WIW & Goals

 I didn't make it out of the 80's this week like I had hoped, but at least I had a bit of a loss!

Last week, I was at 180.5, this week...

Here is my list of excuses for why I didn't make it out of the 80's.

Aunt Flow is visiting.

I had a work dinner last night, and ate nachos and taco.  Hello, sodium!

I only worked out 3 times in the last week.

I had a sick dog-child to tend to. 

Next week, I will have no excuses because...

Aunt Flow will be gone.

No crazy work dinners the night before weigh in.

I will be working out everyday this "week".

(My weeks have changed from Monday-Sunday to Wednesday-Tuesday)

My baby dog, Skittles, is all better now so no added stress.

To help keep excuses at bay, here are a few goals I have for the week.

1.  Log 14 miles walking or running.

I haven't been taking the dogs for very many walks lately because it's so freaking cold, but it's such as easy way to fit in activity!  Averaging 2 miles a day should be easy!

2.  Do a full week of 21 Day Fix workout videos.

W-Total Body Cardio

T-Upper Fix

F-Lower Fix

S-Pilates

S-Cardio Fix

M-Dirty 30

T-Yoga

3.  Log everything, EVERYTHING!, I eat into MFP.

We got a sneak peek of our engagement photos from our photographer so I'll end this post with this adorable family photo :)

Currently...

I feel like blogging today, but don't have too much to say, so I'm borrowing some "currently" prompts from Bless This Mess . 

If you have never visited Melissa at Bless This Mess, I recommend that you do!  She has an awesome blog where she shares wonderful recipes and stories about her adorable family.  Visit her now! 

Without further ado, my "currently".

Thinking...Autumn Calabrese, the brains behind 21 Day Fix, is wicked.  

Wickedly awesome.  Wickedly evil.  

Her program is so doable, but so killer at the same time.  

When I am doing the workout videos, I think to myself, "hey, this isn't so bad."  I feel great throughout the entire workout, and then BAM, the next day, I'm hella sore. 

 So sore I don't want to get out of bed.  

Even though I'm in pain, and my legs were so sore last night from my Wednesday session with Autumn that I didn't want to put the effort into taking off my workout pants, that I just slept in them, it's a wonderful kind of sore.  

It's the kind of sore that lets me know I'm making progress.  

It's the kind of sore that lets me know I'm going to see awesome results!

Feeling...If you didn't read thinking above, this is going to come as a shock, SORE.  

Last night was upper body so my arms are feeling it today.  I may have to sleep in this shirt I wore to work just to avoid lifting my arms over my head ;)

Watching...Little snow flurries drift past my office window.  I'm a Wisconsin girl, born and raised, bring on the snow, Mother Nature!

Reading...Way too many things at one time.

Lirael by Garth Nix - This is the second book in a UA trilogy that I've read before, but it's so awesome that I'm reading it again.  If you like Harry Potter, and/or the undead, you'll like it too.  The first book is Sabriel and the final book is Abhorsen.  

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon - The fourth book of the Outlander series.  If you don't know what Outlander is, of who Jamie and Claire are, we can't be friends.  For serious.

King Arthur by Norma Goodrich - I like history.  I am fascinated by mythical/mysterious history.  It doesn't get more mythical than King Arthur.

The Monuments Men by Robert Edsel - Once again, I like history.  I really like art history.  Fascinating read that gives another perspective on WWII.  I bet you've never really thought about artistic masterpieces and how they're protected, or not, during wartime.  Am I right?

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien - I'm actually listening to this one on CD.  I don't like all the talking, commercials, and repeated songs on the radio, so I listen to books on tape while I drive.

Excited...for the weekend!  Tonight, one of my bridesmaids is coming over for dinner, and wine.  Lots of wine.

Saturday, my matron of honor and I are going bridesmaid dress shopping.  I also get to see my wedding dress again :) so we can compare some colors.  

Sunday, I am meeting a friend I haven't seen in months, for lunch, at my favorite restaurant, The Grumpy Troll.  

Surprisingly, I am also excited for the weekend so I can go running.  

I really dislike running in the dark, and it's dark when I wake up, and dark when I get home from work, so I'm saving my runs for the weekend/days off for the next couple months.  I'm doing 3 miles on Saturday, and 5 on Sunday.

Missing...The longer daylight hours of summer!  I can handle the cold and snow, but I hate that it seems like it's ALWAYS dark!

Working...not very hard, since I'm blogging at work...oops.

Stressed...about our current roommate situation.  My brother, his girlfriend, and my 9-year-old nephew have been living with us since the beginning of September.  They actually moved in the weekend Nick proposed to me so we never really got to enjoy/celebrate our engagement...I love my family, but it's beginning to take its toll.  They should be moving out in the next two weeks, and it can't happen soon enough!

Proud...of Nick for finishing his first half marathon last weekend!  

I didn't mention it in my last post, but Nick also did the Tyranena Beer Run Half Marathon.  

He also didn't really train...but he finished about 5 minutes ahead of me!  Yahoo!  

He hated every minute of it, and says he's never doing one again. LOL!

Wanting...Christmas Break to be here.  I work at a college, and the staff is lucky enough to get a portion of winter break off too.  I'm off from December 24 through January 4, and it's paid holiday time!!

Wishing...I could bring my dogs to work.

Eating...a banana.  Half of which I just dropped on the floor.  Sad face.

Drinking...water and coffee.

Loving...Everything today!  I'm in an extremely good mood :)

Happy weekend, my peeps!

WIW

Happy Wednesday, my friends!

We all know what Wednesday means, official weigh-in time.

I did weigh myself on Monday to see where I was at because I had been avoiding the scale for weeks. 

 Monday I was at 181.8, and I am happy to report some of that weight was residual poor-choice-weekend-weight.  Today, I weighed in at:

Next week, I'll be out of the 80's, and I won't look back!

This morning, I started the 21 Day Fix workout DVDs, and I did total body cardio.  I planned on starting Monday, but my legs were hella sore, and I couldn't even do the jumping jacks during the warm up.  

Why were my legs so sore you ask?

Oh, did I forget to mention I ran a half marathon on Saturday?

That's right.  I finished my 4th half marathon this past weekend.

It was the hardest thing I have yet to do because I didn't really train for it.  And by "didn't really" I mean I didn't train.

  I looked back on my Garmin Connect and I only ran 8 times after I signed up for the half in August.  8 times!!  Those 8 runs totaled to only 26.37 miles.  Not nearly adequate training to run a half marathon!

My goal was to just finish the damn thing.  I had hopes of finishing in 3 hours or less.  Somehow, some way, I managed to officially finish in 2:39:55.

I felt pretty good up until mile 9, then I crashed.  Hard.  My hips were so tired and sore that I could only run a few minutes at a time.  The last two miles consisted mostly of walking.

I definitely will NEVER run a half marathon again without better training!!

Sweating for the Wedding

Why hello.  It's been a while.  Quite awhile.

The last time I posted was September 24.

I haven't really had anything to blog about though.  My blog is supposed to be about running.  Running a full marathon in particular, but I have yet to even come close to doing so.

Instead, all I've been trying to do for the last 4+ months, is get my shit together.

Instead of losing weight, and becoming healthier.  I've been gaining, and my eating habits have been spiraling out of control.

Time for that to end.

I've said it a dozen times before, but I'm saying it again.

I'm back.

For real this time.

Because you guys, I have a wedding to get ready for!!

I only have 208 days to bust some ass, and not look like a whale in my wedding dress.

On my wedding day, I am going to look amazing.  My dress is going to fit so wonderfully that I will not once worry about sucking in my tummy, or if my back fat is out of control.

I am going to dance with my friends and family without a care of what my body looks like.

I am going to celebrate marrying the love of my life, and not once will the thought of whether or not I look fat cross my mind.

I am taking control of my body, and I will reach my goals.

It's time to start sweating for the wedding!

There are 30 weeks until I say "I do".

I have the goal of dropping 1 pound per week, or 30 pounds.  Overall though, I would be happy with the range of  20-30.

 I stepped on the scale this morning, after avoiding it for roughly a month, and it sucked.

181.80

Where in the hell did that number come from?! Oh, yeah.  Not exercising, and eating like a hog.

So my goal weight to  reach by 6/6/15 is 151.8-161.8.

Here we go!!

Weighing In & Wedding Planning: Venues

This morning was the first time I've weighed myself in a while.  Since I've been working out consistently for about 10 days now, I was of course expecting a miracle, but instead, I just got a reality check...

177.5

Still in the same area I have been for the past few months.  Now that I have a great workout buddy, a consistent workout schedule, a wedding to get in shape for, and I'm eating really well, I know I'll be out of the 70's in no time!

On a more exciting note, I am pumped to join the Wedding Wednesday link-up!

Mary at Little Bit of Class Little Bit of Sass will no longer be hosting after this week, but Kristyn at Chits & Giggles will be taking over.  I am excited to share my wedding ideas, and to read about the plans of others!

For those of you that did not read my last post, Nick proposed a few weeks ago!

Our wedding date is 6/6/15 so wedding planning is already in full swing!

We chose an early date because I am a HUGE procrastinator, unless I have a tight deadline.  If I had a year or more to plan, I would just wait until the last possible moment, and then scramble to get everything in place.

This week, I am going to share a little bit about the venues we chose.

The wedding ceremony is going to take place at Library Park in the town we live in.

The stone building was erected in 1894 and was the town's original library, village hall, firehouse, and jail, all in one.  In 1923, the village hall, firehouse, and jail were relocated, but the library remained there until 1978.  After that, the building was put on the National Register of Historic Places, and is used for local events. 

We had to put down a $100 deposit to reserve the park.  This deposit is fully refundable as long as there is no damage to the property, and we clean up after ourselves.  Our reservation also includes access to the first floor the library building, for no extra charge.  We plan on having the ceremony outdoors, but in the event of rain, we'll move into the building.

Conveniently, our house is only about a mile from this park.  The plan is to have the girls get ready at our house, or my aunt's (she lives about 2 miles outside of town), and the guys will get ready at the other house.  Nick and I do plan on seeing each other before the ceremony so we can get a bunch of pictures taken care of beforehand.  We will still do a first look shoot though, so there is still some element of surprise for Nick seeing me in my dress for the first time, hence getting ready at separate houses.  

Our reception will be a short 15 minutes away from the ceremony site at The Heights Event Center. 

I nabbed these photos of The Heights from the web since I haven't taken any myself yet.  

You can get an idea of the set up of the room from the first picture though.  Behind the point of view of the photographer, is the dance floor, the piece of wood sticking out to the left is the bar.  The second picture is of the foyer area outside of the reception hall.  

It's such a nice, large space for a very reasonable price!  The owner/event coordinator of the venue is also amazingly nice.  Like, the nicest person I have ever met.  He is beyond excited to work with us, and is ready to help us in any way possible.  The reservation fee for the center is $3 per person which includes set up and tear down, waitstaff fee, and white linens!!  We can also use any decorations they have on site for no extra fee.  What a steal!

The owner of the venue also owns a restaurant so they do in-house catering.  Nick and I already did a food tasting with him at his restaurant, and daaayyyyyuuummm, their food is SO good!  I'll save the food details for another post though :)

So far, wedding planning has gone very smoothly, and things seem to just fall into place.  I really hope it continues that way!

I'm back! Again!

I apologize, once again, for my long absence.

Life got a little crazy the last few weeks, and I just had to step back from blogging.

Some of the craziness included:  being super busy at work, and not having time to write; my brother calling off his wedding; my brother and 9 year old nephew moving in with us; wedding preparation activities for my friend Heidi's wedding that is in 3 weeks, and....

I'm engaged!!!!!!

Nick proposed over Labor Day weekend, and we have already been very busy with wedding plans. 

 We have chosen 6/6/15 as our date so we really need to be on top of things.  

Our ceremony site and reception venue are already booked, we have decided on half of our menu so far, our bridal party has been chosen and asked, colors have been decided and decor planning is in process, I am meeting with a potential photographer next week, and I have an appointment to try on bridal gowns on Oct 3.  

I think we're doing pretty awesome so far!

Not only has blogging taken a backseat over the past few weeks, so has fitness.

I have finally started getting back into a routine this week though.  

My neighbor, that has a two month old, wants to get back into shape, so we have become workout buddies.  

We made a workout schedule that goes like this:  Monday - Insanity DVD; Tuesday - Running & Abs; Wednesday - Barre DVD; Thursday - Running & Abs; Friday - Yoga to stretch it all out; Saturday & Sunday - on our own to do our own things.

We unfortunately didn't do anything on Tuesday because I ended up going to a bridal show after work, and got home late.  Monday, we did do Insanity and last night was Barre.  My body hurts, but it's such a good hurt!!

I have also been reading through Chris Powell's Choose to Lose book, and I will start carb cycling next week.

I am beyond excited to be back...back to blogging, and back into a fitness routine.  

I am also super excited to share some of my wedding planning details with my blogging family!

Strength Training & NSVs

A couple weeks ago, it hit me like a ton of bricks that really need to start strength training.

I was the passenger in the car with Nick, and I waved out the window to someone.  As I'm waving, Nick goes, "Hahaha, look at your arm jiggling in the mirror, it looks funny."  

I glance into the side mirror and to my horror, my "bat wing" is flapping around like I'm about to take flight.  Like flapping so much that I'm pretty sure the air flow created by it helped accelerate the car.

My arms have never really been muscular, but they definitely have never been flabby.  As we age, it gets harder and harder to maintain muscle definition.  The fact that I'm still in my 20's, and have some serious bat winging going on, I know I need to start incorporating strength training into my healthy lifestyle. 

Last year, I started, and stopped, Jamie Eason's LiveFit strength program 3 or 4 times.  

Well, I'm back at it, and this time, I am going to complete all 12 weeks!

This time is different though because I no longer have a gym membership.  Many of the moves are on cable machines, or other weight machines, so I have to do a lot of improvising and modifying at home.

For instance the seated leg extension that looks like this.

This is my at-home attempt.

I'm sitting on the coffee table, weight balanced precariously on my foot, slowly raising it and lowering it for 12 reps, one leg at a time. 

The weight fell of my foot a dozen times, but I just picked it up, re-balanced, and kept going.  This makes the workout take a little bit longer, but hey, I'm doing what I can with what I have. 

So far, I am half way through week 2, and my arms already feel less jiggly.  Before I get too far into the program, I should probably take some before pictures...

On to NSVs

First, I have been doing really well with getting my workouts in.  

When I get home from work, all I really want to do is grab a beer and either sit out on the patio with the dogs and a book, or watch TV.  Instead, I change into workout clothes right away, and I get shit done!  I feel great afterwards, and never regret it. 

Here is my 1.5 mile run from yesterday.  Holy pace on that 2nd half mile!  There is now way I could have maintained that for an entire mile at this point, but I'm still pretty proud :)

Second, I have been following my meal plan almost exactly.  I say almost because I had a little impromptu snack last night after dinner.  Around 8, I was hungry so I had two graham crackers with almond butter.  Probably not the best choice, but better than total junk.

Third, I have had ZERO candy in over 3 days.  I love candy and sweets! Love, love, love.  Standing in the Target check-out lane last night, the candy bars were calling my name, very loudly.  But, I have resisted all temptation, and will continue to do so through the rest of the week. 

Today on the schedule, I have a 2 mile run, legs and calves strength, and 2-3 mile walk with the dogs.

Have a healthy and happy Thursday, and be sure to link up with KTJ to celebrate YOUR non-scale victories!

WIW

It's Wednesday.  If you regularly read my blog, you know it's weigh-in time.

Up .1 lbs from last week. 

Not too surprised considering the poor food choices I made over the weekend, and all of the beer I consumed, but I am still disappointed.

I ate really well Monday and Tuesday, and busted ass last night, hoping to salvage this weigh-in. I was really hoping to see a tiny bit of a loss.  Even if I would have just went down .1 lb from last week, I would have been joyous.

This weekend, I have a bachelorette party and a bridal shower to attend.  If I want to see a loss next week, I need to make better decisions over the weekend, and really work hard the rest of the week.

Monday, I talked about my menu for the week.  Today, I am going to share my activity plans.

Monday, I was supposed to cross train and strength train.  I planned on walking the dogs and doing a workout video.  That didn't quite pan out though.  When I got home from work and grocery shopping, I had a splitting headache. I downed some ibuprofen, put away groceries, guzzled water, made dinner, and ate. 

 My head still ached.   

I ended up sleeping on the couch the rest of the evening, until Nick woke me up to actually go to bed.

Boo.

So Monday ended up being a fail in the workout department.

Last night, I changed into running clothes as soon as I got home from work, and headed out to get my two miles in. 

Not too shabby.  The accelerated pace of the 2nd mile really got me though.  I was ready to call it quits with 1/4 mile to go, but I powered through and finished.  I was gasping for breath and felt like my lungs were going to explode, but I felt great afterwards :)

It's tough to swallow, but I need to realize I am slower than I used to be from lack of training.  10:00 average pace, or quicker, is not where I am currently at.  In order to complete my long runs, I am going to have to slow it down, and be content with a 10:30-11:00 pace. 

After dinner, Nick and I took the dogs on a 2.24 mile walk, and I also strength trained.  Since I missed chest and triceps on Monday, that's what I did last night, and I will push back my other 3 strength plans a day. 

The rest of the week looks like this:

Today

1.5 mile run

2-3 miles with dogs (already have 1.04 done)

Back & biceps strength

Thursday

2 mile run

2-3 miles with dogs

Legs & calves strength

Friday

3 mile run

Shoulders & Abs strength

Saturday

Rest

Sunday

60 minutes of cross training

There you have it!

Link up with Heather, Ash, and Erin for Weigh-In Wednesday to meet some other awesome bloggers!

Weekend Reset, Meals & Goals

Why do weekends have to be so fun and derail all of my health plans?!

After another wonderful weekend of partaking in many libations, it is time to reset.  

I am guzzling water like it is going out of style to help eliminate alcohol and crappy food induced bloat, and eating as well as possible with what we still have in the house before I grocery shop tonight.

I am hoping that if I am strict with my diet and drink lots of water, my Wednesday weigh-in won't be a total disaster.  The rest of the week will be strictly meal planned also. The weekend will be a little sketchy once again because I have a bachlorette party...

Today, I have consumed/will be consuming:

Breakfast

Smoothie

1 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 Scoop Sun Warrior chocolate protein powder

1 C blueberries

1/2 C strawberries

1/2 banana

Snack

1 lite string cheese

20ish baby carrots

1 T hummus

Lunch

2 leftover grilled ribs with bbq sauce

10 pretzel thins

Snack

Smoothie

1 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/2 C blueberries

1/2 C strawberries

1/2 banana

Dinner

BLT

roasted carrots and zucchini

Dinners for the rest of the week will include:

Chicken sausage and veggie stir-fry

Steak and baked sweet potatoes

Chicken pesto bake with whole wheat pasta

Oven roasted ratatouille 

When it comes to meal planning, I decide on dinners for the week, and then I make enough so that Nick and I have can leftovers for the lunch the next day.  Then I just need to think about snacks.  My go-tos are Greek yogurt with fresh berries, lite string cheese, and vegetables with hummus. 

Besides meal planning this week, I have also scheduled all of my workout.  I unfortunately left my planner at home this morning, so I don't have my plan with me as I type this post.  Off the top of my head though, I at least remember what I have planned for today.  Crossing training and strength training.  

I will be taking the dogs for a nice long walk, and I will either do a workout video or play Just Dance on the Wii because that dancing shit makes me super sweaty and gets my heart rate up.  As for strength, I am on Phase 1 Week 2 of Jamie Eason's LiveFit plan, and today is chest and triceps.

On a final note, let's talk about some goals.

Last week, I had 4 goals.

#1 No beer during the week
Eh, I did alright.  I did have a beer Wednesday after work, and two glasses of wine with a friend on Friday night...Friday is technically the weekend though, right...?

#2 Track everything on MFP
I was doing awesome until Friday afternoon, and then I completely derailed.

#3 Run at least 3 times.
I ran twice. 1.5 miles each. Not so bad.

#4 Strength train twice.
Check!  I actually got 3 different sessions in!

This week's goals.

#1 Four strength training sessions

#2  No candy

#3 Log at least 20 miles between walking and running

What are YOUR goals this week?

NSVs and a Beer Run

It has been quite some time since I have had any non-scale victories.

Sometimes, we focus too much on that number on the scale during our health journeys, that we forget about the important little things that are making us healthy.  

For instance, you chose water over a Coke at lunch?  That is awesome! Go you! Celebrate that shit!

That is one small, but important step, in the overall process of becoming healthy.

My first NSV this week this just that fact that I have finally got back into a routine, and have a plan in place. 

 I have started running again, begun a strength training program, and have started making meal plans.  If I have a plan in place, I am much more likely to success.  I need structure, and notes, and a schedule.  If I don't have these things, I tend to binge, don't consider calories, and don't exercise.

My other NSV is that I registered to run a half marathon!

I signed up for the Tyranena Beer Run "Half Barrel".  For a girl that loves beer, a beer themed half is perfect! 

Besides the Half Barrel, there is also a Quarter Barrel (4.37 miles) run at this event.  A few of my friends are signed up for the Quarter Barrel, and Nick and one other friend also signed up for the Half.  It takes place on November 8 so I have 13.5 weeks to train...eek!  

I can do it!! 

Link up with KTJ to share you non-scale victories!

Weigh-In

Another Wednesday, another weigh-in. 

Wah, wah, waaaah.  178.6.

On Monday, I was up to 181.2 after a weekend of camping, brewery tours, and wine tastings so I guess I'll count this one as a win...

I am finally getting my act together though, so I KNOW next week's weigh-in will be great!

Speaking of getting my act together, I had an awesome day, fitness-wise, yesterday.  

20 minute AM walk with the dogs

Phase 1 Day 1 of Jamie Eason's LiveFit strength routine

1.5 mile run

20 minute PM walk with dogs

Boom.

It felt great to get out and run again.  I felt like I was flying the entire time, but I ended with just my usual average time.  I was a bit disappoint because I felt like I was going so fast.  I guess being out of shape makes the "usual" feel difficult.

Happy Wednesday!

Sucking It In or Sucking It Up

I have been sucking at life lately.  

I still haven't really been working out.  

I have been eating like calories don't count...lemme tell you, judging by how tight ALL of my clothes are, they do fucking count.  

I haven't been cleaning our house.  I haven't given the dogs baths, in months.  I haven't been reading.  I haven't been grocery shopping.  I haven't been tracking anything on MFP.  I haven't been running.  I haven't been blogging.

What have I been doing lately?

I have been sucking it in.

I am legit such a porkchop right now, that I walk around all day with my stomach sucked in so that nobody can see just how much havoc my laziness has been wreaking on my body. 

I'm tired of sucking it in, so it's time to suck it up.

It's summertime, and I really, really, like reallyreallyreally, really like beer and wine. But, it's time to get my shit together and stop reliving the glory days of college.  My waist line, and probably my liver, cannot handle it anymore.  Time to suck it up, and lay of the booze.

This leads to goal #1 for this week, no alcohol during the week!

To start getting my healthy lifestyle back on track, I have a few other goals.

#2  Track everything on MFP

#3  Start half marathon training, and run at least 3 times.

If I get it together, and start running consistently, I will run a half marathon on November 8, 2014.  That gives me 14 weeks to train.  I have a 12 week training plan so this week, and next week, will just be weeks to ease back into running.

#4  Strength train at least 2 times.

With that, I bid you adieu with this picture of my goofy dogs.

Vacation & Weigh-In

Hello!  Last week, I had a glorious week of vacation on a lake.  There was sunshine, beer, fishing, wine tastings, kayaking, campfires, Bloody Marys, afternoon naps, lots of reading, and tons of relaxation.  It was absolute perfection, and just what I needed!

Here are a few pictures from vacation.

The start of vacation, sampling ALL of the beer at the Grumpy Troll.
I've already had all of these before...I just really like GT beer!

One of the MANY fish my stepdad caught right off the dock.

Bitchin picture of the lake that I took.
No filter.  For serious.

Yummy kabobs that Nick and I made for my parents while on vacation.

Our vacation pets :) Buffy & Lola

Momma & I enjoying a nice cold one while at the lake.
We took this picture, and sent it to Nick while he was at work :)

Kayaking for the first time.
I need to work on upper body strength!

Campfires at the lake.

Many Bloody Marys and lots of other alcohol were consumed during vacation...

This is what I've been up to since being home.

Beer tasting at the New Glarus Brewery.
We only live about 7 miles from NG, and it's my hometown
 so we've been here many, many times.

Botham Winery for wine tasting with Elly.

New Glarus Brewery

Now that I am back to reality, I am trying to get back into a routine.  As you can see from my pictures, a lot of alcohol has been consumed lately.  Guess what that means?  This girl hasn't been working out and is super puffy, bloated, and tubby.  

Sunday, I finally faced the music and stepped on the scale, it was scary.

179.9

Luckily, a tiny bit of that weight was shed by drinking lots of water to flush my system, and cleaning up my diet.  For my official Wednesday Weigh-In I am at

177.2

Better, but still not good.

Time to start over, again.

Those are some pretty simple words, and a basic concept, but damn, I suck at it!

No more quitting!

A miracle occurred, and I actually got up early enough to go for a run this morning!  I only went 1.5 miles, but it was still tough because I'm SO out of shape!  The only way I am going to get back in shape is if I keep pushing myself and doing things that are tough.

I will not quit.

I will not start over.

Je suis prest: I am ready.

(Clan Fraser motto...Outlander, anybody?

Accountability & Goals

I am sneaking a quick break at work to get in a blog post.  Our office and my textbook room are stuffed to the gills with boxes of books, clothing, and supplies that need to be unpacked, priced, and put on shelves. 

 Only having three people to do all of this work makes taking breaks a rare luxury at the moment.  I am working solo on the textbooks, which I prefer.  I have a specific order to my textbook room, and I get a little crazy when others come in an don't follow my rules....

Anywho....I've been sucking at this whole being healthy thing.  Surprise, surprise.

I tend to follow a pattern where I totally kick ass for a month or two, and then I fall of the face of the Earth and turn into a big fatty for a month or two.  I keep saying "this" time is going to be different, but alas, it never is.

That being said, I want THIS time to be different!  What I need is an accountability buddy.  I have reached out to friends and family members, but they never follow through because they are not on the same journey, nor even a similar one (damn skinny friends!), that I am.  

Many of you though, that read this blog, are on a similar journey.  Would any of you like to be accountability buddies?  

I don't have all of my thoughts gathered on what I would like out of an accountability buddy, but emailing one another and working out a plan would be a great start.  Some of my thoughts are if we have similar work schedules, we could plan to workout around the same time and email, or text, one another when we have finished our respective workouts.  If we don't hear from each other, we would coax one another to get our bums movin'!  We could share meal plans.  We could have friendly competitions.  Etc.  The possibilities are endless!

So, if anyone is looking for an accountability buddy, send me an email! 

loeffelholz34@gmail.com

If I hear from more than one of you, that's great!  We could pair off, or just have a group of buddies.

Besides seeking help with accountability, I also have a few goals for this week.  Some are fitness related, and some are just things I need to get done.  I've been a real slug lately in every area of my life.  Oops.

Log 25 miles.

Bathe the dogs. 

Restart & complete Week 1 of 21 Day Fix.

Get a packing list for vacation ready.

I leave for a week long Northwoods vacation this Saturday, woohoo!

Clean the refrigerator.

27

I apologize for the lack of posting lately, but it's crazy busy time at work so I haven't had my usual time to write for my blog.

Today is my 27th birthday!

To celebrate, I have decided to share 27 random facts about myself.

Enjoy.

1.  I have lived in Wisconsin all my life thus far, and probably will continue living here for the remainder of my life.

2.  I LOVE cheese.

3.  I am afraid of mice.  Like, jump on a chair and scream afraid.

4.  I am also not a fan of frogs or toad. I cannot touch them.  Just thinking about touching them makes my heart race.

5.  My all-time favorite beer is At Water Vanilla Java Porter.  It is divine!

6.  I randomly count things in Spanish.  For example, when I am filling up my water bottle at the bubbler, I count how long it takes in Spanish.  Or, I count the brick in the hallway from the bathroom to my office, in Spanish.

7.  Ich kann ein bisschen Deutsch sprechen.  (I can speak a little bit of German)

8.  I have been dating Nick for 2 years and 8 months.

9.  We had only been dating for 7 months when we bought a house together...sometimes you just know when it's right :)

10.  I have two biological older brothers, two older step-brothers, a younger step-brother, and a younger step-sister.

11.  My due date was actually June 20th...my poor mother!

12.  I have two dogs.  An 11 year old fox terrier named, Molly, and an almost 2 year old Boston Terrier named, Skittles.

13.  Blue is my favorite color.

14.  I really, really, really like ketchup with my eggs.

15.  I have a bachelor's degree in Broad Field Social Studies...yeah...

16.  I work at the college I graduated from with said degree.

17.  Through my work now, I am pursing a Spanish degree, for free!

18.  I can read, write, and listen to Spanish fairly well, but I suck at speaking it because I get really nervous about making mistakes.    

19.  My favorite dessert is cheesecake.

20.  I studied aboard in Italy for a semester in college.  It. Was. Ah-may-zing.

21.  I have also traveled to Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands.

22.  I am a book nerd.  I always carry a book in my purse and read a little bit every single day.

23.  My favorite book genre is Fantasy.  I love wizards and shit like that.

24.  My mother named me after her favorite character on the Guiding Light, but she spelled it the "normal" way instead of Ashlee.

25.  When I was younger, I tried to convince my mom to change my name to Amanda. 

26.  I have had the same BFF since 7th grade.  She lives out in NJ, and we are only able to see each other 2 or 3 times a year.  When we do see each other though, it's as if absolutely nothing has changed between us :)

27.  I highly dislike cats. 

That was a lot of fun!  It was tough to only pick 27 things!  

Weigh-In Wednesday

 Happy Weigh-In Wednesday!

Another disappointing weigh-in, but at least I lost a little!  Last week was 172.4 so I'm looking at a .2 loss. 

Even though the scale may not be moving too much, I am just feeling healthier.  Some clothes are fitting a bit better and I am seeing more definition and less rolls :)  I still hope to get out of the 170's by the end of June!  

Last night, I took my new running kicks out for 3 mile run.  The shoes felt amazing, but the heat and humidity, not so much...   81 with 70% humidity, ick.  I was an extremely sweaty betty and breathing heavy the entire time.

I felt like I was going at a snail's pace so I was pleasantly surprised by my time.  I thought for sure I was going to have 11:XX mile times.  

Tonight, 3 of my gals pals and I are having a girl's night and are going to a Mallard's baseball game.  The Mallard's are Madison's minor league team.  My friend, Heidi, whose wedding I will in in October, has lost 20 pounds since the last time (April) I saw her!  I CANNOT wait to see how fabulous she looks!  

Our area has been having some crazy storms the past two days...we actually just came out of tornado warning.  Hopefully the weather doesn't ruin our plans tonight!

I am also linking up with Fitness Blondie for the Hump Day Blog Hop so I can find some new awesome blogs to read!