My New Favorite Four Word Phrase

My new favorite four word phrase? = "Put down the kettle bell." Today I tried out my new kettle bell set. My daughter Laura decided to torture gift me with it as a belated birthday present. It came yesterday and I resolved to try it out today. It's The Firm 5-Pound Kettle Bell Kit with Transfirm Your Trouble Zones DVD.  I waited until after dinner and cleared a workout space in the privacy of our sitting room upstairs.  I dressed in workout clothes (so as not to feel outclassed by all the buff girls modeling the moves in the background) and popped in the DVD.  First I viewed the introductory Learn the Moves section. Then I decided to go for the whole enchilada and clicked on the Full 45 Minute Workout.  I could have chosen the 20 minute "Express" workout, but nooo, I go and choose the 45 minute workout. The instructor, Kelsie, is very clear and encouraging; she reminds me a bit of Leslie Sansone in the Walk Away the Pounds videos.

I'm definitely not a natural-born dancer, but the choreography isn't too hard and it was fairly easy to catch up if I missed a move.  Thankfully there is an option for beginners (that's ME, folks) to do abbreviated versions of some of the moves (yes, please).  They guarantee visible results after 10 workouts.  I decided to take and record my current measurements again, just to test this claim. We'll see. I was able to do the entire workout except for the floor exercise just before the cool down section. This involved a diabolical flat-on-your-back-to-standing move (without benefit of help from your elbows or arms) that was impossible a little too tricky for this grandmother of five. You know it's tricky if I fall back on hiding behind my grannyhood! It was a good workout. I'm hoping that maybe as the scrapes, bruises and aches from last night's bike fall fade and as I continue to practice with it, the moves will get easier. For now, though, I'm thinking the several sections that commenced with my new favorite four word phrase were the best part of the workout!  There may be more Ibuprofen in my future at bedtime tonight.

For your viewing pleasure:  A picture with my sister taken at my Dad's 93rd birthday dinner last month.  I have lost 8 more pounds since this picture was taken.

We're down to just the three of us again, as my brother & his friend left today.  Back to our normal routines. It's time for me to get back in my own routine to keep trimming away these pounds so I can get to my goal by Thanksgiving.  We'll have the whole family here (all the kids and grands!), lots of fun and lots of pix.  I think I can be at or very close to my WW goal (20 pounds lighter than last week's WI weight) by then.  That's three months--13 weeks.  I'm going to DO it.  Having a goal helps.  I haven't quite reached my goal of 12 pounds for the Summer Diet Buddies challenge, but it's still possible.  The challenge ends Sept 7th--that's 10 more days. I have 4 more pounds to lose to meet that goal.  My morning weight this week is looking good for melting away several sticks o' butter by my Wednesday WI.

I did a little closet shopping the other night and there's a very nice size 12 dress that bodes well to fit this fall.  I can zip it up all the way now, but maybe a few more pounds and a little more torture work with the kettle bell set will do the trick and smooth out the too-bumpy bits.

Are you setting short term goals to keep yourself going?

Wednesday's Child is Full of Woe

My oldest child was born on a Wednesday and I decided the day she was born that the old saying quoted in today's post title is full of malarky.  Our Laura has always been overflowing with joy and happiness and optimism.  So no Woeful Wednesdays in our household. Today was no exception.


I didn't sleep well last night.  We made an offer on a very nice house that we want to buy as an investment.  We offered, they countered, and we counter-countered yesterday, ending up with the ball in their court at 10 pm last night.  I  was thinking about all this, a little excited,  a bit anxious about my WI today, and generally just not sleepy, so I got up and read for a couple of hours.  Then I went back upstairs, still not sleepy, and tried on clothes in my closet for about 40 minutes.  I found a few nice "new" outfits that fit again and finally went back to bed at 5 am.  I woke up about 8, had my usual un-frosted mini-wheats, a sliced peach, and skim milk breakfast.  I ran along the river (and Sharon, the trail you described is exactly where I love to run) for about 50 minutes.   When I got back from the run, I got an e-mail from DH letting me know that the sellers accepted our offer on their house!  We gave them a generous time to find and purchase a new home, so we probably won't close for three or four months, but I'm already itching to get in and start working to get it in tip top shape so we can rent it out.  The house is actually in very nice shape, but I want to put my own stamp on things like paint colors and landscaping.

At the end of yesterday's post (in very small print) I wrote that I do believe in magic.   Not really magic, per se, but in happy endings, in optimistic outcomes, and in miracles.   My belief was rewarded today at my WI.  I was down two sticks o' butter!   Take that, Paula Deen!  I'll work hard not to take this as some validation of out of control chocolate indulgences.  I've lost 7 of the 12 pounds I set as my goal in the Summer Diet Buddies Challenge (see red box link in right sidebar). I've got just 4 more weeks to lose the remaining 5 pounds, but, maybe, without the excess chocolate baggage, I can do it.  I definitely like seeing the number on the scale go down, feeling slimmer,wearing clothes with smaller numbers on the labels, and being able to exercise and feel fit.


I'm a dyed in the wool optimist.  How about you?   Do you focus on the positive accomplishments or on the length of the journey still to come.

184.2

a word from our Embedded Reporter

Help, I'm stuck in the laundry room.  It's incredible how much laundry one man can generate (because DH outproduces the other two of us by about 3 loads to 1--really).  We're leaving for a 10 day trip to the west coast at the end of the week.  Between watching the little ones, cleaning & sorting clothes in my closet, getting ready for my sister's arrival tomorrow, and doing the day-to-day things, I'm in way over my head.

Mini Spring Focus Update:

Water--yes
Exercise--yes (3 weeks straight,  planned exercise every day)
Eating dinner slowly--yes.  It was a close call last night, but I dawdled like crazy and stretched it to 15 min.
Weight loss--yes  Lost an additional 1.2 at last weeks WI for a grand total of -17 since May 4th.

WI tomorrow--the last WI during the Spring Focus.  I've got my fingers crossed to dip down into the 180s . . . we'll see.

Just found out that our vacay house does have wifi!  Yay.  I thought I'd be totally out of touch.  We'll be in Canada on the west coast of Vancouver Island--just north of Pacific Rim NP.  Avg temps this week never break 60 degrees!  Packing jeans and jackets and warm things.  I'm going to take advantage of the weather and get in some nice long runs.  My daughter's family (the other 3 grandchildren) will be with us and all of DH's sibs, kids and grands plus my sister and FIL.

My bin of too small clothes has changed function this week. It's now a bin of too BIG clothes!  The ones that don't quite fit are on a shelf where they entice me to stay true to my plan.   I feel like I have a brand new wardrobe for my trip.  14s fit well and a couple of the 12s fit, as well.  And, if you're wondering, my bin of too big clothes will go to the thrift shop when it gets full.  I'm not leaving the door open for going back.

? Do you save your bigger clothes or give them away?

[Insert Snappy Title Here]

God's in His heaven and all's right with the world.

It's a hot, muggy Saturday, but I did get out and do a run this morning.  It was supposed to be a long run, but when I hit the trail, I knew I wouldn't last with these weather conditions, so I decided to set my Nike+ for 10k (long, for me) and gave myself permission to walk as much as I needed to.  I walked a lot, especially the sunny parts of the trail and the up hills, but I went 6.3 miles!   It feels good.  I use the Nike+ with my ipod and keep track of my runs that way.  Here's today's view of my recent runs.  You can see I'm starting to run a bit farther these days. I also have a group of friends from Blog To Lose (BTL, started by Roni) that join me in a Nike+ challenge every month.  I'm the oldest by a long shot, but am currently 3rd for total distance of the 13 participants running this month.  I don't have a race picked out, but I'd like to be able to easily run 4-5 miles, three or four times a week.

Mr. Munch has left the area (thank goodness) and I feel on an even keel with my eating program.  I ran yesterday morning and went for a 14 mile bike ride after dinner.  My weight dropped down to right where it should be this morning.  Tonight's menu includes chicken picatta,  brown rice, and some lovely small zucchini courgettes.  I think I'll grill the zucchini.

Happy news in the closet this morning.  I noticed the plastic bin in the corner of my closet.  I'd started putting too-small things in there when my clothes started not fitting last fall.  I  dragged it out and did a little "closet shopping."  Things are starting to fit me again.  I found two great pair of capris that fit me a lot better than the one's I've been wearing since it got hot.  I was able to resurrect a couple of my running shirts, too.  This is good as the plain T's I've been wearing don't help a lot with running in hot weather.  I take my body measurements every once in a while, and this prompted me to check them today.  Since May 1st, bust down 1, waist down 2, hips down 2, and (best of all) upper arm down 1!  DH says my face is thinner, too.

DH asked, bless his heart, if I was down to my recent historic low of Dec '08.   That's still 23 pounds away, but it's coming.  Is your weight a secret from your near and dear??  I've never openly told DH what I weigh.  I keep a daily journal where he could see it easily, but I don't think he looks at it.  He doesn't read this blog either, and I post it here.  My first goal ever, from my highest weight, was to weigh less than DH.  My second goal was to weigh the weight I put on my Driver's License.  I'm working on that one, now.

Happy Weekend!