Weekend Craziness

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

Did you know that four hours of heavy house cleaning burns over 800 calories?? Neither did I. But on Saturday I spent the entire day scrubbing my house from top to bottom, and when I put it into MyFitnessPal, it told me that I burned 824 calories! Wow. No wonder I was so tired ;)

Sunday was supposed to be a relax at home day. Until my husband said "Hey, let's run to Meijer". That turned into hours of walking around the store, of course. Then I went to my sister's for a bread party, then home, where my awesome husband had cooked a chicken pot pie for dinner :)

Today is St. Patrick's day, but we really didn't do anything special for it. I dressed the kids in green, but that was about it. I thought about dying my wine green, but I'm not drinking wine. I plan to restart The 30 Day Shred today. Hopefully I can get Lucas to go to sleep quickly! And hopefully I can stay awake ;)

I am going to retake my measurements, and just basically start it all over again. I NEED to stick with it this time. I do not want to start over any more!! Wish me luck!!!

Haircut Friday

Today was crazy. I think that I spent more time in my van then anywhere else. First I had to take my husband to work at 6:30 am. Then home for an hour to get the kids ready for school, then off to school for Matthew and the bus for Alyssa. After that Lucas and I came home long enough to get him properly dressed, then we had to go to VGs to get cupcake trays for the Pi cupcakes for Matthew's math class. We then dropped those off to the middle school, stopped at home to grab the check I forgot, ran by my husband's work to get his Herbie Hancock ;) then went to the bank and Meijer. After we were done there, we came home. We got home just as Lucas' teacher was pulling up. Once she left, it was time to get the kids from the bus, and go to mine and Alyssa's hair appointment. That took 3 1/2 hours!! But it was fun, and we love our hair. After that was done, we ran to grab dinner, came home long enough to eat, then went to pick up my niece for a sleepover. While I was out, my husband called me to pick him up from work. By the time I got home again, I had less then an hour before I had to take my sister to work. I took her to work, and then finally got home at 11:20 pm.

Now, why, you ask, did I just tell you that boring, long winded account of my day? Well, I'll tell you why. I am wondering if driving can be considered exercise? If so, I burned plenty of calories today ;)

Seriously though, today was just nonstop! It is now midnight, and I'm trying to get this blog out, so that I can go to bed. These kids will be up early, as usual. Tomorrow's workout will be some high intensity... house work. I know, I lead an exciting life!

 Just in case you didn't get the reference. In which case, I'm very sad for you...

                                                         Pi Day cupcakes

My new haircut and highlights

                                      My pretty girl, and her new haircut

Zumba Thursday- Irish Jigs!

Since St. Patty's Day is Monday, my Zumba instructor (we has a bit of Irish in her), decided that we would do a few Irish dances along with our regular ones tonight. They were lots of fun, and Irish music is beautiful. I must tell you, my legs got a MAJOR workout too! I definitely enjoyed it. Jessica said that she is thinking about keeping one song, even after St. Patrick's Day, I hope she does :) Here is a video of one of the dances we did. This is not my Zumba instructor, but this is the dance that she taught us:

I haven't been doing as much as I'd like lately, so tonight I really gave it my all. I forgot how good that feels! There really is no exercise that I love as much as I love Zumba! I would do it every day, if I could. Matthew feels the same way. We actually have a Zumba game for the Wii, but it's not the same.

There is a dance workout, that my friend Jen posted to my Facebook page the other day, that Matthew and I tried. It's pretty killer. As part of a whole routine, it would be REALLY amazing. Here is is, if anyone wants to give it a try. I'm not a fan of the song, but the exercise is pretty great. I haven't checked to see if she has more videos, but if so, I think that Matthew and I will be doing some on our non Zumba days ;)

I had some issues with my DVD player, so I got WAY behind on The 30 Day Shred. So, I have decided that I am going to restart the whole thing on Monday. This time I WILL finish it!!!!

To anyone who is still reading, and supporting us, THANK YOU so much! It really means a lot. Even when I don't post every day, I am still here, chugging along. Oh, and I bought a ton of slimfast today as well, so tomorrow I will start drinking those :)

Wedding (Satur)Day!

For those of you that don't already know, I am an ordained minister. I got ordained to perform weddings, and I have done several, including the weddings of both of my married sisters. I have done weddings for family, friends, friends of family and family of friends. Today however, I did my very first wedding for people that I had never met, prior to offering to officiate. It was actually a vow renewal. I very much enjoyed it. I was actually surprised by how much I enjoy performing wedding ceremonies. I am always nervous before, it is a very important day for the couple, after all. I don't want to be the one to screw it up! I think that I do a pretty good job though. So far I haven't had any complaints :)

However, being nervous all day meant that I came in way under my calories for the day, since I really didn't eat all day. I have a real problem with doing this. Hardly eating is not good, and can actually hinder weight loss. I NEED to make sure to eat three meals a day. I might start buying Slimfast shakes again, it is so easy to just grab one of those a couple times a day. I actually first started drinking them when I was 19, not to lose weight, but because I was working three jobs, and needed a way to get nutrients when I didn't have time to eat. They worked great to keep me full, and not feel run down. So, hopefully they will work now as well. But man, they are expensive! If anyone has an alternative idea, PLEASE share!

                                       
                  I was watching these swans on the ice before the wedding ceremony

                                            In my "Minister Outfit" ;)

                                           
                                                    Back to normal, lol

Carni-VAL!!

Friday was lovely. It was a wonderful 40 degrees outside. My friend Joy and I went for a nice long walk with our babies. It was so great to get outside in the sunshine. I have missed going for walks! Plus it reminded me that I need to get Lucas' stroller back out. He is a pain in the butt to walk anywhere with. I firmly believe that our walk was what helped the evening not seem so bad ;)

Friday night was the elementary school's annual carnival. The kids love it, and the parents tolerate it. Usually I spend the evening hoping that I don't loose a kid while squeezing through the crowds, stopping to say hi to friends, acquaintances, and people I went to that same school with. This year it seemed much more pleasant. Maybe it was less crowded, or maybe it was because Lucas is finally old enough to go into the classrooms with his big sister while I wait in the hall. But most likely, it was the sunshine ;)

Really, the school carnival isn't that bad. It is usually very crowded though, and this year it didn't seem to be as crazy. I "lost" Matthew for most of it, but since I had sent him off with a handful of tickets, and his best friend, I wasn't too worried! I saw lots of people that I don't get to see very often, and that is always nice. All of that walking is a plus as well! I was ready to fall down by the time that we left ;)

Zumba Thursday, a Little Late

You are all in luck tonight. You get THREE blog posts for the price of one ;) Please try not to faint from your excitement.

Thursday was Zumba, as usual. And, as usual, it was great fun. Unfortunately, my children lost their privilege to use the nursery. I'm not sure what they did, but there was a sign saying that they were no longer allowed in there. I always make them clean it up, but perhaps they didn't put things away in the proper spot last time. The lady who told me about it was kind enough to say that it wasn't my kids, but they are the only ones who come, so... I can still bring them, but they have to sit at a table in the main room and color. They aren't thrilled with this, but they will have to survive. With my husband's new schedule, he is already in bed before I ever even leave for Zumba. So, bringing them is my only option. Next week I will bring them some toys and books to keep them occupied. Times like this I wish that I had a regular babysitter. That's okay though :)

One of the best things about Zumba, is that an hour of exercise flies by! It feels like its done so fast, and I never find myself wishing it would hurry up and end. The fact that you burn over 600 calories in that hour is pretty great too! Unlike most exercises, doing the same songs and dances does not get tedious. Plus you are so busy trying to keep up that you hardly notice anything else. That might not sound fun, but trust me, it is!

I have given up on asking people to join me at Zumba, but if you even get the chance to try it out, it's definitely worth it :)

Fat Tuesday & New Tires Wednesday

Fat Tuesday is, for religious folks, the last day before Lent. Which is when many people give something up for the weeks leading up to Easter Sunday. For our New Orleans friends, it means Mardi Gras, for many places there is King Cake. Here in Michigan, however, Fat Tuesday is more commonly known as "Paczki Day". If you don't know what a paczki (pronounced poonch-key) is, it is a very rich, calorie laden donut, filled with any number of things. Custard, prune, strawberry, raspberry, lemon, apple, etc. They are a traditionally Polish cuisine. An average paczki has 700 calories. Just for ONE!! That can wreak havoc on anyone's diet! Lucky for me, I strongly dislike paczkis. So I was still able to stay under my calories, even on Tuesday ;)

Yesterday, Wednesday, we got new tires on our van. While we were waiting, we wandered around the store connected to the auto place for a very long time. Good exercise, but not the funnest with a cranky three year old. However, I no longer get stuck in the snow just driving down my street, so it was well worth it. After getting stuck several times in my driveway, then getting stuck going down the express way on Saturday (it took us 2 1/2 hours to get home from Detroit, normally a 40-50 minute drive), and finally getting stuck in Romeo, tires just could not wait! Now, hopefully, we will not get any more snow this year!

I have been using the My Fitness Pal app to log my food and exercise every day, and I have been staying under my calories. I don't enjoy calorie counting, it's tedious. I will continue, but I won't like it ;p

Today is Zumba day, so I will be back either later or tomorrow to post about that, as usual :)

New Week, New Start

I started tracking my calories with My Fitness Pal today, and got back to the 30 Day Shred. Unfortunately, I had to do level one, because the remote for my DVD player isn't working. It is still a good workout, but it felt a bit too easy. Tomorrow I will use the DVD player on my laptop and do level 2. One thing that really bummed me out was discovering that there is no option for the shred in exercises on MFP. All I can do is put circuit training, and I think that you burn more calories then it says that you do. Does anyone know of a different calorie counting app that does have the shred? I don't care which one I use...

It is interesting how I really think about what I eat when I have to input it into a virtual diary. As I have mentioned before, I am a snacker. I am more likely to snack all day, than eat three full meals. I eat dinner, but usually skip breakfast and lunch, and just snack. That is not the best, I am aware of this. I need to try to eat more regularly. That is why I decided to start tracking calories again. I think that once I find the box that I put the stuff in, I will do the Weight Watchers points instead. It worked very well for me in the past. For now though, MFP is it, I guess. Unless someone suggests a better option :)

My husband changed hours at work, so now he goes in very, very early. Therefore the kids and I will now be walking to the bus stops in the morning. I would rather be cold for a few minutes than drag my kids out of bed in the middle of the night to drive their daddy to work. It is still very cold, but once it warms up we will start our walks to school instead. I very much look forward to warmer weather, however, it doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon. I'm pretty sure that it will be cold until August. Just remind me in a few months, when I complain about the heat, that I wished for it!

Zumba Thursday- Back at it!!

Zumba class on Thursday was wonderful, as usual. It was nice to get back to it. My legs felt like jelly afterwards, so that was great. The dance that we do really work our leg muscles! I told Jessica, my instructor, that I wish that she had a DVD, I'd do it every day ;)

Friday my family and I went to the mall, and walked around for far too long, looking for boots for my husband. I hate the mall. But I do like to walk, so that was my silver lining. However, my husband still has no boots. Today we are going to Monster Jam when my husband gets home. Then tomorrow is my cousin's baby shower. So starting Monday, I am hitting the exercise hard again. I will also be starting up My Fitness Pal. I need to get back on the wagon.

Matthew and I decided that as soon as it's warm enough, we will be walking to and from school every single day. It is 1.3 miles one way, so that will be good exercise each day. I will put my younger two in the wagon, and walk my daughter to her school, just a few blocks further, as well. I'm really looking forward to it. Well, assuming that it actually warms up before June, that is.

I need to finish the 30 Day Shred, so that I can get started on some other things I have planned. I am just going to pick right back up at level 2, as long as it doesn't kill me ;)

                                                        Ready to ZUMBA

                                                         Matthew :)

                                               Matthew Zumba-ing!

                            "Are you going to the mall today, that's what I'm asking..."