schedule and doesn't take away too much time from Sawyer. Hopefully I can find a good balance. I like classes so I think if I can find a class I enjoy that fits my schedule, I'll be successful.

2. Eat healthier - Duh..probably on everyone's list. I don't eat horrible. We don't even eat out that much or eat a bunch of junk. I just know I could do better. I would like to give up sodas but I LOVE them! :) I think I'll start with limiting myself to 3 sodas a week. That way I only drink them when I seriously need one. Hopefully I'll wean myself back off of them and not "need" them anymore. (They just taste so darn good!)

3. Photoshoot with Sawyer - I've always wanted to do my own photo shoot. I have a nice camera and see great ideas all the time. I think it'd be fun to try my own shoot with Sawyer. I'd also like to take a photography class so I can learn different techniques and how to use photoshop to enhance pictures. Photography is something I've always been interested in learning more about so this would be a fun project.

4. Play/Story Time with Sawyer - I'd like to create a daily routine with Sawyer for each night. We've tried story time multiple times but she wants to just open and close the book. We'll keep trying and I'm sure one day she'll actually let me read her a story :)

5. Capture Sawyer's many facial expressions - I want to try and capture Sawyer's different expressions. She is hilarious and it'd be fun to make some sort of book or collage for her to look back at one day.

6. Date Nights - I want to do a better job of creating time for Joel and me. We need to pick a night at least each month that is "our" night and create time for us. I've always been told to do this and we enjoy just hanging out together, so I think this can easily be accomplished :) We don't have to actually go and do anything but we can have fun just spending time together.

7. Picnic/Hike - I want to go on a picnic/hike in Palo Duro Canyon. I'd like to go on the Lighthouse trail. We have a carrier for Sawyer so this is very possible!

8. Pictures - I want to do a better job of sending pictures of Sawyer and family pictures to mine and Joel's grandparents. It helps them keep up with us and it is fun to send letters with them!

9. Letters - Speaking of mailing pictures, I'd like to handwrite at least 1 letter a month to someone...an old friend, family member, etc.

10. Little Projects - I hope to come up with little projects or things to create for the house or for Sawyer. I'd like to have at least 1 project per month. I'll post pictures as I go!

Hopefully I can keep up with this and do a better job posting!! :) Happy New Year!!