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!

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.

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!

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 :)

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 :)

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 :)

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!

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.

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.

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.

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 :)

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

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).