Exercise variety week..

Since we are in the process of painting up our house, and my living room is shoved into my dining room so I have no access to my treadmill, I need to think of alternatives to my exercise routine. So this week and possibly next, I will need to pull out this: 

And this:

And these:

And get to work! I am hoping to get a day or two this week while off work to go to the gym and get in a run or two. I don’t want to lose the progress I have made with my running. I have had a whole week off of workouts since the end of the New Year 100 mile challenge. It was nice to have a break and not worry about when or how I was going to get in a workout. But, it is time to get back into it and make some more progress. I am only 21 lbs away from my goal weight now and I won’t get there sitting on my rear! LOL

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Painting update:

We have finished painting the living room. We need to buy the trim and the chair rail still and paint and install those but, we had decided to get the dining room and kitchen painted first, and then do the trim for the whole house all at once. So for a couple of weeks each room won’t be completely finished, and each room will be moved around twice but, that will ensure that we actually do ALL the painting and not procrastinate about doing anymore painting! LOL. Besides, I have the week off and I can use the time to get it done. So by the end of the weekend, the dining room should be painted and the kitchen prepped.

I hate painting!!!

We have finally decided to finish the renovations on our house. We have the drywall up and some of the mudding done but, that is it. We have had it this way for years. Neither one of us actually likes doing the renovations so we have been procrastinating for a long time. Hubby and I are embarrassed about how the house looks when people are over so we deceded that enough is enough. Lets get it done.

Today’s project is the living room. I hate painting with a passion! Maybe I should paint it Mr. Bean’s way!

more about “mr bean painting his house“, posted with vodpod

We have 9 foot ceilings in our home which is 83 years old. It is by no means a big, old fashioned awesome house. It is half of the old hotel that was in the town and taken down in 1927. The other half is also a home somewhere here in town. It is only 1040 sq ft, with no basement or upper level. So very small for a family of 5. Eventually we are hoping to sell it to get and acreage.

Anyways, wish me luck as I truly believe I am the worst painter in the history of  painters and painting. I always end up in tears and having a temper tantrum! LOL    I must really make my hubby proud!! LOL 

Week 5 Perfect 10 update!

Already it is time for week 5’s update in the Perfect 10 challenge put on by Steve over at Log My Loss. Go on over and check out his site to see how he, and many others are doing  on the challenge. Unfortunately it is already to late to join but your support to those who are already participating is always appreciated. That being said,

Here are my goals for ‘The Perfect 10′ challenge .                    

1. Lose 8-10 lbs. (starting weight 156 lbs)–current weight is 151 which means a loss so far of  5 lbs.
   
2. run 5 kms or more at least 2 times per week–ran 3 times this week.
   
3. finish 5 weeks of the Gateway to 8 k program. (the program is 10 weeks but, I know I will need to repeat some weeks so 5 weeks is sufficient and it will correspond with #2)–haven’t done week 4 yet as I have decided to take a few days off of workouts after the New year 100 mile challenge.
   
4. get started on a weight training routine. I am thinking of starting again with NROLW.–got started last weekend. Only did one workout though so far. Will do more since I have the next week off. That should get me started better and more into a routine.
   

And now  for something you don’t know about me:

I am absolutely repulsed by toe nails! So repulsed in fact that I need to make my poor girls cut them for me. And while they are at it, I get them to paint them too. LOL 

Short but sweet!

Winter blues..

This is how it is looking most mornings when I head out to work and most evenings lately. Gloomy and unhappy.

I am most definitely starting to get the winter blues. I absolutely hate winter. The being cooped up, the lack of light, the cold, and my claustrophobia causing winter gear. And the snow just never stops. This is the first year ever where I have had to keep my jeep in 4×4 mode just to get around.

With the winter blues comes my almost uncontrollable urge to eat whatever is in site. And over eat, and eat some more. Plus, the laziness sets in and it is like pulling teeth to get me up and exercising. I did decide to take a few days off of working out after the New Year 100 mile challenge, I just felt exhausted between the challenge, work and being sick. Now I feel the winter blues hitting and I don’t want to exercise, and I want chips, and ice cream and chocolate. I hate feeling like this, and the depression that will follow.

I had planned to run the St. Patrick’s day 5 k but, I hate the cold and snow so much that I couldn’t stand the thought of running in it. So I will wait till the snow is gone and find some races then.

Where oh where is spring?

I got it!

Yay! Yay! Yay!

Today we went shopping and looking around and I got my Harley Davidson Sportster!

The perfect one, the perfect color!

I can’t wait till spring when I can take my motorcyle riding course and take it out for a ride.

We couldn’t bring it home yet as we need to finish paying it off first. We didn’t want to do their financing for it so it will be in about a month that I can bring it home. That is probably good as it would be pure torture to see it every day just sitting there! LOL

In the pic, it looks almost rust or brown color but in reality, it is the most beautiful red.

Now I am off to do my run for the day and do my first resistance training with my new weight set. Update later.

Perfect 10 week 4 update, New year 100 mile update

Already it is time for week 4’s update in the Perfect 10 challenge put on by Steve over at Log My Loss. Go on over and check out his site to see how he, and many others are doing  on the challenge. Unfortunately it is already to late to join but your support to those who are already participating is always appreciated. That being said,

Here are my goals for ‘The Perfect 10′ challenge .                    

1. Lose 8-10 lbs. (starting weight 156 lbs)–current weight is 152.6 which means a loss so far of  3.4 lbs.
   
2. run 5 kms or more at least 2 times per week–ran 5 times this week.
   
3. finish 5 weeks of the Gateway to 8 k program. (the program is 10 weeks but, I know I will need to repeat some weeks so 5 weeks is sufficient and it will correspond with #2)–week 3 done!
   
4. get started on a weight training routine. I am thinking of starting again with NROLW.–haven’t started yet but, have purchased some more weights. Hope to get started this weekend but, that depends on whether or not we are painting the house.

And now  for something you don’t know about me:

My hubby and I had always had a motorcycle during our younger years but, when the kids came, we quit riding and sold our bike. I never did learn how to drive our motorcycle. We had two different bikes over the years, one was a Suzuki something or other and the other one was a Honda something or other. I can really remember, age and memory and all that crap! LOL.

Now that the kids are teens, my hubby bought himself a Harley Davidson shovelhead. Don’t ask me more about it because I don’t know anything about motorcycles. I guess I will learn pretty quick though since I am in the process of looking around to buy my very own Harley Davidson motorcycle. I am leaning towards a Harley Sportster as they are a little smaller, make for good beginner bikes and I just like the way they look (plus price is a factor right now too).

Since I never learned to drive a motorcycle, we are setting aside the money for me to take a motorcycle driving course this spring. My son will  be taking the course with me as he will be 16 by then. He has been driving dirt bikes since he was 5 years old (I honestly think he was born on one!  )He will be my moral support as for some stupid reason, taking a course terrifies the crap out of me. But, I absolutely know it is the best thing for me to do.  I am so excited but terrified at the same time!

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New Year 100 mile challenge

currently my miles for this challenge are at 84.58 miles. Wow, that is a lot of miles for me too have run. That leaves me with 15.42 miles I have still left to run by the end of the day on January 31. Can I do it? I believe I can be we will see. I can’t believe how far I have come since beginning my C25K program just over a year and a half ago. When I got on my treadmill the other day and ran 5 whole miles without stopping for even one walking break, I actually cheered. That is 8 km people. 8 km (5 miles) by me!

Ready to start…

with my resistance training! Today I headed to the city to hunt around for deals on weight sets and then head to the gym to have a run on the track. This is what I came home with that I found at Wal-mart:

It is only a total amount of eighty lbs but, I have a variety of sizes, and that is plenty enough weight to get started with for myself and my son.  The ones I already had were the fat plastic ones, 4–15 lb ers and 2–10 lbs ers. Not enough variety for increasing weight amounts and not good for the dumbbell. I could not only increase by 2.5 or 5 lbs. The new weights are the thinner cast iron ones which both hubby and I love. Plus I have the dumbbells. I am so excited to get started!! I don’t know when I will get started though because hubby has his ass on fire all of a sudden to get the house painted while both my son and I are off of school and work this week. (our house has been in semi reno stage for ever!)

I also invested in a new pair of running shoes:

They are  Saucony . Lori had asked the question on her blog about whether her readers were brand loyal in their shoes for running . Most of her readers said that they loved Saucony’s. I have always worn Mizuno’s but the store wasn’t carrying them today when I went shopping. And I sure wasn’t in the mood to drive all over the city on the slippery roads to hunt some down. So I decided to give the Saucony’s a try. They feel awesome on my feet, comfy, supportive, not much different than my Mizuno’s usually do. Only problem is, when I went running in them today, by the time I was done, my feet and legs hurt. Is that because they are brand new and hadn’t been worked in to my feet yet? Or because my first run in them was on the track at the gym which is a surface I am not used to running on?

Another thing I don’t understand is why  running on the track at the gym just kills me! At home I can run 5k straight no problem. At the gym, for get it. 1 or 2k and then I need to walk for a while. 1 or 2k more and I need to walk. Why is that? Maybe I run faster on the track than at home on my treadmill? Maybe the little bit of cushiony give the track surface has is more like running through a layer of sand making it harder? I don’t know. I think I may go back  tomorrow and work at it again.

And wow, am I ever out of swimming shape! Two laps and my arms want to fall off and I am huffing and puffing! LOL It has been a long time since I have gone actual swimming. Water slides don’t count. All you are doing is going for a ride.

Now I off to check out my favorite blogs then figure out what colors I want to paint my living room, dining room and kitchen! Talk about stress! LOL.

Learning to fly…

Yesterday morning, while still not feeling great, I once again woke up to a house that looks like a tornado had hit it. I swear that once my kids turned into teens, they forgot what a garbage can it, what a hamper is, where dirty dishes belong, how to wash a dish, that not every article of clothing in their room is dirty just because it touched the floor, how to feed the pets, and to keep the t.v remotes on the table, ect.. Most of you get the drift. I burst into tears when I had to wash a spoon once again just to stir my coffee. With 5 of us in a one floor 1040 sq ft. house, there is clutter everywhere.

So in desperation, I turned to Flylady!!

I needed help to get control of my home again and of myself. It was to the point I was dreading coming home from work ( and my work isn’t a place you want to spend extra time!). Flylady is a get control of your life one babystep at a time lady and team who help you to start regaining control of your surroundings in only a few minutes each day. I feel better and more in control after only a day and a half of her help. I encourage any of you who feel overwhelmed with your cluttered home to check out her site and give it a try. Slowly, day by day, I will get my home back in shape and CLEAN!

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I am feeling so much better today and looking forward, forward to my running workout today. I need to kick ass this next week if I want to finish my 100 mile challenge.

I have decided to start out with my weight training again with the few weights that I do have in the house since it has been many months since I have lifted any. I tried to persuade my son and hubby to bring my others in from the garage but, they claim they are all over the place (they apparently needed the box they were in) and may not all be there anymore. My hubby suggested I go out and buy a new set that goes up to higher weights than I had in the garage anyways. So I guess that is what I will do when I head into the city on Monday. I am anxious to get started on them.

Any good places to pick up some weight sets? Good deals? Does anyone own some of those weights where you can dial the weight you want? And what are they like?

Week 3 challenge updates.

Week 3 Perfect 10 Challenge Update

1. Lose 8-10 lbs. (starting weight 156 lbs)–unfortunately I am back up to 156.1. I believe it is from all the birthday celebration treats and eating out this week. I am also sick and can only stomach a few crackers ( which is total weight gain foods for me unfortunately). Will up my water intake once my nausea and vomiting have stopped enough to stomach the water.
   
2. run 5 kms or more at least 2 times per week–done 3 times this week.
   
3. finish 5 weeks of the Gateway to 8 k program. (the program is 10 weeks but, I know I will need to repeat some weeks so 5 weeks is sufficient and it will correspond with #2)–did not work on week 3 this week. will work on it for the next week.
   
4. get started on a weight training routine. I am thinking of starting again with NROLW.–not yet. bring my weights in, darn it!!
   

As for something about myself you don’t know:

I have severe claustrophobia.    To the point where I can’t even have the bathroom door closed when I am in there. It is a good thing that my children are old enough now to choose NOT to see their mother in her natural state and stays away from that end of the house when I am in there! And I get extreme vertigo when I need to close the shower doors when having a shower. Very risky business to have a shower! If our bedroom door needs to be closed (our room is off of the living room), then I need the bedroom window open so I can feel the draft or the cold to know that I am not trapped. Not good for the heating bill in the winter. Winter gear is a big problem also. All the bulk and bundle sets off my claustrophobic attacks so, I don’t even own a winter coat. I spend a lot of time indoors during the winter months because of this. Being in a car is a problem when the windows are closed. Things like that. I do know exactly when my claustrophobia first hit me but, I don’t understand why or why it has stuck with me since.

I was 13 years old sleeping on the top bunk in my grandparents motor home when camping one summer. I always slept on the top bunk, would never let my sister have a turn. My grandmother came to me and gave me the news that my great grandmother on my fathers side whom I loved with ALL my heart, had had a heart attack and passed away. I was on the top bunk at the time and instantly I couldn’t breathe. Since that moment, claustrophobia has been a major player in my life.

New Year 100 mile Challenge

my current miles for the month are 59.95 miles. I still have a ways to go. I am unfortunately sick with something today (vomiting and migraines) so that has hampered my progress. Two days of sick leave from work will hopefully get me back in shape to get back to my running!

I am very much looking forward to spending the day reading up on your Perfect 10 progress and learning more about all of you guys. I am having a sick day from work today  so I have plenty of time to catch up.

Birthday fun!

For my daughters 13 th birthday yesterday, we took her here on Sunday:

It was so much fun going to a water park again. I do have to admit that the water slides scar the crap out of my until I have gone on a few. Then they are thrilling! Except for the blue bullet. It was a super long slide that is enclosed all around with only enough room to lay down with your arms crossed on your chest. I thought it would be okay but I should have known better with my claustrophobia. I panicked almost as soon as I started down and believe me, when you can’t breathe or see because of the darkness, it is the longest 30 secs of your life! Never again! We had a great time and my son decided that he would like to give bungee jumping a try. He did it! I can’t believe how fearless that child is!

Here is a pic of my newest and youngest teenager:

We had a most delicious DQ ice-cream cake with juicy jumbos hot dogs, potato chips and pop for eats. It was a wonderfully, fantastically fun day and I am glad my daughter requested that we take her to the water park. I think I might have to request that too for my birthday! LOL