One less excuse....

Well, I can no longer use bad weather as an excuse not to walk. My aunt gave me her old treadmill! I've been wanting one for awhile now. Been reviewing and pricing some models and discussing with dh what features would be good when my aunt called to say I could have hers. It's not fancy,  just has basic features but hello! it's free!  Good enough for me!

Now I'm searching for my customized coach potato to 25k plan. I spent a few days earlier last year creating a customized plan to help me get running but discovered that I HATE running outside so  I cast that plan aside. I tend to turn my ankles when running over uneven/variable surfaces. Guess I forget to watch where I'm going??

Anyway, hope you're having a great weekend! Be strong! Resist the lure of the chocolate donuts -if not, grab one for me!   Best wishes!

Interesting e.p.

Wow, logged on and found all sorts of strange yet interesting changes going on here at e.p. So far, I've only found 2 complaints. For whatever reason, some of my comments aren't going through. That's annoying! Also, when I'm on the homepage and click on the last posts section, that's literally all I see. I liked seeing the whole blog so I could read older posts at the same time without having to click on the 'my posts' section to see it all. I know, petty petty complaings. Anyway, it's going to take a little getting used to, but I think I'll like it. What about you?

Trying to get motivated today, but am SO sleepy. Don't know if it's the lack of sleep from the past 2 weeks or denial over my dad's death. Either way, going to force myself to go to Curves later and do a little grocery shopping now. Need some more healthy foods in the house (dh bought the kids a lot of snack food stuff while I was away) and maybe a couple of frozen dinners for when everybody's eating whatever and I need portion control.

Update: ah I see my mistake. Instead of clicking on the last post title, I need to click on the blogger's name to see the whole blog. Ok, can deal with that.

Have a great Monday. Best Wishes!

My dad

Hi again, yeah I know, it's been a little while, nearly 3 weeks or so?

I didn't lose the 9 pounds, but I did lose a couple of pounds. Didn't matter, my folks were proud of me anyway. We had a good time visiting them. When we first arrived and I went in to see my dad, it hurt a lot. He was so visibly weak and struggling for air. He couldn't stand having us all there and him laid up in bed, so he spent as much time as possible in an electric scooter/wheelchair so he could be around all the grandkids. He was really enjoying watching their antics. It was a fun weekend; had kids running everywhere and making up silly little games with rules that I think you simply have to be under the age of 15 to understand. I spent my free time crocheting a lap blanket for my dad to use when in his wheelchair. Everybody commented on my weight and how good I look!  That kept a smile on my face. Nothing like dozens of compliments to make you feel proud.

Had a lot of good times, maybe I'll share some later. We finally made it back to Florida on Tuesday (the 2nd) evening. It's a 20 hour car trip each way! On Thursday afternoon, my mom called sobbing. My dad had just passed away. I flew back to Illinois on Friday to be with her and to attend the services. Just made it back home again on Thursday. Hadn't slept much the past week, so no big surprise that I've been simply exhausted and sleeping way too  much the past 2 days.

Going to try to refocus and get back on track this Monday. Dad was very proud  of me and I want to know he'd still be proud of me. Mom confessed that when my weight was ballooning up, they were both worried but Dad didn't want to say anything to make me feel bad. They knew I'd have to get motivated for myself. That just makes me appreciate them more and renews my determination.

Have a good weekend and best wishes to you all.

RIP dad, love always

Lazy weekend

Hi! Did you have a good weekend? Get things done? Feel good about your accomplishments?

Not me! LOL! I had a lazy weekend. Barely managed to drag my sorry butt outta bed yesterday. Just couldn't keep my eyes open. I did manage to walk 2 miles, but I was seriously dragging tail.

Today, my right eye feels swollen, but no idea what I did to it. Was a little more active today. Mostly because one of my dh's coworkers came over for dinner. DH & I went out for lunch, stopped by to confirm dinner plans with the coworker,  & then shopping for dinner stuff.  Now I'm slightly stuffed and trying to convince myself I need to walk it off.

My kids did great though. When I left for lunch, the house was messy. By the time we returned from shopping, it was almost sparkling clean! Wow! My kids are awesome!

Tomorrow it'll be back to working out & watching what I eat. I'll see my folks at the end of the week.

Best wishes!

rainy day

Good thing I walked yesterday morning with dd. The weather was rotten enough last night that I skipped totally. Been that way so far today, too. I did slip out to Curves earlier for a workout before they closed early due to the poor weather.  DH wanted me to skip but I had too much stir fry for dinner! Was feeling bloated and had to do something.

I just had the kids dig out a rain poncho so maybe if it doesn't get much worse, I'll be able to get in a little walk. I suck at walking indoors, too many distractions.

Did you get a workout in? Eating on target?

best wishes!

walking & pity party has gotta stop

Managed to walk 5.5 miles total yesterday. 3 in the morning & another 2.5 last night. I would have liked to walk a little more but Fay had the wind kicking up and rain bands were dropping showers on my head about every 10 minutes or so. I'd walk, take shelter & wait for it to quit again, walk more, take shelter, repeat... I can't afford to get sick since I'm going to see my terminally ill father next week. His immune system can't handle any more stress now.

This morning I was feeling blah and didn't want to walk at all. However, as my dh was leaving for work, he found a dd sitting patiently in the living room. She had set her alarm for 6am just so she could go walking with me! So, I grabbed my stuff and we walked 3 miles.

Between my scale not budging, my sore leg, worrying about my dad, my cranky husband, a defiant 18yr old dd pushing my buttons, and some issues with my ex-boyfriend, I've been really emotional today.I was so depressed earlier, that I caved and had an ice cream sundae for a snack. Wouldn't be so bad except I wasn't really craving it, was just feeling sorry for myself. That's gotta stop!! I can't control anybody else or their emotions but I can do what's best for me. Geez!

Ah well, pick up and move on. We all  have our triggers and need to learn how to handle them better.

Best wishes to you!

not budging

I'm a little bit frustrated. I've been working out & walking more. Been drinking my water and avoiding sodas. Been eating a little better & not eating anything after 8pm. YET... the scale isn't budging. I know it'll happen eventually. I even know about muscle weighing more, etc.... YET... I'm still a bit frustrated because I have 9 days left before I see my family and I'm stalled. UGH.

On an upnote: I ended up walking 7 miles yesterday. My calf was just slightly achy last night from the spider incident & about the same this morning. So glad it's not hurting worse! Woke up and did 3 miles this morning because wasn't sure how much water Tropical storm Fay plans on dumping here. So far, not a lot. Went from going to be nasty around noon to going to be nasty around midnight. Wait and see, I guess. Really hoping the storm doesn't cause anybody major damage. On another good note: everybody just had ice cream sundaes -except for me! I resisted because it's after 8pm. Looked good, but I just walked away.

best wishes!

School & spiders... what a combo!

Was the first day back to school here for 3  of my  munchkins. My  middle 3 work from home so I act as teacher/learning coach for them. My youngest is autistic & will be going to special classes at the local school. He's going through evaluations now. I think we started off fairly well; despite having to chase down & distract my youngest all day.

Suppose to storm heavily tonight, so I woke up early and walked 3 miles. If I get lucky, I'll be able to walk a couple more miles tonight. If not, at least I'll feel good about getting some walking in.

I mentioned the other day that my leg has been cramping up fairly steadily. It just doesn't want to go away. My dh keeps trying to use it as an excuse to make me stop working out & walking, but I'm feeling stubborn this week. I want to lose weight! So, this morning I started walking and realized that  my leg was feeling pretty good! Once I was warmed up, it wasn't aching; just had a little residule twinge -very minor. I was happy! Had a good stride going when I walked right into a strand of spider web... UGH!!!! I HATE spiders! Started trying to brush it off when I caught sight of the spider dangling in the air & dropping straight for MY shoulder! OMG! I hoped sideways and tried to run only to  have my leg decide nope! It didn't like that sudden movement and tried to buckle on me. Barely avoided doing a faceplant & was hopping around awkwardly on one leg trying to regain my balance. wow! It hurt so much & I was feeling so stupid for being afraid of a spider. Was halfway through  my walk so I  had to suck it up and keep going.

It's feeling better tonight but when I was at Curves, I avoided the leg press. I am going to attempt walking some tonight, but I think I'll stick to my block and cut it short -that's IF it's not storming too much.

Anyway, hope your week started off right. Best wishes!

getting organized

Been a fairly good day. I went to Curves before lunch and even spent extra time on my arms. I've also already walked 1.5 miles.

I've even managed to avoid overeating today, but was tempted a few times. The kids decided to make jello and pudding! I went into the other room and worked on sorting through some boxes. Kids start school on Monday and I need to have their desks and work areas ready. Sadly, their desks have been used as catch-alls for the last few months and we had a dozen boxes stacked up in the way from when we cleared out our storage unit. I made a huge dent in the chaos today. When dh decided tonight that he needed more dessert, I took a walk so I wouldn't be tempted to eat so late.

so, feeling positive overall about today, even though I still haven't figured out any other cardio besides the walking. How was your day? Did you stay on track? Did you enjoy your day off?

Hope you're having a great weekend! Best wishes!

been reading

Been reading through the blogs and now I feel like a slug! I wanted to go walking early this morning but my comfy bed lulled me back to sleep.

Well darn it! I'm  not a slug! So, gonna grab my water bottle, mp3, and take a walk! be back later!

Happy Friday y'all and have a great weekend!

***Update*** I walked 3 miles! I feel so proud of myself and yet so icky at the same time! Stupid bugs swarming everywhere has my skin feeling itchy! LOL So now I'm off to take a shower.

best wishes!