Probably Time To Say Goodbye

It isn't fair to just quit writing without telling you, but I think this Blog is over. It started out of a desire to motivate each other, but that desire no longer seems to exist. Perhaps the desire is still there somewhere, but it isn't working. I have no passion to keep a public record of my exercise. I never really did, but I knew we were doing it together. I think the go girl! club was fun and served its purpose, but I hate that it has become work on my to do list instead of a time of bloggy connection.

No hard feelings. Life changes, and it is time to move on. Hope you all keep up the exercise! I'm off to Spin class.

Wednesday Work Out

Yesterday I did 45min on the treadmill. Hot Stuff and I talked too long and I didn't to any weights. But it was nice to talk to another girl. I think chatting with peers can be as healthy as the exercise some days.

Then I went to the spin class. Man o man, that class was hard yesterday. I just do not enjoy that class. But I plan to stick with it for a while. It's good to very up the exercise.

Anyone else doing anything this week? I'm feeling lonely.

Leave a Comment

I've heard that some people have had a hard time leaving comments. I am so low tech. I don't know how to make it easier. It is amazing I can log myself in from other computers.

However, I did find where I could put my email on my profile. So you can contact me that way if you would like.

No Star Week

As of now, I'm having a no star week. I thought I was going to get in some exercise during quiet time today, but I had other stuff going on. The day has slipped away, and tonight I need to head to the store to purchase birthday boy's requests for tomorrow. Bacon. Bacon for breakfast. That boy loves bacon! Usually that is Hip Mamasita's (aka grandma's) role in his life. She takes care of the bacon boy, but tomorrow it will be me. We miss you Hip Mamasita.

The good news is that I will head to the Y tomorrow. I plan on doing a little cardio, maybe some weights, and then spin class. I do not like spin class. It is the longest 5omin ever. The seat hurts. As a child I don't remember it ever hurting when I rode a bike. Ahhh....I miss the booty of my childhood..... Anyone else miss the booty of their childhood? In my mind it seems like it would be more comfortable now that I have a little extra cushion down there. I guess some things just don't work like you think.

Hope your week is going well.

Star System

I've decided to change it up a bit. This was the original Go Girl! plan. I liked it. I did it successfully for 8 weeks, but once I got sick and missed my goal, I had a hard time being as determined. Icky perfection in the way. 

New plan for me. I'm going to rate my weeks with stars. A five star week would mean I exercised 5 days--top notch excellent. One star week would mean I exercised 1 day. Not excellent, but still worthy. 

Why the change? Well, I received a couple comments that 5 days was too hard a goal for some. I myself am continuing to find the balance in my life. If I work out for 80 plus minutes at the Y on Wednesdays and Fridays, maybe I shouldn't beat myself up that I didn't do 30min on Monday. But even if I only do 30 min on three days that is still better than nothing. 

Also with the star system it gives room to make a steady climb. Maybe someone reading this is  doing nothing-no exercise. That person would be doing great to move on 1 or 2 days each week and work their way up to 5. 

My goal is to have a 3-5 star week. As of now I have two days scheduled for the Y. I need to find time for at least one more day for exercise.

What do you think of the Star System? Is it too easy? Would you rather do the old plan? 

Please share with us which plan you choose. It is more fun, and successful, when we hold each other accountable. 

Unintentional Exercise

(This was intended to be Tuesday's post, but I had computer issues and it didn't save. Here is a shorter version)

We just got back from a wonderful trip at Mo Ranch. I had no plans of exercising, however my sore legs told me another story. At least twice a day we walked from our room to the river to play. I'm guessing it is about an 8min walk from slide to rapids. I carried my 40lb child each way after he had fallen down and skinned his knees. There were times I carried the stroller up the big hill. We walked to every meal. And our first night I was trying to teach my family how to do the bicycle in the pool. Just keeping tabs on four boys as they experience the freedom of the country was exercise.

So although I did not plan on exercise, I got exercise.

We love our Mo Ranch Adventure!

Getting Back On Schedule

We are beginning to get more routine to our weeks. Next week will still be a little messed up with Monday being a Holiday and returning from a trip with a mountain of stuff to unpack, wash and put away. But yesterday I met Hot Stuff at our new remodeled YMCA. I got a copy of their workout schedule. Next week I will try two classes. Wednesday is Begin and Spin and Friday is BalleTone. Not sure what other exercise I have planned. As for now I feel good knowing that two days are scheduled with exercise.

I totally don't know what BalleTone is about. I'm trying to look at it as an exciting adventure. Yikes. I don't really like adventure. Stop thinking--just do.


Hope some of you out there are planning adventure as well.

Seriously!

I need to get back in the swing of exercise. Anyone want to get serious with me?Mama Chick? Hot Stuff? Hip Mamasita? Cutie Pie who is now a mama? Anyone?

I had 8 straight wonderful weeks, but once my cycle was broke, it has never been the same. I'm going to take a week to think/pray on it, and see how I can prioritize my life so that exercise fits better.

One thing is for sure--I felt better last spring when I was exercising 5 days each week.

Getting off track Again!

Last Wednesday I did work out at the Y. Somehow that was the last day for me. Where does the time go?

I'm calling it a 3 star week. I would love for it to be a 5 star week, but that isn't where I'm at right now. I don't want another long lapse in my blogging because I'm not getting in my perfect 5.

I've had a sick kid which has rearranged my plans for the week. But I'm looking on the bright side. I can go do a DVD this afternoon, work out at the Y tomorrow, and take a pilates class on Friday with Hot Stuff--she was trying to talk me into it, and I think it is working--And I will easily have another 3 star week.

Looks like a goal!

Walked the neighborhood

Wasn't an intense anything, but while Hot Honey bathed the kiddos I went for a walk. I walked down to the school and did four laps, then walked back. Now if I just count every time I have to walk to #3's room tonight to put him back in bed, the mileage would really start adding up!

Bitter or Better

It continues to be a constant struggle on how to balance it all. This morning we headed over to the park to meet friends and play, which means I missed my moment to go to the Y and exercise.

Not a huge deal because I haven't made a set exercise plan in my mind yet, and I had these park plans waaaay before I started writing the blog again. ( "Waaaay before" meaning about 3 days.) However, Mama Chick inspired me. She probably doesn't know it yet, but hearing her say she went to the gym this morning after taking a couple or three weeks off planted a seed. Plus, I have the knowledge that Hot Stuff didn't join us at the park because she is off with her Trainer. Way to go Hot Stuff. You don't get a name like that for nothing!

Fast forward. It is the middle of quiet time. Well, not really the middle. More like the downhill side of quiet time. I decided to stop looking for deals on my frugal blogs I frequent. Put on my shoes. And throw in a Walk Away The Pounds DVD.

It is a 35min exercise. I'm doing good. Over halfway. Doorbell rings. Dogs bark. Oh no. Don't wake the kids! Run to the door. It is the mailman with amazon box--#2 has birthday this week. Quick exchange. Only missed about 20 seconds of walking. Return to TV. Kids are still sleeping. Looking good. Continue workout. Didn't last long.

With 10 mins left the baby begins to cry. Oh no. I figure he'll be fine. Crying won't kill him. I should focus on me. A minute goes by and the cry turns to scream. I wait a bit longer. Then I realize this is not normal. I dash to his room. This is where our small house is a good thing. Poor baby has his skinny little knee stuck between his crib bars. How he did it, I'm not sure. I push it out, pick him up. Silence.

Here is where what could have been a bitter situation turned into something better. I could have quit walking all around my living room. Instead I carried my 17lb weight around for the last 7 min of exercise. As I side stepped, knee lifted and marched, he swayed around thinking it was the best ride ever. He filled my ears with little baby giggles, and my eyes with his little toothy smile. That was waaaay better! I wish he could stay 10 months forever.

SURPRISE!

Bet you had only a dangle of hope to see something new written on this blog. Well, surprise!

I'm not only surprising you, but I'm surprising myself. What? That's right I'm surprising myself.

You see I constantly fall into the trap of wanting to do things a certain way. So I wait. And wait. And wait until I have enough time to do it correctly. Some may see this as patience. But the guilty, nagging voice in my head lets me know that this is not one of the fruits of the Spirit. It is me wanting this blog to be perfect. It is me being paralyzed by the fear of doing it wrong. I can't be perfect, nor will this blog be perfect.

This very moment, more like 5 min. ago, I realized that I will NEVER have time to do this blog "correctly." So with that said, I'm simply jumping back in!

The surprise for me is that this is just a random day. I'm not starting on a Monday or giving notice that I will start on Monday. It isn't the beginning of a new month. I'm not sharing all the ideas and goals that have been swirling in my head.

It is not the GIANT restart kickoff blog thingy that I thought I would do. I'm simply just restarting. And I'm OK with it.

Hey Girls....I'm back.

Absent & Busy

Today is the first time I've clicked on the blog since my last post on the 12th. I really wanted to be able to do it all. I thought I could do it all. But I'm not. Because I haven't been able to do this blog the way I wanted to, I just avoided it.

Then this morning I decided to try on a pair of capri pants and see if I was closer to fitting into them. Hot Diggity! I got them buttoned. Still not attractive to have a muffin top stick'n out of them, but they are buttoned.

I've been waiting and working out for months to get these to button. What a good feeling! These are the results I like and need. I guess I will keep plugging away and see what fits in another 4 months.

**********

I love that some of you are still reporting in, in spite of my absence. Way to go girls! There is a good chance I will be absent awhile longer while I frantically finish up VBS and the boys school. But I will come back!

FYI

I have been working out with DVDs at home. I even did both Sat and Sun to make up for last TW. But I'm super busy writing, proofing, calling people, and answering emails for VBS so I haven't blogged. The boys swim lessons end this week so maybe that will give me a little more time. Although we now have more school to finish than days left in May. Yikes!

Please keep telling me what you are doing. Helps motivate me in this crunch time.

Noodle This

Hot Stuff was talking about of all doing 30 Day Shred. What are you thoughts?

Mama Chick, You're Super!

I love that you check in every day. Don't stop!

I'm totally behind. I didn't exercise Tues. or Wed. I put way too many things on the calendar this week. I will exercise tonight no matter how late it gets. I don't have any more days to spare!

Cinco De Mayo!

I have nothing clever to write, but wanted to leave a spot for comments for the day. Maybe someone will do a Salsa dance today!?

All Aboard!

This is the fourth month of our little plan. This is also the most consistent I've been since becoming a mom. I dare say, it might be getting a little easier. keep your eye on little.

I also think it would be easy to miss a few days and have those turn into a few weeks, a few months, a few years. So I'm staying on track and pretending to be the Little Engine. "I think I can, I think I can..." Let's see where this train goes.

It's May!

Sounds like those that replied to my Honest Question/Honest Answer would like the blog to keep going, if it isn't a burden to me. Thanks for being considerate and sweet, but IT ISN'T A BURDEN, IF IT MAKES YOU MORE MOTIVATED TO MOVE. It does hold me accountable and I do enjoy writing many of the posts. I just don't want to be this goofy lady that writes a diary for the world to read. Not that the world is reading it, but potentially they could. I only needed one person to say keep it going. And I think if I read between the lines 3 or 4 of you said that. I think Hot Stuff tried to say that too at the Y on Monday in a round about my vote probably doesn't count kind of way. It is OK that you don't leave comments. (I see you and comment for you sometimes.) For anyone else feeling bad they don't leave comments... I blog stock others all the time and never comment. Although, comments do motivate me to stay on track :)

Bottom Line.....Watch out May! Here Come the Go Girls!

We are starting Fresh with a new month. Since today is Friday, we will push the fresh start date to Monday. Monday will be the official first day of the first week. At least 30min of exercise for 5days of the week. Blog stockers jump in where you are. It seems like those who have stuck with it for 3 months have increased their workouts some. But don't be discouraged if someone leaves a comment saying they have done more than 30min. This is all about forming a habit and changing a lifestyle. NOT A DIET

GO GET 'EM GIRLS!!!!!

I Went On The Mirror Side

Oh, yes I did! Hot Stuff do hear that? Can you Believe it? It was a small baby step, but a step.

I went over to a couple of ladies who also have kids in the PE class at the Y. Same ones I did the pilates class and the spin class with. One of them handed me a five lb weight so I could start working off my muffin top. Of course they were just talking about their muffin tops. They never actually told me that I had a muffin top. I think it was implied that we all have muffin tops. So I climbed on the I don't know what you call it and did some side extension working on my obliques (I mean muffin top)

It was fun venturing to the other side of the gym. Why haven't I done that sooner? Could it be all the boys with giant muscles looking at themselves in the mirror? I thought that was the reason. Then today I realized the real reason is the GIANT MIRROR. I don't know about you, but when I'm exercising I feel more physically fit. So I think of myself as having a physically fit body. Makes perfect sense to me. Then you see yourself in the GIANT MIRROR. All of the sudden reality smacks you in the face. Or should I just say my face. reality smacked me in my face. My booty is that big? I don't want to think I'm that big.

I suppose it is good to have reality checks. I will brave it again and use the I don't know what you call it to reduce my muffin tops. Who knows what other things I might end up doing. Watch out World!

BTW all the boys in my house want to know what a muffin top is. I think they want to eat some! Just in case you have no idea what I'm talking about. It is the bulge that hangs over your waistband, particularly at the sides.

Get out their Girls and be brave!

Smiley Face

Curious, do you ever read the fitness tips at the bottom? If yes, do you ever do them?
I find that I hardly ever read them. I forget that it is even there.

Today will be a challenging day for me to move my body. I will be home all day and I have a million things I would rather do, but I want to make myself a priority. So somehow I will push everything aside and find 30min to move this body. Not sure what it will be, but I'll think of something.

April's Ending

I didn't realize that I never typed my Friday post. I'm such a slacker.

As we are drawing end to another month I have an honest question, and I'm looking for an honest answer. Do we want to keep doing this?

Our group as dwindled each month. We have gotten fewer comments from our fellow Go Girls and I can look at the traffic meter and tell that only one or two people are looking some days. This is ok with me. It is what it is.

But where do we go now? If someone would like me to keep posting because it motivates them, let me know. I Can work harder at making it daily or if it is just a couple of us maybe we just do it weekly. I'm not sure what I want to do. That's why I would love to hear from anyone who wants it to keep going. Please don't feel sorry for the blog and say keep it up, if that is not what you feel. I only want to fill a need. And at this time I think we need to redefine the Go Girl needs. April has been different than Feb.

Tuesday is Off!

Apparently, the majority of us took Tuesday off. I never got my exercise squeezed in like I planned and I know Hot Stuff headed to the ER instead of the gym--not that she would log in and tell us hint hint. So that makes 4 of us that took a break. I know what we will be doing on Sat.

As for Wednesday. Hot Stuff and I did the Y. It was a good workout for me. Did two cardio machines and 3 weight machines. Hope you all had a better Wednesday.

A little spot

Want to make sure I have a spot for any early birds to leave us a comment. But really I need to go to sleep right now since my computer is telling me it is already Tuesday! Good Night/morning

Tell Us What You Did

How was your workout today?

It Is Working!!!

I just read Mama Chick's comments about losing 7 pounds. Way to go!!! (You even took a couple weeks off with family sickness and travel.)

Yesterday morning I had my kids set up the Wii so I could do a body test. I was curious because someone asked me if I had lost weight. I replied, "um, my clothes say I haven't, but my husband thinks I have. So maybe. I don't really weigh myself."

I had planned on waiting until the end of the month to weigh myself and see if my new goal made a difference, but the curiosity was too much. I did a body test knowing that it could really ruin my day if it told me that I weighed more or even the same as when I started. Last time I weighed myself there wasn't a real difference then I got sick and lost weight, fully knowing that it wasn't true weight loss, but dehydration.

Here goes... the Wii has informed me that I have lost over 9lbs since the beginning of the year. That is some pretty good news! Sure I would love it to tell me that I have lost 20 or 30lbs, but 9 is good. I haven't done anything super radical which is the nice part. I'm just having a healthier lifestyle by moving my body! I'm not counting calories or turning down food(except after 8:30pm). In fact, I ate two snicker Easter eggs this morning--so you can see I'm not trying very hard in the food department.

My hope for me and for you reading this is that we become the tortoise and keep plodding along. Sure there are Hares out there who are super fast. But we all know how that story ends.

Keep focused on tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. Don't look back.

How exciting will it be next January knowing that we just stayed on the track.

Step'n It Up

Finished my third day for the week. Since I didn't finish the five days last week and I had a lot of Easter candy, I felt motivated to push my workouts at the Y a little more this week.

I'm not sure I started out with that plan, but it fell into place. On Monday I met Hot Stuff at the Y for the usual. My treadmill didn't automatically go to cool down after 30min. When It was time for Hot Stuff to leave I was almost at 40min. She encouraged me to go to 45. I thought sure, I can do that, but the last 5min will be cool down. Well, I got to 45min and I saw how close I was to 3miles. How could I stop now. I might as well get in 3mi to say that I did. I decided to bump up my speed so it would happen faster. I actually got up to 4.4mph. Although, it only lasted 2min. By the time I hit 3miles I was too close to 60min. to stop. So I went to 60min. Then I did a few weights. It felt good to push myself.

Tuesday was normal 30min here at the house. Which is totally good.

Today I got the same treadmill at the Y with Hot Stuff. I decided to go past the 30min again and do 45min. Then I went and did my 3 weight machines. Then I decided to turn it up a notch. Put on my earphones (didn't have them with me on Monday) and hit the elliptical . My plan was 15 more mins bringing my total cardio to an hour, but HGTV was on with a great show about staging your house. I ended up doing 33 more minutes. Crazy!

Not sure if this fire under my tush will last, but two kicked up days is way better than no kicked up days. I'll take it!

Goals update

By the end of last week I got off track. Good Friday and Easter weekend had me off schedule--And I did not complete my 5 workouts for the week. A bit of a bummer.

The good news is that I'm on track this week. I just got back on that horse. You can too!

My additional goal of not eating past 8:30 has been going well. It was really hard the first few days, but got easier. I'm not watching what I eat, but by not snacking at night I must be saving myself at least 300 calories.

Frosty, did you ever decide on your additional goal for yourself?

Where do the days go?

Mama Chick left a message on Hot Honey's wall (facebook thing) saying she was going to start eating doughnuts and ordering Chinese, if his wife didn't start blogging this week.

So I'm on it! Even if this is a quick little hello and nothing inspiring, I want to make sure Mama Chick has a place to record her dedication. You go girl! Tell us what you did.

Hope to have time tomorrow to update you all on me and what I've been up to the last week. I do write posts in my head while I'm doing other things, but it doesn't help you if I never put them on the blog! I need to hook my brain up to the computer. Wait, that would be super scary. I don't think we should read all my thoughts!

Have a good evening.

Spin Class

Wow, I did it!

And boy was it challenging. I dare say it was harder than Jillian's workout.

Crazy thing is that it was the beginner class. Apparently, I need the intro to beginners spin class. I wonder where that is?

I would do it again. It was a great workout. Tons of sweat, out of breathe, heart pounding workout. I will be sore tomorrow and right now I just want to take a nap. That class was the last of my energy. Actually I didn't even know I had that much energy.

FYI--Everyone talks about your bum hurting, which it does, but no one really talks about how much it hurts your "cookie." WHICH IT DOES. Consider yourself warned.

Quick Check In

Hey Girls. Fun to read all the comments. I wrote the last two entries on Saturday and turned off the computer. I did turn it on yesterday, but never checked in. I didn't intend to make the type so big on the Goals entry. When I read it, it was almost like I was screaming. I wasn't screaming, unless that is what motivated you this week. In that case I was screaming super loud.

I went to the Y yesterday and walked the treadmill with Hot Stuff. Then I did a couple weight machines. I increased my weights. That was a good feeling so I decided to do 15 extra min. on the bike. That was a looooong 15min. But I'm thinking of doing a begin spin class tomorrow (Wed.) Thinking being the operative word here. We will see how brave/crazy I feel. 15min made my bum hurt. I'm pretty sure the class is longer than that.

Today I did a Walk Away the Pounds video at home.

Frosty--I'm excited to hear your goal. Maybe others will want to try whatever it is you are thinking about.

Mama Chick--nice job moving the dinner earlier. I know it is hard

This not eating after 8:30 is not easy. I need to start going to bed earlier so I won't think about it. It is 10:39pm right now and I've already stopped myself like 10times from grabbing a snack. I know where the little Dove chocolate eggs are hidden. So yummy! Tomorrow I will eat one of those babies.

Goals

I thought I would take this time to remind you all of our goal.

*Exercise for at least 30min 5 days each week (Our week starts on Monday and ends on Sunday)

You pick the exercise and you can even divide it into two 15min or three 10min--Whatever works for you and your schedule. I've personally chosen not to count household activities as my exercise. Example, moving all furniture out of a room and replacing floors. But that is just me. I'm trying to set aside time for me and make me more of a priority.

That is really the only goal. Pretty simple and straight forward.


Now I have decided on an additional goal for myself. Please feel free to join me. For me this won't be easy. It might be harder than actually exercising. Some of you may already do this and it is no big deal. Drum Roll Please.....

*Not eating after 8:30pm 5 nights per week

Yikes, I said it. I typed it. It is official. I'm scared!

Deep breath. It is only for 3 weeks. I can do this. And it is only 5 nights not 7.
But this will be haaaaard. Hot Honey works late at night and I find myself snacking with him. The reality is that I'm just tired and instead of putting myself to bed. I hang out and eat cereal--like the Captain Crunch we have hidden from the kids. We're so sneaky. But it will be much harder to sneak now since they go to bed at 8:30.

I'm not ready to make any huge eating changes, but I'm hoping this one small change will make a difference in my jean size.

If you want to join me in this new goal, leave a comment.

Fresh Start

I feel like many of us just need a Fresh Start. Life is busy, kids are sick, bodies are falling apart, but we need to refocus. Time will keep going. Soon it will be May and time to put on swimsuits, Then it will be the end of summer and time for school to start again. Then the Holidays begin. The cycle continues.

Now is not the time to wait for tomorrow or next week. Now is the time to put yourself and your health first! Sometimes our minds tell us that the best thing is to sit down and watch some TV or you fill in the blank. But don't listen to that voice before you get up and move! That voice deceives us. It robs us of what we can be. We must fight to quiet that awful voice. Just remember that anything worth having is worth fighting for. Be strong Girls! You are worth it! Now let's tear up the next three weeks of April!!!!

And this post is as much for me as it is for you. We all struggle.

I'm Still Here

It has been a slow week on the blogging. I'm not sure where the time has gone, but I'm still working out. Are you?

I know Cutie Pie is down and out. What about Mama Chick? Haven't heard from you in a while. Have you jumped back on the wagon? Hip Mamasita, have you been exercising? I know you haven't been able to post comments, but you can always email me and I can update for you. Julie?Frosty? Brooke(s)? Anyone? Everyone?

I miss the community.

Nice work kSk and Judy. Keep it up! And Hot Stuff has been working out too, but I don't think she will ever get on here and leave comments. She is a lurker, but that is OK.

I Lost 9lbs in 2 days...Want The Secret?

Eat bad Chicken!

I totally do not recommend. It was no fun at all!

Besides feeling awful, it ruined all my plans for the weekend :(
It ruined my 8 straight wks of meeting my Go Girl Goal. Double :(
I had planned on participating in the Race for Grace Saturday morning with Mama Chick and Hot Stuff. Instead I called them at 6:30am to say, "I'm totally sick." There was no chance of me squeezing in my 5th and final workout this past weekend. I was, and still am disappointed. Once the momentum stops it is hard for me to get started. I'm sure some of you feel the same way. Trying to look past it. After all, I successfully completed 7wks.

So today I went to the Y and climbed back on that treadmill. I was a saaaaad sight walking at 1.7mph (while Hot Stuff is walking her usual 3.7), but when I was done I felt better than I had in over 2 days. Sometimes you just gotta move, even if it is slow.

BTW I randomly decided to go check my weight on Friday after I did the pilates class. I thought after 8wks of exercise I would check in. I think I lost 1lb. That's right ONE stinking little pound. It wasn't exciting or rewarding. And reinforced why I don't weigh in. I felt more accomplished before I saw the weight. Ahh... Head games. (of course muscle weighs more than fat... blah, blah, blah. I still secretly wanted to see some tangible results)

So Sunday night I was telling all this to Hot Honey. That's when he said we should bust out the Wii and see how much weight I lost being sick. I knew I must of lost something, but I wasn't expecting 9lbs! Crazy! Of course it was dehydration, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm hoping to only gain back 7 of those 9lbs this week. Since I lost 1lb in 8wks, this is like an additional 16wks of exercise, Right!? I love free stuff! It is almost like couponing (which I've been doing a lot of these days)

Hopefully, you all know I'm somewhat kidding. It's late. I'm Goofy. Lack of sleep and proper nutrition.

If you thought we were done because it is the end of March or because I hadn't blogged, we aren't. Keep exercising. 5 Days a week Girls for at least 30min. each day.

I think I'm throwing in one more goal for me for the month of April. I'm nervous to say it out loud because then I have to do it. Stay tuned....

Above and Beyond

That's what I did today--I went above and beyond. I don't usually toot my horn, but I can't help it today. I met Hot Stuff at the Y as usual. We finished treadmill. As I was going to get some paperwork to finish another home school mom invited me to do pilates. At first I said no, but then I thought about sitting in the lobby doing work. I decided to go. And I'm glad I did! It was challenging, so it must be working something. I think I will try it again next Friday. 35min on the treadmill and a bonus 50min of pilates.

Then I had Haagen-Dazs with the boys for snack! Maybe that is why I'm not getting rapid results :)

Have a good weekend!

Wow, It's Wednesday

The days just fly by. I'm still trying to figure out how to get it all done--balancing all my roles and exercise and write this blog. It seems like blog is the short end of the stick right now, which is better than exercise being short! I'm still moving. Yesterday I did a WATP DVD. Today I will head back to the Y. Thurs will probably be a day off. I have a meeting. But Saturday I will do the Race for Grace. If anyone else signed up, let me know so we can walk together.

Have a great day my fellow Go Girls!

I Did It!!!!

Friday night I finished my mini version of 30 Day Shred. I turned it into 7 Day Shred. Talk about tough. I was sore everyday, but no pain no gain. I'm not sure I shredded anything other than sweat and frustration, but I feel accomplished. The truth is that by day 6 and 7 I could see some improvement in my ability and endurance. I would encourage any of you to try and make a mini goal that REALLY pushes you out of your comfort zone.

Now for this week. Spring Break is over and I will be heading back to the YMCA today. Maybe I will crank it up a notch. Maybe.

I know many of the Go Girls had challenging weeks last week with spring break plans that they chose or in several cases didn't choose (funeral, family member operation, etc). I will be praying for you all to get back on track and have a successful week.

Go Girls!!!!

From Mama Chick

I found this list of ways to stay motivated to exercise on http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/ .

1. Always exercise on Monday. This sets the psychological pattern for the week.

2. If at all possible, exercise first thing in the morning. The longer the day goes on, the more likely you are to get derailed.

3. Never skip exercising for three days in a row. You can skip a day, and you can skip two days, but on the third day, you must exercise no matter how inconvenient. (This rule is more effective than it sounds; it kept me exercising regularly during college.)

4. Give yourself credit for the smallest effort. And don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The fifteen-minute walk you DO take is better than the three-mile run you DON'T take.

5. If you don’t have time both to exercise and take a shower, find an activity that doesn’t require a shower afterward, like yoga or walking.

6. Look for affordable ways to make exercising more pleasant or satisfying. Could you upgrade to a nicer gym? Buy yourself a new iPod? Work with a trainer? Get a pedometer? (they’re only $20). A lot of people are feeling a real money crunch right now, but exercise is a high life priority, so if you can afford it, this is a place to spend some money if that helps.

7. Remind yourself of the benefits from exercising. Personally, I’m more motivated by short-term gratifications like “I’ll feel more focused” or “I’ll sleep better” than long-term considerations like “I’ll live longer” or “If I have surgery, I’ll recover quicker.” Women are more motivated by the promise of improving their appearance.

8. Think about context. If you find it much harder to go running in winter than summer, maybe the real trouble is that you don’t like the cold. Do you hate the loud music in your gym? Is your work-out so exhausting that you can’t face the rest of your day?

9. When choosing an activity, a gym, or an exercise class, make convenience a top priority. You’re much more likely to go to a mediocre gym near your office or home than to a great gym that’s out of your way.

Almost Done!

Still doing the 7 day Shred! I have one more day, then I'm mailing it back to Netflix. Even though it is hard, make that really hard, I am getting better. Fanny kicks and jump roping are improving, although slight. Still, it is improvement. Kudos to anyone out there that can do it 30 days straight. I'm looking forward to having Saturday and Sunday off!

Seriously...I Think Exercise Is Suppose To Be A Four Letter Word

At least it feels like a four letter word in my book-Ouch, Pain, Hurt, Yuck, Sore

OK. So exercise is really 8 letters, not 4. But maybe that is worse than a 4 letter word. It is a four letter word times two! Think about that!

4 More Days

Trust me I am counting these down. I've done 3 days in a row of the 30 Day Shred and I can totally feel it! Right now I can't even imagine doing this for 7 days in a row. At least I don't enjoy imagining it. Just taking it one day at a time. I was glad to read that some of the Go Girls were doing it yesterday as well. It encouraged me as I started at 9:45pm last night. And for anyone out there that thinks they can't work out in the evening--Hogwash. I am a morning person!!!! Let me say that one more time. I'm a morning person! I prefer to have everything done by noon! If I can squeeze in the time to torture myself, so can you. I believe in you! Make it happen!

MIA

I feel like I've been Missing in Action from the blog since Thursday morning. But not to worry the action hasn't stopped in my world. I've had a full plate the last few days. I didn't do 30 Day Shred on Thursday like planned. I was too pooped by the end of the day. So this week I missed both Tues. & Thurs, meaning that both Sat. and Sun. were make-up days for me. (Friday I did the Y). Saturday evening after the kids went to bed we put in 30 Day Shred. I say we because Hot Honey decided to join me! Thanks Hot Honey!

Let's just say we survived it. I'm glad this is not a video blog! I'm really glad it is not a video blog. Everyone would have been on the floor watching the two of us try Jillian's workout! Turns out I need a much better sports bra, if I'm going to be imaginary jump roping in my living room. Luckily it was imaginary, so I could use my hands for extra support. Of course Hot Honey volunteered his hands! I passed on that idea. Thanks Honey.

It also turns out that I need to do more kegel exercises so I don't wet myself. And I didn't! But it was too close for comfort. After all, if I have to think about not doing something, it is a bit distracting. Jumping jacks, jump rope and fanny kicks took some effort on my bladder after 4 babies. Or maybe I'm just getting old!

The part that I enjoyed most, and I use enjoy loosely here, were the squats. At least I know how to squat. Sure my thighs burn, but it is a straight forward no brainer for me. Poor, Poor, Hot Honey. Squats are not so natural for him. The more instruction he got, the more awkward he looked. I would say, don't let your knees go over your toes. Pretend you are sitting on a toilet when you go down. Chest out. Shoulders back. Pretend a string is running along your spine and pulling you up through your head. Good. There you go. --Two squats later, starting all over. He gave great effort. And lets face it, I felt much better about myself watching him struggle. Maybe that was his plan. I don't really think so, but we'll go with it;)

I also struggled in some other areas (push ups) and Hot Honey is the most inflexible person I know (next to my dad). But we somehow made it through balancing each others strengths and weaknesses. I'm glad we had each other. We laughed, we wanted to cry, at least I wanted to cry. It was great. We can put that experience in the super cheep date column.

For the most part I hated the DVD. Part of it is I don't care for Jillian. I don't like her personality. Hot Honey does. We continue to be opposite. It is a wonder we are together. The other part is that it was stink'n hard. However, I do agree with Jillian that it is good to stress the body to get results. This DVD pushed me. Usually I do Walk Away the Pounds, which I love. However, when I do WATP at night it charges me up and I'm awake longer than I want. 30 Day Shred makes me want to pass out. Too pooped to even shower. Fell asleep on couch.
***********
Here is the surprise. I did it again Sunday afternoon! Still hate it, but I think I'm going to turn it into the 7 Day Shred then send it back to Netflix. 5 more days! I will be counting them down. Feel free to join me for the next 5 days.

Happy Thursday!

Hope you all have a good workout today. I'll check back later tonight to see what you did. I have a busy Thursday and won't get a chance to exercise until after dinner sometime tonight. Hot Honey decided to surprise me with 30 day Shred from Netflix. It is suppose to be in the mailbox today.I'm totally scared! I don't want to know how old and out of shape I actually am. In my mind I'm still young and cool. Can't say I will do that tonight, but I will probably watch it. I'll let you know.

Is This The Forth Week Of March?

Feels like we have already hit the end of the month slow and it is just the beginning of the second week. Yikes!

Yesterday I had intended on working out to a DVD. Got big kids down for nap/quiet time. Nursed baby. Put on my shoes. Pulled out a Walk Away the Pounds DVD. Waited an eternity for Hot Honey's Blue Ray player to load. (If you have one, you know what I mean. personally I don't care if the picture is better. It takes a year to start! In my world, I need things fast. Too many distractions.) Finally starts, but I can't get the stink'n picture to come on. I can hear it, but I want to see it! Where is my picture!!! Hot Honey has a fancy remote, which most of the time I love--just not yesterday. I press the help button. TV shuts off. NOOOOO! That isn't helpful, I shout. Try again. press help button. Stereo shuts off. NOOOO! Stop it you stink'n remote! Mouth pressed together. Eyes burning with angry frustration. Be calm, try something else. Press more buttons. Restart Blueray. Did I mention how long it takes to load? This now feels like the longest 20 min ever. Baby cries. He doesn't want to play on floor anymore. Or maybe he feels my frustration! I think the whole block could. I pick up baby and give up. Decide to watch Jon and Kate plus 8. For a moment I thought about walking while watching, but decided on sitting instead.

Then baby went to sleep. I put him in his bed. 10min later my 3yr old says, "Hi mommy." So much for a break for me!!! I did keep my shoes on until 11:30 last night thinking I would squeeze in some exercise. Didn't happen. Although, I did squeeze in a 20 min nap, shoes and all, while the kids played Wii.

The good news is today is another day. And in a couple hours I will head to the Y.

Hopefully, you all are getting in your workouts this week. Hard to believe we are already on day 3 this week.

Calling All Houston Area Go Girls

Mama Chick has registered for the Race for Grace on March 28th at 8am. I'm going to walk the 5k with her and so is Hot Stuff. If you would like to join us, please visit here to sign up. We can walk as a group or if someone would like to run, don't let us hold you back! But you won't see me running!

It should me a fun Girls Morning Out and it raises money for a worthy cause.

Weekend Warriors

Wow, It has been a busy and fast weekend. I realized at 9:30 tonight that I never did my last day of exercise. So I put on my shoes and made a phone call to Hip Mamsita (she's my mom) for some pep me up. Plus, I figured it would give her incentive to do her workout tonight if she hadn't yet. Turns out she didn't need my incentive, she was motivated by Frosty and added some new songs to her playlist. Then she danced around the house for 33min. Her name ain't Hip for nothing! She's one hip high school teacher! Way to go.

I ran into Mama Chick at the Rodeo. Although it isn't exactly the kind of exercise we are counting, She was on her feet walking around from 8-3. Definitely a good bonus. More hours than Hot Honey and I lasted.

And I called Ms. Cutie Pie on my way home and she was meeting Frosty at the park to walk dogs!

Way to stay active on the weekend. You Go Girls!!!

And I put in a Walk/Kick DVD and did my 30 mins at 9:50 tonight. I was super close to having an incomplete week, but I made it with a little under two hours to spare!

Looking forward to another AWESOME week with my Go Girls!

Another Friday Review

Frosty here! I'm bringing a review of work-out music. First a little background about me (I got in a week late so no real get-to-know-you post until now).

Growing up I was a dancer (mainly ballet). My mom put me in classes at 3yo because I was shy - she had no idea what that would turn into! One day a week turned into 3-4 in junior high, by high school I was at the studio 6 days a week and in college I was a dancer in a student run modern dance group multiple times a week. After I graduated I basically quit cold turkey because it was difficult to find dancing opportunities and now the next best thing is classes at the gym. Unfortunately I do not really enjoy working out for the sake of working out (our kids will have to learn that from my husband the track coach and long distance runner), but I do love most of the accouterments that are involved: clothing, classes especially using extra equipment, and music. Music is so important in getting me moving because when I was dancing that is all you had was you and the music. So on with the review:

I love pop music, and Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake are always great stand-bys for me, as well as Hey Ya by Outkast and Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani - they will always get me moving no matter how blah I feel. I'm going to offer some random songs that are maybe not as well known to add something new to your playlist:

Here are a couple that have great driving rhythms and really move (I cannot vouch for the kid-friendliness of these songs. I get the clean versions and can't think of anything I find offensive, but I don't have a kid filter on all the time):

Try It Again - Hives

Shake It - Metro Station

Daylight - Matt and Kim

The Way I Are - Timbaland

Just Dance - Lady Gaga - a fairly new one that I just can't get out of my head, beware

Love Song for a Savior - Jars of Clay - An older Christian stand-by that always makes me want to run (which is saying something). It starts slower, but once it gets going it I just want to play it over and over.

Hope these help make your time go by a little faster and/or get you motivated to get those 30min done.

Also, I promise to get a picture up just as soon as I can find the cable for my camera!

Blur

The week is rolling by super fast. I can't believe it is already Thursday, the 4th day of this first week. In a blink March will be over and it has just started.

So go out there and find some exercise! Then come back here and tell us what you found.

Tomorrow will be another Friday Review from one of our Go Girls. Come back to see who it is and what she has to say.

Love The Restart!!!

It is so great to restart this month. I can feel the excitement through my computer! Last month felt like we were all dying off by the end.

I had fun reading through yesterday's comments. I hadn't noticed that the two that did all four weeks have the most kids until it was pointed out. So if Mama Chick and I can get it done with our 4 kiddos apiece, you can too! I believe you can! And BTW Mama Chick you rock with your intervals!

Frosty had two successful weeks, if you didn't read the comments yesterday. Way to go! Can't wait to see what you do this month.

Hip Mamasita is feeling better after struggling with an awful cold last month. She has walked home two days in a row from work. Awesome job!

kSk--what a cute drink. They must be copying us ;) And three days would be so regular. We don't want to be regular--We're the Go Girls!

This is Fun!!! Keep telling us what you did and where you are!

Hello.....Anyone Out There!?

This is how I've been feeling since Saturday. (Small pity party. OK. I'm over it.) I was really hoping to gather some good feedback over the weekend before kicking off March on Sunday night. (How else are we going to hold each other accountable?)

I've finally heard back from the original Go Girls. After all they agreed to doing the 5x/week for 4 weeks before this was a blog thing so I felt comfortable pressing them for info. Here are the results:

Mama Chick--Completed 4 weeks successfully Yeah!
Hot Mama--Completed 4 weeks successfully
Cutie Pie--Completed 3 weeks successfully
Hot Stuff--Completed 3 weeks successfully
Hip Mamasita--Completed 2 weeks successfully

(note: a successful week=5 days of 30 min (or more) of exercise. Some may have only done 4 days. It does not mean that they didn't exercise the whole week.)

Good job to all the Girls. It is not easy to squeeze it in. Do not. I repeat, Do not beat yourself up for not getting all 4 weeks. You can not go back in time and fix it. So stop thinking about it!

If you are not on this list, Please leave a comment with how many successful weeks you had. Maybe at the end of March we will have 10 Girls comfortable enough to report in. We are stronger as a team!

The Good News....March is a Restart (this was suppose to be Monday's post, but now I'm combining things)

Time to keep moving! We are on week one of March. If you missed the start of this blog saga or need to refresh what you are doing go here but, change the month to March. Also check here.

I'm excited to restart! Hope you are too!

(side note--if these linky things work, I'm pretty impressed with myself. fingers crossed!)

How'd You Do?

As we are wrapping up the final weekend I would love to hear from you all. Did you make it all 4weeks? 3? 2? 1?

I find it hard to believe that I actually did it. This is the most consistent I've been in 11 years. I also find it hard to believe that after 4 weeks it is still hard to start every single time. I was hoping it would feel natural after a month. I guess I will wait and see what it feels like after 2 months.

Now seriously, Report In. We all want to know how you did...good or bad. And for anyone that is beating themselves up right now for not doing all 20 days of exercise, we are starting over on Monday.

Mama Chick Says,

When Hot Mama asked me if I wanted to write the Friday blog, I told her I didn’t have any exercise DVDs or gadgets to review. The only idea floating in my head was to talk about how I learned to use the stopwatch on my iPod this week. But then as I thought about it, I was reminded by a little voice in my head that I did have something I could review: the Go Girl Blog itself. This brave endeavor, spear-headed by Hot Mama, has given me an opportunity to focus on ME again. It forces me to take an hour out of each day and just be by myself with no one clutching my pant leg for a drink or wanting to know if their stretchy pants have been washed yet. This blog has proven to be what I needed to get back to exercise basics. But why is this working for me when the size of my jeans couldn’t motivate me to exercise?

Sometimes you need someone to just feed you the truth. Husbands are way too nice to do that. Papa Bear would never tell me that I needed to start exercising again, especially if he wanted to eat dinner that night. It’s your circle of friends who can give you motivation without judgment. You know what it is like to be a woman; we have the same desires to feel beautiful and feel good about ourselves. I am also a people pleaser and I am not about to disappoint people on purpose. That need for accountability gets me out the door at 6:45 am.

Another reason that this blog has kept me on track, is that we aren’t counting anything but time. I have struggled with my weight almost my entire life and because of that I have counted calories, points, good carbs, bad carbs, sugars, the glycemic index, protein, fiber... you get the picture. None of those things work for me without exercise. I feel successful at this because I am only counting the time that I give to exercise. Don’t get me wrong, I am trying to watch my diet now as well, but I don’t feel so guilty when I make cookies with kids or have wine with dinner.

There is a trainer at my health club who has been following this blog saga with me. She thinks it’s great that we’re doing this together. This morning I was telling her that this was week 4 for us and how excited I was that I had stuck with it. Then she asked me if we had weighed in and taken new measurements of ourselves. All I could think was “NNNNOOOOOOOOO!” I don’t want to do that; it will ruin it for me! I don’t want to obsess over the number on the scale right now, I just want to exercise. I want to enjoy my peace and quiet in the morning, while pushing my body a little bit more every day. The Go Girl Blog has given me, and hopefully you, the extra nudge it takes as tired wives and mothers to put ourselves first on today’s “To Do” list.

Busy, Busy

Today is one of those days where I wish I had Five more hours. I'm trying to get too many things done. I think today will end up being an exercise day off for me.

I did buy new running shoes today--Not that I plan on actually running ;) I was excited. I had intended to get them before we started the month. Somehow February flew by in a flash. So Hot Honey came home early today and I went out by myself. Yipee! Bad news is my feet are bigger. Not Yipee. Who wants big feet?! I went up another half size after having this 4th baby!

I have giant feet, but he is worth it. I have giant feet, but he is worth it. He is worth it. He is worth it. I'm going to keep saying this until I believe it. Hope that happens soon.

Other exciting news....Mama Chick wrote the feature for tomorrow. So come back and read it. I think we can all relate.

Have a wonderful Thursday evening.

What Happens at the End of the Week?

That is the question I'm getting from some of the Go Girls.

Hip Mamasita suggested that we do it for all of 2009. Love the enthusiasm! Not sure I'm there yet. I need much smaller goals.

Mama Chick suggested that the Houston area Go Girls do the Race for Grace at the end of March together. We get to exercise and raise money. More info to come.

I was thinking of adding an additional goal, but I think right now it is probably good to keep it the same. I know some Girls joined late and some were sick/injured this month. Maybe for March we could invite a friend/coworker in our life to help encourage us and perhaps provide some real life community not just this blog world. (Cutie Pie you can ignore that because you have already invited everyone you know. Love ya with a big smile)

So, I guess that means I'm in for another month. What do you all think? Want to join for another month commitment?

Another Go Girl!

To my surprise I see we have a new follower! The real surprise is that I don't know her. Not sure how you found our little club, but welcome to the Go Girls! We would love to here how you are fitting in your 30 min. 5 days a week.

Have a great Tuesday Girls! Let us know if your stick'n it out this last week of Feb. I hope you are.

Let's Finish Strong!

Amazing how fast a month can fly by. Girls, we are on our last week of February. I know I would have never made this crazy goal of exercising 5 days each week without the encouragement of all of you. Honestly, the last time I was this consistent was college. Huge thanks to all my Go Girls out there. Last week girls. Let's get it done!

Friday Feature

Review by: Julie Swoboda

I will say right off the bat, I LOVE this DVD. It is truly the only exercise video I have ever done which has actually pushed me. To achieve the intensity you do need hand weights (and a mat if you are on a hard floor).

Positives

*The instruction is super easy to understand and follow even if you need to take your eyes off the screen (ex: during push-ups or crunches).

*Each segment is short. The exercises are TOUGH, but you move through them pretty quickly.

*The individual workouts are only 20 minutes. Believe me when I say, they are designed to pack a several hour session into those 20 minutes.

*Jillian explains the logic and benefits to each exercise as you work through it (ex: working arms and legs simultaneously to increase the intensity to burn fat constantly).

*It only costs $9 at WalMart!

*There are 3 advancing workouts on this DVD (start with level 1, SERIOUSLY!)

*The moves are simple with a twist (ex: jumping jacks, squats with shoulder press, lunges with bicep curls).

Negatives

*This video is TOUGH. It could be intimidating to a beginner (just do your best and I think you will be shocked by your own potential).

*The “modified” exercises are not a lot easier than the advanced ones.

*There is a lot of talking in the introduction and the video will not allow you to fast forward at this point (I finally figured out how to skip forward).

*It is not a video I could do with the kids around (I have done, Walk Away the Pounds with the kids playing near me) so I have to wait until they are sleeping or Daddy can keep them at bay.

*Did I mention this is a hard workout? I find after 2 consecutive days, I struggle to commit to the 3^rd. I know I am not going to lose weight by taking the easier option, but some days I am afraid I just do not have the energy.

Fitness Tip

Did you notice I put a fitness tip happy face guy at the bottom of the blog? I also put a subscribe thingy on the blog too. I not sure if you can get it to work, but I think it will send new entries to your email if you sign up. Feel free to try it, but that is about all the help I can get you right now. I have so much to learn in the blog world.

I loved hearing from some of you Go Girls yesterday.

Rah, Rah, Rah! Sis Boom Bah!

Good morning my fellow Go Girls. I feel like we need a little cheer to get us going. I haven't heard from many of you. How is the five day a week thing going? Are you getting it in? Are you still trying to get it in? I don't want my girls falling off the wagon without anyone reaching out to pull them back up. Let us know where you are. I know Hip Mamasita has been sick and missing work this week. Let's lift her up in prayer. And I would be happy to pray for anyone else that is struggling. You can leave me a comment or most of you should have my email, if you don't want everyone in the world to read.

Ok, let's getting working out! It is officially Wednesday. Meaning that counting today you still have five days left in your week. If you didn't do anything Monday or Tuesday, you still have time.

Let's keep encouraging each other. I know I couldn't be doing this without all of you doing it with me.

Go Girls!!!!!

I'm Baaaack!

Company is gone, carpet is gone, and laminate is in. The floors look great in our bedroom and now life can resume as normal---whatever that is.

Little update--The rain and company kept me from walking on Valentines Day as planed, but Sunday was beautiful. after church I got kids down for nap time. Hot Honey played card with big kids and extended family. I pulled on my shoes and took a 35 min. walk outside. It was great to have that time to daydream as I walked. I have big plans for this family of mine. I also met Hot Stuff at the Y yesterday. She is working hard at getting her points and free T-shirt. It wont be long now.

I look forward to reading any old comments you have left and seeing the new ones from today! Keep it up the hard work. We are over half way through our month of February. You just need 5 days this week and 5 days next week. Go Girls, Go!

On another  subject, what happened to my beautiful background? I hope it is this computer I'm on, but I have a feeling it is a bigger problem. I will try to get it figured out soon because I need something pretty to motivate me to move.

I've Fallen Off The Wagon...

In more ways than one. First off my apologies to Julie for not having your Friday Feature posted. I'm having computer issues, as in, Hot Honey disconnected it before I thought through what I had left to do on it. I'm trying to sneak this in on Hot Honey's laptop before he goes to work. It only took me ten minutes to remember the web address and then I had to type in my passcode multiple times because I couldn't remember it. But finally success. I will hold on to the Friday Feature and post it next Friday. Sorry Julie.

Secondly, I did not get my workout in yesterday :(  We worked late moving all the furniture out of our bedroom and ripping out the carpet. I spent the day trying to put away stuff in our room and make room in the baby's bedroom for our king size bed to squeeze in their--and I do mean squeeze. We can't even shut the door!  It is harder than I thought to hold a baby and crawl across the bed to put him in and out of his crib. Only two nights, right?! I'm hoping.

Hot Honey suggested I count all the work as my workout. I thought about it on and off. I also thought about how I've worked longer than 30 mins several days. I could add all the extra minutes together and I have my time for the week. Although my head can easily justify these options, my heart can not. It knows the truth. 

The work clearing our bedroom was not time set apart for me. Yes, it was hard. I realize that many of the everyday activities--picking up a thousand little things off my floor each day, load after load of laundry, sweeping, mopping, carrying around my 15lb or 35lb weights (also known as child #3 & #4, but not in that order) The list goes on. These things are all important, but not what this club is about.

This club is about setting apart time in the day to put me first. Maybe that is going to far to say first. I will settle for just on the list. I know I'm not alone. It is natural to put everything and everyone, before ourselves. That is why I love this bloggy club! We are helping each other remember that taking care of our health is as important as everything else in life.

If I added together my extra minutes, that would grow into a monster. Pretty soon I'd squeeze in 2 1/2 hours one day, just to have the other days off! (some off you girls would too.)

Looks like I will be walking on Valentines Day! I guess I will look at it as a big present to myself. As time goes by I will appreciate it even more. 

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday. I will try to make it back here before Monday. We will see how smoothly putting in new floors goes. Not to mention we will have company. Hot Honey's brother, wife, three kids, and dog are coming for the weekend. 

What did you do Today?

Hard to believe it is already Thursday. Go Girls! Push to the finish.

Happy Wednesday!

Welcome Frosty!

Glad you want to join us on our mission to exercise 5 days a week this month. Two of my children were so excited to see that Frosty The Snowman joined Mom's blog. Son #2 informed son #1 that you were exercising in the Artic. You are already bringing excitement and wonder to the group. Keep us posted. (I suppose if they ask me again I will tell them who you really are.) Cutie Pie is working hard to get her whole family and bridal party in this club. She is quite the recruiter!

Today is day 2 of week 2. Tell us what you did.

Good Morning Monday!

I made a mistake when posting last Friday Night with an update. I didn't log in and everything I wrote was lost. I should have copied it first. Oh, well.

So today we start week two. It looks like week one was a huge success. Congratulations all! Let's get another 5 days in.

Go Girls!

Our First Friday Feature by Cutie Pie

So, Hot Mama has asked me to do Friday’s Feature. More specifically she has asked me to review the Dance Dance game. So, here it goes!

I have forever been attracted to gimmicky things. It’s a fault of mine and not good since we are really trying to be good with our money. Well, we decided, months ago, to get a Wii and a Wii Fit along with it. I LOVE the Wii Fit. It’s playing games and working out at the same time. I LOVE playing games, so it’s perfect for me. What’s awesome is that there are multiple games that you can get for the Wii that are workout specific. There are the normal Wii Fit games, which are awesome. Then, I got the Personal Trainer game for Christmas. You set up a workout and a trainer works out with you. It’s like being in an aerobics class. But, my favorite is the Dance Dance game that I just purchased. The full title is Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party 2. (They make versions of this for all gaming systems, we just happen to have a Wii) Basically you have a dance mat that plugs into the Wii console. The mat has a forward, back, left and right arrow. You then follow the arrows on the screen and step on the correct arrow. It sounds silly, but if you like dancing it’s really fun!

Positives of Dance Dance:

It’s a fun way to keep moving. Allows you to burn calories in an unconventional way.

It has really fun music; Tootsee Roll, I Want Candy, We Got the Beat, Walking On Sunshine and MANY others. Some songs I have never heard of, but they still have a good beat.

It has many different levels. My favorite is the Workout mode. You are able to choose a workout and it chooses the songs and gets more intense as the workout goes on.

The mat can be folded and tucked away for easy storage.

The workout segments are 10 min. long. So, you can quickly do 1 or do 3 for a 30 min workout.

You can also set a mode for how many calories you would like to burn. It will keep track and let you know when you’ve reached that goal.

Negatives of Dance Dance:

There are 4 levels of expertise; Beginner, Basic, Difficult and Expert. I consider myself a good dancer with good rhythm and I can’t successfully do the Basic level. Beginner is where I stay right now. I haven’t even attempted the Difficult. I wish that the intensity of the steps was more gradual.

My husband laughs at me. He hates dancing and he hates techno music, but he thinks it’s fun to watch me flail around the living room.

You HAVE to have some sort of rhythm. This wouldn’t be fun for someone who struggled with that.

You also have to hold the remote and the nunchuck (Those Wii people out there know what I’m talking about). You do different hand things with those. That can be tricky and took me awhile to figure out.

Well, if you’ve learned anything from this is to just keep moving. It really doesn’t matter how or why, just do it. Find something you like and have fun. Think out of the box!

Letter From Hip Mamasita

GoGirls,

I have walked home 3 days in a row. I plan to do it again today. I am
sooo out of shape that it takes me about 26 minutes. The route I take is just under a mile.
In the good old days I could do it in less than 15 minutes. Well, these aren't the good old days. It is the present and man am I out of shape.

Day One everything hurt from the very first step onto the pavement all the way
to the front door. Yesterday Day 3, it wasn't intense pain and I made it a couple of
blocks before I was hyper aware.

Now, for the reward.....at the end of my journey I arrive home. Yipee!! For those of you who do not work in the teaching profession with high-school special education students you have NO IDEA how wonderful it feels to arrive home at the end of a fun-filled-challenging day. But now I can say I EXERCISED and that is a good thing. Thank you Hot Mama for getting this adventure underway!

Oh, PS.. I haven't been able to do the POSTING part or Comment part or
attach a picture to my profile. Eventually I hope I can figure it or my MAC out....I have loved reading what the gogirls have said this week.

Hot Mamasita

Thursday Report

I'm not very excited about working out today, but seeing everyone's comments from yesterday is encouraging. Not sure what I will do today, but I will think of something. Have a wonderful day all and let us know what you did.

No Pain, No Gain

To my surprise this morning my body was a little sore. I guess that means that varying my workout plan (doing something other than the treadmill) worked different parts. Thanks Kids! See I'm turning lemons into lemonade again. I have to do that a lot or we will go insane because I seem to have a lot of lemons...and they aren't all from my tree in the backyard;)

Nice job this week girls! It is fun to know that I'm not alone drudging through this.--I'm not going to pretend that I'm excited to stick in that DVD and get moving. At this point it is still a chore, something to cross off my list. The fun part is knowing that I'm doing something difficult and you all are doing it with me. Thanks.

As for Judy...I'm so sorry to hear about your knee. That is such a bummer. Keep us posted. I will pray for speedy healing and comfort.

As for Julie.... You have two very little ones still. It will be survival mode for you most days. My oldest is 8 and I'm just getting by most of the time. (Read my post on Monday. Truthfully, I could probably write one like that every other day.) My advice is squeeze in your 30 min whenever and wherever you can. Break it up. Do two 15min or three 10min. Turn on music and dance with kids, walk up and down your stairs. Brainstorm things that will work for you. It doesn't have to be a 30 min block of time.

As for Everyone....Remember, It doesn't have to be perfect. The Goal is to get our bodies back in the game. And eventually, I hope moving around (AKA exercise) will be second nature. I think if we just do more physical activity, everything else will more easily fall into place.

And if that doesn't work, I'm just going to...
Fake It 'Til I Make It. Feel free to do the same.

Report in!

Good job girls!

I know Hip Mamasita worked out yesterday...she called me. And I pretty sure Hot Stuff did too. Go Girls!

I tried to make it easier to comment so tell us what you did today.

Are You Kidd'n Me?

I really thought I would just be leaving a little comment that said, I did it!

However, I've decided my day is worthy of a post. Let's make some Lemonade out of the lemons I was handed and encourage others. Here it goes....

This morning son #1 jumps off pic-nic table in backyard, lands on a stick, which flings up and pokes him in the eye. He's crying, lots of drama, you get the picture. I have tough boys so I know it hurts, plus his eye is looking all blood shot. Now what is a mom to do? Do I change around my day and go to the eye doctor or is that overreacting? We probably should wait a bit. Turn on TV to take is mind off of it. Give him some tylenol. Maybe that will end drama. Son #2 cuts his toe outside. Like I said, my boys are tough. Well #2 sees #1 getting attention so now #2 can't walk. Are you kidd'n me?

Fast forward a little bit. #1 still struggling. I tell him we will just go to the Y for the first class, but leave before PE. Obviously, he will not be playing football today. Everyone is good with that plan. By now we are finishing lunch. #1 still has washcloth over his eye and is complaining about it being the worse ouchy ever. I do feel bad for him, but not a lot we can do about it.

I throw on my shorts and shoes. #2 looks at me with a half scrunched face and says, "that's what your wearing?"

"Yeah, Why? Does it look bad?" (of course he doesn't know that in my head I'm already thinking I haven't worn these shorts in a long time. Maybe they are too short. My legs are really white. And we all know that white skin is not slimming--it's just pasty. etc, etc....

He says, "A little." Then he adds, "Oh I thought you weren't wearing shorts."

So I guess my shorts are short or my legs just blend into them.

Keep in mind I'm trying to rush. We need to leave the house in 25min and I have a baby to wake up and nurse, if I have any hope of actually walking with Hot Stuff at the Y before she has to go and pick up her son. I dash through the living room. Why is son #3's potty sitting in the middle of my living room? And no, it wasn't empty. Of course not--that would be too easy. Also I have dress up pirate clothes all over the living room. The boys were trying to find brother a pirate patch. They can be sweet and thoughtful sometimes. But, now there are also puppets all over the room because they were in the way to the pirate stuff. I think you get the idea. It looks crazy.

#1 is still complaining. I put him in my bed and put the washcloth over both eyes. I say, "lay here for 10 min. and don't move."

I go to nurse my sweet baby. He is sound asleep. I hate waking him, but I have committed to working out and nothing is going to stop me today. Change him, feed him. I have shoes on #3. We are ready. Go to get #1.

Now this is the part where the World Stopped! #1 is sleeping. What? Are you kid'n me? #1 doesn't sleep in the day. This is the kid we took to a sleep specialist right after his 3rd birthday. We were told to stop naps. He is both a night owl and an early raiser! (It is amazing I had more kids after him.) #1 doesn't sleep in a 12 hour car ride. Doesn't sleep when he is sick. Hasn't fallen asleep in the day for at least 3 years!!!

So now here I am with 3 kids dressed and ready to go. I even woke up the baby for this. I've been fighting off every Stink'n Think'n thought I've had, but...... I called Hot Stuff and said we wouldn't make it.

Don't despair. I put #3 down for a nap and #2 in quiet time. And baby sat in his swing. Then I started a Walking DVD. It was rough. Not the "walking party" Leslie was talking about. Yeah, if I were in the TV with them it would probably have felt like a "walking party", but reality was with me. The baby cried for 20 min because he wanted to be held. I had coins scattered all over my floor from the pirate treasure chest. Not ideal.

But, I did it. Yes, I had a million chances to throw in the towel. And believe me, I wanted to quit. So if I can squeeze it in, I have full faith that you too can squeeze it in.

Stomp out the Stink'n Think'n and just move!!!

If you haven't worked out today, you still have time. Pick a favorite show out of your DVR and march in place, do side steps, knee lifts, lunges, mambo moves, squats, etc. while you watch. You'll feel so strong when you are done. It doesn't have to be perfect, just moving.

Go Girls!!!!!

Happy Ground Hog's Day!

Looks like Judy was the early bird today with her exercise. You go girl! I will get mine in this afternoon. I'm hoping Hot Stuff will be at the Y to make it more fun. I will leave a comment once complete so you know I did it. So excited to see what everyone does today. Way to go girls!

Let's Do It!

Time to get focused and really committed. Here we go...

I, say your name, Pledge wait,wait, wait....Let's start over

Sit up tall. Shoulders back. Smile. Big happy smile. Now that you are ready to jump off your chair with excitement say...

I, Your Name(feel free to use your Go Girl! name), Pledge to workout for 30min. per day for 5days each week for the month of February...Even if every workout is awful torture. I will leave comments on the blog encouraging others.

Now throw your arm into the air with a powerful fist and say Go Girls!

More Balls Need A Better Plan

Now that I've announced my plan to work out 5 days a week for the next 4 weeks I have two more balls to juggle in the air. As if I really needed to juggle more balls! 4 kids should be enough? Wait...This is about fitting me in this time :) Stay focused.

So yesterday I sat down and came up with a menu plan for the whole month. Yep! It took me a little while, but I think it will be so worth it. Not only did I plan the month, but I made the grocery list to get everything I could today. I will go back for milk, fruit, bread and any great buys I see each week. Those things are easy and don't require much brain power. My kids actually love a seeing the menu on the fridge. The last two weeks I've neglected this area of our home and the meals have been a bit crazy and hodge podge. Which makes for whiny kids and a hungry husband. (I personally could eat cereal, PB and salad for a long time and be fine.)

FYI--I usually just plan one week, sometimes two. For those just starting out a menu plan I would first sit down and think of all the ground beef recipes you make and put it in a list. Then do it with chicken, Soup, whatever you eat. Don't start with a bunch of new recipes. Then just start picking from the lists. Try it for a week. When I make Taco Soup tomorrow I will triple the meet and freeze the prepared taco meat for taco pasta and taco salad later in the month. Having a written plan on the fridge door also helps you to remember to take out things from the freezer the day before.

With my plan in place I have less excuses to not exercise?

What's your plan to make exercise easier this month or even this week? Leave a comment. It might help me and the other Girls.

Yeah & Yikes

This is growing! Part of me thinks it is super exciting, and the other part of me thinks it is super scary having this many people reading my thoughts. Originally this was a small little thing with my friend Cutie Pie and we were just going to email back and forth. (Pause) Then I asked my mom to join. (Pause) Then I decided we needed a cute and fun way to email back and forth. (Pause) Then the blog was born. (Pause) Then I thought I would ask Mama Chick and Hot Stuff to join us. A nice safe little group. (Big Pause)Then........Cutie Pie told the whole world!!! She is soooo like that. Very open that girl. (Slowly Exhale) I'm not that way. But maybe that is way we are good for each other. Our relationship works and I love her, so I'm rolling with it. We'll see how big this snowball gets. I suppose this means everyone is free to tell the world. Why does this scare me!?!? I'll get over it.

I've also heard that I have some blog stockers. I'm totally cool with that. I've been a blog stocker for years. Don't feel like you have to sign up as a follower, but don't be shy either. If you want to follow, make up a name and have fun. Although, real names are also accepted. (However, if your name is Hot Stuff or Hip Mamasita, you know who you are, you do need to sign up as a follower. But you do not have to post a picture, at least not a real picture. Remember you agreed to this before you saw the blog.)

Q&A

What does it mean to be in the Go Girl! Club?
It means you want to improve your health and have some fun cyber community while doing it.

Can I be in the Go Girl! Club?
Absolutely! I have a few core members that I'm counting on each day. They know who they are. I'll introduce them in the upcoming week. There would be no club without them.

What do I have to do to be in the Go Girl! Club?
Exercise for 30min. 5times/wk for the whole month of February. Then leave a comment on the daily blog post saying, "I did it!" or something similar.

I'm I kicked out of the Go Girl! Club if I miss a day of exercise?
Yes...I mean, of course not, but don't miss a day until March ;)
Seriously, we want you to succeed. We would never kick you out. We will just (strongly) encourage you to get back on track and have some cyber high fives.

What happens after February?
Let's get through February first :)

Exercise isn't Fun, But This Blog is

Who are we kidding....Exercise isn't fun, and I don't think I'm alone in that thought.

Trust me, I've done my fair share of exercise.... just not so much lately.

I started school athletics when I was in 6th grade. My father convinced me to join the cross country team. Then I did track and field. Both sports I did all the way through graduation. When I went to college it was the first year Women's Rowing became a varsity sport. Again, my dad gave me a strong nudge to tryout. I did, and for 3 yrs I competed and traveled. NCAA puts a cap on student athletes exercise work load to 20hrs a week in the sports season. Rowing is both a fall sport (long distance like cross country) and a spring sport (shorter distance like track).

Now for those of you who are thinking 3 yrs, why not 4yrs. It isn't because I graduated a year early, and it isn't because I got kicked off. May after my Junior year I got married. Yes, I was young. But we had been dating for 5yrs. He was two years older and finished with college and stick'n around our college town for me. I felt like it was too much for me to get my last classes and do a full time internship and find 20 hrs a week to row. Something had to give or I would be there another semester.

I've gotten totally off track. Back to the topic of Exercise...

I'll be honest, I was never the best at any of my sports, but I was good enough to letter in all of them several times (I have the jackets to prove it) and I earned a partial scholarship for rowing. So basically, I was good enough. Now, you all have evidence that I've put in hours of exercise. But get this, my degree....is in Exercise Science. Yes, that is a real degree, and I have it.

After college my husband and I moved to Florida. A bigger market for the TV biz (more money), and a great place for me to work with an older adult population. I had a great job (not much money) helping people get started working out and having a healthier lifestyle. Most, but not all, of my clients were grandma and grandpa types. Many of them I would check their blood pressure and heart rates before and after exercise. I would encourage them to come back, smile, be friendly, watch the showcase showdown with them as they rode their bikes. I would even bring gold star stickers to give them some mornings. I had one man, well over 80, hearing aid buzzing loud, who would flirt with me every time he came. I would have to yell all my sweet responses to him, but it was fun. That's right is was FUN! It was a great job! I miss that job! But I have a better job now and one day I will be looking back at it with only the fond memories.

Back on point. Exercise isn't fun, BUT community is fun. That's what I loved about cross country, track, rowing, my job. It was the people. The workouts stink. It is hard to get up at 5am and row a boat on a lake when it is barely above freezing. Who wants to do that? Well, I did it over and over because I was part of a team. A team of girls that I liked and loved. And they liked and loved me as well. It is so hard to exercise alone. But as a team we are strong.

That is what this blog is about. Teamwork. Fast forward, now I'm a mom with the responsibility to take care of others--husband, 4 kids, 3 dogs. My friends have responsibilities. We can't always schedule time to meet and workout. Distance is another huge factor. We aren't all close to each other. My hope is this blog will bring us closer together. We can hold each other accountable and have a Cyber Team. I know some of you are rolling your eyes and my cheesy team spirit, but not to worry. I still love you just the way you are.

Let's have fun being strong together. Go Girls!!!!

Welcome!

Glad you want to join me on our quest to get fit for our families and ourselves. More to come.....