Day 175

Today I was a hot mess. I woke up this morning and procrastinated a little, and then I got smart.  I said to myself, "I know your games... I'm not going to let you get dressed until you exercise," because I know if I got dressed that's it. Game over.

Well I ended up hanging out my PJs until about noon LOL (called myself out on my own game, ha!). That was the first time that I had been in my PJ's for that long probably since like high school... well I don't know if it's been that long but it's been a really long time. Dude, I even went in the backyard and watered my flowers that way. I didn't think it was going to be an issue because I never see anybody, but of course the neighbor kids had to be looking out the window, so they started banging on the window, I waved which made matters worse, and of course everybody had to come to see what's going on. Oh hey, it's just me in my PJs and husbands 3-sizes-too-big-for-me clown flip flops, in the pre-heated oven that is my backyard (perks of living in Vegas), watering my 1/2 dead, scorched  flowers, close to noon. No biggie.

So I did finally get on the elliptical and I stayed on for 40 minutes *gasp* a whopping 40 minutes... consecutively! I know! I was surprised myself! It's been awhile since I've done THAT too LOL.

Anyway. It's another day tomorrow. Hoping for good things. I found out that my step brother is getting married on Jan 14th, so i made that a goal date for me to be below 200. I'm not close with him,  so I doubt I'll even go, but I'm using it as an excuse anyway. *fingers crossed*

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength. One day at a time. One choice at a time.

Day 172

Today I failed when it came to exercise. My plan was to wake up early and get on the elliptical, but little brother came into my room again and so I ended up just staying with him until he woke up and then we just got ready for the day and time slipped from their. We had swim lessons for a little one early this morning, and tryouts for a swim club for the big one in the late afternoon that didn't pan out. We have to come back again next Monday because it was too hot IN the building (108F) so they closed the pool. We had swim for the big one in the evening and so we were pretty much out all day.

Anyway, I forced myself onto the elliptical before bed for 20 minutes but I was really just going through the motions.

Whoever said, "the more you exercise, the easier it gets," was wrong (I think I might have said of this at some point??? LOL). Today is day 172 and I still struggle everyday.

Another day over and done with and I really need to do this in the morning tomorrow. I don't know why I let myself procrastinate. I know where my trouble areas are. And knowing is half the battle right? LOL

One day at a time. One choice at a time. I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 171

Today was a crazy day at work. It wasn't stressful like most days it was but it was stressful and a completely different way. With the heat being over 110F today,  we had rolling blackouts here in Las Vegas all day and it affected my hospital in the later part of the day.  Our power kept going out and my telemetry system kept crashing. The air conditioning even stopped working. It happened at the end of my shift so it was quite hilarious to me... But not anybody else LOL oh well (i knew our system was gonna crash at some point) . There weren't any patients affected by it bc the generators kicked in so that was good.

Anyway,  tonight i did 3 sets of 30 squats. Hoping to wake up early to get on the elliptical.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 155

I got onto the elliptical first thing this morning, but only for 10 minutes. I had big dreams to get on again after the grocery store, but didn't get a chance. Summer break kinda stinks. Both boys are driving me bonkers. I bought them water balloons and filled up like 30 for them. That just turned into a bad idea (learning experience lol) and they just played in the back yard with me there to keep them out of trouble.

It was 106F today and it's supposed to be a lot hotter this weekend (like 110+F).Thank goodness I'll be in a freezing cold "sterile" environment...although have I mentioned how much I hate that place??? Don't want to go but I guess mental abuse is better than heat stroke????

Oye.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 269 (day 3 / week 38)

Today was a fun day. I went to the Walk From Obesity and saw two of my coworkers there and the director of our unit. It was nice to see someone there that I knew who didn't mind walking around--I love my hubby but he doesn't care for walking the way I do. . I also got to meet Dr Teng, whom I hear a lot about, but have never met before. We walked 2 laps, which I think was about 1.5 miles and then we walked around the activities part of it. We were there for 3 hours, but I only had my HRM running for 2 (the physical part until we slowed down to browse) burning 907 minutes.


The mayor of our city, Oscar Goodman, was there too. He is the one in the suit. I got a great picture of his back lol.


There was another event going on at the same time, and I think it was a Shred-It party. You could take your documents that needed to be shredded here and have it shredded for free. There was also a farmers market and I bought 6 herb plants: mother of thyme, oregano, italian parsley, golden lemon parsley, purple basil and italian basil and a planter and soil for 4 of them all for $20. We bought some homemade olive and oregano hummus and a sampler of 4 different olive oils and barrel-aged heirloom balsamic vinegar (SO delicious!). We also bought some fresh baked bread by a local baker (Bon Bakery) here as well, fetta batard and multigrain batard. They go very well with the oils and balsamic vinegar that we got.

There was a big jump house dinosaur there that The Monkey Boy and my MIL went in. He wasn't too sure about it at first, but when it was time to get out because he seemed so frightened, he didn't want to leave and had a meltdown when we did (Typical).


See? Exercise can be fun! You can easily trick yourself into exercising by hitting a farmers market and just walking all over the place with family and friends. You wont even know you're exercising because you are distracting yourself with conversation and a good time.

Be back tomorrow after I finished making it count. Hope you are having a great weekend!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 250 (day 5 / week 36)

Today was another long day. I think we got our AC fixed, so that's good.

I started my day off cleaning: 45 mins, 116 calories.

Then I tried to start the lawnmower with no success: 15 mins, 62 calories.

Then I waited around for Citywide to show up to fix our AC, but they never showed up. The homeowner did, and he brought his friend who fixed the AC at his other house, and while they were doing that, I went for a 2 mile walk/jog: 34 minutes, 522 calories.

Grand total: 94 minutes and 700 calories burned.

I find it funny that it evened out to 700 calories total. *shrugs*

Have to work in the morning, but I am going to wear my HRM and see what it says I burn during the day, with the stairs included. I am going to add those calories burned to my sparkpeople fitness page, because I want to make sure that I am eating enough with my work. I might not technically consider it exercise, but it was more than what I was doing before, so I need to make sure that I don't mess things up by under eating. I'm sure there wont be much of a difference, but we'll see :).

Hope you had a great day! Have a great Tuesday and make it count, even it means the stairs instead of the elevator. It's better than nothing at all!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 248 (day 3 / week 36)

I scrubbed the kitchen carpet today for exercise. One hour and 40 minutes and 650-odd calories (I don't remember the exact number and I am too lazy to go get my HRM watch to see what it said).

That went well and my carpet looks good...although it's still wet and I scrubbed it 12 hours ago. Hopefully it dries, and we don't have mildew. The fans are on high, and it's still wet, not soaked, but just wet.

On a different subject, yesterday we had Citywide, a company contracted by Nevada Power to make people's air conditioning run more efficiently, come out to the house. Our air conditioning works fine, but the bill is ridiculous. It's a free service, so we figured, what the heck, and made an appointment. They came out and put 2lbs 4oz of freon in! For free! We thought that would be the end of it, that it would run cooler, like they said, but it's not. In fact, it's not working at all now. We have it set to 84F, and it's 90 in here! It just runs and runs, and never shuts off. We eventually turned it off and opened the door, because it was the same temp outside! I have called this company 4 times in the last 5 hours, and all I keep getting is, "I called the tech out there and he didn't call you? He should have called you. I will call him again," and we never get a call.

This bites. I have to go to sleep in an hour for work, and it's dark outside now. They are not going to call or come and it totally frustrates me. You would think that it would get cooler in here, now that it's cooling down outside, but it's getting warmer. It started off at 88F and will probably be 91F sometime in the next hour or so. Oye. I have no idea what we can do, but call this place...although they obviously don't care because they aren't calling back. *shrugs.* Hopefully (doubtfully) my hubby will do something about it tomorrow. The in-laws decided to have their Labor Day party tomorrow instead of on Monday, so he will be there all day instead. I am willing to bet $ that he will forget to call, or do anything about it, and then when I get home from work, he is just going to complain. lol. Gotta love men. What would they do without us? (lol j/k--he's a good guy, I'm just totally teasing).

Anyway, I work tomorrow (Sunday) and have Monday off, and work again Tuesday and Wednesday. I will probably do my stairs at work and such. Maybe I will get to do a few bed transfers.

Hope you guys have a good night! We are hot, but in good spirits, nonetheless. I hope the heat doesn't keep us (me) up. Hubby doesn't have to work in the morning, but I have to.

Viva Las Vegas. pssht. lol.

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 241 (day 3 / week 35)

I've been doing a lot of thinking since I posed the question, "did I blow it?" and you guys really helped me out with your responses. All in all I decided that I was going to count it, but I started thinking about the why, as to why I would count it. I came to these conclusions that gave me the mental closure that my brain needed, when I continue to think about things, long after I thought I had resolved them (lol).

1) You guys are right, I don't have a typical desk job. I work 12 hour shifts and more than 1/2 of that (6 hours) I am walking around, pushing pulling and using my large muscle groups (legs) for support so that I don't hurt my back. I know I am getting a workout because sometimes I feel winded after a transfer. The day before yesterday was, in my opinion, more of a physical day than I usually do have at work.

2) When I wasn't working, I was willing to substitute exercises and would count that as exercise done. I would do heavy cleaning, wear my HRM, turn it on, and count that. I would also mow the lawn and count that. I dance with The Monkey Boy and even count that. Why is that any different than substituting a physically demanding workday?

3) I keep saying that I need to listen to my body, and so why is a workday any different than a non workday? I was physically exhausted when I got home. That tells me that my body worked hard that day. I don't know if it was because I was on my 4th day and I didn't get 8 hours of sleep the night before (very well could have been) but I was also sore the next day, that to me, is my body telling me that I worked out, whether I consider it a workout or not.

Thank you for all of your insights on this. I really did want to see how someone else viewed it, because, well, I am biased. It's my life and my resolution, and I know I tend to be hard on myself as some of you have mentioned *cough Loree* *cough Erin*. (I'm just teasing you guys, ((Hugs))) :).

Today I got out kind of late today (8am), and walked for 4.15 miles in an hour an 15 minutes, and cooled down for about 10 minutes (85 minutes). I am very excited because yesterday was my very first payday so I am going to go buy a new HRM. Mine is just....done. I don't really know why it gives me wonky readings but today was my last straw with it. It was 92-96F when I walked and the last time I did this, I burned about 1500 calories in the same amount of time and my HR was well over 135 during the bulk of the time. This time my HRM said my HR was 82. And then 112. At teh very end of my walk, it jumped to 147 so I don't know what's up with it. I also don't like the fact that I can't adjust my new weight on my HRM--I burn calories differently at 190 than I did at 215, when I originally programed it. So this is my reward to myself, for my first paycheck. I want to get some more hand weights too, because The Monkey Boy peeled off the coating off of one of mine. lol (silly kid). The other thing I want to do for myself is get a new hair cut. I am also very excited about this :).

BTW I woke up this morning and the swelling went down completely. My toe hurts a little, but nothing like it did last night. *whew*

Sorry for the long post! Hope you all have a great weekend! Make it count! Anything goes!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 232 (day 1 / week 34)

Today I tried to make up for the lack of exercise I did during work. I was only able to do some random strength exercises, but not really any cardio.

I got up and did my 2 miles in about 45 minutes by myself (warm up and cool down included--368 kcal). I can tell that I haven't done this in about a week, because my shins and calves were sore. I haven't given up on the C25K so I did some of that today also--3 minutes walking, 1 minute jogging. My first mile took me 13 minutes! After that I slowed waaay down, although I still did some random jogging, just not as much, or for as long. I am wearing my new work-converted-exercise-shoes and they feel great! I feel like I have much more of a spring in my step.

After I got home I put in Turbo Jam's Turbo Sculpt, but got bored with being inside. I made it through 11 minutes (116 kcal) before deciding to go wake the Monkey Boy up, put him in his stroller and go for a walk outside. I was prepared for a fight (he hates his stroller lately), so I got everything together before hand so I could just dart out the door, but he didn't put up much of a fight at all. *yaay* In fact, the only thing he whined about was his shoes.He didn't want to wear his flip flops, but instead wanted to wear these:

He's such a funny Monkey :).

We walked for an hour and I think it was about 3.5 miles (724 kcal). It was hot, 90-92F, but could have been worse.

All in all, it was a good day for exercise :).











I don't have to work again until Sunday, so see you again tomorrow for another great day of exercise! I already decided it's going to be a great one! (things are how we make them :)).

Make it count!

I can do this. I am a star.

PS Have I mentioned that my scrubs are extremely large on me? The last time I wore them was 50 lbs ago! woo hoo!

Day 227 (day 3 / week 33)

I worked yesterday and boy was I tired when I got home. I don't know if I am going to be wanting to do any exercise afterward, so I am going to have to do my best to get out of the house earlier in the morning, to get at least 30 minutes, on the days that I work. On the days that I have off, like today, I am just going to have to suck up the fact that my feet hurt, I'm tired, and just want to relax, and make it count. I've learned that the instant gratification that I so craved before, isn't so worth it in the grander scheme of things. Besides, what's an hour or two, of my entire day. The earlier I get it done, the more of the day I have to be lazy.

My schedule is a little wonky right now, so I'm not sure when I am supposed to be on again. The charge nurse on the pod I worked on yesterday and I thought we had created a schedule for me for this month, but it turns out that it was for September. I didn't notice this until last night when I was telling my hubby my schedule and he looked at his calendar and said it didn't make sense. No wonder it didn't make sense. It was September. Now I can't get a hold of anyone to help me fix my schedule. I just need to be patient and wait a little longer I guess (It's only been 2 hours since I left a message).

Today I put on my new "work" shoes, and went for a walk. I thought it was at least 4 miles, but it was only 3.5. I wore my sculpting gloves, and brought 2 full bottles of water out with me (weights) and just walked. My feet feel great in these new shoes. I think I am going to use these as my new walking/jogging shoes (haven't given up on the C25K thing yet, but that's another blog post) and my old(er) walking/jogging shoes for work, since no one said anything to me about them in the last few days.

Including my warm up and cool down, it took me 90 minutes to go that short distance (tisk tisk), and I burned 921 calories. It felt good to get out and do something in more than 20-30 minutes, although it was in 90F and the sun was beating down on me (praise God for sunblock!).

Today I am going to go get my work watch band fixed and hopefully get a hold of a charge nurse to fix my schedule.

I still need to fix my blog background so everyone can see my blog.

Make today count! It'll be over before you know it (the making it count part AND the day!)

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 215 (day 5 / week 31)

I am dedicating my walk today to Jen, her family and her mom. Jen was doing so much to reach her healthy lifestyle goals and exercising and I want her to know that we are still here supporting her on her journey and will be here when she returns.

As I was typing this I saw that Jen has posted a blog, so I am glad that I dedicated today's walk to them, because I won't be able to get out and walk with them tomorrow (I don't live in her area but I would walk anyway). She said tomorrow is her mom's memorial and they are going to go out and walk afterward, in honor of her mom, since she was never able to finish hers. If I can get out, I will. Read more here.

Today I went out in the late morning again. I didn't have any other choice because The Monkey Boy woke up really early (5:50am) and he just didn't want to go out until after 9am. When we left it was 93F and when we got back it was 97F. It was hot although today is overcast.

The difference between this time and the last time when I went out when it was hot was an article or some tips I read on the cool running website (for the C25K training) about going in the heat. It said to drink 8 oz of water every 15-20 minutes, so that's what I did, and I feel much better now, than I did the first time (I felt horrible and my HR was extremely elevated). Including my warm up and cool down I went for 85 minutes and only walked 3.9 miles. Half of it was uphill and the other half was down. I didn't do any jogging or skipping (too hot).

As of today I have walked 107.4 miles according to the Tools To Keep You Active, and am 1.02 mi to Scotchtown, VA Hanover County.

(pretty picture)

Tomorrow will be a late post as I have to go fill out the paperwork at the hospital so that I can start on the 10th. I have to be there at 8am so I have to leave here at 6-6:15am...I am assuming this will be enough time to drop off my son and get there on time. There wont be traffic on the way to Papa's house, but there will be a lot of traffic going to the hospital. I am so excited to have a job again! It's also exciting knowing that when I finish nursing school, I will no longer be considered "obese" also.

Off to set up my new weight bench. When I have it set up, I'll take a picture and show you my cool new gift from my in-law's neighbors. Thanks J, R and A!

Make today count! Go for a walk tomorrow! Read about when to on Jen's blog.

I can do this.

Day 205 (day 2 / week 30)

Today I did a lot. I wanted to make up for my busy past couple of days. Boy, did I make up for it.

I went for my usual 2 mile walk this morning (31 minutes, 456 calories) and then got in a little Done Girl dancing (still had my Walkman on) and put on The Firm Cardio Sculpt. It is hard to follow along listening to good music, did you know that? lol I got in only about 20 minutes before the Monkey Boy woke up and came in. He was in a good mood but I could see a glimmer of moodiness in his eyes, so I just stopped and went and snuggled with him (gotta pick and choose those battles now).

After a few hours of really nothing, I decided to go for a walk--my modified 1/2 city block, which is 4.16 miles in 80 minutes 1763 calories. Let me tell you this was a bad idea. Good in theory, but just a bad idea all around. I won't be walking this late in the day again, when it is hot like this.

For those of you that don't know, I live in Las Vegas, NV. It gets hot here. It's not so hot today as it has been (it's been close to 110 and some days ++ for the past week), but it was still hot, 92-93F when I was out there and that is pretty hot to exercise in (the high today is supposed to be 96F). I was about 1/2 way into this walk with the Monkey Boy and I felt like I was going to die. My HRM said my HR was over 150, and so that confirmed my theory that you exercise harder in the heat, and which is why I burned so many more calories today (almost 1800 in 80 minutes!! That's crazy!). I sweated more today, than I have in a long time. It was dripping down my arms, face and neck and even my feet are soggy (so gross, TMI, I know--sorry lol).


Even the Monkey Boy was all sweaty, so I guess it's fitting to have him in the picture (such a ham). This isn't a great picture, but this is us after the walk--it's really hard to tell just how red and sweaty I was (it's late, but here ya go Jen!). Side note: the shirt I'm wearing is a shirt that my hubby and I got at a Scion convention when we lived in Washington about 2.5 years ago. At the time, it was the largest shirt they had (an XL), and I couldn't fit into it. It was too small for me. Now it's REALLY big on me. Closet victory! Woo hoo!

Funny story--the Quickfire Challenges I did yesterday, were actually today's QFCs but posted early! lol. Yesterday's QFCs were actually butt kicks--like Jillian Michaels makes us do in the 30 Day Shred, and computer crunches. I don't think I am going to do anything more for the day.

I think I deserve a treat for all of the work I put in today. I think a No Sugar Added Fudgsicle with only 40 calories sounds perfect! Woo hoo! ....*drool*

Make it count!

I can do this. I am a star.

PS. I am going to be testing out backgrounds in the next few days. My favorite is a little gloomy looking, but represents my journey (not the gloominess)... there is a path and it's peaceful looking and there is a reflection of the mountains in the water. My blog reflects my journey (the path) and is a reflection of who I am at this point in my life (the reflection). I should have it up shortly, if the coding isn't still cooky.

Day 200 (day 4 / week 29)

I can't believe that today is day 200 of my resolution! For 200 days straight I have exercised. For 200 days in a row, I have done this! It doesn't really feel like it's been 200 days, because I have been doing this one day at a time. If I've learned anything it's that baby steps, and taking big goals one day at a time, works. It's not about the bigger picture, until that picture is complete; it's about each individual brush stroke coming together, to make a lasting picture. I am so proud that I have stuck with this, and that I will be able to say soon, that I did something that changed my life, or an entire year straight. In case you guys are wondering, this is probably going to emerge into something more than a 365 day resolution--maybe it will turn into a 2 year resolution...how awesome would that be??

Today I went for a long walk...4.31 miles to be exact (85 minutes including my cool down and 1225 calories burned according to my HRM). I went by myself and brought my CD player. I haven't used this thing in YEARS. I was happy right off, because my belt thingy, that my CD player goes into actually fit me! The last time I tried to wear it, it was so tight that the straps kept falling out of the clip--it just wouldn't stay together. Yaay! I listened to No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom all the way through and then 2 or 3 songs over again. Music really makes the time go by fast. I hadn't listened to that CD in a long time, so it was fun to listen to something that was a "favorite" at one point in my life.

Today's QFC is T-Stands again. I won't be doing those, because....well because I did enough. I did try, but my legs were just to wobbly from the walking. Maybe later (probably not lol).

Off to take a shower. I should take a picture for Jen, the Prior Fat Girl because she was asking for our sweaty exercise pictures a couple weeks ago (you'd be surprised with how pictures of sweaty people exercising prove to be a form of inspiration/motivation lol). I never did it, but I always think about it lol. This girl has lost almost 100...ONE HUNDRED pounds! She is working on her last 10 and we are all so proud of her! Totally amazing and such an inspiration.

I can't wait until I can finally call myself a prior fat girl...now I'm just a semi fat girl doing the "done girl" dance--cause I'm, "done being a fat girl" lol (one of my sparkpeople groups).

Have a great day everyone! Make it count!! Do something everyday and do it for a week (1 day at a time)...then 2 weeks and 3...before you know it, you will see day 200 roll around! woo hoo!

I can do this. I am a star!

Day 199 (day 3 / week 29)

Today I started off feeling a little discouraged because I didn't get up early enough to walk outside (6:30am)...it was already 90 degrees by the time I wanted to get out of the house and the weather channel is predicting a high of 114F today! I know that if I don't exercise earlier rather than later, especially on a hot day, I struggle with it. Not a fan of heat--I'm one of those people that would rather be cold than hot (I grew up in the mountains). Anyway, before letting the procrastination fog rolled over, I went and did something. The Firm's Cardio Sculpt (60 minutes), which I welcomed, because my legs are no longer sore, and this was an indicator for me (yaay!).

I also did and extra 25 minutes of miscellaneous circuit training: concentration curls, triceps extensions, lateral raises (?) and my Quickfire Challenge for the day, squat thrusts. I did 2 sets of 10 regular squat thrusts and 3 sets of 10 modified squat thrusts using my fanny lifter. The other QFC for today is to walk fast for 10-15 minutes, every 2-3 hours, 3-5 times a day. I am not going to do this one--it's too hot outside.

Off to bake a sugar free carrot cake for my hubby's grandmother's birthday (it's today!). Happy birthday Gram!

Make today count! If you are doing that outside, don't forget about sunblock!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 198 (day 2 / week 29)

Someone out there thinks I'm crazy lol (maybe more than one of you!). Yesterday I called it a (non)rest day, but burned over 700 calories. Let me explain--there is a method to my madness and I'm not really surprised that I haven't mentioned it before!

Since being on my journey and recently utilizing my HRM, my goals have been changing. a lot. I think it could have a lot to do with boredom and just keeping my mind distracted from 365 days of a daily goal. I can do more exercise than I ever have been able to in the last 4-5 years, and I am playing with what my limits are. I can burn A LOT of calories in a day if I wanted to. Before my legs got sore (recently--they are feeling much better today btw), I had found that burning around 900 calories a day, according to my HRM--disclaimer: I don't take these numbers to heart, but I use them as a measuring tool...know what I mean by that?--is the perfect compromise to myself and is VERY doable for me. That being said, I recently made 900 calories a day my goal, despite the minutes (have you noticed that I have been burning right around 900 calories lately?). According to my HRM I can get up to 1500 a day, but I think that might be too much.

Yesterday I burned 700+ so I didn't reach my "goal," so I called it a rest day :). See? Also, my other daily goal is a minimum 60 minutes a day (which I'm pretty sure I did mention here). Yesterday I only did 50 so that was my other factor. I don't think any of this is that interesting, except for to me (it's the science of me!), and probably makes me look a little more neurotic than I would like, so I just don't mention it. Loree called me on it though... lol. ;)

A long explination for a short thought in my head. lol.

Anyway...

Today...today is going to be VERY hot. They have called an excessive heat warning until Saturday night, so I am trying to get up earlier (how successful I am at this is a different story) to walk earlier, so I can avoid the 90F+ temps at 8am. Today I walked 2 miles but fought with my HRM for such a long time, and was annoyed when I got home, that I forgot to stop tracking. All good though, because it took about that long for me to cool down. I got this: 2 miles, 50 minutes 475 calories. I know this isn't right, because my HR went from 145 to 75 and jumped to 117 and stayed there for a good 10 minutes. SO ANNOYING! I need to find my 3 manuals on this HRM and find out what the dealio is, because this is frustrating. It's clean and doesn't need a battery change (I don't even know how I would do that!) and I don't think we are near any radio interference (the other thing that could cause it to trip out) so it shouldn't be acting up. I'm sure a few cars driving by thought they were going to get a peep show, because I kept checking to see if my HRM was making good skin contact (it is/was). I don't know what the deal is but it's frustrating.

After I got home I did Ab Jam, and did the same thing! I totally zoned and forgot to stop it when I was done and I got 25 mins, 167 calories. I give up and I'm done for the day.

My goal for tomorrow is 713 calories burned, to meet my weekly goal of 5400--6days/wk @900, giving me a few days to futz around so I don't get burned out.

Today's QFCs are triceps chair dips which are easily done at work (hint, hint) 100 total in sets of 20-25 and shadow boxing for 5 mins, 3-5 times a day. I am not going to do either today. I will probably do concentration curls (100 w/ 5lb weight) and something else although I don't know what that is yet. Maybe I will do a little "done girl dancing" with the Monkey Boy as well :).

Have a great weekend and see you tomorrow! Make it count!

PS. I haven't forgotten to tell you my exciting news, but I am going to make you wait another week (until next Thursday) since I ALSO have to wait another week for any news. Hopefully I will know for sure by then! God was definitely with me yesterday so I hope I will have good news and not bad. ;) Very exciting!!!!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 187 (day 5 / week 27)

Today I went for a walk with the Monkey Boy again. Let me tell you, he did not want to go. He threw the biggest fit as I was putting him in the stroller and even as I pushed him out the door--he wanted to stay home and watch TV, the little stinker.

It was around 8am, and I woke him up so that I could take this walk. I had already decided to walk today, and knew that it was supposed to get to 105F today, so I skipped my video and tried to set out early.

I told him that since he didn't want to go, we could go for a short walk, so that we could compromise--I get to walk and he gets to come home earlier so he can watch Sesame Street.

Not even 1/2 way into our walk, I realized (the hard way) that I drank too much water before we left lol. I had to stop and use a park bathroom on the way. It was a good thing that I did a shorter route this time, because if I had gone my usual route, there would not have been a bathroom as close and I would have had to wait a lot longer (not a good thing after 32oz of water lol).

We walked for 2.80 miles, and it took me 60 minutes (901 calories burned), including my bathroom break, and the few stops I made to take these pictures:



It's amazing how if you look, you can find beauty all around you. God really blesses all of us in that way. There is obvious beauty and then beauty that is there and mostly unappreciated.

The first 2 pictures were the only color that I saw out of gray. They were taken looking up at the sky, because they towered over my head. The streets are dark gray, the walls are medium gray and the sidewalks are light gray. These flowers looked so beautiful next to the dull shades, and the green trees really popped too, if you looked up at them (the sun is too intense for me to look up in the sky when I walk--even the Monkey Boy wants his blanket over his head).

There is even beauty in death, as shown in this tree--there is green tree after green tree, and then this one in the midst of it all. These dead trees sit there in their calming stillness, and they are truly amazing. They lived long graceful lives, and even after they have have turned gray and stopped growing, they make their presence known. It's quite breathtaking if you let yourself take it all in.

I took a picture of a cactus, because when I think of the desert, I think of cactus. I thought this one was very proportionate and symmetrical in it's own way. I like that :).

If the Monkey Boy goes down for a walk, I want to do The Firm's Ab Sculpt video.

I hope you all have a good day. If you are stressed out, or in a bad place mentally, escape from that and go look outside. You can find beauty everywhere--in grass, rocks, the sky even dead trees.

Make it count!

I can do this. I am a star.

day 180 (day 5 / week 26)

I just got back from my 4.8 mile walk. I finished it in 1:38:30, my average heart rate (HR) was 135 (peak 155) and my HR monitor said that I burned 1543 calories. Is this even possible??? That just seems so high to me, but it could be because I am used to seeing sparkpeople's numbers. *shrugs* I'll find out somehow.

Today was a difficult walk. Not because I didn't want to go, or because my feet hurt (side note: I forgot to take Advil before my walk and nothing in my body hurts one bit right now! Yaay! Another positive side effect from exercising everyday :)). It was difficult because it was so darn hot! Man! It was so hot that it felt like my HR was a lot more elevated than usual on my walk, and it stayed elevated for a longer period of time. It's supposed to get up to 108 today, and I was just baking under the sun. My heart was pounding. We left before 8am, and got home before 10 am, and it was HOT already--88 when we left, 98 when we got back. Man, today is a scorcher (as my Dad would say! lol)!

I have talked about my walks quite a few times, and I think one of those times I mentioned my visual motivators (the traffic lights lol). I decided to take some pictures to share with you what I see on my walk. Mind you that today I did this backwards, so I don't usually see these in this sequence (it's somewhat backwards, but it's how I saw it today).

First motivator. Where I begin my mental journey.

first traffic light


2nd traffic light


I walk by Spanish Trail every time I walk my city block. Beyond the gates are multi-million dollar homes, where some of Las Vegas' elite and celebrities such as Andre Agassi, David Copperfield, Siegfried and even Michael Jackson (RIP) have/had property. I took a pic of this because it's a nice break from looking at sidewalks, walls, trash and traffic...that's all I really see on these walks!


3rd traffic light--almost home! Yaay!


4th and last traffic light


I see my final motivator!



Yaay!



This is the Monkey Boy's reaction to being close to home lol. (woo hoo!)


As my son would say, "TA DA!"
I am one red-faced, happy camper. I am done!

I hope you guys have a great Monday. Can you believe it's almost July! Man this month flew by fast!

Make today count! Before you know it, today will be over!

I can do this, I am a star.