starting up again

Strong is Sexy Fitness Challenge_visit Week1
Thursday. I feel blessed to be able to move, play and create

It's been a long few weeks trying to get back into the grove of working out again, but I finally made a plan and decided to restart the Strong is Sexy Challenge since I had such great reuslts and they are awesome workouts.

I took my workout log I used for this challenge and skipped a few pages and began adding my workouts and daily affirmations up to Monday so I didn't use an excuse not to workout.  Yesterday was Day 1of this re-visited challenge and I was excited until I stepped into the gym and it was so crowded and the cardio room had a class and another one starting shortly after.  I  ended up doing my challenge in the warm up/cool down area and I felt so insecure, especially now that I have a bulge in my belly where I didn't have before.   With a few of the moves I ended up tucking in my shirt, which wasn't very flattering either.  It's going to be a long hard journey just to get back to where I was only a month ago, but had I have kept working out instead of eating my stress I wouldn't be in this state.  I am proud to say that I completed my workout yesterday despite how insecure I felt and I finished to failure. 

Despite trying to start slow with my workouts my body today tells me otherwise.  I guess it didn't like all my cardio I did yesterday.

It's funny how only 6 weeks ago I looked cute and awesome in my workout wear and now I wish I had more baggy workout shirts.  Though I'm thankful that I'm not allowing myself to get any worse and have started to get myself back into a balanced life.   I've also printed out a few recipes I want to try so when I'm in Huntingdon working I have healthy meals to eat instead of junk. 

My updates on this  challenge will be less frequent then my prior challenge as I just don't have the time to post everyday, so I'll be keeping it to once a week and maybe a few in between about my house hunting adventures.
   
* Booty Firm Up– interval challenge
   03-05-06-06-06 Explosive Star
   05-05-05-05-05 Plank to Pike Jump
   08-08-17 Pike Leg Switch (Pendulum)
   15-15-15 Seated Bicycle
   06-05-05 Monkey Business Push Ups
   10-10-08 Flying Scissor

I legs were so done by my last set of Flying Scissors that my legs callasped.

IMAGE SOURCE    

eats

not bad, except the medium bag of frosted animal crackers.

catching up is hard to do.

I know I'm behind on my posts, and I'm sorry.  I've not been myself these last 6 weeks and I'm not liking that I've allowed myself to get like this. My eating habits have gotten out of control and I've been stress eating.  I've not been working out and everything has been overwhelming with everything I've been trying to do.  I've been working 7 days a week since the end of August and after only a few short weeks I began to lose my balance.  I was working to hard and my body crashed into a depressive state.  I was spending so much time working and focusing on house hunting that I forgot about everything else. 

I've gained 6 lbs, which doesn't sound like a lot, but visually it's not a picture I like to see, and my shoulders and neck are so tight.  Last week my chiropractor told me this is the worst he's seen me and I have another appointment Thursday.  I did finally restore my gym membership last week, and I've been able to go twice.  It feels so good to run and some stress has been relieved, but I have so much stored in my shoulders and neck it's going to be awhile before I'm fully recovered.  

I'm excited for the weekend as this is going to be my first weekend that I'm not working since the end of August and I'll be spending all of it with friends.  Friday I'm going to a bonfire, Saturday I may be helping a friend paint her room, in the evening I'm going to a friends for Karaoke and Sunday I'll be attending our young adult service, which I've missed the last two months.   

Things are looking up in the house hunt and right now I'm just trying to be patient, but feeling anxious to hear news from my Realtor about a house I want to buy.  It's a numbers game right now and I'm not sure if the numbers will add up in my favor for this place.  The positive is since viewing this place on Friday I've stopped looking for other places, which is a good sign that I'm not looking for a way out like I've done with the previous two that I was close to putting an offer on.  Though my dad did help in my decision of not purchasing them.  It's been helpful and a blessing to have both my parents along with me on the house I have a high interest in and even better that they are not finding reasons to argue with each other.  I really appreciate their opinions and want their blessing in the house I decide to buy and I have that with with current house.

HERE'S A SNEAK PEAK THE DINING AREA   

I know I've got to get back on track with my eats and exercise so I'll be working on a plan tongiht so I don't try to add any more excuses to why I'm out of control and getting fat.

I plan on re-starting the Sexy is Strong Challenge, which I'm excited about.  This is a great challenge and I saw so much progress in the 5 weeks I was going strong.  I also plan on writing down my eats again.  This is a way for me to really see what I'm eating and when.  I'm also going to be good and start slow.  I'm going to be working out just 3 days a week, and only cardio.  My first, this week, I'll be working out at the gym in the evening doing only cardio.  Then next week I'll resume my morning workouts at the gym and hopefully catch up with a few of my workout buddies I haven't seen since June.  I'm also going to not turn on the computer after 9pm, so I'm not up past 10pm and I can get some sleep.  Last night I was proud of myself for shutting out the lights by 10pm and getting 8 hours of sleep.

10/10/11 HOUSE UPDATE
Turns out the taxes on the house (photo shown above) were to high for me to quality to buy it, so it's back to square one on looking.   Plus, the owners aren't willing to go down any further then their current listing price, which is far to high for the amount of work that needs to be done here.

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)