Aerobics Class

I am adding a biweekly aerobics class to my schedule tonight. It is offered at our church every Monday night. Nathan has a class that, so far, is only meeting every other week. That may change, so I am going to take this class while I can. I emailed the instructor this morning to let her know that I WOULD be attending, but that I wasn't going to guarantee that I wouldn't throw up or pass out.

Stay tuned...

I am HERE today :o)

Be blessed!
~Angela

PSA

I set out to blog about my increased energy and ended up writing an important public service announcement that is worth repeating.

One word...THYROID.

Healthy Traditions

We have started a very healthy tradition in the busy mama's home.

After we pick Graycen up from school, we head over to a farmer's stand that is set up a few blocks away. I pick out a few veggies to compliment our dinner THAT evening and I pick out a piece of fruit (times five!!) for the kids to enjoy as their afternoon snack. It has become SUCH a great part of my day. I LOVE how excited the kids get to see what YUMMY piece of fruit they are getting. I also love buying just a day at the time. It is so fresh and is locally-grown. That makes it taste EVEN BETTER!

Here is tonight's "harvest":

And here are three of my babes learning healthy snacking habits:

A different workout today

Today, as I was finishing my 2nd of 3 miles I was trying to run, my cell phone rang. I have just started carrying my phone out onto the floor, because Graycen is in school now. You aren't actually supposed to HAVE cell phones on the floor. SO, here I am, in my groove and my phone rings. It was Nathan's ring tone, so I answered. I could tell by the tone of his voice that he needed to talk to me. Still, I was in my stride and I allowed him to quickly tell me what he wanted to and then we said goodbye. A few minutes later, the phone rang again. It was Nathan again. I picked up the phone, a little annoyed that he had called back. I kept walking this time and said, "HellllOOOOOOOOO?" in an obviously annoyed voice. He began to ask me questions about a current, serious, decision we are making and I was so annoyed. I wanted to finish my work out. Then, in a flash, it hit me that I needed to get OFF of the treadmill and talk with my husband. He needed me. I felt immediately embarrassed that I had rushed him and I cleaned off my machine and left the floor. I found an empty classroom and we talked and hashed out this situation that we have been placed in. He was so apologetic that I had ended my workout, but in my heart of hearts, I knew that he need me to be available at THAT moment and nothing else mattered. Truth be told, the Lord provided us some quiet, uninterrupted time to talk through some heavy decisions we are facing right now. We would not have had that time had I been at home. It was a gift and I was happy to have it.

SO, I didn't do much today in the way of working out my muscles, but I did a little relationship strengthening :o)

Steppin' Out!

I found a great new class at my gym! It is a step class (1/2 step and 1/2 weights) that is set to Christian music and is followed up by a devotional time. This is right up my alley. I was supposed to go today, but it is actually at the alternate location for my gym. Nathan wanted me to wait until next week to register for childcare there. Such is the life of a student-family!

It worked out well, because a nice lady, that I always end up blow-drying my hair next to after my workout, has taken the class. She told me all about it this morning as we primped for our day. I am not NEARLY as worried about throwing up in the middle of it as I was before :o).

Also, I am going to start the 100 push-up challenge, thanks Meg!! I am going to do the initial test tomorrow and then start the 6-week program on Monday. I will post my progress here. Join me?

By the way, the nice lady that I have met is also a counselor at Graycen's new school. Isn't THAT a coincidence? God is so good to me!

Workin' It!

I have been back to the gym BOTH days this week (insert canned applause here). I have been focusing on cardio this week. I am not giving up on weights all together and I know that they have HUGE benefits. I am just taking a break from them. Why?

Although I am ready to see more results, I am striving for self-discipline and self-control, first and foremost. Walking/Running three miles on the treadmill is more breaking to me (at this point) than the weights. (Just as a note-I am still not believing that I am up to 3 miles each morning!!! That is progress ladies!!I have to check and recheck my mileage every morning, HA!) I am learning to LOVE the feeling at the end of my walk/runs. I am learning to love the feeling of being simply emptied (for lack of a better word). I feel like it is purifying. My legs feel a little like rubber, but they feel stronger at the same time. I am COVERED in sweat and I feel like I accomplished my goal of getting my heart rate up for a long period of time.

Those of you that know me IRL, know that I don't have ten pounds to lose. It is more like...(be prepared for gut-wrenching honesty here)...one hundred pounds. Yep. So, obviously I have spent a great deal of time working on my current physique and body shape, hehehe. I am trying to lose it a little faster than I put it on, but at the same time, I want to be able to reap the TOTAL benefits of losing that much weight. When I was doing cardio and weights every day, I wasn't getting to that empty place that I described before. I would sweat and huff and puff every time I got on the treadmill or bike for 30 minutes, but I wasn't feeling like I had pushed myself at all. Now, at 3 miles of sweat :o), I am pushing myself. I am feeling my heart rate elevated and I FEEL like I am effectively using my time; which is limited at the gym.


As I get further along and get faster with those three miles/day, I will work weights back into the program. Hopefully, that will be in a few short weeks :o).