Thursday, May 10, 2012

Paleo - Crossfit

Okay, confession time. I couldn't/wouldn't finish the Isagenix cleanse. That crap tasted like funky jagermeister...and not in a good way. Only made it through one day drinking that junk. YECH! (That's like "yuck," but even more disgusting!).

Anyhoo...my health/workout education/obsession has progressed further. You need to go to youtube.com and type in "what is crossfit?" to see what I've been doing these last few weeks. Also, look up information on the paleo diet. I'm so excited about both of these things....I almost peed my pants thinking about them :)


Saturday, April 7, 2012

EASTER-genix

Good morning y'all! I know it's been awhile - guess what? My goal to go to the gym every day this past week was not accomplished. *sigh* I underestimated the time I'd need for Isla, the campaign and my office - bad time management on my part. Well, the campaign will be over Tuesday - that's voting day. But between now and then I don't have any official campaign events so I should be just fine.



As you all know, I've felt a little out of sorts since I was sick in February - haven't been eating as well as I normally do, haven't gone to gym 6 days each week like usual, etc. I've decided to take control and jump back into things with a passion starting Monday (it IS Easter this weekend after all!). To help jump back into my good eating habits, I've been looking for a healthy cleanse and finally settled on the Isagenix 9-day cleanse. Officially I'm starting the cleanse Monday, but I'm going to do two "Shake Days" today and tomorrow to get my body ready.

I've got my planner and chart up on the fridge so I'm ready to go. I'll end up with a lot of body data for you by the end of the cleanse so you'll be able to make the decision if it's something you'd like to try for yourself. This morning I weighed myself and took 14 body measurements of the following areas:

Neck
Upper Arm (L)
Upper Arm (R)
Chest
Diaphragm
Waist
Abdomen
Buttocks
Upper Thigh (L)
Upper Thigh (R)
Calf (L)
Calf (R)
Upper Knee (L)
Upper Knee (R)

Today and tomorrow are being treated as "Shake Days" and will look like this:

Morning - drink 1-2 glasses of water when I wake up
Breakfast - mix 2 scoops of IsaLean shake with 8 oz of purified water; take 1 Natural Accelerator capsule to help jump start my metabolism
Mid-Morning Snack - 1 serving of Isagenix Snacks
Lunch - healthy, low-glycemic and balanced 400-600 calorie meal
Mid-Afternoon Snack - 1 serving of Isagenix Snacks; take 1 Natural Accelerator capsule
Dinner - mix 2 scoops of IsaLean shake with 8 oz of purified water

The Isagenix cleanse system recommends 8, 8 oz glasses of water every day. I'm going to shoot for 16, 8 oz glasses of water like I do every day. Also, the Isagenix system recommends a minimum of 20 minutes of exercise every day. Obviously on my regular FXB days, I'll have a minimum of 45 minutes of intense exercise. On Sundays I'll plan on taking Isla for a nice long walk or have a short run. This weekend is going to be a little off because we're taking Isla to Okoboji to see GG (Great-Grandma :), Grantie and Grunkel (Great Aunt and Great Uncle) for Easter. Mom, Dad, Kell Bell, her three kids, Meghan, her husband and two children are going as well. WHEW! I won't have access to a gym so I'll plan on walking a lot with Isla and the kids and playing with them at the park. Also, we'll be opening our cabin for the summer which usually involves a lot of raking, mowing and cleaning. I'm sure there will be plenty of exercise involved :)

Have a wonderful Easter weekend everyone!
John 11:25-26
"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."

Monday, March 26, 2012

Good morning!

Whew! It's been awhile since I posted - workouts have been going well; although I must admit that I've only been going every other day for the last two weeks. The campaign trail has been heating up for the city council position. With work and campaign events, I've been hard pressed to be home with my family let alone make it to work out in the morning. BUT, those are excuses and I know it; this week my goal is to go to FXB all 6 days :) The kickboxing workout this morning was intense. I've been going to the 6 am class so I can make it to work early enough to get things done on the days with mid-day campaign events. It's been crazy, but I've really loved all the opportunities to speak at the various events. I'm being interviewed this morning at 10:00 a.m. by KSFY at my office; tonight from 7-9 there is a candidate forum for the South Dakota Tea Party. Have a wonderful day everyone!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Wonderful day!

Great workout this morning! Even some of the FIT members were having to take short breaks by the end of the hour :) Man! My buns were thoroughly kicked!

In campaign news: I've been contacted by KSFY to provide my picture and answer a questionairre for the voters; I'm also supposed to let them videotape a messsage to the voters to be put on their website. Yikes! I'm looking forward to it, but I'm also nervous as all get out :) The Argus Leader is also going to have a question and answer session on March 28, 2012 - I believe the purpose is so the newspaper can figure out which, if anyone, of the candidates it will support. Finally, my campaign signs are being made (hopefully) as we speak! Things are heating up!

Monday, March 12, 2012

WEEK 10

Just finished a great kickboxing workout this morning - and it's the start of WEEK 10 if you can believe it! Time has gone by really fast in my opinion - there were a couple of hiccups along the way with me getting horribly sick, but I'm proud of how far I've come. I can't beat myself up over that week that was missed (although I wonder how much farther along I'd be). We've got final testing this Saturday - St. Patty's Day. What a perfect day to end our 10 weeks on :) I think I might have to have an adult beverage or two.

The rodeo on Saturday was a lot of fun - speaking of adult beverages. I can't wait to take Isla to one next year; nor can I wait to buy her her first pair of pink cowgirl boots.

Friday, March 9, 2012

TGIF

Crazy kickboxing workout today - for the first time (since my first day) I was feeling gassed with ten minutes left!  It was all I could do to muster up the strength for an extra 100 sit-ups after class. In fact, even as I type this, my fingers are slowly starting to cramp up....I'd better go! :) Have a great day.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Good morning!

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm really not feeling that exclamation point I put in the title. My upper body resistance workout this morning really killed today! I could take a nap happily right now - after I finish my protein shake. Isla's new thing lately has been to turn her head away when we go in for kisses; so, after my tough workout, I went in for a big smooch and was REJECTED by my one year old. Of course, she's pint-sized so I eventually overpowered her and went to town on her right cheek.

Luke's 32nd birthday is next Tuesday - YIKES. As a super duper supportive wife, I've been making extra sure lately to remind him how old he is getting :) I'm taking him to a rodeo this weekend as a pre-birthday present. My Chicago sweetheart went to his first rodeo two years ago and LOVED it. That's right people - this is how the West was won :)

Monday, March 5, 2012

Fit for a King!

Okay, I have a wonderful announcement to make! My husband and I just had our new King sized bed delivered from Comfort King this morning! I KNOW! :) It's the most comfortable bed I've ever been in in my life. I decided to test it out this afternoon with a 2 hour nap - heaven. Okay, so that's probably not earth shattering news to anyone but my husband and I, but I'm positively glowing from how awesome our new bed is! Our bed is the "Elegance" mattress set with a lifetime comfort guarantee. Our salesman was GOOD! Well played Justin! My mom and I didn't stand a chance when we walked in there Saturday afternoon :) If you're in the market for a mattress and you live in the Sioux Falls area (or even if you don't) you should check these guys out. Ask for Justin Waggoner - he really knows his stuff.

Also, GREAT kickboxing workout today! I missed my workout this morning because I needed to stay with Isla since Luke wasn't feeling well. I went to the 6:30 p.m. class tonight and really worked my butt off. I've got court tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. so I'm thinking I should go to the 5:00 a.m. class, but man that'll be rough! Oh well, after I get an amazing night's sleep in my new bed maybe 4:30 a.m. won't feel so bad after all :)

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Fear of Not Mattering

Wonderful sermon this morning about God's promise to Sarah and Abraham that He would make them ancestors of many. Abraham was almost 100 years old at the time and so was Sarah; yet, Abraham had complete faith in God that he would create life in Sarah's womb where there was none. Having complete trust in God means giving up our own ideas of control over our lives:

"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." Mark 8:31-38.

Our pastor discussed that perhaps the section about denying ourselves really deals with denying ourselves the illusion of control. How many times have we thought or said, "I can handle everything myself?" Denying ourselves and asking God for what we need and desire.

After the sermon, my mom and I stayed after for Lenten Study where we're discussing Max Lucado's book Fearless:


Today we talked about Chapter 2 about our fear of not mattering in this life and the actions we take sometimes in the hopes it will prove we matter:

"For that reason we crave the attention of our spouse or the affirmation of our boss, drop names of important people in conversations, wear college rings on our fingers, and put silicone in our breasts, flashy hubcaps on our cars, grids on our teeth, and silk ties around our necks." Lucado, p. 21.

How many high school or college girls out there have had this happen: they've been asked out on a date by a good looking guy - so good looking the girl wonders what he sees in her since he's out of her league. Once he gets to know her, she figures he'll drop her; in fact, she might not even be able to hold his interest for the whole evening. So what does she do? Her insecurity drives her to use the one tool she trusts, her body. She sleeps with him on the first date because she's afraid there won't be a second. "She ends up feeling like the disposable woman she didn't want to become." Lucado, p. 25.

The wonderful thing we need to remember is that we matter simply because God made us - we're His idea! And God only had good ideas:

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care. And even the very hairs of  your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Matthew 10:29-31.

The Challenge for this week: Reflect on the ways you make others feel significant or insignificant. What is one specific way you can enhance a good relationship or correct a bad one? Do it!

Friday, March 2, 2012

That's not sweat, it's my body crying!

GREAT kickboxing workout today. I wore my long (now curly) hair stuffed into a winter hat. I decided on a whim yesterday to get curly hair. Until yesterday, I hadn't had a perm since 1988; truth be told, I didn't know if perms still existed so I googled it :). At the risk of deactivating the amonimum thioglycolate (thank you Legally Blonde), I'm not supposed to wash my hair or even pull it back with a hair tie for 72 hours. Right now it looks a little like I'm trying to bring the 80's back - which I haven't tried since 2009 as you can see below:



Well, here's to me figuring out how to work with curly hair. Oh, apparenlty KSFY is putting together summaries of the candidates for City Council and they need a head shot of me....

Thursday, March 1, 2012

StarBUST

I think the Universe is telling me to stop drinking Starbucks. Yesterday, I was really in the mood for my regular plain latte. I rolled up to the Starbucks drivethrough and ordered.....a Grande Venti. For those of you that aren't down with the Starbucks lingo, I effectively orderered a Medium Large. There was a pregnant pause as I tried to figure out why the barista wasn't repeating my order back to me when it hit me. We both started laughing.

After the gym this morning I thought I'd treat myself to a latte and redeem myself. No dice. As I pulled in behind the 9 or so cars in line, I realized I didn't bring my purse this morning. I never carry cash so I only had a dollar in change - which won't even buy you a Kleenex at Starbucks. *Sigh*

Anyhoo, the lower body and ab workout was intense this morning. I'm still feeling a little weaker than usual thanks to last week's illness, but I'm working it out as hard as I can. My glutes feel SUPER CUTE today :)

Oh, in my blog post yesterday I neglected to reveal the coolest thing that happened over the last ten days: my fifth niece was born! My sister Meghan gave birth to a beautiful little angel they named Sadie Reece. What a dreamboat. She was born February 23 - I couldn't see her right away of course (at least not without a HazMat suit), but I was able to hang out with her a bit over the weekend.



I don't know how my sister can look so absolutely stunning immediately after her c-section. We've got good genes - what can I say? :)

Then yesterday, my dad got the results back of his lateset CT Scan - his cancer is stable! What a wonderful week it has been.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaack!

You're supposed to read the title like the little girl in Poltergeist :) Okay, so a lot has happened since I last posted. Remember that juice fast idea? Well, Luke mentioned that it probably wasn't the best time to try a juice fast when I was feeling so sick. So that only lasted for one day - it's a good thing too! By last Wednesday evening I was so sick I had a hard time even sitting or laying down comfortably - my bones were so sore! I finally went into Acute Care. Normally, I hate going into the doctor as an adult because nine times out of ten you're basically told to suck it up and take some OTC meds. Well, apparently I looked as crappy as I felt because the doctor on duty did a chest XRAY and blood panel. Turns out....ready for this? I had BOTH viral pneumonia AND influenza A. Woo hoo! UGH. No wonder I felt so awful. I missed FXB from last Tuesday through yesterday - one full week! My office was closed all last week as well.

Well, I've been back at work all this week so far, but hadn't tried FXB until this morning. I sucked it up and went to kickboxing and boy, am I glad I did! A couple of my friends at class noticed that I was paler than usual when doing the workout, but overall I think I did great. I'm pretty sure the paleness was simply because my breathing capacity isn't back to normal yet (I guess on XRAY my lungs looked really bad last week) so my muscles weren't getting as much oxygen as they probably needed/wanted. The important thing is that I really worked my butt off this morning and feel ten times better because of it. I just wish I hadn't had to take a week off. After this Saturday, there are only two more weeks left of the 10 week FXB challenge! Time has gone by so fast.

Oh, and in Sioux Falls City Council news, I picked a logo for my campaign:


What do you think? I'm pretty stoked about it :) I've already been quoted in the local newspaper on the issues I think are important - granted I was still reeling with pneumonia and influenza at the time so during the phone interview with the paper I was pretty stuffed up - I think I sounded okay though - not too crazy anyway :)

Have a great day everyone!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Sick Daddy

Good morning all - Last night my mom and sister took my dad to the ER because he could barely walk, had a fever over 102 and couldn't go to the bathroom. I went to my folk's house to be there while the twins and Avery were sleeping. Apparenlty my dad was really dehydrated and had a possible pneumonia on his chest xray. For those of you that don't know much about my dad's cancer history, this was actually good news! We were worried that the chemo had given dad another blood infection (of which he could have died) like he had the month Isla was born (they were hospital roommates for a couple of weeks). He was given two bags of fluid and was sent home around 4:00 a.m. They're running a bunch of blood tests of which we'll get the results sometime today. Needless to say, I did NOT go to my lower body FXB class this morning. All three of the girls were up at various times throughout the night in semi-meltdowns because they wanted their mommy. At one point, all four of us were snuggled together on my mom's bed. To make matters even more awesome, I'm hacking up a lung - AGAIN! Seriously, I need to be prescribed a bubble to walk around in. I get sick maybe once a year and since starting FXB I've had some form of sickness 5 TIMES in 6 WEEKS!! I don't get it??? Physically, I'm in the best shape I've been in four years, but obviously my immune system is working at a (-) 10. *sigh* First day of juice fast today. Already made 32 ounces of carrot/orange juice and 32 ounces of my mean green. That should last me for most of the day (along with boatloads of water). Please pray for my dad everyone.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Presidential

Happy Presidents' Day everyone! Hopefully you're off work today due to the holiday. I should be off work - the courts and post offices are closed - but I scheduled a deposition for this morning in one of my cases. Yay me!

This morning's workout was great - so was Friday's. In fact, Friday's kickboxing workout was INTENSE. I missed Saturday's workout - my muscles were nice and sore and fatigued when I woke up so I thought I'd give them the morning off. Isla and I went to the mall instead where I bought Isla some super cute summer clothes and I bought myself a super cute purse :)



Starting tomorrow, I'm going to try doing a juice fast for 7 days. I'd start today, but I still have some delicious Quinoa and black beans in my office refrigerator that I don't want to toss! I'm not going to lie, I'm nervous about the juice fast and my will power. I hope posting about it will keep me honest! Oh, speaking of juicing, I made a delicious carrot and orange juice yesterday: 8 large carrots and 2 peeled oranges. Very tasty and SO good for you!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Yowza

Lower body and ab workout this morning was rough! Just sitting here drinking my protein shake and simmering some Quinoa for lunch later. I'm not proud of this, but I had some delicious Chinese food last night for dinner. Mmmmm....chicken lo mein (spicy) no mushrooms and rice. Hurt me Hercules! That was so good. *sigh* Back on the food wagon today :)

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

FIT Contract

It's official - I just signed up for a one-year long contract with FXB to continue my awesome workouts! I'm pretty stoked. I really hope I'm able to switch my class time from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. so I can see Isla more in the mornings. Fingers crossed! If they let me move, I'm really going to miss all the great people in the 7:00 a.m. spot.

Kickboxtastic!!!

Amazing workout this morning!!! I stayed after for the extra credit ab workout and honestly couldn't do all of them - I was completely tapped out after our kickboxing and ab workout. I feel SO GOOD! Exclamation points and capital letters cannot sum up how awesome I feel physically this morning. I'm in the process of making a giant container full of iced green tea and then I'll hit the road to work. On that note, I'm pretty sure I just microwaved a mug that was not meant to be microwaved. Hmmm. Nothing like the smell of burnt plastic in the morning :) There's no raining on this parade man!

Isla had a wonderful Valentine's Day yesterday - she received little notes from her fellow daycare attendees and a Valentine book from her daycare lady, Ginny. Isla is too little for the candy so Ginny thought a book would be better. She's great.

On the way back from FXB, I stopped off to see my two oldest nieces, Maisy and Lily. Their 4th birthday is coming up in April and they were telling me how it's TAKING FOREVER!! :) They were also very impressed with my bright purple long sleeved FXB shirt. According to Maisy it is "really beautiful." LOVE THEM.

Have a wonderful day everyone. If I meet you on the street, I'll try not to annoy you with my overwhelming energy today :)

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

On Fire!

In honor of my arms being on fire this morning after our upper body resistance workout, and it being Valentine's Day and all, I thought I'd post a video with one of the sexiest songs out there:


The Boss' "I'm on Fire" has replaced Dave Matthews' "Stay or Leave" as my alarm song in the morning.

Oh, I received the best letter ever from our soldier, Ben, in Afghanistan! He's been getting my care packages and has loved everything so far. He even has a picture of our little Isla in his truck. Apparently, he's on one of those search and destroy type convoys that goes out ahead of everyone and tries to find and destroy IED's hidden underground. They're gone from their base 25 days out of the month and live out of tents or sleep where they park their vehicles. It was so good to hear from Ben and know that he's doing well and getting our care packages. They're not much, but hopefully they help make things a little easier :)

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day everyone - if you're single, our town has something called The Bitter Ball you could go to instead :)

Monday, February 13, 2012

Sunday Punditry

Kickboxing kicked my butt this morning. I was exhausted by the time we were done today - could it possibly have been because I ate a piece of pepperoni pizza last night? NO! Couldn't have been that! :)

Yesterday I went out in the bitter cold door to door collecting signatures to get on the ballot for a City Council position. Despite my frozen fingers and toes, I had a great time talking with people and discussing our great city. Some of the residents had some really good questions and specific concerns about the way the current council has handled some big issues. You all know me, I'm a talker so we got along wonderfully :) I only needed 50 to get on the ballot but I'm going to make sure to get more than that in case one of the other candidates tries to get any of my signatures tossed. Today I'm turning in two sheets of 20 since they're all filled up - that'll give the other candidates 5 days to find anything wrong with those signatures. I still have two weeks to turn in the rest of my sheets. So exciting!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

5 Week Results!!

Happy Sunday everyone. First, I want to say what a wonderful Sunday morning service we had today. It was all about rituals and traditions - both religious and non-religious - that keep families bonded and close. As a mother of a young one, it's both exciting and intimidating to know that Luke and I are "in charge" of creating and continuing traditions and rituals that Isla will grow up with and one day pass on to her own children. Here is the prayer for the week:

Dear God, you communicate your love for us most essentially through the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Remind us how you use the things of the earth, relationships and human activity to recall, to bless, to commit and to hope. We give thanks for the many ways we participate in your loving presence, including song, dance, symbols, worship and much more. Bless us as we embrace rituals and traditions that bring us into your presence with faith, hope and love. In the name of Jesus, the one who broke bread that we might share in the bread of life, Amen. 

Our church is also starting various book study groups to read Max Lucado's Fearless. I'm going to see if my mom and sisters are interested in joining one of the set groups, or starting our own. Have any of you out there read the book? I'd be interested in your comments. Thanks!

Okay, now on to my 5 week FXB results from yesterday's testing. First, I'd like to give a shout out to the Good Lord who made the temperature below zero yesterday. The FXB staff decided not to have us run the mile because they'd rather we show up to class Monday ready to go than pull some major muscles on the ice cold run. Woo hoo!

My inches and pounds lost results are less than impressive - mostly due to the increased muscle I've been gaining; but, my increased push-ups and sit-ups really tell the story of how FXB has been working!!:

Chest (-) 1 inch
Waist (-) 1.5 inches
Arm -same-
Thigh (+) 1/4 inch (yikes :)
Hips (-) 1/2 inch


Weight (-) 4.4 lbs
Body fat (-) .7


Push-ups (+) 25 !!!
Sit-ups (+) 13 !!!
Sit & Reach (+) 1 inch


I'm ready to rock and roll for the next 5 weeks.

Friday, February 10, 2012

No! I do NOT want a car wash!

It was FREEZING this morning and windy as can be. I had to stop for gas on my way to FXB, and on days like this I wish there was a temperature sensitive automatic shut-off valve for the dumb questions asked before you can actually get the gas into your car; i.e.: Would you like a car wash today? NO....thirty seconds later...Would you like a receipt today? NO!!!...thirty seconds later....okay, pump your gas now. Well, I would, but my face and hands have frozen off and crashed to the ground in a million pieces :)

This morning's kickboxing workout was officially the best one yet. Man oh man was it tough today. We were on a continuous loop of kickboxing, plank work and running and/or squatting between different bags today. Our instructor would give us "breathers" throughout the 45 minute workout that consisted of sit-ups or plank work. Ouch - but MAN I feel amazing! What an awesome way to end the first five weeks of workouts. Tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. we have retesting so I'll let you know how much more awesome I am now than when I started FXB January 7, 2012 :) We'll redo the mile run, sit-ups, push-ups, body fat %, body measurements and the v-sit and reach. I'm looking forward to everything but the mile because we run outside and GUESS WHAT? Suprise, suprise, it's supposed to be even colder tomorrow - possibly negative temperatures in the early morning. Fantastic. I'm wearing my runner's face mask and a hat tomorrow; I don't care how much I resemble a cuter version of Hannibal Lecter :)

Oh, good tip for those of you that get tired of drinking plain water all day. I've been making green tea throughout the day and then putting it over ice in a big 32 oz container. Green tea is SO good for you (unless you're pregnant) and it's a great way to shake up your boring water without adding unhealthy sugars or artificial sweeteners. Have an awesome weekend and keep your fingers and toes crossed that I do a great job tomorrow.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Poopy Plank Party

Alliteration aside, yesterday and this morning have been jam packed with awesomeness! You would have been so proud of me yesterday morning. My husband wakes me up at 6:45 a.m. (when I'm normally already on my way to class); apparently, I shut off my I-phone alarm instead of hitting snooze at 6:00 a.m. Yikes. I shot up to a sitting position and then abruptly slumped down thinking I would just miss class because there was no way I'd make it on time. That thinking lasted for around 30 seconds until I said, "To heck with being late, I'm going!" I threw on a sports bra and some crappy workout clothes and ran out the door. I got to class ten minutes late; everyone was just finishing up the warm-up so I jumped right in with kickboxing and made sure to stay late for extra credit ab work. The coolest part? No joke, The Eye of the Tiger played on the radio as I sped towards FXB. BAM! That's what I'm talking about! During our kickboxing workout the instructor had us doing various planks inbetween our time on the bag....over, and over, and over again. My stomach and lower back were TIGHT!!

After class, I met Luke at Isla's head check appointment. Because Isla was a micro-preemie and spent over three months in this world and in gravity before she was supposed to make her appearance, the docs always measure her head shape (because some kids need to wear helmets for flat parts on the back of their heads, etc.) for symmetry, etc. Isla's head is fantabulous and never has to come back for any more head measurements! In celebration of this awesome event, I then took Isla home where we waited for a nurse to show up and administer Isla's Synagis shot :( Poor baby. It's an immunization of sorts to prevent RSV in kiddos at higher risk during RSV season. After her initial look of betrayal and crocodile tears, we snuggled and watched Breakfast at Tiffany's. I thought all was forgiven. THEN, during her afternoon nap, Isla had a blow-out poopy diaper that was then smeared on her bedding and railing and on Isla's back and fingernails. EPIC. Here's a picture of what my little darling looked like after I got over my initial shock :)


What a stinker!

This morning's upper body workout was good. I feel like I'm straining my neck too much on some of the shoulder exercises, but it's hard to pinpoint because my form looks good in the mirror???? Anyhoo, maybe I just need a massage. Yeah! That's right! I need a massage. Man I'm good at diagnosing myself :) Have a great day everyone.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Recipes!!

Good morning everyone! The lower body workout today was killer - I forgot that I missed the lower body workout last week when I had The Plague so I couldn't figure out why it was harder this morning than usual :)

The recipe my SIL Kate forwarded to me is AWESOME! Even Luke tried it and loved it. The recipe made enough for me to have it for lunch this week as a great protein filled meal. Here you go!

QUINOA & BLACK BEANS
Ingredients:


1 TB vegetable oil (I used coconut oil)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped (or used the bottled minced kind)
3/4 c. uncooked Quinoa
1 1/2 c. vegetable broth
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt & pepper to taste
1 c. frozen corn kernels
2 15oz cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c. chopped cilantro (I forgot to add this at the end and it was STILL really good!)


Directions:


1. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat; stir in onion and garlic and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix Quinoa into saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes (until the Quinoa has absorbed the broth)
3. Stir frozen corn into saucepan and continue to simmer about 5 minutes. Then mix in black beans and cilantro.


My mom asked me to write out this recipe for her; while I was doing so, I figured I'd write out an easy recipe for actually cooking your Quinoa (in case you're not sure). The recipe that follows is one I try to make every week. It's just plain Quinoa with no seasoning - that way it can be used later in the week for multiple recipes (like the AWESOME PORRIDGE I've been raving about):

QUINOA - PLAIN
Ingredients:


1 c. uncooked Quinoa
1 1/2 c. water


Directions:


First, you want to soak your Quinoa in warm water for around 5 minutes; then, place the Quinoa in a fine strainer and rinse under hot water for around a minute or so. This removes the bitter outer coating of natural chemicals called saponins (saponins make the Quinoa seeds less palatable to birds and other seed-eaters).


Second, put the Quinoa in a saucepan with the 1 1/2 c. of water on medium heat for around 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally and keep an eye on the Quinoa especially toward the last five minutes. You want the Quinoa to soak up all the water, but if you forget about it the Quinoa will burn. TRUST ME :)

Monday, February 6, 2012

Lyndsay Texas Ranger

Note(s) to readers: Chuck Norris can not only hear sign language, but he can strangle you with a cordless phone.

Unbelievably AWESOME kickboxing workout this morning!! Our instructor really pushed us today; I mean, they all push us every day, but she was ready to rock 'n roll this a.m. When we were all doing jumping jacks during our warm-up, the instructor asked if anyone's team won the Super Bowl last night. There must not be many Giants fans in class because there were only a couple of mumbles. I took that opportunity to give a loud shout out to THE CHICAGO BEARS!! Yeah baby :)



Oh, and another note: make sure to have a banana mixed in with your brown rice/vegan protein. It's still far superior to whey as far as how I feel afterwards, but this morning we were out of bananas and my shake was a little bitter with just ice, water and POM juice.

My lovely and talented sister-in-law, Kate, gave me a recipe for Quinoa and Black Beans which looks delicious. I plan on making it tonight; if it's as good as it looks, I'll post the recipe here later.

PS: I made some more of that lightly sweetened porridge yesterday and loaded the heck out of it this time with pecan pieces. I CANNOT overstate how good that stuff is :)

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Sunday

I woke up at around 5:30 this morning with more energy than I knew what to do with. I went to 8:00 a.m. church service with my mom and the lesson was all about service to and for others:

All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.


Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me...'


'Truly I tell you, whatever  you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'


[Matthew 25; 32-40].


I'm reminded how important my role will be in Isla's life to show her how to care for others and just how to be a good person in general. I hope one day she will be as proud of me as I am of her every day. Have a wonderful week every one!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Delicious porridge

I just made the tastiest porridge EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD (Okay, my world anyway):

1 cup Quinoa (already cooked!)
1/3 c. rice milk
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 c. pecan pieces
2 tsps pure maple syrup

Combine all ingredients in medium saucepan; heat for around 10 minutes. ENJOY. And guess what? It's VEGAN. No way! :)

Mommy Dearest

My mom came with me this morning to FXB so she could check everything out - I'm really hoping she decides to join the next 10 week program. This morning was upper body resistance training - thanks to being sick all week, the last time I did an upper body workout was more than one week ago. I was definitely feeling it this morning.

Also, I've been wanting to move toward a more whole foods/plant based diet for some time now and after watching Forks Over Knives, I'm done procrastinating! We're making the move baby. Luke says he's on board with everything - my sister Kelly and my mom are also getting on board too. Watch the movie if you have time - watch it even if you don't have time. I already ordered plant based protein powder for my morning shakes; it's going to take a few days to get here, so this morning on my way home from the gym I stopped by HyVee to see if they had any vegan protein powder (as it is often called). Surprisingly, they did! I don't know much about the brand, but it'll do until my regular stuff gets here: MLO Brown Rice Protein. The powder is wickedly fine and mixes well into the shake, but there is more of a grainy feeling when you drink it than with regular whey protein. Get past the grainy texture because the taste is really good!

This move to plant based and away from animal based is going to be a journey - I'm so picky when it comes to certain foods, but I'm dedicated to figuring out a way to do it. My first step is to do away with all dairy products. So, I know I've recommended certain yogurts on this blog before and they're still fine - this new diet just does away with all animal based foods so the yogurt has to go too. Anyway, I'm pretty pumped that Luke is on board. It's important to have a good support system around you when you make big changes in general, but particularly when they involve diet. Have a great weekend everyone! Oh, since I was MIA all week I'm not going to give myself a "cheat day" this weekend since I didn't earn it through working out. BUMMER! 'Cause tomorrow is the Super Bowl. Oh well - the Chicago Bears aren't in it so it'll be a big YAWN for me :) Oh, if you're watching the game with any huge Tom Brady or Eli Manning fans, the first time one of them throws an incomplete pass yell "Man! He throws like a kicker!" :) That'll get people riled up.

Friday, February 3, 2012

I DID IT!

I FINALLY went to FXB this morning after a week of feeling like absolute crap. It was kickboxing today which was a tad ambitious on my part, but I was able to do everything (albeit it on a slightly lower "kick butt" level than usual). Strangely, this is the first time in my life that I worked out after going more than four days without keeping any water down - I've only been able to drink Gatorade and Powerade all week. Now I'm really jonesing for an ice cold glass of water, but I'm nervous. The last time I tried drinking water was Wednesday and that DID NOT WORK OUT...for anyone involved :)

One of my old bosses from The Firm works out now at the same time I do - thankfully, it's the one partner left at my old firm that I can stand :) So it's all good. Anyhoo, I'm drinking a protein shake sans yogurt this morning because I didn't want to tempt the tummy gods with any dairy. So far so good, although I'm so weak I've spilled shake on my tanktop twice already. What a hot mess! What's the moral of this abysmal story? If I can do it, YOU CAN DO IT!! :) Have a great day everyone - here's to feeling even better tomorrow.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Snow Helmet

In my delirium last night, that's what I asked Luke for...a snow helmet. CLEARLY, I meant knit hat. My stomach still hurt last night so I wanted to lay in the shower and let the hot water wash over me without getting my hair wet (since I washed it yesterday morning; or, as my adorable 3 year old nieces would say "last morning"). Can you appreciate the scene I am painting for you here? A delirious, naked woman laying in a shower with a Chicago Bears knit hat on. CLASSIC.

By the by, I'm feeling a lot better this morning. I'm home again from work, but I was finally able to keep down some chicken noodle soup last night around 8:00 p.m. PS, the saltine gambit did NOT work yesterday. I finally worked my way up to trying a few crackers around 3:45 following my afternoon court hearing. By 4:45 those same crackers were violently expelled. *sigh* I REALLY hope I can work out tomorrow. I've also moved all my appointments from this afternoon to tomorrow as well, so here's praying I'm back in the saddle.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

The PLAGUE

*Sigh*

I've missed three mornings in a row of FXB and feel really bummed about the whole thing. In all fairness to myself, I haven't kept down any solid foods since around noon on Monday and I've lost around 7 pounds due to  some pretty fantastic projectile pyrotechnics. My husband, God bless him, keeps telling me how HOT I look. Yeah, I'm sure most people might look hot after three days of not eating anything (check out most catwalks in NY :), but he means well - he knows I feel like crap and probably look like it too.

I'm back in the office for the first time this week armed with the following (per my sister Meghan's instructions): 3 bottles of Frost Glacier Freeze Gatorade, applesauce (in case I'm feeling perky enough to eat anything later), and a big box of saltine crackers. Ugh.

Please send a shout out for me to the Big Guy that I will feel good enough to workout tomorrow morning. Also, I'm actively praying that I don't get my little lady Isla sick too. OMG she is SO beautiful. She's getting to that age where when she wakes up in the middle of the night, she's not necessarily hungry she just wants me to rock and sing her back to sleep. She did that twice last night and it was HEAVEN. I cannot overstate how much I am in love with my own daughter.

Oh, in news from the sick couch: I read an amazing book yesterday called We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. Apparently it has also been made into a movie staring Tilda Swinton (I would have known that and probably already seen the movie when I lived in Chicago, but South Dakota rarely shows anything but the more mainstream flicks). Some words to sum the book up? Hmmm. DARK. DARKER. UNCOMFORTABLE maybe? BRILLIANT. It was a page turner and I read it in a day - it's around 427 pages but I'm somewhat of a fast reader (according to my husband).

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Breaking Band

WATCH OUT! For my rocking thighs people. That's right. I broke an o-ring band while doing my outer thigh exercises. BOO-YAH. It was on the upswing and took me totally by surprise. My right leg shot up like a rocket because the resistance disappeared out of nowhere as my o-ring snapped and went flying into the air. It was pretty awesome :) I have to be honest though, every time the instructor tells us to grab our o-rings, it sounds like they're asking us all to grab our birth control devices....You know what I'm talking about, isn't there a commercial for something called a nuvaring? HA.

I'm taking Isla to the zoo this morning with my sister Kelly and three of my nieces, Maisy, Lily and Avery. We won't be outside of course, we're just going to the museum part with all different exhibits. Should be fun. It was so cute, Lily (3) is worried Isla might not like the "roar" part of the dinosaur exhibit because she's "still pretty little" - I told her Isla would still have fun watching them have fun.

PS: I'm really digging the song "Lonely Boy" by the Black Keys. Have a great one everybody!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Portion control!

I missed my workout yesterday morning :( I've just still felt so "gunky" (you know what I mean!) - so I thought I'd sleep in a bit yesterday before heading off to the office. I feel tons better today. This morning's kickboxing class was crazy good! Everything was kind of switched up from the usual routine and we were all exhausted by the end - even most of the veterans were spent. It felt great though. I'm going to treat Wednesday as my "cheat day" so I'll just push through the whole weekend without any goodies.

To "make up" yesterday morning's missed workout, I'm going to go snow-shoeing or cross county skiing on Sunday with a new group of people I've hooked up with. The other day when I had all my metabolic measurements figured out, I met this WONDERFULLY AWESOME gal named Amy. She's this tiny little thing - so full of energy. The measurements and discussion took only around 15 minutes - Amy and I talked for 20 minutes after that! We just clicked. Anyway, Amy started a group in town called "Run for God." It's basically a group of Christians who want to get/keep in shape together. I don't have all the details yet, but I think they try to meet once a week; Amy also sends out weekly scripture passages/lessons that combine faith with a healthy lifestyle. I thought I'd share the first email I received this week with you all that are interested:


Day 14: God is my portion


Thought for the Day: “His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ ” (Lamentations 3:22–24)


The term “portion control” took on a whole new meaning for me one day when I read the response that God’s people had after Moses led them out of slavery in Egypt. God had performed several sensational miracles to help them escape their captors. Yet they panicked when food became scarce. They even asked to go back to slavery in Egypt where food was supposedly abundant. But God planned to use their desire for food to teach them about daily dependence upon Him.


As Israelites traveled through the desert, each morning God would rain down exactly what they needed for nourishment — a provision called “manna,” which I imagine was something like little, sweet, potato flakes. They were to collect just enough manna for the day. They couldn’t gather extra, except before the Sabbath day of rest, or it would rot. This daily process was intended to put them in the habit of dependence on God, and only God.


However, the Israelites began to grumble and turned their hearts against God. So He took them on a detour. Instead of heading straight to the Promised Land of freedom, they wandered in the desert for forty years while they learned how to truly depend on God.


I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to spend the next forty years of my life learning this lesson. I want to stop grumbling about my weight and embrace this valuable lesson to walk in the freedom of God’s provision. As we apply this same process to our struggles, we can find that God is the perfect portion for everything we need, every longing we have, every desperate desire of our soul.


God is there when my husband and I have a big argument, my kids are unruly, a business deal doesn’t go as planned, or the bills start piling up. Instead of grabbing a tub of ice cream or ordering pizza, I ask God to be my daily portion in these tough times.


For example, if your boyfriend breaks up with you, instead of inhaling a big bowl of chips and dip, ask God to be your daily portion of companionship in this lonely time. “God, I hate this rejection and hurt. Sometimes I feel like the loneliness is going to swallow me alive. I can’t deal with this on my own. Will You be my portion of healing and companionship just for this day?”


Or, when your kids are driving you crazy, instead of chowing down three pieces of chocolate cake, you might pray, “God, I so desperately want to be a patient mom. I don’t know if I can be a patient mom the rest of my life. But with Your portion of strength I can rely on You in this moment and not try to medicate my shortcomings with food.”


Whatever your situation, ask God to be your daily portion of companionship, provision, and patience — over and over. Soon, you’ll find yourself walking in victory over those things instead of looking back over tears and a pile of cake crumbs.


I'm really looking forward to this Sunday. I'm sure  you parents out there know how hard it can be to meet new and interesting people! Usually Luke and I are so content to stay at home playing with Isla or hanging out with my family that we don't get out like we used to. If the group is half as cool as Amy is, I'm going to stick with them! :) Have a great day everyone! DRIVE SAFE! I slid into a curb this morning on my way to FXB. It wasn't a big deal, I'd stopped accelerating once I realized my tires were floating on the snow so it really just a bump, but it could have been worse.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Swamp Volcano

A commercial just came on for a new SciFi channel movie and it's called "Swamp Volcano." I wish I was joking. I wonder what the actors think when their agents hand them a script with that title...."well, I guess it's over?" Okay, that was a bit harsh - at least they're making movies, right?

Awesome workout this morning! Kickboxing today was intense - so was our extra credit work out.  Wait a minute....I felt a lot like a SWAMP VOLCANO!! I knew there was a reason I saw that commercial :) Afterwards, I stopped by the store to pick up some stuff for our adopted soldier in Afghanistan. If you're interested in sending care packages overseas you should check out this website - I've been adopting soldiers since 2003 and it's a great way to give back.

Oh, yesterday I went and had diagnostics done at Envive Chiropractic to get the most advanced body composition data available - my metabolic rate, BMI, fat content, lean muscle content, etc. It's not the "Bod Pod," which some places have - I've done that in the past. With this test, you're hooked up to electrodes and get ZAPPED LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW!!! Just kidding - it's totally painless, but they do hook you up to electrodes :) I assume there's some kind of magnetic pulse or dolphin sonar technology that figures out all the ins and outs. Who knows? I'm going to recheck it at my 5 week mark and at my 10 week mark. Fingers crossed!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Ice Cream!

Soooooooo, I got a little carried away this morning with my protein shake (vanilla protein powder, strawberry Oikos nonfat yogurt, water, ice) and put WAY too much ice in my shake. What does that get you? ICE CREAM!!! Yay! What a fun way to start the day....with brain freeze! :)



The lower body resistance workout this morning was killer. When the first words out of the instructor's mouth at the start of class are: "You're all going to remember what muscle fatigue feels like," you know you're in for a work out. I was hurting during class, but I feel so great right now (that could be the ice cream though).

Oh, in other completely unrelated news: I think I might run for a spot on city council. Not sure yet. Kinda sure. My dad says he'll vote for me :) I'll keep you posted.

Monday, January 23, 2012

PFC Lucille

Man was I a hot mess this past weekend. The sickness finally caught up with me and I missed my first FXB class on Saturday :( I was NOT happy about that, but boy did I need the rest. I pretty much stayed in bed most of Saturday and Sunday - except for a quick trip to the grocery store on Saturday to buy more cucumbers, apples and ginger for my "Mean Green" juice. Saturday was cold, windy and snowy so I wore what anyone would wear in that situation: a navy blue doo rag tied into my hair, a puffy winter jacket and black snow shoes that resembled combat boots. The piece de resistance was my bright red lip gloss (I couldn't find my chapstick and my lips were dry from coughing - my lip gloss was the only thing I could find that had extra moisturizers in it). That's right folks, I was Lucille Ball incarnate if she were attending storm trooper training. CLASSIC.

My meals this weekend were also way out of whack - not because I was eating crap so much as I just wasn't eating enough. Between sleeping and taking my meds, I basically subsisted off of protein shakes and juices. Last night during the New York/San Fran game something came over me and I annihilated half a bag of white popcorn. FOR SHAME! I know! I was delirious and sincerely hoping San Fran would stick it to the mealy mouthed younger Manning.

We're back on track this morning though. I just had a great kickboxing workout and, despite feeling like I was on the verge of hacking up a lung or passing out depending on how deep my roundhouses were, really worked hard. I'm still a little shaky as I type this, but I knew there was no way I was going to miss another workout. I'm positive I feel better now than if I would've slept in. My protein shake is making its' way down my gullet and I'm going to stop at the grocery store on my way to the office to pick up some healthy food for the day. Fake it 'till you make it people!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Ugh

Snow, snow, snow, snow..... *sigh* I still made it to work out this morning, but I drove a max speed of 20 mph the whole way there. Good workout today - my throat is still sore so it felt like I was a lot thirstier than usual. It took forever to get back home. Luke is going to stay home with Isla today b/c she was up all night coughing. I might stay home for at least half a day so Luke can get outside and snowblow our driveway and sidewalks. Yeesh. It's just one of those days, you know? I think being sick is sucking some of the perkiness out of me :)

Oh, my juicer came yesterday! I made my first juice last night based on the "Mean Green" recipe from the flick I told  you about earlier: Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. The juice included the following:

6 kale leaves
1 cucumber
2 green apples
4 celery stalks
1 piece of ginger
1/2 lemon

It wasn't bad! No joke. I'm going to make another one this morning for my mid-morning snack. I just got done having an unconventional protein shake (at least for me). I wasn't really paying attention and put my husband's chocolate protein in my mixer instead of my usual vanilla. Added some water and BLUEBERRY flavored non-fat Greek yogurt with ice. It wasn't bad! Isla sure seemed to dig it when I let her take a small sip. Okay, I've got to SNAP OUT OF IT! :) Have a wonderful day everyone and please drive safe - this snow is going to continue to fall until mid-afternoon.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Feels like (-) 23

That's what the air temperature felt like with the wind chill this morning on my way to work out. Wanna know how I remembered that number for my wonderful readers even after obliterating my mind and quads to mush with this morning's lower body resistance training? I had to remember "Bad! Bad! Michael Jordan!" :) That was his number right? I'm more of a football fan.

Oh, and can someone remind me why I ever liked jumping rope when I was a kid? I've been staying after most mornings for "extra credit" workouts (usually abs). This morning we jumped rope for 2 minutes. If that doesn't seem long to you, go get a timer and a jump rope. Then talk to me :) After that we alternated straight arm planks, elbow planks, and a push-up position for around 4 minutes without putting our knees on the mat. Yikes. I did it, but I'm not going to lie, my butt went up in the air a couple of times when I needed to rest. Do what you can baby!

I'm drinking a super delicious shake this morning. This is one of my favs:

Water
Oikos Fruit on the Bottom Greek NonFat Yogurt (strawberry)
Small banana
TB raw honey
2 scoops protein
Ice

Sooooooooo good! Oh, and if you're looking for a healthy, balanced yogurt - I really recommend the Oikos brand. The total carbs are only 19g BUT the protein is 12g! That's a nice balance of protein to carb ratio. Plus, it tastes pretty damn good for a fat free yogurt. I'm more of a strawberry or blackberry girl; but, the other day I did buy some peach and that made for a nice, light tasting shake too.



In other news, I have a sore throat! (I'm shaking my fist dramatically toward the Heavens!). God still had the good grace to help me get to my workout this morning with a smile on my face and a Halls cough drop in my mouth :) Have a great day everyone!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

POWERHOUSE!

According to today's kickboxing partner, Jason (veteran FXB), I have a "powerhouse left hook." That's right people! You'd better WATCH OUT :) Fantastic work out this morning - we worked our butts off. The last five minutes was an ab fatigue blitzkrieg. Instead of lowering my legs gracefully to the mat when we were allowed to put them down, I'm pretty sure I THWAPPED! them onto the ground with a groan. That's just pure awesomeness rearing it's gorgeous, pain-filled head baby! Yeah!

When I got home, Isla was sleeping and Luke was in the livingroom. I forced him to have a quick flex off - he won, but BARELY. He thinks he's SO cool with his 6 foot 2, 230 lbs of muscle. Whatevs! :) Speaking of my little Isla Badila Muffin, if you've ever wondered about my motivation, look no further than this little firecracker:


She and I like to jam out in the mornings after my workouts to songs like Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain," The Pixies' "Where is My Mind," Kenny Chesney's "You and Tequila," Rhianna's "We Found Love," DEV's "In the Dark," Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds' "Stay or Leave," and, Tool's "The Pot" and "Vicarious." Our taste runs a little eclectic sometimes :) Isla thinks I'm a pretty sweet dancer - at least that's how I interpret her laughing and double hand wave in my direction. Have a wonderful day everyone. Drive safe! Still kinda' slippery out there.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Ghost of Shoulders Past

WTF? (Why the face? :) This morning's upper body resistance workout made me painfully aware of something: I NEVER use my shoulders. Okay, never is a strong word. I'm sure I use my shoulders when I lift one arm up to shave my underarms in the morning and switch sides; other than that, as a lawyer with a super handy husband, I NEVER use my freaking shoulders! They are so weak it's not even funny. My triceps are stronger than my shoulders. I'm seriously considering the utilization of a hammer curl motion when objecting in court :) Maybe that would help? I know hammer curls are more for the biceps, but if I really exaggerate the upswing I think I could be on to something.

Man I worked my butt off this morning! And that was just on the car ride to the gym :) Yes, South Dakota, we have our first substantial snow of the season. Craziness. Waking up to an inch of snow on January 17 is usually not surprising, but this winter has been pretty mild. People were slipping and sliding all over the place. I was almost side-swiped by an Escalade which would've been fine b/c clearly that driver has better insurance coverage than I do :) My workout was awesome as well - but realizing I have shoulder strength comparable to my one year old daughter was a wake up call!

Oh and in exciting nerdy news: I bought a juicer! FINALLY. I've been wanting one for a decade, but have always made due with my awesome Ninja blender. Anyhoo, I purchased the Breville JE98XL Juice Fountain Plus Juicing Machine. Sounds ominous! I can't wait for it to get here. In the past, I've always done some kind of cleanse every 3-4 months. I've decided for my next go-around to try a 10 day juice fast every 3-4 months. I know the first 2-3 days will be annoying as all get out, but it'll be a great way to give my body a rest (digestively speaking of course :).

Speaking of juicing, I was cleaning the house the other night and decided to have Netflix on in the background. Since I've been re-dedicating myself to being awesome fitness-wise, I settled on a documentary called "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead." Inspiring title right? :) You should watch it - it was a really amazing story of two men who basically re-set their sick bodies through juice fasting (I'm not talking 10 days, I'm talking 60 days!). One of the guys lives in Spirit Lake, IA! That's basically Okoboji Lake where I've been going with my family every summer since fetusdom. Pretty cool. The guy was an amazing inspiration. He went from something like 420 lbs down to 220 lbs. Just crazy - changed his whole lifestyle, etc. Pretty cool flick if you've got an hour or so.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Monday, January 16, 2012

I keep hitting repeat peat peat peat peat peat!

Great kickboxing workout this morning! In between sets, I held my plank position for well over a minute. My tummy muscles were burning but it felt great! I had so much FREAKING energy this morning :) I stopped off at Hy-Vee to pick up some greek yogurt, carrots, pickles and thickener (for Isla's bottles) - I was bouncing back and forth on the balls of my feet chatting up the lovely blue hair behind the checkout line. I hope I didn't make her nervous :)

Sooooooooo, what did I do for my cheat day? Actually, I controlled myself pretty well. I ate well the whole day except for lunch I allowed myself some pepperoni pizza and a Coke. So decadent :) Later that night, I had a protein shake for dinner while I watched poor Tebow lose big time to the Patriots; I allowed myself some white popcorn as a snack. That was it! Not bad, huh? Pizza and popcorn. Back in the day I would have had pizza ALL day long, maybe some Mexican food, a couple sodas, you get the picture. But I'm feeling so good lately - like the old me - that I decided to hold back on the junk food.

So far I've eaten PERFECTLY since the start of my ten week FXB classes. The key everyone is PLANNING, PLANNING and, if you have some extra time, PLANNING! Make sure you have the good stuff around you at all times. Don't plan a protein bar as a meal, but have some on you in case of emergencies. I've been able to get through every day without having to resort to one of those trumped up candy bars. The key for me has been raw carrots. I'm such a baby when it comes to vegetables - I pretty much won't touch them unless it includes carrots, or steamed broccoli, corn, etc. Well, since I'm not steaming any broccoli at work during the day, I munch on baby carrots so I can get in around 3 servings of vegetables. I also always have bananas and pecans on hand in my office. Lots of water. You know the drill people :) Have a fantastic week everyone! My sister, Kelly, is starting her paleo diet (hunter-gatherer, unprocessed foods) today and is popping by for some before pictures this morning. We'll have to check in with her down the road to see how her diet is working.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Quads, Berlin and Pancreatic Cancer!

Man oh man oh man! What an AWESOME workout this morning! Woke up perky as all get out this a.m. at 6:00 to the sound of my beautiful daughter babbling. When I picked her up out of her crib she gave me the biggest smile - I felt compelled to dance around the room with her singing "this is the day the Lord has made! let us rejoice and be glad in it!" I know that doesn't rhyme, but Isla was DIGGING IT!

This morning the gym was packed more than usual (on Saturdays you don't have to stick to your regular class time). I went at 7:00 just to keep things consistent. We worked on abs and lower body resistance training. I had such a great workout and totally redeemed myself from yesterday.

On the way home, Berlin's song "Take My Breath Away" came on and I was struck with such a sense of longing for the innocence of my toddler youth when everything was new and fresh and parents were invincible. For those of you that don't know my dad has Stage IV pancreatic cancer. He was diagnosed in February 2010 and basically given 3-6 months to live. Well guess what people? He's still alive and doing well almost two years later - he's still full of cancer of course but for some reason God has helped him beat the odds by a long shot.

What does this have to do with Berlin? Well, when I was little (1-3 years old) my parents had the soundtrack to Top Gun on VINYL :) and would play the record (among others). My dad would dance around with me, my feet on top of his. Every time I hear "Take My Breath Away" or Kim Carnes' "Betty Davis Eyes," I remember that time. I'm not going to lie, I teared up a bit this morning on the car ride home and was compelled to drive past my house and head the few blocks over to my parents' home. Dad was sleeping and I didn't want to wake him up, but I had a great chat with my mom and my sister Kelly about how to motivate Dad to continue taking all his meds and eating right. Sometimes we nag him to take all his pills every day because that's all we know how to do. But I think we should just remind him daily of how proud we are of him and how happy we are that he is doing so well and still here with us. I think that kind of positive reinforcement is more likely to keep Dad honest about taking his pills and taking care of himself than nagging. Don't you think?

Before leaving for my house I had the honor and privilege of flying my oldest niece, Maisy, (3 years old) around the living room in her fairy wings; I was also able to kiss Avery (1 year old niece) no less than 10 times and also help Lily (Maisy's twin) with her fairy wings and dance moves. I love my life! Two things that would have made the morning 100% perfect is (1) if my sister Meghan's daughter, Rylee (also 3) had been over at the house; and, (2) if Isla weren't sleeping right now so I could tackle her to the ground (gently :) and give her a giant raspberry on her tummy. Have a great weekend everyone!

Friday, January 13, 2012

My shoulders have stopped working!

Okay. This morning was TOUGH. I think this week finally caught up to me and landed in my right shoulder. Well, either this week caught up to me or my upper body workout yesterday - one or the other. Anyhoo, we had kickboxing this morning. Every time I hit the bag with my right arm I felt like my shoulder was not cooperating. Even though I was working my butt off and sweating like a fat kid in a sauna, my punches just didn't have the right "oomph" behind them. I still feel good because I know I worked out until I hit muscle exhaustion - it just felt like the exhaustion hit sooner than usual. Every day I know I'm getting stronger and stronger so I just need to brush off this morning and hit tomorrow's class with the same intensity I try to do every day. I couldn't stay for extra credit sit-ups this morning because I had to be at court by 8:45. I considered briefly showing up in my work out outfit, red sweaty face and crazy hair, but changed my mind and got my butt home to clean-up and change :)

Luke made some DELICIOUS pork lettuce wraps last night (he made chicken lettuce wraps last week that were to DIE for, but he said none of the chicken breasts looked good last night). I'm not sure what all goes into these bad boys; I glimpsed mushrooms, red bell peppers, fresh ginger (yum), garlic? I know there's some special sauce that goes in as well, but I haven't figured it out yet and he's holding his cards close to his chest. He usually won't tell me how he makes stuff unless I watch and learn how he does it. It makes sense. He knows I'm lazy and just like to wait for the awesome dinner; this way if I want to know a special ingredient I have to put in some effort. Personally, I think he just wants me near him in the kitchen because I'm so awesome :)

Have a wonderful day everyone! The weekend is almost here! I have one more workout tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. (lower body resistance training) and then I'm off Sunday. I'm supposed to have one day each week where I can throw caution to the wind and eat whatever I want. In the past my "reward day" was always Sunday. However, the thought of waking up early Monday morning for resistance training after a day of eating deliciously unhealthy foods is not appealing. I think I'll make my "reward day" tomorrow after my morning workout.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Guest Blogger: Kelly :-)

Hey all! Kelly here, one of Lyndsay's beautiful, younger sisters! Just thought I'd share a healthy and delicious Paleo pork chop recipe I tried the other night. Not only is it extremely yummy and good for you, but I put this recipe in my slow-cooker which made it super easy! I got the recipe from irontribefitness.com , which is a great Paleo & Crossfit resource for athletes. Here goes:

Ingredients
  • 4 (1 to 1 1/2-inch thick) bone-in pork chops (or no bones)
  • 2-3 apples (I used a Granny Smith, and a red one)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, julienned
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper (I think this is slightly too much pepper)
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme (I'd also decrease this a bit to 1/2 tsp.)
Directions

Place the apples in the slow cooker.
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a 12-inch stainless steel sauté pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the pork chops on both sides until golden brown, approximately 5 to 6 minutes per side. Once browned, place the pork chops into the slow cooker atop the apples.

Add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan followed by the onions and sauté until they begin to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chicken broth to the pan to deglaze. Add the black pepper and thyme and stir to combine. Transfer this to the slow cooker, set to high, cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Decrease the heat to low and continue cooking for another 4 hours and 30 minutes or until the pork is tender and falling away from the bone.
(I just set my slow cooker to low and let cook over 8 hours. The meat falls off the bone and they are yummy!  And I served with steamed broccoli)

This turned out to be an excellent recipe that I will definitely try again.  Being a busy mom of 3 little ones, this recipe was very easy to prepare, minimal clean-up, and when supper time came the pork-chops were ready to serve with little effort on my part!  I highly recommend this one!

Kelly

Sexy BACK

I'm bringing my sexy back back :) Had our first upper body resistance training today. Really worked our butts off! My back (always my favorite muscle area to work out) is 2 bands stronger than the rest of my body! I stayed after again for the extra ab workout this morning. Like sharp knives going through my belly! Man, is my c-section incision getting a workout! WARNING: Although it's hard to believe, the picture below is NOT me. I repeat: NOT me :) Have a great day everyone! OMG, my bulldog Lucy just busted you know what - now my nose is getting a workout and it is not pleasant.

Ah-Nold

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The calves have made an appearance!

Soooooo sore in my calves this morning on my way to Farrell's. But a "good" sore. That's a lie. It was more of a "grimace-y sore." :) GREAT kickboxing workout today. I even decided to stay after for "extra credit" with some of the veteran group working on extra ab exercises with a medicine ball. Right now, I'm chillaxing at the computer drinking a super delicious protein shake (vanilla whey, fat free blackberry yogurt, fat free milk, water, ice cubes, TB of honey and - CRAP! I forgot the banana!) and waiting for Luke to get out of the shower. I'm planning on a around-the-corner-towel-grab-sneak-attack. Works every time. Have a great day everybody!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

I Found My Hamstrings!

First day of resistance training this morning using resistance bands. I've always been a free-weight girl and have never tried the bands. I always thought, "Bands, really? Pu-lease! I'm hardcore. I don't need no stinking bands!" Um...I stand corrected. The bands were AWESOME. We worked lower body and abs today and man did I feel it. By the end of the hour my legs could have been backup dancers for Beyonce they were shaking so hard! Since I signed up for the 7:00 a.m. classes, Luke has been in charge of getting our lovely little lady, Isla, to daycare in the morning. He was just leaving the house as I got home today - I was pretty pumped from my workout (read "borderline psychotic") and ran up to Luke. I stuck my left thigh out and said "touch it, go on, touch it" but in the voice Ben Stiller used in Starsky & Hutch when he tells Vince Vaughn to "do it!" Since I was blocking Luke's path to the car he was forced to comply but I'm pretty sure he was impressed :)

Monday, January 9, 2012

Tasty Chicken Tacos

Awesome dinner tonight - took some cooked chicken breast from the fridge (made it yesterday by cooking it in some coconut oil), shredded the HECK out of it and threw it in a pan. Medium heat. One to two tablespoons of chili powder. Stir. Add about 8 oz of Pace Picante Sauce and 1 can of black beans (drained). Bring to boil, stir on and off for around 15 minutes.  Yummm!  Add a whole grain tortilla, fat-free cheese and some spinach and you've got yourself a tasty chicken taco.

Bouncing Calamity

I'm ALIVE! My first kickboxing class is done.  My face is slightly purple, my left quad is on fire and I'm sucking down a thicker than usual protein shake because I didn't put in enough POM juice to thin it out.  Isla's in the background smiling at me with her two beautiful teeth prominently displayed and I'm loving life.  This morning really kicked my butt! My punching bag partner was my coach, Don. I always try to do 100% in each of my workouts, but Don was great at egging me on to give a little more. With around ten minutes left in the workout, I had to take a short time out because I was certain I was going to throw up right there in front of everyone.  I didn't - thank the good Lord - but it reminded me about one area of my body that I'm more than ready to get back into fighting shape: my freakin' BOOBS! I'm naturally a small "D" cup, but currently I'm wearing a "DD." Thanks to my overly expanded chestal region, I have to wear a sports bra that is so tight I have a hard time taking deep breaths (this is to keep the jiggle to a minimum). Unfortunately, the feeling that I was going to throw up was really a bad case of being light-headed from sucking in short, insufficient breaths while working my tail feathers off. I can't wait until these bad boys settle back into their natural size.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Testing - Phase I

Holy smokes campers! I am OUT OF SHAPE!! But that's okay - my goal is to blow my Phase I testing results out of the water by week 5. Yesterday morning was actually a pretty fun and exciting time. There were around 100 new FXB students of varying weights, shapes, etc. Apparently our oldest student is in their 70's and the youngest student is 14. I was surprised at how many people were there that were extremely overweight - people that would not have been out of place as contestants on The Biggest Loser. I'm really impressed and inspired that those people are taking the class as well. Here I was worried about how out of shape I was going to be compared to the old me and these people have the courage to get out there and kick butt at much larger sizes and with much less experience working out. That's pretty cool in my book. Almost everyone there yesterday seemed really excited about the start of the 10 weeks. Sure there were some self-deprecating remarks and grimaces at some of the different stations (body fat measurements, body measurements, v-sit, push-ups, sit-ups, etc.) but there was excitement and hope in the air. Everyone was split up into groups and assigned to different coaches. The coaches aren't the ones that will be running the classes, but are former and current students that will participate during our chosen workout time and be available to answer questions and provide inspiration, etc. I was assigned to two coaches actually - a father/daughter team: Don and April. They seem genuinely interested in being there for our little group (I think our group is around 6 people).

In a perfect, voyeuristic world, I would tell you what my times, weight, measurements and results were. TOO BAD! Some things are sacred :) I will keep this blog informed of my success; i.e. how many inches and pounds I lose, how many more sit-ups and push-ups I can do, etc. If you're REALLY lucky, I'll post my after picture at the end of 10 weeks. Don't get too excited. The blogging world might not be ready for that much awesomeness. Here's a picture of my sweet boxing gloves and new pink wraps:

Necessary butt kicking apparel 
I'm not sure why this picture is so foggy-looking.  Probably because I live in South Dakota and forgot my I-Phone in my car overnight - NICE. Back in my awesome in-shape days (let's call that time The Before) I would kickbox fairly regularly and only used wraps - I've never used gloves before.  My husband already let me punch him a couple of times in his hands to get used to them.  In The Before, my knuckles would get pretty haggard looking after a while - especially in winter.  The gloves will probably keep my purty little mitts looking sexy.

Today I plan on working my kitchen and fridge over pretty hard-core; getting rid of some food, stocking up on good stuff, etc. I'm going to have Luke bring our mini-fridge to my office so I can make sure to have lots of good food on hand during my work day. I'm going old school on my diet - I used to be so disciplined. *sigh* It's easy for me to eat well when I look at food as merely fuel for my body. Since moving back to South Dakota and especially since having Isla, I became lazy in the nutrition department. In The Before I used to tell people to make sure they're not eating themselves to death one spoonful at a time. I haven't been listening to my old advice.

Each day is a chance to turn it all around - I'm excited and, more importantly, DEDICATED to finding the old Lyndsay again. Not to brag, but the old Lyndsay is pretty hot, pretty funny and generally awesome to hang out with :) Tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. is my first kickboxing class. I'm not too worried about tomorrow morning - excitement and adrenaline will get me through fairly easily. I'm more concerned about how I'll feel Tuesday morning when I get up for my second class. Fingers crossed everybody...