I just got back from the gym!
Wait, let me enjoy that moment for a second.
.
.
.
.
Yeah, that feels good. I am so proud of myself for going even though I was a bit self conscious. Today I just followed along with other peoples workout so that I could get the feel for the place and the machines. I will have a private training session on wednesday. My upper body is shakin' quite a bit now. I also got on an elliptical for 10 minutes. I couldn't do more than that yet. I feel like I am starting all over again, but at least I am headed in the right direction. One of the trainers gave me some crap about how 10 minutes would not do anything for me and that I should get back on for another 20. I don't agree with him on that. I will work on building up to 30 minutes but for now I am proud of that 10. I am going to celebrate the little victories in my life. I think that for the first time back in a gym in 10 years that I did quite well.
On a similar note, I was reading Laura and Chia's posts for today and they are having a challenge to see who can lose the greatest percentage of weight before January 5th. I am going to join the challenge to motivate me to workout when I am out of town this weekend. I won't have access to my gym but I can still move. I am making myself a promise however to not stress out about it. I don't want to fall off of the wagon again. Especially since I just paid up so much money to join a gym. I want to get my moneys worth, Yo!
I am not sure how the weigh in process is going to go but I weighed myself at the gym today and I am up to 300 lbs! Time to get my but in gear.
I will be out of town again until about tuesday and I don't know if I will have access to the internet or not so if I don't I will update you all on how my time went when I get back.
Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful day, weekend, and so forth.
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
Friday, December 26, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Leap of Faith
Well, maybe more like a leap of determination.
I need help. I have not been able to get going on my own so tonight I got a gym membership and a personal trainer.
I have been avoiding this decision because of the cost, that is until I had to go buy more pants because all my old ones are too tight. I realized that for the price of those pants I could pay for 3 months of gym time! I still got the pants because I really don't want to have to go to Christmas parties in my birthday suit, but I also made the decision to go to a gym.
I really liked this gym too. It's small and there are not a lot of people bumping into each other. It's 24 hours. The personal training comes with the membership. All in all a pretty good deal.
I got to take the tour with the owner/trainer and we talked about my goals and what I wanted to accomplish with my training. I didn't agree with everything he said but overall I was impressed.
My first training session is next friday and I am excited to get started.
I am ready to get healthy!
On another note. I am working all weekend and then next week we are heading down state for Christmas so I won't be posting or commenting until next friday after my training session.
I hope you all have a Wonderful Holiday!
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
P.S. What the heck is with all of this snow!?! Do we really need 10 inches of snow in one day? Seriously?
Thursday, December 11, 2008
The best sprained ankle story ever!
I was sitting in my favorite chair this past saturday evening, with my feet up on the foot stool (that is actually a workout step) and decided to get up for a refill of my water (honestly!). When I pulled my right foot off of the stool and set it on the floor nothing happened. No pain, no numbness, not even an itch! This made me feel confident so I did the same with the other foot. Mid movement I heard a loud POP and there was PAIN. Oh boy was there pain! I had sprained my ankle, which was confirmed by a real doctor ( not the imaginary one that I usually visit).
How is that for a crazy story? I don't even know how it is possible to sprain an ankle while sitting down. WTF!!!!!
So anyways. This week I am a gimp. I am limping around and complaining of my pains. Pathetic.
But what is worse than being an invalid is being treated like one.
You see I have this amazing man in my life who seems to think that I should not be up doing things like cooking and dishes and vacuuming. He won't let me carry laundry up and down the stairs (although I did finally convince him that I could handle carrying the detergent). He even gets me refills on my water when its needed.
Now you all may not know this but I am a very stubborn person. I am most likely to do things that I have been told not to do. So I listen to him tell me that he will cook dinner and I should just rest, then I go ahead and cook anyways. I go get my own refills when he isn't quick enough to stop me. I even did some dishes today while he was at work. That will show him!
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
P.S. No you cannot have him. I am quite attached and rather enjoy doing things that I am told not to do. We work!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Setting smaller goals.
Ok, I have a lot of weight to lose. I know this. I have a goal weight of 150. This means I have 140 pounds to lose to reach my goal. It's a really big number but it's doable. I know how to get there. I know what I need to do to succeed. I know what I should and should not be eating. I know what exercise my body responds best to. I have successfully lost weight before. So why is this time so hard? Why does this feel like an ongoing struggle?
I always start out strong. I eat right, exercise, and the weight starts to drop right off. I feel amazing during this period. I start fitting into my cloths better. I have more energy. I feel good about myself. So why does that always come crashing down? I feel like I am a crash test dummy! Speeding forward only to hit a brick wall.
Well, I was reading something today that may give me a clue. I think the problem lie's not in my execution but in my goals!
You see until tonight my goal has been that big number. 140 pounds! That is huge. In my recent pursuit of weight loss glory I have been focusing on that number. In the past year there have been times when I was down 30 pounds or more. This seems like a big number until you put it up next to my goal.
140-30=110
I still have so far to go. I start to get depressed. I lose focus. I cry about the 110 instead of celebrating the 30. This causes me to lose motivation. "Why work so hard for so little results!?!" starts playing in my head. Then I start missing workouts. I start sleeping later. I start eating to drown out the noise in my head. The voices telling me that I have failed again, that I am worthless, that I will never beat this. It does not take long for me to end up back where I started, or worse. I find myself faced with that number again. 140. Always there, always tormenting me. I feel defeated, disgusted, and disgraced.
I am back at that number again. 140. It haunts my dreams and lurks around corners and in the shadows waiting for a chance to jump out and knock me down again. 140. Like the bully at school, whose greatest pleasure was the suffering of others. 140. My demon. 140. My constant companion.
Well not any more. I am not falling for that trap again. My goal is 10 pounds. I am going to celebrate that 10 pounds. I am going to treat it like the holiday that it is. 10 pounds is not only doable and realistic, but it's also a challenge. 10 pounds is a step in the process. 10 pounds puts me closer to the endzone. 10 pounds is my friend. My best friend.
And when I have reached that 10 pounds, when I have celebrated that 10 pounds, I will start to look forward, toward the next 10.
And the next.
And the next.
Till one day I will be standing at the other side of my nemesis. Till I have the upper hand in the fight with my bully. Till I am standing at the gates of 140 and laughing.
10 pounds. I can do that!
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
I always start out strong. I eat right, exercise, and the weight starts to drop right off. I feel amazing during this period. I start fitting into my cloths better. I have more energy. I feel good about myself. So why does that always come crashing down? I feel like I am a crash test dummy! Speeding forward only to hit a brick wall.
Well, I was reading something today that may give me a clue. I think the problem lie's not in my execution but in my goals!
You see until tonight my goal has been that big number. 140 pounds! That is huge. In my recent pursuit of weight loss glory I have been focusing on that number. In the past year there have been times when I was down 30 pounds or more. This seems like a big number until you put it up next to my goal.
140-30=110
I still have so far to go. I start to get depressed. I lose focus. I cry about the 110 instead of celebrating the 30. This causes me to lose motivation. "Why work so hard for so little results!?!" starts playing in my head. Then I start missing workouts. I start sleeping later. I start eating to drown out the noise in my head. The voices telling me that I have failed again, that I am worthless, that I will never beat this. It does not take long for me to end up back where I started, or worse. I find myself faced with that number again. 140. Always there, always tormenting me. I feel defeated, disgusted, and disgraced.
I am back at that number again. 140. It haunts my dreams and lurks around corners and in the shadows waiting for a chance to jump out and knock me down again. 140. Like the bully at school, whose greatest pleasure was the suffering of others. 140. My demon. 140. My constant companion.
Well not any more. I am not falling for that trap again. My goal is 10 pounds. I am going to celebrate that 10 pounds. I am going to treat it like the holiday that it is. 10 pounds is not only doable and realistic, but it's also a challenge. 10 pounds is a step in the process. 10 pounds puts me closer to the endzone. 10 pounds is my friend. My best friend.
And when I have reached that 10 pounds, when I have celebrated that 10 pounds, I will start to look forward, toward the next 10.
And the next.
And the next.
Till one day I will be standing at the other side of my nemesis. Till I have the upper hand in the fight with my bully. Till I am standing at the gates of 140 and laughing.
10 pounds. I can do that!
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Irrational Fears and Neurotic Tendencies: Part 2
As a continuation of my last rant (which you can find here if you really need to read it) I am about to leave for work and it's snowing fairly heavily. This brings to mind my fear of loosing control. This fear is especially bothersome when driving on snowy highways, which is what I am about to do! I am mostly sane on the straight aways but if I have to use one of those 360 off ramps I start to panic. There are two of them on the highways between home and work.
I think I am taking the back roads today.
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Fourth Pic, Fourth Folder... Blah!Blah!
Ok so everyone and their uncle is doing this 4th pic in the 4th folder thing so I thought I would too! Why not? What could it possibly hurt, right?
A little over a year ago in September my friend Missi finally married a keeper! Doug is a good man and he not only loves her but he treats her with respect which is more than I can say for anyone else she has been with. She had an interesting wedding by most peoples standards. They had the wedding out at her farm. It was outside in a pasture area by the horse pens. The ladies rode down the "aisle" on horse back, which required me to be a horse wrangler in her wedding! (I always get weird looks when I say that.) In this picture Missi is showing off her new boots. She had just recieved them as a bridal gift the night before along with that hat. I had more fun at that wedding than any I have ever attended before or since.
I love Ya Miss Thang! Keep it real Girl!
If you would like to see more of the wedding pics you can check out my picasa album.
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
P.S. Whew! That was painless. I though I was going to end up with this photo.
I'm sure glad that didn't happen because then you all would just think that I was showing off!
A little over a year ago in September my friend Missi finally married a keeper! Doug is a good man and he not only loves her but he treats her with respect which is more than I can say for anyone else she has been with. She had an interesting wedding by most peoples standards. They had the wedding out at her farm. It was outside in a pasture area by the horse pens. The ladies rode down the "aisle" on horse back, which required me to be a horse wrangler in her wedding! (I always get weird looks when I say that.) In this picture Missi is showing off her new boots. She had just recieved them as a bridal gift the night before along with that hat. I had more fun at that wedding than any I have ever attended before or since.
I love Ya Miss Thang! Keep it real Girl!
If you would like to see more of the wedding pics you can check out my picasa album.
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
P.S. Whew! That was painless. I though I was going to end up with this photo.
I'm sure glad that didn't happen because then you all would just think that I was showing off!
Irrational Fears and Neurotic Tendencies: Part 1
Winter brings so much to my existence! I love it and hate it and love it again.
I love the snow. It brings back memories from my childhood like sledding and snowball fights. My brothers and I used to build snow forts and horde up as many snowballs as we could get our hands on. Then we would chuck them at each other with wild abandon! After all of the amo was spent we would try to build the biggest snowman in history (but the neighbors always had a bigger one, damn them). Which reminds me, is it possible to build a snowman without the little bits of grass getting stuck all over him? We never figured it out if it is. Our snowman always looked dirty!
I hate the snow. Roads are treacherous, sidewalk is treacherous, heck, even the front porch is treacherous. Especially when you have a fear of falling. It's funny really because I have fallen so many times and been ok, however my mind is a traitor and plays these little mini movies of people falling and breaking arms, legs, necks, and everything else! So of course every time I walk outside in the winter I have these mixed emotions, joy and fear! Love and Hate! The memories of happier times come flooding in along with the violent movies and leave me feeling overstimulated and exhausted. And this is before I have left my house!
I am such a total basket case sometimes! Hence the title of this post. Sitting here I know that my fears are funny really! I can laugh at them and tell myself that I am a fool, but that bravado changes when I step out of my door. I pretend to have it all together, I have been told how strong and brave I am, but in reality I am a festering lake of irrational fears and neurotic tendencies.
This is my confessional! Welcome aboard!
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
Friday, November 21, 2008
Hello Everybody!
I bet you all are wondering where I have been for the past week and a half.
No!?
You didn't even notice that I was gone? Really?
(sob) Way to hurt a girls feelings!
Well just in case there is someone that was wondering where I have been, here's the run down.
I have been doing a whole lot of nothing. I wake up, sit on my keester, read this blog, occasionally have some food, shower only if I have to leave the house, then head for bed and rest up for another long day of doing nothing. I don't know what has gotten into me this week but I am really feeling the bite of the lazy bug! I did not lose any weight on wednesdays weigh in. Which comes as no real surprise since I have not done anything. To give myself a little bit of credit, I do work my hiney off taking care of Mr. C and Lil Z. I even put in an extra day this week with them! So when I am home I just want peace and quiet and escape from the constant cleaning and laundry and fighting and laundry and cleaning that goes on at work. Plus I am fighting a loosing battle with yet another bug, the cold and flu bug. I have had a sore throat all week and if I end up with bronchitis again I am going to have real trouble as I am insurance free at the moment.
Ok enough of my whining! On to more important things. If anyone has a lot of time to waste they should check out the Pioneer Woman! I just love reading her blog these days! In fact I spent the past week and a half reading everything she has written because she is that funny. I am also loving her recipes. Most of them are not really healthy but they look delicious. I made her pot roast this week and it was to die for! I am going to try some of her other recipes for our thanksgiving dinner! Yummo!
Other than that I have been eating healthier. I have salad at least once a day and veggies all day long. Breakfast is usually cheerios or multi grain chex lately. This is probably why I didn't gain weight and if I had not been so lazy this past week I would have lost with this eating plan. Oh well. I will just have to re-dedicate myself again. I will keep trying until I get it right I suppose!
Well, take care my homies! I am going to get off of my hiney and get to work!
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
P.S. Winner's I have not forgotten about you I am just waiting for my next paycheck to send your loot on it's merry way! I would have done it with this weeks check except that I forgot to send in my time slip until it was too late and they don't cut last minute checks no matter how much you wine and cry! Even if you promise to be a good girl and do all your home work!
No!?
You didn't even notice that I was gone? Really?
(sob) Way to hurt a girls feelings!
Well just in case there is someone that was wondering where I have been, here's the run down.
I have been doing a whole lot of nothing. I wake up, sit on my keester, read this blog, occasionally have some food, shower only if I have to leave the house, then head for bed and rest up for another long day of doing nothing. I don't know what has gotten into me this week but I am really feeling the bite of the lazy bug! I did not lose any weight on wednesdays weigh in. Which comes as no real surprise since I have not done anything. To give myself a little bit of credit, I do work my hiney off taking care of Mr. C and Lil Z. I even put in an extra day this week with them! So when I am home I just want peace and quiet and escape from the constant cleaning and laundry and fighting and laundry and cleaning that goes on at work. Plus I am fighting a loosing battle with yet another bug, the cold and flu bug. I have had a sore throat all week and if I end up with bronchitis again I am going to have real trouble as I am insurance free at the moment.
Ok enough of my whining! On to more important things. If anyone has a lot of time to waste they should check out the Pioneer Woman! I just love reading her blog these days! In fact I spent the past week and a half reading everything she has written because she is that funny. I am also loving her recipes. Most of them are not really healthy but they look delicious. I made her pot roast this week and it was to die for! I am going to try some of her other recipes for our thanksgiving dinner! Yummo!
Other than that I have been eating healthier. I have salad at least once a day and veggies all day long. Breakfast is usually cheerios or multi grain chex lately. This is probably why I didn't gain weight and if I had not been so lazy this past week I would have lost with this eating plan. Oh well. I will just have to re-dedicate myself again. I will keep trying until I get it right I suppose!
Well, take care my homies! I am going to get off of my hiney and get to work!
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
P.S. Winner's I have not forgotten about you I am just waiting for my next paycheck to send your loot on it's merry way! I would have done it with this weeks check except that I forgot to send in my time slip until it was too late and they don't cut last minute checks no matter how much you wine and cry! Even if you promise to be a good girl and do all your home work!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
And The Winner Is!
Or shall I say winners... I couldn't choose between Brooke and Lauren so I will just give you both the prize.
Please email me at dragonscapes 24 at yahoo dot com with your snail mail and I will get you your prize!
Thank you to everyone who participated in my 21 day challenge. In a couple of weeks I will be doing it again so keep checking back.
On another note I lost 6 lbs this week! Yay me!
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
P.S. Sorry for the delayed reaction folks. My internet has been down for a couple of days. I was totally lost without it. I cried!
Monday, November 10, 2008
The Challenge is Over!
So how did everyone do? Leave me a comment and let me know!
Brooke already left her comment and you can read about her results over at her blog! Way to go Brooke!
As for me, I didn't quite make it through. Sometimes stuff happens, however in the end I was making the choice not to walk those days and I am accepting the responsibility for those choices. I will definitely do this again though so all of you will have another shot at the Michigan Mystery Grab Bag! (or whatever it was that I called it)
So everyone has until tomorrow to leave their comments at which time I will choose the winner!
Prizes are fun!
Also, for any of you feeling discouraged because you didn't make it through. Please watch this video. You will be inspired to get up and try it again.
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
Brooke already left her comment and you can read about her results over at her blog! Way to go Brooke!
As for me, I didn't quite make it through. Sometimes stuff happens, however in the end I was making the choice not to walk those days and I am accepting the responsibility for those choices. I will definitely do this again though so all of you will have another shot at the Michigan Mystery Grab Bag! (or whatever it was that I called it)
So everyone has until tomorrow to leave their comments at which time I will choose the winner!
Prizes are fun!
Also, for any of you feeling discouraged because you didn't make it through. Please watch this video. You will be inspired to get up and try it again.
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
Saturday, November 8, 2008
I call her ButterBall!
... Not because she resembles one in any way! In fact she is quite cute and cuddly.
I call her ButterBall because she is a little Turkey!
Like yesterday when she stole the other half of my cookie! (I really wish that I had gotten a picture of her with the cookie in her paws, but I was too frustrated with the little turkey.)
So without further ado, I give you the conversation that Whit and I had last night.
Scene:Dark Bedroom
Jenn: Hey Honey, I think I have a ButterBall pressed against my leg.
Whit: Well go put it back in the freezer. It will go bad in this bed with us.
Jenn: Yeah, maybe I should go put it back.
Whit: Please do, I don't want to wake up to the smell of Funky Turkey!
Jenn: (laughing) You said that and my mind went straight to that really bad dance called the Funky Chicken!
Whit: Well I don't want to smell any of that either.
Jenn: What exactly does bad dancing smell like?
Whit: Hair spray and spandex!
Jenn: (laughing uncontrollably) I have to remember this conversation!
Whit: Are you going to blog it?
Jenn: Yepper!
Yeah, we are total freaks! This conversation is not even close to our normal goofyness!
We ended the night with.
Jenn: Goodnight goofball, I love you more than most!
Whit: Goodnight Foosball, I still love you more!
Yeah, he called me Foosball.
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
Thursday, November 6, 2008
My own version of the Presidents Physical Fitness Test
1 mile walk
sprint
sit ups
pull ups
push ups
flexability reach
sprint
sit ups
pull ups
push ups
flexability reach
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Long Over Due
I really am struggling with keeping up with my fitness and diet goals. It is so frustrating when I can be knocked off the wagon so easily and then have to struggle back on and try again. I do keep trying but until I can make it a consistent habit to exercise and eat right I am not going to get anywhere! I blame my disordered life but really I am getting everything pretty organized these days. I blame my hectic schedule but it's not that hectic anymore. I blame depression but the depression is mild and is mostly caused by my unfit lifestyle.
I can't keep laying the blame on everything in my life when in the end I am making the choice to exercise or not, I am making the choice of eating a salad or cake! My disordered life, hectic schedule and mild depression are not making these choices for me! I have to learn to own my choices and understand that in the end I am the only one who can take the blame for the way my day is going.
I have gained back every bit of weight that I have lost. Yeah, I said it! I am back to only working out occasionally (usually with Whit pushing me every step) and to eating whatever I happen to feel like (which is generally something that is processed and easy). All of my aches and pains have returned and I can't tell you when the last time was that I got in a full 8 glasses of water in a day.
I have got to change this pattern!
I have been reading Annette's Awakening for a while now and her story is a lot like mine, with one exception! She changed! She made the decision to be healthy and then she did it. She got on that wagon and rode it to a 70 lb weight lose! She learned to own her choices and it is paying off immensely for her!
I want that too!
So for the first time I am posting pictures of myself, right now, the way I am today. I am posting my numbers. I am posting my fitness level. I am basically opening myself up for everyone to see! I want a clean slate to draw my life on! So consider this post the cleaning of the slate. Tomorrow is a new day and I am going to embrace it anew!
Front view:
Side view:
Back view:
Goal Pants (These fit me at the beginning of the year. Now I couldn't hope to get them on):
(I had no idea that I looked like that. Seeing these pictures for the first time nearly made me cry. I have an image in my head of what I look like and that is not it at all. I have got to get this figured out, I don't want to be that person in the picture anymore. )
My numbers (in inches):
Bust=55
Chest=45.5
Waist=51
Hips=61
Thighs=33
Knee=22.25
Calves=18.5
Ankles=10.25
Upper Arms=19.25
Lower Arms=12.5
Wrist=7.25
Weight=295lbs
Fitness Level:
Push Ups= 0
Sit Ups= 0
Running= 15 seconds
I look forward to seeing those numbers change as the weeks and months pass by! I am going to weigh in every week but I will only do the photos and measurements once a month! For now I am going to work on walking every day and eating every 3 to 4 hours. I will make more changes later as I get used to this first part of my journey. I will think of it as if it was the Oregon Trail Game and do my best to make decisions that will enable me to continue on this bumpy wagon trail!
Thank you to all of my blogger friends who have stuck with me through it all. I sure hope you can hang on a little longer because I really appreciate you all and look forward to your comments and encouragement!
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
I can't keep laying the blame on everything in my life when in the end I am making the choice to exercise or not, I am making the choice of eating a salad or cake! My disordered life, hectic schedule and mild depression are not making these choices for me! I have to learn to own my choices and understand that in the end I am the only one who can take the blame for the way my day is going.
I have gained back every bit of weight that I have lost. Yeah, I said it! I am back to only working out occasionally (usually with Whit pushing me every step) and to eating whatever I happen to feel like (which is generally something that is processed and easy). All of my aches and pains have returned and I can't tell you when the last time was that I got in a full 8 glasses of water in a day.
I have got to change this pattern!
I have been reading Annette's Awakening for a while now and her story is a lot like mine, with one exception! She changed! She made the decision to be healthy and then she did it. She got on that wagon and rode it to a 70 lb weight lose! She learned to own her choices and it is paying off immensely for her!
I want that too!
So for the first time I am posting pictures of myself, right now, the way I am today. I am posting my numbers. I am posting my fitness level. I am basically opening myself up for everyone to see! I want a clean slate to draw my life on! So consider this post the cleaning of the slate. Tomorrow is a new day and I am going to embrace it anew!
Front view:
Side view:
Back view:
Goal Pants (These fit me at the beginning of the year. Now I couldn't hope to get them on):
(I had no idea that I looked like that. Seeing these pictures for the first time nearly made me cry. I have an image in my head of what I look like and that is not it at all. I have got to get this figured out, I don't want to be that person in the picture anymore. )
My numbers (in inches):
Bust=55
Chest=45.5
Waist=51
Hips=61
Thighs=33
Knee=22.25
Calves=18.5
Ankles=10.25
Upper Arms=19.25
Lower Arms=12.5
Wrist=7.25
Weight=295lbs
Fitness Level:
Push Ups= 0
Sit Ups= 0
Running= 15 seconds
I look forward to seeing those numbers change as the weeks and months pass by! I am going to weigh in every week but I will only do the photos and measurements once a month! For now I am going to work on walking every day and eating every 3 to 4 hours. I will make more changes later as I get used to this first part of my journey. I will think of it as if it was the Oregon Trail Game and do my best to make decisions that will enable me to continue on this bumpy wagon trail!
Thank you to all of my blogger friends who have stuck with me through it all. I sure hope you can hang on a little longer because I really appreciate you all and look forward to your comments and encouragement!
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
I'm a Convert!
As a cashier I always got so annoyed with THOSE women! You know the ones with two carts full of merchandise and a coupon for everything. These were the women that haggled with me over prices and left stuff with me if I would not take the coupon. It drove me crazy!
Well, things have changed since then. I am now one of THOSE women! I have been looking at ways to organize and streamline life these days and one thing that I have always been horrible at is grocery shopping. I go in with a list (if I remembered to bring it) and when I get to the checkouts I realize that not only did I not get all of the things on my list but I am now spending at least 50 dollars more than I planned to on things that I picked up along the way. I always ended up starring dumbfounded at the monitor as the cashier was scanning my order and wondering exactly where I had lost control of this trip.
My Mom in Law, Mary is an amazing shopper! She is one of THOSE women. She gets everything on sale and not only does she clip coupons, she actually uses them. I can't tell you how many times she has said "Oh hold on, I have a coupon for that!" or " I got this for you because it was on sale and I had a coupon so it only cost me (insert some ridiculously low price here)!"
I am in awe of her ability to stretch a dollar!
Which brings me to this week. We only had a little money to spend on groceries and a long list of items we needed to get, so I was busily trying to decide what items on our list could be skipped so that we could spend as little as possible. As I am sitting there glaring at the grocery list, I happened to glance at the newest Kraft Food & Family Magazine that was sitting in front of me. It was open to a page with a recipe for Taco Soup! It looked so good and I really wanted to make it for Whit but I knew that there was no way I was going to be able to get the ingredients on our tight budget. So I flipped the pages for a minute while I tried to collect my thoughts. I finished the magazine and moved on to the ads portion of the mail. I usually throw this stuff out without even looking at it but for some reason I didn't today.
And boy am I thankful that I kept them because the first thing I saw was the Kroger circular. Now normally I don't shop at Kroger because their prices are astronomical, however they have some pretty amazing sales to make up for it. Looking through that ad I noticed a lot of the things on my list were on sale this week. Making a Kroger shopping list reminded me of Mary, who shops Kroger sales religiously! Thinking of Mary brought me to coupons. I knew I was too late for the Sunday circular but I also knew that you could often get coupons online that you can print for free! So I started searching for Free Printable Coupons. I had to weed through some unuseful web sites but eventually I came across the Coupon Mom! I can't even describe how amazing this website is! It teaches you how to combine coupons with sales to get the most products at the least cost. She even shows how to get some things for free!
Last night was our first attempt at using the Coupon Mom system and at first I wasn't so sure it would work, Whit was on the skeptical side too, but we printed and clipped coupons, made a shopping list for both Kroger and Meijer (based on sales ads) then headed to the stores to test out the system ourselves.
Here are the results:
Kroger
Total bill= $144.80
Total coupon and sales savings= $80.14
Total money spent= $64.66
(We actually saved more than we spent)
Meijer
Total bill= $50.33
Total coupon and sales savings= $21.85
Total money spent= $28.48
(That's almost a 50% reduction in our bill)
I was so proud of myself for doing the work and saving so much money! I actually called Mary to tell her how great I did! I am looking forward to using the Coupon Mom site more extensively and saving even more money! By the end of the night it was actually feeling a bit like a game. I am calling the game "Groceries For Free" and the object is to spend as little money as possible on everything I purchase. Anyone else want to play?
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
P.S. Thanks for being my inspiration Mary! We love you!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
21 day challenge... Week Two Update!
Well due to issues beyond my control, my walking has been halted nearly all week. I am going to do my best to put in a good showing for this last week of the challenge however. How are the rest of you doing?
Also, thank you all so much for the kind words. Whit's grandpa was laid to rest on Saturday afternoon and then Saturday night grandpa's only son had a son! (Well to be fair, Molly had the little wolff pup) So I guess that the most appropriate thing I can say is "Life Goes On"!
Hope you all are doing well!
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
Also, thank you all so much for the kind words. Whit's grandpa was laid to rest on Saturday afternoon and then Saturday night grandpa's only son had a son! (Well to be fair, Molly had the little wolff pup) So I guess that the most appropriate thing I can say is "Life Goes On"!
Hope you all are doing well!
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
A Little Time For Bereavement
I just wanted to give everyone a heads up. We have had a death in the family and I am going to be out of town a lot over the next week or two. I will try to check in when I can and will keep everyone posted as much as possible.
As for the 21 days habit challenge, I have not gotten in a walk everyday like I hoped to. I am still plugging away at it though and will most likely have walking as a goal for the next challenge also! I am not going to give up on this and I am not moving on to another goal until I get this one down so please bear with me. Whit and I did take Butter for a walk today. She loved it and it was a good way for us to get out of the house and to focus on something else for a little bit to relieve some stress! We definitely felt more calm afterward.
Well I am going to get off of here and continue with the other things on my To- Do List for today. I hope you all are doing well!
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
P.S. Took a pic or 3 of my man tonight as he was on his way out the door! Isn't he Sexy! I know your jealous, it's ok!
And just to add a little extra cuteness to my blog, I give you the ButterBall!
And just for fun I edited this picture of me. Keeping in mind that I weighed a lot less when this picture was taken than I do now, I think it turned out really awesome!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Clearing the Clutter in Our Lives.
Editors Note: I wrote this post for Road To Domesticity but it never got finished or published. Actually I forgot about it until today. I was reading through the posts on RTD and came across this one, then I remembered something that MizFit said in one of my comments. She said "wonder if you now wholeheartedly believe all the declutter before you can ever shed weight hypothesises?" in reference to this post. Well the answer is yes I do believe that you have to declutter your life in order to declutter your body. I wonder more and more if in fact that is part of my troubles with loosing weight. So I am going to post this one and I am going to work on following my own advice. Now that my apartment is decluttered and organized I am going to work on some of the other clutter in my life. I hope you all enjoy this post as it was a labor of love and necessity for me.
Well since this months goal is Clutter Cleanup and Fall Decorating I decided to make my Wednesday Challenge all about Clutter Cleanup. However, it's not just the clutter in my apartment that I want to discuss (although if you really want to help with that, I won't complain!), but also the physical, mental, and emotional clutter that can accumulate during the week.
Sometimes the clutter is so intense that it makes it hard to function. So lets see what we can come up with to help us relieve the clutter.
Domestic Clutter:
We all have it. Junk drawers, deadly closets, overflowing shelves. It's hard not to have some clutter here and there. The question is when does it stop being ok to have clutter? Some is fine, but too much clutter in the home can hinder progress in a lot of areas of one's life. There are a lot of study's about clutter being a problem for childrens study habits. It's hard to think with lots of stuff everywhere, isn't it? so what can we do about it? Well I did a search and came up with this great website with links to articles all about organization and clutter control! ( I know, I was excited too.) No matter what kind of clutter you are dealing with, they seem to have an answer.
Physical Clutter:
This one is all about your health. Are you taking care of yourself? Are you smoking or drinking excessively? Are you eating a balanced diet? Getting plenty of exercise?
Taking care of your body is so vital to living an over all healthy life. The steps to healthy are not easy ones to take, but they can make such a big difference in your life. I have recently decided to get healthy. Not Skinny! Healthy! I knew that the path that I was heading down would not lead me to a long and healthy life. I knew that if I didn't change I might never get to have children or be alive to see my grandchildren. In June I quite smoking! In July I started my fitness blog and started working towards a healthy body. This body is a temple and should be treated as such. I am working on changing my life one vice at a time. You can too! So go for a walk with your family, add some fresh veggies to your meals, and take control of your vices. Trust me! You will thank me.
Mental Clutter:
It can be so hard to think straight when you have millions of thoughts zooming around behind your eyeballs. Clearing out the mental clutter can really help you to focus on the task at hand. Plus it only takes a few minutes to make a big impact. No physical labor required (although it sometimes helps). Taking a few moments in your day to stop and breath and deal with the stuff in your head can make the rest of the day more productive and can also help you sleep when done right before bed. Here is an article with some tips on dealing with the mental clutter.
Emotional Clutter:
The best thing that one can do for emotional clutter is write it down! Had a bad day? Write it down. Boss driving you crazy? Write it down. Lose someone you loved? Write it down.
Writing things on paper helps you to not only get it out of your system but also to focus on a solution. Once it is out of your head and on paper you can look at it more objectively so that you can deal with it accordingly.
I would also suggest that once you have it down on paper, pray about it. Talk to God about your worries, troubles, hardships, and fears. Knowing that he is there listening to you and that he can help makes a world of difference.
So, after reading such a long post you are probably wondering what is the challenge exactly?
Clear out some clutter in your life! Not everything of course, because all of this will take time. So just choose one thing from this post and make an effort to clear that clutter.
Happy Organized, Decluttered and Stress free Life,
Love Jenn
Well since this months goal is Clutter Cleanup and Fall Decorating I decided to make my Wednesday Challenge all about Clutter Cleanup. However, it's not just the clutter in my apartment that I want to discuss (although if you really want to help with that, I won't complain!), but also the physical, mental, and emotional clutter that can accumulate during the week.
Sometimes the clutter is so intense that it makes it hard to function. So lets see what we can come up with to help us relieve the clutter.
Domestic Clutter:
We all have it. Junk drawers, deadly closets, overflowing shelves. It's hard not to have some clutter here and there. The question is when does it stop being ok to have clutter? Some is fine, but too much clutter in the home can hinder progress in a lot of areas of one's life. There are a lot of study's about clutter being a problem for childrens study habits. It's hard to think with lots of stuff everywhere, isn't it? so what can we do about it? Well I did a search and came up with this great website with links to articles all about organization and clutter control! ( I know, I was excited too.) No matter what kind of clutter you are dealing with, they seem to have an answer.
Physical Clutter:
This one is all about your health. Are you taking care of yourself? Are you smoking or drinking excessively? Are you eating a balanced diet? Getting plenty of exercise?
Taking care of your body is so vital to living an over all healthy life. The steps to healthy are not easy ones to take, but they can make such a big difference in your life. I have recently decided to get healthy. Not Skinny! Healthy! I knew that the path that I was heading down would not lead me to a long and healthy life. I knew that if I didn't change I might never get to have children or be alive to see my grandchildren. In June I quite smoking! In July I started my fitness blog and started working towards a healthy body. This body is a temple and should be treated as such. I am working on changing my life one vice at a time. You can too! So go for a walk with your family, add some fresh veggies to your meals, and take control of your vices. Trust me! You will thank me.
Mental Clutter:
It can be so hard to think straight when you have millions of thoughts zooming around behind your eyeballs. Clearing out the mental clutter can really help you to focus on the task at hand. Plus it only takes a few minutes to make a big impact. No physical labor required (although it sometimes helps). Taking a few moments in your day to stop and breath and deal with the stuff in your head can make the rest of the day more productive and can also help you sleep when done right before bed. Here is an article with some tips on dealing with the mental clutter.
Emotional Clutter:
The best thing that one can do for emotional clutter is write it down! Had a bad day? Write it down. Boss driving you crazy? Write it down. Lose someone you loved? Write it down.
Writing things on paper helps you to not only get it out of your system but also to focus on a solution. Once it is out of your head and on paper you can look at it more objectively so that you can deal with it accordingly.
I would also suggest that once you have it down on paper, pray about it. Talk to God about your worries, troubles, hardships, and fears. Knowing that he is there listening to you and that he can help makes a world of difference.
So, after reading such a long post you are probably wondering what is the challenge exactly?
Clear out some clutter in your life! Not everything of course, because all of this will take time. So just choose one thing from this post and make an effort to clear that clutter.
Happy Organized, Decluttered and Stress free Life,
Love Jenn
A Thank You and A Welcome
A Road To Domesticity Post Dated September 22, 2008.
As you can see I have already accomplished a lot of these things but I really like this post and think I was pretty witty (If I do say so myself) so I wanted to keep it and publish it here. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do! LOL
I am loving all of my readers and enjoying their feed back immensely!
I specifically want to say hello to my friend Nancy from class. She is not a blogger but she is a sweetheart so we can forgive her this one flaw! I wanted to mention her because she and another classmate Tara got me a gift today. It's a little scarecrow and I absolutely love it. It is perfect timing too since I am working on decorating for fall.
So thank you so much Nancy and Tara. I really appreciate the sentiment. That little scarecrow will have a place of honor in my home for a long time to come because I am the sentimental type and love to display gifts from sweet people.
As for decluttering I have started working on that today. We are putting away a lot of "things" from around the house that are contributing to the clutter. Some of it will be saved for future use and some of it will end up in a garage sale next spring. I want to hold on to this stuff until then so that I will have a chance to relook at the things I want to sell and decide if I really want to let go of them or not. I want to declutter but I don't want to have regrets afterwards. Some things will be immediately put away for our future children, such as some of the fairies, angels and balarina's that are left over from my own childhood (I really hope we have at least one girl or we are going to have a very confused son), and some of Whit's toy cars and other random boy stuff (I don't even know what the point of some of it is).
This weekend I don't have to work so I will be really getting into my task full spead ahead and the main thing that I want to tackle is the book case.
I love books and have always had a very hard time parting with them. However, I also own a lot of books that I will probably never read again. I don't see the need to keep all of these books that I won't be reading but another part of me says "You never know, some day you might start to like poems about toenails and won't be able to read them if you toss the book!" Yeah, my thinking is really that warped!
Unfortunately that is how I think about most "things", which explains the clutter. I always think that one day I may need that tea cozy or M&M shaped cookie jar! Never mind that cookies in our house don't usually last long enough to make it into a jar (Whit eats them all pretty quickly) and the only time of year that they might is around the holidays. For them I have two (yes 2) santa shaped cookie jars for that purpose (one of which I don't use because it's hideous! but it was a gift from a friend).
Once I declutter the living room the next room I will tackle is the kitchen (I am so packing away those cookie jars! Bye Santa). Then I will decorate the bathroom and finally our bedroom. I am not going to be decorating one room in the house though. The spare room is basically Whit's room. It's where he has his computer and his guitars and his keyboard. It's where he goes when he wants to relax and get away for a while. I don't want to intrude on his space. If he wants it decorated he will have to either ask me to do it or do it himself. I know and understand that everyman needs his own room and we don't have a garage!
I don't have much for decorations so a trip to the dollar store will be justified toward the end of the month and I will also possibly take on some fall crafts to help with the lack of decor! I promise that I will get some pictures up as soon as I can.
Happy First Day Of Fall,
Love Jenn
21 Day Challenge... The First Checkin!
Well I hope everyone is doing well on their challenge. I have been checking in on you all when I can, sorry I don't have a lot of time these days to comment as much as I used to.
As for my challenge I am happy to say that I did in fact walk everyday. I am sad that due to illness I only did the bare minimum though so tomorrow I am upping the ante and changing my challenge goal to walking 3 miles every day. That is exactly one time through the Walk video and takes 45 min. to complete so I know that I can do this in the morning by just getting up an hour earlier. Should be no problem.
Now an update on my organizing and decorating. I have done some decorating but not a lot. I am happy with the simple nature of my decore for now and will work on adding more little touches until Dec. then it will be time for Christmas. Here are pictures of my little touches around the house. I am so glad to be able to finally post my own pictures!
I just added the swag above this picture. I have had this for years now and it's been up year round just because it depicts my favorite season and my favorite lifestyle so beautifully.
This was made by a friends father back in the 70's and I happened to come across it at a flea market. Again it is usually displayed all year.
This was a garage sale find my first year back in michigan. I love it!
I got these pillows at a craft sale. They used to sit on my vintage sofa but unfortunately we could not get it into our apartment so the sofa is in Mary's basement and the pillows are on the egg chair.
A friend gave me this little witch years ago and I just love her! Isn't she darling?
This little Indian Princess was given to me by my mom because she said that when I was little I was always making that face. In my own defense, that pouting face always got me goodies from grandma Sherry!
This is the scarecrow that my classmates gave me. I think he is so cute. He looks great over there with my sad little excuse for a house plant. I told you all that I do not have a green thumb and this is the proof.
That spider can play chess better than I can! However since I am only playing against Whit my lack of skillz can be overlooked and if I play anyone else I will just have to bring along my pet chess spider!
These two are one of my favorite Halloween decorations! I love that you can put red candles in their heads and when the candles drip it looks like they are dripping blood!
Here's a rather blurry close up. See what I mean about the red wax?
This little piece of cheap artwork cost me about 6 dollars to make! I got all of the pieces at the dollar store and just threw it together in about ten minutes! I think it looks great with my plaid placemats.
My best friend Missi gave me these canisters several years ago! She said they matched my color scheme better than hers anyway! I think they are great. ( I am working on removing the annoying reminders of diets past from my kitchen but I have to finish going through them and getting the recipes out of them first.)
Finally I leave you with my guardian. This guy is in the hall by the stairs. Everyone who enters must pass him. The best part is that the sword in the dragons hand is actually a letter opener!
Well I think that is quite enough for me today. For those of you who have entered the 21 day contest, don't forget to leave a comment and update us on your progress. Have a great day everyone.
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
As for my challenge I am happy to say that I did in fact walk everyday. I am sad that due to illness I only did the bare minimum though so tomorrow I am upping the ante and changing my challenge goal to walking 3 miles every day. That is exactly one time through the Walk video and takes 45 min. to complete so I know that I can do this in the morning by just getting up an hour earlier. Should be no problem.
Now an update on my organizing and decorating. I have done some decorating but not a lot. I am happy with the simple nature of my decore for now and will work on adding more little touches until Dec. then it will be time for Christmas. Here are pictures of my little touches around the house. I am so glad to be able to finally post my own pictures!
I just added the swag above this picture. I have had this for years now and it's been up year round just because it depicts my favorite season and my favorite lifestyle so beautifully.
This was made by a friends father back in the 70's and I happened to come across it at a flea market. Again it is usually displayed all year.
This was a garage sale find my first year back in michigan. I love it!
I got these pillows at a craft sale. They used to sit on my vintage sofa but unfortunately we could not get it into our apartment so the sofa is in Mary's basement and the pillows are on the egg chair.
A friend gave me this little witch years ago and I just love her! Isn't she darling?
This little Indian Princess was given to me by my mom because she said that when I was little I was always making that face. In my own defense, that pouting face always got me goodies from grandma Sherry!
This is the scarecrow that my classmates gave me. I think he is so cute. He looks great over there with my sad little excuse for a house plant. I told you all that I do not have a green thumb and this is the proof.
That spider can play chess better than I can! However since I am only playing against Whit my lack of skillz can be overlooked and if I play anyone else I will just have to bring along my pet chess spider!
These two are one of my favorite Halloween decorations! I love that you can put red candles in their heads and when the candles drip it looks like they are dripping blood!
Here's a rather blurry close up. See what I mean about the red wax?
This little piece of cheap artwork cost me about 6 dollars to make! I got all of the pieces at the dollar store and just threw it together in about ten minutes! I think it looks great with my plaid placemats.
My best friend Missi gave me these canisters several years ago! She said they matched my color scheme better than hers anyway! I think they are great. ( I am working on removing the annoying reminders of diets past from my kitchen but I have to finish going through them and getting the recipes out of them first.)
Finally I leave you with my guardian. This guy is in the hall by the stairs. Everyone who enters must pass him. The best part is that the sword in the dragons hand is actually a letter opener!
Well I think that is quite enough for me today. For those of you who have entered the 21 day contest, don't forget to leave a comment and update us on your progress. Have a great day everyone.
Happy Training,
Love Jenn
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