Ow

That's all I have to say today is....

"Ow, Ow, OOOWWWWWWIIIIEEEEE"

Yep that's all I can say with every step I take. I guess I really did push myself yesterday. Ugh!

WoW!

Today I decided to push myself a little. I haven't been to the gym in 3 days, with hubby being away and work being very busy, I just haven't been able to get there. So today I was able to get there.

Boy could I tell it had been a few days. I started out on the eliptical machine and did a fat burn routine (killer), but couldn't keep my heart rate low enough so it kicked me out of that program into a manual one. Ok, I will roll with it. So I did 45 minutes on the eliptical at level 6 (I started at level one so I am improving) and went to go grab my coat and leave. Then I got an idea in my head. Scary I know.

"I wonder how far I can run now?" So I hopped on a treadmill and started running. Maybe not such a great time to see how far I could run AFTER I already killed myself on the eliptical, but here I go.

Well at a slow run I was able to run a mile. WOW!! I was very excited. I can't remember the last time I ran a mile. My legs were burning though, it really was legs that gave out before my breathing did. So I was VERY excited. I wonder between the 2 workouts if I will be able to walk tomorrow. Yikes!!

A dinner jingle by Widget

I just had to laugh and share a new little jingle that Widget was singing as he was eating the Beef Stew

"Your stew, stew, stew,
Is not ew, ew, ew"

That just hit my funny bone. I am at least glad Widget doesn't think my stew is ew. LOL.

A funny

Today I picked up my oldest son up from middle school baseball tryouts. On the way home he asked "What's for dinner? I am starving"
So I told him "I am trying a new twist on an old recipe."

He responds "Aaannnddd, it is........"

I say "Beef stew, and I have tried it. It is so yummy."

There is a moment of silence that lingers on for a few moments and then he says

"I know we are trying to be healthy and all. And it is good and all. And I am not trying to complain. I am really not. Cause I really know it is good for us......

(Wait for it here it comes)

BUT...... (LOL. I told you it was coming) when are we going to have normal meals again? I mean we haven't had cheeseburgers, or tacos or poppy seed chicken (a very creamy chicken casserole) or macaroni and cheese with ham in forever. I can't remember when the last normal meal was."

ROTFLMBO (rolling on the floor laughing my butt off)!!!!!!!!

I guess I really am changing the way I am cooking and it is noticed. I think my oldest thought
"Here mom goes on one of her tangents. It won't last long. I just need to grin and bear it and make it through until she reverts back to her old ways."

ROTFLMBO!!!

So I told him friday night will be his night, and I will make whatever he wants for dinner. He chose cheeseburgers on the grill. Little will he know I will make soy burgers, or veggee burbers, or turkey burgers with shredded zuchinni mixed in to hide some veggies. LOL. Just kidding. Although that is how I will make half of the burgers.

Yummy dinner

Oh my. So much for me trying to lose those 2 pounds I gained. I just made (well it has been cooking all day) a huge pot of beef stew. I made it a little different today. I tried a new recipe, pretty much the same but this called for some red wine vineager, garlic powder and a few other different spices that I don't remember or ever used in my stew. It turned out sooo yummy that I have been nibbling, or shall I say taste testing it all day, and then just had a huge serving for dinner. Somehow it probably was a serving for 3 people, not one. But it was so yummy, I couldn't stop. UGH!!!! I did work out today so maybe that will help..... a little?...... maybe?

Yikes!

Today I went to my very first spinning class. And let me say.......

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!

I wonder if I will ever be able to walk again. Owie! I can't imagine how sore I am going to be tomorrow. How do those crazy people do it??? I only took a half hour class and I thought my legs were going to fall off. I am in awe of those who do the hour class. Yikes. Wow. This getting into shape thing is definitely an adventure. Maybe I will lose the 2 pounds I gained this weekend.

I got called in to the hospital and have worked the last 4 days in a row, one of which was a 12 hour day from 3am to 3pm. My sleep was off, my eating was off, I skipped taking my vitamins, forget working out, and my stress level was through the roof (we had some extremely sick patients who were literally on the brink of death...kinda stressful). All that does not help one to lose weight. So now I have to work to lose those 2 pounds all over again. UGH!!! It was hard enough the first time around not to mention doing it again. But I am committed to it. So I went and killed myself at the spinning class, thanks Bron.

Progress

Well I am making progress, albeit slow, it is still progress. An update on the weight loss, gym, eating healthy and passing it along to my family lifestyle. I have lost 8.5 lbs in the last 6 weeks. I have had my blood work drawn, and have made at least 2 new healthy meals a week (except this week has only been one new recipe, but 2 weeks ago, it was 4 new recipes). Hubby is still working out with me, and we are consistently hitting the gym 5 days a week. Two nights ago we had the older 2 boys working out with us at home and they were loving it.

Well we have even taken it to the next level (at least for us) we have found a 5K run that we are going to sign up for. Not only are hubby and I going to do it, but we are going to sign up the older 2 boys as well. They are so excited. We really want to stimulate and enforce a healthy lifestyle. It has not been that way for so long, so we have a lot to make up for, but at least we are trying now.

AHHH!!!! What are we doing? I can't run 3.1 miles. I have a lot of training to do before then. Thankfully we have time. I am going to see how far I can run next weekend. I have done a 6K on the eliptical machine, but does that mean I can run it. I don't think so. We shall see. Yikes! I am a little nervous about this.

Another adventure in cooking

Tonight I am trying another new recipe. It has become a regular thing around here, especially with trying new HEALTHY recipes. Most of them have been a huge hit. As my oldest said after one of the new meals "Mom, you're hitting them out of the park here lately." He's all baseball can you tell? LOL.
So tonight I am being even a little more daring and making.......
Zucchini Gratin
It has zucchini, squash, artichoke hearts, ground turkey, swiss cheese and several other ingredients but those are the main ones. I sure hope it is another home run!! I will post the family's results later.

Next on the list is possibly Seafood lasagna. Now that sounds yummy too!!!

Movie Review

This weekend we hosted a "Fireproof"' movie night. Unfortunately, each time we planned to see it, either in the theatre or at home, something came up and we needed to reschedule. So, we finally made it happen, with only one couple having sick kids and not being able to come. Not too bad for a third attempt. LOL.
We had many couples coming and not one had seen the movie yet. We were all in for the anticipation together. We all had heard the movie was great and had produced lots of tears.
One of the couples that came, brought "manly tissues". If he was going to cry, he was certainly not going to use flowery girlie tissues. LOL. So they decorated boxes of tissues. Manly ones with nascar theme, and girlie ones with gold and gold coins. It was hilarious!!
It was indeed a great movie. A must see for any married couple. I won't tell what happens in case anyone hasn't seen it, but definitely go see it!!!!!

A typical day with a happy ending.

Yesterday, I told my husband I needed time away with just him. I needed a date. No if and's or butt's we were going to go out and do something.
So I called our babysitter and made the arrangements.
That meant we needed to get the house ready for the babysitter. Ok kids time to get to the chores and start with cleaning your room and then rec. room. Well the bedrooms got cleaned and next was the rec. room. The middle 2 boys just could not get along. Ugh!! I hear yelling at each other, and name calling and boys not keeping their hands to themselves (someone was on their way to getting hurt), just being plain ole mean to each other. So I needed to intervene. I don't tolerate kids not respecting other people and that includes their siblings.
So I send the middle 2 boys to their room for an hour to spend time with each other to learn to get along. They needed to have forced time together to learn to appreciate each other. It worked. They came out of their room the best of friends. They even went outside and worked on a project together, building some kind of fort. Whew! Boy, I was really ready for that date.

Hubby and I went to the beach and had dinner. It was so nice and the weather was absolutely fantastic. We had a great time talking and not being interrupted by a child. We ended up getting coffee and going to the bookstore. What a relaxing time, SOOOOOO needed.
We came home and heard all about the kids adventure with the babysitter. They made ziti for dinner and milkshakes for dessert AND DID ALL THE DISHES!!!! Oh how I love our babysitter. Thank you God for putting her into our lives.

SNOW!!!!

Here are the pics!
Big brother helping babygirl go down the homemade "bunny slope", 4 steps off the back deck.
Widget being resourceful "using what he has to get the job done". He wanted to go sledding, but Delaware lacks hills. So he made his own slope, down the back steps.

Coco out having some snow fun too!

Babygirl doing her snow angels.

Youngest son being blown away during a gust of snow and wind.

We got a snow!! And lots of it!!! WooHoo!! We are so excited. It has been so long since we have had a good dumping. I will try to upload some pics later. Bye for now. Time for some fun in the snow!!!!

"Duh"

I had a "duh" moment at church today. We were singing a song and in the verse it said "It's not for us, it's all for Him". That struck me with what I had wrote yesterday. It was that light bulb that went off, another reminder.

I had it backwards. It is not about me including God in my daily life. It's about the honor and priviledge of God allowing me to be a part of His Kingdom. "Duh"....it's not about me, but about Him. My life, my world, my decisions, my mundaneness whatever, it's all for Him. I am here to glorify Him, not please myself.

The sad thing is, I know this. Hence the "duh".

It seems when I tend to take my eyes off the Lord, and living life without my focus, that is when the mundaneness comes. It slowly creeps in and the joy of life sucked slowly out. Like a balloon with a slow leak. You don't even know it is leaking until the balloon is significantly smaller. (Our pastor used that analogy, I could relate to it). I didn't even realize that was me. I was losing air and didn't even notice it. My walk with the Lord has not been priority. If I get the time I will read my Bible and spend time fellowshipping with the Lord. How come I found time for facebook, and time to blog, and time to check e-mail. Hmmm..... Priorities, are messed up again.

I seem to have this theme in my life, gain perspective, get on track. Then lose perspective and get off track, only to regain perspective and get back on track. Will I ever stay on track? Am I alone in that struggle? The appearance of people I admire, shows me I may be a freak. What is wrong with you? Keep your eyes on Jesus, how hard can that be? Apparently for me, VERY HARD!!!!!! Oh God forgive my waivering ways. The sad thing is I too give off the appearance that everything is just fine and dandy with me. It's not that I have wandered and have these great big sins, I just have been living for me and not the Lord. Bascially being your typical "good person". Pastor taked today about being zealous. Have you lost your zeal for the Lord? Couldn't have been a better wake up call for me. Especially since that was how I was feeling and didn't know it. God is so good all the time. Praise God for Him who meets me where I am.