natural health cleanse w3

20 day Rej. Plan Time Frame:
Week #1: 03/28 to 04/03 - Detox
Week #2: 04/04 to 04/10 - Rejv. Plan
Week #3: 04/11 to 04/17 - Rejv. Plan

Monday hit and I was so glad to finally eat solids again.  Not that I was hungry, it's just the mindset of being full means I've chewed on something, not consumed it in liquid and supplements, so gum was my best friend for the 3 days of the detox.  The Lemon concocktion is actually pretty tasty if you make it the day of.  I used my VitaMix to put it together, but it still required a little straining and I removed some of the froth from the pulp.  Not a fan of that.  Plus, I didn't get all the seeds out of the lemons when I was deseading them, and my Vitamin chopped them up pretty good, but their was still a bit left over that I didn't want to drink.  My best batch was Sunday; it was the most tastiest.  My worst was Monday, because I made it Sunday morning since I knew I wasn't going to have enough time Monday morning to make it.  It just was a little bitter, but it was still drinkable. 

Once the detox stage ended I was back to eating veggies and fruits still with no grains, meat, seeds or dairy.  My doc says I'm doing pretty good and may not need the blood test that most people get done, which is an additonal $250 out of pocket expense since most insurance companies don't cover it so I'm hoping I wont need it.  I had blood work taken last October, so hopefully if things continue to go well I will avoid an added expense. 

I'm still doing my morning Energizer Workout (link below) and it's still takes my breath away, but I'm getting there.  My biggest accomplishment this week was my 4.3 mile run.  I created an interval of 4 min job / 2 min walk to my runkeeper and kept going and the next thing I knew I was home and ran 4.3 miles. 

Another awesome thing from thsi check up is that I LOST MORE WEIGHT.  Though I know it's because I was only on liquids for 3 days that I lost 4.6lbs this week, but hoping next week I will continue to be on my weight loss streak.  I'm feeling pretty good and currently weighting 149.6! that I thought I would post an updated ABs photo, escially since my last one had an eye sore of a muffin top. 

The Basics:
* no meat, dairy or grains
* eat fruits and veggies. 
   veggies should equal twice the amount as fruit.
* veggies should be raw, but can be cooked for 2-3 minutes
* only distilled water (during detox at least)
   Smart water was the only one I could find and they
    were in 1-lt bottles; perfect
* drink detox mixture for 3 days - NO solids

The Scale:  
03/14/12: 156.2
03/28/12: 154.2 (-2lbs)
04/04/12: 149.6 (-6.6lbs)

Physical Activity:  
Morning Energizer Workout

04/03 Run 4.39 miles
04/04 Walk .34 miles (morning doggy walk)
04/04 walk 1.33 miles (lunch break walk)

natural health cleanse w2

It was exciting to hear that my first week I lost 2lbs. That was totally worth all the coffee and animal crackers I didn't consume, well except I did enjoy a few animal crackers Thursday night. My measurements were taken this week and before pics so I can see my progress. They've also tested my vitamins to see how they mesh with the supplements I will be taking and only 2 (DHEA + CoQ10) of my 8 vitamins passed the test. This weeks meals okay list has changed a bit more then I was expecting and this time I was given a notebook to write in, though I decided not to write in it and continue noting in my journal. Part of my was a bit upset as I just spent $60 on Tuesday and 2 hours preparing food for this coming week to only have to head back to the grocery store and purchased $35 more in distilled water,and more vegetables as my buckwheat pancakes I spent two hours making (I made two batches) were not allowed this week so they went into Ziploc freezer bags to save for later.

buckwheat pancakes now living life in my freezer                          

20 day Rej. Plan Time Frame:
Week #1: 03/28 to 04/03 - Detox
Week #2: 04/04 to 04/10 - Rejv. Plan
Week #3: 04/11 to 04/17 - Rejv. Plan

So excited for the results to come as my birthday is on the 16th!
 

This week started The 20 Day Rejuvenation Plan.  I guess this would be considered phase 2 as it's the detox and rid your body of all the yucky stuff phase.  Day 1 + 2 of this phase was no meat, diary or grains to prep for the detox, which was actually not a bad tasting mixture that I consumed ONLY on days 3 to 5.  Yes I only consumed a liquid concoction for 3 days straight and wasn't hungry.  Crazy huh?  Though I did have some fiber supplements along with the others they gave gave me to aid in that factor.  The only hard thing was not having something to chew on.  Totally a mental thing, so I grabbed some gum.

The Basics:
* no meat, dairy or grains
* eat fruits and veggies.  veggies should equal twice the amount as fruit.
* veggies should be raw, but can be cooked for 2-3 minutes
* only distilled water (during detox at least)
   Smart water was the only one I could find and they were in 1-lt bottles; perfect
* drink detox mixture for 3 days - NO solids

The Scale:  
03/14/12: 156.2
03/28/12: 154.2 (-2lbs)

Physical Activity:  
Morning Energizer Workout

03/30 Walk 2.45 miles
04/02 Elliptical 38:38 minutes
04/03 Run 4.39 miles

closet delight

yesterday I started working on my office / workout space again, as it was looking pretty messy.  I had (and sadly still have a lot) of papers scattered on the floor waiting to be filed.  it's been tough figuring out what to do with all the papers; bills, workouts, recipes as filing is not my strong point then pair that with being a perfectionist = not a good match.

I started with putting away my cloths and I used my new hangers from Target.  My office closet is a small coat closet, but the depth is not quite deep enough for the doors to close without hitting the hangers and frankly it's an annoyance so I picked up some lime green kids hangers which are working out fantastically!  I don't have a photo before and I wish I did so you can see what a difference it made swapping out for smaller ones.  I did have to fold my cloths differently on the hanger, but I love the look-so clean!

{POST PHOTO OF AFTER}

I then started by moving my papers to one side of the room so I could vacuum before moving in a bookshelf, that sadly was in there before and I moved it out.  We moved it to the bath on that level (#2) and it's way to big for the space so I swapped out the white plastic shelf I was using for the wooden bookshelf int eh bathroom.  They both look much better in their new homes.  Though not sure how long I will keep the bookshelf in my office and I really do want wall shelving, but for now it will keep me from wanting to build them now as I need to know what shelves / space I really do need before I can design a functional unit.

The only fault with the bookshelf is that their is a missing shelf and pegs for the bottom rack behind the doors, so I do need to make a stop at the hardware store and purchase one.

I'm trying to keep in mind as I sort through things what I need and what can go so my office will only have what it needs and nothing more.  Really trying to be minimal and purposeful in my design.

The room is still a mess, but I'm making baby steps toward an organized office and workout space, but for now at least I have designated areas 1) Desk work area to pay my bills and have room to hang some fun vintage art. 2) workout gear, dvds, weights. For now I've been working out in my bedroom, which has been working out well since I do it before getting dressed in the morning so I get it in.  It's only a short 3-minute workout, but it kicks my butt.

Fitness Morning Energizer

items still needing to be address:
* Formica Table: Wood filler + spray paint and install legs
* File: House Contract / Closing Papers 
* File: Workouts
* File: Recipes
* Sort: Workouts and purge any that I most likely wont do
* Sort: Magazines purge old ones
* Hangers: Still need 1 more set to hang the rest of my workout attire up
* DVD: need some way to sort them.  Really want an old LG floppy disk holder to put them in.
* Paint: Lemon Twist by Benjamin Moore
* Mirror: hang
* Bookshelf: Shelf and Pegs

natural health cleanse w1 - p1

Feeling pretty good today overall and loving the way I’m looking.  So far I’ve been on my cleanse for 6 days now and I’ve only slipped up for one meal.  I caved Sunday afternoon and had 12oz of orange soda and a half bag of pb  chocolate chips I had for cooking.  They were really yummy and what I needed for a quick junk rush.  I had been cleaning out the basement and I guess the fumes down there weren’t helping.  

A few of my no no’s on the list were as follows:

- lemon + chive dressing by Annies Natural’s
   (chives = onions, mustard flour); salad
- sunflower butter (cane sugar) for buckwheat pancakes
- buckwheat pancakes
   (van. Almond milk, maple syrup though only 1 tb for 6.5 cakes)
- coconut and mango chutney (sugar) used to marinate and dress 3 chicken breast
– Van Almond Milk (sugar), but I did buy at my next grocery stop.

Despite all this I’m still losing weight and seeing progress.

Since realizing that I can’t repeat these simple mistakes I’ve done the following to make sure I stay focused on 4-week cleanse.  I’ve swapped out the following –Van. Almond milk for plain – sunflower butter for almond butter with only almonds and salt – buckwheat pancakes for a df / gf version / lemon and chives dressing for a raspberry vinaigrette.

It’s not been easy as I have lactaid cottage cheese, onions, cherry tomatoes, and chobani sitting in my fridge waiting till I can eat them again.  I also had to put my blueberry muffins and bagels in the freezer   It’s a shame I just bought replenishment's of these items only two days before the doc told me I wasn’t allowed to eat them for the next 30 days.  It was tough this first week trying to figure out what to eat since my staples like oatmeal, pb coffee, and chobani are all items on the ‘not allow’ list for the next 3 weeks.  I am learning to appreciate the wonderful and even tasty flavor of buckwheat, well with almond butter on top and some fruit.  Though I’m still proud of myself for doing as well as I did, as I’m not usually this good to sticking to ‘no’ foods.

I’ll know the official weigh down tomorrow night when I have my first follow up of my 12-week program and I’ll be 3 weeks closer to finding out what foods have been not liking my system outside of dairy and hoping that eggs aren’t a part of that.  I love eggs and they are one of my favorite staples.  I could never go Vegan for that reason alone and I can’t do vegetarian since I’m lactose intolerant.  Man, guess I’m a unique type and maybe one day I’ll label myself and start a trend for every lactose egg lover!

This morning I finally went to taking my measurements and the last time I checked was in December 2011 and my weight and inches have decreased by 10lb and 8 inches.  I lost 4.5 just in my waist, which feels great since my stomach doesn’t feel like it’s bursting out of my pants.  That’s not a feeling I want to experience EVER AGAIN.

I've also been walking my dog and running with some of the guys to keep active.  I've been posting everything on runkeeper.

Daily Eats

Meal Plan Week #1 go
Eats Day #1 go
Eats Day #2 go
Eats Day #3 go 
Eats Day #4 go
Eats Day #5 go 
Meal Plan Week #2 go 

running to the beat of a healthier drum

It's been a very bland 2012 for me, but I'm slowly moving into enjoying the fresh scent of spring and still working on settling into my home.  Can you believe I've been a homeowner for 1 month and 15 days!  It's still kind of surreal to me, especially since my house looks like a tornado has hit it and I'm not sure when it will settle down so it can be presentable to have guests.

I officially started hanging art and shelving on the wall last night and I'm happy with all, but one coat hook.  I hung it a inch to high so it's looks off from the other two I have.  I'm afraid to redu it since I already goofed with the screw so now their will be two holes if I do this again.  I may just need to find another item to put their instead.  Currently, I have my running jacket / armband on one.  My purse on the other and my dog walking purse and dog walking accessories on the woof frame.  it's cute, just looks off with the middle one being to high for it's size.

My office is looking good.  Here is what I have so far:


Things that I"m planning on changing:
* kiddy pictures
* table
* shelving
* wall color (you can see my color swatch sample behind my canisters)

I would like my office to look more like this:

If I move it to the wall I want the big shelving unit I can do this exact layout.  Though I have a tall wall mirror, which I guess I can move to the area I have my desk now and just do a small shelving unit their to host all my workout gear and video as I try to keep that pretty minimal.

Fitness

For the last few weeks I've been getting back to the beat of a healthier drum by choosing better eating habits and being more active.  I have a corgi now, who I've been walking 3-5 days a week anywhere from 10-30 minutes depending on my schedule.   I'm feeling food and less depressed since the sun is coming out and the weather has been so warm.  Yeah Spring!! It's so close I can smell the flowers blooming.

I've also found a running buddy, which has been so helpful in challenging me to get out their to run again.  I had seriously lost the desire to workout and it just made me feel really ugly and fat and I'm so glad to be getting back to my happy zone where I'm feeling good to be social again.  I still have a few pounds to drop to get back to where I was last August.  

new years resolutions

Can you believe it's 2012 already and according to the prophesy and drama surrounded by the 2012 movie that determines this will be our last year on earth.  Not sure really how much of that we can really believe, espeically if you look back at the chaos revolving around the new millennium and what a hoaks that ended up to be.  

I'm a firm believer that resolutions / goals are things we should be thinking about throughout the year and not just reserved for the new year, as we should always be working on ways to improve ourselves, but I have to admit that their is something about the new year that adds a freshness to everything that really draws me to add a few new goals.  This year I actually couldn't come up with anything up until a few days ago and I'm pretty happy with my new goals. 

New Years Goals:

1) Find non-dairy & non-soy alternatives for at least 30 days.

I was talking to a new friend, Sara, this NYE weekend about it soy and hyperthyroidism and there effects soy has on it and since I don't drink  cow's diary I use more soy, especially silk milk, regular flavor and french vanilla silk creamer for my coffee.  So I thought it would be good to reduce my soy intake for the next 30 days at least to see if I can regain some energy as low energy and water retention is  side effect. 

2. Complete the Bodyrock.tv 30 day challenge
I love Bodyrock workouts and can't wait to start this challenge and they are the BEST BEST BEST workouts you could do to stay fit and active without spending hours in the gym or tons of money on videos, gym memberships or workout equipment. 

3) Dance once a month
I truly love swing dancing, especially Blue's, Lindy and Balboa so much that their has been nothing better, no drug, no drink, no other thing that makes me feel more alive then when I'm dancing with a great lead who can make me fly.

4) Attend 3 Dance events
- Steel City Blue's
- Lindy Exchange (Portland, CT)
- Blue's Shout

5) Enjoy my New Home downtown & Entertain Once a month
I am in the process of settling on a new home and I'm planning painting, redoing the counter tops with Corian and the back splash with a glass subway tile.  Then host at least one blue's dance event and have people over for dinner with my Fit Foodies group and other friends to share healthy and delicious meals together. 

black top bottom

Can't believe how good things are going for me this last month up into 2012.  It's unbelievably good, especially when it comes to dancing.  I've been heading up every Friday night and dancing into the early morning.  It's truly the reminder I needed to bring back the joy in my life and why I love dancing so much.

Last Friday I even drove up to Philadelphia for a New Year's Dancing Event and it was one of the best choices I've made.  One of the best things of the weekend was meeting a lead from CT who moved my heart on the dance floor and surprisingly had more dances with him then I could have wished for in a two day event.  I had many wonderful dances, but his stood out the most.    

With the new year I've made a few resolution and one is to not stop dancing so even though I must be an adult I'm going to be taking one weekend off a week so I can go dancing and spend some time with my grandparents.  I have yet to determine which weekend it will be each month, but I may decide to based on dance events so that way I can go when it's the most hot that month.  Also, in March I'm registered to attend Steel City Blues in March and thinking about CTLX, but there's no information posted about the event yet.  

a boost in esteem

My energy and overall self-esteem has been gradually building back up again, but I still have a ways to go.  I think until my tummy is flat and firm again I'll still struggle on my self-esteem.  My abs and shoulders were my favorite aspect of my body in how well they were defined so I would like to see them defined again.  

I'm also glad to find that I"m not as self conscious at the gym as when I first started going back, which is a huge relief.  That was such a crappy feeling.  I've also been consistent with going, which is helping that to.  

My eating habits are improving, I'm thankful to have some all good days and some mostly good days.  I still have a few bad day's mostly on weekends, as I still have yet to put together an eating plan that I actually stick to.  On my mostly good days it's not until the evening when I'm lounging in front of the TV eating endless amounts of Target brand plain animal crackers.  They are so very addicting so last night I put them away in my pantry cupboard so they're not lying next to my bed in plain sight with super easy access.

I'm also excited to have added a few new pieces to my workout wardrobe.  Some of my pants are more than 3 years old and they've been showing for the last year how old they are.  My favorite find is a pair of lululemon athletic yoga pants that I only paid $4 for and they are so comfy.  I've been wanting to buy something from lululemon, but they are out of my price range and they end in a size 12.  Though the funny thing is that these pants say size 10.  I'm totally aware that I'm no where near a size 10, but it gives me hope that I can buy clothing from there and it will actually fit.  I also picked up a pair of grey nike pants.  I was debating on buying them, because they were a little baggy in the front but when I reviewed the tag specials of the day they turned out to only be $1 and they went right into my cart with another hesitation.

Here's an updated picture of how long my hair is getting.

Though someday's I miss my short hairstyle.

I had started using a 8x11 3 subject notebook to log my eats and workouts in, but I quickly drew tired of lugging it around and not taking as nice of a pic as my little target notebook did, so today I've decided since I'm staring over, again, with my challenge I'm going to use a new notebook of my old version.  

Oh, yeah, almost forgot to mention that I'm not working this weekend.  I have a friends wedding up north on Saturday so I took the whole weekend off, which then allows me to attend service on Sunday.  It feels like an eternity since I've last been able to attend so I'm really excited to go and hear my pastor speak and see my friends.    

rise of the mid-section

I'm finally feeling like life is calming down and I can regain control and so begins a new blog post.  Sorry it's been a while since my last update, life has been blah for me when it comes to wanting to blog.  so much has happened, good and better then planned and then there's the rise (increase) of my mid-section.

I stopped exercising in mid-September when I hit a brick wall and since have gained 5lbs and 6" on my waist causing some infrequent pains in my lower back.  This past weekend I put together a new notebook to record my workouts and read through pg. 90, which gets me to stage (week) 5 of the plan.  My trips to the gym have been pretty infrequent, but I have been going.  It's really just a blow to my pride going back in this type of shape.  Tacking on 5 extra pounds has really made a huge difference to how I feel and  my body shape.  I was in such great shape a few months ago and I wanted to go back to the gym feeling my sexiest and instead I'm coming back a few pounds heavier and a low self-esteem.  Though with RYBO I plan on gaining back control of my body weight and self esteem.

Last week I picked up a copy of Run Your Butt Off by Runner's World.  I kept getting the emails and after I bit it peeked my interest.  I knew that I needed to do something and my energy levels have dropped making it difficult for me to begin the Sexy is Strong Challenge again. 

Abs Today:

Weight: 159

It's now day 4 and I'm doing pretty good.  The book recommends scoring yourself each day on how well you do in eating healthy.  1 being a bad day and 5 being whatever your idle of eating healthy is.  I'm going to be posting my daily eats and workout scores like I did with Sexy is Strong Challenge on facebook and my blogging goal is at least once a week to keep myself accountable . I've also be posted embarrassing photos of my my abs (shown above) to show how much I've let my abs go and below Ive posted what they looked like back in August to help motive me to loose the extra inches.  

Goals to be accomplished by December 31 (5 weeks):
* run for 30 minutes without a rest period
* lose 4" in my abs
* eliminate lower back pain
* look and feel like I did in August (photo below)

Abs on 08/12/11:

Weight: 154


Yesterday's Eats: go
Yesterday's Workout go

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)

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)