Weekend Wrap Up - Mothers Day

What a weekend!  A GREAT weekend! 

(WARNING: Photo Overload)

Friday night Big D had a bachelor party, so it was just Lil Man, Chili Palmer and Me.  We watched Full House, ate Pizza and snuggled.  Can't think of anything better!

Saturday stared as a Mothers Day Celebration with my Mother and Sister.  I threw on some pants that haven't fit me in quite some time.  A cute top and accessoried to take on the day!

I picked up my Mom and Sister and we headed out for a FUN evening.

(My Sister HATES for her photo to be taken, but I think she's BEAUTIFUL so I take them anyway!)

 Our first stop... Dinner at Chuys!  Who does Dream of Creamy Jalapeno sauce?!  Seriously good stuff and I'd save all of my calories forever just to have it.

Mom and I shared (Yes, shared... Miracle, I know!) a Frozed Peach Sangria Margarita and it was SO GOOD!

 

Next stop: The Painting Pub

My Sister put together this outing and my Mother could not be any happier!

We love this place and it was AWESOME!

Of course I had to order a bottle of wine... What's a girls night out without wine?!  BORING!

Here's a few pics of Mom and Steph painting... They take this stuff SERIOUSLY!

 Our finished masterpieces!  I love how we took the same classes, but our paintings vary.

 Sunday - Mother's Day - Started with the sweetest cards and a few gifts.  Now, I LOVE gifts, but I love cards more.  Always have, Always will.

 Big D went on a morning jog with me and he is just incredible when it comes to supporting me!  Almost as good as the freaking UA sports bra that I had to sufficate in.

 The boys made me a grilled fajita chicken salad, we watched the breakfast club and enjoyed chocolate covered strawberries.  Perfect in every way!

 My Lil Man wanted to play a game of pool with me and he takes this game VERY seriously... Like WAY SERIOUSLY!  I beat him!  Take THAT Lil Man!



I hope you have a VERY Happy Mothers Day and if you aren't Mothers, I hope you had an AMAZING weekend!

Tabata Intervals

If you have never heard of Tabata, it’s become a very popular form of exercise. It’s 20 seconds of HIGH intensity training followed by 10 seconds of rest and repeated for 8 burst total, for a total of 4 minutes. This is your typical Tabata Intervals; however, there are others out there and they all have the similar balls-to-the-wall approach.

I had never heard of Tabata until Lori over at FatToFit41 posted about it. She had me at 20 seconds of intense workout, followed by 10 seconds of rest. On Demand has a 19 minute video, which includes a warm up and cool down. HELLOOOOOO… I can do ANYTHING for 20 seconds, so I tried it!

Are you kidding me right now?

Tabata is one TaB*tchin’ Workout! You will sweat A LOT and will feel the burn during the workout, but the two days following will make you cuss ever trying it. Your body will hurt getting out of bed, climbing the stairs, and don’t even think about sitting down on the toilet, because you’ll never be able to get up! I guess that means it’s working!  Better sore than sorry. 

You don’t workout? You don’t have time? No more excuses!  Give Tabata a try... YOU deserve it!

Tabata is high intensity, in a short period of time and absolutely worth the effort.

Can’t find Tabata on On Demand? Try this video I found on YouTube (Burn Fat in 4 Minutes - Tabata Intervals )… Just think of Brad as your personal trainer (He’s not bad to look at either).

Get Moving and Give it your BEST! Be a better you than yesterday!

Calorie Counting - Doing It Right

After having my May 1st Meltdown (yeah, that’s what we'll call it), I was looking over my log on My Fitness Pal and something stood out to me. Something SMALL! My calorie count was that something small! I have my calorie intake set at 1348 calories a day, which isn’t bad… Right? WRONG! Pairing this intake of calories with my workout routine was leaving me averaging about 1,000 calories a day. HELLOOO! Hungry Tummy! Starving body! SLOW Metabolism! This might just be the reason that my weight-loss was only 1.5 pounds in 3 and half weeks. Starvation does not work! Your body needs fuel and requires fuel in order to function properly!  Period.

Here is the summary of my Net Calories (Pay no attention to Fat Girl Fridays – they are my well-deserved cheat days and I ALWAYS stay below 1,500 calories that day. I earned it!)

Want to know something else? My Fitness Pal LIES! It LIES! I know what you’re thinking… Uhhhh… Excuse me?!

I hate to break the news to you, but you will not be the projected weight MFP tells you that you will be in 5 weeks, you will be the weight you work for, the weight you earn! Do NOT use My Fitness Pal as your lifeline, use it as a guideline to help make you aware of what you are feeding your body.

Do not intake below 1,200 calories a day and the more you burn, the more you will need to eat. This is what I forgot to do and my body suffered. Moderation is key, starvation is killer! The better you eat, the better you feel.

I’m going to use my advice and increase my caloric intake on the days that I increase my movement and I will continue to drink a minimum of 80 ounces of water a day. I have hope that it will make a difference.

Until then, today is Fat Girl Friday and I am going to drink it up! (And yes, I DO include this in my calorie count.)

Whatever you decide to do today, be your best!

Finish the Sentence

Finish the Sentence Time...

Unlike my sibling(s) (that I love very much)... I read... I enjoy reading and I REALLY should make more time to read.

My best friend says... - We have to be friends forever, we know too much about each other.  She's right y'all!

People call me... all the time asking me to help them with something or just to lend an ear.  I always do, because you just never know when you might need them.

I most often dream... - dreams that I can't remember much of, but they always include people I see daily or talk to often.

The best part of my day... is sitting down as a family for dinner each night and just enjoying the time together.

I really don't understand... why everyone can't just get along!  Seriously people, life is short!

I get really annoyed... when I receive a text message that only says "K".  Am I not good enough for the "O"?! 

There's nothing like a... a short weekend getaway with someone I love most.  Whether it be my girls or my boys!

Lately, I can't get enough... Sleep!  I sleep 8 hours, but is it GOOD sleep?!  I think not!

One thing I am NOT is... Confident.  I am confident when it comes to my job and my family, but my appearance and self-worth, that's another story.

I spent too much money on... Vehicles and I am only 31 and on my 10th vehicle.  Worst Investment EVER!

I want to learn.... that I can't make everyone happy, so I should just refocus on making myself happy.

If I ever met _________, If I ever met Dwayne Johnson, I would demand that he marry me on the spot! 

I can't stop... watching Reality TV. It makes me realize that my life isn't so bad! 

Never have I ever... learned how to swim.  I bought built-in floating devices instead.  I kid, I kid... Sorta.

Reese Witherspoon... is a doll!

Great Gifts for the Hard to Buy For

So, you don't know what to get that someone who has everything, who needs nothing or who is just so damn hard to buy for?!  I have an idea!

Here's a great gift that can be customized for the recipient.  I picked up a beer mug from their favorite college online and filled it with booze and snacks for watching sports.  He LOVED it!

Can you believe that I actually know someone who does not like cake, cupcake or ice cream! *GASP*  I know, I know!  Instead of the traditional cake for her birthday, I decided to make a cake with her favorite soda.  SHE LOVED THIS IDEA!

Unfortunately, this meant that we didn't get cake either and what's a birthday without cake.  A bummer THAT's what it is!  

Whatever you decide to make and however you decide to customize, the recipient will be thrilled! 

Wednesday Weigh-In = BIG, FAT FAIL

My May 1st – Wednesday Weigh-in went something like this…

If you were in my bathroom that morning, you would have seen me BAWL my eyes out. If you were my Best Friend, you would have received my sad, sad, sad texts messages. If you were my husband, you would have tried everything in your power to make me feel better, to let me know that I was in fact the most beautiful woman in the world to him, even when I didn’t feel beautiful to anyone (I'm a lucky, lucky girl).  As a matter of fact, you don’t even want to KNOW what I see when I look in the mirror… It’s awful and I know that, I’ve just felt this was for a VERY long time and change doesn’t happen overnight.  I'm working on it... I am!

I had not been on the scale in almost 4 weeks, because I was becoming obsessed with weighing and ending up disappointed every single time there wasn’t any movement. It’s MADNESS, It’s CRAZINESS, It’s an OBSESSION!

I recognized this and made the decision on my own to stay off the scale for a few weeks, while continuing my calorie counting and workouts. Now, let me say, I’m a BIG girl.  I've always been a big girl and my workouts aren’t your typical workouts.  I can’t run or jog a continuous mile, I can't lift a millions pounds, and I sure as hell can't do a set of burpees (well, I can... they just aren't pretty... Like AT ALL!).  BUT my workouts are tough on me and I give it my very best.  I sweat and I swear a LOT! I have the mouth of a sailor… Don’t judge!

Back to May 1st… the awful May 1st! I woke up, received the sweetest “Good Luck” text message from my Bestie and went to weigh.  Are you FREAKING kidding me?!  *Sigh*

I had only lost 1.5 POUNDS in THREE and a HALF weeks… Are you freaking kidding me right now?! SERIOUSLY!!! 1.5 POUNDS, I mean what is that anyway?!

It’s a fail, a BIG FAT FAIL… or so I thought. As my Bestie and hubby were quick to remind me, my body shape is changing and I feel better… THAT is change! It’s not the change I was hoping for on the scale, but it’s CHANGE!  They are right.

I looked over my calorie counting log and it hit me in the face… I wasn’t eating bad, but I wasn’t eating enough! My body was STARVING!

Who knew?!

Stay tuned… On Friday, I will touch on my calorie intake/outtake, where I was coming in, what it was and wasn’t doing for my body and what changes I HAVE to make to get healthy and remember...

Well, margaritas are actually my best friend, but water is good too!  I kid, I kid... Kind of!

Chevron Crazy

I'm still decorating, crafting and creating and I love it!

Chevron is sweeping the nation and showing up any and everywhere possible.  My home is no exception!

Here is a recent transformation we did in the house. 

Wahlah!



Refocusing

“Where have you been?”, you ask? Okay, you probably didn’t, but I’m going to tell you anyway! I’ve refocused, refocused on new things. Yes, I’m still cooking, baking and crafting like crazy. I wouldn’t be “ME” if I stopped these things, but I have added health into the mix. My health!

Weight has been a struggle for me since I can remember, like as far back as KINDERGARTEN. Kids are cruel, so I remember Kindergarten clearly. I’ve decided to take control of this, figure out how to change it and pray that with hard work and dedication that it works.

I started March 1st with adding 30 minutes of exercise 3 times a week into this mix and after a MONTH of doing this, there was NO change. I mean ZERO change! Why?! I wondered WHY?! Well, my diet… my diet didn’t change AT ALL. Not even a little bit, not even AT ALL! On April 1st, I decided to suck it up and start calorie counting. I downloaded My Fitness Pal and began calorie counting like a BEAST and what an eye opener it is. WHOA?! Wait a minute?! You mean to tell me that I ate THAT many calories in ONE sitting?! But, I ordered a grilled chicken salad with extra ranch. OH! It’s the extra that gets me every single time! Condiment Queen RIGHT HERE!

Once I was slapped in the face with the reality of what I was shoveling into my mouth I decided to buckle down and for 30 days I have been doing really well with counting calories. Even I amazed myself with being able to stay on track.

Now, calorie counting isn’t all that I’m doing. I WISH it was that easy! I’ve been adding a minimum of 20 – 45 Minutes of movement into my day at least 3 times a week. Kickboxing, walking/jogging, pilates, yoga and the stationary bike… just something! Am I seeing changes, well, I don’t know. One thing that I DO know is that between March 1st and April 1st, I became OBSESSED with weighing and every single day that I didn’t see movement it broke my heart. On April 10th I decided that I wouldn’t weigh-in until May 1st. Do you know how HARD this was?! It became even harder when I stepped on the scale this morning…

Stay tuned...

How many men?

I loved this picture from Christmas and it has me wondering... How many men does it take to slice a brisket? In this case, it took ALL three!

Love these moments, love these men and love their craziness!

Family Fun - Week 2

We spent today cheering on our Houston Texans & our Green Bay Packers!  Both teams lost, but they played their hearts out.  I absolutely love football season!  Food, Family, & Fun!!

I made Pioneer Woman's Spicy Pop Pulled Pork, Cilantro Coleslaw & Au Gratin Potatos!  Delish! 

Happy Sunday!

Family Fun - Week 1

Headed out on a date with my boys!  They fill my heart with so much love!

P.S. I'm blogging from my handheld now, trying to keep it simple!  Living life through my handheld.

*tpj

Another Year...

Has come and gone and I am SO excited to see what 2012 has in store!

Another chance to make things right!  I am starting to appreciate new beginnings.

Starting a photo project, but not sure which one it will be.  A photo a day is difficult, so I just might shoot for a "Family Photo a Week".  Yes, that sounds good & I think 52 family shots during 2012 is exactly what I'll do!  Starting tomorrow...

Today, I have uploaded a shot from the thousands of cell shots.

Happy New Year to ALL!

*tpj