Failures and Successes

I know this post title already sounds depressing. But it's not.

These are things I know I can acknowledge that I failed at. I have thought about it, and happily moved on.

I totally forgot to blog twice last month... I think. That was a new years resolution and I missed it! Thats okay. I will try again this month!

Also, I had a really weak moment last week and failed on the "giving up desserts" thing for lent. Those dang Shamrock Shakes get me!!! Thats okay. I did fairly well for 2 weeks... okay, maybe that was 1.5 weeks.

However, success!!! I finished my first book of the year! (in the middle of crazy cookie season too!)
I finished the book Unbroken, about Louis Zamperini. It was GOOD. I actually started this book last summer but had a hard time getting into it. But a week ago, I realized I should try some sleep hygiene habits, and one was to read a book rather than your phone before bed. Then I was engulfed in this book, and stayed up till 230am like I'm in my twenties or something. This guy has lived through such tragic situations and survived and lived a very long life!! Its a good read and highly suggested. As usual, the book is better than the movie.

Lent

Last week we celebrated Ash Wednesday.

Alistair and I went to Mass in the morning, received our ashes and were reminded that one day, we will be ash as well. I forgot it was there most of the day. I went to pick up Elyse from dance, and her ballet teacher went up to me, grabbed my hand and said "you're so good for going. I need to go there tonight too". I had NO idea what she was talking about and just smiled.

Walking to the car I was perplexed. Was she talking about the gym? On occasion I will run into a vaguely familiar face, and they will greet me and talk to me as though we've met. I can't say I've gotten better at pretending I remember. Then  I will see them in my class at the gym the next week. So I thought... do I look like I went to the gym??

I got in the car, and saw my ashes in the mirror and the light bulb went off. Church. She meant Church.

I hate to say it, but Lent creeped up on me this year. Being the start was on Valentine's Day and on a week Cole was gone. My life was busier than normal. But I couldn't decide between no treats (cookies, candy, cakes, cupcakes, etc) and no shopping (random things I decide I need, like clothes, books, stuff...). But groceries, gas, food, minimal family entertainment being okay. Two things that would be hard for me to give up, but at the same time good for our family. So I picked both.

So far, so good. Lent is 40 days and nights from Ash Wednesday to Easter. Not including Sundays. Sundays are a day of rest. I could have chosen to add something to my life instead of a sacrifice, but honestly, one more thing in my schedule, while my husband is gone, is more than I think I can handle right now.  (plus no meat on Fridays!?)

Girl Scout Cookie Time

Did I mention, Elyse is a Daisy this year?

Whats a Daisy? - First level of Girl Scouts(the one before Brownies)(K-1st grade)

Yours truly is one of her Troop Leaders. Yes, I added MORE to my already busy workload... for free. I do not get paid for the 10hrs a week I dedicate to planning meetings, and figuring out cookies, and staying on top of paper work, and planning crafts and getting badges.

Since we all think "what do I get out of it?" is that I get to have some extra time with my girl. She is definitely proud that her mommy is one of the leaders. Not only that, 3 other of the daisies in her troop are also in her class!! Plus, 2 others go to her school(all in 1st grade) and another is one of her closest friends growing up(Ellie)! The girls play "girl scouts" at recess now and it made all the volunteer work worth it! We truly have an awesome group of 9 girls!!! (yes 9!!)

That being said, the other troop leader(we are co-leaders) and I have spent the better part of January growing grey hairs, stressing over the cookie sales. There are a lot more logistics involved than I realized! Our original plan was "ehhh if they sell, great. If not, no biggie". Then we got the FACTS! Daises typically sell the most cookies. Why?? They are cute, little and this is likely the first year friends and family are getting hit up for cookies! So we were encouraged to give it a go... so we did.

Elyse even spent time writing a script, memorizing lines and having me film her for her cookie video posted on her site. She was VERY proud of it!

If you order online, and have it shipped, cookies will get to you in 2-10 business days. If you choose "girl - delivered" they will not get to you until roughly 2/19. We get the boxes to deliver on 2/18. So with the shipping cost, you get cookies early!

Let me know if you are interested and I will send you the link!

New Year, New Goals

So I love to make goals.

Even if I don't end up accomplishing them in the time frame I had hoped, or at all.
These are my goals to 2018:

- Do 3 New things
- Complete a fitness program
- Blog 2 times a month (at min)
- Read 3 books
- find a happy work/life balance
- Lose 20lbs.... okay 10... or 5..
- stop trying to make everyone else like me (professionally and personally)
- cuddle more

Goals from last year that I know I completed:

- become a Catholic
- Pass my Personal Training Exam
- continue my fitness education (Zumba, Strong and gold)
- try 3 new things (tubing, Cove bar, teaching at a gym)
- going to the Dr when im sick

Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

Well the weather in Seattle has officially turned to rain and wind storms.

It's been very cold, dark, windy and rainy and more is to come! Hopefully it will ease up for Halloween night. As much as the rain is welcome, I don't enjoy wearing rainboots. I prefer the normal drizzle we get, and it allows me to wear my uggs!

Turned 33 yesterday. Cool.

The hard thing about not living close to where you grew up, is definitely holidays and birthdays. Not just for me, either. For the kids as well. Yesterday, although I got lots of texts and birthday messages via soical media, it was a very lonely day. Luckily I was at work in the morning at the Y (Admin Lead work) and I LOVE my job. So that was nice, and even then only a few people knew it was my birthday so it was nice to not make it s big deal at a new job. But lonely, rainy lunch and afternoon. Then work again, prepping and coaching my Lose to Win group. Picked up take out sushi, and got home after 8pm.

It was nice coming home to the family singing me happy birthday though.

But heres the difference and through my OWN fault. If I lived near my family and friends, I would have seen  SOMEONE, outside of my 4yrs old son possibly for lunch, or a quick coffee. I don't mean the (appreciated) gifts or fancy outings(which I do also enjoy) but the in person visits. Being gone for so long, that when I have a visitor, it means a lot. So I'm an adult, I can get over this stuff. But for my kids, it;s different.

I am hesitant to plan birthday parties for them up here because I fear no one will show up. It's not that I don't trust that they are capable of having a lot of friends, but as we all know, Parents control the schedule and the plan. If you don't know the parents well (which, how am I suppose to know them when I never see them!) there is a 40% chance of them coming. So the kids haven't had a real birthday party in a couple years.

I've stuck to traveling to California and having them celebrate with their family over spending $300 on a bouncing place and inviting all of their school friends. I do feel like the kids would prefer to play with their friends(no offense to family, but if you're not a 4yrs old to 8yrs old...) and I feel bad. But its the reality is that I can't get the excited for an event, that I'm not confident will happen. Nor do I want to spend all that money to rent out a place and only 2 kids show up!! How sad would that be for the kids!

So I have been trying to plan something with just one family. Easier to plan, easier for the kids and the parents. If you've been wondering "why haven't I gotten an invite for the kids party?" or "Did she throw they a party?" for last year, the answer is no, I didn't. I made a mild effort. 98% of the people couldn't make it, so I scratched it. Life happens! We definitely can't make it to all the invited we get and its understandable!

However, school gets out for Elyse June 22, so I may actually let her have a real party with school friends this year. We will see!!!

work work work work work

So, I can't pick up where I left off, because that was OVER a year and a lot has changed since! (and who's life doesn't change a lot over a year?)

But I like to try to return to this because I know that those of you that read it are close to me, and sometimes people I don't get the opportunity to update all that often.

Few things to catch up on since June of 2016:

Health and Fitness Career: I think last I posted, I was fully into Beachbody and trying out all of their fun variety of programs, teaching for Fit4mom : Stroller Strides and Body Back.

Now,  although I do still teach for Fit4mom as a contractor(thats the only way), I also work at the nearby YMCA.

The Y growing up, I always thought were these run down buildings and gyms that did help for the homeless. There are 13 in the Seattle area and most of them are recently remodeled or brand new. They are awesome people to work for as they do work for the community but can still be more than a "gym". It's a safe place to hang out, their kids care is wonderful and all of the staff make an effort to know your name!

I started on as a sub last year, and in Feb 2017, got my own Tuesday Morning Strength Training class. Typically a pretty full class, but I was replacing an instructor that was ready to let the class go to someone else. This instructor has a huge following and I am blessed to have been slotted into a class that already had a big group! All I have to do it keep the class big!

However, in the mean time, I also spend many months studying for my Personal Training certification from National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) certification and passed on my first try! (this caused me to start growing grey hairs....)

Trained in Zumba, Zumba Gold and STRONG by Zumba(SBZ) which is now my FAVORITE class to teach. I am currently a sub for SBZ for the last 4 months for an instructor who had surgery. She will be returning next month. I am sad to give the class up.

I also got a brand new Bootcamp class! This has been tough but taking on any new class is. I'm still in the "proving myself" phase with these members. But so far, so good!

I also trained as a health coach for a class called Lose to Win. More of a facilitator and accountability coach, but its effective and helpful for the members!

Lastly, I am an Admin Lead at the Y. Its a small temp position but could lead to bigger things down the road. So heres my week (and don't forget all the pick up and drop offs and dance and soccer lessons sprinkled in!)

Monday - Bootcamp, Admin, Body Back
Tuesday - Strength Training, SBZ
Wednesday - Admin, Lose to win
Thursday - Body Back (every other week)
Friday - Stroller Strides
Saturday Body Back

My week has gotten pretty full!

Why am I starting up this blog? Well, with Fit4mom, I signed an agreement that I wouldn't work for anything similar in the area for 2 years after I quit. Basically putting any fitness knowledge I have out of date. When I had signed it originally, I had no plans to really further my career in this field. But as my kids grew out of Stroller Strides and it was getting hard and hard to make it all work without a childcare facility or anyone to rely on, I was convinced I was good enough to teach at a gym.

When I got the job as a sub at the Y so quickly, I was shocked and tried to leave Fit4mom, but decided on a "breather" instead. I didn't teach there for 2-3 months. My franchise owner told me it was okay with her if I worked at both places as long as I didn't offer any kind of program that was similar to what Fit4mom offered(no prenatal, no stroller fitness classes). But also, to not advertise or persuade our current members in anyway, to leave Fit4mom and come to the Y. As they are in the same territory.  I thought it was fair terms, and I will always have a soft spot for Fit4mom as they are responsible for my love of fitness and weight loss.

However, due to those terms, I can not be open on my own facebook page about what I'm doing or how I'm feeling about ANYTHING at the Y, because I worry I will be crossing lines or violating those terms. So I post mostly only pictures and only on instagram. Which is unfortunate for those that don't care about where I work, but care about what i'm doing. (because you are my friend or family)

I thought, maybe blogging would help that outlet a little! Yea, I have a long list of other things I should be doing besides this.... but I need an outlet, just like a need to log a certain number of couch hours a week. (Champagne problems?) With all my friends mostly moved away, I have filled up my time with family and work and not a huge social outlet. So, even if no one is listening, (besides Cole)...

The Budding Ballerina

Oh my goodness, a post that isn't all about me!!!!

So my daughter, my first born lil preemie baby.... She has impressed me so much over the years. I know they say girls mature faster than boys, but she feels mature even for her age. But she's also tall for her age so she looks like she's 7 yrs old rather and 4. She shows so much compassion and tolerance for her little brother and friends in school that other friends don't get along with. (which kind of sounds like me when I was little. I would always become friends with the new kid, which is why I am still close friends with some of them!)

Recently she lost her first and second tooth. Both where painless on her side. It's possible they wiggled out early because she is a thumb sucker, however, it's not incredibly uncommon for kids her age to lose their first teeth either. Anyhow, she's working on it and we've found a way to help her.

Moving on, she starting taking pre-ballet this month. I kind of forgot that most dance studios take the summer off from classes and are usually only available during the school year. But our rec center had a one month class available, for dirt cheap too!!! Elyse has been asking and asking to do ballet. I had been really hesitant since when we put her in a dance class before, she was all over the place. Then again, she was 2. Now she is 4, about to be 5 and her listening skills have improved tremendously. 

She currently finished 2 weeks, (2 classes) and is in love with it. (yea, a former dancer's dream come true right?)We were watching the So You Think You Can Dance episode from this season, which is about kids, and a ballerina came on and Elyse says "She's a ballerina!! I'm a ballerina!" I did have to break it to her that she's a pre-ballerina, but she was still very excited about it. In the first episode, there was a very tall dancer. She is 13 and 5'10. This gave me hope that even though Elyse is tall, she could still be a ballerina if she wanted to!

So here I am, looking up classes to nurture her desire to dance. However, as one girl said on SYTYCD, "Dance is expensive!" we will have to see how much we can do for her!

I asked her last night, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" I excepted her to say "mermaid" or "princess" or "jedi". She said "Ice skating Ballerina".  Might need Sharon Emo to train her on that!

The life of the Less Caffeinated

Some thing I have been sticking to since my 3 Day Cleanse is that I have been sticking to drinking less caffeine. I love coffee. I mean, LOVE the way it tastes and smells and everything about it. However, I have been having such trouble losing weight and getting my body the way I would like it. So, its time for a change!!

2.5 years ago, when this whole "I need to change my eating and (lack of) fitness habits" started, I gave up soda. I would only have soda at restaurants or parties or in a mixed cocktail before anyways. I didn't really keep soda in the house out of habit. My mom never really let us have sodas in the house growing up.


So now, I still only have soda on the rarest of occasions. I've maybe had 1 soda in all of 2016.  With that I want to start with reducing my caffeine intake. My kids are kids, not babies, which means they sleep through the night and can occasionally entertain themselves and are less and less reliant on me. Which leads me to believe, I don't NEED a full cup of coffee, everyday. I've been having decaf or teas. This is why I say "less caffeine" and not "giving up caffeine".  There is still caffeine in decaf, and there is also caffeine in some teas, such as green tea, or black tea.

So far so good. Since I had to go through the first days in the 3 day cleanse anyways, which were the worst. I would hate to let myself get back in the habit of having caffeine just to attempt to cut it out again.

Also, in the beginning of the year I gave myself a goal of 1000 miles in a year. Thats 1000 walking or running miles. Lets say with the end of June being my half way, and I should only 500 miles left to go from there... I'm VERY behind. With that in mind, I have been trying to catch up a little and started running again.

Running this week has reminded me why I've stopped. I have been walking/running a lot this week and besides all the mileage that came with it, I also revamped my plantar fasciitis, have insane sports bra rash and blisters all over my foot. Yay!!!

I will be going back to long fast walks for awhile trying to catch up!!!

3 Day Refresh - Day 3 and 4

Hello from Day 2 post refresh!!!

Yesterday got away from me so I am posting a day late!

Day 3 - It was easier than the previous days, but hard at the end of the day. Being so close to the finish and yet not being finished. I was feeling an awesome allergy attack come on that morning, so I refrained from exercise except the regular scheduled kid chasing, house cleaning and teaching that evening. I did great in the morning without coffee, and for the first time, I actually thought the taste of shakeology was good! I would even stretch it to say delicious!

I have not be a fan of the taste of Shakeology. However, I am a sweet tooth kind of person and I always forget, it's not really a dessert! But I've grown to really enjoy it now. (I'm currently drinking their new cafe latte flavor and really enjoy it!) Through the 3 day refresh I was drinking the chocolate vegan. I didn't mind it at all. My husband was not a fan. However, I prefer it over the regular chocolate shakeology.

So day 3 went well, I stuck to the plan, I didn't have any carb cheats. Then at the end of the day, I was talking to my husband on his way home from work and I say "I want pizza" as a vent. He says "I've had a bad day. I'm okay with that." " well needless to say, we both caved and had pizza that night". I'm done with feeling guilty about my cheat meals. Guilt leads to stress, and stress leads to weight gain. So I just accept that I love food, and I love the taste of unhealthy foods. Just need to have them a lot less and in moderation!

However, I weighted myself before I consumed the delicious slice of heaven and as it turns out, I lost a total of 3lbs on the 3 day refresh. I understand that it may not seem like much but for where I am at on my weight loss journey, any loss is a win for me! Since I have hit my plateau, It has been incredibly difficult to lose anything. I've stuck with programs, changed them up and my eating is 90% better than it was even 6 months ago when I hit the plateau. I indulge on rare occasions (date nights, vacations, mom nights out) but these are not regular events. I work out daily, and by work out I mean I sweat a waterfall coming down my face, and continue to challenge myself with new workouts.

The 3 day refresh was one of them.

Review: Will I buy 3 day refresh again?  - Likely not. Unless I gain a lot of my weight back, I don't feel that I needed to spend the $50+ dollars for the shakes and fiber sweep. I feel like if I wanted to cleanse myself like that again, I would use the knowledge I got from it (3 shakes a days as meals, no caffeine, dairy, carbs. Add a fiber drink like psyllium husk, eat fruit, veggie and healthy fats and stick to it). Also, I have a hard time, as most people do, being completely restricted. Even for 24 hrs. Obviously, I added a few things off the menu and maybe my results could have been bigger. But in the grand scheme of it all, 3 days will not give you permanent weight loss. What I did get out of it was more than "results".

What I did get out of the program is getting my head back in the healthy eating game. Which leads me to day 4.

Day 4 or Day 1 post refresh: on day 3 I was thinking "Im going to make myself a REAL breakfast tomorrow. Eggs with spinach and mushrooms and its gonna be amazing!" Well I woke up and decided, I wanted to make better choices as I have been, but even better. So I stuck to my shakeology, happily had a salad for lunch. I am just in a better state of what foods are good for my end result. I am back into being motivated and staying on track! Woo hoo!! Even today, post refresh day 5, I went and enjoyed a cup of coffee. 5 min later, I got the jitters. FROM COFFEE!!!DRIP COFFEE!! I've never been one to feel the effects of coffee. Now I do!

On Monday I will be starting Master's Hammer and Chisel. Now that I've completed 21 Day Fix and 21 Day Fix extreme, I'm ready for a new workout! I will still be doing Bikini Body Guide 2.0 as well because I do believe an hour workout will help me out! We will see where it takes me!

3 Day Refresh - Day 2

Ok Day 2 has come and gone. Whew!!

Definitely Day 2 has been the hardest. Day 1, it was a hard adjustment but I was still excited about it.

Day 2, most of the day I was thinking... omg.... one more day of this!?

Day 3 (today) - I've woken up feeling sick with a cold or allergies which I don't think is related to this program. But will discuss that tomorrow.

So Day 2, I spent most of the day home trying to avoid eating out and sticking to the plan. I didn't exercise at all which is unusual for me. I took Elyse to school, Alistair to a playdate at the park, picked Elyse up, and did household work (cleaning, laundry, more cleaning, cooking, tutoring Elyse, more cleaning)

Side note: the more your kids are home, the more your house becomes a disaster.

This kept me pretty busy and it was actually really nice to slow down for a day, pay attention to the kids and the house and put working out and getting errands done aside. It was amazing. It was like being a new mom again when you are basically stuck at home because you're exhausted and you're just trying to get through the day with your child and the easiest (in a life that isn't easy at all) thing is to stay home, on the couch, ready to care for your child at any moment. Except, now I have 2 and they are kids and can cover my 3100 sq ft house floor with toys in 30min.

Anyways, I was tired, but not as tired as day 1, and I wasn't hungry, but I wanted something to crunch/snack on. So again, I went to my pita chips mid afternoon, and may have snuck in a few stale pieces of chex cereal that my kids left out. But all in all, I would say I was about 90% stuck to the program. I had all their shakes and no coffee, and drank my water, etc.

As of today, I have lost a total of 1.7 lbs. So, likely its water weight, but at least the scale is going in the right direction!!!

3 Day Refresh Day 1

I didn't post yesterday because I felt like I needed to get through the whole day before I could give my review!

So Day 1: Started out with  8oz of water which I warmed and added lemon juice to. Then on to Vegan Chocolate Shakeology and half a banana. I assume I was suppose to blend them together, but that sounded like more work. 

After taking a 3 mile walk with the kids I had a tea break and drank my fiber sweep. Tea was good, fiber sweep, not so much. I chugged than down as fast as possible.

After some time at the playground we went home for lunch. Lunch was their Vanilla Shake with the other half of the banana, 10 baby carrots and hummus. The shake was also not very tasty :(

After a grooling afternoon of chasing the kids around the house and trying to stay awake, it was finally dinner. Dinner was another gross shake and instead of going with one of the recipes in the book, I had a cup of carrot and ginger bisque. It did the job. 

Although I was about 98% sticking to the plan, I had a mid afternoon freakout about how sluggish I was feeling and has a few pita chips to mentally get me through the rest of my day. As a sahm, I feel like I have to have my guard up 24/7 and I also have to teach a Body Back and Fit4Baby class in the evening. I was a little embarrassed to say,  I still showed up to class tired and likely not in the best shape. 

I do feel that the sluggish feeling came more from the caffeine withdrawal than the food. Also, being on any kind of "cleanse" is a bit of a mental game for me. I binge eat the night before, then through the entire "cleanse" all I can think about is everything I can't have! It's almost worse! 

All in all, day one went by much more successfully than expected. When I got home from teaching all I wanted was to eat and was able to refrain.  I am not as hungry as I thought I would be today, but I am becoming a hermit because I don't want to leave the house and be tempted to make a bad decision. It's only 3 days! I can do this! I did not wake up feeling any thinner or lose a lot of weight (lost a pound) and that was a little discouraging with all the effort I've put in to NOT eat things. But thats okay!

Its nearing the end of day 2, and I'm in the same boat as yesterday. Tired, and all I can think about is a Togo's hot pastrami sandwich. Thankfully washington doesn't have a Togo's for me to go to, but I look forward to having one in July (which feels so far away) Hopefully I will have better results on the scale or with how I feel tomorrow!

Beachbody is now in my life

Most of my current journey revolves around a few things. My family and my own fitness goals. So these are the posts you will see from me!

You might think, "what about a job or career?" well, my family's wellness is my "job" in a sense and instead of focusing on a money making job, I am going to be better about embracing my young children while they are still young and I have the blessed opportunity to stay home with them. That being said, I do make a small income with falls in line with my fitness goals as an instructor.

As a fitness instructor, I do like to walk the talk and trainers need trainers too!!! I have had a life long struggle with my weight and body imagine, as I assume lots of people my age have had as well. Dieting was something I just ruled out as a possibility for the magority of my life. I would not consider changing my eating habits to have a better body, because, well, I love food and it's apart of my life!

I'm going to fast forward this story a little since we all know how I joined Fit4Mom's Body Back, lost the baby weight, gained it back with Starbucks and lost it again last fall. Before I re-lost the weight,  and I was struggling with losing weight but was having trouble with motivation. My friend Courtney recommended that I tried 21 Day Fix. As far as I got with that was ordering the program from amazon and reading the program. I still couldn't find the motivation and time to start the program. She had had amazing success from the program and I wish I had started then.... but I didn't. It was all too overwhelming with being a sahm with 2 jobs and training for a marathon at the time. (reasonable right??)

Well, when I started weight watchers last fall, I started an at-home workout program called Bikini Body Guide (not to be confused with Bikini Body Mommy, they are different programs, both great!). The biggest struggle with BBG was that it was at home. No one there to push me or to tell me to start the timer and just workout. But I got it in my mind "if you start a program, you can't complain about it unless you give it a real chance". Not that I wanted to complain, but I wanted to just start my healthy lifestyle again!

I finally finished that program mid-march. I lost a total of 20lbs with the help of Weight watchers. But I like to shake things up and the thing that BBG helped me with is getting comfortable with working out at home. I can still watch my kids and workout and not have to wait for cole to be home, or take them to a gym day care! (plus it made me stronger than I've ever been and was able to hold a 6 min plank afterwards and do 18 up and downs' on each arm in a row, and 40 push ups in a min......not to brag :) )

But, I like change. I like changing things up and learning new things. So I was cleaning out my cookbook cupboard and stumbled on 21 Day Fix(21DF) that I had ordered a year ago! I texted Courtney, she hooked me up with her coach and the next day I was apart of a challenge group! Since my 20lbs weight loss from BBG, I gain and lose the same 6lbs. So with 21DF, I lost those 6lbs. Then gained them back in the maintenance week because of holidays, then did 21DF extreme and lost 3lbs, and it was a hard program!!! However, with both programs, I had lost inches all over my body and gained in my legs where I could feel my muscles growing! So for me, these are wonderful results!!!

It's getting me away from the scale and helping me focus more on strength goals! I've really enjoyed the short workouts and sweat so much from them. So now I am about to finish my 3rd round and decided to become a coach. I feel as though these workouts have really made me stronger!! Which is helping me FINALLY get to my point. Beachbody is now apart of my life. I drink shakeology, and I press play to one of their workouts every single day. (except on vacations) I ordered another program called The Master's Hammer and Chisel and also 3 Day Refresh. Since 3 day refresh doesn't recommend a hard workout, I am going to restart Hammer and Chisel next monday. I will be starting 3 day refresh tomorrow and will post a review of day one!!!

I will report back about how its going tomorrow!!!

Lastly, I know I jump around a lot with things I'm "in to". But it's good to have hobbies and learn new things! I can't promise my journey with beachbody will be forever. In fact, I can with certainty say it won't be(unless I'm crazy successful at it) but it's working for me right now and as Autumn says "you're only promised today".

Update since the last post.....

Why hello there!!!

I completely forgot about this blog, and stumbled across it yesterday. I read through most of it and it really reminded me of so much I forgot about! Mostly parenting stuff, and how I clearly had more thoughts back then.

Now, I feel like a robot a little. Wake up, get Elyse ready for school, Alistair for stroller strides, feed them breakfast, drop her off, go to stroller strides, come home, do at home workout, pick up Elyse, make lunch, clean kitchen, put alistair for a nap, get stuff done around the house (or nap with alistair) make dinner, clean up dinner, go teach class/or go to mixxedfit/or sit with Cole and try to get some peace and quiet, help cole put the kids down. Over and over like its groundhogs day!

Its been over a year since i've posted, (looks like about a year and a half) and I'm still doing the same things! Still working on creating my happy and healthy body. Continuing to push myself with new programs. Since the last post, I've continued running quite a few more races including a full marathon and 2 disney half marathons.

Elyse is going to be in kindergarten this fall and Alistair will be going to preschool!! Yes, after 5 years, I will finally get 4hrs a week to myself. I love love love being a stay at home mom now. I've finally learned to enjoy and embrace it more. It was a very long road there, and still sometimes when in social situations (which is rare) I get awkward about saying I stay home as my job. But I've really started to take a lot more pride in it. More often now when I say I stay home with two young kids, the response is more positive. For example: "oh you have one of the toughest and yet the most unappreciated job in the world." I prefer this response over "oooooohhhhhh......." or "must be nice to be home all the time"

Anyways, still at it with the weight loss thing. I gained a little back last year when I started working part time at Starbucks. I was working only when Cole was home since my wages were less than an hourly babysitter. It was becoming too much stress and no time as a family. After 7 months, I had to quit and remember that my main priority was my family and not any kind of career. I was a barista, so it wasn't a career job anyways, but it was fun and challenging. Also, you got one piece of food per shift and as many drinks as you wanted per shift. Lets just say all the chocolate croissants and double smoked bacon sandwiches, mixed with tons of milk and sugar did not bode well. I gained 15lbs in those 7 months working there. I was also training for a full  marathon at the time, so it really shows how having those bad foods a couple days a week can really effect you over time even with a lot of exercise.

So I spent the fall and winter of 2015 all the way to now watching what I ate and exercising a lot. I joined weight watchers and started(and finished) Bikini Body Guide. Combo helped me lose all the weight. Now I'm back to trying to get down lower on the scale (or inches) from here. Again.

Also, since then I have become a certified instructor for Fit4mom. I am certified to teach Stroller Strides, Stroller Barre, Fit4Baby, Body Back and to run a Fit4mom running club. Currently I was teaching Body Back as well as Stroller Strides and Stroller Barre last year, but right now I am only teaching Body Back which I love teaching.

I doubt I will be able to regularly post since my life is pretty much the same with the kids and their schedules now. But maybe i'll surprise everyone and actually do it :)

Seattle Rock N Roll Half Maraton

It's the tuesday after the Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon in Seattle. I am finally feeling back to normal as far as soreness goes. I will be attempting my first short run since. 2 miles today. I want to start back up, but very slowly. 

So the RnR, it was awesome. The course was a challenge but in the end, my end time was 2:20:06 and I am very very proud of my time. I was expecting to get about 2:42 so shaving 24 min off my time is a huge accomplishment for me. Also, it was my first half marathon. I feel like all my training and all the time I spent training was completely worth it and really paid off. I ran with my running buddy (Amanda) and it felt like the run went by very quickly. We talked, we ran, we people watched and it made the time go by faster than music or podcasts. We even continued to challenge each other. When one of us was going slower, the other one would keep the other going. It was perfect!! (although the Gu station was gross)

It was a beautiful day and I couldn't have asked for a better first 1/2 marathon. I feel so happy about having accomplished something I never ever thought I would in my lifetime. Cole and I also felt the need to continue to challenge ourselves and signed up the the RnR Marathon next year. Oh yea, not the 1/2, it will be a full 26.2 miles. whew!!! so hopefully the training goes well!!!

What's next!? Amanda and I have entered as a group into the Nike Women's 1/2 marathon in San Francsico. It is a very popular race so people are selected by random draw. We find out this week if we are picked. We really are hoping to be picked! It's the day after my 30th birthday and would be an awesome way to celebrate my 30th! If we don't get picked for that, we still want to do a 1/2 marathon. So we are toying with the idea of doing the RnR LA or the Long Beach 1/2 Marathon. I'm currently leaning toward the RnR LA because I would get an extra medal for running 2 RnRs in one year, and then Cole could do Tough Mudder that same weekend. But the Long Beach one seems much flatter. So we will see!!!

Last time I blogged, I had lost 22.6 pounds since January 2014. As of today, I have lost 34lbs. I am more than half way. I am looking to lose another 14lbs, but it will take some time. I hope to keep it up!!

Spring is here!

I know, I have been absolutely HORRIBLE at updating my blog and I should do it more often(I say this every year, almost every post!haha) It's been 2 months (almost) since my last post, so its about time :)

What can I really say though. My main focus these last two months is getting my weight down and under control. I have been really dedicated to the cause (FINALLY!) and since Christmas I have lost a total of 22.9lbs! Woo hoo!! I am a numbers and results person. My motivation is seeing the improvement. When I don't, I lose all motivation. It's addicting too. Although I am happy I've lost as much as I have, am still not even half way to my goal of what I want to lose. But I am close to half way!

Some may say to me "why do you want to lose so much weight?". Well, for one, I never lost the weight from when I got pregnant with Elyse and just gained MORE when I was pregnant with Alistair, and then didn't lose that either. I was at the biggest I had ever been and I wasn't carrying a child. I was avoiding seeing people and going to parties. I even went to a party of people I hadn't seen since befoore pregnancy and the look on their faces was a little surprising. Although I know it wasn't intentional and not meant to hurt my feelings but it made me realize, I am huge. I am not only bigger than ever, I hate how I look. 

I was avoiding cameras and people. It don't want to be a mom that doesn't take photos with my kids. I don't want to think "my looks are fading" or my "best years are behind me". I want to be the size or close to the size I was when I first moved to Seattle. I was a happy, confident person. I was comfortable with how I looked. So thats my goal. 

How am I doing this? The first thing I did was buy a fitbit. I have worn my fitbit flex every single day since the day I got it. It was one of the best investments for my weight loss. It made me realize how inactive I am/was. I was aiming to hit a goal of 10,000 steps a day. I got one back in August of 2013. Still to this day, it is hard for me to meet that goal, but I am trying harder to get there than I first did.

Then I joined stroller strides. This was a decent workout that I could do without dropping my kids at daycare. Unfortunately, the franchise I was at closed at the end of October 2013. So then I tried Barre class, and that was AWESOME!! the workout was sooo hard, but it was really expensive, so that didn't last long. Finally, I signed up for the Jingle Bell 5k in Dec. I ran it and it felt so rewarding since I am a self-proclaimed "non-runner".  Then someone new was buying the Renton Stroller Strides so I went to a "meet and greet" she was having. There she mentioned how she how she was going to teach the Body Back Program.

So I decided to sign up for Body back over stroller strides. Best decision ever. Body back really made me realize how much improvement I needed and that I could do it. On top of that, as I mentioned before, I am training for a few runs. I did a 5k in early march and beat my last time by abound 10 min. MY next run is the Seahawks 12k in April which I have been training for. Next I have the Run like a Mother 5k which I hope to beat my last time.  Then Bay to Breakers in May, but I heard you can't really run because it's so crowded. Then lastly, I signed both Cole and I up for the Rock n Roll half Marathon on June 21st. So that is what I will be training for after the 12k. whew!! its going to be hard but I can do this!!!

So with the training and Body Back (I signed up for another session) I work out 5-6 days a week. On top of that, I use Myfitness Pal app to track my calories. This has been a big contributor to my weight in my opinion. I start every morning with a cup of water water and half a lemon squeezed, I cut out caffine, but I still drink decaf drinks, and count my calories for the rest of the day. Also my fitbit connects to the MFP app and the more steps I get the more calories I can eat. I log or scan all my food. I also have my food journal open so others can see it. It keeps me honest and more accountable. I also have given up desserts for lent and hope to continue to cut out desserts. Not completely because, what kind of life is a life without desserts?!

 But before all of this, the first thing I do is weight myself, every morning. I look forward to it, and I spend my day making better choices so that the next day when I get on the scale the number changes for the better :) 

It is a fitbit scale so it also syncs to the MFP app which shows me how much I lost which is great!

Anyways, hopefully what I am doing continues to work and I can get to my goal weight someday!!

How's the resolution going??

Usually at this point, many people have forgotten their resolutions and there are the few that are still going for it, and then there are the others that have decided to just give up. Well, I'm happy to say, I am still full-blown working on my resolution. Everyday reminding myself that I am doing this for the good of myself and family and no one else. 

I have signed up for a great program through Stroller Strides called Body Back. It is an 8 week long program with a meal plan and workouts twice a week plus homework(more working out and reminding us to stay motivated). I'm doing this with my friend Amanda and we are four weeks into it. So far, so good!! 6 lbs down and I feel so much better! The meal plan is easier than I had expected too which is really helpful!! On the days we aren't in class, Amanda and I have been starting to train for the Seahawks 12k run in April. (It's April 13th and cole is doing it as well, so if anyone wants to come and babysit, that would be awesome!!!)

I also have a 5k on March 5th, but at this point in the training, it will be a breeze. Honestly though, I am not a runner, never have been. I have really impressed myself with amount of running I have been able to complish lately!! Yesterday, according to my training plan, I needed to run 2 miles. So I went to the gym and ran 2 miles on the treadmill, and went home and felt like it wasn't enough. I took the kids and went on a walk/run of 3.75 miles. Yes thats a total of 5.75miles rather than the 2 I needed to do. 

Now, when I say I "ran" 2 miles, I mean I ran as much of it as I could. I am not yet able to run 2 miles straight. But I run about 95% of it which is more than I have ever been able to do. Also, I run very very slow and I am okay with that. When I try to run faster, I end up walking more. So I prefer my slow pace. I saw this great quote that I repeat to myself daily "I run slower than a pack of turtle through peanut butter, but I run." It's me. Plus, I love turtles and it makes me think of my old turtle Arnie, going through peanut butter :).

On a different note, YAY to my SEAHAWKS!!! Super Bowl Champs!! Also, I must say, everyone is giving Sherman soooo much flack for this interview after his ninners game and at first, I was pretty turn off by it all. But when I think about it more, I think its ridiculous how much people are upset by it. It's a game for the rest of us, this is his job, his career. He was heated and got passionate and it was on TV. He said in an interview, people want him to be a robot on tv and he's not. He is a person and I believe he has the right to get upset. For those pointing the finger and saying "shame on you", have you never gotten upset at work and cussed under your breath or even at someone??? yea... didn't think so. His just happens to be on TV and everyone gets to see him at the best and worst of times. No one is perfect. So yes, after its all said and done. I like Sherman. There I said it!

Go Hawks!!!! On to many more victories!! 

Lastly, HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

New year, New Dreams

Belated Hello!!!

As usual, "It's been awhile!" haha

Well, another new year, and another new dream. It's that time where everyone talks about their New Years resolutions. If you're anything like me, I break them or forget by the time valentines day comes around. A whole year is a LONG time to remember a resolution. I decided that this year my resolution will be more vauge and hopefully more attainable!

So my resolution is stop thinking about what everyone else thinks of me, and do things to make myself a little happier. Since being a stay at home mom, I have been more depressed and unable to see the good in what I do and always the bad. I constantly worry about the sterotype and in the beginning it was about losing who I was. I didn't realize how much having a child would turn my entire life into a different one. I mean, I knew, I heard people telling me, but it's one of those things that you can't really know till you get there. 

Anyways, there no "lose weight" goal or "write a novel" goal. Simply, (or not so simply) stop caring so much about everyone else and work on myself. How am I going about this without being uber selfish? Well, when I think about it, the things that would make me happy is 1) having a happy and healthy family. 2)have a happy and healthy body 3) having happy and healthy relationships. 

For the first, the more I do and with my family and not try to give myself "pinterest stress". Also stop comparing myself to other moms and wives, and just do my own best the better off I will be. Keeping a postivie attitude (but I am still allowed to get upset) and just not beat myself up so much for not being the best at anything. Having dinner on the table when I can, get my kids to eat better foods and teaching them things wheter they actually pick it up or not. I have also realized, I'm a better mom when I get a break. So I am trying to find a new hobby that helps me gett away for a few hours a month. Right now I have tried painting, but it's $$$ so I don't know if I can keep it up. 

For the second, I can't go on any kind of diet. Its not my personality and it will cause me a lot of mental stress that I am already trying to avoid. Instead, I will try to make better choices but still allow myself some of my weaknesses (smores). Food makes me happy so I can't deprive myself of it. Plus, when trying to cook for a toddler and adults, it gets tricky. Instead, I want to work out more. I enjoy working out but finding the time is VERY difficult. I've signed up for a few runs coming up! the Seahawks 12k at the landing and the hot chocolate run :) Looking ot sign up for more. Those are also not cheap but it keeps me from flaking and I have to run no matter what!!! (plus I invested in lots of running/workout stuff this christmas so I NEED to use it!)

For the last, I always worry about bugging people or offending people. But I shouldn't with my friends. So I am going to try harder to be myself. Also to just invite people to do things even if i feel like I am bugging everyone. I know I would rather be invited to something I can't go to then not invited at all. Also to focus on those that also focus on me. I spent a lot of my life making lots and lots of friends and for a long time (when I didn't have kids and had the time to maintain all those friendships) I had a lot of friends. But since becoming a mom, it's been very difficult. Not only do I have a hard time staying friends with some people, it's been hard to make new friends since my whole world revolves around being a stay at home mom. So I want to be a better friend to those that have decided that I was a friend to keep and am still friends with. Those are obviously the important ones. But I am going to to try to not stress about the friendships that have drifted apart. 

To finish this up, its a lot when I think about it. But by the end of the year, I want to be a happier person and hope that some of that happiness willl rub off on others :)

Belated Happy Holidays!

Alistair by weeks

I've spent a lot of time collecting photos apps and making these fun memories of my son. I wish I had done this for Elyse too.

Some of these are "old pictures" for some of you, but I thought it would be fun to see them side by side and see how far he's come :)

ps the last post about arbonne was written 2 months ago and i just noticed it didn't post. So I sent it through again. 

Arbonne!!

Some may have noticed some of my recent posts on facebook and pinterest about Arbonne!

What is Arbonne and why am I posting about it? Well it's this great company I have decided to work for as an independent consultant. Arbonne is a company that produces botanically based ultra premium skin care products, cosmetics and wellness products. I have been using the skin care and wellness products and love them. I think I am borderline obsessed with them actually.

They contain no chemical dyes, fragrances and carcinogens, 100% vegan certified(which means no animal testing and no animal products or by-products), paraben free and swiss formulated. It's wonderful!! I feel like for the first time in my life that I am actually taking care of my skin and enjoying it!

What do I do as an independent consultant? Currently, I am in training, but anyone can become one. But once I am comfortable, I can have people book parties with me where they invite friends over and learn about Arbonne. This is something that is going to take some time for me to be comfortable with and learn more about the products and company, but it's something I am really excited about and hope I stick with it.

If you are interested in learning more about Arbonne or want to host a party(oh and as a host you can get discount on products based on sales at the party and a small free gift!), email me hsvangundy@gmail.com.

Why am I doing this? Well, I have been a stay at home mom for over two years now. I enjoy staying with my kids a lot but am also looking for a way to get some social interaction, get out of my work out clothes and pjs, make a little money and keep my brain educated by learning new things! Also, I really do like the product and learning about the key elements and active ingredients in things, then comparing it to what I use on myself and family on a daily basis.

It's not easy to do right now or give it my 100% all. Adjusting to life with two kids at home and having a happy family is still my main focus in life. This is a nice and exciting side project for me that I would like to try to be successful with!

So if I ask you "can you host an arbonne party for me?" I apologize now if it's annoying, but I have to at least try! You don't have to buy anything at all, if anything just hear what I have to say about the company and products. I really do believe in them.

For example, right now I am using the RE9 anti-aging set face set and also the RE9 Firming cream among many other products. I am using the Firming cream on my ugly stretch marks I have gotten from my most recent pregnancy and I can already tell the difference. They aren't gone (yet!) but they are absolutely fading!! It's amazing!!!

The other thing I really like is the ABC Arbonne Baby Care line. I got it for Alistiar. He's a lot more fair skinned than Elyse was/is and I notice red blotches on him from time to time. After I started using the ABC on him, they faded! Now they are mostly gone! Their diper rash cream is great too. It's not as thick and pasty as most diaper rash creams are so a little goes a VERY long way!

Anyways, posts might be shorter lately due to my kids demands, but I wanted to post about it really quick. I will continue to post about my progress and of course the family :)

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Our first three weeks of a family of four

  

It's been three weeks since our family has become a family of four and only one week since I've been doing it alone(during the day). It hasn't been too bad!

I know it can definitely be worse, but it is also by no means easy. Alistair is still only waking between 1-3 times a night but has been waking at 6am for hours while Elyse sleeps till 8am. Which if I had it my way, I would be sleeping till 8am as well. But he's been pretty good otherwise. I dont know if maybe because I have a better idea of what to do and what to stress and not to stress about. My hands are definitely full though. Elyse is in the middle of potty training (she's getting it!) and also moved to a toddler bed. On top of that, she managed to get a cold. So it's been hard being on top of all of those things and keep her away from her brother. The potty training is going better. She's been at it since her brother was born and recently is going days without accidents and going both poop and pee in the potty so thats a big plus!

The toddler bed thing is a different issue. She likes it, but she likes her ability to get out whenever she wants too. The chanagelle here is a safety issue of making sure she doesn't leave her room and get into something, but also she gets up at random times of the night, opens her door and yells for us. So we have 2 kids getting up in the middle of the night now, awesome. 

We are trying to not move backwards and are sticking to the toddler bed for now, but we have the pack n play set up in her room in case she just won't stay in bed. We haven't had to use it in a week though. It's been exhuasting since we have double duty, but not terrible. Although, it is almost 11am, and all I have had is a half a cup of coffee and I've been up since 6am. (maybe I should eat instead of blog)

I have noticed I am not as stressed out as I was last time or even while I was pregnant. I don't know if it's because I'm home all the time(with potty training and two kids, its hard to leave) so I am always comfortable or if its because I'm fairly busy, but either way, I'm not as upset all the time with Elyse or the dogs so thats good!!

Here are some of Alistair's recent adventures in the last 3 weeks :)

Sleeping

First bath at home(after his belly button came off)

Working out at the activity gym

"I can't believe I'm related to these people"

His big hands!

"My sister is already dressing me up without my consent"

Family time at the beach

I dont know where she learned this from, but Brody didn't care

This is the face I always see. It means "i need a nipple in my mouth!"

my little man and I

Hes a fan of the ergo

more cute sleeping

He's wearing crabs!!!!

Here's a few photos of him growing :

Birth

The one week old pictures are from his newborn photos and I don't have the rights to use those just yet. So soon!!