Tuesday Ticker ....

THREE POUNDS!!

Double Time ...

Went to the gym this morning about 10am.  That is not a good time to go.  Very crowded.  It seems that is "senior time" (and I dont mean high school!)  So I got in a few rounds on the machines, and about 20 minutes on the treadmill, but I didnt get to use the bike/eliptical.

So, I went back again this evening about 5pm and I was the only one there for about a half hour.  I had made two rounds on the ab machines and was on the seated eliptical when two other ladies came in.  Then I did one more round of the ab machines and as I was leaving one more person was coming in.  I prefer that setting much better than the one this morning.

The saddest part about this morning's workout ... I sneaked a glance at the settings of the treadmill the little lady next to me was using ... and she was walking faster than I was!!

Tomorrow morning is weigh in time.  I hope those ribs my mom shoved in my mouth while my dad held me down yesterday don't come back to haunt me!

Still At It ...

Still working out.  Every day this week.  Even went today.  Planning to go tomorrow and Monday as well. That's the beauty of the anytime access feature.  It also takes away any excuse I have for not being able to get there during "normal business hours".

I stayed a little bit longer than usual today.  Usually I walk on the treadmill for half an hour then do the machines.  Today I did a round of the machines then walked, then did another round of the machines.  I even used an ab machine I had not used before (well, I tried it once and my body just wasnt ready for it, but today I was actually able to use it, so I count that as great progress!)  I just hope I can keep the enthusiasm and motivation going this strong for the long haul!

Tuesday Ticker ....

Tuesday will officially be my weigh in day from now on.  And here's my ticker:



(Not sharing my starting and ending weights, just my weight loss progress)

Commitment ...

Well, I bit the bullet and 'officially' signed up today at Snap Fitness. I have an 'orientation' tomorrow evening where someone will walk me through all the machines and help me set up a 'workout plan'.  This past week on my free trial I just sort of winged it and actually learned quite a lot about things on my own.  I've at least got the treadmill mastered!

Tonight I also bought new 'bathroom' scales - though they are in my kitchen b/c that's the only floor I have with a hard surface (yes, I unfortunately have carpet in my bathroom).  They aren't fancy or expensive, but I'm sure they'll be more accurate (and more importantly, more consistent) than my old ones.  The old ones are about 15 (or more) years old, and seriously you can get on them, step off, wait a minute, step back on, and if you do this five times you will get at least three different readings (the old ones are not digital).  The new ones are digital and though they feel kinda cheap (they may be cheap but they were not inexpensive!) they seem to be working pretty accurately (and are within two pounds of the 'average' of what the old ones say).  To me it's less a measure of what I actually weigh, and more of  a comparison and progress tool as I go along.

So, I'll weigh first thing in the morning (since that's when 'they' say you should weigh) and I'll start a new ticker, and I'll post it once a week.  Yeah, I did this once this year already, but then I went to Nashville and blew it out of the water and never got back on it when vacation was over.  This time I'm sticking to it (for one reason b/c I am paying hard-earned money to a gym to help keep me motivated).  And because I have to do something to make me feel better.  Looking better is just gonna be a bonus.

There will however not be any before and after pictures.

Roll Tide ...

I Need New Shoes ...

These five year old Walmart specials are not going to work for my workouts.  At least not for the treadmill part of it.  I dont even know where to start to buy "good" shoes for running / walking (in my case just walking).

I know I need good shoes that fit properly and have good support, but I also know I'm not about to invest hundreds of dollars in shoes to wear to the gym.

Any suggestions?  Inexpensive suggestions please.  Just for walking on the treadmill; no running, no adverse conditions.  Just 45 minutes to an hour on the treadmill, that's all.

Workout # 3 ...

Today was my third day at the gym.  I actually 'felt' it today when I was working on my arms and abs.  There wasn't any pain, but there was just the 'feeling' that I'd been working those muscles.  Tomorrow I might bypass the arm/ab machines and just spend some extra time on the treadmill.

There are some serious workout folks there.  I like the fact though that all the equipment is adjustable for all levels.  I just have to remember to check the settings before I start or else I find myself wondering why I cant budge the machine - like yesterday when I noticed that the weight adjustment has been set on 170 pounds! (My limit on arms is 40, and on legs is 30!)

Today was 25 minutes on the treadmill, then arms/abs/legs machines .... then 20 minutes on the stationary bike ... then another round of arms/abs/legs.  Not too many reps on each of the machines, but I'll get there ... eventually.

I'm pretty sure I'll go ahead and sign up for the paid membership once my free week is up.  Especially since you can just pay monthly without committing to a year or more.

One thing I'l like to point out though .... I haven't lost any weight yet.  But then I got to thinking ... it must be because I've gained muscle, right?

  

I have (starting today) substituted my Peanut Butter Snickers for this:

Workin' Out ...

At least for a week.  Went to Snap Fitness today and was finally able to find an attendant there so I could get in, look around, and sign up for my free trial one-week membership.  I had tried several weeks ago when they first opened up but no one was ever 'on duty' during posted hours.

I think I will like it ... if I got as often as I should, and really work out while I'm there.

I'll let you know at the end of the week what I think.

And yeah, I'm also gonna try to do that whole "no more peanut butter snickers from the vending machine at work" thing.  I'll let you know how that works out too!

FIRE!!!!

I think I might have mentioned my pyromaniacal tendencies before.  

Thankfully I am able to disguise it, at least a little, by calling it yardwork.

Bling!

Received this in a text from the BoyChild this week. 

Tentative date, late September.  

Cicadas ....

Made this short video Sunday to see if it would pick up the sound of the cicadas.  It did.  (It also got a little of BoyChild's music in the background).

Mother's Day Cookout ...

We had lunch in the woods today, at the clubhouse where BoyChild and BabyBrother are both members of a hunting club.  BoyChild and his g/f, brought burgers, dogs and all the fixin's and BoyChild did the cooking.  It was very good, and especially nice for my Mom not to do the Sunday cooking today (she typically cooks every Sunday for all of us).

Just down the road from the clubhouse, there's a beach!

Ma and Pa walking from the beach back down to the clubhouse. 

We didn't mind the smoke, it kept the skeeters away. 

Oops!  He almost dropped (another) one!

They even brought dessert!

BoyChild wanted to make sure that I got a pic of his sound system.

I'm pretty sure these boys have never 

ridden anything without working on it first!

Hmmmmm ... I wonder what plan they 

could possibly be master-minding this time?

BabyGurl and Nephew

Just hanging out after lunch, before riding.

My dad, pretending to text -- he makes fun of us 

for always checkig our phones / texts / facebook.  

My gift to my mom ..... and I picked one up for myself too!

I hope everyone had a happy Mother's Day!! 

Vacation Spots .... (or in my case, spot)

Kelly, over at Kelly's Corner is doing favorite vacations spots for her Show Us Your Life series this week.

Well ..... if you know me, you know my vacation spot already ..... but for those of you who dont .....

My most recent trip was just a few short weeks ago .... though it feels like forever ago and I am ready to go again.

I already posted all about the trip a while back, so I'll just link you back to those posts.

I broke the trip down into three categories:  Food!   Music!   Shopping!  and did a post about each one of them.  Just follow the links for lots of info and pics.  And if you are planning to travel to Nashville and have any questions, just leave me a comment and I'll be glad to help you plan your trip! ;-)

Y'all come back now, ya hear?

The Series ...

These three books kept me mesmerized, and I read all three of them in only seven days.  I would've never found them if I hadn't gotten the Nook.  These books are not available in print.  However, if you don't have a Nook, don't despair.  You can download the free Nook App to your iPhone, Android Phone, PC or Mac and read them there.

The author's note:  This book contains mature content (language, violence, sexual situations)


My note:  It's all well in keeping with the story, (though the 'sexual situations' are quite detailed). And really the language isn't anything more than you'd hear in a PG movie or pretty much any tv show nowadays.  


In order:  The Mating (900 pages), The Keeping (347 pages), The Finding (1120 pages).

Now, I've just downloaded five more books, all by different authors (though three of the are Harlequins).  I'll let you know how I like them very soon!!

UMCOR

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ONE HUNDRED PERCENT (yes, 100%!) of your contributions will go directly to aid the recovery efforts.  ZERO percent will go to administrative costs.  UMCOR's administrative costs are covered by the regular yearly budget of the United Methodist Churches.  


Please visit UMCOR's website for more information.