Need some Motivation . . .

So today was the beginning of my third week doing Chalean. I really do like her program, but I have to say I have definitely been battling the mirror and scale this week. Every week that I weigh myself I have actually gained a pound instead of lost anything. And some weeks you are harder on your reflection than other weeks (lets be real here people, whether or not we like what we see in the mirror can change from day to day, even from hour to hour!!). So because of these struggles I was not thrilled to do Chalean today. But I knew that if I didn't "Just Do It" and start today's DVD, instead of drown my frustrations by prowling for sweets in the pantry (of which there is only Nutella, Oh's cereal, and white/chocolate chips. Still lethal in their own right, but pretty tame compared to some of the things my cupboards have been stuffed with), then I would regret it. So I quickly changed into my workout clothes and pressed play before I could talk myself out of it. And you know what? It was actually pretty awesome! Just getting going works every time, and I just need to always remember that. And, of course, after my workout I am always thinking of ways to improve, like what good thing I can eat for lunch and what healthy recipe to make for dinner, and what healthy snacks I can eat. I'm still not seeing massive changes {yet}, but I am seeing little changes that are helping to keep me motivated. I can see some definition in my arms and my pants are fitting a bit better too. One thing that really motivates me, even though I am slightly terrified by it, is my sisters' idea to get a group photo done at the end of the program in our teeny bikinis! AHHH! That thought alone would keep almost anyone from chowing down on fatty sweets!! I really need to start Weight Watchers and jump on a treadmill. I definitely don't feel like two months of workouts will have me feeling confident enough to bare {almost} all for a photograph, especially next to a bunch of hotties. Time will tell!

On to my other favorite {yet conflicting} love: FOOD!

Last night Gary made some exquisite Creamy Tomato Soup. It was divine! He even added a ton of onions, which he is not a huge fan of, but they really gave it a good savory taste. And, not only did he cook up a masterpiece, he also cleaned up too! Am I married to the best guy or what?!

Tonight is Bookclub, yeah! This month we read The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. Such a good book! The characters really draw you in, and the story is a real page-turner, you just NEED to know what is going to happen next! I highly recommend it!

Catching up . . .

So this weekend Gary and I purchased a new piece of furniture for our living room. It is an IKEA cabinet/TV stand. It's a nice little piece of furniture and makes our living room feel more like a living room instead of a dorm room. We got it off of Craigslist and saved ourselves $110. Awesome! We even went to IKEA and got some replacement hardware, which they gave us for FREE!

This weekend we also hit up Dog Beach. We used to go there pretty regularly, but haven't been since before Riley was born. It was a beautiful sunny day in the high sixties. Jack loved it and ran around with a silly grin plastered to his cute doggie face! I love to see him really enjoying himself. It was nice too because he almost completely stayed out of the water (except for one small excursion where he barely got his toes wet, after which he was sure to thoroughly shake himself off, such a funny puppy!) so we didn't have to towel him off or give him a bath, which makes it so easy for us.

So this weekend wasn't huge, but we did get out and we did organize our apartment a little bit more. We have decided that as soon as we finally get our apartment really livable then one of our offers will finally go through and we will have to move out. Isn't that how it always works?

Chalean is going well, but I really have to resolve to eat better along with working out, otherwise I am putting in all of this effort to build up my muscles, but no one will be able to see them through the fat layer. I really don't have any reason not to start either. If I start doing Weight Watchers again I get something like 30 points a day because I am nursing. My mom and sisters only get about 19. It is a HUGE difference, so I have nothing to complain about. It will really help to get more fruits and vegis in and have more energy too. How you eat makes such a difference on so many levels. *sigh* I guess I should stop dragging my feet and just take my own good advice. It is just hard to get back into measuring and taking note of EVERYTHING you eat. But the results happen fast when you do and it really isn't that hard.

I had leftover pork from the BBQ Pork with Roasted Sweet Potato and Pineapple, so I found a soup recipe to use it in. I made Roast Pork Soup (not a very original name, but it was exactly what I was looking for). It was super easy and, I thought, pretty tasty. It has some apple juice in the broth and some basil too, both of which made it kind of sweet. All in all a great way to use up extra pork.

Tonight Gary is making Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. One of those dinners that take you back. Should be excellent (especially since I don't have to cook!)

Thursdays . . .

So Thursdays are the most challenging day of Chalean's program. There is a 45 minute interval workout and a pretty intense ab workout on top of that. Last week I totally slacked on both and really regretted it afterward. This week I tried to mentally prepare myself and put my all into it and I did awesome! This time I don't have any regrets and I can feel really good about the effort I put into my workout.

It's funny to me to watch myself workout. Compared to the people in the video I have a long way to go. They all look like they are working hard but they still manage to smile; I am literally dying in agony on some parts and my face is not hiding any of the effort I am putting into it. They do exercises with lots of movement and they somehow stay in their designated area; I am jumping all over the living room. They have perfectly toned muscles and mist of glowing sweat that just seems to accentuate their beautiful-ness; I am a work in progress and sweat has glued my hair into a disheveled mass onto my forehead. I definitely have a long way to go before I start handing out my resume to become an "athletic model", but at least I am making progress.

Tonight we are going to the Bronson's for dinner and The Office. I am making the Caribbean Seafood Curry Soup, and I am really looking forward to eating it again. It was really yummy! This time I bought raw shrimp, and I have reviewed my notes and hope that it will turn out even better this time around!

Just Do It . . .

So, the rest day is over and it was back to the business of getting in shape today. After being disappointed about the rest day on Monday, I was surprised again today to find myself dragging my feet. I found I had a little hesitation when it came time to press the play button for my workout today. The couch and my new Parents magazine was definitely calling my name. But I ignored their Siren Call and soldiered on anyway. Just Do It! was the motto of the moment. Chalean always says to give her five minutes and she will get you on your feet. She is right! Once I started working out I really got into it and turned a deaf ear on the beckonings of my laziness.

I am really learning that if I push myself hard for 40 minutes then I feel successful in my workout and I don't have the nagging feeling that I could have worked harder, that I could have done better. It is totally prefereable to really feel like I put my all into it.

The torrential downpour has continued, so I haven't ventured out to run at all this week. Yes, it is probably just another excuse (funny how I haven't learned to expand the lesson from Chalean to the rest of my life, huh?), but I am going to go with it until it quits.

Yesterday night I made Potato Bacon Chowder. It was really good and the only thing that I think I would change next time I make this soup is to cook the potatoes for a little less time. It has a milk base (I used half milk, half soy milk), and it also has red potatoes, a parsnip, an onion, bacon, and spinach. Really yummy and really easy. Definitely a keeper!

Tonight I am making BBQ Pork with sweet potatoes and pineapple. I love this recipe, but haven't made it for a while. In a 9 x 13 pan put a pork loin in the oven under the broiler. Leave it there for about 10-12 minutes, then flip and cook for another 10-12 minutes. In the meantime cut up the sweet potato into bite-size chunks then combine them with a can of pineapple chunks. Put a little olive oil on these and then add a bit of salt and pepper. When the timer goes off on the pork loin, flip it and add the potato and pineapple to the pan and broil for 7 minutes, flip one last time and stir the sweet potato and pineapple and cook for a final 7 minutes. The internal temp of the meat should be about 160 and dinner is ready. Serve with your favorite BBQ sauce.

Yesterday I received a piece of spice cake with homemade carmel frosting in the mail from my mom. I think this was one of the best birthday gifts, which is saying a lot because I ended up with a terrific haul this year! This particular cake just tastes like "Birthday" to me, you know what I mean. For me a birthday isn't a birthday without the family singing our usual medley of birthday songs and a piece of this yum-tastic cake. I even ate a little for breakfast this morning and I have to say it was a great start to the day! Thanks Mom!

Day Off . . .

Yesterday after I finished Chalean I was looking over the calendar to see what workout came next and I was actually a little disappointed to find that today was a rest day. It was a great confirmation to me to find that I have really come to enjoy her program and the time I spend exercising. I used my usual workout time today to take some measurements so that I can track my progress. Today marks the first week of the Chalean program and I have already started to notice small differences in how my body looks. It's fun and exciting and definitely helps to keep me motivated! I'm interested to see the changes that will happen by the time I finish.

Last night Gary made dinner. He made oven-baked breaded chicken tenders and roasted potatoes. I love those yummy chicken tenders, and they are really light too, which makes them even more awesome! I love when Gary makes dinner! It gives me a really nice break from the kitchen and he always does a great job. What a lucky girl I am!

We are having dinner with our friends the Bronson's on Thursday. I am going to make that Caribbean Curry Soup for them. While we are there I think we might talk about some plans for the weekend. On February 6th we are going to a party that my midwife Karly is throwing for all of her past and present clients. It will be fun to re-introduce her to Riley and to meet and talk to everyone and hear about their experiences with home birth.

We have had monsoon-like weather for the past two days. Torrential downpours like you wouldn't believe!

New Ward . . .

So they changed up the stake boundaries and announced it after Stake Conference today. We are now in the Twin Oaks Valley ward, and we are still meeting at 9:00 am. We are sad to see some of our old ward friends move to different wards, and happy that some of our other friends are still around. It will be fun to make even more new friends in this new ward!

So here are some pictures of our Saturday excursions:

Breakfast with Phil and Lindsey. So fun to see friends from Salt Lake!!

Riley loves to watch the ducks. These are especially interesting, they are called Mandarin Ducks.

Up close and personal with the Gorillas

Riley and me out in front of the Zoo.

Jambalaya . . .

So two nights ago I made Shrimp Jambalaya for dinner. I thought it was really tasty and not very difficult. There are only a couple of things I would probably change about this recipe:

1. Gary doesn't really love spicy things and the recipe called for Chorizo sausage, which is pretty spicy. I probably will just use regular sausage, and maybe even something reduced fat, because the Chorizo was really greasy

2. Again, pre-cooked shrimp just is too rubbery, so I will go with fresh shrimp next time.

Other than that it was really good and really filling, definitely a keeper!

So I was talking to my mom about my decision to possibly postpone my running until I am done with Chalean and she told me that I should not put it off. She's right. I can do it! I don't know if I will push myself for Ragnar this year, but I do think that I will at least get started.

I did Chalean again yesterday. That workout was similar to the really hard workout on Thursday, only not as long. This time I really pushed myself instead of slacking off. It was easier to motivate myself to really go for it because I knew that it was only 30 minutes, and you can do anything hard for 30 minutes. Plus, I don't want to get to the end of Chalean and know that if I had only pushed myself a little bit harder then I would have looked that much more awesome. I want to get to the end and know that I really went for it.

Today is Stake Conference and as soon as it is over they are going to review the re-districting of our stake. I'm sure that attendance at these kinds of conferences is always awesome. We are going to get there at least a half an hour early so we can hopefully get a seat. More on this later.

Later today I will also post some pictures from out outing yesterday.

Weekend Adventures . . .

So we did it, we did something fun this weekend! And you know what? It was easy and fun and we really enjoyed spending some quality time together as a family!

This morning we met some friends at the Coyote Cafe in Old Town San Diego for breakfast. Phil and Lindsey had just returned to San Diego from a cruise and were flying out later today, but we were able to catch up with them for a couple hours over some yummy breakfast. It is always fun to see Salt Lake friends!

After breakfast we headed over to the Zoo. We've been to the Wild Animal Park about two or three times, but we have only been to the Zoo once before. We have annual passes to both, so it is great to just be able to pop in for a few hours.

After the Zoo we hit up the Del Mar Farmer's Market. Gary bought me some beautiful flowers and we picked up some produce and sampled some of the other tasty offerings. It is a tiny farmer's market, but they have a lot of good vendors. There is a guy there that sells all kinds of fresh fish, there are a lot of produce vendors, and just a few concession people. It is in a beautiful area, right up the hill from the ocean.

Riley was wonderful and smiley all day too, which always makes any excursion better!

Now, we have to decide what to do next weekend . . .

Soup Experiments . . .

So last night I made Caribbean Curry Soup for dinner. Sunnie bought me a huge soup cookbook with 900 soup recipes which I peruse it nightly.

Last nights dinner was really yummy, and when asked Gary said he wouldn't mind if I made it again.

It has a coconut milk base and also contains halibut (I substituted cod, because they didn't have any halibut at my grocery store), shrimp, yellow pepper, scallions, and tomatoes. One of the best parts of this soup though are all of the great "Caribbean" spices; fresh ginger, allspice, curry, cilantro, lime juice, and a little cayenne.

The things I would have changed about how I made this soup is that I would have had everything cut up and ready to go before I started. It is a little involved and you have to move quickly through the steps with lots of stirring, so no time to prep in between steps. For example, the first step involves sauteing the scallions, yellow peppers, and ginger over high heat. I just dumped them all in the pot together and stirred them occasionally while I cut up the other ingredients and the ginger seemed to burn a little and stick to the bottom of the pan. It didn't taste burnt, but I would have liked to cook it over medium heat and pay closer attention to it.

The other thing I would have changed was I would have either used fresh shrimp or put my pre-cooked shrimp in for the last two minutes instead of the last six. It was a little tough.

Not bad for a first try though. And I thought it was super good. We will definitely be adding this to the repertoire.

My Chalean workout did get accomplished yesterday. Apparently Thursdays are the toughest because you have a long, 45 minute, Interval workout followed by a 10 minute ab workout. The Interval workout was KILLER! I am considering carb-loading next Wednesday in order to accomplish it. By the time I was 30 minutes into it I was pretty spent. I admit I definitely started slacking off and not pushing myself very hard. I feel kind of bad that I didn't give it my all and have committed to working a lot harder next week. Cozy gave me a bit of encouragement here, telling me that I will only get better at it. Thanks Coz!

The ab workout was hard, but I think mostly because I was already exhausted. I have heard that Cozy splits this day up and does part in the morning and part when she gets home from work. I think I will try this next week too.

I am playing with the idea of holding off in the running until after I complete Chalean. This will mean postponing Ragnar until next year. I don't feel like I am giving into the lame-ness though because Chalean is super intense and I feel like I am really gaining some real success by working on this. Besides, if I hold off until I complete Chalean then I will begin my running career weighing less (better on my joints), stronger, and later in the year (longer days, more sunlight, more opportunities to run). I'm not feeling too bad about this. However, in order to keep me moving forward I am going to work on finding myself a "running-buddy" and a 5 or 10K to work towards.

So we are supposed to go see Graceland, my friend's Elvis Tribute band, tonight. There is a small chance this might not happen because my past life's lame-ness is still trying to wield it's power over me. See this is the usual scenario: I find something interesting to do on the weekend and then my inner voice starts telling me that I don't really want to drive that far, or I won't be able to find a babysitter, or I don't want to have to deal with Riley having a possible melt-down, or possibly it won't be worth the money spent. All of these excuses are, of course, LAME but I used to let them hold sway. NOT ANY MORE! I will call around to see if I can get a babysitter, even though they will have to be on-duty until 11:30, it is possible that someone really won't mind that much. We shall see! I will at least try, and if no babysitter can be found then at least I didn't fail without even trying, right!

I did it . . .

I did it! I completed Chalean Extreme today! Hooray for me!!

It was pretty hard, but not as hard as I had thought it up to be. Hard enough to get results, but not so hard that you dread doing it. Cool! Hopefully running will be the same way.

I am still holding myself back a bit on the running. Yes, I did go out and purchase running shoes, so that the excuse of my shoes being in storage was no longer an issue, but I still don't feel ready to take the plunge.

What is holding me back??

My internal monologue has been coming up with the following hesitations:

-I don't really have a good place to run. I live on a busy street that I would rather not run on, or perhaps I am just saying that because I am intimidated. I will ask my runner friends tonight.

-I don't have enough time to "train" before the Ragnar race in April. Again, probably just saying that out of intimidation, but it is a bit more pressure when you have a whole team counting on you to be up to the challenge. I am going to try anyway, better to fail a little than to not try at all.

-I don't know when to run. I would rather not run at night because there aren't a whole lot of sidewalks out there and I would prefer not get run over. I don't want to run in the morning because I can use all the sleep I can get and I feel like I get up early enough to get to work by 7:00 am. I could run during the day, but I need someone to watch Riley for me. I think I will work on finding someone to watch him for an hour a few days a week.

I don't know why running outside is so intimidating for me. In a few weeks when I am getting out there on a regular basis I will probably look back on this and laugh at how silly it is.

RAGNAR, HERE I COME!!

Now I didn't end up going to the Farmer's Market last night, so dinner consisted of Salmon w/ my favorite Paprika Rub and roasted red potatoes. It was tasty, but not very inventive. Tonight we are going to be making pizzas at our Mutual activity. It is our last one before they split our ward this Sunday. Sad, but I'm sure we are going to have a rockin' party!! Pizza, Rock Band, fun friends. Who could ask for anything more?

Our big activity for this weekend is probably going to be seeing our friend's band play. Todd is in an Elvis tribute band called Graceland. They are playing this Friday with a Johnny Cash tribute band called Cash'd Out at the Casbah in downtown San Diego. Should be Fantastic!!

New Year . . .

The end of "Lameness" and "Non-Success" is upon us. This is the end of "floating through life", as my sister Ivy put it. I am pretty much done {funny how I can't bring myself to say "through"} with boring, do-nothing, be-nothing-ness.

Currently I am working on the following items:

Joining in the Chelean Extreme awesome-ness with my sisters {I will NOT be the fat sister this summer!!} http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/chalean_extreme.do?code=CHALEANEXTREMEDOTCOM

Cooking up a storm with my new Calphalon pots and pans and blogging about my kitchen escapades

Working on becoming a runner {outside too, not just on the treadmill in front of a movie} instead of wishing I were a runner. Step one, join a team and conquer the Ragnar Race {http://www.ragnarrelay.com/losangeles/index.php}

Doing SOMETHING every weekend! It could be small and boring, like organizing a closet, or fun and exciting, like exploring a new niche of Southern California {hey, we might as well explore the heck out of it while we are here, right?} NO MORE DO-NOTHING WEEKENDS!!

So to begin:

I talked to Sunnie today {visit her blog "Livin' Lite, and read about her goal to do a different kind of work-out every week for a year, so fun!} and she encouraged me to jump right in to Chelean and join the rest of my hottie-sisters instead of trying to catch up. They are only a week into the program, so I won't miss out on much skipping the first week. Tonight I am going to print off the calendars and program checklists and review the DVDs and start on Burn 2 tomorrow.

I would like to keep a journal about the dinners that I make, along with the recipes and things that I changed or will change next time I make that item again. Because I always get into those ruts where you make the same four things every week and you think, "I used to make other things that I really liked and I can't remember what they were!!" To start I am just going to list what I have made this year and will start adding recipes from today forward.

1/1 - Black Bean soup from my current Eating Well magazine

1/2 - Lentil Soup

1/3 - Breaded Baked Chicken tenders w/ steamed Broccoli

1/4 - Salmon, Steamed Snap Peas, & Roasted Red Potatoes w/ mustard vinaigrette

1/5 - Awesome fish tacos and chowder from a little "Fishette" in downtown San Diego

1/6 - Sunnie's yummy Carrot Coconut Soup

1/7 - Chili Verde Burritos w/ homemade Guac

1/8 - Roasted chicken and potatoes w/ BBQ sauce

1/9 - Cheesecake Factory for my Birthday

1/10 - Breaded Baked Chicken Tenders w/ Roasted Sweet Potato

1/11 - Sausage and Potato Soup

1/12 - Salmon and roasted whatever-vegi-I-pick-up-at-the-Farmers-Market today

I have always had the desire to be a runner, but never got further than my treadmill. Not that I think treadmill running is bad, just that it isn't what I consider REAL running. Some things that hold me back are:

-My good running shoes are buried somewhere in our huge storage unit

-I am afraid I won't succeed, so instead of being disappointed I just don't do anything {LAME!!}

-I don't really know any good, safe places to run

So to counter these ridiculous things that are holding me back I am going to do the following:

-I bought a cheap, but nice pair of Adidas running shoes at Costco today

-I am going to take a cue from Nike and JUST DO IT!

-I am going to ask around because I know a few runners that live in my area and I'm sure they could tell me where they run

Okay! It feels better to have written it down and formulated a plan. I will report on my progress shortly . . .

Well, I guess the last item on my list is to do something, ANYTHING, with the weekend, besides sit around at home. We are signed up to take Flying Trapeze classes that begin February 13th, so I only have to plan 4 weekends worth of activities before those six weeks come with all their circus-fun! We have an annual pass to the Zoo and Wild Animal Park. I have always wanted to see the seals at the Children's Pool. Sea World is always a fun destination. Riley would be entertained if we went to the Aquarium. We are less than two hours from LA {including Venice Beach, a popular Roller Skating spot}, and Disneyland. There is always Catalina Island too. We live in a popular vacation destination, it should be really easy to find something to do. Any other suggestions?

So, there you have it! I have some goals and some ideas of how to tackle said goals. I guess this is where the fun begins! Don't chicken out now darling, our new life of non-lameness and success starts here!!

WOOHOO!!