3.31.2011

Exercise check in

Last night, I decided to do a cycling workout and a strength training workout with hand weights. It was a good workout. I'm glad I was able to get up and do something! I could have and should have done more but at least its a step in the right direction.


I decided to pack my workout clothes this morning as a reminder to exercise after work. I'll let you know how that works for me. I'm trying to get back on track. I have 2 walks scheduled for May. That alone should be enough motivation to get me up and moving! I'll be participating in the March for Babies walk for the 3rd year in a row on May 1 and Great Strides Walk for Cystic Fibrosis on May 14. My goal has been to try and run/jog at least a mile for each one. I'm going to make that happen!
Also, if you would like to donate to either of these causes, I have information on my blog.

Thanks for your support!

3.30.2011

Another month is almost over

It's hard to believe that another month is almost over already! How are you doing with your goals? I must admit I have had a rough time sticking to my healthy living goals this month. I can usually stick to the healthy eating much better than the exercising part. It's not too much trouble to pack a healthy lunch. That is a habit for me and I do that almost every day.
Its the exercising part that seems to disrupt my schedule. I know I have whined about this more than once this month already. I try to slip in a little exercise throughout my day, but it just doesn't seem enough. I started feeling tired this week and I am sure that the loss of exercise in my life is the reason.


I really want to do the right thing. My excuse is always work. My job is stressful and sometimes my family life is stressful. This makes me tired exhausted....and I feel like I can't get up and do it. And this causes me to be more exhausted. What a vicious circle! I am confident that April will be much better and I'll get back on track. Meanwhile....I'm going to workout tonight. What should it be? Zumba, Taebo, weights, hmmmmm..




I'll let you know what I decided.

3.28.2011

Monday

It was a busy Monday. I didn't sleep well last night so I was tired all day. Even though I drank almost an entire pot of coffee, I seemed to be walking around in a daze!!



After work, I came home and ate leftovers from the large feast I cooked yesterday. I can't say it was all healthy, but it was very good. Even the second time. We had BBQ chicken, white beans, sweet potatoes, turnip greens and cornbread. Comfort food!

I hope Tuesday will be a less stressful day!  Time for meditation and relaxation. Ohm....

3.27.2011

Weekend pictures

I thought this post was going to be great with the pics. But for some reason, my pics are not posting! They are visible when drafting, but when I publish they disappear. I am somewhat frustrated! I have tried several times and I can't get this to work.

Here are some pics of my weekend fun!  I hope you had a great weekend too.
Me and my hubby at the Predators hockey game

interesting Preds fans!


Whitney eating lunch at our favorite Mexican place!

Jambalya at Big River Grille in Nashville



3.24.2011

Ready for the Weekend!

I love long weekends! I worked longer hours this week so I can be off on Friday. My daughter is on spring break and I wanted to spend some time with her. We are planning a day of fun! I'm not so sure what we will do but shopping will probably be in the agenda. It was a very long week at work so I'm very glad my weekend starts NOW! Here's some cute pics of me and my girl.



I am a little disappointed in myself this week though. My goal for the week was to exercise more. It didn't happen. I attempted to get up early one morning and exercise before work, but I slept through the alarm. By the time I get home from work, I am so tired that I can't begin of thinking about working out. Its very frustrating for me. I know I need to work out, I want to work out, but my job is very demanding and during the week it is near impossible. I did attempt to move more today and I wore my pedometer just for that reason. But I noticed after a few hours that I didn't turn it on. So that was useless. At least I have a long weekend to get in a few workouts. I guess if I can't do it during the workweek, I can still do it on weekends.
my pedometer
How do you fit in exercise to your busy schedule?

3.20.2011

Lunch with the family

I had a nice afternoon today at Cheddars with my family. This one of our favorite restaurants. I usually order one of their BIG salads. My favorite is the Asian Chicken and Shrimp salad. Its served with a yummy croissant. I also had a cup of chicken tortilla soup.

My BIG salad!
I also ordered a peach iced tea. Very refreshing.

My daughters both ordered steaks - no surprise there. My husband had a combo of salad, baked potato and a sandwich.

After lunch, the girls ordered their favorite dessert....a cookie monster! I managed to get a bite of it before they finished it off. It's basically a warm chocolate chip cookie topped with ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry. Delicious!
Cookie Monster
After the sizable lunch we had, I came home and got in a cardio workout before settling in my chair to watch more of the NCAA tournament.

rode 4 miles in 15 min & did strength training with weights
Its time to begin getting ready for another week. My goal for the week:  increase workouts during the week and find new ways to get moving.

Welcome Spring!

It's a beautiful morning! I started the day off with attending church at Kingwood Heights Church of Christ with my parents. It's a great way to start the week off right by praise and worship. Today is the first day of spring and I noticed I have some pretty flowers blooming. I welcome you Spring!

spring flowers
Last night I had my monthly massage and spent some time before my appointment at The Avenue, a local shopping community. I did some walking to loosen my muscles from the Zumba workout I did earlier in the day. Then I went to Barnes & Noble and got a coffee drink to enjoy. It was a lovely afternoon.

Massage Envy

Coffee!
I plan on spending the day with my family and enjoying the sunshine! I hope you enjoy your day!

"This is the day the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

3.19.2011

Zumba!

Just for the record (after my earlier post today where I seemed to be whining) ....I wanted to report that I was able to get up and workout! I decided to do a Zumba workout since I have the PS3 game. It's so much fun. And it really does feel more like a party than exercise. I do regret however, that I had to throw my husband out of the house for a few hours....since I needed the living room space to do it. Please forgive me, honey.

Zumba! Join the Party!
But I am very happy that I did it. I feel great!! Please someone remind me how good it makes me feel to workout. Now, I'm off for a healthy snack and to see what else the day has in store for me. I am going to get my monthly massage later at Massage Envy. That will be wonderful!

nonfat Greek yogurt = yummy!
Enjoy your day!

Where did my motivation go?

I'm trying to find the motivation to get up and exercise this morning. Its Saturday morning and I usually get a workout in after making breakfast for my family. I slept in a little later than usual since my cat, Tiger woke me up in the middle of the night. He is so cute and lovable, but I really don't like it when he walks all over me while I'm sleeping.


I got up and made breakfast (after making the coffee first of course!)

 and now...here I am sitting in front of the computer struggling to get up and workout.

I don't like the fact that I can be extremely motivated for working out one day and then I lose it. We are having nice weather here and an outside walk/jog would be lovely. Maybe I need Bob and Jillian from The Biggest Loser to come and drag me out of my chair!

 I really do not like the picture below, but it does remind me that I can do it! I can give you a long list of excuses of why I don't have the time to exercise, but I feel guilty with that kind of thinking. With a family, full time job, and other responsibilities, I am easily distracted from exercise. I am glad that I have registered for 2 5k walks for May. Hopefully that will get me off the couch.

How do you stay motivated to exercise?

3.18.2011

March Madness

Are you a college basketball fan? At our house, we filled out our brackets and are watching ALL the games. The NCAA tournament takes priority in our house! It's my husband's favorite time of the year and I can honestly say that I enjoy it too. But my bracket picks aren't doing so well. Our favorite team is Gonzaga. Luckily our team won in the first round. I hope they keep winning. Let's GO ZAGS!


John & his sister at Gonzaga for a ballgame



We are having lovely weather in Tennessee. It was in the 80's today. I took off half a day early to enjoy the sunshine! And to watch some college hoops, of course. I believe grilling out a little later will be on our agenda. I have already been to the grocery store for grilling supplies.


I'm glad its the weekend. I plan on spending some time outdoors. Maybe a nice outdoor run in the morning. What are your weekend plans?

3.13.2011

Spring forward

Did you remember to set your clocks ahead? A friend of mine said he set his clock ahead 2 hours, just to be safe. I thought that was funny. :)

I just finished working out. I'm glad I did. Starting the week off right. I started off with a workout on my stationary bike for 30 minutes. Then I proceeded with a treadmill workout for 20 minutes. I'm on week 4 of the couch to 5k training and it seems to be getting easier. I would be further along on the training, but I have been a slacker. Some weeks instead of running, I have chosen other workouts to do. And I ended up skipping to week 5, only to revert back to week 4 after deciding it was too much for me. I still believe there is hope for me. I'm not going to quit. I have 2 events scheduled for May. I'm going to set some personal goals for those.


Now its time for a protein shake (i love my new mini blender) and to enjoy the rest of the day with my family.

Enjoy your weekend!

3.12.2011

My Birthday

It was a long, exhausting week at work. But I made it! My birthday was on Thursday and I had to work so celebrating was postponed until Friday.

I did get some lovely flowers delivered to my office from my mom and my aunt. And my coworkers bought my lunch from Camino Real, our favorite mexican place. To top off my day, my daughter brought me a decadent cupcake from GiGi's and sang/danced for me! I don't even want to know how many calories that cupcake had.

Birthday flowers!!

I took Friday off work and my husband took me to lunch where I used my birthday coupon I received by email. Nice! I had a few friends over for drinks, snacks and to play Rock Band. We had a good time.




I'm looking forward to a relaxing day to recover from all the alcohol I had last night. I didn't think I drank that much. But my friend made jello shots that tasted like there was double the amount of liquor that should have been in them. They were good but now I'm suffering from a headache. Must have coffee. Lots.


Later today I am scheduled for my monthly massage at Massage Envy. I am looking forward to feeling relaxed and revitalized!

I feel as if I have lost my motivation to exercise. Ugh. I hate it when that happens. I am determined to find a way to get back on track. I have so many options in my home to choose from: Exercise dvd's, treadmill, stationary bike, Zumba and other fitness games on PS3. I don't know what my problem is.
At least I have stuck to the eating healthy plan for the most part. A few splurges now and then, but I have made an effort to pack healthy lunches every day and drink plenty of water.


I know I can do it. I just need to figure out why I lose interest in exercise.
What do you do when you lose motivation? I'd love to hear your comments!

3.07.2011

Manic Monday

What a Monday! I was very overwhelmed most of the day with so much work that I couldn't get caught up. I really don't like days like that. I even resorted to closing my office door for most of the afternoon. The bummer was the meeting that ran long during my lunch hour and got me off track. And I ended up working late to try to finish the things that were top priority. Whew! Now, I'm home and starting to relax a bit. 

I have been known to be a "stressed out" person by nature. But I had learned ways to deal with it, or so I thought. Some days are worse than others. And I wasn't too bright in choosing my career as an accountant. I think its one of the most stressful jobs out there. So tonight I will try to remember the ways to deal with stress and see if it works. Wish me luck!

What works for you?




3.05.2011

Buenos dias

It's Saturday morning and I am up early making breakfast for my family and espresso for myself. I love making an iced espresso with Silk light. It is very yummy!


The last few weekends, my kitchen has been closed so I decided to make a nice breakfast. Not literally closed, but I just haven't chosen to cook. It is supposed to rain/storm most of the day so I think we will stay home. I'm trying to gear up for a workout. I haven't been on the treadmill in a while, so I think I'll give it a try. With all this exercise equipment, I have no excuse.


I have some things weighing on my mind today. Last night my oldest daughter called me with some shocking news. I should have known it was big when she asked if I were sitting down. :) She informed me that she is pregnant. She is unmarried, 20 years old and just moved into her first apartment. She has a part time job and makes just barely enough to take care of her living expenses. So I am a little worried. I am also a little stressed out thinking about being a grandma! I'm too young for that, right? Here are some baby pictures of my babies....



John and I are a little unsure about this grandparent thing...maybe the way we look in this picture says it all!

Have a great weekend!

A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest.  ~Irish Proverb