Quote of the day, maybe the year....

Blake(arms wrapped around Jules in the kitchen): "Hmmm...we got to get together, girl..."

Jules: "Too late, Dude, Aunt Flo came to town. Feels like you haven't touched me all month!"

Riley, our 9 yo son, casually walking by us: "That's not true!"

Blake and Jule's necks snap in response.

Riley: "I saw you guys give high fives to each other just last night!"

Cha!!!

Activity Check

After getting up at six to take my mom to the airport at the close of her visit and driving to/from Alderwood mall to spend a little time with a friend from out of state, I was pretty tired.

I tried to go to the barn, but was too exhausted and the trainer had other plans so I got a reprieve. My DH said he'd pick up my daughter after school so I laid down. It was approximately 2 in the afternoon.

It was nine pm when I woke.

This am, I got my happy butt out of bed and went to the barn. I groomed 3 horses and tacked up one. Rather than taking a lesson (which was supposed to be this morning) I went home and quickly vacuumed the house before the baby arrived. She's sleeping now, and I'm making myself be still.

I am uncomfortable, but happy that I got the barn work done. Fibromyalgia steals a lot of my energy and sometimes I just want to scream. Rather than screaming though, I'll play the drums. Once the baby wakes up, that is :-)

Reminder for New Year's Revolution

Ladies, this Saturday, Feb. 2nd, we're coming together at the Northgate mall Red Robin at noon. It's a good thing that I spoke to Jules last night, because I had it in my mind that it was actually the 9th! But alas, no, it is indeed THIS Saturday. As in, the DAY AFTER TOMMORROW. : )
Who is still in? Hope to see many of you there!
Mucho love!
Kristina

Not So Good, This Week

While last week was a success, this week has been a flop. I haven't walked. I haven't eaten breakfast. I haven't been drinking my water or taking my vitamins. My period finally started yesterday, and this morning the scale has jumped FIVE pounds in the wrong direction. Shallow as it may seem, that's perhaps the most depressing thing of all. Why do I crash after a small success? I do it over and over again.

Part of the problem is I can't sleep when my period is about to start. When I recognize that this is happening I take Benedryl, just to get some rest. Antihistamines are one of those things that deplete serotonin, and I can really feel that the day after I take one. It's an excuse, though, because if I make myself get up and walk, that yucky Benedryl hangover dissipates. If I sit and do nothing it hangs on all day.

Something else is going on, though, and I've never been able to figure it out. I sabotage myself. I don't know why. Fear of commitment, fear of success, fear that I'm not worthy? Who knows?

I'm also trying really hard not to get sick, but my throat is sore, and I don't know if I can keep a cold at bay much longer. My husband was home sick for a couple of days this week. Blech.

Anyway, just wanted to disclose that all is not rainbows and fairy dust around here, and that I'm still struggling but not giving up. I probably won't walk today. I feel like crap, and I have a busy day ahead to get through. All I feel like doing is staying in bed all day with a good book, but I have to run kids around and other stuff.

Just came back...

from the barn and am fresh out of the shower. My face is still reddish with effort and flushed with the steam heat. I feel tired, happy and that I've already got this day licked, and it isn't even NOON YET!

What are you ladies doing today?

How are you going to kick today's BUTT???

Jan inspired me...agian!

Thank you, Jan, for inspiring me. I started my fitness journal today at fitday.com. I even set a new goal for my weight loss. I might adjust things as I go, but for now, I have a direction and a plan! Here we go again!

PS, it would help me be more faithful if I could rope some of you gals into posting there, too.

Jules

Did I Mention That I Hurt?

This morning, I feel like I was hit by a Mack truck - but yesterday was fantastic. I ran my first half marathon in 2:14.50 - a full 9 minutes faster than I figured I would. After a few more ice packs, some ibuprofen and a massage, I think I'll register for another one.


I am sore (okay, REALLY sore) but happy. What a great feeling!


Update: I've called in the cavalry and gotten a massage appointment for this evening after work. And it looks like I will try to run my next half marathon in 2 weeks (!) so that a friend from my training class won't have to run it solo. I get the vague feeling that this might be a little crazy.

How's My Week Going?

I'm doing alright. I'm really kind of tired, don't know if that's because it's PMS week, or just because it does take a little extra effort to exercise and eat several small meals every day. I do know that this PMS week has been so much better than it was last month. In fact, it's only the calendar telling me it's PMS week because I don't have any other signs except for trouble sleeping.

I've walked every day except one this week. On that day I did some strength training, so I didn't blow off exercise completely.

I've lost a pound and a half since this time last week. I think that jump in the scale was just the extra tacos on Tuesday night. Ha!

So, my plan definitely deserves another week.

I feel beautiful. Me AND my muscular size 10 buttocks!!

"Girl, you got a FINE A**"

that's the real quote of the week....Kris :-)

An Apology Out of the Blue (from the wrong person)

Ladies, please tell me what you think about this.

Several years ago (5ish), I dated this guy who was, and there really is no other more polite way to say this, a shit. He was personable and good looking, but he was one of those people who thought way too well of themselves, was very judgmental of other people, and could not understand why someone might not be appreciative if he pointed out what he thought to be their flaws and then told them how they ought to go about fixing themselves.

For example, he used to routinely tell me "you'd feel better if you lost weight" (or about a dozen variations thereon) when I neither felt bad nor when my weight was the legitimate topic of conversation. When finally I had had enough of this and told him that I neither needed his commentary nor welcomed it, he couldn't understand why or how he had hurt my feelings. Then he held it against me whenever he brought it up again because he felt I was being irrational. This wasn't the only problem, but for whatever reason the whole thing dragged on WAY too long.*

*And for laughs, I'll include the last part - when I finally told him it was over and I was out, he was SO FAR offbase that he produced a ring he had purchased a few weeks prior with which he intended to propose. He just couldn't fathom that someone wouldn't want him.

If I were significantly overweight, I might be able to maybe just a teensy bit and totally grudgingly understand (if not accept) such commentary, but my BMI has never been more than 10 pounds outside of my target range. Ever. But anyway, it ended and I felt so relieved and went on to date truly wonderful men who thought and think that I am way too good for them and I didn't give this guy much thought after that.

But today at lunch I got an email from his brother in law out of state. I met the BIL several times and we got along well and he was a really nice guy and friends with the former boyfriend but I haven't heard from BIL since I left, years ago. The email said that they had gotten in a fight last year and hadn't spoken since and while he was angry, he thought about some of the things he really didn't like about my ex-boyfriend, and I came up. He said he had been thinking about it for a long time and that he couldn't shake that he owed me an apology for not standing up to his friend when he saw how I was being treated because he knew the boyfriend was being entirely an ass and that I was fine just as I was.

I told him that I appreciated the sentiment and that it wasn't his responsibility to make things better at the time, but I'm a little taken aback by the apology.

This is so coincidental after Kristina's post yesterday, but this has gotten me thinking about the effect of some of the lousy things people have said to me about my weight/figure/body:

1) I have seized on the parts of my body that I do love - like my eyes, my collarbones, my waist, my athletic build.

2) I have learned to value the parts of me that are not on the outside all the more. If someone is going to imply that they don't like how you look, you find yourself listing the other reasons why they must like you. Because I'm bright, I laugh easily, I have a really diverse range of interest, I am comfortable with who I am, and on occasion I can be witty.

3) I have learned to shrug off people who make discouraging or disparaging comments. Just reminding yourself that you are worth being loved even if people make comments like that make it so much easier to shrug off the same comments if they happen again.

4) I've learned that, no matter what the basis, the problem is seldom with me, but with whoever has made the comment. I can be angry, but I refuse to take someone else's problems personally.

5) I have learned that the people who make such comments either completely fail to realize how hurtful they're being, or they realize exactly how hurtful they're being (which heads back to number 4).

So I don't see an apology by the brother in law to be necessary. I am fine with who I am and, if anything, the ex-boyfriend's comments just made me love myself more, just as I am.

Quote of the week!

You gals are gonna love this one! Talk about fuel for the fire. Yesterday, my mother, bless her heart, asked me this;" Have you gained weight?... because your butt looks wider."
I've already worked out this morning, but it looks like tonight I'm going back. To run my ass off.

You know, half of me wants to not eat anything, or very little, because of her comment. And then the other half wants to gorge. All I know is that it made me angry, and hurt, and want to sweat like crazy at the gym.

Jennifer, how ya doin?

Hey girl, its been a couple of days since your post.

How are you feeling????

If Mr Bill can resist....

you can too - just say NO to bad food and self defeating behavior!

You may be surprised at making a new friend - YOURSELF!

Why I Should Admit My Weight; Or Not.

This weekend, I should have run as a fat girl. When you run a race, they frequently have "Athena" and "Clydesdale" divisions for people of a certain weight - for women it's usually 150 lbs., for men 190 lbs. Now, I'm 5'10" and at a weight of 150, people start wanting to feed me more and begin to subtly inquire as to whether I am eating enough or perhaps might have a problem. (Although, best thing someone said to me was on New Year's Day when a skinny woman that I run with was absolutely stunned when I told her that I qualified as Athena because she thought that I weighed well under the 150 cut-off; HAH!)

But even though I more than qualify for the Athena category, I very seldom register for races (okay, I've never registered for a race) in that class. Part of it is because I would like to be measured and ranked against my age group, not among people who might otherwise be considered limited by their physical condition (i.e., weight). The other part is simply not wanting to break down and be labeled heavy in the results lists.

For the record, however, this weekend I set a personal record for the 5K, knocked 3 minutes off my previous best time, and placed 15th out of 68 runners in my age group. If I had been running as an Athena, however, I would have won. That weighs on me a little since part of me hates the idea of embracing the idea of accepting being heavy as a normal part of who I am; on the other hand, look at what I would have accomplished - I would have run against people in similar condition carrying a similar weight and I would have gone home with the award.

I'm a little torn between wanting to be proud of what I would have accomplished had I owned up to my weight, and being proud of the fact that I deliberately choose not to accept "Clydesdale" or "Athena" as my primary description. It's a strange feeling.

It's going to be a good week for me

Yes, it is going to be a good week for me! I am going to see my sister Monday and on Wednesday I am going to drive my Auntie down to Oregon to see her newest great granddaughter. We will stay for a few days and I will have some down time. Or some 'different' time.

I am going to eat well.

I am going to drink water, the right amount.

I am going to talk nicely to myself.

I am going to write down my food.

I am going to walk.

Love you all. Jules

Update, A New Plan, and Pictures

I won't say I'm depressed. Instead I'll say that I recognize several signs and symptoms in myself indicating that my serotonin levels are quite low. I choose to say it that way because it reminds me that there are a lot of things I can do that will encourage serotonin production in my body and that I'm not a helpless victim because there are also a lot of things I'm doing to deplete serotonin and I can change that.

For example, after just three days of walking in a row there is a noticeable improvement in my mood and energy levels, but I've been really complacent when it comes to exercise lately. I've also noticed that when I remember to take my B vitamins I feel better, but I never take them. Eating nutrition dense foods also helps. I just have to make myself do these things.

Depression is such an insidious cycle. You don't do the things you need to do because you feel depressed and you feel depressed because you aren't doing the things you need to do to feel better. However, I need to remember that at any point I can break the cycle and reverse it.

Another thing that is depleting my serotonin is my weekends spent at the karaoke bar, well, not the time spent there so much as the alcohol consumed while I'm there. Turning forty seems to have tripped some party animal switch in me. Well, I've been doing some research, and I've discovered that while alcohol will give one a short term serotonin boost it actually depletes serotonin levels in the long run. That would explain why I tend to drink more during this time of year. I'm trying to medicate myself. AND that explains why I don't feel like doing anything on Monday morning, which can carry over to the whole week if I don't force myself to get moving.

For the last two weeks I've been afraid to get on the scale. I've been feeling fatter, whatever that feels like. My clothes seemed tighter and things seemed flabbier, but I weighed myself yesterday and my weight is the same. Whew. BUT I think perhaps some of the muscle I built training for the walk is being replaced by fat. I need to put a stop to that. So, I have a plan.

Tonight I am going to make a menu for myself planning all of my meals and snacks for the week. I am also committing to walking 30 minutes each day. I'm going to try not drinking when I go sing next weekend. (What a concept, eh?) I'll admit that will be hard for me, but it's the right thing for me to do for myself. I'm going to take my B vitamins with breakfast each day, and I'll report back to you all next Sunday and let you know how I did, and how I feel about it. Deal?

Here are a couple of pictures of me in my natural (party animal) habitat:

Oh hey, that's the shirt I bought when I was out shopping with some of you girls!

Shooting tequila after dancing to "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off."

I'm Still Alive!

I have been absent from this blog and mine for awhile. Life gets away from you fast. With the holidays and having both of my kids birthday's, we have been busy.

I have made it to the gym 12 times this year. I am taking the classes that are offered and it feels great. I have never been able to do any of the classes until now. And they are addicting. I even did the hour and a half boot camp. It feels good to have my muscles feel sore and know that I am changing my body.
I have been on a plateau for the last 2 weeks, but I think I am headed down again. I have to tell myself that plateaus are good for you. First, it makes you think and make sure that you are staying on track. Second, it gives your body a chance to adjust to the new weight. Third, they really suck.

I hope all is well with all of you and keep on inspiring me! Thanks.

With a chance of showers...

I'm getting ready to go up to the mountain to snowboard. Wish me luck, strength, fun and safety!

Gale Force Winds

After being down for two days I got my happy (and pretty much bored and frustrated) butt to the barn this morning. I did not ride. I just don't think I have the energy for working (grooming) and riding in this cold.

I think I have to try to focus my energies towards building endurance, and not forcing myself and crashing later. While its hard though, I am proud of myself for even just doing the grooming part. On a roll from productivity, being Miss "Josie Get-it-Done" I went to the post office and took care of a nagging errand.

Yay me. While my gale force winds may not be physical I can blow on (and ya, blow hard) if I try.

Making new goals... I'm up for the task

I weighed this morning, and I was at 180 pounds. Which is an exact 75 pound loss. I've decided today, to make some goals. I want to lose ten pounds by March the 6th, my mother-in-law's 85th birthday. We're having a big bash, (as you can imagine), in fact some relatives from Holland are flying in that we've not seen in five years. AND, we'll be taking professional family portraits. You guys, the last time we had Willem's whole family picture taken, I was in my 22 wides! In fact, it was for that event that I had to buy those stinkin' pants, because I didn't have a decent pair that fit me properly at the time.
My other goal, is to lose the remaining ten pounds by June 11th, my 40th birthday. That would put me at my goal weight of 160 pounds, and a total weight loss of 95 pounds. Now wouldn't THAT be reason enough to celebrating big time? I am up for the task. So here's to drinking my water, working my butt off at the gym, and eating right! : )

BTW, today was the first time in a while that I did a solid sixty minutes of cardio. I burned exactly 900 calories ladies, 900. For those of you that want to challenge me calorie- wise, I am extending my hand and saying "come on!". You know that I love a challenge. : )

Me? A force of nature?

Lisa,

No one has EVER called me a force of nature. In fact, I have old tapes where I'm called fat, lazy and stupid, but never a force of nature!

I have to embrace that view of myself. I will need to make a new recording! :-)

Anyhow, that's me this morning. I rode Poppy bareback a little just to get my blood pumping then I rode Andi a little and then called it a quick end. I figured I did it. I work today so I didn't want to use up all my energy.

Dress Rehearsal

In two weeks, I run my first half marathon. For everyone who knew me at any time before last August, that statement is stunning since you couldn't bribe me to run before then. Anyway, Saturday was my last long run before beginning the two week "taper" (to make sure your legs are fresh come race day) and we were supposed to run a little over 12 miles. Well, in the last half mile I got separated from the group (I had to stop to powder my nose) and once I was running again it occurred to me that they were already back at the start. So I took the long way back, adding another mile, to make it a full 13.1(6) miles - just to make sure I could do it come race day.

I haven't felt so good about accomplishing something in a long time.

I was tired and sore and soaked to the skin but I couldn't have told you that at the time. I made it home and the first thing I did was pick up the phone to tell anyone I could think of (who might care) that I had just run a half marathon. I was sore for the rest of the day and yesterday I was a little stiff, but now I'm convinced that in two weeks - when I run the real thing - that I'll be just fine.

And I have been on top of the world since Saturday.

Hope everyone has a great week,
Lisa

Two Steps Forward....

Ok, good for me, I was able to ride twice this week. However, when I went with the family up snowboarding yesterday, I couldn't get very far. In fact, I was able to do three, maybe for runs and then I had to stop.

It was a bummer. My legs were too weak. I wasn't able to keep up. My board had just been freshly waxed, so it was FAST. The conditions were great - lots of snow to cushion my weak falls.

But, I am bummed. I really had hoped that I'd have been stronger for Saturday and not weaker.

Baby steps, huh?

I'm still here, just so ya know...

I've not posted anything for a while, but I thought you ladies would appreciate knowing that I am still indeed here! : )
My personal life has been super busy this last few weeks. I've had my younger sister move in with us, and I'm thinking it's a fairly permanent thing... but this is a really good thing. I've been helping out a couple of different friends, one has breast cancer, and the other just had knee surgery. Combined with working part time, and running a household, I've been really, really busy. But I'm doing well. I'm still working out five days a week, but all of the gung-ho newbies with their New Year's resolutions at the Y are making me look bad calorie wise. When I checked this morning, I was #47 for all members calories burned. BUT, I am sustaining my #1 spot for weight lifted. : )Can't stop me!
As for weight, I'm up a few, down a few. I'm the same. I think I might start journaling
again.
I love you all. : )

Trying to get back on track.

It seems like it wasn't just the holidays, something is really different for me now. It's like walking through concrete to try to eat right. I have had weeks where I am just struggling so hard trying to be good and then I get to dinner and just lose it. Yesterday I was over 2200 calories for the day, that's 700 more than I usually aim for.

It sucks because I was down to 160 and then Christmas came and I shot way up to 168 without even enjoying the foods. I was still really restricting my foods. BUt I shot up anyway. Now I am back to 160 and the craving and stuff have not gone away.

I wanted to take my food journal off line, it's public right now, I wanted to take it down so that my blog readers wouldn't see what I have been eating. But I am going to keep at it. Starting fresh with every meal and hoping to God to get through this first day.

Man, sometimes it's really hard.

Yay!

Ok, its me again - I'm just posting to let you all know I went to the barn this morning! I groomed 2 horses and rode one. This is a big deal for me.

I found some interesting info on calories burned with horses, and its fun to know that it burns about 170-450 calories per hour!

Thanks for listening and cheering me on. I can use all the encouragement I can get!

Fascinating practical tips for training.

I found some very interesting information on how to eat for training and how to endure excursion better. Who doesn't want to play harder, longer?
http://www.princeton.edu/facilities/dining_services/nutritional_info/_Nutrition/athletes_kitchen_3_06.htm

The end of this post credits the author, and gives you more info on the book, but here are some excerpts of very useful info:

The average 150-pound athlete has only 1,000 to 2,000 calories of stored carbohydrates (glycogen), but over 80,000 to 120,000 calories of stored fat. Most of the fat is deposited in adipose tissue under the skin, but a little bit is also stored directly in the muscles and is an important source of fuel, especially during prolonged exercise.

• Don’t try to eat a fat-free diet! The recommended intake for athletes is about 0.5 grams fat/lb body weight/day. This equates to 60 to 80 grams per day of dietary fat for athletes who weigh 120 to 160 pounds. That’s 15 to 20 teaspoons of butter! Preferably, the fat comes from healthful sources: nuts, peanut butter, olive and canola oil, and avocado.

• While some fat is good, excess calories of fat are fattening. Your body easily stores excess dietary fat as body fat. That’s why you want to carefully carbo-load on pasta and breads, not fat-load on Alfredo sauce, butter, cheese, chips.

• Your body stores carbohydrates in the muscles in the form of glycogen (1,200 to 1,600 calories) and also in the liver (300 to 400 cals); this feeds into the bloodstream (100 cals) and fuels your brain. During hard training that depletes your muscle glygogen, you enhance your body’s ability to store even more glycogen; this enhances your ability to exercise for longer before “hitting the wall.”

• Athletes should eat at least 2 grams carb/lb. body weight per day. That’s a minimum of 240 gm carb (about 1,000 calories) per day for a 120 lb woman and equates to 10 pieces of fruit or 5 cups of cooked pasta. Athletes in hard training actually should eat 4 to 5 gm carb/lb. No Atkins diet here!

• Adult athletes require about 0.5 to 0.75 gram protein per pound (1.2 to 1.7 g pro/kg). Scientific evidence suggests if you eat more than 0.8 gm pro/lb (1.8 gm pro/kg), you’ll burn the excess protein for energy. In other words, eating a very high protein diet does not result in greater muscle gain, even with intense resistance training. To bulk up, eat more overall calories so you’ll have abundant energy to build muscles.

• Because eating before exercise can enhance performance, you should target:

0.5 gram carb/lb body weight 1 hour pre-exercise

1.0 gram carb/lb 2 hours pre-exercise

1.5 gram carb/lb 3 hours pre-exercise

2.0 gram carb/lb 4 hours pre-exercise.

This means, if you weigh 150 pounds, you need about 75 grams carbohydrates—about 300 calories—of carb one hour pre-exercise, and 1,200 calories four hours out. This tends to be far more than most athletes consume. Experiment to learn how much your body can tolerate, and try to build up to this target if you currently eat less than this.

• Consuming carbs during endurance exercise can delay fatigue by 30 to 60 minutes. Target about 1 gram carb per minute of exercise—equivalent to 240 calories of carbs per hour if you weigh about 150 pounds. That’s about 1 quart of Powerade per hour.

• Consuming carbs as soon as tolerable after hard exercise enhances muscle glycogen replacement because—

1) the blood flow to the muscles is faster immediately after exercise, so carbs can get carried to the muscles faster;

2) the muscles are better able to take up the carbs because of increased sensitivity to insulin, the hormone that helps transport carbs into muscles. Plan to have banana, fruit yogurt, fruit smoothie, and/or fig bars readily available.

• Both liquid and solid carbs refuel the muscles equally well, so take your choice: chocolate milk or a pasta dinner.

• While many athletes believe “thinner is better,” don’t try to get your body fat below 5% (men) or 12% (women). Each athlete has a fat percentage and body weight at which he or she performs best. Hence, you should listen to your body, and take note of how you feel and perform, as opposed to force your body to achieve a self-selected number.

• Warning: Body fat measurements—even under research conditions—can be plus or minus 3 to 4%. If you are told your body fat is 16%, it might be 13% or 19%. Just having a different person measure your body fat can significantly alter the measurement. Use body fat measurements only as a guide and give yourself a body fat range.

• At rest, your body burns approximately 0.45 calorie per pound per hour. If you weigh 150 pounds, you burn about—

- 70 calories per hour of bedrest, or about 1,700 calories per 24 hours of doing nothing except staying alive.

- about 375 calories per hour of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking at a pace of 15 minutes per mile.

- about 1,200 calories per hour of high intensity exercise, such as running at a pace of 5.5 minutes per mile.

Clearly, the harder you exercise, the more you can eat!

But take heed: hard workouts followed by naps reduce your daily calorie needs. Athletes who turn into post-exercise couch potatoes commonly reward themselves with too much food and fail to attain their desired weight goals....



Sports dietitian Nancy Clark, MS, RD teaches active people how to eat to support their hard training. She has a private practice at Healthworks (617-383-6100), the premier fitness center in Chestnut Hill MA. Her best selling Sports Nutrition Guidebook ($23), Food Guide for Marathoners: Tps for Everyday Champions ($20) and Cyclist’s Food Guide ($20) are available via www.nancyclarkrd.com or PO Box 650124, Newton MA 02465.

New Year's Revolution at Northgate Mall February 2nd!

Meet at noon at Red Robin! See you there!

Ride Sally Part TWO!

Ok - so with my sore legs in tow I went to the Summit at Snoqualmie and my family and I snowboarded. We save our pennies every year to be able to buy passes so that we can go every weekend.

With my horseback riding legs still sore, I strapped on my snowboard and got going down those soft, snowy hills. I did about 10 runs, which for me is quite a feat. Of course, today I walk like a granny.

What am I doing up now you may ask? Well, I'm going to put my riding gear on and go over to the barn for heaven's sake! Yes, I'm going to make myself move forward with this plan of mine, even if it is uncomfortable. I'm writing this simply to help me stay on track, because I couldn't very well tell you ladies I'm going and then not, right?

Should we have a PNW New Year's Revolution????

I vote YES! I am available January 19th or February 2nd. What say you all in the PNW??? And where should we meet? Southcenter mall or Northgate?

Jules

Ride Sally Ride!

Oh My Goodness!

My inner thighs are SO sore from riding yesterday morning, but I did! I am so glad!

Yesterday morning, I got up with the crowd in my house and put my riding clothes on straight away. I went over to the barn - which is only 3 minutes away - and grabbed a halter. I reached for a handful of carrots and walked down to the stall where Andi, a 20-something year old horse, hangs out in the evenings. She'd not yet been turned out for the day. When I approached her stall with the morning snack, she hadn't expected me and 1200 lbs of pure fear jumped up in the air!

Oops!! Sorry Andi!! I suppose I should have made more noise approaching!
She forgave me quickly when I showed her the carrots I had for her.

I groomed her, picked out her hooves and saddled her up. She hadn't been ridden in weeks so I needed to be careful with her. A former racehorse, this thoroughbred mix is what equestrians call 'sensitive' but I call 'prissy!' - She is very responsive to your leg and hands. I only walked and trotted her because she was getting sassy obeying and I didn't want to end up on the ground. :-)

This morning, as I was walking from the kitchen to my bedroom w/ my coffee, I realized my inner thighs HURT! A good hurt, of course, but I need to put some slippers on so I have some traction when I walk so I don't have to use that muscle so much :-)

Thanks for letting me ramble. I'm going snowboarding tomorrow morning with the family so that'll be my exercise. Then, back to horses next week as I strive to get more active this year.

My fitlinxx stats for the whole year!

In January of last year, we got our membership at the Y, as most of you already know. And I have love, love, LOVED it! But it's more than just the work outs, it's the sense of community that I feel. I am there averaging five days a week, and I have made A LOT of friends. I like what I feel when I am there... like I have made myself a priority, like I am worth it. And oh yeah, I love the numbers too. Anyhow, my numbers break down as such:

For the entire year, I lifted 10, 315, 090 pounds. Placing me 1st in my age group, 1st for all women, and 3rd over all. (Last month was the first month that I actually took 1st for the whole month) : ) You're gonna laugh at me for sure about this, but the woman that came in 2nd behind me for the year, lifted only about three million... I more than tripled what she lifted, and she was the closest woman to me!

I earned 191,746 fit points. Placing me 1st in my age group, 1st for all women, and 4th over all.

I burned 156,621 calories. Placing me 1st for my age group, 5th for all women, and 12th over all.

I love how I have been able to mold my body thus far. I still have my work cut out for me, make no mistake. But now I feel like an empowered, beautiful and strong woman. And no one can make me feel any different.

Happy New Year!

Ladies (and gentleman) I officially welcome you to the year Two Thousand Eight.



I am happy to tell you this year is the year when we all lose weight!
We will all drink more water.

We will all journal if we need to and work out when we can. We will post updates and we will encourage others to live healthy.

I'm excited about what we'll lose this year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!