I MUST be Insane to do this...

So I realized that Insanity did not get it's name for how CRAZY and INTENSE the workout is, but how CRAZY and INSANE YOU  are for doing it!!

Day 1:

Ok, feeling pretty pumped up and excited.  Getting into a pretty tough warm up. I'm sweating and taking breaks like every couple seconds. About 10 minutes into the video (which feels more like 20), just when you are gasping for air and it feels like you are going to die, Shaun T says "Ok, now that our muscles are warm, we can begin"
WHAT? That whole thing was just the warm up? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHUUUUUGHHHH
Finished most of the workout, with lots of breaks.

Day 2:
Woke up pleasantly comfortable, and only had soreness on the insides of my feet, of all places! You are constantly changing and moving and staying on your toes. Youch!

I decided that instead of going from 0-60 with the warm up, that maybe it would help if I pre-warmed up! lol So I strapped Preslee into my new double jogger while Daddy and Rylee napped.  I started off with a brisk walk and began to pick it up about a quarter of the way around my usual Sutter loop. When I turned the corner, the wind was so bad that Preslee lost her breath. So needless to say, I was more worried about keeping the wind out of her face than I was running. So I kept it at a speed walk, which is better than nothing, I guess.

I get home and put on the video. I think walking helped because I already felt a little more energetic.  Warm up again, no easier than the last time, but I hung in a little longer.  The workout kicked my butt. I finished again with LOTS of breaks.

Day 3: ( Skipped a d ay in there because Sunday was a really busy day)

This day is a recovery video. I decided to challenge myself so I put in the video from Day 2 and warmed up with it and then fast forwarded the video to the parts where I had to take so many breaks and tried again. Did much better. THEN went on to recovery video and did half of it as well.

Shakin' it up!!

Ok, so here is a status update on my progress so far.....

Before I started my workouts, I had changed a few things in my diet (as I mentioned before). No sodas, no Starbucks, no candy or chocolate and actually no sweets whatsoever, no packaged foods (chips, crackers, granola bars, etc).  This is HARD for me....especially the sweets! But I did it.

Most importantly, I began substituting 1-2 meals per day with protein shakes. I have been using the Arbonne Essentials Protein for my shakes.  This is an amazing product!! It is comparable to protein supplements you can but at GNC, Walmart, etc. except SOOOOO much better for you.  The protein choices in the stores are usually SOY or WHEY based. Soy should be avoided for the simple fact that your body processes it as an estrogen! There are studies that are finding possible links between the intake of soy in everyday products to early menstruation and breast tissue development in men! Even things like Special K bars contain Soy.  Being a dairy based product, the WHEY protein has a tendency to leave you feeling distended and bloated ( not really how I want to feel all day, let alone right before a workout) plus it has Cholesterol, Trans Fat, Saturated Fat, Artificial Sweeteners and Flavors!  Not to mention, the majority of people have a mild allergy and don't even know it because it may present itself just as simple acne! If I had a new zit on my face, I wouldn't even think "Hmmm...maybe I am allergic to milk!"

So here is why Arbonne protein is so much better:

All of Arbonne's products are Vegan which means they contain NO animal products or Bi-products! So instead of the protein being a whey base, it is actually vegetable based! It is made from the Rice plant, Pea plant, and the Cranberry plant. Because it is vegetable based, your body is able to break it down so much easier and in a way that your body is able to actually enjoy all of it's nutrients! It has no artificial sweeteners, but instead is sweetened with Stivia. And the best part is that IT'S DELICIOUS!!! We sampled it out at the Bridal Show a couple weeks ago and everyone LOVED it.

Now this isn't a sales pitch, just an informative blurp about the product because just by substituting those 1-2 meals a day (and cutting out the sweets) for a week, I lost 4 pounds!! And I hadn't even worked out yet!!! NICE!

So every morning, I start out my day with a chocolate banana, blueberry vanilla, orange julius, or pina colada flavored shake! Delish!

Here's to the start of a new journey!

A couple of weeks ago, I went for a walk with my friend Jessica. It was almost getting dark, so I walked her halfway home and we parted ways. Six weeks postpartum, I decided to try jogging a bit. It was an absolutely ridiculous attempt! Not only did it feel like my hip bones were tearing apart, I felt so heavy (not because I think I am fat) but literally heavy due to complete lack of coordination from the lack of muscle use, I guess. I felt like my feet were only coming about an inch off the ground.  Needless to say, I'm sure I looked like a fish out of water; floppy and gasping for air! I made it literally one Sutter block and had to stop.  From that point, I decided it was time to get back in shape. Then I had some complications from childbirth suddenly pop up and wasn't able to do a whole lot right away! But NOW I am finally healed up and ready to go.

I am going to start the Insanity video work outs tomorrow and blog my progress!  I am heading out to Plumas Lake to buy a double jogger that I found on Craigslist! No more excuses! I won't wait a year to start getting back in shape like I did with Rylee.  I took my measurements and my before photos so that I can post them later! 

Here is a picture from a Zumba commercial that happens to look a lot like me! Hilarious!
So I will use this as motivation for what I could look like.

Halloween Hoopla!

I realize that this is a random leap from my last blog, but I was chatting about costumes with Rylee today.  Here is a recap of costumes from the past.  Thank goodness my mom is so talented! I may be creative, but I did not have the skill to sew these great costumes.

Here is Rylee's first Halloween. I decided since she was crawling, a turtle would be appropriate. It turned out perfect!

The following year, Rylee wasn't really old enough yet to decide what she wanted to be, so I dreamed up this cute little number, and luckily my mom figured out exactly how to execute it!

 

And finally, last year Rylee was able to choose what she wanted to be and of all things chose to be an ice cube! 

Somehow, we pulled that off, but it's going to be hard to top on a creativity level.

When I asked her what she wanted to be this year, at first she said she wanted her cousin Brayden to be a fly so that she could be a fly swatter.  Although it sounded like more of an excuse to beat up her cousin, I thought it was super creative and was already excited to get started.

THEN........she decided she wants to be a pumpkin. No offense to people whose children make adorable pumpkins, but how boring and unoriginal! Oh well, I am sure she will change her mind at least 5 more times and maybe the final result will be something AMAZING!

STAY TUNED!

Once Upon a Time....

So I figured with a new blog, I should start at the beginning! People are always asking how Danny and I met.  The story is not romance-novel worthy by any means, but it is a cute story  ( a little long) and makes me appreciate God's timing.

I was 19 years old working at WinCo, one of three jobs I was working at the time. My best friend Olivia was also working at WinCo and we were living together in a mobile home in Linda (that's a story for another time!). On this particular night we were both working the late shift on the two registers that faced each other.  I was bored and tired and didn't even feel like glancing up to greet my next customer.  As I started ringing the items up,  I heard a voice say "What are you doing working here??" I looked up and saw a face I had never seen before. Hmmm...he was cute! I am really good at remembering people and I KNEW I had never seen him before. I was confused, so my only response was "Ummm...working" (with a "duh!!" look on my face I'm sure).  He said "No I mean, what are you doing working here.... (wait for it).....you should be modeling" Hahahahhahahahhahaha. I assure you, he will never live down that cheesy line.

Now, most people who may remember in high school would say that I was not very outgoing. I was pretty shy, which usually came across more as "stuck up", or so people would tell me later when they got to know that I was far from that.  I wasn't used to cute guys coming up and saying things like this and so I felt the blood rush to my cheeks instantly.   Suddenly,  my register phone rang.  RRRRRRIIIIINNNGGGGGGGG! "Hello?" I look up to see Olivia on her register phone looking at me "Why is your face so bright red??" I hung up promptly. 

Danny asked me for my number. I looked over to see the little old lady who was next in line staring at me. She was thoroughly annoyed that our interaction was holding her up from buying her 50 cans of wet can food.  I scribbled my number on the back of his receipt and handed it to him. He started to walk away then turned around and said "Oh wait, all of that stuff is mine too!" I looked down and noticed that I had only rang half of his stuff!  How awkward could I be? lol

Needless to say, he didn't call me for about 3 weeks. We met up for coffee at Denny's, and ended up chatting for about 3 hours and parted ways. We hung out a couple of times, but that was it. He had an on and off girlfriend who he got back together with, and I got back together with a guy I was dating.  We parted ways without explanation to each other....just stopped calling.

2 years later, he called the golf course I was working at  in Nicolaus to make a tee-time for himself and his grandmother. I recognized his voice.  When he came to play, he asked me to hang out sometime. 6 years and 2 beautiful girls later, here we are. This is our life! It's not perfect, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

(P.S....I always like to add the detail that Danny had came into WinCo a dozen times before he had the courage to come through my line!...so cute)