@ChubbyGirl253 - Yay! Good for you! ^_^

As for me, I totally crashed last night right before I got to go on my walk. (Stupid sleep apnea..) I don't even remember what I was doing last.. I just remember waking up with my dogs in my face to go out. So I only swam again yesterday. About to hit the pool again and go swimming again for about 2 hours. :) My weigh-in day is Monday.... Hopefully I went down.. I hope to hit the 200s with this weigh-in.... Oh god, that will be amazing.

Wolfshadow- I'm like you, I LOVE water exercises. I take water aerobics at the YMCA 5 days a week. I'm not working at the moment either and I qualified for 50% off financial aide. Just take in your award letter for your foodstamps and your unemployment check stub and paperwork for any other income or assistance you get. They will have you fill out a short application and tell you what you qualify for and how much it costs. The whole process only took 10-15 mins. It is so worth it! I get to take water aerobics, Zumba, yoga, Pi-Yo (pilates/yoga) and they have a program called ActivTrax where they can sign you up for free personalized strength training. And all those classes are FREE with your membership! There are all kinds of classes so you can pick what you are interested in plus use the machines like treadmill, elliptical, stationary bikes, etc. Everyone is so nice and there is all ages and physical abilities there so I don't feel Winnie the Pooh working out amongst a gym full of Kens and Barbies. I just wanted to take the time to tell you that in the month since I joined I went from low activity level to working out 3 hours a day and loving it! Give it a shot.
Laura

You know what? Its so funny how once I really committed to exercising my original goal I set was 90 mins/ 5 days a wk. But that goal took on a mind of its own until it was 2-3 hrs a day. And now, I try to get at least 1 hr or 90 mins on my only rest day, and I'm striving for 3 hrs the other 6 days. Today I have done 2 hrs 45 mins of cardio and I just really feel like I need to push on and do that last 15 mins. I didn't actively set that as my standard but the last few days I haven't felt like my work is done for the day until I reach it. I keep subconciously raising that bar for myself. And knowing how much I used to HATE exercise, I have decided that's the real accomplishment.

Today so far:
1 hr water aerobics
45 mins yoga
35 mins spinning
25 minutes c-to-5k training (8 mins jogging/17 mins walking in intervals)

*I have an after dinner walk scheduled to get in that last 15 mins or more.

I am absolutely astounded at your dedication!! BTW = [U]girl253[U] its awesome to have you on MyFitnessPal - you have the gift of encouragement!

Today is a rest day for me. :) I have normally had Friday as a rest day - but we go and buy groceries for 9 people for a week...so between the planning, the hauling and taking anywhere from 2-4 kids with us, putting it all away, then serving dinner - if Friday *really* a rest day?? :)

Tomorrow morning looks absolutely LOVELY for a long run...60* at 7am and a light breeze. We have a freshman football meeting at 10:30am, then a birthday party for one of the daycare sweeties at 2pm...and somewhere in there I need to make a Key Lime Pie for my son for his 14th birthday... And school starts Tuesday - GAH!!!

*deep breath*

Have a Super-d-Duper-d weekend, all!!

Chubbygirl253, I'm ridiculously happy for you and your newfound love for exercise! Your excitement is totally infectious and I'm glad that you're sharing it with us. But I feel I would be remiss if I didn't mention that it does worry me a little that you work out so much on your rest days. That's not really a rest day. A rest day is really important because it gives your body time strengthen and repair itself. You're doing such a wonderful job taking care of yourself in all of these other ways that I'd hate for you to overlook how having a proper rest day is just as good for you as shooting for all your exercise goals.

exercise is going great. C2-5k is awesome, finished all the sessions in week 1. Plan to stay at week 1 a little bit longer till I feel ready to progress. Lost 2 lbs when I weighed yesterday. Looking forward to Sun weigh-in now. did 2 hours and 45 mins cardio today and I have a walk scheduled with a friend in a little while. Diet is going good. Weird thing I need to watch though... exercise used to make me hungry, especially water exercises. Not anymore. Since I stepped up my fitness goals my appetite has dropped off. Have to make myself eat sometimes. I haven't even eaten 1000 calories today. Gonna go have some dinner so I keep my energy up. Shoulda eaten earlier but I was grocery shopping.

finally sitting down for the evening...got up at 5:30 a.m. and worked out, my usual routine...went to work early and worked all day, mostly up to my eyeballs in end-of-summer paperwork...after work i took my younger son and ran a bunch of errands...made dinner...did the budgeting and ran more errands LOL...came home and cleaned up the house...i seem to have alot of energy today so i'm using it to get a head start on the weekend, which also contains a million things to do getting ready for school

i ate well today until tonight...had more pizza than i should have, and then had a snack size mcflurry...it could have been much much worse LOL i feel like i made a good choice in getting the super small treat but i know it still contains a ton of calories...however i dont eat those every day, in fact the last time i ate a mcflurry was probably at least 3 years ago lol...but i enjoyed every last bite, logged it in my food book, and probably wont have another one for a few more years

i can tell TOM is approaching next week because i'm craving chocolate and sugar like crazy :( :( ive kept it pretty much under control though

Ok, time for me to check in again.

Went to the pool... only to find out it was closed for the day! Apparently, if we have thunderstorms at all within the last 24 hours, the high-schoolers the town decides are it's staff for the pool figure they don't need to come to work that day. I'll be contacting the town about this.. it's my tax money going to pay their paystubs, I expect a pool open on a hot muggy day, even if, at the time, it was mostly cloudy. T_T

My mom and I were planning on going to a local theater (like, within a 5 minute walk from her house) to watch Men in Black 3 on Saturday.. since the pool was closed we decided to do it today. Just as we left we ended up spotting a rare sight- a clearwing snowberry hummingbird moth! We both NEVER have seen one before (and my mom was convinced it was a hummingbird for sure).. and then we have a debate on if it was a moth or a butterfly. My mom insisted it was a butterfly, and I told her it was a moth... I of course was right. So that was kinda neato. I recorded it on my phone and put it up on YouTube... and plan on posting it on my mom's wall before bed on FB. XD;;

I left for our walk around 4:15 AM and we got home about 5:40. The usual hour and a half or so to walk it the 2.67 mile route. I'm kinda excited for Sunday, my mom agreed to go walking with me on a 'shorter' route. I picked out a mile-long route around the area that I hope she won't be too upset over... My mom has diabetes now and has a diabetic condition where she's losing the feeling in her feet. Her right foot is already completely numb and now she tells me her left foot is starting to go too. She's getting to the point where she doesn't want to drive because she can't feel the pedals and may not be able to keep gardening, so I've been really on her to do what her doctor has been saying and to start following a lower-carb diet like I do and to move around more like I have.. I hope this Sunday will be the start of a weekly jaunt with my mom. (...at least, while the weather is nice... I doubt she'll go walking around when it's -10 up here in the winter..)

So today sadly I was only able to go on my walk with the pups, no swimming. =\ I did weigh myself at my mom's house (because her scale is more accurate than mine) and I've also gone down 2 pounds since Tuesday!!! I'm really excited. I was 304.6 on Tuesday and today I was 302.6, so that's 2 pounds exactly!! I can't wait to hit twoderland!

@Chubbygirl253 - Yeah, I plan on calling my local Y tomorrow. I found out my pool right down the road closes for the year on the 19th!! (..as if we don't have a short enough swimming season up here!) I need to find a new pool fast. I don't know if I have my award letter anymore.. I still have my actual food stamps card (here in NY it's kinda like an ATM card instead of the traditional stamps) and the pin number paper, and I can print out a copy of my bank statements showing my unemployment payments... I hope that works for them. Otherwise tomorrow I'll be checking around to see if I still have the paper saying I was getting them..

Man, that would be awesome to have a personal weight training program. o_o

@AlaskanLaughter - OMG, that would be so super-scary for me. o_o I love all animals, but things that can kill me need to stay the heck away. o_o Amazing that the bear clearly survived! That guy is one tough cookie!

Alright, welp, time for me to update my ticker with my loss, put my dogs away, and go to bed. :) TTYT, folks!!

I walk/jogged my 5k route yesterday and somehow managed to shave 5 minutes off my usual time.

Did NROLFW stage 3 B2 this morning. I love the barbell Romanian deadlift/bent over row combination. Why does it seem my favorite exercises are all Romanian something or other? :lol:
I'm glad I did it but it wasn't really the best workout ever. Halfway through my aunt decided it was time for a nice twenty minute chat. I did my warm up again to try to get my heartrate back up but I never did feel like I got in the groove again. Oh well. Company leaves tomorrow.

the weekends are my rest days...and by "rest" i mean getting 483 chores and errands done LOLOL!

yesterday i was busy ALL DAY - from taking recycling to the recycle center, teenager to his sports physical, teenager needed a haircut, grocery shopping, paying bills and taking the kids to an evening birthday party - phew!! i was running around all day...so by "rest" i guess i mean "not doing a workout at the gym" lol

NSV!! at the birthday party i ate NOTHING! - no pizza, no chips, no appetizers, no cake, no ice cream, no candies! that's a first EVER for me...i took my supplements and got my usual nonfat mocha beforehand to take with me, sipped my coffee, and declined everything else

and strangely, it seemed like they really wanted me to eat something even though i was very subtle and shrugged off the food...it was weird and interesting to see...i was offered pizza at least three times and always said "eh i'll grab a piece in a bit" but just never did...was offered cake and said "no not right now, thanks!" and just never got any...and then weirdly enough towards the end of the party my BIL tossed me a reese's cup (pinata candy) and said "you know you want one" and i said "yeah looks good, thanks!" and gave it to my son 5 minutes later...then he did it AGAIN! and said the same thing...weirddd

later on last night i did eat some of the candy that came home with my son, not a ton, but i had a little and then left it alone ever since although it's still sitting over there

today i've been doing laundry and taking the kids to get school clothes, etc...one at a time because it's just easier for me to do it all that way

Man, and here I thought the time we got a raccoon in our garage was bad... That's crazy! I'm glad everyone got out unscathed (even the bear!)

As for exercise, I am headed to my university's gym tomorrow after work for a new workout schedule (still have boxing on Tuesday and Thursday but I want more cardio and weights). We'll see how it goes after working 8-4:30 and then hitting the gym! I can't wait for September (even though it means summer ending) because at least then I am out of work by 3:30 most days (teacher in the fall).

I know I just need to push it harder at the gym to see more results so hearing all the stories of success and will power, or even getting back up after a fall, from all you guys is really, really, inspirational! :carrot:

Today I tried a new type of cardio class called PiYo. The name suggests it is a combo of pilates and yoga and I thought I'd do okay because I've been doing yoga for a few weeks. But in terms of active cardio, it was tougher than Zumba! It kicked my tail!

This class is only offered 1 day a week at 12:30 on Sundays. In the middle of this workout I decided they must have planned it that way so that you can go to church and make your peace with God before they kill you in this class. Incidentally, I didn't die but for a few minutes I wished I had. It was HARD! I am exhausted. And proud that I did it.

By the way, I am pretty sure the rest of the class thinks I'm totally nuts because at one particularly weak moment when I was laying on my mat and trying to muster the strength to push myself up and I just started laughing. There I was, sweating buckets, and trying to rise but just lying there like a beached whale and I was laughing like a lunatic because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get up. It was hilarious to me that I had lost all control of my muscles, arms, and legs. I think it was delirium setting in. And since I plan to do it again next Sunday, I must be crazy.

Time for me to check in! Gonna be a longer post since I didn't post what I did yesterday.

So Saturday and Sunday I didn't sleep much.. a whole 3 hours. Anyway, Saturday morning me and the dogs did our normal 2.69 mile walk.. came home and made the best chicken ever with a home-made marinade I made.. a sweet-and-tangy basil vinigarette that is seriously awesome and knowing I've got 3 more chicken breasts marinaded and ready to go, hoo boy I'm getting hungry already. as usual, I was up all night, so Sunday morning at like, 4 AM we went on our walk again. I'm noticing the dogs start getting super-hyper around midnight and I'm thinking they're getting the idea that we're going to go walking soon so they need that walk to blow off the steam. It took us approximately 1 hour and 4 minutes to walk the nearly 3 mile route! I'm getting a bit faster each time I walk it, which is awesome! I came home and finished putting down new tiles in my front hallway, I had a kitten being adopted later that day and the hallway needed to be done.

Sunday my mom agreed to go walking with me. So after I finished retiling I crashed, and my mom called and woke me back up around 9. Fell asleep on my black-lab/pitbull mix, Axl (he usually acts as my pillow so no problems) and woke back up at 10, got the pups out to bathroom and walked down to my mom's house which is about a half a mile. We then walked a mile route around her house I picked out, had breakfast at her house (eggs, and sausage) and then I went home. Kitten's new owners came and picked her up, and then I went to the mall with my sister to walk around with her (lotts of walking yesterday!) and buy birthday gifts for my mom and my BIL's brother, whom is having his b-day Wednesday. Just gotta get something for my aunt and I'll be set.

Then I was kinda bad, We live in upstate NY so we've never had a PopEye's up here, EVER, and our mall, Carousel, which just got changed into Destiny USA with a huge expansion, now has a PopEye's in the foodcourt. So we decided to try it out. I got a chicken wrap, not knowing at all that 1, chicken is breaded, and 2, the wrap is stuffed with rice and chilli! I also tried to get coleslaw (cause that's ok on low-carb) but they were out of it, so I opted for the next-best on a low-carb which was mashed potatos... Which IS bad.. very bad. In the long run my sister and I should have just gotten the 2-piece chicken meal and taken the breading off the chicken and we would have been fine... their biscuits are freaking amazing though, we were all impressed. Either way, I need to stay good for the entire week because Sunday we're having our celebration for my mom's and my aunt's birthdays and I obviously will be having some stuff then. Sunday's kinda a cheat-day for me though I've been trying to keep it contained to one item I normally can't have and not a whole day of eating all the no-nos like my sister does. (Though she's at her goal weight and been maintaining so she's fine.)

So yah. I bought a notebook at Wal-mart and been using it as my food log, so I can keep track.. noted everything. About to go eat my breakfast, take the dogs out, and then off to the pool for me! Then when I get home it'll be time to call the Y and see how I get set-up there and then I gotta call my bank and make my mortgage payment. :P You ladies have a good day!

girl253 - you are such an inspiration to me!! I never take those classes, to afraid!! You have such determination and confidence. Wow, lady!

Just a quick check in - got my run in on Saturday...ended up going a bit further to find a bathroom...ugh. The bushes just doesn't seem like a viable option to me. After that I did another mile with my daughter, then another 1.5 to a birthday party and back. I had a little over 11 miles on my middle aged momma legs by the end of the day - I went to bed at 9pm! Yesterday I did an 1800yd swim - did my first 2x500yd solid. I rested for 2 minutes in between sets and am really pleased!

Also, after a year of being in the 160's, I FINALLY weighed in at 159.8 this morning. I'm glad I decided to buck up again this summer and get it done. It's sometimes easy to say "Well, I've already lost a lot of weight, I can stop." I can 't stop til I'm done!

i did my usual workout this morning...tried for the 0.7 mile intervals which is up a bit from last week...it was hard, had to really push for it but i think it's a mental thing also...however it triggered my asthma badly which is really odd...the last little bit was more a fight through my breathing than fighting to keep my legs going...worked all morning , then spent almost 2 hours going through teenager's high school orientation with him...finally home to sit down for a bit :)

well mortonpixie, YOU are an inspiration to me because of your running! Awesome! I just started c-2-5k last week and I love it but it's hard. So HARD for me! But I have found that I am doing pretty well repeating week 1 on land and moving on to week 2 in the water. Jogging in the water is so much easier for me and lower impact, yet I'm still training those muscles. I think I will be ready to do week 2 on land next week and move up to week 3 in the water if I get in 3 sessions of each this week. But 11 miles? You amaze me! I am good at trying new classes. I'm really outgoing so it isn't a struggle to push myself to do it. I guess I look at exercise classes like I would view clothes when I was working retail. You aren't allowed to dislike it on the hanger. You have to at least try it on! Just like an outfit on a hanger can be deceiving, so can a class. Some are nothing like you thought. Some are much better than you hope! Since I checked out yoga first, my friend has started going too and it's her fave now. I don't mind being the guinea pig!

Had a pretty rough workout today. Sheesh they're all tough. But I did well. And I'm super duper proud because I went from not even being able to do the elliptical for 5 minutes, to doing it today for 35 mins! In addition to 2.5 hrs of other various cardio. Including 5 mins on the rowing machine, also new for me!

Diet is going swell but my BIL who worships a Hawaiian Meatball recipe I've been making for years (always a crowd-pleaser) finally realized his chances of me making them when I'm dieting is slim to none. So he bought all the ingredients and made them himself following my directions and now the house smells heavenly (I share a house with them). I tasted one and I'm glad he added some extra spice to it so I'm not tempted.

i bought something cute to wear out friday night...i'm WAY nervous about this LOL...we're going to watch the friday night fights in town, one of our buddies is fighting in it...sort of a mixed martial arts thing....the event has a sort of bar-type atmosphere

last month i bought a black stretchy miniskirt and havent had a reason to ever wear it anywhere....so i'm wearing that, and black nylons and black high heels...and i looked all over the store here and finally settled on a turquise top that has a shaped bra-cup area (for support, thank god) and straps and tied together in the back with a wooden circle thing....i'm sure my description is awful but its' CUTE!!!...and i could fit it, and it looks decent...so unless i chicken out, that's what i'm wearing to the fights...i wonder if i'm brave enuf :)

Hey ya'll, Thanks for sharing your exercise posts. I have a question if someone could help me please. I am nowhere near my goal but, I have been walking 6 days a week for about a year and have lost some weight but, my problem lies in my 'weight loss' areas: My legs and rear-end have gotten smaller but not my tummy. I try to hold it in tight while I walk. 3 c-sections and virtually no exercise for 7 years has taken it's toll on my body, especially my tummy. Any ideas of what I can do beyond the traditional sit-ups? I live in the middle of nowhere (town population: 67 give or take a few dogs and goats) and do not have access to a gym or YMCA or anything? Any suggestions ya'll have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks :)

@mortonpixie - Yay! Good for you! ^_^ I'm glad you finally got out of the 160s and into the 150s!! It's those mini-goals we reach that keep us going I think. I'm looking forward to my weigh-in tomorrow.. Hoping this will be the day I hit the 200s!

@CG253 - You inspire me too. I can't imagine alllll that working out you do every day. I hope to get that way someday, but right now I can't afford the gas or a gym... including the Y.

Went swimming around 4 PM and till pool close at 5:45. I took it easier today, and spent a lot of time under the water, trying to increase how long I'm able to hold my breath, but I did still to a few laps across the width of the pool and worked on .. I think the butterfly, I have no idea.. I found a way to secure myself at the deep end at the bottom by pushing up on the last step of the ladder (because any attempts I have to get to the bottom otherwise ... forget it, I probably could never drown, I am so buoyant that getting to the bottom is near-impossible!), which is such a surreal view to me, to look straight up and see the sun filtering in through the water is crazy cool looking. Had a run-in with... a rather exuberant kid that insisted on following me around the pool and then followed me home on his bike.... the kids are getting used to seeing me every day so they're trying to include me in on their fun, I think.. Since he asked if I was going to be at the pool tomorrow I think I'll be pestered by him again tomorrow.. We'll see.

Checked with my local Y, apparently all 3 of them have a year-round pool, and membership cost is based on income. I have to bring my cover letter for unemployment benefits with me when I sign up, but normal cost... egads, 50 bucks a month. I think if they can get it to next-to-nill based on the food stamps / unemployment combo I'll go, but otherwise... I can't afford 50 bucks a month. yeesh.

Anyway, will be taking my walk soon. ^_^ Talk to you all tomorrow!

wolfshadow- definitely take in your assistance/benefits paperwork. The regular cost in my area is $54 but because I am not working and get unemployment I got a 50% discount. It is well worth the $27 I pay so at least go back with your paperwork and see what they tell you.

@ hsmomof3: I wish we choose what areas to reduce from! I've always heard you can't spot reduce but if you're looking to tone up tummy muscles there are a few variations on sit ups that stop it from being so boring. Russian twists or planks help break up the monotony for me and make sure you keep your abs flexed through your others lifts as well, like in push-ups or even just squats. A lot of stability relies on ab work as well, like one-legged squats and such. I hope that helps a little :)

@Wolfshadow: So awesome how much you get to swim, I wish we had a public pool around here but alas, I'm without water! There's a YMCA but I don't belong and I can't afford both a "regular gym" and my boxing gym, and my University gym is sans pool, sadly. Blah! It's wicked cool that you're upping your breath capacity; that must help in other areas as well, like endurance.

Well, I stuck with my gym work-out yesterday and my legs are hurting today! But it's worth it, it's a good ache. However, running and then legs and then driving home was NOT a good idea. Every time I put the clutch in I saw stars. I don't think I've ever coasted so far in neutral as I did yesterday! :D

I'm a little behind, I know, but I just had to quote this because it totally cracked me up. Hilariously written and so relatable. I've been there too! :hug: You'll rock it out next Sunday.

Thousandsunny: Thanks for the name of some things I have never even heard of. I am going to look up how to do them and work on them for a while. I too wish we could choose our areas in which we lose weight. I used to have a nicer bottom....lol I'm sure that age and gravity have not helped me in that department.

I have done 2 of my 3 walks already today. Hoping the rain holds off for a few more hours so I can get my last one in. Every week I walk a little bit further before I turn around and I have been making sure to semi-powerwalk at least the first half.

Good news is that I can climb trails and such with my boys now and they don't have to wait on me. I used to just sit in the truck and wait for them or slow them waaaayy down waiting for their out of shape, out of breath Mom. They notice now that I can keep up and that keeps me going daily.

@hsmomof3: there are tons of excercises with names that make think "wait, seriously? That's the name?!" but I'm glad the few I can remember are helpful :)


I am off for a bike ride tonight! Going to try for 8 miles (4 mile path one way) so hopefully the weather holds out.

Well, thanks thistleberry, glad you enjoyed my PiYo post. If you think that was funny you shoulda seen it in person. I'm sure the people that witnessed it went home and had a good belly laugh. They probably sat around their Sunday supper table and told their families about the freak show that went on in class. The facial expressions from the lady on the mat beside me is haunting me even now, 2 days later. She managed to look disturbed, concerned, full of pity, and a little scared all at the same time. Pretty sure she won't place her mat beside me again. Oh, did I mention the big window in the classroom with treadmills facing us on the other side? Those people walking the treadmills must have had quite the view. I know, because the other 3 walls of the classroom are MIRRORED like a ballet studio. Like I needed to see that! Fortunately I lost the ability to hold my head up and the sweat was blurring my vision anyway.

Doing much better now though! We all gotta be able to laugh at ourselves.

@ChubbyGirl253 - Yeah, I will. It's at least worth a shot.... .. now I have to try to find my cover letter for my unemployment and my award letter for food stamps... I .. tend to lose stupid things like that. >< Thankfully my pool is open until the 19th so I still have time to secure the papers. I'll go looking tonight, I have a few ideas of where they could be.

@ThousandSunny - Thanks! Yeah, upping the breath capacity is something I really want to work on, and I think it's been helping me with my nightly walks with the dogs. Mom and my sis have noticed I'm keeping up with them more, and I've started to notice that sitting down too much or for too long makes my back hurt.. now I HAVE to get up and move around or else I'm miserable!

So last night we went walking at the usual 4 AM, we got back around 5:30, but part of that is because we stopped a few times to get the dogs untangled from each other.

Went swimming today from 4 PM to 5:45, so got a bit over an hour and a half in. Did some more laps, some butterfly and some normal swimming, but also did a lot of kicking under water, some breath holding, and the like. My new tag along, the exuberant boy from yesterday, was there yet again today and insisted on splashing me as soon as I hopped in the pool. ...and somehow has the ability to actually scream like a girl under water. (No, seriously. I was starting my first lap, and I was under the water... and I hear SCREAMING. I look to my left and there's the kid, screaming at me as I pass him, totally under the water like I was. If I didn't have goggles I wouldn't of seen this but.. oye vey.) And of course, he followed me almost the whole way home on his bike. Thankfully this nonsense will stop when the pool closes on the 19th. 9_9 Ah well. He kinda reminds me of my brother in law so it doesn't bother me much honestly. Why he's got such a fascination with me is anybody's guess, I assume it's because I'm fat and he thinks a fat 'old lady' at the pool is funny, but eh. It's not like he's said anything overly harsh or anything so it's fine. (Besides, it wouldn't be the first time anyone's said anything so I would probably just shrug it off like normal.)

Will be taking my walk with the pups around 12:30-1 AM today instead of 4 AM like normal and then we'll be going to bed. You ladies have a nice night and I'll catch up tomorrow!

it was a rough day today...traumatic in a way...on the main road that leads past our school playground, there was a fatal motorcycle crash...i had been watching the road to see my DH ride his motorcycle back to work...i went inside for a moment and the staff immediately closed the playground and moved the kids inside, telling me there had been a motorcycle crash...all i could think about was if it was my DH...i dont think i even THOUGHT, i just ran back out across the playground, out the gate to the street....it looked just like his motorcycle and the body was covered on the sidewalk...all i could see was his feet and no one should EVER EVER have to look at a dead person's feet to know if it's their husband's...i'm still horribly shook up...and DH is fine...RIP motorcycle rider :(

Oh, alaskanlaughter, I'm so sorry that you had to go through that today!! I'm glad hubby is okay, but sorry for the person that died and their family. :(

Wolfshadow - you must just be someone that children like! <3

The Teen started High School today and I started home school with our 5th and Kindergardener. I had 2 pre-schoolers and a toddler today as well...did lower body weights and a short swim at the Y this evening. Felt good. Amazingly busy day tomorrow - Wednesday becomes my new rest day during the school year. I go right from bidding farewell to the last daycare child to church to welcome the kids and do AWANA until time to go home, get kids to bed and fall in to bed myself!

Peaceful evening to you all!!

I'd worn new shoes this weekend hoping to break them in. As usually happens, they broke my feet instead. My heels are all bleedy and painful no matter what shoes I wear now. Le sigh. Anyway, so I really wanted to go on my 5k jog yesterday but since I'm not especially masochistic I just walked it instead. It was a nice change.
Bodyflow tonight. Yay for barefoot exercise!

@Thistleberry: I feel your pain! My Nikes did that to me when I got them and wore them the weekend of Anime Boston (it's 2 solid days of walking). My poor ankles... at least now they fit really well!

I need to go shopping for a birthday gift tonight and I think I might end up doing sit-ups/push-ups at home in the living room because I'll be pressed for time but besides sit-ups and such, what else do you guys do at home? Anything that you think is particularly fun/keeps it interesting?

When I've got just a short time to exercise at home I usually bust out my jump rope or hula hoop or just turn on the radio and dance. So much fun! But it sounds like you're looking more for strength than cardio. There are about a million variations on planks, squats and lunges that you could try. Just flying off the top of my head I'd also say maybe jumping jacks, burpees, bridges, prone cobra w/ or w/o flutter kicks... Google bodyweight exercises and I'm sure you'll get tons of ideas.

i did a little different workout today...i skipped the weight machines because i was pressed for time but did run longer today...i did my usual interval sets and then a few more smaller intervals to total 2 miles ran plus some walking...i worked all day getting our program closed down from the summer and began working on setting up for the winter program...went to the store and i'm finally home...found some comfortable black sheer tights to wear with my skirt on friday night so i'm happy :) i will NOT wear anything that i'm physically uncomfortable in and nylons/pantyhose drive me insane with the snugness and texture...much happier with these tights...i debated buying one of those shapewear things for my tummy but decided not to because i know i would be just as uncomfortable in those since they are so tight...

got all my exercise in and it was lower impact so I feel refreshed and much less tired. Tomorrow I have to keep my workout to 2 hrs because its a very busy day and lots to squeeze in. Thats ok, my muscles deserve a break from the 3 hr workouts, lol.

@Alaskanlaughter: Interval running is what I am trying to get into, it's cool you get a good workout from it! I want to make the treadmill not so much like... being on a treadmill, haha.

I tried to get a workout in at home and ended up doing some bench-squats with the living room table and did some stairs. It wasn't the best but I plan to go hard tonight at the gym. Hopefully! I better not wuss out...:D

another morning, another workout....last day tomorrow of early morning workouts...now i'm headed off to set up my classroom...hopefully if i start early, i will be done at a reasonable time :)

Walking wasn't so much fun in the wind this morning. Bothers my ears but, I'd still rather be outside while I still can because I know that I will be stuck on a treadmill all winter long. Last night I started doing more tummy muscle exercises and OH MY GOODNESS, I didn't know that my sides were getting the work out too. I mean, I know it's good but, I wasn't prepared for the soreness this morning. Walked through it anyway and I am trying to stretch a bit all throughout the day so this evening they won't hurt while I do some more. I know I will get used to it....time and patience.

@ alaskanlaughter - depending on the type of shapewear that you get, It isn't anymore uncomfortable than trying to suck it in and stay aware of when you aren't all night long. And when you're wearing it, it really does smooth everything out. I wouldn't discount it yet, keep it in mind.

All you ladies rock! What amazing inspiration!! I was on vacation (and then playing catch-up at work) for the last couple of weeks. I managed to still run 3x per week and do my ab/arms/squats during my holiday!

I have been running approx 5k for every run and I will be going up to 6k next week. eek. I am really starting to feel good about my 8k in October. Like I will actually finish it without dying. haha. As a reward for my dedication and not missing a run since June, I am getting fitted for new runners tomorrow AND buying myself an Ipod Shuffle!

Oh, and I signed up for a weekly Zumba class that starts next month. Soooo excited!

Have a fantastic day, ladies :)

I wanna try Zuma so bad. :(

Has anyone tried the Zumba videos that you do at home? Is it the same? Do you like it? I'm thinking but buying it.

ohhhh ugh i was on my feet ALL DAY...literally, no joke...i set up my entire classroom, the physical labor, moving heavy furniture and file cabinets etc all morning...i had a staff person come over who helped with the biggest stuff and did some other small tasks...my intern also came for the afternoon and helped out...she did tasks while i did a huge shopping trip to several stores...i dont think i sat down longer than it took to eat a salad lol....my feet hurt SO BAD...

i bought a bar of 90% dark chocolate this afternoon...it's pretty good, not sweet at all...sort of like eating baking cocoa LOL but i can definitely eat this as a treat without binging because the sweetness is mostly gone...i had planned for weeks to buy this if i could finish out the summer with my early morning workouts...one more workout tomorrow :)

today i did 20 mins strength training and 2 hrs 10 mins of cardio. Gonna hit the y really hard tomorrow.
Had burger and fries from mcdonalds tonight but I stayed within my calorie goal. That isn't ideal but at least I ate light enough the rest of the day it won't hurt me too much. I hope!
Lost 4 more lbs when I weighed this morning! woohoo