a green awakening

Strong is Sexy Fitness Challenge_visit Week6
Saturday. Seeing the positive comes easy to me

Another hum drum lazy dazy just not feeling like getting up kind of morning, but I eventually got up and put on my workout gear.  Although it was many hours later till I actually got out for my run.  We skipped morning coffee with the family so I brewed a cup of french vanilla to help wake me up as I as still struggling to find some energy to get moving.  

About an hour later I started working on the kitchen.  Today I took care of the island's main cabinet and 3 of the drawers.  I washed everything and cleaned the shelves.   I think I'm down to 3 cabinets top shelves which contain some various items that I'm not sure what to do with yet.

A few hours into the afternoon we were called for lunch with the family.  We had roast beef in sauce on a sub roll with homemade mac and cheese.  It was nice to see the crew and chat for a bit before we headed back to the house when I continued to work on the kitchen.  

A few hours later I finally made it out for my run.  I was planning on doing my bodyrock workout afterward, but had a dilemma after a phone cal from my grandmother.  Turns out a ticket I had gotten on 8/26 for a headlight that was out, which then led to a ticket and only 5 days to get that fixed, plus remove the tint of my driver and passenger windows + change my drivers license address.  If I got the verification paperwork done in 5 days I was supposed to avoid a fine, paperwork sent to me states otherwise.  I spent the next hour talking to my grandparents and my mom trying to deescalate.  I"m sure you can image how upset I was, especially with all the fines added up.  

* 2.39 mile run_visit
 

Once I was calmed down I came back in the kitchen to finish cleaning up, then headed upstairs for a shower.  I had a feeling that as soon as I got in the shower the family would call us for dinner, especially since the sun had already set and sure enough they did.  My shower was shortened and I had to do a quck blow dry and we headed over.  We chatted for a while helped clean up the dinner dishes before heading back for bed.

Once I crawled into bed I thought I would check to see if I might be able to access my phone internet and surprising I did.  I took the next hour and a half checking my email and viewing my trulia recommendations based on some of the houses I'm following.  It was slower then my home internet, but still a lot faster then dial up.  Yes, up here in Huntingdon we live in the land of dial up.  I like the email recommendations as it keeps me open to other places that I may not have found.  I found a few I'll review further once I get home if it's not to late when.

YES, THAT IS A GRASSHOPPER ON MY TOOTHBRUSH. AT 3:30AM.   

Sunday. I am amazing, inside and out

This morning was another lazy day and spent most of the day on the couch with my laptop, but I did sneak outside for a little while since I had better internet on my phone.  It was beautiful today and glad I got to enjoy it before it got cold.  My mom had given me two more listings after talking to a listing agent who was selling a house a friend of her's was interested in.  I wasn't able to find much on the listings so I'll check into them later tonight.   also was glad to catch Love Begins a Hallmark Original Movie.  I think an addition of the Love Comes Softly Series, which I very much enjoy. 

CUTE STRAY THAT'S BEEN COMING AROUND. ISN'T HE SO CUTE.   

NICE SHOT OF PUNKIN FROM THE SIDE.   

eats

Very bad this weekend.  I was a snack-a-holic.

beautifully serene

Strong is Sexy Fitness Challenge_visit Week6
Friday. I jump out of bed with energy and purpose!

Shockingly I sleep very well last night and was so glad to wake up feeling rested.  I still passed on getting up to workout this morning, I think now because it was what I'd done all week and it was comfortable and easy.  However, I did sneak in a Tone it Up! workout before lunch time.  Though I only went through it once. 

* Detention Workout– 2-3 Repeat Circuit by Tone it Up (only once through today)
   10 R-Lunges
   10 L-Lunges
   60 secs Plank
   20 Squat Jacks
   10 R-Side Crunches w/out medicine ball
   10 L-Side Crunches w/out medicine ball
   20 Tummy Tucks

I don't have an exercise ball so I can't write "I will tone it up!" with a medicine ball, so I'll just be in plank position for 60 seconds instead.

After work I plan on stopping by two places.  One I'm super excited just from the interior pictures, but not sure if I want to be that far north.  I think the drive by will be very helping in determining if this house is worth the drive.  

HOUSE #1 WICONISCO ST    

PROS * $89,900 * 3bed, 1.5 bath *  Super close to work * $0000 Taxes * detached garage * nice size fenced in yard

CONS - Galleyway Kitchen - Looks like a forest outfront - no central air - small bathroom - no central air

Listed on 08/27/11

HOUSE #2 BUTLER ST 

PROS * $89, 900 * 3bed, but only 1 bath * HW floors * $0000 Taxes * Nice size fenced in yard * Great open kitchen

CONS - A further drive - no central air -

Listed on 02/07/11

eats

were very good today.

Breakfast:
* 1/2 blueberry bagel w pb + chia seeds + strawberries
* cottage cheese
* coffee

snack:
* black seedless grapes
* almonds
* raisins

Lunch:  Salad Wrap + cherries

* pre-made salad in deli w tuna salad
* cucumber
* cherry tomatoes
* Giant Organic Italain Dressing
* Spinach Wrap

Snack:
* chocolate protein shake
* yellow apple

each day is a gift

Strong is Sexy Fitness Challenge_visit Week6
Thursday. Each day is a gift.

It was a pretty rough night again.  After the week I've had and the issues with sleep latency I need to find a way or two to help relax me so I'm not so wired before I turn out the lights.  After an hour I was finally able to fall asleep, but with some disrupted sleep and by the time my alarm went off my body was not fully rested.

I didn't get to my workout today or even yesterday, but hope sometime this evening I will get even a short workout in.  Laundry was one of the things I was able to get done this morning and glad that I only had enough for one load. 

I did however, get a chance to organize some house information and chose 4 from the printouts my Realtor gave me to review.  There were, as always, good and bad for each of them, but really some of the bad helped to eliminate them completely.

HOUSE #1 PENNWOOD. PILE: NO 

This house was a town house/row home that had some really great qualities, but also had a few things that distracted from the good.

PROS * $70, 900 * 3bed, but only 1 bath * Nicely kept neighborhood,    but just on that block * $1303 Taxes * Nice size fenced in yard

CONS - Railroad a block over - Furniture warehouse a block over - baseboards - older cabinets - pink tile in the only bathroom - no central air

HOUSE #2 GREEN.  PILE: NO  

As I made my way to this house I was getting a little nervous. the neighborhood just was to run down and dirty that there was no way I was going to even keep this a consideration. I parked for a quick second and then decided to just keep moving. Plus the road was really clogged up with vehicles and the roads were torn up.

HOUSE #3 N 3RD. PILE: REALTOR

PROS  * $94,900 * 4bed, but only 1 bath * Close to Italian Lake * Close to work * Laundry Room * Nice size fenced in yard * Includes Mic+DW+Fridge+W/D * beautiful layout and flooring * open and beautiful kitchen

CONS  - $2373 Taxes - Neighborhood could be cleaner - on street parking - window units - oil, radiator heat - asbestos shingles - back yard view

HOUSE #4 FULTON ST. PILE: REALTOR  

I was really excited about his place as it had so many great things going and in May they lowered the asking price by 35k.  It was a pretty sweet thought thinking that such a beautiful house with a 2 car garage was located in Harrisburg in my price range, but then I realized why when I drove by.  It was this beautiful bubble community surround by a whole lot of ugly.  I k now the city is trying to bring up the community, but why you would build such beautiful homes in that specific location I don't understand.  It really doesn't make me feel safe to walk outside of the bubble community and having a safe community I can walk freely in is high on my list.  With this I can definitely see why it hasn't sold and why they included a two car garage & a beautiful while privacy fence, because no one would be stupid enough to park their expensive car in such a neighborhood.  Plus, the privacy fence helps to hide the run down city around your home. 

Dispute how ugly the surrounding community is I'm still planning on making a visit., as it's like a needle in a hay stack home with all the amenities.    Really with all that it offers I would be silly not to at least walk inside and check it out.  Plus, it's the lesser priced of the ones for sale and it's the best looking as far as updates and space planned. 

PROS  * Kitchen Size * 2 bed 1.5 ba * Beautiful community * Central Air/Heat * Laundry Room * Nice size fenced in yard * price reduced 35k in May * 2 car garage * built in 2004 * gas range, mic, dw, fridge, w/d

CONS  - $110K - Surrounding Neighborhood - $2000 taxes - back yard view - possible short sale

summary

I'm still no where near making an offer on any of the houses I've viewed and driven by and wont be for a little while as I still have a pretty sizable pile of homes to drive by and potentially visit.  I've only had one house and that's the one on 5th street that I was willing to place an offer, but currently it's still off the market going through the final foreclosure stage before it goes back on the market.  Though it's nice to see what else is out there and who knows I may find something else that says this is home

Currently, I have around 6 condos/homes I would like to attend a showing and so my official Realtor is hard at work scheduling those appointments for next Tuesday.  I'll continue to keep you updated on the process and posting photos of the places I drive by and what I like and don't like and hopefully be able to make a final decision in the next 30-60 days when I'll know if I qualify for first time home buyer help.

I have two that I want to drive by before I head off to Huntington tomorrow,  and about 8 near the Derry/Berryhill area that I'll visit either Monday or Thursday next week..

eats

were almost really good.  Had 2 donuts around lunch time and 3 chocolate chip cookies around dinner.

Breakfast:
* 1/2 blueberry bagel w pb + chia seeds + strawberries
* cottage cheese
* coffee

snack:
* 2 donuts (1) chocolate frosting on plain (1) chocolate glazed

Lunch:  Salad Wrap + yellow apple

* pre-made salad in deli w tuna salad
* cucumber
* cherry tomatoes
* Giant Organic Italain Dressing
* Spinach Wrap
* broccoli, mushrooms, onions (leftovers)

Snack:
* black seedless grapes
* almonds
* raisins

Dinner
* Kashi Autumn Wheat 
* soy milk
* strawberries
* 3 small Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookies

lights in the sky

Strong is Sexy Fitness Challenge_visit Week6
Wednesday. I can do anything I wish

I think maybe the run last night might have been overkill, but I'm still not regretting it.  Loved, almost, every minute of it.  Though not to happy about the sun coming in earlier now that fall is setting in.  Hoping tonight to go for another run, but not sure how long my meeting will go tongiht and if the sun will stay up long enough for me to run.  I'll I need is 2o minutes of good daylight to make me happy, please, please pretty please.

I finally got around to calling my hairdresser last night, but with it being after hours I left a message and knew they would call me back today.  I was surprised to set an appointment for next Friday.  My hairdresser is really hard to get an appointment with and you have to set it sometimes close to a month ahead in order to get a time that wont conflict with my work schedule.  I was expecting to set an appointment in October, but was surprised to hear that she had an opening next Friday at 6pm.  This would cause me to be late heading up to Huntingdon, but this was something I was willing to do, becasue I so really really need a trim.  My hair hasn't been cute in over 3 months and is so thick that it's hard to take care of.  It's going to take far less time to dry and flat iron once it's thinned and hoping that my hair will look longer.  It just seems like my hair should be or at least appear longer since I've been trying to grow it out the last 6 months.    Though the one thing I'll miss is being able to put my hair in a pony tail, because my hair wont be the same length once it's thinned. 

SIDE AND FRONT VIEW OF CURRENT HAIR LENGHT   

It rained off and on today and heavy when it was one.  I hoped that I would catch a run after my meeting, but the rain just didn't stop and an hour into the meeting a lightening storm began.  It caused a lot of chaos outside as several firetrucks made their way down the main street with police vehicles following behind.  We were uncertain what to think, especially when we peered outside to see what was going on and saw the lightening storm that seemed to stick to only two areas. 

We tried to keep the humor light, but you could feel the tension rise once the lights went out and the alarm starting to beep. After making a few phone calls and finding out there was nothing we could do about the alarm we headed back to the office with my flash light ap lighting the room we continued our meeting and closed shortly after the lights came back on and we had a plan for the next step. 

The lightening storm was still occurring, but the rain had stopped so we were able to safely make our way to our vehicles and make it home without any delays. Once home I made my way to the kitchen to settle the grumbling in my stomach.  Luckily, I had my water with me to help fill my tummy, but by 9pm I was ready to fill it with something more solid.  I grabbed a box of autumn wheat by Kashi, soy milk and strawberries enjoyed a simple bowl of cereal.  I did decided to add a slice of cornbread after sampling a small piece that was leftover from my grandparent’s dinner. If I ate butter I would have added some to it, just to moisten it up a bit, but other then that it was delicious. 

I was surprised to see such an influx of houses to review when I checked my email and spent the next 2 hours to sort through the MLS listings along with comparing the houses that sparked an interest on Trulia.com and mapping out the directions from work to get a better idea of where they are location.  Once of the listings I'm really excited about and I plan on driving by it tomorrow to determine exactly what the neighborhood is like, because that will make it or break it.  The neighborhood is so important and I want to make sure it's safe and clean.  

ANOTHER HOUSE OF INTEREST.TOP OF LIST   

eats

were pretty on today.

I very much enjoyed my spinach wrap for lunch.  I'm going to cut up the extra cucumber tomorrow so I can add more of them to my salad.  I love cucumbers and cherry tomatoes, which I slice dinto 3 sections to fit better in the wrap.  Cherry tomatoes are my most favorite finger food. 

Breakfast:
* 1/2 blueberry bagel w pb + chia seeds + strawberries
* coffee

snack:
* black seedless grapes
* almonds
* raisins

Lunch:  Salad Wrap + yellow apple

* pre-made salad in deli w tuna salad
* cucumber
* cherry tomatoes
* Giant Organic Italain Dressing
* Spinach Wrap
* broccoli, mushrooms, onions (leftovers)

Snack:
* toast
* pb + jam + chia seeds
* 1/2 banana

dinner:
* kashi autumn wheat
* soy milk
* strawberries
* cornbread

salad dreams

Strong is Sexy Fitness Challenge_visit Week 5
Tuesday. I treat my body like my best friend

Another rest morning today, but the plan is to do my bodyrock workout and run after work.  This way I will have more time to enjoy my workout and also allows my body to rest a little longer.  Today at work was better, and I had good energy supply up until I decided an afternoon cup of coffee was a good idea.  I didn't need it just wanted a cup, but just felt my energy level decrease and it was just a bad idea. 

I began my workout sometime around 6 o'clock.  I started with a 5 minute jog to warm up and then placed my workout cheat sheets on the floor; practiced each move twice and began my interval timer.  

* Run the world workout – 12 minute Bodyrock interval workout
   P#1 08-08-09 R-Lunge Back to Side Lunge
   P#1 09-10-09 L-Lunge Back to Side Lunge
   P#2 20 rounds Crazy Cali Countdown - 4 minutes
   P#3 13-11-14 R-Side Crunch
   P#3 12-09-12 L-Side Crunch
* 3 mile run along River Front – Kelker to beginning of City Island bridge loop

Visit my bodyrock tab to download this workouts cheat sheet

IMAGE SOURCE    

round #1 notes.
It took about the first minute before I realized I was skipping a step (touch the ground) on the Lunge Back and what a differnce it made once I incorporated it.
round #2 notes.
The Crazy Cali Countdown was actually a pretty sweet move and finally between round 2 and 3 I got the flow down and was really having a good time. 
round #3 notes.
Though the last round I had to switch over to modified push ups.  I've never seen a side crunch done like this and boy do you feel it.  The last round was killer!

eats
were pretty on today, except for my 2nd cup of coffee in the afternoon.

I was excited to grab a pre-made salad from Giant.  I absolutely love their mixed salad with a scoop of tuna and potato salad.  It's enough for me to squeeze 3 salads out of, so lunch for the rest of the week, but need to buy more cherry tomatotes and cucumbers, since it's mostly a basic salad.  But I wanted something simple I could use my spinach wraps for.  

I wasn't sure what I was going to have as my side, but that was solved as soon as I walked inside the grocer and saw their display of tote bagged apples.  The yellow apples looked so good, but I knew I wasn't going to eat all of them before they go bad, so I took a few out since it was by the pound.

Salad: makes 3 svgs
* pre-made salad in deli (also has a scoop of tuna and potato salad)
* extra cucumber
* extra cherry tomatoes
* Giant Organic Italain Salad
* Spinach Wrap
* broccoli, mushrooms, onions (leftovers)

drive by listings

Strong is Sexy Fitness Challenge_visit Week 5
Monday. I love my sexy body!

This morning was rough.  I was so tired and sore from all the work this weekend I called it an active rest day.  Plus, once we got to the office we had to put the office back together after clearing everything off the floor so in case we were flooded we would have minimal damage.  I thought about going for a run afterword, but decided instead to drive by a few houses I found on Trulia. It's good to start really looking at the locations of some of the houses that have caught my attention to see if they are worth looking into.  If I don't like the neighborhood then there's no need to make an appointment or even keep it as a potential.

The first house was on Penn St only two blocks from River Front and my infamous Kelker Street, but it was located down a paved alleyway that was crowded and parking was tight.  Decided this was enough of a reason not to look into it further.  Plus, the surround neighborhood wasn't the most cleanly. 

DRIVE BY #1: PENN ST. $110k 5bed-1ba 

The second house was definitely in a nice, cleaner area of downtown and still really close to River Front and is priced just under my budget.  It's also only a block away from Brick City a favorite hot spot of mine and Citgo Gas station. The parking here was still not ideal, but not bad for downtown.  In front of the house was a sign stating that the neighborhood is apart of the local Crime Watch so I'm not sure if I should be relived or worried. 

DRIVE BY #2: GREEN ST. $99,500 2bed-1ba 

The third house was my favorite, but I'm not sure with the HOA fees if I will be able to afford it, plus it's currently 10k over my budget. Though that may change depending on how much they want to sell it. I actually parked and walked up to the condo and chatted with one of the neighbors for a good 30 minutes. She was very nice and really likes living there. Her daughter lives in the same complex only a few buildings down. The area is near Messiah Village, which is my ideal location and also has an open parking lot so no worries on having guest over.

From the listing information I got the impression that this place came with a deck and a gated patio, which I thought would be perfect for Bain, but turns out that the patio goes with the 1 bedroom condo below the loft of this condo.  The first floor of these condos have a 1 bed 1 bath condo and above is the loft of the 2 bed 1-2 ba condos. 

The condo association fees also include your hot water and heat, so I'm not sure if that would make a difference in qualifying for this place. I really like the kitchen in this one, compared to most condos its updated and even though it's only a Galloway there is more room in the walk way so it doesn't seem so crowded. I also really like the loft area and the fireplace.  Nothing like a little time and a potentially a few price reductions for it to eventually be in my price range.  though it may sell before hand and it wouldn't surprise me.  There are 3 other condos here for sale and this one is definitely the nice and priced better.

DRIVE BY #3: MESSIAH VILLAGE AREA. $109,500 2bed-2ba 

I also stopped at TJ Maxx and found a few cute items I wanted to take home, but decided to snap pictures instead.   I'll post these pictures either Wednesday or Thursday.   I didn't bring my charger and my battery is halfway gone and I need the rest for my run after work. 
* Owl platter
* Coffee Cups
* sweet purse on clearance (just not sure if it's going to be to bulky)

eats
were pretty on today. nothing crazy other than a 1/2 cup of soy ice cream I had with lunch.

an exhaustion of color

Strong is Sexy Fitness Challenge go
Week 5 Friday - Sunday

Friday.  It felt like a Saturday with the freedom to wake when I pleased.   Zzzzz, ah it’s morning, well it must be because I’m awake, but there is no sun to bid me morning.  I was a little confused until I saw the bright lights of my alarm, which read 5:30am.  Ugh really!  Yeah, totally not waking up now.   When I arose from sleep again, I smiled at the sight of the sun saying hello and slowly made my way to the kitchen for a much needed lively cup of joe to help get me moving.   For being so quite inside my morning started out with a little chaos with the dog barking outside, a moving company and my dad were positioning the back shed onto the truck and I later found my grandmother spying on them from the back bedroom.  The back shed had been there a long time and once it was strolling down the road on the back of a trailer you could see the mess it left behind.

My old blow dryer of 6 years died on me last weekend so I went on Folica.com to find me a new one.  I came across BaByliss, which had 203 reviews and 4.5 stars on Tuesday and placed my order.  They also had a special for 20% off any item with 4.5 stars or more, so I saved $8, making my $6 shipping free.  I chose the standard shipping even though I really didn't want to wait 3-5 business days, but it ended up arriving today.  I'm so excited to try it out.   

MY NEW HAIR DRYER. TOTALLY EXCITED!    

For most of the morning I talked with my grandparents and sat lazily on my grandpas recliner.  It’s so comfy and perfect for checking email on my laptop. The TV stayed on the local new channel keeping us up to date on the flooding.  We were very lucky, but there was still a lot of damage, mostly near the market street bridge and it will require a lot of people working together to help restore the city.  I was glad to hear that the river crested at 25’ Friday, as it was at 28’ Friday and as 32’ our business would have been flooded.

After I was done with my emails I began my 5 min warm up by running in place then began my bodyrock workout ab challenge.  It was plain torture.  The challenge was 10 minutes to see the number of rounds you can complete of 20 reps of mountain climbers + toe touches.  It really takes a lot to keep going and my ab muscles were no match for this challenge.  After the first round of toe touches I had to modify to bent knee crunches and even by the last round my abs were struggling to complete this challenge.  It isn’t very often, at least lately, that I have enough time for a run after my bodyrock workout so I grabbed my running gear and headed out.  I walked to the end of the drive then made my way through the development and to my old high school where I ran around the perimeter of each of the parking lots.   I forgot that school was back in session and was a little thrown off by the number of cars in the parking lot, but really didn’t run into anyone.  I was sweating bullets by the end and ended with some stretches on the porch and my push up challenge.

* 20 minute run – post bodyrock workout to CV HS and around the parking lot perimeters

I wasn’t sure how the rest of the day was going to go about with all the road closings caused by the flood, but after taking some time to check out the updates I decided that taking 22/322 would be my route of choice, especially since we had a slight snag in our car plans and I will have to wait to drop off my car at my uncles, a mechanic as well, till next weekend.  Before leaving I put together a gourmet salad and had some sparkling cider and made a stop at Walmart.

Saturday

I'm still not used to sleeping and so I continue to wake up several times during the nigh which makes it harder to get up in the morning, because if feel so unrested.  I hope i will be used to it soon.  

I decided to keep my pre-workout snack simple with just 2 medjool dates + ½ Gatorade.  My workout was pretty intense and I was so glad when I was done.  I stretched it out since I didn't want to do it without a 10 second break, so instead of 6 rounds I completed 12.  It helps to have that little break to catch your breath and note your reps.  Though you can tell as my score slowly decreases as I get closer to completing; it was very much a challenge to complete.  Next time I'll complete it in 6 rounds just so it doesn't seem like it's taking so long. 

* Bootie Firm Up by Body Rock
   11-06-07-10-11-11Explosive Star
   07-08-07-05-05-05 Plank to Pike Jump (step modification)

   07-03-16-20-18-16 Pendulum (step modification)

   16-15-13-10-06-12 Seated Bicycle

   04-04-04-04-04-03 Monkey Business Push Ups

   10-10-10-08-08-10 Flying Scissors

* Push Up Challenge: 05-04-06-05

* 5 minute warm up – pre-bodyrock workout

I got to writing up an eating schedule while I'm up here, and followed it mostly today.  Though I need to have a food plan so I'm not snacking all day. 

• 830am pre-workout
• 900 begin workout
• 930 shower
• 10 am coffee + breakfast
• 1pm lunch/snack
• 4pm snack
• 7pm dinner

I was only 15 minutes off from my schedule this morning, but by 1002 I was done with my shower and shortly after I finished drying my hair the phone rang and we headed for coffee + breakfast.

After we arrived back at the house I began phase II of cleaning out the kitchen.  I took several cabinets and drawers and wiped everything down, including washing everything that was in the cabinet before finding an appropriate location.  This is been a great help in knowing what were working with in the kitchen and making sure not to buy anything else that we have duplicates of already. (here's what I cleaned today: top shelf in pantry, left wall cab of sink, left corner base cabinet, base + wall cabinet below/above coffee maker, wall cabinet above stove, top drawer on island, rewashed every item in cabinet before putting back in cabinet).  I was planning on vacuuming later on, but it was close to 9pm before I even cleaned up my mess and got ready for dinner. 

In the afternoon I had gone outside to chat with my mom something brushed up against my left little toe and it made me jump.  When I looked down there was this really cool looking worm working it's way across the driveway.  I had never seen anything like this and wasn't sure if it may have been poisonous so my suggested putting it in a Tupperware container and checking with one of the family members. so I grabbed a cool whip container and punched some holes in the lid and went back outside to find it.  Found it hiding underneath my car.  Luckily, in the middle so I was able to back and and contain him until we met up with the family later.  I also added some leaves and rooted grass inside. 

MYSTERIOUS CATERPILLAR.  

We headed up to the job site a little later and I had the daughter-in-law look at it, who was pretty excited about it, which made me glad.  It was the talk for most of the weekend.  She didn't know what it was and neither did anyone else, but were going to find out once were able to access the internet. 

Around 8pm one of the guys dropped off the leaf blower and showed me how to use it.  For dinner we finally headed over after 9pm and enjoyed some delicious grilled chicken (2 drum sticks), home made mac and cheese (I went back for a second serving it was so good), peas, grape soda (really should have skipped that) and for dessert had 2 servings of peach cobbler.

The next thing I really need to get a handle on is having better eating habits on the weekend. It’s like I just go crazy with my food on the weekend, which defeats all my workouts and good eating during the week.

Sunday.

This morning was a wash when it came to working out, as I was just to tired and stayed in bed for as long as I could.  t 9pm I finally got up and washed my face.  Then went downstairs to journal.  We headed over for coffee and chatted for a bit before taking coffee and sweets to the guys at the job site.  We stayed with the family for several hours helping out in the kitchen and prepping for lunch.  We had hot dogs and leftovers. 

After we arrived back at the house I got out the leaf blower and began my driveway adventure.  This took a lot out of me and figured this worked as my exercise for the day.  It took a little bit to get it started, but once it was on I was feeling pretty good and felt pretty proud for what I accomplished being the girlly-girly I am.  The drive way was pretty long, it’s no typical driveway and I even scared the dog with all the noise.  Luckily, I didn't know until I was finishing up in the carport.  

POWER TOOLS :) AND I'M LIKING IT.  

THE DRIVEWAY.  

Afterward, I took the leaf blower back to the guys and took the dog along with me for a car ride. 

PUNKIN HAPPY WITH A CAR RIDE.  

After my shower I was pretty much done and sat on the couch for the next hour until I was able to leave.  I finally arrived home closer to 10pm and was ready to crash.  I worked really hard this weekend and was glad for a new week to begin.  

rainy day blues

Strong is Sexy Fitness Challenge go
Week 5 Tuesday - Thursday

Tuesday. I accept and love myself completely
Does anyone else miss the summer already?  I miss the sun the bright sun greeting me in the morning to say hello, it's MORNING!  This uggy weather has got to go and so does this rain.  It's putting a cramper on my workouts.   I hoped the rain might stop and I could go for a run along the river after my meeting tonight, but it rained all day.  I try to workout inside, but it's hard not to really get into in my dark closed room.  Just feel constricted and a little claustrophobic.  Can't wait till I have a designated workout room!  but for now I may just  to reinstate my gym membership. so I have a big open space to workout in.  Plus cardio equipment that I can do my warm up and cool down on and I really do miss everyone I used to see in the morning......also wonder if  I may have the confidence to ask the guy who I refer to as Tyler what his real name is (also known as happy magic green guy noted in my sparkspeople blog).

BREAKFAST:  

SAUTEED MUSHROOMS, ONIONS, BROCOLLI, CAULIFLOWER + SCRAMBLED EGGS 

* Booty Firm Workout: Bodyrock interval workout
* 10 minute Yoga Video for runners

LUNCH:  

SPINACH WRAP w LEFT OVER KIBOOBS + CHOBANI PLAIN + BLUEBERRIES  

I had set my appointment with my Realtor at 6pm, but he needed to move up the time.  I wasn't sure if I could make it, especially with traffic across Harvey Taylor toward Camp Hill.  It's normally not a good idea around that time and with the bad weather blues it just made it worse and caused me to be late to our meeting.  Once I arrived at Starbucks we spent the next hour in interview process and talking about a few concerns I have in the home buying process, since we really haven't had the opportunity to sit down and talk.  Our first meeting was appropriate due to the fact that I just jumped in with both feet, blindfolded.  This is something I typically do A LOT.   I get excited about something and just go for it, then once I'm in I start to dive into the research part and I've definitely been doing my homework.

The meeting went okay.  Still no clear path of what our process would be other then stay patient and keep saving.  It's important to have that down payment cushion.  He has good points, but I'm just not sure.  I think it's best to check out a few other Realtors so I know if this is something that is the norm, or if it's just how he works.      

Wednesday. I can do anything I wish
Need to add notes.  Just to tired write anymore.

THE MYSTERIOUS SNICKERS NOTE

* Fit Hotties Rock by Body Rock
   28-19-30-21 Sumo High Knee

   24-20-26-26 Pendulum (chair modification)

   07-08-07-11 Santana Lift (beginner modification)

Thursday. I give love to myself and others abundantly
What a week.  The rain is causing so much damage and people are having to evacuate their homes AND work places.  Myself and coworkers today spent several hours moving things off the floors and unplugging everything electronic to keep damage to a minimum with the flooding.  We're 3 blocks from the River, which is currently at 28' so it could definitely hit 32' easily if it keeps raining like it has and we will be glad we moved everything.  We left the office around 2:30pm and we wont be back until Monday.  Several streets/highways/bridges have been closed due to the flooding.  

On the way home I thought it was going to be more chaotic, but thankfully the route I chose seemed to be unaffected allowing me to fill my gas tank make a few pit stops on the way home.  Before leaving the city I called my grandmother so she knew to expect me home shortly and she was glad to see me once I arrived, especially since they've had the news on for most of the day listening about  the flood.   

DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE FLOODS (SOURCE: A FRIEND)

I chatted with my grandparents about the flood and my house buying process, since my grandpa didn't have the official update yet.  There really isn't much to talk about currently, but I know he's glad to at least hear about it and hopefully soon I'll have what I need and find a place that will be exactly what I need in my first home.  For lunch I enjoyed a tasty salad from GIANT, our local grocer.  I really love their salad that also has a scoop of tuna and potato salad with I think Italina dressing.  It's delicious.  I ate half and put the other half in the fridge for later.  I also had two slices of peach pie.  

I wasn't sure if I would be able to workout tomorrow so I thought it best I do my workout today while we still have water.  The water company is talking about shutting down the public water supply due to some contamination issues from the floods.  I successfully, but with some difficulty completed my workout for the day + my push up challenge.   I'm not sure how long I will be on the current level of 3-4-5-5, espeically since it's still really hard, so I cheated today and did modified push ups.  I think I'm going to continue to do that until I complete the challenge and then I'll go through it again with the goal of completing 50 non-modified pushups.  It will be a benefit either way, and even more since I'll be doing the challenge twice!

POST WORKOUT GLOW 

* Power Girl Workout by Body Rock
   06-06-04 Surfer

   20-10-10 Beach Scissors (R) (modified) 

   24-10-10 Beach Scissors (L) (modified) 

   14-12-12 Fighter's Lunge (R)

   15-12-12 Fighter's Lunge (L) 

   08-06-06 1-2-3 Push Ups (last set modified)

a weekend passed by

workout
Week 4 Friday-Monday
Strong is Sexy Fitness Challenge  

I can't believe this weekend has come and gone the weekends over.  Those holiday weekends are sneaky that way.  Though I'm sure it's more, because I spent my whole weekend + Monday up in Huntingdon working and meeting a few members of the family.

PANERA: .5 MED VEGGIE w no feta, CHICKEN SOUP + APPLE  

FRIDAY.  No workout this morning.  Slept in and enjoyed every extra minute of Zzzzz  I  was excited to leave work at 4:30pm, especially since it meant I would arrive up north a little sooner.  However, I was told not to leave so early,  and decided to run a few errands and have dinner at Panera before leaving.   I absolutely love their Mediterranean Veggie sandwich (no feta) and I wanted soup over salad today so I went with the cashiers favorite.   We were a little late arriving despite what I thought would be right on time. 

View daily Workout
I accept and love myself completely

FIBER ONE + BLUEBERRIES IN SILK MILK ORIGINAL  

SATURDAY.  Seemed a little chaotic, but I managed to sneak in my bodyrock workout Burpees are Forever (my Monday workout I skipped) , I also started a push up challenge.  I completed 4 rounds, but they weren't easy, especially after my workout; 3-4-5-5 for a total of 17, plus a 2 mile run-walk.  I ran half of it, but it was just to humid and I was exhausted.   I also completed a few chores; vacuumed and cleaned out the food pantry.  It was a  tosseled mess, so I began with clearing and wiping down one shelf at a time.  I added any item older then 2009 to the outdoor animal pile also nothing would go unused and noted the expiration date on everything  with a permanent marker  oldest in front and newest in back.  It looks great now, but  took longer then expected, like several hours longer, but now you can now plan on what to make from what you see in the pantry and hopefully no food will be wasted or bought again until the old is used up. 

View Daily Workout
* 2 mile run-walk
I see the gifts in life, always

* Yoga Download:20 minute video
* 20 minute brisk walk, jog or rebound

IMAGE SOURCE  

SUNDAY. I made sure to be up and ready for morning coffee; however  no word came so I began my workout sometime around noon.  I started with a 5 minute warm up on the porch, then followed with Friday's workout, Fierce Friday by Bodyrock. I completed my push up challenge 3-4-5-5 for a total of 17 and decided on not running today.  After my shower I headed to the store so I could pick up a few ingredients for dinner.  The plan was to make turkey meat loaf muffins, but couldn't find any muffin tins so we just had turkey meatloaf.  I got the recipe off of bodybuilding.com, but wasn't  impressed.  I really enjoyed the meat loaf I made 2 weeks ago from a weight watchers cookbook. 

View Daily Workout
I choose to treat my body, mind and soul with total respect and honour

* Active Rest Day

IMAGE SOURCE  

MONDAY. started out with morning coffee and then back home for more cleaning!  Today I tackled  under the sink cabinet and the the 4-drawer cabinet next to the left of the sink.  It's really helped to find things and to clear out some of the clutter.  It makes for a more pleasant experience in the kitchen and prevents from buying something you already have 3 of.  I guess I feel better to knowing that everything has been freshly washed, including the drawers.  It's something that should be done when your in fall/spring cleaning mode.

I chose to make today an active rest day since I've been working so hard cleaning.  For dinner we attended a bbq.  While trying to figure out how I was going to go home, the guys suggested a new route for me to take, which ended up cutting an hour (one-way) off my drive and saves me from going over the mountains or paying any tolls ($11/weekend).  Plus, one of the guys was driving that direction and I was able to follow him all the way to Harrisburg.  It was a total blessing!

It's all about the effort

workout
Week 4 Thursday
Strong is Sexy Fitness Challenge  

I had to fight the urge to sleep in, especially since I decided to stay up past 1am to play on my computer, but it wasn't reason enough to miss my workout so I'm proud  to say that I accomplished the At Home Workout by bodyrock. It also helped by having being prepared and having a print out of the exercises so I didn't have to mess with the internet.   Saves LOADS of time.

I did forgot to warm up beforehand and afterward didn't have enough time for a run or the Yoga for Abs routine  I was hoping that after my plans this evening I would be able to run along River Front, but I managed to forget my shoes so not sure how the night will pan out now.  Though I could still do the Yoga for Abs workout when I arrive home.

* At Home Workout: 10 minute Bodyrock interval workout
* Yoga For Abs: 10 minute video

I didn't have a major sweat session with this routine, but it was definitely a challenge to perform  each exercise correctly and with muscle intent.
View Daily Workout  

COMBO #1
I realized on the 2nd round of Santana Plank that I wasn't performing them correctly.  I forgot to twist my feet so my whole body was rotating versus just my upper body and arm.  The Diagonal Plank Jump was pretty killer to and I could have been more intentional using my ab muscles.

COMBO #2
The step ups didn't seem hard until I switched legs and then I also made sure once I pulled the other knee up that it was slow as well as slow stepping back to the floor.

COMBO #3
The duck under was the easiest to perform & even a little fun :)  The side to side push-ups, wow, were super duper hard for me, but I stuck it out without modification.

IMAGE SOURCE 

The weather was so nice after work I just couldn't resist heading out for a walk before my evening event.  As I was gathering my gear I realized  I had forgotten my shoes at home and so the only options I had available were a pair wedge flip flops that I wore to work and a pair of plaid slips ons with no support.  I ended up choosing the no support plaids, because I've attempted to walk in my wedges and it was a very unpleasant experience, however, this wasn't that much different of an experience.  Even with a pair of athletic extra cushioned socks to help cushion my feet it still wasn't enough and 30 minutes in my heels were feeling very distressed making me walk in the grass on my way back.  I felt a little silly wearing those shoes and having my armband and tunes on, but even more since I decided not to change out of my blue jeans.  I honestly didn't think I would be very sweaty, because it was very cool outside and even though I didn't have a major sweat session it was enough to create a layer of grossness and a regret of not making the quick wardrobe change. 

Before leaving for my evening event I put on a pair of workout pants that I didn't realize I had with me so my legs could breath and hopefully eliminate some of the grossness.  Though I should have changed my shirt to, but I thought I was heading home afterward and instead headed out to the bowling alley with the boys.  One of my guys is turning 25 tomorrow and I'm unable to attend the party since I'll be halfway to Huntingdon before it starts so I thought it was best to head out tonight so I could see him and wish him a Happy Birthday.  

daily affirmation
I am exactly where I need to be, right in this moment

eats:
View Daily Eats

daily goals:
* Bed by 10pm
* Read
* Repeat the daily affirmations
* log all eats and daily workout
* Review tomorrows workout: Fierce Friday by Bodyrock

blogs to recommend:
* Ola Fitness
* Get Regimental