I saw a robin today!

SQUEEE!

For me, that is a sure sign of Spring!  And before leaving for work Friday (I had to catch a ride with a co-worker since my car was in the shop) I took the opportunity to check out my flower beds and I saw tulips and daffodils starting to poke up thru the mulch!  Hooray!!

Anyhoooo.  I set my alarm and got up earlier than I really wanted and went to the first WW meeting this morning.  Saturday's are insane at that place!!   Every single seat was filled & there were at least 6 or 7 of us standing along the back wall.

Today's topic was about taking 10 minutes out of your day and plan your meals, Points-wise. O.M.G. I felt like such a ditz that I've never done this in all the time I've been going to WW.   It's so simple!  I have been extremely good (lately) about tracking everything, but too often I find myself with like 8 Points for dinner or something like that.  So planning would be a good idea!

Although it also does not help that I've been getting munchies lately when I know darn well that I'm not hungry.  I'm fighting that right now.  The only thing that's saving me from going to the kitchen - to get another glass of water, I swear! - is the fact I have a sleeping cat draped across my lap.

I am extremely happy that I am down another 2.6 lbs!  I am so happy to be on the downward spiral once again!

I'm tracking all my healthy checks now!  Yay me!

Does anyone have this dilemma?  I did a 4 mile WalkAtHome DVD earlier this week.  It was a total of 5 minutes longer than the 3 mile WAH I've been doing - so I worked my butt off.  I felt wonderful afterward!  no soreness or anything.  Yesterday I got home from work and took the dog for a walk around the park.  Have to take advantage of sunny & 40*!!!  This particular walk is exactly 2 miles, from leaving my back step to arriving back at it.  And because I have a Beagle who must sniff everything and also insists on stopping to pee 19000 times and poo'ing 3 times, it took us 42 minutes.  Not a strenuous walk at all but I am still dying from how sore my hips & backside are!

The only thing I can figure is my stride.  When I basically march in place, my feet come down toes first and no butt muscles are really used.  While actually walking, there is a forward motion and my feet come down heel first.

Oh, and don't get me started on browsing in stores.  Moving that slow is even worse yet!  It kills my knees.

Check out the funky snow nuggets that are still along the trail - Jack was going nuts checking them out.  This first one was about basketball sized, the second was about the size of my foot.

Have a great weekend, even if we lose an hour sleep tonight!

Friend Makin' Monday - Almost Spring!

Happy Monday!




If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Almost Spring!!

1. What do you love most about Spring?  Sunshine, getting warmer, baby animals, seeing things turn green, spring flowers. 

2. If you’re lucky enough to have a Spring Break, what will you do to enjoy it?      I don't get one.  Pppbth.

3. What is your favorite flower?   Normally I'd say lilacs, but we will have an intoxicating combination of lilacs, crabapple and cherry all blooming at the same time in my yard.  Love it!!!

4. Do you have a garden? If so, what do you grow?  I have perennials in my flower beds around the house, but no actual garden.

5. Share one thing that you hope to accomplish during Spring.  Hmm.  I have a few ideas flitting thru my mind, but nothing set in stone yet.

6. Do you do Spring cleaning?   Not really, but I should.  I'm just not motivated by the time I get home from work.

7. What is your weather *really* like right now? {Just b/c it’s almost Spring, doesn't mean that it feels like it for some of you.}  The sun is actually shining today!  But it's only supposed to get around 31*.

8. Share one photo that you’ve taken during the month of March.   I got to play Grandma this weekend!  Angela is taking a parenting class at school and she brought home this baby for the weekend.  

This is a high-tech doll!  It's programmed with the habits of 15 different newborns, so it could start to cry at any time of the day or night.  She had to wear a special wristband and hold it near baby's torso until it beeped, then she had to figure out why it was crying.  She had to change it, feed it, burp it or just comfort it. Then she had to document why it was crying and how long it took to make baby happy again (it would make a cute gurgle when it was happy) and Heaven forbid you let its head drop back, it would scream bloody murder!  Diaper changes were pretty quick, but feeding could take 15 minutes.  I think she was rather happy to take it back to school today.   I confess I did babysit a couple times.  It was turned off during her dance classes on Saturday, but was still on during acro, so I took care of it then & while she was in the shower. 

9. What’s your favorite thing to do on a sunny afternoon?  We have several nice parks near us and a dog who loves going on walks.  Which is good, since my butt-head family doesn't like going on them!

10. If you could spend the day doing anything in your city, what would you do?  probably look for some geocaches.

Friend Makin' Monday - Blogger to Blogger

Boy do I feel dumb!  I linked up this post to Kenlie's FMM on 2/18/13 and just realized this was still sitting in my draft folder!  Sorry!  
Lisa (3/1/13)

*****************

Eeek, I never did post my 13 in 13 update last week. Let me at least do this much....



This is my WW eTools progress report. I vowed to post this weekly.  There is my 2.6 lb loss!

Now onto the fun stuff!

 If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!



Blogger to Blogger

1. Does your blog have one overwhelming theme?  Yes.  It's all about my roller-coaster journey of losing weight & getting fit.

2. How did you come up with the theme(s) for your blog? Was it intentional?  I started out with kind of a personal / weight loss theme & then decided to split them.  Now I have 3 blogs total.  This one, Random Ramblings & Maple Grove Cemetery (Halloween-themed)

3. Share something cool that has happened in your life as a result of blogging.  Hmm.  I can't think of anything spectacular.  It is pretty neat to look back at My Work in Progress and see how far I've come since I joined WW many moons ago.

4. How much time to do spend reading blogs everyday?  Probably 30-45 minutes.  I need to stop just staying on Google Reader and actually go to the blogs so I can see their layout & get the full experience.

5. Do you blog on the weekends?  Sometimes.   We have 2 computers on 2 desks but only one chair.  So if hubby is doing radio stuff at his desk or (the ultimate in annoying) instead of moving all the crap piled up on his desk, he will use mine to remotely access his computer and do whatever it is he does. I'll have to use my netbook, but I don't have access to my photo albums from there!

6. Do you keep track of your stats? Do they matter to you?  I look at them once in a while, and I find it highly entertaining to see what people search for and find my blogs.

7. How do you decide how much to share about your personal life?  I share quite a bit here, but my big rants & tangents are usually on RR.

8. Do you aspire to be a writer, or did blogging happen for some other reason?   I don't remember how or why I decided to start blogging.  At the beginning, I'd only write once a month or longer, so my posts were novel-like.  I've gotten better.

9. As a blogger, do you think it’s more important to write for yourself, or for your readers?  I think I do a little of both.  I like to tell stories as if I were telling someone else, but some of it is also a journal for myself.

10. What kind of plans do you have for the future of your blog?  I can't imagine any of them being much more than they are now.  I'm mostly happy with what I have.

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions. Don’t forget to head over and link up in the comments. Happy Monday!

February 13 in 13 round up

Happy March!  I can't decide if March is coming in like a "lion" or a "lamb".  It's cold & cloudy, but nothing horrible.  Not really my idea of lamb-like, tho.

So moving on to updating!  Here is my progress report from WW eTools - both weekly and a monthly overviews.  I did have a small gain - but it is PMS week.  Mother Nature is such a bitch.  But I am pretty happy with the 15 activity points.  For the last 2 weeks, it's been crazy with me going so far over my allotted points!  I've tracked it all (example - look at Friday below!)  I don't know why I'm having such a a hard time with this.

 and my big ol' blank healthy check tracking area....sigh.  Maybe I should do those.

1.  rededicate myself to WW - this has been really bad. I only went to weigh in 3 times and didn't attend any meetings at all. I really need to make time for myself to go. I wish they had earlier meeting times!
2.  post eTools progress report weekly - check!
3.  dust off my WAH DVDs - check!
4.  use my new waist & arm / thigh trimmers while doing DVDs or Wii Fit - check!
5.  plan meals weekly - check!
6.  eat more / new veggies every week - check! (for the most part)
7.  be a better blogger - eh. Somewhat.
8.  get my house de-cluttered - eh, somewhat.
9.  cut back on unnecessary spending (see #8) - somewhat.
10. find plans & designs for tomato cage trees / MGC fence / potion book - somewhat. I've been pinning ideas.
11. work on RACES certification - epic fail. I did find the book, but haven't looked at it since.
12.  
13.  wean myself off pop - a work in progress.  
Rebecca’s February Challenge - Keep it Simple. I confess I totally missed this whole step. But it was probably OK, since I prefer simple over complicated any day.

Alrighty then. Onward & upward to March!

1.  rededicate myself to WW - staying on the list. I really have to make an effort to attend meetings.
2.  post eTools progress report weekly - staying on the list. Knowing that other people will be seeing this really makes me feel more accountable.
3.  earn at least 15 WW activity points weekly - this hopefully will get my butt moving.
4.  use my waist & arm / thigh trimmers while exercising - staying on the list.
5.  plan meals weekly - staying on the list
6.  eat more / new veggies every week - I enjoy this one, so staying on the list.
7.  be a better blogger - the A-Z challenge is next month, so I need to get busy writing posts. Staying on the list for now.
8.  spend at least 15 minutes per day straightening up my house - ugh. Staying on the list.
9.  make time for ME!!! If I don't plan time for myself to exercise or go to meetings or blog, it doesn't happen.
10. find plans & designs for holiday displays (tomato cage trees / MGC fence / potion book) - I have quite a few ideas pinned and such.
11. work on RACES certification - ugh. staying on the list.
12.  
13.  wean myself off pop - this will be an ongoing work in progress.
Rebecca’s March Challenge - Try Something New! Oh man. I have no idea right now, but I'll keep my eyes open! There is a family Girls' Weekend coming up over St. Pat's Day so anything can happen.

A good hurt....

I was meaning to do some sort of moving-my-carcass yesterday, but exciting things like "errands",  "housework" and "cooking dinner" got in the way.  I also felt the need to take advantage of the 40* sunshine to pick up random sticks & branches from the front yard before the next bout of white crap falls this afternoon / tonight.

So I was feeling guilty.  Then I remembered seeing a pin on Pinterest on a quick workout to do when you're in a hurry.  So this morning while I was in the garage waiting for the dog to do his thing, I did 50 jumping jacks - that's a feat in itself, since I haven't done them since I received my DD214 (military discharge papers!).  But with a heavy winter coat on, it stopped the bounce somewhat. Then before I got in the shower, I did 30 mountain climbers, 20 crunches and 5 push ups.  It also calls for a 30 second plank, but I need to find out exactly what those are.  The ones I've personally seen are not really of the exercise variety.

Anyhooooo, I am really feeling it!  In my shoulders, back, thighs and probably more once I stand up (I've been sitting for about an hour now)  For only taking about 10 minutes of my morning, I enjoyed it!  So I'm planning on doing a Walk-At-Home DVD tonight and tomorrow I can safely assume to be shoveling snow.  That's a nice workout in itself!

Since I like to always put images of some sort in my posts - here are my adorable critters.

 Maddie contemplating the birds on the patio. 

 Jack, waiting to hear something profound from me. 

Up close & personal with Chester. 

Have a great day!