~~ On Monday ~~

You know how when you plan to start something and you think, "I'll start on Monday"?  Ever wonder why you do that?  I have to admit I do it a lot.  Just about every Monday I start my healthy eating and/or exercise.  It's not necessarily new, but if I get off track and need to "restart" then I "restart" on a Monday.  There is just something about Monday.  I guess in my mind it is the beginning of the week and a good day to begin again.  So, tomorrow is Monday and I will "restart" my never ending journey of getting fit and healthy.  That's really all I have tonight. Preparing to tackle the week and try to begin making some new habits.  Wish me luck!

~~ Mega Machines ~~

I finally recovered from my Saturday running club workout and tonight I finally got to get together with my most favorite personal trainer! She had a fabulous workout ready for me and she didn't cut me any slack. She knows it has been months and she did not hesitate to get on that darn stairmill--first thing! I love her and I've missed her, and even though, or maybe because, she kicks my butt. At one point I had to laugh because she said that the plan was "easier" because of my recovery and not wanting to reinjure myself and well, it was pretty tough. To help keep me accountable and on track, I decided to participate in the transformation contest again.



Workout: Machines (2:11/897)*part of the time was paperwork/measurements/starting numbers for the transformation challenge* Going to have to add a "before" picture (soon).

~~ Transformation ~~

This is me and my most favorite personal trainer, Lonnie. I love her. I've been working out with her since January 2009. From the very beginning she has always been encouraging and passionate about exercise and being healthy. At times, especially in the beginning, she had more confidence in my strength and ability than I did. She will not cut me any slack and expects me to give her 100%. I'm very fortunate that my schedule has allowed me to be able to spend several days a week with her at the Y. At the end of June there was a contest, a transformation contest, and well, I love competition!

I had 10 weeks to make become a new, healthier, stronger me. Above are my before and after pictures, and as you can see, I did it! Here are the details:

Pounds Lost: 17

% Body Fat Lost: 5.9

Inches Lost--

waist: 2

leg: 2

hips: 1.25

arm: 1

Push ups & Sit ups: doubled

Couldn't have done it without Lonnie and a few other workout buddies! Came in 2nd place and won 6 more personal training sessions, which means I get to spend more time with my favorite PT!

~~ Peel off the pounds ~~

Third day in a row that I worked out with my favorite PT, Lonnie. She did not take it easy on me, at all. I didn't really expect her to. Lots of core work and cardio. Workout was 1:04 and 581 burned.

~~ Circuit ~~

That's what it was, but she could have called it all the C's-cardio, chest, core, crunch because she included all of those. Just over an hour, 1:02, and 489 cals burned. WooHoo!

~~ L squared & A Big Green Ball ~~

Today's workout was legs and lower abs. It was an hour and 16 minutes and 822 cals burned. I hate, hate, hate the stairmill, but man, Lonnie had me on it not once, but twice today and it showed in my cals burned! OH YEA!


I have been promising the boys we would get in some last minute fun stuff before school starts and one of the things on my list was to take them bowling. So, this afternoon we headed on over to.....

We've been there once or twice for birthday parties and it has always been crazy busy with people, but we always had fun. I knew today was going to be different when I pulled into the parking lot and there were maybe 8 cars. It was pretty much like a ghost town-I wasn't even 100% sure it was open, even though it was 11:30. They were open and it was pretty much empty and it was so nice having the place to ourselves. Liz and the girls joined us and I am so glad they did. The girls had never been bowling before and they did AWESOME! It was great to be able to share such a fun first with them. We got our lane, our shoes, and our balls and we were ready to roll.....



First: Jesse





Second: Kami





Third: Michael





Last up: Nani





We took a break around the 6th frame for pizza and drinks, then we finished up. Here are a few more pictures of the kiddos having a ball.....

The mamas smiling, enjoying the last day of summer with our babies-in the a/c!

~~ Power Pack ~~

Workout today was packed full of cardio, abs, arms and legs! After 1:21 and 730 cals burned, I was ready to shower and relax. We went home and did just that!



For Michael's birthday he wanted to go eat at McDonald's and play on the playscape, so we went for lunch. Grandpa and Deborah met us there and we were able to visit while the kids played.



Next up, naptime! Okay, so nobody actually slept, but we did lay down and rest. The boys don't know it, but I signed them up for Kid's night out at gymnastics. They get to go have fun and Phillip and I get to have a date night-Chinese and a Movie!

~~ Lunges & Teachers ~~

Today also included:

My workout-

Frontal and Horizontal lunges--that's what this mornings workout was called. Like always, it was a good one! Lot of legs. Worked out for 1:22 and burned 744 calories!

Meet the teacher:

Tonight was the right night to meet the teacher and drop off supplies. I got a call yesterday telling me that Michael got into the dual language program like Jesse. I was so thrilled! I've known that Jesse would have Mr. Aranda again, since the beginning of summer when he decided to move up to 1st grade, but I didn't know who Michael would get until I got that phone call. I had seen Ms. Sanchez at the dual language meeting last week, but we didn't get to meet her until tonight.
Phillip had an office day today, so I was able to go to a quick PTA board meeting and set up the icee pops table before he brought the boys up to the school.

I can't wait for school to start next week!

~~ Hot, Hot, Hot ~~

It has been SO hot here this week-I have no idea what the high was today, but OH.MY.GOODNESS, I'd be willing to bet it was at least a few degrees above 100! Because of that and the fact that school starts a week from today we stayed inside and relaxed-almost ALL DAY.
An early workout first thing this morning was a must, but after that-NOTHING! It was fabulous to just spend some quality time hanging with the boys, in the A/C!

Today's workout--1:33 PT-*Body Shapers* 756 burned

~~ Shopping ~~

Today's Workout: 1.5 mile/20 min. run on treadmill and 16.8 mile/53:45 min. cycle class

I remembered to wear my watch and band, yea! After 1 hour and 55 mins, it said kcal = 1035 burned!

Today started early and just flew by. It began with me getting all dressed up so that I could go drop off my resume at the elementary school right up the street. They have 2 openings and either would be *perfect* for me! I'm praying that it is God's will for me to fill one of those positions.

It was nice to get up, shower, put on make-up and get dressed to go somewhere. Since I have lost weight, my pants have gotten just a little baggie and that is a good thing! Not such a good thing, having to spend dollars on buying new clothes, because I'm not done losing weight yet! So, I pulled out a few tubs full of clothes that I had been storing, because one day I will be able to wear them again. It was like going shopping without shelling out the big bucks. Yea, new clothes!

The boys and I had lunch with Grandpa, Deb and Memaw. It has been awhile since we have seen them and it was great to visit and catch up.

Michael and I went school clothes shopping for him, instead of taking a nap. He got some new tennis shoes, new underwear, 4 shirts and 3 pairs of shorts. We went to Kohl's, so I didn't have to shell out the big bucks. He is all set and ready to start Kindergarten next week.

Phillip's on vacation, kind of, and he was home this afternoon so the boys stated with him when I headed to the Y for my workout!

~~ Running Club ~~

Yesterday I went here.....

to get these.....

I have wanted to say that I am a runner for a long time-at least a year and a half. It was hard at first, because of my weight. Since I joined the Y in January of 2009 I have been working hard to lose those extra, extra pounds to make running easier. I have made progress, I started walk/running a mile in 14 minutes, 9 seconds and today I ran the entire mile in 10 minutes, 15 seconds. My record, back in May was 9 minutes, 45 seconds. Anyway, I haven't really been running consistently, so I have gotten a little faster, but I'd like to work on longer distance and faster time. So, I joined a beginners running club at the Y! We will meet on Saturday mornings, have homework assignments during the week and after 10 weeks, I will run my first 5K!! I am so excited. I absolutely LOVE the YMCA-the programs and the people!

Here I am smiling.....

after over 2 hours and 610 kcal burned!

~~ Ready. Set. Shred. ~~

I went to Target today and this is what I came home with:



It is part of the Resolution and the never ending battle to get in shape.

I get to pick Jesse up from school now every day and it is one mile there and one mile back! If the weather is nice I plan on walking so I thought a pedometer would be fun to see just how many steps I take a day. If I can remember to "save" the number I'll post it.

The weights are for my workout with Jillian. She says I can lose 20 pounds in 30 days.....we'll see about that. I am going to try, try, try to do it everyday.....we'll see about that too.

Today was Day 1 and it was 20 minutes of not so much fun exercise, but I did it!

Minus 4

It has been 2 weeks since I started the biggest loser at the Y. I wasn't sure I was going to make it after the 1st workout. The pain was just ugh, but I survived. It has actually been so much fun. Don't get me wrong, the workouts are still intense, but I've made some new friends and I am feeling better=more energy. It is definitely the motivation I needed. Anyways, the good news is I have lost 4 pounds and a few inches in my chest and waist.


**I forgot to mention part of the challenge was to give up something for 6 weeks. I chose to do without flour tortillas. I LOVE flour tortillas and that is why they had to go.**



In other news.....



I started school yesterday. Another 15 hours, so it is going to be a busy, busy, busy semester. I'm not so motivated about school this semester, but I am almost done. Only 7 weeks until Spring Break!

PAIN

OH.MY.GOODNESS.

The PAIN.....I'M SO SORE.

I can't even walk. It was an incredible workout yesterday. I worked muscles that haven't been used in many, many years and some I didn't even know I had. Seriously, my legs are unbelievably sore. It really is quite funny to see me moving around the house. I have to hold on to things to sit down and get up and I have to move very s-l-o-w. The last time I hurt this bad was after I tried out for the basketball team in 8th grade. Coach P. worked us so hard; every muscle in my body felt ached for days. It was so worth it though, I made the team! There is one night I remember well, after tryouts, I rode the bus home and it dropped me off right in front of my house. As I got off the bus I could already feel my muscles stiffening and I could barely cross the street, it hurt to walk. I went straight to take a hot, hot bath. Ahhh! I did the same thing last night AND this morning. I'm sure there'll be more in the days ahead.

I am pumped and ready for Tuesday!

The Biggest Loser

I decided that I needed a little motivation (butt kickin') to get busy with exercising. So not only did I join the Y, I also signed up for their version of the biggest loser. For the next 6 weeks, every Tuesday and Thursday morning for an hour and a half, I will be pushed to do way, way more than my body can probably handle, but I am totally up for it.


Today was the initial weigh in, measurements, timed mile and jumping jacks and push ups. The workout begins Thursday!!