Back in the Saddle

So if you are friends with me on facebook and saw my status last week, you know what I did on Saturday...

And for those of you who aren't may facebook friends, or if you didn't see my status...well...I'll tell you...

Last Saturday...

I became certified...

to be...

a...

SPIN INSTRUCTOR!!!

Woo hoo!

Go me...

I think it is the perfect way to celebrate my fitness. I mean, after all, going from being the fat chick who couldn't climb the stairs without losing my breath to the chick who can make everyone in the class lose their breath...

Well, you know, that's just the bomb!

So there you have it.

I can now force my friends to come to my spin class and listen to my crazy music while I make them suffer and sweat.

I think that makes me an awesome friend...

I gotta give a shout-out to a few people who helped me get here...

First and foremost...my Dimples....my sweet Dimples who got me fit enough to do it!

And Trainer Girl...who told me, after I accidently taught a spin class, that I should REALLY teach a spin class.

And JayVee...who told me when the class was and told me I needed to sign up for it and do it!

And J'taime Jamie who always inspires me and supports me!

And AngelAmy who has had my back since high school...and who kindly checked up on me after to make sure I hadn't died and that she still had a friend...

And...oh, I need a good name for this friend...I could call him the Spin King since he teaches spin at the top gym in LA, but he's better than that...and I have known him my whole life...and he inspires me a lot (he inspired the blog "Freedom 90")...so I have to call him...oh heck, he gets a stupid name because he has known me for too long...

TomTom...there ya go...and darling you know who you are...and I am doing a double name because he has twin sons!

So TomTom was my inspiration...and I can't wait to go to LA and take his class! And meet his family...and he's just the best and handsomest guy...so having him support me means the world!

So thank you to my team that got me to want to be back in the saddle all the time!

So I got a little lost on my way to Kingwood for the class but I eventually managed to find my way thanks to my iPhone...so that is one more thank you...thank you to whoever invented the iPhone and the map app!

I get to the YMCA where the instructor certification class is and I see this really cute gal walking in with a spin instructor manual. She asks if I know where to go and I said "no" but assure her we will find it together. We chat a bit and introduce ourselves...her name is...well, I'm gonna call her Spin Angel cause she and I met in spin class and she is also a Pi Phi like me...

So we walk into the class and the instructor calls Spin Angel's first name...and then she says her last name.

The same last name belonging to my brother's best friend...

Bingo...

Small world connection made...it is not a name like "Smith" or "Jones"...

So I ask her if she is married to the bro's bestie and sure enough...

Bingo...

It's a small world after all....(oh, I promise not to name a blog after THAT song)...

So we instantly connect and are excited that we get to do this together!

So class starts and we spend an hour learning how to set up the bikes.

I wish I was joking...

Then we spend an hour and half on the bikes...it was a pretty fun ride but I was ready to get off!!!!

We broke for lunch and did some classroom work. The best part was when we discussed music...cause you know me and my music.

So now I have several members of the class emailing me for music suggestions and playlists...

Woo hoo....

Go me....

Class time ends and we go back for one last awesome ride...one hour...

So needless to say I was one tired little princess after that. I said goodbye to my new friend Spin Angel and I am so glad to have her in my life...

but after that...

I wanted alcohol...and a shower...and my bed....

in that order...

I have my priorities and alcohol comes before the shower...

But no....I had still had a football scrimmage to try my best to blast my way to...so I changed clothes and headed back to my part of town to watch The Cutest Boy in the World (TCBITW) hit and tackle people...and he even got to run with the ball!

Woo hoo...

Go TCBITW!

So Saturday was a great day...I got to prove to myself that I could turn my life around and no longer be the fat chick that got out of breath just walking and I got to watch my son show me and remind me that determination is what you need...because he is a lot smaller than a lot of the boys he goes up against...but he hits em hard and knocks em down...and he doesn't let them stop him...

So I'm not gonna let anything stop me...

So come and take my class (when i finally start teaching)

If

You

Dare

Inspiration Song: "Back in the Saddle" by Aerosmith...because back in the saddle is where I like to be...and because I have had one guy offer to let me teach at his gym...and he used to play that song at the start of every spin class when he taught...

Bye Darlings...get back in the saddle and don't let anything stop you!

You Spin Me Round

Spinning...that's me...

Not just on a spin bike...

seems like I was spinning my wheels a bit last week...both literally and figuratively...driving all over town for costume stuff and then having some personal issues where one thing would get planned and then cancelled and I had to reorganize my days around that...

like completely buying all the groceries to make a certain meal only to have the meal cancelled as I walked out of the grocery store with all the groceries purchased...not my friend's fault (the rescheduling) but that is how my timing seemed to be all week and weekend. But I"m cooking that meal tomorrow so no damage is done and all my ingredients are still good...

or here's another example...I spent 2 hours yesterday learning a dance to do in a flash mob only to come hone to discover the day of the flash mob is when I need to pick up The Cutest Boy in the World from camp...at least I had a fun workout with GOTTESS and GOTT...

or heading out on I-10 to go and fetch a friend from the airport and then my poor friend texted me her plane was delayed...at least I wasn't down the road far at all...so I headed to sonic and got me a Route 44 Diet Dr. Pepper with Vanilla (easy ice)...

But today...today I did something on the spin bike I have never done.

I sorta, well basically I taught a spin class.

You see what happened was...

There was no spin class scheduled today at the club. JayVee cancelled it because we have notoriously low attendance on holidays and special days like Father's Day.

Today was Father's day...so no class.

Knowing that, I invited Trainer Girl to join me at the club and we would make our own spin class. I knew the room would be empty and so I brought my boom box and made a play list.

Trainer Girl and I climb onto the bikes and we start rolling...we get through our warmup and we are about 15 minutes in when a friend pops his head in and remarks that we are really early for class...

I inform him that there is no class...

he was not exactly happy...

and then said his wife and daughter were coming too...

I invited him and his family to join us...but warned him that my playlist might now be his favorite (he hates Britney and I had some Brit on there).

So next thing I know he and the fam are pulling in bikes...so the guy that is working and in charge of the desk at the club comes in and turns on the BIG stereo for us...

So I ask them:

"Do you want me to guide us? Teach?"

I got an "Amen" from the choir...so I pulled my bike up front so I wouldn't have to yell and we started rolling along...

Another friend joined us...and then some lady I didn't know came in.

I taught a class to 6 people...

And here is the miracle...

they seemed to like it...a lot...

They liked my crazy music...they liked what I had them do...and my friend even put up with the Britney because his daughter, wife and I told him to.

I did pretty good...in an hour I burned 566 calories....that is about 100 more than usual...I guess it was the adrenaline and knowing I had to keep going because they were watching me.

So as I was pedaling along I had a brief thought that it was kind of a miracle that I could do it at all. 15 months ago I would not have dreamed I would take a spin class much less have the balls (sorry, sometimes I need to be crude) to teach a class.

I'm no expert...far from it...but I think it might be something I could do.

I'm pretty good with the music...I have a good ear for what will work...that being said I did put one song on the playlist that was a "fail" and I stopped it 1/3 of the way in...

I've taken enough spin to know how to work to the music and what works to get your heart rate up.

So tomorrow I am going to go and talk to JayVee about what it would take for me to be a spin teacher...maybe she will let me teach with her for a while to get the hang of it but I think I did a decent job today.

I'm sort of scared to do it...and for about 5 minutes today I was scared to lead a class...but sometimes doing something that scares you a little is good for you.

Who knows...maybe I will become Spinderella 2...

Inspiration Song: "You Spin Me Round" by Dead or Alive...great little 80's song...but I recently saw the lead singer on a show about bad plastic surgery and he scared the bejeezus out of me...and scared me off of having any work done to my face...

Bye Darlings...don't spin your wheels...try something that scares you a little...

Love Hurts

So you are looking at that blog title and wondering...

"Is her divorce going badly?"

"Is she regretting her divorce?"

"Does she have someone new in her life that has already broken her heart?"

"Is she missing Oprah so badly that she is in pain?"

The answers are:
no
no
no
and yes...

But what I am REALLY referring to is not my past, present, or future love life or lack thereof, or my terrible sadness over the end of the Oprah show...

and thank goodness for once I am not talking about the great pain dished out by teenage children...

No, I'm talking about my other love life...

My fitness life

Because right now I am in some good old-fashioned I worked my behind off pain...and the scale is not making me happy.

I did spin class 3 days in a row so right now my left knee is letting me know that it is not exactly happy with me...too bad because I plan to spin tomorrow so I hope Advil takes care of it.

And my glutes...do you really want to hear about my glutes?

Well, your gonna...

Cause they hurt...

JayVee and J'taime Jamie dished out some awesome classes this weekend...lots of climbs, lots of jumps, and lots of speed work on the bike.

GOOD calorie burns...

GOOD glute burns...

I thought about sitting on ice packs but I'm not quite that bad off.

And I did body pump 2 days in a row...not recommended but I couldn't help myself...so my chest is in pain from all that pumping...too bad that I can't do enough chest presses to fix what the plastic surgeon is going to need to fix...

So Advil is my drug of choice...I think I will chase it with a bit of wine...you can't do that with Tylenol.

Now about that scale...I'm about ready to throw it out.

I started the week about where I have been living these days...and then it jumped down to a new low...and a real happy place for me...

But just as suddenly it jumped back up...to a not-so-happy place.

Damn...

I don't get it...

And I am terribly frustrated.

I think it is the carbs.

Because I have allowed myself to have a few more carbs...especially the forbidden ones like chips, etc. a little more often these days.

I have decided that I'm ready to transition to a not-so-strict diet because at some point I'm going to need to live my life. And I plan to do so with tortilla chips...and pita chips...and vodka...and beer.

Now the vodka has always been a part of my "I'm having this no matter what you say, Dimples" plan...but I usually avoid beer.

Except for during the summer.

And I found a new beer, thanks to Trainer Girl, that is my new obsession.

It has the best name ever:

MOOSE DROOL

It's made in Montana. That explains the name.

It's a dark beer that has a faintly chocolate and coffee flavor to it.

Yummy...

There is a local bar/restaurant that has tons of beers on tap that serves it. And I found it bottled at Specs. I plan to have it around a lot...

Cause it's some good stuff...

Trainer Girl and I went out on Saturday to the place that serves it.

We decided to tick of Dimples by inviting his girlfriend to join us.

I thought about nicknaming her "Dimples Girl" but she truly deserves her own special name.

She is hot...I mean this girl is as gorgeous as my Dimples is. And she is an engineer.

Did I mention she is hot?

So I'm going to call her Hottie Girl...cause she is...

So me, Trainer Girl (who is also quite hot I might add) and Hottie Girl went out for some Moose Drool the other night and we dished about men...and about poor Dimples.

Bless his heart...all I can say is that he is very lucky to have 3 women who think he is the bomb...and at least one of us loves him at all times...it just depends on WHAT time it is that we do or do not love him.

I love him 23 hours a day...it's the hour that he trains me that the love is questionable.

Hottie Girl loves him all the time...but then again, she is supposed to...she's his girl...

And Trainer girl is on about the same schedule as me...

I was afraid he was going to kill me for corrupting his girlfriend but peace is reigning...

for now...

we'll see what he does when he trains me next time...I might get really punished...

I don't think it was the going out for Moose Drool that might make him mad...it was the shoe shopping BEFORE going out. We each walked out of DSW with a new pair of fierce heels...

and that, my friends, is how you start out an awesome night!

Some day I guess I will write a blog and tell you I have a new man in my life...some day...but not right now...

Right now I have a son, and ex, and a trainer...that's about all I can handle.

But if you want to hear about shoes...or glute pain...well, you have come to the right place.

Inspiration Song: "Love Hurts" by Nazareth...cause right now I hurt...and JayVee served up a wicked climb on the bike to it today...

Bye Darlings...get your hurt on...in a good way...go and exercise!

I Like It

Wow...I haven't blogged for a while...really didn't have much to say...not much to say now...

Life goes on...busy boring daily tasks...some more fun than others...

So when I don't have much to say I usually do a silly blog...so here's one for you.

I call this:

I LIKE IT...

I like it when people don't recognize me anymore because I have lost so much weight (115 pounds and counting)

I like it when people I have known for years don't recognize me...

I like it when my own trainer confuses me for another client (briefly)...he's doing good at resculpting me...who needs a scalpel...

I like it when I hear from a friend that another friend told her how great I am looking (weight-wise...)

I like it when I have to dial down my weight on my heart monitor

I like it when a friend tells me her son says I look beautiful...or really pretty...

I like it when the new coach says I smell good ('cause he's cute...and I certainly hope I smell better than the 14 year old boys he is coaching)...

I like it when I put on a skirt that fit great 3 weeks ago and it is loose now...

I like it when I can buy Cheetos for my kids and not even care to open the bag and taste one...

I like it when I have the unexpected pleasure of running into friends when I am meeting another friend for lunch and it turns into a party...

I like it when I get on my bike (not the spin bike) and manage to ride...but only after I took a little spill because I have clips and not pedals...but I like the clips...

I like it when the scale slides down and I know my hard work has paid off...

I like it that I can shop at regular stores (not plus size)

I like it when my son, daughter, and her boyfriend go to dinner and we laugh ourselves silly...

I like it when I get up and do my early walk and have a little peace and quiet time with just me and my music...

I like it when I can get a group of friends together and we do something besides eat---we work out!!!! With the best trainer ever...

I like it that I found the best trainer (ever!) to help me...and that he has the patience of a saint...because he needs it with me...I really love him for what he has done for me...

I like it that I can do better pushups than I saw the 8th grade boys doing yesterday...thought about getting down and showing them but then realized that they would then decide that they needed to say "drop and give me 20" when they saw me...

I like it that I can do 20 pushups like a REAL woman (and not on my knees) when I struggled to do 10 (on knees) just a few months ago...

I like it when my knee isn't killing me...but right now it does...

I like it when Glee gives me new music...but not Justin Bieber songs...

I like it that it is now Lacrosse season and I can take outside pictures where I do much better...

I like it that I went to a 50th anniversary party for 2 people who still truly love each other...

I love it that GOTTSON's basketball team is inching closer to the championship...and that GOTT is having to juggle basketball and baseball at the same time...

I like it when my sweet kitty cuddles up next to me in bed and keeps me warm...but not when my big sweet kitty stomps on me because he is jealous...

I like it when I can put my arms around a friend, tell her I love her and that it will be ok and that it was just what she needed at that moment...because she has done that for me...

I like it that I have Athenagal as my co-chair for a big project and that she is far more organized (and stylish!) than I am...

I like it when I can make a goal and reach it...not just weight, but fitness...

I like it when I am brave enough to try something new...even if I don't like it...

I like it when friends say inspiring things to me...like this from my gorgeous Bulletgirl:
Weightloss is a forever going battle because even though at some point we don't live to eat, we must still eat to live. The journey isn't a "straight Shot". Infact it is a stairway that we at times go up running two flights at a time, and others we find that we do a quadruple back flip. Every meal is (eventually) a choice. A struggle we learn in time to combat. Still, my struggle with my weight continues , even after loosing ninety something pounds. At 135 I find that i still beat myself up because i am not 127. ..the truth is mama, we don't have to be perfect, we just have to be human!!!!

isn't that great!!!!!!!!! Love her...good words to remember...

I like it when my trainer tweets awesome motivation...or when he blogs and it is always what I need to hear...

I like it when I get dimples (a smile) from my Dimples (trainer) when I am working out and doing good...

I like it when I can push back my plate and there is still food on it...

I like it that I can shop in my own closet...and that I have learned to throw some things out...

I like it when I'm ready to throw in the towel at spin class and the next song comes on and gets me going again...

I like it when the Amazing Katherine keeps me going in class...

I like it when JayVee teaches spin and plays my favorite stuff...same with J'taime Jamie...

I like it that I once told a man to stop doing something and let me handle it and now he helps me (that would be Dimples...)

I like it that I have 4 lacrosse coaches basically ready to throw rose petals in my path because I have taken care of getting them what they need for their teams...I need to remind them that I like pink lillies....

I like it that I write this blog and you read it...

Inspiration Song: "I Like It" by Enrique Iglesias...fun to spin to...

Bye Darlings...I like it that you take the time to read my musings...

Head Games

Sometimes I think the only real obstacle to losing this weight (other than my screwed up knee) is my head...

Because, as I have said before, I let myself get in my own way.

It's a head game, this weight loss...

First, you have to get it in your head that you WANT to do it...and this is for anything...weight loss, fitness, getting rid of bad habits, training to do something like a triathalon, etc.

Then you have to get it in your head you CAN do it. You can't let yourself stand in your own way.

I know I blog endlessly about how much I love my trainer Dimples and my "J-girls" (instructors at my health club) but I cannot say enough about how much it helps me when they motivate me.

Dimples is always telling me that I CAN do something...or I CAN do a few more...or to at least try something. But so often just when I am about to get in my own way with something, he says the RIGHT something to me to keep me going.

And now he sends "tweets" (yes, I finally am learning about Twitter thanks to my Dimples). It's a good way for him to keep in touch of his bootcamp clients but also to send motivating and positive messages to his clients and followers.

Messages like this (remember twitter limits you to 140 characters so you have to use shorthand):

U must believe absolutely that u're not only capable of achieving your desired goal, but also that it's only a matter of time before you do

I'm keeping that on my phone...to look at when I need it...because I often need it.

You can follow him on twitter too if you want...just sign up for:
@jessetraining

So today I did a 90 minute spin class AFTER I did the new launch of Body Pump 76.

I was a bit intimidated about it...until I realized that last Friday after the one icicle shut down Houston that I gave myself a spin class that lasted over 90 minutes.

But I almost let my head stand in my way...I almost told myself I couldn't do it.

Thankfully my knee did NOT tell me I couldn't do it!

It was 2:35 minutes of exercise...

I got through it...piece of cake...which helped me resist the piece of cake that I really really really wanted to eat at GOTTPARENTS 50TH Anniversary party (woo-hoo...50 years of wedded bliss to an amazing couple with amazing kids and grandkids...love love love them...).

I wanted that cake. It looked good. My stomach said "yes, yes, yes" but thankfully this time the game going on in my head was a good one and my head said "no no no". And I told GOTTESS to keep me away from it.

GOTTSISTERS didn't recognize me...they haven't seen me since last spring...one of them said "you looked familiar but I didn't think it was you"...

love that...
love her for saying it...

For some people that would feel awful, but to my thinking, it is great. I'm happy that I look different.

So I was watching Oprah the other day (duh...when do I NOT watch Oprah?)and she had Jennifer Hudson on.

Jennifer Hudson has gone from a size 16 to a 6. She's lost 85 pounds. She looks amazing.

I've lost more weight but I've had (and still have) more to lose.

She's always been beautiful.

As I looked at her I tried to be honest with myself and see if I thought she was really more beautiful because she is thinner...or am I just trained to think so because that is what is accepted as pretty---thin.

I decided that to my eyes, and my head, she is NOT MORE beautiful...she just looks good...and healthy...and happy.

She talked about how it really plays with your head when you lose the weight. How she walks into stores and picks up things that are the wrong size because they are TOO BIG for her.

Now that is a head game I also play...

When I walked into Victoria's Secret for the first time in 8+ years a few weeks ago I had to talk myself into it the whole way through the mall. And I was afraid I was going to go in there and be told that nothing would fit so I should try Lane Bryant. And I was afraid that I was going to find that I looked like a fool.

But I didn't...and I have a drawer full of new undergarments to prove it.

I was at my favorite store "Lucy" a few weeks ago...I grabbed some pants in in XL and the girl helping me said "no, you need a large...that will be too big".

When I went into the dressing room and the pants fit, I cried.

In my head, I am still a plus-sized girl.

But my body is not...

It's a head game...and I could totally relate to what Jennifer was saying to Oprah about it.

She (Jennifer) also said that she loves trying on new clothes and wearing her new clothes. I can relate to that too...I can't believe I actually fantasize about some of my skirts...that I can actually wear them. I started going through my clothes the other day and realized that I better TRY things on because my brain was saying "no way" but the zipper would go up and my body would say "way...".

Today, after the LONG workout, I met my Aunt Jane (the BEST PERSON IN THE WOLRD) and her friend CAT (Cute and Tiny) for lunch. They had a gift for me.

Jane had taken the photos she took of us (and me) on top of the hill I climbed at our camp reunion. You know...the 218 steps...

For those of you who did not read that blog ("Climb Every Mountain"), I'll give you the 10 second explanation:
When I once couldn't catch my breath after going up 24 steps with a teacher friend I realized that I needed to change my life. So I did. So 6 months later when I climbed 218 steps and didn't DIE, it felt like a big big big deal.

When we got to the top of the hill we prayed and took photos. So Jane gave me the photos today in a frame. To remind me of what I have and will still accomplish.

I cried with joy from the love and beauty of the gift.

Like I said, she is the best person in the world...

and that might be one of the most amazing gifts I have ever received...

And I'm putting it on my nightstand...not because I look good in the photos (in fact, I look awful...no make-up and still around 230 pounds), but rather to remind me what I have done and what I can do.

It's like the tweets I get from Dimples...little reminders to my brain that I can do what I have set out to do.

Now one game I play in my head that will probably only ever be in my head and not reality is a fantasy...and that is ok...fantasies are good! They help move us forward. You all know mine:
Oprah invites me to be on her show to tell how I have lost weight and blogged about it and she gives me a Vera Wang gown to wear because I once met Vera and told her I wanted to wear one of her gowns when I lose weight...

That little fantasy is a head game that is all for fun...but it helps motivate me too...

because...

I don't want to stand in my own way:
to finish an exercise in training
to do a long spin class
to try something new with Dimples
to try on new clothes in a smaller size
to walk into a store that intimidates me
to put on something I haven't worn in 9 years
to dress to show off my hard work
to wear my mom's Vera Wang dress and rock it

Because the only thing stopping me is in my head...not my body...

It's all head games...and I am pretty good at those kinds of games (physical games...notsomuch)...

in fact, I usually win...

I think I'm gonna win this one...like my Dimples says: "it's just a matter of time"...

Inspiration Song: JayVee served up Foreigner's "Head Games" today in the 90 minute master class for spin...it was the perfect song at the 80 minute mark...she's so amazing...

Bye Darlings...win your head game...

Just Push Play

So I had my MRI today.

I think I am becoming a pro at them.

When the guy doing the test asked what was wrong with my left knee (he could see the scars from the surgeries on the right knee) I told him:

"My left knee got jealous that my right knee has gotten all the attention so now it wants equal time..."

Then I went on to explain how I was an idiot for running...

Mind you I sandwiched the MRI between J'taime Jamie's spin class and a workout with my poor darling Dimples who although he was sick and about to cough up a lung still found a way to come out and train me.

He (Dimples) took it easy on me until we know what is going on with the knee. I figure what is done is done...

We played with some new toys today. He made some bands that he wraps around a tree limb and I grab the handles and do various exercises with them (similar to TRX bands).

I also bought a stability ball for us to play with. I refrained from buying a pink one (I thought Dimples might look stupid chasing it around).

He blew it (the stability ball) up yesterday. I had fun bouncing around on it.

Today I got to do push ups, sit-ups and pull-ups on it...I like bouncing around better.

It reminds me of a hippity-hop...remember them?

Once I went to Lake Austin Spa. I went with a group of very fun girlfriends. We took a stability ball class.

The balls at the spa had, for lack of a better word (and Dimples loved this), "teats" on it...you know some long rubber prongs.

They were for keeping the balls from rolling around...nowadays the balls just roll, but this was about 10 years ago when it was a new thing.

So me and the girlfriends go into the room for the class.

The room is darkened. Enya music is playing.

Soothing environment.

I'm not sure which one of us did it first (probably me), but we jumped on the balls, grapped the rubber "teats" (whatever) and began to hop around like we were on hippity hops.

We had a blast.

We worked up a bit of a sweat.

We were bouncing around like 4 year olds.

And then the instructor walked in...

She laughed and claimed that NO ONE, absolutely NO ONE had bounced around on the balls like that until us...

I think she asked if we were drunk.

When we returned again she said "here comes trouble...".

The spa was wonderful, the food was incredible (for spa food), the spa treatments were the bomb, but nothing beat those few minutes that we abandoned our adult selves and became children again bouncing on the balls and laughing until we were crying.

Sometimes, you just need to be a kid.

I turn into a kid a lot during my workouts but I have a feeling that the stability ball will turn me into a toddler.

Maybe that is why I like my workouts with Dimples so much...we play...

He pushes me but he does it in a fun, playful way. He gets my heartrate up and gets me burning the calories but we have a lot of fun while we do it. I think that is what keeps me coming back...that I have fun.

Spin class is the same way. I love my instructors...they are the sweetest...but it is also all about the fun music and we all laugh and have fun while the class is going on.

I love the bootcamp that Dimples does for me and my mama friends. We laugh so much that sometimes he has a hard time getting us to pay attention and work. But we do. And I'm so proud of my Warrior Princess C who continues to celebrate her year of kicking cancer by working out with us. I'm proud of all my bootcamp mamas because we all have our own reasons to be there...and we get to have fun doing it.

Dimples played basketball last week as his workout. He said he really loves to play it and it is a great workout for him...more fun than just running 3 miles.

We are going to ride bikes next week as part of our workout. It will be fun to try something different...I'm tempted to add a bell and a flower basket to my bike like I had when I was 10...except that I don't think they will fit...and I have clips instead of pedals so if I crash that basket will explode.

But that is what a workout should be...it should be fun. And sometimes you have to find a way to play while you get your heartrate up.

I spent a few months doing nothing more than the elliptical. I burned calories and worked on my cardio fitness.

I didn't hate it, but I can't say that it was fun.

When I walk into JayVee or J'taime Jamie or Spinderella's spin classes, I have a blast...I have fun...and if I have the Amazing Katherine next to me I have fun AND a cheerleader.

And when I am with Dimples...be it personal training or bootcamp, I have a blast...and the time passes so quickly.

I guess what I am saying here with all of this "play" is that if you are looking to get started on doing something for yourself, find something FUN that you enjoy doing so you will do it.

Maybe it is tennis...maybe it is basketball...maybe it is riding your bike...maybe is is pilates class...maybe it is karate...but find something that you ENJOY doing...something that will keep you coming back for more.

For me it is spinning and Dimples...that is my form of play.

And I might just have to take that stability ball around the park for a spin...just gotta find a way to hold onto it while I hop...

Inspiration Song: "Just Push Play" by Aerosmith. Because you can just push play and have some fun...or just push play on your iPod and get moving...

Bye Darlings...stop reading this and go out and play!

Pop Music

I have over 2800 songs in my iTunes library...not all of them are on my iPhone (iPod), but most of them are.

I like music...

I have all kinds of music:
Rock (classic mostly)
pop
alternative (mostly pop-alt)
Musicals/Broadway
movie soundtracks
a little country (but not much)
dance tracks
a few classical selections
some "old school" R&B (think Earth, Wind, & Fire)

I make a lot of playlists...I like to just start up the iPod and have a set of songs to listen to.

Ke$ha Barbie spends hours and hours making playlists and listening to music. She probably has 100 playlists.

Mine are not that extensive...

She gets her love of music from me. I got my love of music from both of my parents...but probably mostly from my father.

I started her music education early...including the whole episode I blogged about before when she thought a record album was a "big black cd".

Once she was singing a song...it was a Beyonce/Destiny's Child song...

Bootylicious

so there she is in the backseat of my suburban singing "Bootylicious" and saying how much she loves Beyonce (I do too...) and I hear the sample in the song of Stevie Nick's "Edge of 17".

She (Ke$ha Barbie) says she loves that Beyonce song...especially the "music part".

She was referring to the sample of "Edge of 17".

I literally pulled over and stopped the car.

Dug out a cd...

shoved it into the cd player

and reminded her that as great as Beyonce was...

Stevie was first.

And she did it better.

And then a few years later the Dixie Chicks sang "Landslide". I had to give her a lesson again that...

Stevie was first.

And did it better.

Ke$ha Barbie and I don't agree on all of our music...but we probably have about 30-40% of our libraries in common.

I taught her classic rock...Frampton, Eagles, Aerosmith, Led Zepplin, Fleetwood Mac.

She taught me: Muse, Julian Casablancas, Arcade Fire, Jimmy Eat World, Phoenix.

I played the Beatles for her. Took her (and The Cutest Boy in the World) to see "Beatles LOVE" at the Mirage in Las Vegas. She has almost all of Lennon/McCartney's songs on her iPod now...

We only disagree on who we like better...I'm on "Team Paul" and she is "John" all the way...

But we both agree that George Harrison was the cutest of them and the most soulful.

As to Ringo...

no real opinion there.

But he has some fun stuff too...

I always feel a little victory when I discover a song or band before her. Like today when I told her that I had already downloaded "Houdini" by Foster the People...she hadn't even heard it yet.

Yesssssssssssssss....

And I also feel a little victory when she says things like:
The Eagles really had great harmony
Steve Miller is awesome
Frampton was a guitar god

and she has enough sense to think that Justin Bieber is the lamest excuse for a pop star EVER and that the Jonas Brothers are a blemish on the music industry.

My blog
My Opinion

Of course I am a woman who shamelessly has Barry Manilow on her iPod and is happy about it.

And I have a helluva lot of disco too...not all of it "good" disco (I can hear you all saying "is there such a thing as GOOD disco?").

By "good" I mean: Bee Gees, KC & the Sunshine Band, and Donna Summer

and then you have the old school R&B stuff that was almost disco-like...Brothers Johnson (I challenge you NOT to dance when you hear "Stomp"), S.O.S. Band ("Take your Time, do it right), GAP Band, and some of the stuff that Earth, Wind and Fire did (September).

Ke$ha Barbie does not like ANY of that...but then again I hate Vampire Weekend and the Arctic Monkeys so I guess we are even.

I give music to JayVee, J'taime Jamie all the time...they indulge me and play my stuff during spin class. My latest obessions are with a mash-up of Teenage Dream (Katie Perry) and Get Outta My Way (Kylie) or the new Taio Cruz song (Higher). And JayVee always throws in some classic rock for us too...

I once said I would put some playlists on this blog...stuff to get you moving and grooving. I couldn't decide whether to go with a theme (like Disco or 80's) but settled on a good mix that hopefully most of you have on your iPod...I'll do some "theme" ones another day.

These are all good for cardio work...use the beat (rhythm)to set your pace. I won't use anything "scary" or too offbeat (so no Evanescence---although "Bring me to Life" is awesome to warm-up with---or anything too in to the alternative zone).

Warm-up:
"Genie in a Bottle" Christina Aguilera
"Speed of Sound" Coldplay

Go fast:
"September" Earth Wind & Fire

Hard Climb (high tension)
"Where You Going Now?" Damn Yankees

Interval (fast and slow):
"I'm Still Standing" Elton John

Steady pace...but quick:
"Train in Vain" Clash
"Ready to Start" Arcade Fire

Climb again:
"4 Minutes" Madonna

Interval:
"Raise your Glass" Pink

Steady but quick:
"Take it Off" or "We R who we R" Ke$ha\
"Viva la Vida" Coldplay

interval:
"Club Can't Handle Me" FloRida
"Thnks for the Mmrs" Fall Out Boy

Climb:
"Waiting for You" or "Kiss from a Rose" Seal

Quick:
"Teenage Dream" Katy Perry (try and find the Kylie mash-up)
"Panic Switch" Silversun Pickups
"Get Outta My Way" Kylie Minogue

interval:
"I just Want to Run" The Downtown Fiction

Cool Down:
"Drops of Jupiter" Train

So there are some ideas of some music for you to use whether you spin, walk, run, or do the elliptical or arc trainer.

I've got disco lists, pop-alt lists, classic rock, etc. so if you don't like what you see, send me a message and I'll find you something you like.

The main idea is to MOVE...and if you use a beat, you will move better.

Wouldn't you rather hear Train than the ladies on the View anyway? Turn off the tv and turn on your music and get moving...

Inspiration Song: "Pop Music" by M...Spinderella gave us a dose of it this morning and even though my glutes were screaming by the end of it, it was fun to spin to...

Bye Darlings...let the music play....

Viva la Vida

Viva la Vida...live the life!

Are you living the life or Living la vida Loca? (crazy life)

I can relate to the la vida loca...that is me 90% of the time...but today I'm talking about living the GOOD life...the life we all want to live...

Yesterday my girlfriends Athenagal and Chauchacha taught a great art history lesson to the 7th grade class...Romantisism and Realism...and the first painting discussed was Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People".

They showed the kids the Coldplay video of "Viva la Vida"...where Chris Martin (lead singer) wanders about in king's robes carrying a copy of that painting.

As I heard the song over and over (for each class) I was reminded:
1) how much I love that song
2) how much I love Coldplay's music
3) what a great statement viva la vida is...live the life...

And I love that painting...

After the art lesson we met Dimples for a workout and had a great time...perfect weather, fun friends, awesome trainer...and we laughed a lot. You can't burn 400 calories in a better way...

that is surely Viva la Vida...

Right now I feel that I am pretty close to living my best life. I still have some issues to work out...things I am not going to blog about because even though I am pretty much an open book here there are things that I do need to keep private...but for the most part, I'm living the life I want/hope/dream about.

My children are healthy and happy...they amaze me every day and I am blessed that I get to be called "Mom" and not just "Anice"...

I have wonderful friends...really wonderful and supportive friends

I am healthy...I'm almost at a healthy weight...I am healthy "inside" with my cholesterol, sugar levels, etc.

I am fit...I can run...I can spin...I can lift weights...I work out...

I have a great gig with GOTT and TTG...I get to work with people I love and how awesome is that...and the kids...oh, I don't have enough good words for the kids and my love for them...

I have Dimples (lucky me!)...and JayVee...and Spinderella...and J'taime Jamie...

I have the possibility of getting my teaching certificate...something I would really like to do...

I have this blog as a creative outlet...

But still no Oprah...but there is hope!

Today I achieved a personal goal...I did a 75 minute spin class. As I told Dimples it was "a piece of cake"...I'm sure he is happy that I thought the class was a piece of cake and didn't EAT a piece of cake.

The class was fun and I'm happy to say that I was pretty pumped that I lasted all the way through and still had some energy left...

Because...

I had to sit through hours and hours of middle school boy's state wrestling championships.

UGH!

Alas, The Cutest Boy in the World did not place or get a medal but he made a valiant effort at it and the boys he lost to were bigger and older than him. But he took them the distance and his coach was pleased with how well he did.

We had one boy win a state title and several other boys who placed 2-6.

I'm very proud of them!

But I'm so tired of sitting...so very tired of sitting.

Who ever thought you could be tired of sitting?

I sat there and watched our boys fight it out with other boys.

While wearing leotards (called a singlet)...

and longed for football season...

because I "get" football...sorta...although Dimples still has to explain most of it to me...and I understand what is going on on the field even if I don't know what all the positions are.

Wrestling is still a mystery to me...one sport I'm not sure I'm ever going to "get".

But my son likes it, so I will be supportive and sit and watch endless hours of it and pray that he stays safe. Today one boy on our team may have broken an ankle and I watched a boy from another team tear his ACL (or at least it pretty much look like he tore his ACL...poor kid).

I used to fear the injuries from football but now I understand that my son is safe with all that padding. I'm not saying he won't be hurt, but he is less likely to do so with shoulder pads on. It's a life I understand.

Wrestling is a life I am still figuring out...and I hate the demands to remain at a certain weight and all the physical contact.

The weight thing really gets me because as much as I am working to lose weight, I find it hard to put my 12 year old boy on a diet to make a weight class and feel good about it. And some of those wrestlers do extreme things to drop the weight...running in plastic suits, sweatboxes, steam showers, not drinking water...

no...

that is not the life I want for my son...

so he can wrestle but we aren't doing the crazy stuff...

because I want to Viva la Vida...not Viva la vida loca...

and that, my friends is what I call "loca"...crazy...

I'm crazy enough...I don't need to add to the crazy.

Inspiration Song: "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay. Gorgeous song...love the music...

Bye Darlings...Viva la Vida...

All In

Are you all in?

Now you are asking "all in for what?"...

My answer: for whatever you have set out to do...

Today during spin class JayVee had Lifehouse's "All In" in the mix. She dedicated the song to yours truly. I was honored. She says it was because I was "all in" for my fitness and weight loss...

I hadn't thought about it, but I guess I am...

Of course that got me pondering...

Sometimes I think about my blogs, sometimes they just flow.

This was a weekend where not much happened so I didn't really have a jumping off point for the blog until JayVee put that song on and we started rolling.

So "All In" got me thinking that I needed to see where else in my life I was or wasn't "all in".

Right now my house is NOT all in...I've got stuff piled up everywhere...things I need to go through, things I need to toss out, things I need to move somewhere else. I have pictures that need hanging and photos that need to be put back out that have been packed away. It's a wreck...clean, but a wreck.

So...next on the list...house!

I AM all in for my costuming job...we are doing "Annie" and I cannot wait to costume up some orphans and Daddy Warbucks. As soon as I finish this blog I am watching the movie again so I can take notes...

Here's one that I am a bit stuck with---getting my teaching certification. I looked online...did I tell you this before?...and discovered that without taking any additional classes I am only qualified to teach...

FFA

yes, that would be Future Farmers of America

I don't think so...

You see, I have a degree in agriculture so that pretty much limits what I am qualified for.

I can teach kids about cows...horses...goats...

hmmmmm...

no....

So to be "all in" for teaching I'm going to have to do some work.

I can do that...it's the "when" I am worried about, not the "how" or "what" part.

So that goes on the "things I need to do" list too...

what else?

I'm chairing a big project at school but that is under control because Athenagal is my co-chair and since she has chaired MAKOR charity balls, this is a breeze for her...I'm good to go there...

I am about to have to adopt the wrestling coach...that will take some work...and it is it's own blog...

And then there is the whole "go on Oprah and have her give me a Vera Wang gown" bit...I'm all in for that...call me Oprah...call me!

There are other things, but they aren't things I need to be "all in" for.

So what about you?

Have you considered what you have planned for yourself this year?

It's January 23...what have you done to get started on making your life, your family's life, your world better?

There is no time like now to get started...don't put it off...

I put off taking care of myself and getting fit and losing weight for so long...there was always "tomorrow"...

but "tomorrow" never came...I just kept doing what I was doing without changing. I kept on eating...and sitting on the couch...

There were things I planned to do with my mother...but I lost her before we could do some of those things.

Now that is an extreme example of why not to wait, but when I tell you that my mother was just 60 years old and very healthy when she died. I never dreamed that I would lose her so young...but I did...

and tomorrow never came...

I thought I would have all the time in the world with my dad...I knew he would be the worlds greatest grandpa...after all, I had just had a girl and my daddy LOVED girls...

but at 59 he was gone to soon...died having heart bypass surgery...he only held Ke$ha Barbie twice...

tomorrow with him never came...

Now I'm not trying to say people you love in your life are going to die (well, yes they will but that is not my point)...my point is that to most people 59 and 60 years old are still pretty young...you wouldn't expect them to die...so I never considered the possibility it could happen.

But it did...

I think we need to just DO it (here I go sounding like a Nike commercial again but it is a good slogan...) and not put it off or find excuses not to.

I wasted hours and hours of my life being lazy...accepting being fat...avoiding the gym because I was I didn't care enough about myself to take the time to go...eating fast food because it was easier than making something healthy...letting sugar make me feel better instead of feeling better because I worked out.

I do know that most people who read this blog are not overweight like I was...many of you don't need to lose a pound. Many of you are healthier and thinner than I will ever be...

but we all get stuck with our junk...it's like the crap sitting in my living room that I just need to throw out...I just walk by it instead of dealing with it.

So tomorrow I am going to deal with something...maybe it is just one box, one bag, or hanging a picture or two, but I have to start.

A very wise teacher once told me that I was going to have problems with Ke$ha Barbie. She is equally right and left brained. Yes, it is hard.

I was having trouble getting her to clean up her playroom. So that very wise teacher gave me a suggestion.

She told me that instead of telling her to clean the playroom I needed to make a game of it...make it something that took the task into small chunks rather than one big overwhelming project.

Now THAT makes sense...it made sense to me with that, it made sense to Ke$ha Barbie, and it makes sense now.

Just like I have taken this weight loss into small goals, I'm going to do these other things in small chunks so I can get a sense of accomplishment rather than discouragement at what is not done.

So that is my advice to you for anything you are doing (by the way, I am GREAT at giving advice I don't always follow myself...LOL)...take it in small chunks...but be all in...be committed!

Commit to whatever you want to do with yourself...your life...your body...

make time to do it...
save the money to do it...
find the energy to do it...
prioritize yourself and your family so you WILL do it...

I'll let you know how that works for me...

Inspiration Song: "All In" by Lifehouse...love that band!!!!!! And I love JayVee, her spin class, and her support...

Bye Darlings...be like a gambler...be all in!

Ordinary World

It was an ordinary Sunday for me...except that the incredible JayVee added a spin/body pump class to the schedule at the HRC so now I get to have a great workout on Sundays.

Remember, there is no rest for the wicked!

oh, that was a few blogs ago...

So back to JayVee...awesome class...45 minutes of spin, 45 of body pump...and she gave us some good music. It was just what a needed.

Last night I went to see "Black Swan" with my friend...oh, let's call her Twirler Girl because that is what she was back in high school. Some of you will know of who I speak. Anyway, she's my movie or museum date these days and so we thought we would give "Black Swan" a try.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

Very dark and twisty.

I've have friends who were professional ballerinas. Not an easy life. This movie doesn't glamourize it at all. I'm glad that Ke$ha Barbie proved to be more athletic than flexible and lyrical...

After the movie we went to dinner...she's on a raw diet and I'm doing the no bread/pasta thing these days. So of course we choose to go to Red Robin...because there is nothing like temptation when you are trying to eat right. When I say she is on a raw diet, I mean she is eating nothing but raw fruits and veggies and nuts for the next 21 days. She's done it before, I don't know how...and I can't because I can't eat nuts and you pretty much have to on this diet for the protein and healthy fats. So she had a salad and I had a veggie burger patty with a lettuce leaf "bun"...and it was pretty darn good! She's training for the MS150 (she's done it before) and I'm so incredibly proud of her. That is something I really do not think I could do. But who knows...I never thought I would run (and I do) and I never thought I would be anythig but a plus-sized girl (not anymore) and I never thought I would like to work out (and I LOVE it) and I never thought I would write a blog and share it (and...well, here we are...)

I'm still putting together thoughts on restaurant food advice to put in a blog but I'll save it for another day. Two food blogs in one week are boring...

Writing this blog is an outlet for me. I have never been a journal keeper but doing this is more like storytelling or therapy. I like it.

Recently I discovered that I could see how many times my blogs are viewed. I can see it by number of times per day, week, month or in the history of the blog.

I have become obsessed with it...it appeals to my OCD...

My numbers are super small compared to most bloggers...but I don't care...I write for me and my friends who read this and...Oprah...

I can't tell WHO views my blog but I can tell what websites (like facebook) have referred it (but not by facebook user).

The most interesting thing is that it shows me where my blog readers live...not by state but by country.

So somewhere out in this world of ours, people are reading all this silly stuff I write.

People from Slovenia, Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK, Russia (yes, Russia), and others that I can't remember right now.

That fascinates me.

So, if you are from another country---PLEASE "friend" me on facebook (Anice Shelton Duytschaever---there I just totally lost my anonymity...maybe not such a good idea)so I can know who you are...or sign up to be a blog follower. I think it is so great to know people from other places...

I think it is totally cool that someone from Denmark reads anything I write...I love that...

But all of this got me thinking just how small our world is now with the internet. How it is possible to meet someone from another country without ever seeing them face-to-face. That Facebook can reconnect you with old friends and let you meet new ones...from Denmark!

Information is transferred in seconds. That I can write this blog and in seconds after posting someone can read it absolutely blows my mind.

To think that children that are growing up today will never know a world without the internet and this exchange of ideas is exceptionally cool.

When you consider that 30 years ago making a long distance call was still a big deal and that now you don't even call you just TEXT, well, how far have we come?

I could go on and on about this but it makes my head hurt to think about it all. I just know that our world is smaller and I pray that it leads to greater humanity and understanding and peace.

Now as for MY humanity and peace...well, I still am a little boggled that my way of dealing with stress now is with healthy food and exercise but a year ago it was something fried or Marble Slab ice cream (sweet cream flavor...all I ever want).

I cooked my husband and son ribeye steaks tonight. I made myself some salmon. A year ago I could not have imagined NOT digging into a nice big juicy (fatty) steak and preferring salmon (I still don't love it but I do love what it does for my body). But tonight I could have cared less...and I looked forward to my salmon.

I texted Dimples about my workouts this weekend...he was really proud of me. And proud that I kept the wine to a minimum (2 glasses Friday after a very stressful day, and one last night with Twirler Girl...oh, and a beer...).

I told him that as long as I behave I make BOTH of us look good...because I'm working to do what he suggests I do...and he plans my workouts.

And it is working...

And all it is is just eating healthy and clean and exercising. Just plain, ordinary, living healthy. That's all...good food in, hard workouts...

Anyone can do it...I'm living proof...

Inspiration Song: "Ordinary World" by...Duran Duran...I'll get off the Duran Duran kick soon...but for now it is fun to find a title to match my thoughts...

Bye Darlings...let me know where you live in this ordinary world of ours!

Notorious

I had really planned to write this blog yesterday but it seems that my husband decided this week to make me and the house come undone by re-arranging the study...which meant no internet for a while and things are a big old miss around here...more than usual. He tends to do these things without really consulting me...like if it is a good time to destroy the house...

So if you read my previous blog, "Come Undone" all the way to the end you know that I achieved 2 goals this week:
I'm under 200 pounds
and
My weight loss total is now at 100 pounds

And here is another awesome thing...I watched "The Biggest Loser" this week and I am thrilled to say that for the first time in like, forever, I weigh less than any of the contestants!!!!

Now all of that should be rather horrifying to most of you...because the fact that I am just now under 200 pounds after losing 100 shows you just how fat I was. Depressing, really...

I mean, I don't have a friend among you that needs to lose anywhere near that much weight.

And even more depressing...I didn't need to be at such a sad state like the one I was in. I should have gotten hold of myself LONG before that scale was almost at the 300 mark. I should have fixed it before 250...before 200...

But you see, it really gets easier to NOT do it the heavier you are. You figure that you are so far gone what is a little more. And then you basically give up.

Losing weight and getting fit is hard. And I think that goes for whether you have 5 pounds or 50 or 150 to lose. Because lazy is EASIER. And losing 5 pounds at 298 is so much easier than losing 5 pounds when you weigh 130...so it is all relative. You have to change things about yourself that aren't always easy to do.

You might have to:
1) adjust your schedule so you can exercise
2) cook more
3) grocery shop more
4) cut out junk food
5) spend more $ on meals (because lean protein is more $$$)
6) pack a lunch
7) get up earlier
8) skip the chips and salsa
9) sweat

But look at it THIS way:
1) you make time for yourself...because you deserve it! So if you need to take an hour to go to the gym, or find someone to pick up your kids so you can attend a class or bootcamp, aren't you worth it?

2)ok, cooking more isn't always fun but it will save you money over going out to eat or buying processed food. In the long run it is in investment in yourself and your wallet because you aren't paying for someone else to do the work...AND you get control of every ingredient (and how much oil and salt) is in your food. Read my "Hungry Like a Wolf" blog for some tips on saving time in the kitchen and good recipes.

3)grocery shopping more can be a positive because you will be putting healthier food into your body (instead of eating out) and pushing that cart burns calories...so does lugging it into the house and putting it away.

4)no one needs to eat junk food...this one is easy...and yes, I do love me some Lays Potato chips but they leave me feeling bloated, greasy and full of salt...now I like to munch on veggies and fruit or healthy crackers (and before the divirticulitis, I ate nuts). No one EVER needs to eat a Twinkie...

5)lean protein will cost more to eat than the cheap stuff...so yes, salmon will cost you more than a chicken nugget but you get so many benefits from the GOOD foods you put in your body...on the other hand, chicken and turkey are CHEAP so you can go pretty far with them. The "Hungry" blog will give you more information on how to incorporate some good lean protein in a yummy way...

6)packing a lunch saves you money and calories...so if you work, plan for it and you will be better off in the long run...or go to Fit Food and bring that. The "Hungry" blog will give tips on great things to pack for lunch that will make you the envy of your co-workers...

7)getting up earlier to exercise IS a pain in the neck, and I HATE to do it, especially this "run/walk 30 minutes before eating" business Dimples has me doing...but it is working so I just drag my butt out of bed and do it...and I try to go to bed earlier...David Letterman isn't all that interesting anyway...

8)chips and salsa can equal almost as many calories as your dinner in a Mexican food place. It's not the salsa...it's the fried chips. Some places serve baked (just ask) or skip it...it won't hurt you...and tell them to just not bring the chips and you won't be tempted.

9)Sweat is beautiful. Jay-Vee and I are going to make t-shirts that say that. I'll let you know when we take orders. Sweat says you are working hard. I sweat buckets when I workout (poor Dimples...thank goodness he can handle it)...if you aren't breaking a sweat, you aren't trying...

Right there are some of the things that have helped me lose weight...I got over being grossed out by sweating buckets, I cook more, I have found a way to love salmon, I put myself as a priority in my life.

Today I got up at 6:30 and went for a run/walk and then followed that with Body Pump for an hour and an hour of spinning (thank goodness for the Amazing Katherine cheerleading me through all 7 minutes of "Money for Nothing" or I might have passed out on the bike!). I tried to do mat Pilates for a bit but I am still having trouble finding my love for it---but I'm not giving up! And since J'taime Jamie teaches it, I will keep trying it. It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning and I burned over 800 calories doing it.

I've become rather notorious at the gym as the formerly really fat chick...and that is ok...a few women have told me that I have inspired them...that is ok too...because they will go on and inspire someone else! I'm just paying it forward.

The sad thing is that we are getting ready to start a "Biggest Loser" challenge of our own and I so could have totally OWNED that contest...I would have been a big-time winner...

But you know what? That's ok that I have done the bulk of my loss before the challenge...it will motivate me to work even harder AND maybe what I have done will inspire someone who is as big as I was to realize that THEY can do it too...and THAT will make me a winner---if I get just one fat chick or guy to realize that she/he can lose 100 pounds without pills or surgery too.

Dimples wants me to take some photos as I progress. I told him I TAKE photos, not model for them...but he says it will motivate me and show me how positively I have progressed. I'll do it for him...but not because I want to. I might make Coach Cuteness take the photos for me so at least I have a shot at looking decent...Dimples wants me in gym clothes (really? now you KNOW how much I love him if I will do that) and Cuteness will have to be sure that he gets me at my best angle (which is me NOT being in the photo). I am a notoriously bad subject in pictures...I just don't photograph well...

Right now I have to say that it has been hard to do this but not as hard as I thought it would be. I've had a lot of help and support along the way. I still have some more weight to lose but I feel like someone who is looking at a road map and I see where I left from and I see my destination---my destination is getting closer and I am enjoying all the sights along the way...I'm in no hurry to rush by everything...slow and steady will get me there just the same.

It took me 10 months to lose the 100 pounds. Not bad...not bad at all...

So thank you friends, thank you Dimples, thank you JayVee, thank you J'taime Julie, thank you Fitness Goddess, thank you Spinderella, and thank you Fit Foods.

If you haven't read the "Hungry Like a Wolf" blog, read it for tips on what to cook and how I eat...just posted it.

Now if I can just get Oprah to read this blog and invite me on her show and give me the Vera Wang gown...I will be notorious for sure!

Inspiration Song: "Notorious" by Duran Duran. Because I am a bit notorious for being a loud mouth...

Bye Darlings...read the Hungry Like a Wolf blog if you haven't already...

All I Know

So 2010 is coming to a close...just one day left...

This, for me, has been a big year of change...change in my body, change in my health, change in my outlook, change in what I think I can do, change in what I KNOW I can do.

In the 10 months I have spent changing, I have learned a few things...and many are things I should have learned long ago.

So what have I learned?

I'll share it with you...not because I am some sort of health or weight-loss guru, but maybe there is something in what I have learned that you can use for your own life.

And I know a lot of us set resolutions this time of year, so this might just help one or two of you get there...

My body can do more than my mind thinks it can.

The first time I stepped on to the elliptical machine I thought there was no way I could last 10 minutes. But I shut my brain off and went for an hour. The first time I stepped back into a spin class I thought I would only make it for 15 minutes---I did the whole class. Again, it was not letting my brain tell me that I was done. Today when I didn't think I could run one more step pulling my trainer along, he told me I could do it and I did...he constantly tells me "mind over matter" but what he is REALLY saying is that I just need to let my body do what it can and not let my thinking get in the way. My body is far more capable than what I give it credit for.

Nothing tastes as good as thin...or healthy...

Today I wanted a cookie. I wanted ice cream. I wanted a lot of bad things. But then I remembered how hard I worked with Dimples and realized it wasn't worth it. Because as tasty as the cookie is, it wasn't worth 10 minutes of hard work with Dimples when I could eat an apple instead.

I honestly do not miss french fries and hamburgers and Cane's chicken but I do miss Fuzzy's pizza.

So if I cheat...I eat the Fuzzy's. Because I don't miss the other stuff and so why do it. Lesson to others: if there is a food you really love, cheat with that, have a love affair with that...don't cheat with a food that is a "fling"...if you don't love it, don't do it. I also cheat with Crave Cupcakes...I have had a 2-year relationship with their Strawberry cupcakes (and I cheat on the strawberry ones with the candy bar ones) so if I am offered one and I have been a good girl, I eat it. I've had exactly 3 in the last 10 months...not bad...not bad at all...

I love wine. I am not cheating with wine...and a few glasses a week will not hurt me and might even be good for me.

Just read my "Red Red Wine" blog...it says it all. Best 150 calories of my day sometimes...

You will work harder and more efficiently if you wear a heart monitor.

You can spend $50-$150 on one. Buy the one that fits your budget and wear it every time you work out. Dimples had me buy a "Polar" one. I like mine because it has a recording feature so I can record each session and it will keep track of how many minutes I have worked out and calories burned. It is particularly useful because I can show him (Dimples) what I have done when I am not working with him. It pushes me harder...and it makes him push me harder.

Don't believe the calorie's burned amounts on the machines at the gym.

They lie.
Wear a heart monitor. It doesn't lie.
One of the trainers at the Racquet Club pointed out to me that you can turn the treadmill on and it will start a calorie count even if you don't step on it...wow...

The only way to lose weight is to eat less and better quality food and exercise.

That's it. No magic pills. No "easy button". You just have to eat right and move your body.
It's simple math---you have to put in less calories and put out (burn) more calories.
And no, you can't go for a 45 minute walk and then eat a plate of enchiladas and expect to lose any weight.

If you put off going to the gym, you won't go...

I find that unless I plan and know I am going at a later time (like meeting Dimples at 2:30 or going to Body Pump at 6:00 pm), I could easily procrastinate myself out of a workout. If you don't work, drop the kids off and go straight to the gym or your workout. If you work, put your gym bag in your car and go straight there---if you go home you will be distracted and not go.

You have to figure out what kind of exercise you like so you will do it.

I hate to run...I am still trying to find my love for it. I told Dimples today that I didn't think I was ever going to like running and he said "ok, but it gets your heart rate up and we are only doing it for a few minutes" and that made it all better. Because I don't want to run for 45 minutes but I WILL SPIN for 45 minutes without argument. So you find what you like. Try different classes, try different machines. I don't like the treadmill but I DO like the Arc Trainer and the elliptical. I don't like Pilates but I DO like spin and Body Pump. I have friends who HATE Body Pump and love the machines at the club...I hate the weight machines and I hate doing them. Different strokes...

So find what you like and do that. Vary it up so you don't get bored. But if you hate the treadmill and that is all you do, you will never enjoy your workout. Try everything...think of the gym as a buffet and give it all a taste.

But you need to try something more than once...

Maybe what you didn't like about spin or Pilates was the instructor, not the class. There are spin instructors who I adore as people but can't stand their spin classes. And I love J'taime Jamie's Body Pump and Spin classes but Pilates I can take or leave...I only take it when she or JayVee teach and if I really feel like it. So if you take a class and don't enjoy it...try it at least one more time with a different instructor or different time of day (maybe doing Pilates in the afternoon won't work for you but in the morning you would enjoy the stretch).

I did not like the Arc Trainer the first time I tried it, but I kept after it and started with 10 minutes and added 5 minutes every few days and soon it became my one-hour cardio workout. I do the treadmill all the time and I still hate it...but I do it.

Vary your intensity if you are using a cardio machine.

Dimples has me change the incline and speed constantly on the treadmill. He told me to do the same with the othe machines. So mix it up...go hard and fast for a minute or two and then back off a bit. Keep your heartrate up and challenged.

If you read or watch tv while working out, you aren't working hard enough...

Wear your heart monitor...try 1/2 your workout reading your magazine or watching "The View" (although Joy Behar does get my heart and blood pressure going). Then turn it off or close the magazine/book/eReader and go at it. You will work harder without the distraction. Try it...more than once...see if I am right. If you can do all your workouts reading "People" or watching "The Today Show" and work as hard as you do without it, I will take you to lunch...but you have to do it more than once and use the heart monitor to prove it. I know I am right about this one...

The exception to that: music...

I know, I know...I am a music freak. I love my music. Heck, my blogs are all named for songs! But...whether you realize it or not, if you play music your body will want to move to the beat. You WILL speed up during faster songs. On the slow songs, put on all the tension you can (if you are on a cardio machine) and climb hard. If you are running or walking, try and go double time to the beat.

The other exception to that...video spin

Spinderella plays videos for us when we spin...but we don't listen to it, we listen to music and she gives us a good hard beat to ride to and tells us how fast and hard to go. So while we watch "Mamma Mia" we ride hard and fast to music the whole time. It works...

Get a trainer...

I know, I totally love my Dimples. He's awesome. I told him so today. But working out with him is fun and he told me today he has fun too. I am a handful so I guess he has to enjoy it or he would fire me as a client. But I don't just love and adore him because he is sweet and those dimples are more than a little cute (he is a pretty pretty man), I love and adore him because he is so good at keeping me moving and working and having fun while doing it. I had to try a few trainers before I found my fit...and he fits me. He might not be for everyone, but it totally works for me and my OCD and ADD. Watch the trainers at your gym while they work with clients...talk to them when they are not busy. Find a fit...do you want a gentle lamb or a drill sargeant? There is no right answer except that you find who works for you. This also applies to group exercise instructors (see above). I have my girls I love love love...and I take all their classes because I like their style and music choices and how they pace their classes.

So why hire a trainer? Because you WILL work harder. Or at least hire one a few times to get you started. But if you find a fit, you will WANT to work with your trainer. Do what your pocketbook will let you. For me, it is a priority so I give up other stuff to have my Dimples time. And he is sooooooooo worth it. Not just 'cause he's pretty to look at...but it doesn't hurt...But mostly it is because he works me harder than I do myself and he is making me stronger and healthier with each workout. Yes, I <3 my Dimples each time I put on a smaller top or someone says "you are really looking good"...just in the time I have worked with him my body has changed a lot even if my weight hasn't made a huge leap...but it will... Ice works.

If you hurt, apply ice. It helps. Sore muscles might keep you from working out...so I ice my sore muscles and it makes a difference. When I don't, I hurt.

Advil works.

Advil and wine work extra good...

Hot baths work.

Put in some epsom salts. Pour glass of wine and bring to tub with you (no glass glasses...be safe!). Soak. Repeat often...

Drink water.

Do I need to explain that one? I didn't think so...

Take a day off...but don't take a week off...

I have to talk myself into days off. Dimples has to order me to take days off. But you don't want your body to break down so you have to let it rest. But if you take too much time off, you get out of the habit...

Set Goals.

But don't set unrealistic goals. Dimples reminds me all the time that they pyramids were not built in a day so I can't expect all this to change overnight. So we take it slowly. I set small goals. I have a big goal but I focus on the little ones. So don't say "I will lose 10 pounds by February"...say "I will lose 10 pounds. I will lose 2-4 pounds in January and then the rest...".

Reward yourself.

Not with food. Reward yourself when you reach goals with GOOD things...a new outfit, a handbag, A massage or pedicure. A new haircut. Treat your body with the reward...make yourself look as good as you feel.

Wear comfortable clothes when you workout or train.

That means find some stuff that doesn't bind, itch, or ride up on you. If you aren't comfortable, you will be distracted.

Make yourself and your health a priority.

I ignored myself and my health for 5 years. I let myself go. I took care of everyone else but myself. Now I still take care of others (that is how I snagged Dimples and you all know how much I love working with the kids at the middle school...that is my passion), but I make time for myself. I am lucky, my job at the school is not a real job but something I volunteer to do so I can go in, do what I need to do and leave...and GOTT and TTG push me out the door when I tell them I have a spin class...they are uber supportive (lucky me!)and I know that I do better at helping them because I feel better.

YOU deserve to take time to make yourself feel better and healthy. Do it. Just do it.

Well, for now that is about all I know...well, not really, and I don't know all that much but these are some things I have learned along this road I am on.

And now my contacts are driving me nuts so I am going to end this blog and go take them out!!!!!!

Inspiration Song: "All I Know" by Art Garfunkel. Yes, Art Garfunkel. It is a beautiful song that I have always loved. He sings it beautifully...no one does it better. I love you and that's all I know...

Bye Darlings...let me know what you know...I love to share!

Breath of Heaven

So here is my Christmas blog...just a day late...because yesterday I was spending time with family and friends (who are practically family).

We had an easy Christmas this year...the kids wanted to pick out their own gifts and didn't want much so we "adopted" a family and shared our blessings with someone less fortunate than us. It felt good to do that and I have my friend Dy-no-mite Dawn to thank for finding us a family to gift...

Although I'm not sure the mother of those children was thanking me yesterday when her daughter opened up the "Sing-a-ma-jigs" I bought.

Most. Annoying. Toy. Ever.

Even beats out Tickle-Me Elmo.

If you are unfamiliar, and you are lucky if you are, Sing-a-ma-jigs are stuffed creatures (?)...not an animal, not a person, some sort of doll thing...and when you press their belly they open their mouths and sing. Annoyingly.

and they were singing in the bag while I had them in the car...ugh!

According to my Aunt Gayle, who has the coolest job ever because she works in Hollywood for the Jimmy Kimmel Show, Jimmy had some on his desk that he kept playing with. I missed those shows...thankfully...but I usually watch.

So, please "Mama of the Children I bought Gifts For"...forgive me for the sing-a-ma-jigs...your child asked for them!

My son wanted Xbox games (duh!) and my daughter wanted tickets to a concert and a keyboard (that thankfully has earphones that plug in so I don't have to hear her compositions...).

That's all...

I wanted a number to appear on the scale.

It didn't.

Santa must have me on the "naughty" list...must have been for causing the fight at the party.

I have complained, bitterly and via text, to Dimples about that situation. I should offer to start paying his texting bills because we have been running them up with him having to play therapist to his very discouraged client. He stays positive with me...thank goodness he does really know how to speak "Woman"...and he told me to just relax and "ride the tide" and enjoy the rest of my holiday and we will switch it up and hit it hard after the new year.

The problem is, I'm not sure how much harder I can hit it...and I told him so. I told him short of tying myself to him 24/7 (that would make it interesting when he coaches...or goes home to the girlfriend), I'm not sure what more we can do to get me off of my plateau.

I suggested to him that maybe I could give up wine.

Or only drink it on days that end in "d-a-y"...

He liked that (the joke...not that I'm not giving up wine...because he knows I won't)

But yesterday, despite the scale staying stuck, was a pretty good day. We got up leisurely (although I do miss getting woken up by excited children ready to see what Santa brought), I made breakfast (cinnamon rolls for them, Fit Food for me), and got to cooking a turkey for my extended family.

It was an amazing turkey...recipe at the bottom of the blog...you MUST try it...

I took the perfect turkey over to my Aunt Jane's house and had a great lunch with Jane, my aunts and uncle, and some family friends and my grandma. It was a great lunch. And everything was delicious. CAT (my aunt's friend who I call Cute and Tiny)made the most delicious mix of roasted veggies. She has promised me the recipe to share...sooooooo good.

My uncle baked me some cookies...I ate one because they were amazing...and he baked them...and I went for a run before lunch so I deserved one!

After lunch and family time we headed over to our friends the Q's house. We have celebrated Christmas Night at the Q's for the last 10 years or so. It is always the best way to close out Christmas. I love them like family...and we stayed so long I almost fell asleep on the couch!

so while I was wallowing about in a bit of pity about my non-weight loss while on my run yesterday, I had some time to think about Christmas Day...and Jesus' birth...and Mary...

Mary...a young woman who must have been frightened when visited by an Angel and told she was to have a child. How scary must that have been? And Joseph, her husband, who faithfully stood by her...

So here is this young woman who is heavily pregnant who leaves her home and has to travel...by DONKEY...to another place only to find that there is no place for her to stay. And to give birth.

So she ends up in a stable...a stable...

I grew up around stables...not a place you want to deliver a baby in...

I found myself uncomfortable behind the wheel of my car during my last weeks of pregnancy so I cannot fathom what riding a donkey while 39 weeks pregnant would feel like. I can't imagine riding a donkey at all...

I had my children in a nice, clean hospital. I had my kids at the old Rosewood Hospital where I was just about the only woman to give birth each time. I had the full attention of the nurses. In fact, when I went back 4 years later to have The Cutest Boy in the World (after having Ke$ha Barbie there) all the nurses remembered me and many were the same women. I had GREAT attention and care.

Mary delivered her beautiful son with only the help of Joseph...

I had a fabulous doctor each time. With Ke$ha Barbie I had Dr. Oscar Dalton---only the greatest ob/gyn in Houston. He treated me like his daughter. He was the sweetest man ever. I cried my eyes out when he retired from obstetrics before I had The Cutest Boy in the World...so he handed me over to Dr. Kathy Gabel (yes, real names because she is so so so great) and I had the BEST time with her. She was like having your best girlfriend as your doctor.

So I had great doctors and nurses and poor Mary had donkeys and sheep...

I had an epidural each time...poor Mary had nothing...

I could not have been as brave as Mary. And to know that she was bringing forth the Son of God had to be a mighty scary and wonderous feeling that I cannot wrap my brain around.

As I ran I contemplated this...and realized that God asks us to do things He knows we can do. He knew Mary was the right woman to bring forth his son.

And to a way way way lesser degree, He knows that I can do this...I can get myself back to where I need to be with my health and body. I can do it with His help, with Dimples help, with Spinderella, Jay-Vee and J'taime Julie, and with my friends encouragment.

I just need to lean on Him a little more...and take some burden off Dimples (poor baby...his fingers must be tired from texting me soothing words).

And as I ran, and prayed that I could make it back to the house, I felt the air rush into my lungs (cold air!) and I felt Him help me breathe.

Breath of Heaven...

Inspiration Song: "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant. My favorite Christmas song. Always makes me cry. We always have an 8th grade girl sing it during "Lessons and Carols" and I end up bawling...

Bye Darlings...take Dimples advice "just breathe"...

Turkey recipe...because turkey is good for you, not just at Thanksgiving...

Here is how to make the MOST delicious, fabulous, moist, healthy turkey...

Buy a fresh turkey. The store brand is perfect. I always buy an HEB brand. Be sure it has not had any liquid injected or added (like a Butterball).

I brine my turkey. I have made brines and purchased brines. I bought brine from Sur la Table that was really good but my favorite is the brine from Williams-Sonoma. It is delicious.

Follow the recipe for the brine. If you use the Williams-Sonoma one, do the apple cider...it makes it really good. Brine for 24 hours. Rinse brine off well (inside and out) and pat bird dry.

For a 10-15 pound bird (double this for bigger):
one onion (sweet if you can find it), quartered
one apple (large red) quartered
2 cinnamon sticks
1 cup water
put in microwave safe bowl and cook on high for 5 minutes.

Drain water.

Put apples, onion, and cinnamon in the cavity of the bird. Add 3-5 sprigs rosemary and 6 large fresh sage leaves.

Rub some softened butter all over the bird...or canola oil. Just enough to make it slippery. Do not salt...the brine did that for you.

cover the bird in cheesecloth. Pour chicken stock all over the cheesecloth. Melt 2 sticks of butter and poor that over the cheesecloth.

Tent with foil.

Put the bird into a 500 degree oven and cook 30 minutes and then turn the heat down to 350 degrees. Baste every 30 minutes. Add more stock if you need it.

I can't give you times because it is based on weight and your oven, but I advise checking the temperature with a thermometer and going by that...and remember that the bird will continue to cook a bit when removed from the oven.

I uncover the bird the last 20 minutes or so to brown. I baste the bird while it rests a minimum of 30 minutes and tent it.

Everyone declared it the best turkey ever yesterday. I agree. Even my precious Mommy never produced a bird quite that good...except for the wild one that my dad shot that ate chilipetins...that bird was amazing.

Don't You Evah

Don't you ever...
Wish you were Samantha from Bewitched?
So you could just twitch your nose and things would get done...things like the dishes? Or the Christmas cards you forgot to take a photo for could just be whipped up? The house could get cleaned magically? And that Esmerelda could just appear to take care of your kids?

I do...


Don't you ever...
Wish you were Jeannie from "I Dream of Jeannie"?
So that you could cross your arms and blink your eyes and you could be suddenly transported somewhere else? Avoiding traffic? Or you could do the blink thing and suddenly you have a new outfit on?

I do...


Don't you ever...
Wish there were more hours in a day?
So you could SLEEP? Or just get things done?

I do...


Don't you ever...
Wonder why your body craves things that are BAD for you but you never have a craving for things like celery or non-fat yogurt? Why do I have to crave CRAVE cupcakes?

I do...


Don't you ever...
Wish that the Victoria's Secret models would all suddenly get fat?

I do...


Don't you ever...
Wish that the work/school week was 2 days long and the "weekend" was 5 days long?

I do...


Don't you ever...
Feel like you want vacation break to be over...24 hours after it started because you are tired of hearing the words "I am sooooooooooooo bored" come from your child's mouth?

I do...


Don't you ever...
Wish that your husband could turn into Brad Pitt, Ryan Reynolds, Alexsander Skaarsgard, or Maks from Dancing with the Stars...for a few hours? Just for fun...just to look at...and if it is Maks, let's dance...

I do...oh, I do...


Don't you ever...
Wish that chocolate had no calories? But still tasted just as good? or that cream cheese and butter have the same calorie count as say...celery?

I do...


Don't you ever...
Want the skin that hangs from your arms like bat wings to just magically disappear overnight and suddenly you would wake up with Madonna's arms?

I do...although Coach Dimples tells me to forget about her arms because they are "too cut" and not "all that"...but I will take "cut" over "bat wings" anyday...what does he know, he is a MAN...


Don't you ever...
Wish that there was no such thing as a size 00?

I do...too much pressure...makes an 8 look big...


Don't you ever...
Wish that Spinderella, Jay Vee, or J'taime Jaime taught a spin class every day?

I do...and I know that one is very personal...but I luv luv luv spinning with them...


Don't you ever...
Wish that it was as easy to excercise as it is to sit on the couch?

I do...all the time...and I wish I could burn the same amount of calories sitting on said couch...


Don't you ever...
Want $10 wine to taste as good as $40 wine?

I do...and sometimes it does...and sometimes the $40 stuff tastes worse than $10...


Don't you ever...
Find yourself obsessed with the silliest things?

I do...and right now my current obsessions are (in no particular order): salmon, Oprah, Caslon t-shirts from Nordstrom, Tom Ford Black Orchid perfume, my black boots, pants from "Lucy", and getting below a certain point on the scale by Christmas...oh, and salmon...I've eaten it for like every meal this week...what's with that?


Don't you ever...
Want to say to your spouse "are you kidding me, Bozo?" when you discover he is TAPING the football game he just watched live at the stadium and it knocked off something you wanted to tape?

I do...and I have...


Don't you ever...
Wish that life was on DVR and you could rewind it?

I do...so you could enjoy all the good stuff over and over again...and skip over the bad/boring/hard stuff...


Don't you ever...
Wish that you could put your husband on mute?

I do...all the time...can you tell he has irritated me today?


Don't you ever...
Wish Santa really existed?

I do...and he does...


Don't you ever...
Feel that God has blessed you greatly and that all the stuff you complain about it just silly?

I do...and He has...and I'm grateful for my blessings...


So I will stop whining now.

I've actually had a pretty great week. I've eaten enough salmon to feel like I need to swim upstream but cheated a few times and don't feel guilty about it. I've had great workouts with Dimples---and he got me off my weight loss plateau and back into "losing"...even if it took pulling his cute self up a nasty hill. Thank goodness he is becoming an expert at speaking "woman" to me and rarely slips into "coach" mode these days...and thank goodness for those dimples because it makes it easier to deal with the pain he is dishing out to me when he smiles as he tells me to do it. I had some really fun spin classes that were actually FUN. I went and heard a choral concert that moved me to tears...especially when my friend's daugher Katherine the Great sang a solo during the "Messiah" portion of the program. Beautiful music always moves me. I got to go to a fun party and see my old "soccer mom" friends from The Cutest Boy in the World's old soccer team. I even had some people (including some good looking men and several very sweet children) tell me I looked "pretty" and "hot" and even got a few "wows"...I'll take that...even though I think they were all just being sweet...but it is nice to hear...

I got nothin' to complain about...


Inspiration Song:
"Don't You Evah" by Spoon...because it is such a cool song...and on my workout list these days and gets heavy play...

Bye Darlings...don't you ever...stop counting your blessings!