Remember my dd admitting to throwing her shoe away? Turns out my mom's little trick got her to admit to something she hadn't done. My dd's room is frequently a pig sty--payback I'm sure, right Mom? It turns out her missing she was wrapped up in a leotard in her room. So maybe interrogation techniques do elicit false confessions? ;-)
We didn't go to Gulf Shores this year with our homeschool friends. Last year when we did I made my homemade margaritas that my girlfriend is crazy about. Today the weather was gorgeous and we had an impromptu pool party, but my friend's husband couldn't join us. I had the naughty idea of sending this photo to him at work, showing him what his wife was up to! Of course I said "wish you were here."
Not to be outdone, Mr. G doctored up the photo to include himself bottom right. LOL What a fantastic day it was even though our pal couldn't join in the fun.
Here's the recipe for Mel's Margaritas (though it really isn't my recipe; I got it from an SCD email years ago):
Serving Size: 2
Juice from 3 limes (I've used bottled juice and it tastes awful; use fresh!)
2 ounces orange juice
2 ounces tequila
4 T honey
2 cups ice
Blend using the grind setting on your blender for a frozen margarita. I always use a leftover lime rind to juice the rim of the glasses. Then dip in sea salt. Enjoy!
Last week I wasn't very happy with my daughter. We were getting ready for P.E. and couldn't locate one of her shoes. Now who removes one shoe and leaves it in one room and leaves the other somewhere else? I asked her if she recalled hopping around. No.
Despite promising a $3 reward out of her allowance for the brother who found it, we couldn't locate the missing shoe. We were late for P.E. and little Miss wasn't able to participate since she was wearing dress shoes.
I was sure the shoe would turn up, but to date, it hasn't. Today I took my dd to the store to buy new tennis shoes, which I explained would be paid for out of her allowance. Notice the gold dress shoes she is wearing! On the way into the store today, I was reflecting on my mom's post describing how she managed to get the truth out of my brother oh so many years ago. I decided it couldn't hurt to use her tactic. After all, I remembered something that set off alarm bells in my head. Not so long ago, Miss E asked if she could have new tennis shoes with princesses on them. I said that her Dora shoes were perfectly good and she wouldn't be getting new ones until those wore out.
All of this prompted me to ask, "Which garbage can did you throw your old shoe into?" She mumbled, "The kitchen one." I said, "You were hoping to get new shoes, right?" She answered, "Uh-huh." Lovely. Lots of people are impressed that I manage six children. Folks ought to be impressed, instead, that I can survive this ONE. I think I need a margarita.
Yes I am still with the program. Just being a bad blogger. I know you have all been suffering silently as you wait for my update. LOL
I did Shred level 3 and survived. Circuit 1 is very easy. Then your legs and abs are tortured. Shred is the best but I only like doing it on days I don't weight train. For the other days I have been checking out some great new stuff. The one I will tell you about today is www.nikewomen.com. It's free! Create your mi and tell the site whether you want cardio, strength or both. You are then given a completely different workout as many days a week that you sign up for (4 being max).
Either online or via the free iPhone app, you can view the exercises via video. If you have an iPhone you can use the built-in timer that ends with a whistle. If you dont, you can print the workout off and use your own timer. Most exercises are done for 2 minutes which makes it challenging, but you determine the pace which makes it easier. I watched the videos before I worked out. It's too disruptive otherwise. Workouts last 20 minutes.
I love listening to my own music for these workouts and the variety as well. If you sign up, add me as your buddy to get the competitive motivation flowing. You earn points for exercising.
Happy Mothers Day to all you moms!
-- Post From My iPhone
I find I need the daily inspiration of prayer and Bible reading to live the Christian life. After all, even the daily inspiration doesn't keep me from blowing it. I know that I'm more likely to walk the walk when I'm inspired this way, however, than when I'm not.
When I bought Jillian Michael's Shred video, I decided to sign up for the free 30-day membership on her website. (Before clicking, be aware that her choice of workout attire isn't modest) While I haven't been doing her daily scheduled workouts or using her daily menus, I have really enjoyed her daily emails. It's a different topic every day--short and sweet. If you need regular inspiration (who doesn't?) I highly recommend it. What else do you use to stay inspired?
Today I am taking my planned day off from working out. I'm a little bit discouraged about my progress weight-wise. I've stayed exactly the same weight. I need to focus on the increased fitness I am enjoying. I will persevere and if I get no results, I will change things up. (I'm really just trying to convince myself ;-) Have a wonderful week!
This morning I took a planned sleep in. I have been missing sleep. My dh however got up and did Level 1 Shred without me. I was really happy when he said that after increasing his weights to better match my level, he couldn't imagine doing it twice in a row! LOL
This morning (later) I did upper body and an intense cardio workout I will describe more of later. For now, check out my friend Mell's fitness blog for inspiration at http://keepingitsimpleintas.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPhone
I believe that my husband is the primary reason I have continued to work out for the past 18 years. This morning my dh asked if he could do the Shred level 1 video with me. I agreed and he agreed it was a good workout. He was definitely sweating! I was thrilled that I had no exercise asthma. My fitness has improved and it's so much easier to exercise when you can breathe. It was just like my dh to suggest we do the workout twice in a row next time. NOT. LOL
You may not be married to a workout nut like I am, but I bet you can find a friend who is or who would like to be! Even if you find an online workout buddy, your chances of success are much greater. Have a great weekend!
I know, I know. I haven't blogged my fitness progress. I've been distracted by having my purse stolen and being on national television. On the stress chart, I'm right up there! But I have been doing well since I started on Monday. When distractions keep you from exercising and eating right, just persevere!
What's going well:
Exercising
first thing in the morning. I have gone back to my strategy of
immediately popping out of bed when my alarm goes off. I stand up
before I'm fully awake and within a minute I am fine. I know this is
weird, but I take my iPhone with me (I use it as my alarm clock) to the
bathroom first thing and it helps me to wake up to look at the fresh
emails. I was thrilled that this morning I woke up before the alarm.
That means that in four short days my biological clock has been
reprogrammed.
The intensity of my workouts is going very well. I have been trying lots of new approaches to fitness that I will blog about individually later and all of them are helping to challenge me.
Eating is going great. It's become more automatic for me.
What's not going as well:
Drinking
water. It is very, very hard for me to drink 8-11 glasses a day. I
honestly hate having to constantly run to the bathroom. I am going to
keep trying to drink more however.
Tracking my calories every day. The main problem happens when I am too busy to plan my meals on www.Gyminee.com. I'm still tracking some, but not every day. I want to get next week planned on Gyminee so tracking is easy.
Limiting fruit to earlier in the day. This was my plan using www.tomvenuto.com's book Feed the Muscle, Burn the Fat, but since I cannot eat any other carbs besides veggies, it's extremely difficult to do. I'm not going to worry about it as I think I can meet my goal without it.
I'm off to the gym to do lower body. I don't plan to have my purse stolen this time. The good thing is I got a really cute purse to replace it. LOL
I had the opportunity last night to be part of the Jim Lehrer NewsHour on PBS discussing Obama's first 100 days. I got to ask the second question. Parts of the program will air on KETC at 6 pm this evening and all of it will air at 7 pm on Friday. Check your local listings if you want to see me and Gwen Ifill.
I've got to be honest with you...this is a sight I thought I'd never
see: my mom at a gym. But here she is in her 60s and lifting weights
for the first time.
I'm so proud of her. She inspires me! Until last summer I thought
exercise and eating right were mostly about looking good. That's why I
wasn't as excited about exercising as I once was. I figured my "looking
good" days were long past! They are, but looking good isn't the best
reason to work out: health is.
I'm not even talking about reducing risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer--all of which fitness can do. I'm talking about not just living long, but living WELL. When we commit to strength training, we do not have to spend the winter of our lives weak and frail. Nursing homes and wheel chairs aren't inevitable. Sure, there are circumstances you can't control. But why not do what you can?
Even though I am convinced that aerobic exercise and strength training is a great use of my time, I still need fresh challenges to keep me motivated. My goal is to lose 5% bodyfat. My plan is as follows:
3 days of 1200 calories (5 meals including protein at each meal and limiting fat to 30% or less). Every 4th day, calories will be increased to 1800 with most of those calories coming from carbs.
8-11 glasses of water daily
3 days of strength training a week, approximately 45 minutes per session
6 days of high-intensity cardio a week for approximately 20 minutes per session. Cardio will be done first thing in the morning
One of the things that Tom Venuto recommends for accountability is to blog your progress daily. I will be doing that until I reach my goal. I know most of you couldn't care less if I lose a little bit of body fat at my weight. I don't blame you! But I would like to inspire you to create your own personal challenge and blog about it. Give us your blog link in the comments section and keep us posted on how you're doing!
In the meantime, enjoy these inspiring photos. WARNING: If you find
photos of women in bikinis objectionable, pass on the links.
Flex Appeal: at 86, great-grandmother Morjorie Newlin keeps pumping iron
http://www.citypaper.net/
Reflections of a 77 Year Old Bodybuilder
http://www.jonbenson.com/
Marty Webb: Fitness Champion at age 60
http://www.combat-aging.com/
Lorinde Williams 60 year-old BFL runner-up
http://tinyurl.com/6gg89l
Jackie Lee: Figure Competitor age 77
http://tinyurl.com/57uldw
http://tinyurl.com/6k8yx9
http://tinyurl.com/55cp4p
