I’m Ready!

Good Sunday evening everyone!

I had an incredibly busy day today and am just amazed at how quickly today flew by.  Of course, I did nap on the sofa until nearly 11 this morning - I have just been so sleepy - which may be why the day seemed to be a bit shorter.  

After I woke up and got cleaned up I headed out to get something to drink - I was craving a diet coke with a splash of real coke - which can be found at any local convenience store fountain.  From there I headed to PetCo for litter, a new toy for Caesar, and some dog cookies (they look like cookies!) for the dogs.  (I also had a nice chat with my mother who is coming for a visit next week - yea!).  Once I got home (and the boys had their treat and Caesar received his toy) my husband wanted us to make a trip to Lowe’s. 

Once we finally returned I was ready for some lunch - leftover chili with cheese, soda crackers, and fat free sour cream that I had been heating up in the crock pot - and then some down time. 

THEN…it was time for Zumba again.  :) The class today was just as full - a different teacher this time though and the music and moves were changed up a bit.  The new teacher was even smaller and blond - and although she was a great dancer her personality was a little quieter than yesterday’s teacher.  Still a great class and it has just reaffirmed that I need to be at the Y.  It reaffirms that with classes I can get where I want to go and have fun doing it.  I can lose this weight!

Which brings me to a new goal.  My brother has finally set his wedding date - July 11.  That means I have a little less than 4 months to lose approx. 20 lbs.  I want to be at if not under 164 by the wedding.  It is doable.  I think.  I will continue going to classes - probably about 5 times a week - and will continue on with my Weight Watchers and counting points.  I can do it!

Tonight I had grape nuts, with a little sugar and fat free milk and a whole wheat english muffin with fat free cream cheese and honey.  I should have thrown a banana in there but I was feeling a bit lazy.  Tomorrow morning I will add the banana to my morning bowl of cereal.  

Before dinner we cleaned out the flower beds in the front of our house and planted a crepe myrtle that a neighbor down the street gave to us today.  If it transplanted well it should be lovely as the blooms with be purple and will look great against our red brick.  

I am trying to finish up some laundry and get ready for tomorrow.  I am going to a water class tomorrow morning at 5:45.  Uggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh getting into my suit, but I know that I need to just do it.  It will be good and will add variation to my workout.  I am not sure if I will take Tuesday off or just walk the dogs that day (yes!) and then Wednesday will be another Zumba class!  I haven’t decided if I want to a body sculpting class on Thursday or more water classes to end the week.  The body sculpting class is one I enjoyed and will probably be a good addition.  Funny - I saw the teacher of that class at both the Zumba classes -

Anyhow - need to put in another wash.  I am craving something tonight - but don’t know what.  Probably good that it is nearly time for bed.  I could get away with an Edy’s Fruit bar (although I did have a half a cup of ice cream for dessert) if that will keep me out of the kitchen.  

Hope everyone is looking forward to a good start to the work week - I have a LOT to do and will probably have some late nights - but I am hopeful that it is productive, that we make some headway on the market and that next weekend comes quickly - my momma is coming to town!

Hello!  I must be better about updating my blog - it is a record of how I am doing and to be accountable I should be documenting more faithfully.  Although I have been silent I have continually been reading everyone else’s blogs and looking to your musings for inspiration and support.  I definitely appreciate this community as this journey can be quite bumpy at times!

This morning I decided to go and try Zumba at the YMCA.  I have been a member of the Y for many years now - in fact when I first moved to Oklahoma I joined because I knew no one in town and it was a great place to go at night for both exercise and social interaction.  I had a 5 - 6 classes that I attended regularly and really enjoyed the atmosphere there.  Slowly I got busier, ran around with a crowd that wasn’t involved with the Y and got married.  When I joined Weight Watchers 2 years ago to lose weight I rejoined the Y and began going to classes again.  Not with the same fervor - I think 3-4 classes a week was all I could manage - but I still enjoyed the people and the instructors.  That being said - I got kind of burned out on the classes.  I was tired of the step class I took - but didn’t really want to do kickboxing or boot camp.  I didn’t really want to do floor aerobics either - as I enjoyed using the weights and the step so ultimately I stopped going thinking I would find something I enjoyed more on my own.

All that being said - I did not find something that kept me as motivated as the classes and hence I am working again to try to get back to a weight I would be happy at.  Undeniably, I personally do better in group exercise - I am motivated by the leader and by the others in the group.  Furthermore, a set time and place helps me remain on track.  I have know for awhile that if I really want to get serious about this weight loss thing - I needed to get back into classes.  Last night I started looking at the class schedule again so see what could be arranged (my work hours can run from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. at times) and if there were classes I was interested in.  

On the Y website there was an announcement on the front page: “We have Zumba.”

What is Zumba?  Something different? Fun? and yet will still burn calories?  I did some research and found that it is exercise that is done to latin music.  That it is more like dancing than aerobics - and that it is very popular.  I thought I would go and check it out.  If it was fun I would see if I could hit it several times a week and get the ball rolling again.

When I got to the Y this morning there was a line like I have never seen of people waiting to get into the aerobic room.  I nearly turned around and left - I thought there will be no room - this will be a mess.  But there was another gal in line who immediately said hello and started talking about how much fun the class was and how great the instructor was.  Bless this girl!  Her hello prevented me from leaving and as we walked into the classroom together she warned me that it would be a workout.

It was a workout - but it was also a lot of fun.  The instructor was a tiny little thing with curly hair and a personality the size of Texas.  She was fab!  Basically the workout is a series of songs that have choreographed “dance moves” - they are essentially aerobic moves that have been altered so that they are more like dancing and require that you shake your hips and your groove thing -ha!

The room was packed and as I looked around most everyone was just doing their best to emulate the instructor - but whether or not they were on beat or not - everyone was having fun.  

I am going again tomorrow. 

I am still trying to decide what other classes I want to take.  I would like to take a water class.  I love those.  There is something about the water - and those classes often allow for some chatting and laughing because you aren’t out of breath.  The only problem is having to wear a suit.  ;)

I recommend Zumba to anyone out there curious - go - it will be a blast (and it is for ALL ages!).

The hubs and I just finished lunch: scrambled eggs with onions and 2% milk cheese, homemade hash browns, and a half of a banana - I also had a WW ice cream sandwich for dessert.

I have a pot of chili on for tonight’s dinner and am planning on making some chocolate bread (yes, you heard right) and some chocolate biscotti later.

Interested in the chocolate bread?  Go here: http://www.sugoodsweets.com/blog/2008/01/chocolate-bread/

I still need to get cleaned up — Saturdays are for lounging — and then DH and I are going to visit a meat market in another part of OKC to see what they are doing right (and maybe wrong) and then to Ace Hardware to look at some Benjamin Moore paint chips.  We may take the boys to PetCo for an outing - but that hasn’t been decided yet.  It may need to happen tomorrow.

Finally, I am coming home to do some organizing and shredding of all of our paperwork and then may challenge my husband to a rematch at UNO.  I could not catch a break last night.

I have some work to do as well - but that can be for tomorrow as necessary.  

I have a new Better Homes and Garden waiting to be read as well - and more sewing to do.    

Hope that everyone is having a wonderful weekend so far!