Monday Night Musings

I have not been around in forever, but lately, I have so much on my mind.

My parents divorce is finalized and sometimes I catch myself wondering when I will feel better or even okay with it. I still have so many conflicting feelings that I really don't know how to deal with! Ahhhh..drives me nuts!

Is it January yet? I haven't much enjoyed the holiday season the past few years. I always feel better once January hits and the holiday stress is over with. I enjoy the family time and the parties. It's just...the stress of the perfect gift, having to pass on one party for another, feeling like the significance of thanksgiving and Christmas are completely lost in today's society...that make it less enjoyable.

I have mastered the AM gym going! I get up 4-5 days a week at 3:30 or 4 AM to go to the gym. Most weeks it is easy. Some weeks my body craves sleeeepp!! I don't beat myself up on the weeks I don't go as much, I just do better the next week!

There are so many awesome people at my gym. I love all the "good morning" and "have a nice day" comments! It really brightens my day!

When did I become such an introvert? I used to be so outgoing. Now, I tend to be really shy. I have no idea what and when this happened, but I am determined to change it!

My food choices have been less than stellar for a while. Although it was accompanied by ZERO weight gain!! Hallelujah! I am right back on track.

This girl! She makes me laugh!!!

This guy! He makes me laugh too! He reminds me of the little engine that could in this picture...'I think I can. I think I can.'

This is about 6 years difference! I was approximately 160-170 in the photo on the left and 130 in the photo on the right!

Alright, that's all I got! I have a feeling I will be back sooner rather than alter!

What's new with you?

What's on your mind?

Life Lately...

Almost 2 months has passed since my last post. Yikes! I would like to post more, but holy crap life gets in the way of that sometimes.

I haven't given up on the healthy lifestyle. I just added more and changed my schedule up quite a bit, which leads little to no time to blog.

Currently, this is a typical day or me:

3:30AM Alarm goes off and I am out of bed. Trying to avoid the snooze button these days.

3:35-3:55AM Get dressed, brush teeth, grab gym bag, make pre workout drink and get out the door.

4:00AM At the gym ready to workout.

4:00AM-5:30AM weights and cardio.

5:30AM-6:20AM Shower and get ready at the gym.

6:30-8:10AM Get the boyfriend out the door to work, prep meals for the day, tidy the house, feed dogs, play with dogs, let dogs potty/walk the dogs, fill fish tanks with water, pack water and meals for work, and leave for work

8:30-5:15 work. Throughout the day I eat 3 meals.

5:15-5:30 drive home from work

5:30-9(or 10:30ish) clean house, make and eat dinner, clean up dinner, watch a little TV, play with dogs, feed dogs, Instagram/read blogs/play on Internet. Plan workout for the next day, pack gym bag(i get ready for the day at the gym), eat before bed snack, read and hopefully fall asleep at a decent time.

Geesh! No wonder why I am so tired some days.

Because I can't resist, I leave you with pictures of my sweet dogs!

Always guarding her pig ears, but never finishing it! Haha. Girl cracks me up!!

Currant Creek AKA picture overload

This past weekend the man and I took a 4 day trip to Currant Creek Reservoir in Utah.

I love camping with my little family so much.

On the way up, we stopped to get some drinks. I tried pellegrino for the first time and didn't really care or it.

Abigail sat with Chad most of the way up. Isn't she adorable?

After we got set up, we played a quick game of dominoes, and by quick game I mean I got my ass handed to me...in 3 moves! Yikes!

Next stop was getting fire wood. By far my least favorite camping duty.

The view from our favorite spot is incredible. Especially when the sun is setting or rising. Sadly, I got zero pictures of either.

Finally it was time for some wine out of a box. I sure am a classy lady.

Putting the "ass" in "class" right there. Oh and you can kind of see the sunset.

The moon was crazy bright every night. I went outside to let the pups go potty at 2 AM and it looked more like 10 at night. It was awesome!

We watched rush hour before bed. Didnt I catch Chris Tucker's and Jackie Chan's faces perfectly? Haha. (Side note: I kept saying Chris Rock and Bruce Lee crack me up in this movie. Uhh, yeah....I am dumb sometimes.)

Daddy's little girl, for sure!

We got up Saturday and headed back to salt lake for a wedding that night.

Sadly, I didn't take any pictures at the wedding. The bride looked gorgeous and I am so happy for the couple!

After the wedding, we headed back up the mountain. My brother and his girlfriend(who I adore) were waiting for us. No pictures of them this weekend though. Boo! I am lame!

Between fetch and swimming, it is safe to say our boy had more fun than anyone.

He has only gotten out of bed 1 time since yesterday. I love sleepy Lenny, so cute!

Food was pretty darn good this weekend.

Breakfast was eggs, turkey bacon, pancakes, and fruit
Lunch was salad with chicken
Dinner was steak or chicken and salad
Snacks were green juice(homemade), Greek yogurt with cereal and fruit, carrots, and some cheez-it's hopped in my mouth.

Overall we had a blast this weekend.

Do you go camping?
We go about 6 times a year.
What is your favorite part of camping?
I love just hanging out with our little family and the relaxation of it all!

I can't believe I am doing this

So....uh....I am going to show you all a bikini progress picture. Yikes!

Now, here's the thing. I went to a bachlorette party this weekend and I knew I was going to wear a swim suit for hot tubbing. So, I went shopping to find one. Everything I found emphasized my love handles. My #1 trouble zone! No matter what I do or how clean I eat they never seem to slim down.

Instead of beating the shit out of myself like always, I thought about it. Really thought about it.

You see, I have scoliosis. My back curves in the middle and in the lower lumbar area. Which makes sense that my weight really shows in those areas. If that makes sense. Ha!

So, when I thought about it, I realized that that is how my scoliosis affects my body. Do I believe that one day I will be happy with my love handle area? Absolutely! Right now, although it still makes me self conscious, I have worked too hard to let that bring me down!

I used to be 175 pounds, possibly heavier! I am in the high 120's right now, all because of hard work and perseverance! I am going to show what I have got. You know what? When I put that suit on, I got compliments and it felt good!

The photo on the left is January of this year and the photo on the right is from March of this year.

Ignore the shitty look on my face. Haha!

When I study this photo a little, I see a difference!

From now on, I will celebrate the fact that my body works and carries me! I can run, walk, and lift thanks to that body! I will be sure to appreciate it more now.

That is the conclusion I came to standing in a dressing room looking at the body I have!

Still alive and kickin'

Well, shit! I was doing pretty good. Posting about 1-2 times a week and then life got in my way.

When I last left you, I was working out like a mad woman and I still am.

Just a week after my last post, I got a text from my best friend saying one of our friends had passed away. I was totally not expecting it. We were planning a Wendover trip for his birthday. Even now, it doesn't feel real. I swear he is going to just show up one day and give me a big hug. His service was beautiful. Although it was a sad circumstance, I still loved seeing some old friends.

Terry, my best Ash and I in Wendover 2007

I then spent the next couple of weeks continuing my awesome workouts!

And I am finally seeing some results in the rear end area. I have always had a flat butt, but as you will see it is plumping up nicely!

That is a 4 week difference! I am so impressed with myself and my dedication. I have come such a long way this past year and I am definitely not stopping now.

We also had our first camping trip of the year! We went 2 hours south of Salt Lake City. It was chilly only one day and I even got a sunburn.

It was so nice to be able to wear a tank top and capris!

Camping takes a lot out of our pups, as you can tell.

I also turned 28 on the 9th of April. We had a couple of little celebrations.

My dad, brother, boyfriend and I went to dinner at Sizzler and came back to our house to have a piece of cake that my dad and brother were nice enough to bring! I may or may not have eaten most of that cake by myself in 3 days. Oops! It is long gone now and I am back to clean eating.

Then my mom, both brothers, boyfriend and our friend Andy went out to a bar the weekend after my bday.

They got us a VIP table for the night, because someone else cancelled. It was a blast, but I was definitely hurting and really sick the next day :/ It was still really fun though.

Up next....bachlorette party weekend! The boyfriend's cousin is gettin married in 3 weeks. So, we stayed at a hotel in Park City(not too far from where this years Blend Retreat will be held). The townhomes we stayed in was gorgeous!!!!

The night started with some snacks and shots, naturally.

Followed by some last minute errands and dinner. Last we hit up a club on Main Street.

Ready for a night out with some of my favorite women!!'

I danced like a fool and had a great time!!

We finished off the night with a hot tub party that lasted until 6AM. Let's just say Sunday I was exhausted!

Now that you are all caught up, I hope to be back with some fun posts soon!

Have a great day everyone!

I am on fire

I got a new polar heart rate monitor and can I just tell you...holy motivation batman! I really wanted to skip the gym Tuesday, but I had a new toy to play with. So, up I got!

That would be the good ole morning wake up call. Yes, the serenity prayer is my background. Sometimes I need it!

I am also working on building the muscles in my flat derrière.

Lots of heavy squats, weighted lunges, step mill and weighted step ups are happening!

So far I am loving the heart rate monitor. I was using my garmin, but it acted wonky in my gym. So I knew I needed to get something else. I found a killer deal on one and scooped that Shiz right up!

This week I have worked out 4 days in a row. Which is unheard of for me. Usually I workout 3-4 days the whole week. If all goes well, I will be having a Team No Days Off week. After 11 days of no workout, I am okay with no rest days for one week.

This mornings workout started with workout B workout 6 from New Rules of Lifting for Women. I then hopped on the step mill or 15 minutes an finished on the elliptical for 25 minutes.

I feel so good this week! It is nice to be putting in the work again.

How many times have you worked out this week?
4! Holler!!

What is your favorite piece of fitness equipment?
I love the elliptical, but am just starting to get into the spin bike and stepmill!

Ahhh...that felt good!

Finally, Finally, FINALLY!!!

A workout! Yippee!

I met a friend of mine, Kari, at a new(to me) 24 hr fitness today. Kari has been asking if I want to go to a spin class and it hasn't worked out until today. The plan was yoga, as I still have a little coughing action. However, I woke up feeling so much better with a minimal cough. So I decided the gym was happening.

We warmed up on spin bikes while waiting for the spin class to start. The class was fantastic! The instructor is nice and personable. She knew how to motivate us to work at our level.

It was my first class and I will definitely be going back for Kari and I's Sunday morning dates! I have missed her.

After spin, it was yoga time! I haven't done yoga in ages. Actually the last class I did was with my mom like 14 years ago. The class was challenging, but fairly relaxing.

Overall, I was there for 2 and a half hours and burned 786 calories! It was quite the welcome back. I am looking forward to the 4:30AM alarm tomorrow.

Yes, I am crazy!

Now, let me tell you a funny (or scary depending on how you look at it) story.

We live by a pond/canal with lots of ducks, geese and even goats. Often times cars are way backed up for the geese to cross the road. Friday night, you couldn't get passed them because they were walking in a zig zag. Chad told me to go shoo them out of the road.

I jump out of the truck and run behind them telling them to move. Then, because I think I am funny, I started imitating their running. Apparently they didn't like that and started hissing at me. Haha. It freaked me out for a second, but it got them out of the road and we were able to pass them.

What was your workout this weekend?

Have you ever had to shoo something out of the road?

I hope you have had a nice weekend. Tomorrow, come back for some talk about food!