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Goal Setting

Posted on October 23, 2016 by auburnchick

A little over a year ago…September 7, 2015, to be exact…I took a BIG leap of faith and began taking control of my health.

That was the first day of my first Beachbody program.

It was ugly, y’all.  Although I didn’t look out of shape to most people, I felt so yucky.  I knew that I wasn’t where I needed to be.  I was getting very little exercise, except for a few weeks the summer prior, and my eating, although not terrible, was a bit random.

I followed the program pretty much to the letter, began using portion control as a nutritional help, and worked out five or six days a week (I can’t remember if I got one or two days off during that program).

The weight came off very quickly, as did the inches.  By the end of eight weeks, I’d lost fourteen pounds, and my measurements around all of my body parts had decreased.

I was hooked.  I was stronger physically and more confident emotionally.  Shopping was fun when I saw myself fitting into clothes the way I knew my petite body was supposed to.

I did TurboFire next.

This program was all about the cardio…so different from Piyo, which had focused on core strength and flexibilty.  I spent six months doing TurboFire and continued to chisel my body.

Next, I jumped into Hammer and Chisel.  Oh boy.  What a tough routine.  This was all about building muscle, with a healthy dose of cardio mixed in.  When the kids were younger, I had a gym membership and spent hours getting buff.  I knew it would be painful.

The Mr. bought me a set of weights, along with a workout bench, and I went to town…in my home.

I saw the changes I’d been looking for.  My abs finally decided to make an appearance.

Of course, I had to jump into a new routine when I finished, so I started 22 Minute Hard Corps.

The first day was no joke.  There wasn’t a day that went by when I wasn’t sweating and sore.

I am so happy to say that I FINISHED this program on Saturday!!!  I had gained a couple of pounds between the end of Hammer and Chisel and the middle of 22 Minute Hard Corps, so I did a gut check, literally, and reined myself back in, losing one of those pounds before Saturday.

As you can see, I lost some muscle definition in my abs and back.  I understand why, though.  This program didn’t use weights too often.  It was more about functional fitness, as Tony likes to say in his videos.

It was about building stamina and agility and body strength in a different way.  I definitely gained all of that.  I can do gorilla crawls and mountain climbers like there’s no tomorrow.  I’m pretty good at pumping out some push ups too.

During the time I did this program, I ran two or three virtual races and was able to do longer run intervals.  I have yet to run an entire race, but I’m not training exclusively for running, so I get it.

I have my next program ready to go, but first, I’m dedicating a couple of weeks to running some virtual races I’ve fallen behind on.

I think it’s important to take time out, though, to travel down memory lane.  It helps me remember what my goals were…to lose the flab and, originally, run a 5k…and to see what I’ve accomplished.

Although I still can’t run the entire 5k, I’ve done one in real life and will be doing another in a month.  I’ve done quite a few virtual races since last fall.  I’ve also accomplished every single other goal I set for myself.  I reached my target weight a few short months after I started exercising and have maintained it, with the exception of a pound gained and lost here and there.

With all of that said, I don’t necessarily advocate Beachbody, per se.  I don’t sell it.  I don’t want you to think that this is just a big pitch for it.  It just happens to be what fit into my life and personality (I love the calendars that come with the programs).

What I do challenge whoever I talk to about fitness…and I talk about it a lot…is to first decide what you want.  Then, create a plan.  Carve out time for it.  I’m all about the early-morning workout.  I know that I won’t have the energy in the afternoons to do it.  I also know that I need to do school stuff…lesson planning and grading…when I get home.  I make exercise a priority, which is a big reason why this has worked for me this past year.

Then, you have to watch what you eat.  That’s tough.  I keep up with my food log via the MyFitnessPal app.  I keep up with the calories I burn with my fitness watch.

Staying in shape is sooooooo much harder than it was when I was in my 20’s.  In a way, that’s not a bad thing, though.  I am so appreciative of what I’ve accomplished.  I know that blood (yes, there’s been blood…when I’ve fallen when out running), sweat, and tears have been a necessary part of the journey.

For so many years, I was that person who talked about doing something but didn’t stick with it.  I’m not that person any longer.

Filed under: fitness | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Catching Up

Posted on August 2, 2016 by auburnchick

I haven’t done such a great job with my blogging this last week and a half.  I have good reasons.  For now, why don’t we just let bygones be bygones and play a bit of catch-up.

I’ve been doing a ton of sleeping…ignoring the alarm I’ve had set for the last week in my pitiful attempt to start getting back into a routine.  I’ve been sleeping late and then, later in the day, squeezing in a nap whenever possible.

The dogs have complied.  They’re rather chill these days.

Of course, their patience does have limits.  Gambit gets all up in my grill if he even thinks I’m awake.

I’ve been doing some knitting.

With beads.

Which I had to order more of because the gal at the yarn store I visited a few months ago underestimated the amount I needed.

I ordered from GoodyBeads, and boy, was I impressed!  My beads came in record time, and I even got a bag of free beads AND a $5 coupon!  I’ll be ordering from this company again!

Do you see a bit of Harry Potter on the TV in the background of the picture above?

Well, in case you didn’t know, Sunday was HP’s birthday! My running club, the Hogwarts Running Club, is currently hosting a virtual race, the Fantastic Beasts 5K, and the suggested run date was Sunday.

Now, let me tell you that I like doing these races.  I like that the money is given to amazing charities.  I use the Charity Miles app to track my mileage.  They partner up with sponsors who donate for distances covered by its participants.  It’s a win-win all the way around.

What’s been bad, though, is that I am behind several races.  A great thing about virtual races is that you can run them when you want to.  You still get the bling.  You’re competing against yourself and your conscience.

Well, I’m behind a few races.  Life seriously got in the way.  I’ve been working out to a grueling Hammer and Chisel program.  I’m five weeks into my second go-round.  My muscles are sore, and it’s too humid in this Florida heat to get out later in the day.

Some of the races are longer, and there’s no way I can do them in one day.  That’s hard too.

My medals have been sitting in their envelopes…race shirts unworn.

I really wanted to do this one since it was only three miles and a special day indeed.

So, I did my H&C workout (two for the day) and then went outside…at 1pm…and walked/ran that sucker.

I hadn’t run since June 13th.  I still managed to do intervals where I jogged .75 mile and walked .25.  More than once.  Go me.

I was sweaty and tired when I finished, but boy was I proud of myself!

Look at that cute Harry Potter picture (top right).  I have SnapChat and use it; however, I didn’t know about filters until I saw something on Facebook.  It took me a little while to figure it out, but once I did, oh man.  There was a HP filter just for Sunday!

Let’s just say that I’ve been having a little too much fun with filters…

Personally, I like the one above.  Makes me feel like I’m back in the 70’s.  And yes, I am a child of the 70’s/80’s.

This week has been all about 4am alarms clocks.  Ugh.  Working out at 4:45 (because it takes me that long to crawl out of bed) is tough.

Yesterday, I felt okay, though, and perked up even more when I saw my bicep in the mirror.  Call me vain.  I don’t care.  I worked hard for that muscle!

I’m really, really proud of my workouts.  I’m getting so much stronger and am going up in weights about every week and a half thanks to my new commitment to log everything on the worksheets I found online.

Yes, that is 25 pounds.

Did you just faint?

I used them last week for dead lifts, which I absolutely love.  They do so much to strengthen your hamstrings which, in turn, help you shape your rear end.  Go me.

I’m also working in the yard…edging after the Mr. mows the front yard on his RIDING lawn mower (ahem)…and using the PUSH mower to do the back yard (ahem ahem).  I wear my heart rate monitor to record the calories I burn.

Almost 400 calories, y’all.  You know where that’s coming from?  Sweeping the debris down the sidewalk.  Talk about an arm and core workout!

Something else I’ve been doing is participating in a Book Love Summer Session on Facebook.

Penny Kittle wrote the book, and I follow her on Twitter.

Her book…her philosophy, in fact…is all about helping students develop a love for reading.  I read her book last summer and felt like I’d found the validation I needed for what I’d been doing (thanks to my wonderful friend, Barb, who first mentored me) in my classroom for the past five years.

I found out, by reading Twitter, that there was going to be a study session, and I signed up.

It’s very low key.  We listen to certain podcasts, because YES, there’s a Book Love Podcast…who knew!  Then, a facilitator posts questions, and we respond.

Ok.  So, confession time.  I don’t really like to listen to podcasts.  I did way back when, but I’m just not good at processing auditory stuff.  I am definitely a tactile learner, but…this podcast.  It’s something else.

Y’all.  I feel like I’ve found my people.  There have been book talks, encouragement, and ideas for fitting too many things in to too little time.

I have cried almost every time I’ve listened to a podcast.  There are testimonials.  There are stories of students’ lives that have been changed.  I see these things happen in my classroom every year, but listening to it online…it’s just so powerful.

Speaking of school, I ordered and received a new set of Kagan mats.  I really like these because I can flip them over and use the other side for something different.  I go through about two sets each year.

I attended training yesterday and today (my reason for getting up at the crack of dawn).  My district uses Canvas, a learning management system that allows students to access class content online.  I used it last year, and my students LOVED it.  It really facilitated things in my classroom.  Students had access to all of my Smartboard files and documents we worked on in class.  Even though I consider myself a fairly advanced user, I learned so much.  The training was low-key, and we were turned loose to create our own pages.  This time allowed me to make much-needed changes.

I’m still debating about which picture to use on the home screen my kids will see when they log in.  What are your thoughts?

Or this…

So yeah.  That’s a big chunk of what I’ve been up to. Ha!

Filed under: fitness, Teaching | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Pokemon No

Posted on July 20, 2016 by auburnchick

Guess what time it is?!  Yeah, it’s time for the Hodgepodge!  You’ll see the theme of time in this week’s questions.  Answer on your own blog and link up with Joyce.

1.  Pokemon Go…your thoughts? Are you playing? Do you even know what it is?

I have mixed feelings about this app.  The lengths people are going through to collect the characters is ridiculous.  People are throwing caution and respectability to the wind because of a virtual game.  Really?

On the plus side, it is getting people moving.  I use the app Charity Miles, which partners up with different sponsors who donate money for how far people move their bodies (inside, outside, and biking).  This app had record-breaking numbers a few days ago because of Pokemon Go, and charities benefited.

For fun, have you seen this video…Chardonnay Go?  Oh my.  It’s totally more my speed!!

By the way, when I was on the hunt for this video, I googled “Chardonnay Run” by mistake and discovered that there is a Chardonnay Run in San Diego!  It’s a 5k, and you get to do wine tasting after!  Sign me up!!

2.  What was something you collected as a child? Do you still have that collection? If you’re a parent what’s something your own children collected? Have you ever camped out, stood in a crazy long queue, or paid a ridiculous sum for a ‘collectible’?

I cannot think of anything I collected when I was a child.  I don’t have many things left from my childhood other than a few books.

My children collected a few things.  Chicky collected key chains and American Girl dolls.  Rooster collected Hot Wheels cars and baseball cards.  Both children had large collections of books.  Reading was a big thing in this house.

Have I ever stood in a long queue to get a collectible?  Not that I recall.  I never really bought in (pun intended) to fads such as Bratz dolls (remember those) or Pokemon cards.  We didn’t have the money, and I wanted my kids to be their own people.

3.  “Collect moments, not things”…tell us about a moment you’ve added to your collection this summer.

My summer has been especially quiet now that Rooster is officially on his own.  My social media posts have included a lot of beach and pool photos with the hubby.  We are empty nesters now and are learning how to live life in the slow lane.  We treasure our weekends and downtime from work.

4.  What’s something collecting dust in your home right now? Any plans to do something about it?

Ha!  What’s not collecting dust?  I’m home on summer break, and while I should be catching up on cleaning and whatnot, I’m filling my hours with other activities.

What I really need to do is go through my closet and prune rarely-worn / too-large clothes now that I’ve lost weight and am back in shape.

I also need to get in my attic and decide what needs to go.  Empty nesting has that effect on you…you want to purge.

5.  A favorite song relating to time?

A song I always use in the end-of-the-year slideshows that I make for my classes is Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day.

I first used this song when Chicky was a senior, and I put together the slideshow for her school’s soccer teams’ banquet.  This was her senior class song, and it spoke to me on so many levels.  I still think of that special soccer season with her (the girl’s team went to the Final Four playoffs…unheard of for Podunk, USA).

It seems that my life lately has constantly been about crossroads…paths diverging…saying goodbye to what has been known and hello to what is new.

This song ALWAYS brings tears to my eyes.

Oh, and here’s something for you…

I typed this post late yesterday afternoon and finished right before I left for dinner.  The hubby and I met some friends at a place on the beach.

When we arrived, our friends were sitting at a table behind the guy playing a guitar and singing.

The song?

Good Riddance.

I looked over at the Mr. and said, “Hey, I just blogged about this song.”

It was meant to be.

6.  What’s been your most frightening or your most interesting encounter with wildlife?

A number of years ago, the kids and I were taking down plywood that I’d put up around my screened-in porch after a hurricane had passed by.

When I lifted one piece, I discovered a very large, red snake that had somehow slithered between my brick and the wood.  The snake and the brick were the same color, so I almost put my hands on it!

I screamed bloody murder.

There were kids playing in the yard of the house behind mine, and they stood on their trampoline and stared at me.

Fortunately, the Mr. had come home on a break, and he was inside the house.  He came out, grabbed a stick, and took the snake to the pond across from our house.

Lord have mercy!!

7.  On July 20, 1969 Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong set his foot down on the moon. If you could travel to the moon would you go? Why or why not?

If I knew it was completely safe, I might.

I recently finished reading the Lunar Chronicles series that I bought for my classroom.  A good portion of these books take place on the moon, so now I’m curious about what it’s really like up there.

8.  My Random Thought

Can we talk fitness?

Oh my.

I’m working through my second round of Beachbody’s Hammer and Chisel (I don’t sell it, so please don’t think I’m trying to push this on you).

I’m working extra hard and seeing some great results.

What I like about doing this program again is that I can actually process some of the funny and motivational things Sagi and Autumn say during the workouts.

First of all, who made the schedule?  Look at what I circled below…two Leg Hammer workouts consecutively.  Say what?  These are after the other videos in the boxes.

You use a medicine ball with the leg workout, and it is so dang hard!  I’m only smiling because I’m done.

The payoff on Monday was worth it…BIG calorie burn!

Then yesterday, I did Chisel Agility, which I really like (except for the jumping moves, which are freaking hard).

Autumn said something toward the end that I had to write down, “She doesn’t quit when she’s tired.  She quits when she’s done.”

I’m going to use this quote in my classroom.  My students often get tired.  That’s when they need to push through.  The payoff will confidence and, although sometimes unseen, progress.  I’m proof of that.

It’s a great motto for life.

Filed under: children, empty nest, fitness | Tagged: , , , , | 7 Comments »

Monday

Posted on July 11, 2016 by auburnchick

Because I’m trying really hard not to fall off the blogging train, I’m going to post something quick before the clock strikes midnight.

Today was a good day.

I had plans.

For an introverted teacher who spends ten months surrounded by lots and lots of people and two months shut away from the world, this is huge.

I got up early…for a summer day…and did my workout.

I started my second round of Hammer and Chisel last week.  I really need to blog about round 1.  I’ll get to that as soon as the Mr. takes my measurements.

Anyhoo, this morning, I added in an ab workout that’s not part of this program but one that I saw that Beachbody had tweeted out about.

Y’all…the first move.  Oh my golly.  It was brutal.  The bug move was fun, and the last move…totally had me smiling, in an ab torture kind of way.

Then, I jumped in the shower and got ready to head out.

I was on my way to meet a new-to-my-school reading teacher.  Along the way, I stopped at Fresh Market to hunt for brown rice syrup, an ingredient I need for a recipe I want to try.  I didn’t find it, so I moseyed on over to Ulta and catered to my inner diva with the purchase of a few bottles of nail polish.

Ahem.

Then, I met my now-new friend, J, at one of my favorite places to eat.

I asked for a certain seat, and here was my view…

Go ahead and be jealous.

J is just adorable, and I quickly took a liking to her.  We are going to have a lot of fun this year, and I know I’m going to learn a lot from her.

After we finished, I met her at our school and walked her around.  She got to see her new classroom, which she ogled over, and I gave her the low-down on teacher attire (no uniform for us!) and other things.  Then, we parted ways with her hugging me before she left!  Total sweetheart.  I can say this because I’m almost twice her age.  😛

I ran a few other errands, met up with Rooster’s girl, who came to the house to get some paperwork and then run more errands with me, and finished out my day with a bit of Food Network Star on the DVR and my current book, The Testing.

I am loving my lazy summer days.  They make up for the harried pace I run the rest of the year.

Filed under: empty nest, fitness, Teaching | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Summer Fun

Posted on June 20, 2016 by auburnchick

Oy vey, but my blog stats really stink!  I am enjoying summer a little too much, if that’s possible.  I have so much to write about too.

One of these days I’ll get caught up.

For now, let’s begin with a brief post about some fun I’ve been having.

First of all, my brain is working again.  That’s probably because I’m actually sleeping more than eight hours each night.  My alarm clock is feeling neglected.

I’ve maintained my workout routine, albeit I’m not exercising at the butt crack of dawn.  I am completely in love with Beachbody.  For someone who was a skeptic for a couple of years and actually avoided conversations about it, I am hooked.  The structure has been good for me because I am a person who craves organization.  As a teacher, I’m burned out on keeping others organized, so the workout schedules that come with the programs remove the planning and thinking.  All I have to do is show up in front of my TV with a good attitude.

Something fun I’m doing right now is working out, virtually, with my friend, Rebecca.  She’s a way better blogger than I am…blogs real regularly and everything.  I really need to follow her example.

She and I decided to do Hammer and Chisel together.  I was ahead of her by a couple of days because she changed her rest day, but then I got behind her a few days when I went out of town for almost a week.  We post near-daily pictures on Instagram and even have a clever hashtag #chiseledknitters (because we are aiming to get chiseled, and we are both knitters).  Go ahead and marvel at our smartness.

We’ve decided to do a second round of Hammer and Chisel when we finish this one and then move into a new program together.  Today, I started Week 7.  There are eight weeks total.  I love, love, love this program because I’m lifting weights again.  The payoff has been amazing!!!

I bought a heart rate monitor to go with my Garmin Vivoactive fitness watch.  The strap goes around my chest and helps me monitor the number of calories I’m burning during non-running exercises (something I couldn’t do before).

Ignore the yard in the next collage. That’s a story for another day.

Another fun thing I got to do was eat lunch with my sweet friend, Jane.

I met her six years ago when I started teaching.  We were first-year teachers together at a small private school.  I’ve talked about her before.  She’s my friend and mama-figure all in one.  Our lunches stretch for hours…usually into dinner time…because we always have a lot to catch up on.  She retired at the end of the school year and moved to another part of the state for the summer.  I already miss her terribly.  Despite the age difference (only a year or two), we have so many things in common.

Of course, summer just wouldn’t be summer without cooking.  Now that I have time to look at recipes and grocery shop, I’m having fun trying new things.

Rooster’s girl’s father gave me three cookbooks.  This one has quickly become my favorite…

I’ve only had one recipe not turn out that great (taste-wise, it wasn’t my preference…not that it was bad or anything).  The recipes are extremely easy to make and only require a short list of ingredients.

This afternoon, I made the Creamy Mushroom Tomato Soup.  Oh my goodness…it was so easy!  It’s got a fresh flavor (I roasted the tomatoes myself), and each serving doesn’t have a lot of calories.

I’ve also been prowling for dessert recipes.  The Mr. likes having something sweet to munch on.  I hope he likes this Cracker Candy I quickly whipped up today after watching a video that’s been making the rounds on Facebook.

It is seriously the easiest recipe ever!  You wind up freezing it and then breaking it into pieces.  The center has something akin to caramel (it’s melted butter and brown sugar).  I veganized the recipe, of course.  I envision breaking up candy canes and sprinkling them over the top during the holidays.  Yum!

On Sunday, I made this No-Bake Peanut Butter Cup Pie, from Detoxinista.  Surprisingly, it’s not overly sweet, but it is addictive once you have a slice…or two…or three.

So, that’s just a small glimpse into what I’ve been up to.  It certainly isn’t everything, but maybe, if I feel up to it, I’ll post more sooner rather than later.

I do want to share about the big trip to Texas that I made three weeks ago.  That will actually have to be a series of posts because the awesomeness of it is just too much for one reading.

Filed under: fitness, Teaching, Vegan | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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