Lean On Me

I heard this song on the radio this morning and it brough a smile to my face and gave me a warm fuzzy feeling, kind of like a favorite blanket.  Enjoy.

Stupid Blogger!

Guys, I have tried to post to you:
Tenecia
Lisa
Nelli
No clue why, it keeps telling me to log out and log back in.  WT!!!!!
Maybe they will get it worked out soon, but I am reading.

What speaks to me today....

If you look to the very top right of the picture there is a little yellow house in the cliff side.  I am standing on that balcony looking out over the most magnificent view!  :)

Another from Kelli O's site.  LOVE LOVE this!

Better with every day, or else faking it till I make it!

Where I am at....

"The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind."  ~Dr. Wayne W Dyer

Working on changing the mind set.  Trying to do the things that make me happy.  Such as another furniture piece refinishing project.  I will try to post pics of this new one and the other one as soon as I finish.

Stress

This week has been particularly stressful for me.  I will not go into details as I do not believe in "putting it all out there" and that I always think others have it much worse than me and I should not even feel the way I do....... This morning I barely avoided a breakdown, I got a bit teary in my closet this morning when I could find NOTHING to wear.  (Why is it when the world feels like it is crashing down that we women can not find ANYTHING to wear???)  I am really saying that very tongue in cheek.  So while I had one foot on the banana peel slipping off into a full on pity party and my hands clutched tightly to the rod in my closet for support, it hit me as it always does that this I am feeling is but temporary and I should suck it up and be thankful for ALL I have.  This life is throwing its punches and will continue to, but as long as I can keep my eye on what is important it will all work itself out and make me a stronger person for it.
While I know all of you did your "I am thankful for" list a while back, I am just now getting to mine.  In the midst of telling myself to be strong and stop crying to pull it together this morning here are the reasons I continue...

God...I do not claim to be religious or even a christian at best, but I do believe in prayer and the one who has always been there for me when no one else has.  My father, friend, confidant, saviour forever.

My beautiful, healthy, smart, well rounded daughters that I grow more proud of every day.  They give me joy, love, laughter, and support.  They are growing up way to fast, but I enjoy watching them become the little ladies they are.

Their 1st Virgin Daiquiri.

My Harley.....my rock, comfort, support.  (enough said)

My lil puppy and kitty, Rambo and TK.  Cute, sweet, aggravating :) but always around to love on me when needed. 

Thanks guys for giving me an outlet to get it off my chest, for your encouragement, and all of your blogs that you never know how they reach out to me.

Adsense

How do you guys feel about AdSense?  And have you or are you doing it?

Chicken, chicken and more chicken!

How we love our chicken as "fitness buffs"!  1001 Ways To Cook Your Chicken and Eat It Too Without Any Guilt, yep that is my next book.  :0)  Anyway, FYI, my chicken last night was simply divine (a play on my favorite HGTV designer, Ms. Candace).  Harley and Hannah loved it!  It is definitely one to do.

Now off to work I go!

A load of chicken in a crock

Ok you guys know I do not talk overly much about food and I do not take pics of my food, normally it is not in front of me long enough to take a picture of it!  :)  BUT....I found a chicken recipe that just might work for me since I can no longer eat my chicken as I used to without wanting to gag.
Again, on the Muscle and Fitness Hers site Jaime Baird had an article Making A Fit Life Together that had a recipe I knew I had to try.
My twist on hers:
In a crock pot add
Juice of a whole lemon
Sliced sweet purple onion
1 whole orange bell pepper
1/2 red bell pepper
7 lbs chicken breast
1/2 tsp chopped garlic
4 tbl olive oil
paprika
Ms. Dash (I used all purpose)

I put it on this morning about 6:20 and can not wait to go home for lunch to check n it.  It smelled like heaven before I left for work!

I will let you know if it turned out umm ummmm delicious or not!  :)

Me

I think this pic was posted by Kelli O at www.kellyolexa.com/ .  I love her site.  I check it several times a week.  Although I must admit, I never really "read" it, I scroll through for the pictures because she has THE BEST!
When I saw this one it really spoke to me.  I have been having a battle within myself about to compete or not to compete.  This picture has finally put my mind to ease.  (Strange where we find our inspiration and how it will affect us)  Thanks Kelli, you must have been feeling me that day!

I have printed this pic and put it up on my bathroom mirror and removed all of Ava and Erin.  This pic tells me this girl gets up every morning and does what she does strictly for herself.  She does not care what she looks like while she is doing it or who may be watching, only the benefit it is going to give her.  I want exactly that. 

To be my personal best day in and day out, no judge other than myself.


 

Jaime Baird's workout of the week

Great workout.  I modified slightly with the weights to make it work better for me and enjoyed the change up.

Jaime Baird's Leg Shaping Workout!
--Leg Superset #1--
4 x 20 Leg extensions (weight 45 lbs)
superset
4 x 20 Narrow squats with dumbbells (weight 15 lbs)

--Leg Superset #2--
4 x 20 Hamstring curls (weight 55 lbs)
superset
4 x 20 Good mornings (weight 30 lbs)
--Leg Superset #3--
4 x 20 Leg press (weight 140 lbs)
superset
4 x 30 Calf press on leg press machine (weight 140 lbs)

--Leg Superset #4--
4 x 15 (each leg), Walking lunges with dumbbells (weight 15 - 20lbs)
superset
4 x 20 Switch lunge with medicine ball (weight 10 lbs)
superset
4 x 20 Cable kick backs for glutes and hamstrings (weight 50 - 60 lbs)

Was a sweaty mess when I finished and woke up this morning pleasantly sore.  I am normally a creature of habit with sets of 3's, so sets of 4's was a good little change up for me.

Have a great day!  Remember to smile even when you don't feel like it, you never know who could use yours.

Beach continued

Ok I have too many favorites!  :)

The beach was exactly what the doctor ordered

Here are some pics of our trip.....

I DID IT!!!!

5.25 pounds!!  I made my goal!  It took a double round of cardio yesterday and a tight diet, but it paid off.  :)

Toes in the sand by 10am tomorrow.  I will post some pics when I get back.  Yaaaaayyyyyyy!!!

Wait did I say 2.5, no it is now 3!!

3 pounds down, 2 to go!  I have already done my workout for today plus 20 minutes on the stepmill, but I am about to go over to my lil home gym and knock out some more cardio.  2 more pounds is a lot to do with only one day left, but I am going to give it my all.  :)  I am off work right now for those of you wondering where in the world I have time for all of this insanity.  Florida bound in a day in a half!!!!  OMG, CAN NOT WAIT!

Going to get my sweat on, take care.

2.5 lbs down.....2.5 to go

That's right, the scale is moving, sloooowly, but moving.  I have 2 days to hit my goal, not sure if I will make it, but giving it all I have.  Someone suggested using a diuretic......I have no problems with using them if they are truly needed in the case of the final days before a show if I HAD to, but not just to drop a few pounds before vacation.  I understand they make ones that are completely natural and not harmful in any way, but I wanted to do this the good ole hard way.  I needed a kick in the butt to clean up my diet and add in more cardio.  Yea, I could probably take a thermo now to to help speed up the process, but I am not.  I want to put in the work and get on a healthier track.  I plan to walk the beach a ton during vacation and maybe do some running.  I am also bringing my huge Frisbee and volley ball net. 


The plan is to stay healthy on vacation and when I get back start going HEAVY.  I still do not know if I will compete next year on a stage, but one way or the other I plan to make my best body ever over the next year.  :)

Also, I want to say thanks to KDBaker over at Size Matters who posted P.I.G. (Pride, Integrity, and Guts)......I LOVE that for very personal reasons and appreciate the post. 

PIGs are the best!  :)

Water

I got this in an email this morning and can't help but share: WATER #1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. (Likely applies to half the world population) #2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is mistaken for hunger. #3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as 3%. #4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study. #5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue. #6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers. 7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page. #8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%., and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer. Are you drinking the amount of water you should drink every day?

Getting there and Happy Birthday to my mom

It is definitely slow, but getting there.  Sunday I was 2 lbs down for my vacation goal of 5 lbs.  I have till Wednesday to GIT R DON!  My diet has been clean even though I baked goodies all weekend long.  The only thing I lacked in diet wise over the weekend was meal timing and amount of food.  I do not think I ate enough food over the weekend because I was so busy getting ready for our trip. 

I wish I had a picture of my mom to put here, but I don't have one on my phone.  Today is her 57th birthday and I wish we could all get together, but it just wouldn't schedule out, so we have to put it off a couple of weeks.
But Mom I love you and hope you have the best birthday and year ever!