Day 24: Can't wait for the 4th!

Friday, June 30th

Know your limits... but never stop trying to exceed them.
Anonymous

Did you see my exercise goal for yesterday? Run 10 minutes. Me? Run?! Yes folks. I, Lindsay-who-hates-running, ran for 10 minutes. And really, it wasn’t that bad. It was hot outside, and I was pretty much out of breath, but I still did it! How awesome is that?!

I did realize that I can’t run every day, though. The tendonitis in my knee (yes, I have tendonitis in my knees and my hands, and it sucks) flared up last night after the run. I think the more muscle I build up in my legs, and the more stretching I do, the less I will have flare-ups. Just a hypothesis, but I think it makes sense.

I didn’t do the leg exercises yesterday because of my knees. And I also didn’t do the biceps exercises, but I don’t have a good excuse for that one. The dishes were done, but I can’t take credit for that, because Clint did most of it, and alas, the kitchen is still a mess. But I went for a run! I’m sorry, I still can’t get over that.

This 4th of July is going to be great! Last year we went with friends of ours to their cabin on the Sound. (I use the word "cabin" loosely, because it seems more like a nice house to me!) I was 7 months pregnant last year, and their twins were 7.5 months old. This year, Colby’s 9 months and the boys are 19.5 months old! We’ll be there Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and leave Wednesday. Last year was so relaxing, and I think this year will be too (that is, after all the boys go to bed). I’m a little worried about how Colby will react to the fireworks, though. Last year, he was doing somersaults and jumping around every time there was a loud bang. I have a feeling this year he’ll be in tears. He’s a pretty tough kid and it usually takes a lot to make him cry, but when he gets scared, he lets you know. (Ask Mike, he’s good at antagonizing Colby by Moooing and making scary faces.) I’m just really excited to hang out with Jesse and Kendra. We always have so much fun together, and it’s always nice to have normal adult conversations. Or maybe not so "normal," but adult conversations none-the-less.

So, I won’t be blogging until next Thursday, so don’t miss me too much! I know, it will be hard, but you’ll get through it. ; )

Home:
1. Run Errands
2. Clean Kitchen

Exercise:
1. Walk 30 mins.
2. Squats/ Inner-Thighs (tendonitis permitting)
3. Abs
4. Biceps

Day 23: Patience

Thursday, June 29th

Patience is the key to paradise
Turkish Proverb

I like to think that I’m a patient person. I hope I am anyway. Of course, I have my moments of irritability where nothing happens fast enough for my liking, but I think that’s normal. Weight loss is one area in which I have been extremely impatient in the past. When I try to lose weight, I want results and I want them yesterday. I hate that it takes what feels like forever to see the product of all my hard work. This time around, I have a much more realistic "take it one day at a time" attitude. I know, I definitely have days where I feel like giving up because I haven’t seen as much of a change as I feel like I should, but I always get back on the horse. I think that realistic attitude stems from a couple of things. First, I’m not dieting. Just typing that word makes my skin crawl. See, I love food. I mean, if I could marry it, I would. Alright that might be going a little too far, but you get where I’m going with this. I absolutely cannot tell myself, "You can’t eat x" because ya know what happens? I want "x" even more when I tell myself I can’t have it! I make sure that I eat sensibly and I’ll have dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate (I hear it’s way better for you) and I’ll eat 99% fat free waffles instead of the nummy fatty ones, but when it comes down to it, I really don’t notice a difference. I also give myself a break on the weekends. I might go for a walk, but if I don’t exercise I’m okay with it. And if I have a few drinks and eat chips and burgers then oh well. I know, if I cut these things out completely I would see a difference in my weight in a shorter amount of time. But really, how long would that last? I can tell you: one day. Tops. I’m not going to avoid chips, burgers, and alcohol for the rest of my life, right?

Yesterday I didn’t get to the laundry again. Woops. I’ll do it today! But, everything else I completed. Wohoo!

Home:
1. Laundry
2. Dishes/Kitchen

Exercise:
1. 40min. Walk/ 10min Run
2. Biceps
3. Squats/Inner-Thighs

Day 22: My Happy Heart

Wednesday, June 28th

Work like you don’t need the money. Love like you’ve never been hurt. Dance like nobody’s watching.
Satchel Paige

Despite my late blogging, yesterday was fairly successful. I did laundry (although I still need to fold it) and instead of walking, Clint, Colby, and I went for a 30 minute (2.3 mile) jog. It made my heart happy to jog with my little family. It really didn’t feel like exercise because it was fun! Plus, Clint pushed the stroller the whole way, which made the jog soooo much easier for me. I also made a month’s worth of calzones (they’re waaay nummy), so that completed another goal!

Again, I realize that I’m blogging late in the day, and today’s pretty much over. Oh well! It doesn’t mean I haven’t been productive today, though. I’m going to cheat a little today and write goals I want to accomplish, but really, I’ve already accomplished them. What? It’s my blog, I can do what I want. So there.

Can I tell you how much I like walking? And jogging for that matter. I love the time I get to spend pushing Colby around, listening to my music, thinking about whatever it is that’s on my mind. It’s extremely therapeutic. Today I thought that I might go to the library and check out some photography books. Maybe there’s an Idiot’s Guide to Taking Awesome Pictures that I can pick up. (I was actually being facetious, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that book exists!) I figure with the scenery around here, there have to be a gazillion opportunities for fantastic photography. It would be so much cheaper to hang my own framed photos than to go out and buy someone else’s!

I am going to get mushy for a second, so bear with me. (I blame it on the Mike’s I’m drinking right now. Alcohol always makes me mushy gushy. And I’ve only had one! What a light weight.) I love my life right now. I cannot imagine it any better than this. Clint is amazing, he is such a wonderful husband. He goes to work day in and day out and busts his ass so I don’t have to work. He plays with Colby and makes him laugh. When Clint walks in the door, Colby gets the hugest grin on his face, it makes me melt. Colby is an awesome kid. I know I got lucky with this one. He is so mild mannered, but still very determined. He laughs at my silly dances and loves it when I chase him around the room on my hands and knees. I hope and pray I can be a good mom to him. I pray he grows up to be as happy as I am.

Okay, I’m done. But only ‘till the next time I feel compelled to mushy-ness.

Home:
1. Fold Laundry
2. Straighten Up

Exercise:
1. 60 minute walk
2. Abs
3. Triceps

Day 21: What's the Point?

Tuesday, June 27th

If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.

Dolly Parton

Sometimes I feel like giving up. Why do I bust my ass day in and day out, getting all sweaty and gross for just a little bit of change, if any at all. What's the point? And then I remember: if I give up now, I give up on myself. I fail. I let myself down. I disappoint me. That's a big deal. I plan to have more babies. At least one or two more. If I can't lose the weight now, I'll have that in my mind next time, and I might not be motivated to bust my ass. I don't want to be that person. I want to be able to play with my kids, to run around with them, swim with them, and not be embarassed and out of breath. I want them to see that their mom is a happy, healthy person, and hopefully they will want to be happy, healthy people too.

But mostly this is about me. I have to remind myself that if I give up now, I'm not going to lose any more weight. At best, I'll stay the way I am. At worst (and more than likely), I'll slowly but surely put on pound after yucky pound. That's not an option for me, so I get out there, walk the miles, lift the weights, crunch the abs. It took a long time to put the weight on, I can't expect it to come off in a flash.

I think this time of year has really got me down. I will probably never get into a bikini again. Even if I do lose the weight that I want to and tone up, I will still have the loose skin resulting from a very big baby. To make matters worse, I have the most wicked stretch marks on my stomach. I know, people tell me they'll fade, but we're going on 10 months and they're still pretty obvious (damn genetics). All I can say is thank God for tankinis and boarder shorts. I would be a scary scary sight if these didn't exist!

Anyway, enough of the whining. Time to get down to business. Yesterday Corey and Sara came up to visit! It was awesome. Have I mentioned how much I love it when people make the effort to come up here to visit? Well, I do. Although I didn't do any cardio (it was too friggin' hot anyway), I did do crunches and squats while we watched TV! Whoop di do!

I do realize that it's already 4:00pm, but I am still setting goals for today. I have already been doing laundry, so that's a start!

Home:

1. Laundry (Fold, Clean)

2. Make dinners (for the month)

Exercise:

1. 60 min walk

2. Inner-thigh workout

3. Abs

Intro to my blog

I have been blogging on my MySpace profile for the past month or so, and I thought I'd blog here too! There's always room for more motivation, right? Wish me luck on my journey to weightloss.