Test blog with picture

 

 

Just testing this with a new picture to see if Windows live will recreate the folder I deleted on accident.

OOoh no, my pictures are gone!

Whelp…I’m an idiot.  Any help here?  I deleted the pictures from my folders….that were on my phone.  Thinking for sure they were saved on my computer.  But, I guess I was in my dropbox folders?

 

I don’t have time for this.  Or the patience.  Is there a quick fix to this????

 

Oh geez……

What a doozy of a day!

“What a doozy of a day!”  I was saying that by 10 am this morning.  It’s days like these that make me so happy that I’ve already done my workout for the day.  Not that I’m seeing a huge benefit and a greater amount of energy from working out in the morning, but that when I get home tonight, I DON’T HAVE TO WORKOUT!!!!!  I have to believe though, that had I NOT worked out, I wouldn’t be handling things as well as I am today. “Well”, meaning laughing most everything off.  “Laughing”, meaning borderline hysterical giggling. And “hysterical” meaning, you’re not quite sure if you should be crying instead.  Or popping pills.  Or drinking booze.

Speaking of popping pills…..

I remembered to take all my condoms* vitamins today!

If anyone catches me taking my Advocare supplements, they inevitably think I’m tearing in to some birth control.  Uh, yeah people.

*Speaking of vitamins, you might need them after this workout: http://www.fitsugar.com/10-Minute-Buti-Class-Video-28580417

We had a conversation on Facebook this morning that you wouldn’t want anyone watching you do this workout….but THEN….if you CHARGED them….that would make you a … oh let’s not go there.

This morning, for my workout, I continued with my run streak of one mile.  I figure, starting next week, I’ll need to start bumping up my mileage, mid-week.  Along with my leg workout streak, I also did a core workout this morning from the Turbo fire series and I have a model… She definitely needs to work on her core a little bit more.

I don’t think she approves of the girl’s posture.

So did you go watch the Buti Yoga workout video?  And would you be caught dead doing the workout? 

A little refresher course on the basics of me

Would you like to know what I do a lot?  Sure you would!  I start writing a blog post, and then in the evening, when I have internet again, I either get too busy, too lazy, or just plain forget.  It doesn’t go up on the world wide web.  So sad, right?

Then, I come back to it the next day, read it, and wonder what the heck I was trying to say.  I edit it and say, “Oh that’s not relevant now.  That’s just plain boring.  That is…OMG why would you write that!!”  Delete delete delete. ha!

So there my friends is why I don’t blog so regularly.

My current life – refresher course

I work a 40 hour week, outside the home, in banking.  A very popular industry these days!

We have three teens at home, two her’s, one his. Two are out of the house…yipeee!  (Don’t judge.  You will get there.)

• 16teen is mine and just got her driver’s license.  We are in the market for a teen job and a teen car….in that order.
• 14teen is his….a boy…and he would be happy to be a professional gamer/movie watcher.
• 13teen is mine and she is a social butterfly and is addicted to volleyball.

My hubs and I are going on 5 years of wedded chaos bliss and we are starting to get the hang of things.  Give us a couple of more years and we’ll have it down.

For the most part, he cooks and I clean.

He also irons, but I do the laundry and put it all away….which sometimes doesn’t happen super quickly, and then he gets to iron.  Full circle peeps.

We have hobbies, and church, and family, and friends….and in the midst of all of that, I just forget to blog.  Then why do it right?

Because it helps keeps me accountable.  And because I like to.

The end.

PS I’m addicted to neon.  I think it’s amazing! You?

Secret Running

I have a little secret that I have been keeping for a whole four days!  I wouldn’t get too excited since there is no real benefit to you, other than I’ll be motivated to post more and remind you of how awesome I am.

You ready?

I started a running streak.  I’m a perfectionist, so get this…I started it on a Saturday, towards the end of the month.  Who AM I?  I had no rhyme or reason to do so.  I was just looking for a way to motivate myself, cuz uhh, well marathon training starts in May and my base miles are squat. So I just up and started with this running streak where I plan to run at least a mile a day for the rest of March and all of April.  I do plan on being careful, which won’t be hard since I’m probably the most careful runner around.  Three marathons and no real injuries.  (You better believe that I just knocked on wood!)

Since I was on a streak with my streaks, yeah, I know, just shut up…I decided to add two more.  I have a full body, body-weight workout that takes about 10-15 minutes to perform….doing that once a day, and lastly, I’m de-cluttering for 15 minutes a day.  I found my medal from my first marathon that has been missing for two years!! Go me!  If anyone is reading, I do not want to get injured so if there’s the slightest twinge or ache, I will be paying close attention and will modify or stop if needed.

Exciting huh?  Let’s recap!

• Run at least one mile a day
• Strength train with body weight only, once a day
• Declutter for 15 minutes a day.

And just because….check out the beautiful rolls my handsome hub and I shared the other night.

Do you adore sushi? I know, not the healthiest and white rice, yadda yadda yadda…oh and I ate too much wasabi so I was chugging my water and S’s water.   I kept our waitress busy with her pitcher.

Stress Relief–Tips and Tricks

I’m still looking for some tools and ideas to help me not turn to food when I’m stressed, tired, or auditioning for the lead role of Miss Crabby Pants. What are some non related food rewards/activities/techniques that you use as incentives to stay on your clean foods diet?

Some ideas that I have or have tried are:

• Taking a bath (I don’t have a bathtub though and I WILL NOT go use the bathtub in the kids’ bathroom – but when I did have my own tub, this was one of my treats.)
• Make some tea and read a good book
• Download some new tunes/podcasts
• Do some light yoga/stretching while listening to some calming music, better yet, lie down on a foam roller or some tennis balls under tight spots on your back/neck.
• Go for a walk/run with some upbeat music
• Look up funny animal videos on Youtube/Pinterest (I swear by this!)

 

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, then you’ve probably seen this picture.  It’s blueberry green tea with some vanilla flavored stevia.  SO DELICIOUS!  Definitely doesn’t taste like a milkshake or Oreos, but that stuff isn’t good for you anyway.  I’ve been trying to trick myself with this stuff and I think you should try it too.

I love that the tags on the tea bags have little uplifting sayings or quotes on them.  Again, not quite the same as the quotes inside a Dove chocolate square, but it’s progress, right?  Oooh but the dark chocolate Dove squares would be somewhat ok as long as you didn’t eat the whole bag.

The Yogi brand also makes a stress relief tea that I’m still trying to get myself to like.  I mean, I DO like it but it needs to grow on me a little more.  It tastes a little chocolate-y and a little licorice-y (which I don’t exactly care for anise, or the black licorice taste.)…HOWEVER, there is no caffeine in the tea and I swear that it helps me fall asleep quickly.  So don’t take it during your work day unless you’re ok with your face on your desk in a puddle of drool.

So what do you do when you find yourself about to crack?

The time I went to Dublin, Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day

My life changed a lot in the couple of years after these pictures were taken and for the most part, I tucked them away on their CDs to be ignored.  Sniff sniff.  Then, it turned into one of those projects that I should tackle….one thing after another. So 10 years later, here’s a few snippets of the time I went to Ireland, for the second time.  The first time was the year before, 2002ish?  This trip in 2003 actually had us in Dublin, Ireland, smack dab on St. Patrick’s Day.  Enjoy…this not so great blog post that is written in a hurry, so I can cross this off my to-do list and quit procrastinating. You are welcome for that horrible sentence too!

Blarney Castle

The view of the castle, once you get past my double chin.

Some views from the top. I liked all of the green stuff growing on the broken stuff.

Kissing the Blarney Stone

I wasn’t keen on the idea of getting down on the ground, leaning over backwards and kissing something that had been kissed by a ton of other people.  Once in a lifetime opportunity missed?  Sigh…but I didn’t want everyone to see my hat hair either!  In my defense, no one else in our party kissed the stone either.  Fuddy-duddy!  I would do it in a second now!

St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland.

We were visiting in conjunction with some musical events that were happening in “town.”  It meant we got special passes and partook in activities that were not your normal touristy fare.  Early on St Patty’s day, we were at the parade in Dublin.  I took tons of pictures, but they were mostly of marching bands (Work related…and there were a bazillion…I’m sparing you.) So the above two are from the cathedral, and other than that, I don’t remember a thing.  Except it was a very cool experience and music inside a cathedral always sounds amazing due to the acoustics.

Random pictures from around Ireland.  Could be Limerick, Dublin, Cork…who knows?  I have a bunch of pictures of different colored doors, doorknobs…oh and Ethan Hawke (didn’t get a picture of him, but I saw him.  Swear.)

I wish we had places like this in Klamath Falls.  Don’t you?!

Glendalough, the Monastic City in the Wicklow Mountains National Park.

The Gateway

The history here is fascinating.  If I could spend the rest of my day, reading up on this place, I would.  I love old broken stuff…and history, and traveling, and I think it’s pretty cool that I got to visit!  St Kevin, 6th Century Stuff, Vikings, no big deal, right?!

The Round Tower

St Kieran’s Church

This was our fun driver that I tried to get him to say any word with the “th” sound in it “Two or tree” times a day.  I tink here he was trying to tell me how everything is two or tree tousand years old.  Or someting like tat.

Goal Setting

I’m a happy camper!….with new office supplies! I adore using my day timer and I find that I’m most successful in life when I am using it.  I’ve tried for a couple of years to switch to an electronic format…and don’t get me wrong, I LOVE me some technology, but there is just something to be said about a day timer that has paper and tabs and you write in it by hand.  Call me “old fashioned” if you want.  Didja? Don’t care.  So yesterday, I made my way to Staples to pick up some refills as I only had until July 2013 in my planner.  Why do companies do that?  I don’t know.  So now I’m all set for the rest of 2013.  Yeah, I still use my phone for reminders and appointments, but I add those to my planner since it’s too big to carry with me everywhere.  (Well, it’s not too big, I just choose not to carry it everywhere.)

You may wonder where I’m going with this, because I just did.  Here’s my point.  I love having my planner because in it, I write my goals down. It also fosters my addiction to office supplies, but it’s not the main reason I love it.  Anyway, the only real point to this blog is to list out my goals for March…or the rest of March, I should say.  The goals you see here are a part of a larger plan and are simply short term goals for the month.

• Cut out all processed sugar
• Lose 6 pounds
• Strength Train 3 times a week
• Try four new-to-me recipes
• Make a craft-project “to do” list from the projects I already have at home

I only shared with you a few of my monthly goals as I also have goals that are finance/career related, social, and mental/spiritual.  Very well rounded, I tell ya! I left out some details and some other ones you might find boring.  I hope you’ll help hold me accountable?  At least writing and sharing them here has put a bug in my ear to get crack-a-lackin!

Did you set any goals for March?  Do you have a planner…that is paper?  And you’re a nerd like me?

March….and some goals revisited.

It’s a new month and since we’re still in the first quarter, I can pretend that the year is still new and that it’s no big deal that I haven’t been making great progress on my New Year’s resolutions, right?  To be honest, I don’t even remember what those resolutions were. (Oh well lookie here! Someone blogged about them.) It’s good to revisit your goals though, right?  To make sure you are on track and all that jazz.

So do you make monthly goals?  Weekly goals?  Are they smart goals?

Since my dentist appointment last week, I’ve made it a goal to floss everyday.  I believe I’ve only missed one day?  That’s some progress!

“In a nutshell, my resolutions/goals for 2013 are:

• Floss daily
• Take my vitamins daily
• Lose 30 pounds
• Run my 4th marathon
• Turn 40 and be in awesome shape (Which that relates to lose 30 pounds.)”

Looks like I made them super easy and I think it’s funny that flossing daily is the first thing I keep coming back to.  I’m not on the verge of gingivitis people, but it is serious stuff, so floss you people!  When is the last time you did?

I am taking my vitamins daily as I’m using my supplements from Advocare.  So that’s good.  No more stressing out when I read an article about “Make sure you are taking your xyz’s or you will probably die.”

Haven’t lost 30 pounds either….yet.  Though, I could be a LOT closer to that if I had remained in gear.

The marathon isn’t until October…still got time.  And I don’t turn 40 until November….so still time.  But not so much if I keep resting on my laurels.

Do you know what laurels are?  And why people “rest” on them?  I didn’t.  You are welcome!

The expression "resting on one's laurels" refers to someone relying entirely on long-past successes for continued fame or recognition, where to "look to one's laurels" means to be careful of losing rank to competition.^[2]

Lastly…I liked this.  I tried to find the original, and then I ran out of time.  Muriel.blanc?

That was rude and uncalled for

I did my very best to stay healthy when three out of five of our household peeps got sick.  I think it’s a good rule of thumb that when you would rather be at work than be home sick, you know you are sick for realsies.  And yeah, you can quote me on that. Wednesday I was in bed all day with a fever and sinus pressure. Not fun, not cool, and very rude of my body.

I hadn’t planned on being sick or at home on a random Wednesday, so all of my easy to prepare, healthy foods were at work.  Oh and besides, who wants to turn to healthy foods when they are sick?  There’s a reason they are called comfort foods.  So guess what I ate?  Sugar.  In the form of:

• Trix cereal (Why does my husband buy the stuff?)
• Orange Juice (I asked him to buy it because I pretended in my head it would be good for me.)
• Gingerale (I asked him to get this too because I’m old school.  When you’re sick, you drink 7-Up or Gingerale.)
• White bread (I have Ezekiel bread in the fridge but of course, I turned to the sugar loaded bread.)
• Jam (Pure delicious, Marion berry jam flavored sugar.)

I think I ate a half of a loaf of bread of that day. Sad face.  When I was the only adult in the house, my children ate a lot healthier.  My hubs is completely on board for me eating as healthy as I want to, but he’s not sold.  Do not tell him this, but things are going to change.  I haven’t figured it all out yet, but prayer might be my only option to get him to help me kick sugar out of the house.  That will sure be a miracle when that happens!

So, where am I at?  I only worked out on Monday…strength training.  I haven’t run since Saturday.  I’m sleeping as much as is allowable.  I feel very weak and lethargic.  But, I’m back at work…plugging along, and I’m kicking sugar to the curb again.  I’m also trying to forgive myself for eating all of the sugar in the world, for getting off track with my training and working out.  It was what it was….isn’t that how the saying goes?

Friday…..so far so good!  I’m feeling better than I have all week.  No sign of the dizziness and fever either.  Go me!  After work, I get to jet off to parts unknown, with my girlies, for a volleyball tournament that starts early on Saturday morning.  Packing…commence!