If you understand that title you win a prize! And your prize is (most likely) a TON of that cold white stuff!
As most of the country is painfully aware, we've been getting a lot of snow this year. Like A LOT. This week was no exception and we got over 7 inches Tuesday-Wednesday. It started snowing about 2:00 pm on Tuesday while I was at work. At first it was just flurries, but about five minutes later it was seriously snowing. My boss told us we could leave at 4. Adam and I carpool, so I let him know and asked him if he could leave early too. He agreed (sort of) but didn't come out of his office until 4:45 pm. We headed home. Visibility was pretty bad and roads were definitely icing up. Half way home, in an area called the South Split (Dead Man's Mile is what I'm going to call it--a few years ago we hit some sort of trailer hitch that was bouncing down the road and tore the oil pan on our Vibe apart. Seriously, the exact same stretch of highway), BUMP! Yep. We got rear ended.
So that was fun. Luckily, it doesn't look like we have any real damage. We haven't examined it really carefully, because it is SNOWY and COLD. But we got the driver's info, so I guess if we need it, we can use it. We finally got home and I slipped (didn't fall, just slipped) and pulled a whole bunch of muscles in my back. Boy was I glad to get home and stay there!
As for the rest of the week, AJ caught my awful cold and is pitifully miserable. Adam installed flooring at his mom's house Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Wednesday I put on a movie (Tangled--seriously probably my all time favorite animated movie) and the kids and I hung out and had leftover pizza. AJ fell asleep just before 8 so I was able to put him down and get Tyler off to bed and I even got my workout in! Success! I'm back on track and I've unofficially dropped a little bit--SO CLOSE to 40 lbs down!!
Last night we had another Mommy Movie night and watched the Croods. The kids were a little rough, AJ really wasn't feeling good and Tyler refused his dinner, but we got through the evening. Neither of them slept well though UGH!
I also found out I'm going to be traveling to Birmingham in April for work. I've been once before, with the whole group of people that do my job across the company, but this time it's just me and one other girl with a group at the corporate office. I'll definitely need to get some clothes that fit better before that trip! I'm actually considering buying my first pair of SKINNY JEANS! I love how they look with knee high boots, so I just might treat myself! We'll see!
Stay warm peeps! (I know, I know, impossible in this weather...Snowmaggedon out there!)
Showing posts with label Snowpocalypse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Snowpocalypse. Show all posts
Friday, February 7, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
What a difference six months make!
I have survived Snowpocalypse 2014! Between late last week and over the weekend, my city got somewhere between 16-18 inches of snow. The second storm, which gave us 10-12 inches was followed by sub-zero temperatures. Seriously, it was like 45 degrees below zero with the windchill. One local weatherman reported that is was six degrees colder here in Indianapolis that in the SOUTH POLE. Cold people. For here, anyway. So we got a ton of snow and didn't leave our house Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. My workplace was actually closed Monday and Tuesday. And the roads are still crummy, though improving. So yeah, that was a fun and interesting start to the year.
But before that happened, I got to see my awesome friend Paul who moved from Indy to Texas a few years ago. We had lunch and talked and talked. He's working on a story/screenplay and we're bouncing ideas back and forth about it which I am super excited about.
SO! Onto the title of this post. As of today, it has been six months since I started trying to eat better, get healthier, and lose weight. So I want to take a second to reflect on that. I've tried to get healthy before, with varying success, but no attempt lasted very long or made huge impact. I don't know why this time was different. My mom says I was just ready. I'm not sure if I simply found the right combination or if I was more determined, or if it was fueled by being unhappy with my appearance, but the motivation finally kicked in and as the weight started to come off, I was excited and encouraged.
I downloaded the My Fitness Pal app to my phone and tracking my calorie intake. I was immediately shocked by how quickly the calories add up and just how many are in the kinds of foods I ate. I started making some significant changes that worked for me--eating more fruits and veggies (low cal, filling), finding low cal "treats" to satisfy my sweet tooth while keeping my calories on track, drinking more water, eating smaller portions, and most importantly not depriving myself of food I love. The last was was crucial for me. If I completely cut out certain foods and treats, I just won't stick to a diet plan. I like burgers and fries and pizza and ice cream. And I can have those things--in moderation and sometimes slightly different than I would have before. For example, I don't need a double cheeseburger. A single is plenty. And often I skip the bun or bread altogether. Treats and ice cream are an indulgence and usually I just have a very small amount. I trick my mind into thinking that one piece of pizza is two by cutting it in half (sounds silly, I know). I tried and enjoyed vinaigrette instead of creamy french dressing. Little changes made a world of difference.
But eating better wouldn't do it all, I knew I had to get active. I started off just walking. Then I got out the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred video I bought just before I found out I was pregnant with AJ. The first three or four days were agony. My muscles rebelled and every inch of me ached. But after those few days, it got easier and it almost felt....good. I was surprised and please that I could do the moves and exercises. Maybe they weren't pretty, maybe I had to modify a few, but I could do them. But then my back problems reared their ugly head. I took a few days off of exercising, and then eased back into it with workouts on my elliptical. It helped me stay active, but I have found over time that I get a lot more results from my workout dvds. So I went back to the shred and this time, I finished it! It took a couple extra days, but I did 30 full days and was so proud of myself. I was so encouraged I jumped right into Jillian's "Ripped in 30" workout DVD. It's circuit training, like the 30 Day Shred. I've found that her DVDs are great for me, because I get bored easily when it comes to workouts. Each move comes up only once per DVD program and you only do the move for 2 minutes at the most. Each DVD also comes with 2-4 workouts, so you only do the same workout set for a week or so before moving on to a new set of moves. I don't get bored and I end up working different muscle groups all the time.
I finished Ripped in 30 a week or so before Christmas, so I repeated it for a few extra days, since I'd asked for a few more DVDs for gifts. I was thrilled to get "Shred It with Weights" with accompanying Kettlebell and two of Jillian's Ab DVDs. I jumped right into the Kettlebell workouts and love it! It's a great change, very challenging. It only has two workouts on the DVD so after about 3 weeks I was getting bored so today I started her Killer Abs DVD. I'm betting I'll have trouble sitting up in the morning!
So that's six months of new eating habits and six months of workouts. And six months of results!
Here are a few "before" pictures.
I don't have a lot of pictures of myself along the way, but you can sort of tell from these:
And here I am today, six months in as of Saturday, 36 lbs and 25.5 inches lost (I'm really bad with measurements, not consistent about WHERE I measure my waist, for example, but it's an estimate)!
I've done some figuring and I should be able to reach my goal weight by mid June, so my conservative goal is to be at my target by my 1 year anniversary of getting healthy, July 11th, 2014. I think I can do it! It will be a total loss of almost 70 lbs in a year. I know that might seem sort of slow, but right now my average is about 1.4 lbs per week and I think that's reasonable for me. I'm okay with this taking time as long as I can keep the weight off and I think I'm more likely to do that if I take it slow.
And now I want to thank you ladies (and gentlemen?) who read my blog from time to time. You've all encouraged me and complimented me and it means a LOT! My family has also a huge source of support and encouragement. They never make me feel bad if I splurge or skip a workout here or there, but are the first to comment that they see the results and are proud of me. My Facebook group has been a great help as well. I'm so lucky to have the encouragement of those around me and I couldn't do it without you all!
Thanks always for reading!
But before that happened, I got to see my awesome friend Paul who moved from Indy to Texas a few years ago. We had lunch and talked and talked. He's working on a story/screenplay and we're bouncing ideas back and forth about it which I am super excited about.
SO! Onto the title of this post. As of today, it has been six months since I started trying to eat better, get healthier, and lose weight. So I want to take a second to reflect on that. I've tried to get healthy before, with varying success, but no attempt lasted very long or made huge impact. I don't know why this time was different. My mom says I was just ready. I'm not sure if I simply found the right combination or if I was more determined, or if it was fueled by being unhappy with my appearance, but the motivation finally kicked in and as the weight started to come off, I was excited and encouraged.
I downloaded the My Fitness Pal app to my phone and tracking my calorie intake. I was immediately shocked by how quickly the calories add up and just how many are in the kinds of foods I ate. I started making some significant changes that worked for me--eating more fruits and veggies (low cal, filling), finding low cal "treats" to satisfy my sweet tooth while keeping my calories on track, drinking more water, eating smaller portions, and most importantly not depriving myself of food I love. The last was was crucial for me. If I completely cut out certain foods and treats, I just won't stick to a diet plan. I like burgers and fries and pizza and ice cream. And I can have those things--in moderation and sometimes slightly different than I would have before. For example, I don't need a double cheeseburger. A single is plenty. And often I skip the bun or bread altogether. Treats and ice cream are an indulgence and usually I just have a very small amount. I trick my mind into thinking that one piece of pizza is two by cutting it in half (sounds silly, I know). I tried and enjoyed vinaigrette instead of creamy french dressing. Little changes made a world of difference.
But eating better wouldn't do it all, I knew I had to get active. I started off just walking. Then I got out the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred video I bought just before I found out I was pregnant with AJ. The first three or four days were agony. My muscles rebelled and every inch of me ached. But after those few days, it got easier and it almost felt....good. I was surprised and please that I could do the moves and exercises. Maybe they weren't pretty, maybe I had to modify a few, but I could do them. But then my back problems reared their ugly head. I took a few days off of exercising, and then eased back into it with workouts on my elliptical. It helped me stay active, but I have found over time that I get a lot more results from my workout dvds. So I went back to the shred and this time, I finished it! It took a couple extra days, but I did 30 full days and was so proud of myself. I was so encouraged I jumped right into Jillian's "Ripped in 30" workout DVD. It's circuit training, like the 30 Day Shred. I've found that her DVDs are great for me, because I get bored easily when it comes to workouts. Each move comes up only once per DVD program and you only do the move for 2 minutes at the most. Each DVD also comes with 2-4 workouts, so you only do the same workout set for a week or so before moving on to a new set of moves. I don't get bored and I end up working different muscle groups all the time.
I finished Ripped in 30 a week or so before Christmas, so I repeated it for a few extra days, since I'd asked for a few more DVDs for gifts. I was thrilled to get "Shred It with Weights" with accompanying Kettlebell and two of Jillian's Ab DVDs. I jumped right into the Kettlebell workouts and love it! It's a great change, very challenging. It only has two workouts on the DVD so after about 3 weeks I was getting bored so today I started her Killer Abs DVD. I'm betting I'll have trouble sitting up in the morning!
So that's six months of new eating habits and six months of workouts. And six months of results!
Here are a few "before" pictures.
 |
| December 2012 (I cringed to post this. Bad angle, but wow) |
 |
| May 2013 (you think an outfit is flattering, but then...) |
 |
| August 2013, in jeans that don't fit! |
 |
| September 2013, celebrating fitting into a smaller jean size! This was about 15 lbs lost. |
 |
| In my workout gear. Forgive the mirrored-tile mirror left by the last owner of our house. Also the cup leftover from the kids' baths. |
I've done some figuring and I should be able to reach my goal weight by mid June, so my conservative goal is to be at my target by my 1 year anniversary of getting healthy, July 11th, 2014. I think I can do it! It will be a total loss of almost 70 lbs in a year. I know that might seem sort of slow, but right now my average is about 1.4 lbs per week and I think that's reasonable for me. I'm okay with this taking time as long as I can keep the weight off and I think I'm more likely to do that if I take it slow.
And now I want to thank you ladies (and gentlemen?) who read my blog from time to time. You've all encouraged me and complimented me and it means a LOT! My family has also a huge source of support and encouragement. They never make me feel bad if I splurge or skip a workout here or there, but are the first to comment that they see the results and are proud of me. My Facebook group has been a great help as well. I'm so lucky to have the encouragement of those around me and I couldn't do it without you all!
Thanks always for reading!
Monday, March 25, 2013
Spring must be cancelled...
Because we've got 8 inches of snow outside. It's a real testament to Indiana weather and it's unpredictability. This time last year we had 80 degree temperatures, and this year, snow and freezing temperatures. Go figure.
We were able to squeeze in a half-way decent day on Saturday, so we took Tyler (and a sleeping AJ) to a quick Easter Egg hunt at a local park. He had a good time, hunting for eggs with his cousins and then running around for a few minutes, but he had a bit of an issue because he wanted to go to the playground, which was PACKED. Ah, four-year-olds!
After errand-running with my older sister and Adam and the kids, I had lunch with one of my best friends. We had lunch and cheesecake (Kahlua--YUM!) and talked and then she did my nails and my eyebrows! Kelly is AWESOME! It was so great to see her. We joked that somehow we became
"those people" that couldn't find time in our schedules to get together! We'd been trying for months, but kept having to reschedule! It was definitely worth the wait!
Finally and most importantly, THANK YOU to all my new commenters and hopefully new readers! I have added a ton of new blogs to my reading list and I am loving ICLW! I wish I had something more interesting to write about right now! Please know how much your comments mean to me and how much I enjoy reading your blogs!!! If you stick around I'll try for some more interesting content soon!
I guess I'm still trying to find my post-IF niche...Am I just another Mommy Blog? Random updates? I'm not really sure. Eventually there may be more talk about my book, but it's in such an early stage right now, and I'm slightly wary of putting too much out there on the internet just now. I don't know anything about copyrights and all of that. Hopefully I'll write things worth reading most of the time, and please forgive me when I don't!
I leave you with a pic of my loves!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Snowpocalypse 2011
So in case you haven't heard, there was a huge winter storm that roared it's way across the country this week. Indiana, where I live, was slammed with ice and snow. In my area, we got mostly ice. I think we ended up with over 2 or 3 inches of ice. My boss excused us from work yesterday and today my office was officially closed.
My mom and I ventured outside today to try to defrost the cars. I appreciated the warm clothes my mother in law got me for Christmas! I wore leggings under jeans and a turtle neck and a sweater, plus my coat, two pairs of socks, boots, a scarf and two pairs of gloves. We started off by getting the door open on the van. That took several minutes. Then we started the van. Then I ventured down our somewhat steep driveway and broke into my sister's SUV and our SUV, starting them and turning up the heat and defrosters. Then we attacked the van with two ice scrapers. It took a long time! I was literally whacking the van with the handle of my scraper to break holes in the ice to scrape!
It took awhile, but all three cars are now free from their ice cubes. The rest of these two days have been spent taking care of Adam and Tyler, who are both sick. Tyler scared me yesterday...his fever got pretty high. I gave him a lukewarm bath and it hasn't crept back up too high since. He's so clingy when he's sick, we're joined at the hip! Honestly, it's been a challenge to get him to let me go to the bathroom!
Also, on Tuesday I watched the funeral of my former classmate and fallen police officer David Moore. I was glad to be home to watch it. It was very touching.
So that's been my life the last two days. The main roads seem better, so I'm betting I'll be working tomorrow! It's been strange! Everyone panicked about this storm, there was a lot of concern about power outages, but we were spared, thank goodness!
Everyone stay safe in this weather! Thanks always for reading :)
My mom and I ventured outside today to try to defrost the cars. I appreciated the warm clothes my mother in law got me for Christmas! I wore leggings under jeans and a turtle neck and a sweater, plus my coat, two pairs of socks, boots, a scarf and two pairs of gloves. We started off by getting the door open on the van. That took several minutes. Then we started the van. Then I ventured down our somewhat steep driveway and broke into my sister's SUV and our SUV, starting them and turning up the heat and defrosters. Then we attacked the van with two ice scrapers. It took a long time! I was literally whacking the van with the handle of my scraper to break holes in the ice to scrape!
It took awhile, but all three cars are now free from their ice cubes. The rest of these two days have been spent taking care of Adam and Tyler, who are both sick. Tyler scared me yesterday...his fever got pretty high. I gave him a lukewarm bath and it hasn't crept back up too high since. He's so clingy when he's sick, we're joined at the hip! Honestly, it's been a challenge to get him to let me go to the bathroom!
Also, on Tuesday I watched the funeral of my former classmate and fallen police officer David Moore. I was glad to be home to watch it. It was very touching.
So that's been my life the last two days. The main roads seem better, so I'm betting I'll be working tomorrow! It's been strange! Everyone panicked about this storm, there was a lot of concern about power outages, but we were spared, thank goodness!
Everyone stay safe in this weather! Thanks always for reading :)
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