From picky eater to not so picky!

The other day  while out to dinner with my husband at a local Hungarian place I tried sauerkraut for the first time.....and I loved it! I always thought I hated it because I hated the smell and I was just sure it tasted awful. My husband is one of those people that loves all food. He loves or likes pretty much everything and will try just about anything. I have always been a picky eater. Greg always convinces me to try new food and I usually like it, sometimes love it, and often realize that what I thought would be nasty isn't so bad. The one thing he made me try that was as bad as I thought brussel sprouts...bleh. After coming to the realization that sauerkraut was in fact really good, I proceeded to eat half of it from his plate. He tells me that is where Kiley and Delaney get their "grubsticks". They are always trying to take food from everyone else's plates too! While we were talking about the sauerkrat, I realized all the foods that I now love and eat on a regular basis that I wouldn't have dreamed of eating before...all thanks to my Greggy! To name a few...cucumbers, asparagus, sweet potatoes, bbq sauce, Hungarian food, avacado, conch, and much more. A lot of these foods have really added to my diet and have made it easier to eat healthfully.

Dance Party!!!

Quotes of the day: Fitness - If it came in a bottle, everybody would have a great body.- Cher

True enjoyment comes from activity of the mind and exercise of the body; the two are united.
- Alexander von Humboldt
I ran on the treadmill this morning while Kiley and Xander danced next to me on the bed. I think it is great that they like to come in there and dance to the music what a great and fun way for them to get in physical exercise when it is so cold and yucky outside! I have to work tonight but I thought I would list some of the snacks I bring with me to get me through my 12 hour work shift. I do not get a set lunch so if we are busy I need to have something quick to snack on. Also of course I must have my one cup of coffee to get me through!

~light popcorn
~apple slices with peanut butter
~oatmeal w/almond milk and a teaspoon of peanut butter
~a banana with chocolate almond butter
~triscuits with light cream cheese or a stick of string cheese
~hardboiled eggs

Mamaw Nina and Papaw Dave were in town this week visiting with their 6 month old boxer puppy Tucker. He likes to get kisses too!

Nice Hair!!

Friday Snow Day!

Quote Of The Day:

 Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it. -Plato
So it snowed and iced AGAIN! Kiley didn't have preschool and Delaney took a really short nap. I had time to get in the workout below plus a 10 minute warm up and cool down on the treadmill. I was struggling today for some reason! I think tommorrow I might head to the YMCA to do some barbell squats and bench presses. I kind of miss them! Have a great weekend everyone!
http://www.bodyrock.tv/2011/02/16/attacking-hot-warrior-workout/

Workout Breakdown

Time: 18min.Workout Type: Interval trainingExercises: 6

• Lunge Forward/Back & Sandbag Lift (left leg) max. reps
• Lunge Forward/Back & Sandbag Lift (right leg) max.reps
• Core Splitsmax. reps
• Dynamo Push Upmax. reps
• Sleeping Crab (left leg) max. reps
• Sleeping Crab (right leg) max. reps

Instructions:
Set your interval timer for 18 rounds and two intervals of 10 seconds and 50 seconds. You will go through the circuit of the 4 exercises three times during the 18 minutes and your goal is to complete as many reps for each exercise as possible. You have only 50 seconds for each exercise so push at your max. effort. The 10 seconds in between is just enough time to write down your reps. It’s important to keep track of your score so that you can come back to this workout in the near future and see for yourself that your workout performance has improved. If you try to beat your old personal bests and create new records, you will push yourself harder which will help you to avoid plateau

Wednesday Workout!

Quote Of The Day: Those who think they not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness. - Edward Stanl

Today I am finally caught up on my sleep even though Miss Laney Lou kept waking up every hour after 3:30am! I did the workout below and man did it kick my butt! I was drenched by the end and my legs were shaking. I love these home workouts! They remind me of what I used to do in my boot camp classes minus all the running on the track and stairs. For now I am not going to journal my diet but I always try to stick with whole foods (whole grains, veggies, fruits, almond milk, nuts, etc). We also cook with lean turkey and chicken.

Workout Breakdown

5 minutes warm up on treadmill

http://www.bodyrock.tv/2011/02/09/hot-mess-workout/

Time: +/-30min.Workout Type: Time ChallengeExercises: 5

• Round 1=10 Get Ups
• Round 2 =Round 1 + 20x Backward Lunge & Sandbag Press
• Round 3 =Round 2 + 20x Sandbag Squat
• Round 4 = Round 3 + 10x Burpees
• Round 5 =Round 4 + 40x One Leg Toe Touch

Instructions:
This workout is like a game. You start with just one exercise and each round you are adding a new one so that in the 5th round you end up doing 5 exercises. Then you reverse the order and start with 5 exercises and work your way down to the first one.
Set your interval timer as a stop watch and start with the first round. Continue until you complete the 5th round. Stop your timer and write down your score. Now start with the 5th round and work your way down to the 1st round. Stop your timer and write down your time.

5 minutes cool down on treadmill

I finished in 20 minutes and 5 seconds!!!!

Today's Workout!

Quote of the Day: To insure good health: eat lightly, breath deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life-William Londen

  Last night, while I was trying desperately to stay awake until 8:00 pm (Kiley's bedtime) I dowloaded some new music to my Ipod. Since I am still tired and recovering from my weekend of working 3rd shift and just 1.5 hours of sleep yesterday I decided I would just do an interval run on the treadmill today and do my higher intensity www.bodyrock.tv workout tommorrow while Kiley is at preschool and Delaney is napping.

This is what I did today:

0-3 minutes- Warm up RPE 4
3-26 mintues- alternating 1.5 minutes running/sprints at 8-9 RPE and 1.5 minutes of walking at 5 RPE.
26-30 minutes- Cool down RPE 4

RPE= Rate of perceived exertion here is a link to the scale -
http://www.topendsports.com/testing/rpe-scale.htm

Five of my favorite things to do

1. My new favorite thing to do is put the baby down for a nap and go run on the treadmill while blasting pop music while Kiley dances and sings along and dances next to me.

2. I love to go on mini trips with Greg. We are planning a trip to New York City, and my main goal of the trip is to visit Carlo's Bakery from the TV show "Cake Boss".

3. I love laying on the floor next to Delaney while she plays with her toys and just watch her play. They are just so innocent.

4. Taking long walks with Greg. It is good exercise for both of us and I love our conversations. We usually have the baby in the stroller and Kiley and/or Xander riding bikes.

5. Trying new healthy (or not so healthy) recipes...but they are usually baked goods because I really don't like to cook I would rather bake!

Sunday, Rest Day, Sort of....

I really don't like Sundays! I have always just worked a 12 hour shift, slept most of the day, and I am exhausted. Then I have to go right back in and work another 12 hours! So, Sunday I never exercise unless it is a short walk with Greg if it is nice out. Delaney is usually at her whiniest. She has Mommy most of the week 24/7 and this is her first day with out me! Daddy takes good care of her though. When I walked out of the bedroom this afternoon and Delaney saw me she was so excited her feet and arms were both wiggling at the same time and she was squealing. She is just so sweet!

Dinner tonight was thrown together since tommorrow is grocery day. Greg usually cooks dinner and breakfast for that matter. I really don't like to cook but I love to bake. We had breakfast burritos and they were pretty good!

Welcome!

Hello everyone! Thank you for taking the time to check out my new blog. I am doing this mostly for myself to keep myself accountable for my diet and exercise. I am a mommy to 2 beautiful girls, Kiley (5), and Delaney (8 months). I am also a step mom to 3 great kids. I started exercising in high school to lose weight. It didn't take me long to realize how great it made me feel both physically and emotionally. I have lost all my "baby weight" through breastfeeding. Now I need to get back in shape for summer. Though I have been exercising since Delaney was born I am now ready to take it up a notch with intensity. I am still nursing so my diet isn't as in check as it normally would be. I can't cut my calories too much or my baby isn't happy! We recently bought a treadmill and I have found some online home workout sites. I have been exercising while Delaney naps. Kiley likes to watch and dance to my music. We have fun! Here is the workout I did today! I warmed up for 5 minutes on the treadmill. Then I cool down for 10 minutes afterward I love these short but intense workouts. When you are a mommy you need options that are short yet intense enough to get results. Courtesy of http://www.bodyrock.tv/ I used this online interval timer http://www.beach-fitness.com/tabata/ Instructions: This workout is only 12 minute long circuit. Try to push yourself to the limit to get the most out of today’s training – if you have a reason to do so :) Set your Interval Timer for 12 rounds of 10 and 50 second intervals. 10 seconds is for resting and writing your reps down. Do as many reps for each exercise as possible during each 50 second interval. The circuit looks like this: 10 sec. rest 1. Jump Lunge – 50 sec. effort 10 sec. rest 2. Leg Raises – 50 sec. effort 10 sec. rest 3. Jump Lunge – 50 sec. effort 10 sec. rest 4. Santana Push Up & Leg Lift 10 sec. rest 5. Jump Lunge – 50 sec. effort 10 sec. rest 6. Chin Ups – 50 sec. effort 10 sec. rest 7. Jump Lunge – 50 sec. effort 10 sec. rest 8. Seated Bicycle - 50 sec. effort 10 sec. rest 9. Jump Lunge – 50 sec. effort 10 sec. rest 10. One Leg Dead Lift (left leg) – 50 sec. effort 10 sec. rest 11. Jump Lunge – 50 sec. effort 10 sec. rest 12. One Leg Dead Lift (right leg) – 50 sec.

Photography

I absolutely love to take pictures. My favorite subjects are my children. I love taking pictures of all of them but especially the baby. She is always changing and learning new things. The first year of life is just amazing. They grow so incredibly fast. Here are a few recent pictures I have taken.