shake it up...the workout!

Okay so you know you've hit a wall when you ask your honey to help you lose weight.  You've seen my man right?  He's a hottie.  He takes his fitness and health very seriously.  I should've asked him to help me a long time ago.  It's obvious he knows what he's doing, but there's that stinkin' pride that gets in the way.  I just couldn't take the judgemental looks when I eat something I shouldn't...it seriously makes me want to stab him in the eye.  Marital peace has kept me from going to him, But I gotta say he's put me on a workout routine and it's kicking my rear.  We're talking sweat dripping off my cute little braids HARD! 

So here it is...

 

 

6 days a week...

HONEY'S SHAKE IT UP ROUTINE:

 

 

 

 

AT GYM

 

Walk/run (5 minutes)...to warm-up

 

Squats, leg presses or lunges (50 reps)...light weight, broken down into whatever increments you can manage

 

RUN (5 minutes)...this is a hard run.  I start at about 5.5 on the treadmill and increase it every 30 seconds until I'm at 7.2 or so.  This is a dead sprint for me.  I've got short legs...trust me I'm dying, I feel shaky...I can only do the last bump up for about 30-40 seconds and then I walk it off for about a minute.

 

Bicep curls (50 reps)...light weight, broken down into whatever increments you can manage.  You should feel a major burn by the end.

 

RUN (5 minutes)...this is a hard run again

 

Triceps pulldowns (50 reps) )...light weight, broken down into whatever increments you can manage

 

RUN (5 minutes)...this is a hard run

 

Dumbbell or Barbell Deadlifts (50 reps)...light weight, broken down into whatever increments you can manage 

 

RUN (5 minutes)...this is a hard run

 

Shoulder press or laterals (50 reps)...light weight, broken down into whatever increments you can manage

 

RUN (5 minutes)...this is a hard run

 

Pullups/dips (requires certain machine...50 reps each)

 

AB crunches (100 reps) broken down into whatever increments you can manage

 

Leg lifts (100 reps) broken down into whatever increments you can manage

 

 

 

 

 

AT HOME

 

Elliptical Machine (45-60 minutes) easy pace

 

AB crunches (100 reps)

 

Leg lifts (100 reps)

 

Push ups (50 reps)

 

 

 

Here's the deal...this workout is hard.  It takes almost 2 hours, and I'm dying by the end.  I alternate days, working out at the gym in the morning one day, and on opposite days doing the home routine in the evening.  This is because I'm sore and tired and need that much time to rest inbetween.  It's obviously not for everyone.  I just wanted to show you what I'm doing and if you want to join in you can;)  If you want to modify it, or you don't have a gym membership/elliptical, of course you can use dumbbells at home and walk/run outside.  You can make this as easy or difficult as you want.  The goal is to use fairly light weights, lots of reps...until you burn...and to intersperse with challenging cardio.  If you have any questions about what certain exercises are just ask me and I'll try to explain.


I can tell it's working. I can feel my waist shrinking.  I haven't weighed.  Weighing sabotages me.  If I'm up then I just want to throw in the towel and give up.  So I'm waiting a bit.  The perk to having my honey train me is that he's involved and very excited about my progress.  I can see him checking me out.  I can see that pride come over his face and I just know he's thinking...yeah I'm whipping her into shape.  And instead of that annoying me I LIKE IT!  We're working as a team, and it feels good:)

Have a blessed day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

773.  a shrinking waist

774.  energy to workout

775.  my husband's encouragement

776.  the time to do it

777.  feeling sore!

 

 

porch fluffing

There's been a morning chill in the air.  The humidity has dropped and it makes me want to sing like Julie Andrews in the opening act of The Sound of Music.  My arms are outstretched and I'm twirling...  Can you visualize it??  Ha! 


Anyhoo all this glorious weather has me wanting to fluff my nest a bit.  Strange I know since that's usually a spring thing, but I blame my mother.  She was the master fluffer.  Every season without fail she'd make a grand effort to go up into the extremely cluttered, extremely old dusty attic and bring down the mountains of "stuff".  That woman had seasonal stuff!  Lots and lots of it.  And I have to admit I've taken after her a bit.  I'm not quite ready to move fall into the house yet, but the porch??...yes and AMEN!

So when I received my BEA-U-ti-FUL sign this week from Tara at Between You and Me I knew the time had come. It was time to fluff the porch. I've been eyeballing these gorgeous signs forever. I've been hesitant to buy one though, because I seriously don't have one square inch of wall space left!  What can I say I like to decorate;) AND I love words!!! Like really really love words. So when the inspiration hit me to make a sign for the PORCH I was all over it.


I sent her my words and her sweet honey mapped it all out and sent me a rough draft. He was just a doll to work with. Then the GIGANTIC box came and it was all I could do not to squeal! It was a little bit of sweet Tara in a box. I was excited people! It was more than I could've hoped for. This may sound corny, but you remember the words from Jerry Maquire?? You complete me gorgeous sign. Where have you been??  You must check out her shop.  You will drool.  And she's offering a generous $15 off for the month of September!!!  If you find something just use FARMGIRL for the discount code.

Look at that floor.  Have you ever seen a cleaner porch?  Ha!  Seriously the best thing about blogging is that it motivates you.  I haven't swept off my front porch all summer.  It was TIME! 


To complete my fall porch transformation I just added some fun pillows I found in the basement.  Threw a cozy blanket over the back of the swing and added a fake pumpkin.  I really wanted to wow you with tons of real ones, but I haven't seen any yet, and the big giant mums haven't bloomed.  So I have to be patient a little longer;) 

Another thing I'm in love with is my vinyl cling I ordered on Etsy. I'm not linking to her because she's closed her shop down, and I don't want you to be disappointed. But seriously have you ever seen anything cuter?? Holy cow it screams BECKY! 

 

So hello my sweet friends...step on up to my sweet haven of a porch and sit a spell. I'll bring you some cider and we can chat it up;) 

On a side note, Honey and I layed in bed last night and rewatched 9/11 on the History channel.  We both held our breath waiting for the second plane to hit...knowing both buildings would fall.  It was numbing/sickening to relive that horrible day and to imagine the terror those people felt.  Sobering doesn't even sum it up.  As depressing as it was to watch...we just couldn't turn the channel. 

 

I talked it over with Big Chick at breakfast this morning, and as she walked out the door for school she hugged me once and then turned back around and gave me another squeeze. I'm so glad that over time life moves on...people heal, cities and streets are cleaned and somewhat returned to normal, but Lord willing, let us not forget that this life is fleeting.  This world is fallen, and our only hope is in Him. 

 

 

Have a blessed day.

 

 

 

 

 

768.  the love of decorating

769.  my beautiful red door

770.  the change of seasons

771.  fluffy cotton ball clouds

772.  my new porch SIGN!!!! 

we caught crabs!

We did an unexpected cool thing on vacation in the OBX.  It was Alicia's grand plan.  She's a little master mind when it comes to fun kid friendly things to do.  When she first mentioned crabbing our honey's weren't too excited about the concept.  Turns out they were wrong!  And we were so right to make the time;)



BTW look at these little buggars.  They are clamping onto each other, fighting to the death.  They ripped each others claws off!  YES they did that:/  Ewwwww I know.

Okay so apparently to catch those nasty bottom dwelling crabs all you need is a line with string, a nasty chicken neck and a net.  Some gloves would have come in handy too.  Didn't know that:(

You throw your string in...tied to your finger and wait for a little tug and then slowly bring those bad boys up.  You can't do it too fast or they'll let go.  Sophia was seriously the crab whisperer.  That little girl just lazily sat back and brought in one after the other, after the other.  It was so cute!

You should have seen the excitement when all the kids practically at once were screaming "I got one...I GOT ONE"!!  I'm not sure if that's normal or not, but we caught a lot!  We were semi-pro's.  People were stopping and snapping pics.  We looked like we really knew what we were doing;)

Jarrod was breaking a sweat running from one kid to the next. 

I grew up with avid hunter/fisherman brothers.  I mean they are serious.  REALLY serious about their sport. There are at least a dozen deer heads on my brother Rick's walls and a bear rug and a stuffed fox and and and...I could go on. Somewhere in the mix as a child it turned me off, and I vowed not to marry a hunter. 


At some point during the crabfest it occurred to me what my brothers see in going after their meal.  We were seeing this crabbing thing through from the very beginning...going to the store and buying the nasty necks and net, to pulling them out one by one, to cooking and cleaning those poor things.  Then the best part...crab dip:)  It was a full circle moment.  I got it.  The challenge...the connection with living off the land.

 

Not to mention the beauty...

 

and pure fun!

 

This part I could have done without.  At least those delicious little critters didn't squeal.  That definitely made it easier.  Thank you little blue crabs for filling our bellies and giving us memories to last a lifetime. 

Have a blessed day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

763.  crab dip

764.  sunsets that make me feel like i'm in church

765.  faces aglow with adventure and fun

766.  honey's that go along even when they don't want to

767.  pictures that tell a story

 

 

operation zip those pants

Okay here I go...once again on another weight loss movement.  If you've been following along with me for any length of time you know there have been many, many, many, many of these posts!  Geesh that's embarrassing.  The fact is I will always try to be my best.  That's just the way I'm wired.  It was about day 5 of my latest vacation, and I could feel the switch starting to flip once again.  And that's what you need "the big serious, I mean business, I'm not messing around switch" to click into place in your brain.  I just knew that when I got home I was going to have to get on it.  HARD!

So I went through all my clothes.  Painfully trying on pants, shorts and sweats...all one after the other not fitting.  CRAP!  Four entire drawers worth!!!!  It all stems back to the move and the approximately 10 pounds I gained from that stressful year, and then in June I went home.  What is it about home that does me in??  Oh I remember...mom made lemon squares, and there were family gatherings with CAKE, and then there were friend days where we did nothing but pig out, and by the end of the week I had gained 8 pounds.  8 POUNDS!  Is that even possible in 7 days??  Holy cow.  Anyway I didn't worry too much because I thought the second I went back to the gym and ran a little it would all magically melt away.  Well guess what?  It's now the end of summer and they're still there and they've even added a few friends!!  They are having a little party...laughing at me.  And I don't like it one bit!


What I've come to realize after living away for approximately 10 years is that there will always be a weekend trip, a vacation or family coming in.  It happens almost every month.  There will always be a reason to celebrate and I cannot continue to eat whatever I want on those occasions.  I'm almost forty people!  And "they" say, whoever they are, is that 40 is when it all hits the fan and you can't get it off like you used to.  Guess what??  YOU CAN'T.  They were RIGHT!  So I came up with #operationzipthosepants and if you follow me on Instagram (farmgirlpaints) you've seen my hashtags.  You've seen my ridiculous pictures of me all sweaty...throwing out healthy ideas and trying to be good. 



 I've got a goal friends, and it's not to be skinny.  It's not unreasonable.  It's to fit into the clothes I already own!  Inevitably when I write a post like this I will get some sweet/snarky comments and emails telling me how good I already look.  They tell me to love myself and to just go buy bigger pants.  They will tell me not to be so self centered, and that I should devote my time and energy to something more important.  They will tell me to love myself and to not be so hard etc...And this is what I say to all those sweet kind saboteurs...I JUST WANT TO FIT INTO MY PANTS!  I know I'm not fat.  I know I'm beautiful inside and out...blah, blah, blah;)  BUT I refuse to turn 40 and become frumpy, and how do you think that happens?  By ignoring one 8 pound gain after another. 


So there you have it.  If you want to join in I'd love it if you use the #operationzipthosepants hashtag too, and document your journey with me.  I might even make a button and you can link up with me when I post.  Just share what you are doing.  Encourage each other.  We can do it together, and before you know it those post it notes will be coming off and we'll be able to wear our clothes again;)  More posts (workouts and nutrition) to come...

Have a blessed day.

 

757.  my honey who is encouraging me
758.  that flip switching!
759.  greek yogurt
760.  pistachios
761.  ezekial bread
762.  an able body that allows me to push myself