The Butterfly Girls Go To Paradise

Here's to OUR GIRL!!!

2009-08-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

Here she is...

Wonderful, spunky, talented, driven, energetic, bright, loving, thoughtful, snarky (Jj's word of the month), fit, beautiful, kind, spontaneous, entertaining, memorable, serendipitous, precious, and OLD!!

Just kidding about the last one.

But she is having a BIRTHDAY this week!

Happy Birthday Sweet Maria!

We love you!

PS
Picture successfully stolen form Facebook...Mwa ah ah ah!
xoMJ

Hello?

2009-08-27T11:05:00.000-07:00

Is anybody there?

Butterflies...can you hear me?

xoMJ

Up Up and AWAY...

2009-08-20T09:29:00.001-07:00

Hey! I vote we schedule a HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE sometime this Fall. It would be beautiful and also symbolic since the trees will be changing just like we are!

xoMJ

MJ

2009-08-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

Yay!!! I can see that Janis has a draft going so I can start mine now.
I hate posting twice in a row :)

Last week was great! My friend is back from vacation and I've managed 1 hour every morning. ((Thanks Andrea!)) If you haven't noticed, I'm one who needs the buddy system. I have also been doing interval training and I think it is quite possibly addictive. I love it!

We'll see you girls at the BBQ!

-1 lb
$12

xoMJ

Forgot again . .

2009-08-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

You'd think that having the posting deadline in the middle of the week would make it easy for me to get to, but I keep going out of town or just being lazy.

So last week, I spend all day Friday at Snowbird with my sister Pam and her family. I rode the Alpine Slide MANY MANY times. Rode the zip line MANY MANY times and sadly, climbed the mountain TOO many times. Halfway through the day their little ski lift thing that takes you back to the top of the mountain stopped working so it was out of commission for a few hours and we had to do some crazy steep hiking to get back to the top of everything. I just kept telling myself that I was working my butt but my thighs were having a hard time being quite as optimistic. Either way, a good time was had by all.

Christopher on the Alpine Slide

Kortnie on the Zip line

Benny on the Zip line

Everyone (except me and Pam) at the top of the mountain.

Saturday I went water skiing with Melissa and her parents. I bit it more than once, but I've got to say, for this only being my fourth attempt as skiing in three summers, I'm doing pretty dang good (or so they tell me). I can get up and keep in myself going for about 40 seconds - and then I'm down. I feel stupid every time I crash, but they keep reassuring me that I'm actually doing better than most and to stop stressing over it. I've got multiple bruises from the adventure but I think it's worth it.

Melissa's Dad watching her ski on Utah Lake

Depositing $7 for this week.

And next weeks teaser: two days of rock climbing and swimming in Crawdad Canyon in Veyo.

PS I'll publish more/better (actual touched up) photos on my personal and photo blogs later.

MJ Week ???

2009-08-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

OK ~ This is not my actual weekly post. I'm posting today to ask,

"What week we should we be on?"

I think I'm off on my counting...

Shouldn't we be almost to Week 52?

And...Are we just going to keep checking in and adding $$$ to the fund when week 52 is up? Sorry, I'm sure we talked about this but I can't remember :)

BTW Here are some ideas for our VACATION!!!

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Renewal/Story?id=2292706&page=1

http://www.girlgetaways.com/

http://www.travelchannel.com/Travel_Ideas/Girlfriend_Getaways

xoMJ

I'm so ashamed - by Jj

2009-08-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

But not nearly as ashamed as a couple other certain BF's who haven't shown up on our blog in WEEKS should be (hint, hint). And before you think I'm being insensitive, I do understand how busy you both are so please don't take me seriously.

I swore I was going to do better this time around and not put off my blog post but, I did it again. My bad. Wednesday was a bit hectic because I had to drive home that night for the 24th (and eventually I'll post photos of that on my personal and photo blogs) so I thought, I'll do it tomorrow and then I thought it again etc etc etc. That's just how it happens when you don't really have much internet access. But now, I'm sitting in B&N using their new free wifi because the power is out at my house which makes it very HOT and boring. And honestly, I've done about everything else that I can do so I figure my next step is to do the last thing on my list. And that is why I'm ashamed. Why do I put if off?!? I think it's because I'm sick of my life and how it's been going. I'm bored with myself and everything around me, including the gym. But that's neither here nor there and I'm going to shut up and stop complaining and report on my last Aerial Dance class that was last Wednesday. (Again, I know that should technically be a part of the next weeks report, but I've got nothing else fun to talk about.)

I'm sure you've all seen this already as I've made it my FB profile pic, but here it is anyway:

Seriously, does it get any cooler than that?!? I think not. Actually, it does but by the end of the class I was pretty freaking worn out and too tired to do much more. But this still looks cool, right? Validate me, please.

This class was so much fun and a really nice change from the everyday workout. I'd LOVE to take the intermediate class in August, but it's pretty dang expensive. I thought about doing it anyway but then found that I was too late to register without another $10 late fee on top of the already high fee of $55. Sad, I know.

Anyway, next week look for my Snowbird and water skiing report. Although, I feel that maybe it should be called something more like "water crashing" or "skragging" as I was being dragged by the boat more than I was actually skiing. I'll work on that. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll come up with something creative that will make it sound much more exciting than it really was. That's just how I roll.

Eventually when I have some sort of an income that pays more than just my mortgage I'll be depositing $7 for this week. Being home and not having access to the gym really made me lazy as far as workouts go. Again, I feel so ashamed.

MJ All Suited Up!!! Week 44

2009-07-31T12:24:00.000-07:00

I can't wait for the
Butterfly Girls' VACATION!!

Shade had a warehouse sale this morning and I couldn't pass it up. I grabbed some new suits for our vacation. I love bargains!!!!

Original Prices:

$36.50 tops
$22.50 bottoms
________
$59.00 set

On sale for $15.00 each set

Now we just need to choose our vacation spot!

We'll have to do that at the BBQ in a couple of weeks.

Almost forgot ~ The interval training was HARD but I loved it!!! I used my elliptical rather than running on the treadmill because I was a little bit worried about my hip. So far so good.

$10

xoMJ

So slow . .

2009-07-27T11:46:00.000-07:00

I think this summer has been a little crazy and we're all busy (well, you guys are, I'm just lazy) and we're all slacking off on our posts. We're almost done with our challenge, ladies! How are we doing on our goals? Sadly, due to my stupid sprained ankle I haven't yet run my 5k (or my 10k for that matter) but even if I don't do it before we finish the challenge, I will get there, dang it!

Anyway, last week was pretty dang good. My diet was great, my workouts were consistent everything. I was pretty freakin' excited. In the last two weeks I've lost 3 lbs which means that at the beginning the current week (which will be reported on Wednesday), I was only 2 lbs from my lowest weight back in March and I can start reporting my weight loss as milestones again. So stay tuned for that one! I had a dream last night that I stepped on the scale and I was 1 lb below what I was at 16 - or at least I think it was a dream. I'm pretty sure I would have thrown a party and told my whole family if it weren't. But I didn't so I'm going to go with dream.

LOVING my aerial dance class. I SO want to take the intermediate class in August but it's $50 and without a job, I just don't think I dare. Especially when I don't know if/when my house will sell and where I'll be living that I'll have to commute to get to a one hour class. But I've got to say - it's one crazy workout. You wouldn't think so but I never walk out of there without being covered in sweat and my biceps, triceps and abs burning. It's freakin' awesome.

Depositing max: $10

PS Sorry for the lack of some cool illustrative photo this week. I'm still stuck at my parents house because my car is in the shop AGAIN and they don't have wifi so I'm on my mom's PC and I don't know the first thing about trying to save a photo somewhere on here and then finding it again to get it on the blog. And honestly, I have no interest in figuring it out either. ;-)

MJ Week 43

2009-07-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

Kind of had a hard week. But I did get in an hour long work out everyday. Phew. I'm tired.

I've said before that it's easy to get discouraged because of my hip injury. However, I am getting stronger each week and my goal for next week is to do some interval training. Yay!!! We'll see how that goes.

xoMJ
$10

How is it . . . by Jj

2009-07-16T13:53:00.001-07:00

that I managed to make it through an hour long toning class, 3 miles on the treadmill, 2 hours of jewelry stuff, a mile and a half walk with Chuck the Wonder Dog (to get an ice cream cone at Arctic Circle) and an hour long aerial class without a problem but as I'm leaving the dance studio I jam my finger getting into my car?!? And not just any finger - the finger that I broke about four years ago while working on my car. I think TJ (the aforementioned car) has it out for that finger. And one of Jana's fingers now that I think about it. She too broke a finger when the door closed on it. Ouch. Bad TJ.

Can I just tell you how much I am LOVING the aerial classes at Adult Dance & Fitness in Ogden? Seriously, this weeks class was one of the best workouts I've gotten. Obviously, since there are only two silks and six students in a class your time on the silks is limited but I was SWEATING and my arms are so sore today (but in a good way). Hoping to scrape together the money I need for an intermediate class next month. Wish it wasn't so freaking expensive (actually, it's not that bad - I'm just broke). Sad.

Been doing pretty dang good on the workouts and stuff this week. Gotta say, I'm so totally glad it's summer again. Oh dear watermelon . . . how I've missed you.

This is BY FAR the best way to eat watermelon. Cut out the middle-man.

Depositing $10 this week. And, dang it! I'm going to have a milestone next week if I have to chop off my hair and a foot to get there.

MJ is a salad person Week 42

2009-07-15T07:26:00.000-07:00

Catalina Summer Salad

What You Need:

1 can kidney beans, rinsed, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 cucumber, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
6 green onions, chopped

1 C Catalina salad dressing
1 1/2 C cheese, shredded
1 1/2 C of Fritos

Mix the first 7 ingredients and toss in Catalina dressing

Top with corn chips (Fritos) & cheese and serve.

Crunchy, zesty and delicious!!!

My grandma made this for our last family shindig and I loved it! You can do a low fat version by getting the fat free dressing and using white corn chips in place of the Fritos.

I'm throwing in this lovely pic of Catalina to inspire us to work hard so we can have a great vacation at someplace like this!!!

xoMJ

$12 had a pretty good week :)

Maria Weeks 41 & 42

2009-07-14T17:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here's the problem with not posting on a consistent basis ... can't frickin' remember what I did!

I know I did my Wednesday classes and I know I did abs class on Mondays. Also, know that one Monday I did an hour of cardio before my abs class.

I am sure I did more - I go in the mornings and jump on the elliptical or the stairmaster - sometimes the treadmill, but I don't remember when or for how long exactly.

For both weeks .... depositing $12

Maria Week 40 - Fitness Test

2009-07-14T17:09:00.000-07:00

As part of my ESS 2500 Exploration of Movement Science class I had to do a bit of a fitness test. I am sad to say that I didn't do quite as well as I would have liked. But I did pretty dang good. I was in the above average / healthy / good category in nearly everything and in a few places I was in the excellent category.

The best part of the test, although I don't think I trust it, the results said that I have lost another 1% of body fat.

I still feel like a slacker though because I'm not working out nearly as hard as I used to. And I'm not running yet. This is more of a motivational thing right now than a knee issue really.

I am really hanging on to my Wednesday nights. I have an instructor that I just love and I get to put in 2 1/2 hours on that night alone - all her classes. That's where the bulk of my workouts come in. Although I do work out on other days, I don't put nearly as much effort into the workouts as I do Wednesday nights.

Depositing $5 - losing another 1% of body fat is a milestone, but as I said - I don't really trust those results so I'm not counting it for now

Getting my Grove On . . by Jj

2009-07-08T22:34:00.000-07:00

So a couple of weeks ago I was on the website for the Adult Dance Studio in Ogden checking out their classes and I noticed they were having a drawing for a month pass to for their beginner aerial dance class, and of course I entered. It was the last day of the drawing so I wasn't expecting much but (whoohoo), I won! I started my first aerial class tonight.

While it was very slow moving, it was really pretty cool. One day (like next week, cuz I'm just that amazing) I'll look just like the chick in that picture. I thought that with the rock climbing and my toning and stuff I'd be okay on the upper body strength . . but I was very wrong. Seriously, it was bad. I'm a wimp. I think on my last week I'll take my camera and get some real pics of all the girls showing off their amazing skills. I may have to go to some of their other classes now too. It looks like a pretty freaking awesome place.

Depositing $8 for this week.
Depositing $8 for last week, too (since somehow we all missed last weeks posts - crazy holidays).

MJ...what week is it anyway? 40...41?

2009-07-08T17:15:00.001-07:00

My favorite summer exercise is definitely

S W I M M I N G ! !

Plus, it's something I can do with these two little fish.

I'm finding that the phrase Lazy Days of Summer doesn't really apply in my life lately. But it is really nice to head out to the pool in the afternoons and take a couple of hours to have some fun with the kids. Plus, it's great exercise. So if any of you feel like swimming, head down my way for a day!

$7 (skipped last week)
$10

xoMJ

MJ Week 39 ... Girls Camp

2009-06-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

Woot Woot!

I did a 5 mile hike with the girls on Tuesday~No Sweat!

OK, lots of sweat but no problems!

That is a milestone for me! I have to admit that my hind end was burning for the first quarter of a mile. I was stiff from the 3 mile Timp Cave hike on Saturday and a 4 mile morning with my friend on Monday but I found my rhythm and was good to go. Our camp was .21 miles from the flush toilets and the stake meeting spot so I put in several more miles this week. It is so nice to be able to do physical things without my hip shouting at me to stop. One of my friends was telling me about the hike to the summit and I have decided that I'm going to do it before the end of the summer. Any takers?

Rach, we missed you on our cave hike. It was beautiful! We got a little bit of rain but just enough to cool us off. Wish you could have been there. The real storm hit after we were down and heading out to Kneaders for lunch.

I had a really great time and we need to do things like that more often! I'm up for the climbing wall that Janis keeps mentioning. Shall we do that next?

Love you girls!

12 bucks

xoMJ

Space Case . . by Jj

2009-06-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

Don't feel bad Rach, I'm reporting for two weeks this time too. Completely spaced on posting last week and by the time I thought about it, I figured I might as well just skip it.

Being unemployed has made me the WORST when it comes to a food journal. Not because I eat worse (which I'm sure I usually do) but because I make my food rather than eating it from a package that conveniently has all of the calories and carbs and fat printed neatly on the side of the package. But when you throw together a random salad with 10+ different ingredients or something like that, it just gets to be too annoying to keep track of it all. I know, poor me, right? But, I have gotten MUCH better at the whole fresh produce thing. And of course it's summer now so I'm living off fruit anyway.

Anyway, my ankle seems to be doing a bit better. In the last two weeks I've been running/walking/ellipticaling on it at least five times which is amazing considering I went about three weeks with little to no action. Poor, poor Chuck. He hasn't had nearly enough exercise but he seems to be doing okay with it. And now after seeing what he normally does all day when I'm not home, I don't feel nearly as bad about leaving him when I go to work.

And the hike to Timp Caves was a good time. Sorry you couldn't make it, Rach. Maybe we'll have to do it again later in the year when it's not POURING rain on us at the bottom of the mountain so I didn't even get my camera out of the car and then within minutes of starting the hike, it just kinda stopped. But because of that, we didn't get a single picture. Pathetic, I know.

Depositing $7 for last week
Depositing $9 for this week

PS Utah Arts Festival starts tomorrow . . anyone interested in going?
Oh, and I also think we should consider going to the Wasatch Wildflower Festival. It runs from Friday July 17th to Sunday July 20th. Basically, it looks like you just meet in different parking lots up in the Alta area and then go on guided hikes to go check out all of the wildflowers. I always see those really pretty mountain wildflower pics and wish that I had some in my portfolio but never knew were to get them so this could be really cool. Thoughts?
http://www.wasatchwildflowerfestival.org/

Rachel's 38&39

2009-06-22T12:03:00.000-07:00

I seem to be creating a habit of posting two weeks at a time!

Week 38 did really well. Walked the 5k in 40 minutes

Depositing $10 for the week plus the milestone of exercising every day

Week 39 bad week didn't write anything down but I know I got some good days with fruits and veggies

Depositing $4:(

Going to break the habit of not being as active as I would like. Not sure how I'm going to do that but....

Maria Week 39 - Timp

2009-06-18T07:16:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about the hike to Timpanogos Cave this weekend. I need something like this to get me out of my latest funk. Also, I am a little embarrassed to say that while I have hiked to the summit of Mt Timpanogos twice, I have never been inside the cave.

Depositing $4

MJ Checking In

2009-06-17T19:46:00.000-07:00

Hey, Ladies! Anybody want to trade their butterfly wings in for bat wings? Well, I don't know that we'll see any bats but I'm sure they'll be in there someplace!

Don't forget to reserve your tickets!

(801) 756-5238

I've been checking out the web and I am getting excited! I didn't realize until now that you can reserve tickets 30 days before you hike. That's cool. I wondered if anyone has a favorite restaurant around that area where we can have lunch? We can always pick up some sandwiches and head to a park if that would be easier. Oh and we all need to bring our cameras so we can post some pics!

Next on the agenda:

Vacation Planning Meeting

Paradise, here we come!

...In Case You Didn't Know...

From the Timp Cave website:

Fees and Reservations for more information.

The only access to the cave system is by walking a strenuous 1 1/2-mile-paved trail, which rises 1,065 ft to an elevation of 6,730 feet above sea level. The round-trip hike and tour of the cave system takes about three hours. Mid-summer temperatures on the trail can reach 100 degrees F. However, temperatures in the caves average 45 degrees, so a sweater or light jacket is recommended. Hiking shoes, water, flashlights and sunscreen will make your visit safe and enjoyable.

WOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!!!

BTW

$10 I've been doing 3 to 4 miles a day :)

xoMJ

Maria Week 38 - Oh, my achin' back!

2009-06-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

If Jj, JBS, and Jim ;-) are actually following this blog and pay REALLY close attention to when this posts they'll see that I am a VERY bad girl. And if they don't follow this blog- then poo on you! :-D

Thanks to Janis for the confidence in my ability to potentially compete in Wipe Out. But I have to admit that for the past few weeks I've felt a bit like an old lady and just don't think I could do much of anything. HOWEVER! If I am the old lady that my mother is - WATCH OUT! That's one tough chick! I know my mom doesn't read blogs, but I gotta give her a big ol' shout out. Scared the $#!& out of us all when she took a little tumble down the front porch stairs this last Sunday and landed on the cement pad at the bottom right on her face/head. Cut up her lip, cut across her nose, two black eyes, and a huge gash across the top of her head, but nothing broken. Thank the heavens above. I hope I'm as tough as she is. But lately I don't feel like it.

My back has been bothering me a bit lately. Just a slight uncomfortable twinge, but it has been getting increasingly worse and worse. I am going to the chiropractor today. YAY! Hoping the alignment will get me all straightened out. (hehe)

Ran yesterday. I have serious issues there. If I take it slow like my PT says to then I feel lazy. So I get impatient and I run a little further than I know I should and I hurt myself. Add to my achin' back a sore knee and I am hobbling around like an old lady. Goodness!

New deal for me. I am going to tailor my workout and rewards to my PT workouts and stretches. I think that might be the only way to get myself and keep myself on track.

I also think this is a great learning experience for me. One day when I am working with people like me - impatient athletes who want to heal immediately and get back on the field/track/court - I can just slap them upside the head and tell them to knock it off.

Depositing $5

NEED SUNSHINE! by Jj

2009-06-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

I'm SO very sick of this rain. (We really need to plan our vacation so I can start looking forward to some sunshine!) Normally, I love a good spring rainstorm. But seriously?!? We got and inch and a half in one day! And poor, poor Chuck the Wonder Dog is so afraid of the thunder. So not only has he not gotten nearly enough exercise this week, he's also spent the larger portion of nearly every day hiding in the bathroom. Like the toilet is really going to protect him. Silly dog. But who knows, maybe the blow dryer has some magic skills I'm unaware of.

So my ankle is still giving me crazy issues. It's very on again/off again with the pain. Last time I went to the doctor he gave me one of those MONDO huge black boots to wear but since it's so tall (yet so short) I don't have any shoes that match in height so it throws me off and hurts my back. Stupid boot. So my workouts have been few and far between but I've been trying to do much better with my diet. Of course it's almost summer and I'd eat nothing but fruit if my digestive system could handle it. mmmmm . . watermelon.

On a side note . . has anyone see the show Wipeout? I didn't watch it tonight cuz I was watching other stuff but I saw it last week and it totally cracked me up. And from the looks of the attached clip, I'm really kinda sorry I'm missed it. Maria, I think you should try it out. If any of us could do it, it's you. We'll come along and be your cheerleaders! We can even come in uniform. I'll bring the Dramamine for the spinney thing.
Are we still on for the Timp Caves? Next weekend? Ankle be damned! I'm going! I'm so tired of feeling like a lump and I've got to get the rest of this stupid weight off! I blame the economy (last year I blamed el Nino but the economy is much more convenient and believable so I'll give it a try out for now).

Sorry I'm so random today. Well actually, no I'm not. This is who I am. Love me or hate me but don't ever tell me I'm predictable.

Depositing $6.50.

Peace out.

Rachel's weeks 36 & 37

2009-06-08T21:24:00.000-07:00

Finally over the food poisoning but when I started eating it's been food fest.
Week 36 I was still shaky from being so sick so I mostly just watched what I ate. Aka nothing because food was still yucky!

Depositing $5

Week 37... the start of food fest! Between Jon's graduation, a baby blessing, Ann's baptism and the father-in-law's 80th birthday celebration I have had a lot of food pass before me. However you'll be so proud of me, I didn't pig out! I even stayed away from the two chocolate fountains.

Depositing $5 for fruits and veggies and $2 for workout/toning

the goal for the next week is to walk Tues- Sat (I'm starting on Tuesday because Monday is gone) Saturday is the 5k so I'll be busting a move or myself at 8am! Wish me luck!

Lack of internet . . by Jj

2009-06-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

Yup, it's an excuse that I could have gotten around easily enough, but I hate using other peoples computers to do my stuff and that's exactly what I would have had to do to get either of my last two posts done, and so there was no post last week, and I'm late this week. Hey, at least I'm honest.

Anyway, I went home last week for my niece's HS graduation (and ran into R&G) and took my car into the shop because the check engine light came on AGAIN and I didn't get it back until Wednesday night. As much as I love my family, that's just too much time to spend at home. Don't know what I'm going to do when/if I sell my house. Of course, the worst part was that I didn't have a car so I had to rely on someone else every time I wanted to do something.

Anyway, I'm depositing $7 for each of the last two weeks. Haven't had a ton of workouts due to my stupid ankle. But I've tried to get in toning and things that don't cause a lot of pain. I even went on a real bike ride while I was at home. Look at me go. Thought I was going to die there once or twice which is so totally and pathetically sad. But I think this is the first time I've been on a bike in 15+ years. Don't tell my roommate - she'll mock me until the day I die.

Oh, and I've lost another 5 lbs (in the last two weeks) so I'm only a couple of pounds from where I was before and where I'll start counting the weight loss as milestones again. Whoohoo!

MJ and flip flops...week 37

2009-06-04T07:42:00.000-07:00

Fighting a head cold but I still got out and walked a couple of days this week, picking up 4 1/2 miles each time. It sure feels good to walk again. I'm a little bit discouraged because I feel like I'm behind on my progress.

My physical limitations make me feel old. Anybody else feeling our age? I have to laugh because, the last few posts have been about my bad hip, Maria's bad knee & Janis's sprained ankle. So that leaves Rachel. (Rach, how are you holding up?) Oh, wait, Rachel had massive food poisoning after her trip. Oh, butterflies, I sure do love you all!

~I feel like if I were a pair of shoes, I'd be a pair of flip flops. Of course, I'm hoping to be a pair of stilettos. Red stilettos mind you!

xoMJ
$8

Maria Week 37 - Morning Person

2009-06-03T12:45:00.000-07:00

I'm a morning person. And if it doesn't get done in the morning, then sometimes it doesn't get done at all. I have found that I have really been slacking off lately especially the past two weeks and it has a lot to do with my morning routine. I have not allowed myself to sleep in - even on mornings when I don't have school and I think that has helped quite a bit. But it still doesn't seem to be enough.

No, back up, scratch that. I AM allowing myself to sleep in. Many, especially Jj, would not call it sleeping in, but it is sleeping in. When I was working I was getting up at 4 AM so that I could be at the gym at 5 AM. Now most mornings I am getting up at 5:30 or 6 AM and sometimes as late as 7 AM.

On Tuesday and Thursday mornings I have class at 7:30 AM. I have to leave my house at about 6:15 AM to get to the University of Utah campus on time so working out before school is pretty much out of the question. And once I'm out of class I've lost any motivation to work out. There, that's it. If I don't work out as soon as I get up - I've lost it! So Tuesdays and Thursdays are pretty much out.

I am not putting in my "marathon" work outs anymore. I am not doing my two a days. Being at home all day - it's hard to get back out for the evening classes that I used to take. It was easy to leave work at 5 PM and go to the gym. But I find it hard to leave home to go to the gym at 5 PM.

So there you have it. I'm a morning person. And if I can't do it in the morning - and really first thing in the morning. Then doing it at all becomes a serious struggle. I must get back on track - and soon!

Depositing $4

Maria Week 36 - Pushed Too Hard

2009-05-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

It's been tough doing what my physical therapist wants me to do. Here I am considering a career choice telling people how to get, be, stay healthy - telling people what exercises, stretches, etc to do - and I seem to be struggling to follow my own physical therapists advice. I guess one day I can truly be empathetic to my own clients/patients when they don't want to do what I tell them, right?

I am supposed to be slowly building back up to running. On Saturday I had had enough. I was determined to just see how far I could push it and ... well ... I'm afraid I may have pushed too hard. I ran, not until I hurt, I'm not THAT stupid! But I ran until my knee felt tight. I felt great for like an hour or so after the run. Went up and down stairs, walked all around - no issues! Then suddenly I went to go downstairs again and OMG! Agony! Needless to say, I was pretty bummed the rest of the day. I thought I had really screwed up my knee. Could see my dreams of being a runner drifting away.

So maybe I was a bit being a bit over dramatic. By Sunday my knee was much better and by Monday, practically good as new.

So back to my physical therapists orders - taking it slow again.
Sorry Rach - no 5K for me in June. Maybe July.

Depositing $7

SHORT & SWEET by MJ

2009-05-27T23:10:00.000-07:00

Signing in 11 minutes past the deadline! I was determined to post on Wednesday of this week because I have been late posting the last couple of times!

Doing pretty well except for that fried chicken at the memorial day picnic. That would be frango frito in our house! Too tasty to pass up! Can't wait to hike with you girls next month!!

xoMJ

$7

A month crammed into ONE post! by Rachel

2009-05-23T23:08:00.000-07:00

Week 32 .... packing (aka weight lifting) I have to make sure the suitcases aren't over 50 pounds!

Deposit...$8

Week 33 ... restaurants sure love to serve french fries with everything...it's a good thing I'm doing a lot of walking.

Deposit ...$8

Week 34... more restaurants ...visited the original StairMaster..Watkins Glen 866 stairs! It's a good yet sad bad unfortunate thing I only did a 3rd!

Deposit...$8

Week 35...HOME...with food poisoning...stupid restaurants...I never want to see another french fry!

Deposit...$0 not eating or exercising.

PS I really didn't eat very many fries but I did notice that they are a very common side option thank heavens more restaurants are offering a more healthy choices but not in the kid menu?! Also, sorry for the huge picture don't know what happened there!

MJ has been in ~LUNCH~LADY ~LAND~ Week 35

2009-05-22T09:48:00.000-07:00

Friday already!!! How did that happen?

Hey, J... I for one am NOT losing my motivation, I've just been busy with the end of the school year!!

Doing pretty well this week as far as exercise goes. Actually, I'm doing better than I have in a long time but I've also been starving lately! In fact, the carbs have gotten the better of me this week. I'm not one with the will power to stick to a rigid diet but I am usually more careful about what I eat.

This week, I've been out to lunch 3 times!!!

(Not to mention heading to dinner with some girls this evening!) I have a friend in town so we met for lunch and I also have some "lunch ladies" who meet for chit chat. Somehow, everything ended up happening this week! Lunchmania.

I confess, I could not resist the Seafood Alfredo at Olive Garden. It was sooooo good. I normally order apricot chicken. But not this time. I remember thinking, "Well, if I get this for lunch, I'll eat a small dinner and walk an extra 20 minutes tonight." I ordered it and followed through with my dinner and 20 minutes.

Just looking at the image I'm adding to this post reminded me that the pasta plus the bread sticks and salad with extra cheese probably put me over my starch limit for the year but what can I say?

OK, I'll say this...I completed my goal of a 5 mile walk!!! I've found some great places to walk outside. I like it so much better than the treadmill. There is a road by my house that goes uphill. It's a great workout! It's only 2 miles to the top but it feels so great when you get there and know that the trip home will be downhill!

Milestone!

HiP hIp HOORAY! I was a little stiff the next day but overall, the hip is doing fine!

I have also kept up with my water intake and stretching! Can I just say that I love this blog and the program! I know I'll keep the healthy habits I've been working on with my BFGs for the rest of my life! So when I have a week like this one where I order a plate of pasta for lunch, I don't cringe from the guilt because I know I will be drinking plenty of water and doing enough exercise to balance myself out! I'd say I've experienced the butterfly effect without Ashton Kutcher!

Thanks girls! Love ya!

xoMJ
$10.50

Injuries . . by Jj

2009-05-21T19:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm late posting again. I'm not sure if I'm glad that I'm not the only one or sad cuz I'm not the only one. Please tell me y'all aren't losing motivation like I feel I am sometimes. I hope you guys are just busy and not regretting your decision to follow me and my freaky ideas.

Anyway, back to my report. I didn't weigh myself today but as of Tuesday I hadn't lost anything so I'm going to assume that I'm still where I was - or at least close to it. I haven't measured either. I'm leaving that for next week.

But, most of this week was pretty active which I'm pretty excited about. Jana and Aeon came into town on Monday night and we went rock climbing at Momentum down in Sandy. Maria came down and climbed for her first time with us. Such a good workout - and a bunch of yummy guys to boot. ;) And on Tuesday Jana and I took our dogs up Adams Canyon here in Layton. I'm guessing that it's about a 4 mile hike, in and out which was a great workout too. Sadly, J & A had to take off to head to Wyoming on Tuesday afternoon, so it was a short but physical visit.

However, on one especially rocky part of the trail, I twisted my ankle again and now it's all kinds of crazy swollen. I was going to hit the gym this afternoon for a 5k training run but I just didn't dare. I'm thinking that I might have to lay off the training for a week or two which really sucks. I don't know what I'm going to do. I guess the elliptical would still be okay, right? There's not a lot of twisting on the ankle there . . what do you guys think??

We so need to go climbing again! It was killer.

Depositing $9.50 for this week.

Maria Week 35 - Ute

2009-05-20T13:34:00.001-07:00

Rachel will be happy to know that I am a now a fellow Ute. Yes, it's true. I attended my first class yesterday. Oddly enough, I don't feel like I am betraying my Cougar loyalty by becoming a Ute. In fact, I have BYU Football season tickets and I think I could potentially cheer for both teams if necessary. (This is much easier said than done.) I save my real support, my real loyalty, and thousands and thousands of dollars for the school that grants me acceptance for graduate school so my true colors won't show for a few more years.

Well, that being said, this is about improving ourselves, right? And not just our physical appearances, right? I've worked pretty hard on and off, mostly on, with improving my physical appearance and now I get to work really hard with improving my mind. I'm very excited. We all know I'd be a professional student if that were possible. Anyone know if that's possible? I'll do it. Sign me up! I'm still not 100% sure what my undergrad major is going to be so I'm really on the right track to being a professional student. I mean, if I make a switch - it will be my 6th or 7th major since starting college ..... we won't get into exactly HOW many years ago that was. I have so many huge decisions to make and I feel such urgency to make them right now. I feel like I am standing on the edge of this enormous precipice! It's all exciting, nonetheless.

Well, workouts have not begun to suffer, yet. Depositing $10.

MJ -4 at Week 34

2009-05-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or is the sunshine a great motivator to be more active? Thank goodness summer is starting to smile at us!

I've done pretty well this week. I was amazed when I took measurements and checked my weight. The measurements were encouraging but what was really great was that I've lost 4 pounds since I last weighed in.

I don't weigh in every week. Just once a month. I've mentioned before that I always tend to weigh the same amount. So you can imagine how glad I am. I have to say that I think the credit goes to lots of water and fewer carbs since I haven't been able to do any powerhouse workouts yet. I'm hoping those will come soon. I would love to burn 1800 calories in a day like our Awesome Blossom, Maria. (You are amazing!) But for now, I'll take what I can get and -4 lbs is pretty great.

For the next week:
Focusing on core and I'm shooting for a 5 mile walk.
(Yes, when I say next week I actually mean this week because I'm writing this for last week.)

xoMJ
$8

Ouch . . by Jj

2009-05-16T08:42:00.000-07:00

So I've been determined to get back on track this week. I'm tired of feeling like a loser and gaining weight BACK. But this week has been pretty good and I've lost 2 lbs of the undisclosed number that I gained from Feb-May. However, I'm not going to count it as a milestone until I get back to were I was in February. Sad for me. But, since it's been a while since I've really pushed it like this, I'm quite sore. It feels good. Except for the sore part that is my ankle. That doesn't feel so good.

And on another note . . what's up with bald guys that still think it's cool to have a beard? Saw a couple of guys like that at the gym the other day. Seriously?!?

Depositing the max of $10 for exercise, fruits and veggies.

So sorry for the short and lame post. I'm lazy this morning and don't feel like getting into it.

Maria Week 34 - Loser

2009-05-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

I'm a loser again. I'm excited about that. Not a very big loser....It's really a tiny accomplishment. But I'll take what I can get. Once again I am seeing the numbers drop on the scale.

Also, I burned over 1800 calories in just one day. That always makes me feel good. I really wish I could do that everyday. But it nearly exhausts me. And hopefully I'll have a job soon and won't have that kind of time. I can't credit that to my weight loss - I just did that today and I lost the weight by Monday. But I'm sure I'll see the effects of that huge calorie burn soon.

Picking up the pace, speed, intensity, whatever, on my running again. It's feeling good.

Depositing $10 for all my workouts.

Maria 33

2009-05-07T12:47:00.000-07:00

We are at week 33 and I am fast approaching year 33. I don't have the abs I wanted to have by year 33 yet. And if I keep making brownies like the ones I made last night I'll never get those abs either!
(I am eating chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk as I am posting this - sadly enough, I am NOT kidding either.)
Must try harder from now on if I want to have those ridiculously defined abs in 4 months!

Depositing .... $8

Barbie, is that you? MJ 32 & 33

2009-05-06T13:52:00.001-07:00

My friend had this pic of Barbie on her blog the other day and I thought it was hilarious!!

I am sorry for missing last week. Janis reminded me twice and I still didn't post. I don't really have a good excuse other than to say that I feel like life has me in a headlock! I definitely need to revisit the BALANCE issue again. I can't seem to find that person (me) who used to be able to stay on top of everything...I know she did exist at one time but I've lost her.

I want to choose a day to hike the cave...are weekends best for everyone or could we do a weekday? Let me know via email, FB or whatever. Would you ladies like to get together before that to work on vacation plans?

Goal this week: Get More Sleep!

xoMJ
32....$10 (this includes a milestone for distance)
33....$8

Another one of those weeks?

2009-05-06T11:21:00.000-07:00

Ugh. I've been such a slacker for so long that I'm having a really hard time getting back into things but I'm trying. I'm sure Chuck wished I'd try to do a little more of it on the road instead of on the treadmill. And he may be pretty darn close to getting his wish. More to come on that later.

Anyway, since I gained back what feels like a ton of weight and enough inches to get to the moon and back I'm not counting any weight loss or inches as milestones until I get back to where I was. I really don't think it's fair to count it twice. It was my own fault, and I shouldn't be rewarded for it.

So I'm depositing $9 for this week for workouts and diet. Although, I have GOT to get back on top of the food journal. I really did well with the weight loss when I was using that but it's so much easier to do when you're sitting at a desk and can only eat what you've got there rather than just raiding the fridge whenever you feel like it. I'm forgetful when I'm bored I guess. Anyway, I went though my past posts to see how much I need to transfer over to our account. Holy crap, I'm a slacker. It's only $105 for 14 weeks. That should be SO much higher. I'm so ashamed.

So I really think we need to sit down and plan a date and a location for our trip. I think that would motivate me a lot more if I had an actual date to be ready for. I know that we have a date to end the challenge, but really it's going to end for reals when we're sitting in the sun. Anyone up for discussing that tonight?

PS I apologize for not having any cool/disgusting pictures to post today. I'm lacking motivation to do that too.

Maria Week 32

2009-04-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

No creative title for this week - Just the facts.
Starting to lose weight again. Starting to the lose the weight that I put back on. Yay!
Haven't measured, but I'm quite certain I'm starting to lose the inches that I am sure I gained (because I didn't measure then either).
Also starting to see that definition in my abs that I had in January finally creeping back in. Might need to borrow another cell phone with a built in camera and sneak into the VS dressing rooms again! ;-)
Lots of time in the gym and lots of PT exercises (which include lots of core exercises - I'm liking that!)

Depositing $10

Judgement . . . by Jj

2009-04-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

So as I was in my toning class this morning, looking around the room at all of the different types of people in there. And I noticed a HUGE difference in my thoughts as my eyes wandered. Every time I saw someone who was out of shape or a little heavy I thought, "Good for them. That's awesome that they're getting out there and putting in a real effort." But then I moved to the woman in front of me, and seriously, I feel (a little) bad telling you what crossed my mind, "Seriously? Who does she think she's fooling? That woman is in her 50's. There's no way those are natural. She's got skinny little chicken legs, a 20" waist and a D cup? It MIGHT be believable if they moved or weren't still sitting where they were when she was 23."

I know that no one is looking at me but I wondered what they would be thinking if they were to notice I was there and this is what I came up with, "Seriously? I see her here quite often and yet, I see NO progress. She's still flubby and out of shape and she obviously hasn't lost any weight. She should give up and go home and open up the machines for other people who aren't eating ice cream right out of the carton for dinner." Or maybe that's just what I'm thinking since I measured for the first time in over a month and realized that in the last (awful) month, I've lost about three months worth of progress. I guess I'm going to have to work even harder if I plan on EVER weighing what my drivers license says I do. And I was SO CLOSE before, too. Ugh. Why does it have to suck?

$9 for this week. And I still haven't figured out what I need to transfer for all of my missed weeks. But I promise, I will - eventually.

Rachel's 31st week

2009-04-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

Didn't make my goal this week but I'm going to try again next week! I will exercise. I will exercise.
For the next week I'm going to exercise 4 out of 7 days for a milestone and work up from there.

Depositing $7

Maria Week 31 - MOTIVATION

2009-04-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

It's definitely a motivational issue for me. But I don't lack the motivation to get to the gym - I lack the motivation to post. (I suffer from this on both blogs as anyone who attempts to follow me can see.) As I mentioned, I had one day two weeks ago where I burned more than 2000 calories .... So you can see - most days getting to the gym is no issue, but logging into blogger does seem to be. :-(
I have been given the green light by my Physical Therapist to ease myself back into running. It's the "ease" part that is difficult. Every time I want to disobey my Physical Therapist and push it a little I just try to remember what the day after Moab felt like. I try to remember how hard I cried every time I tried to move my knees.

Depositing $10 for workouts and fruits ... as soon as I'm employed and have money to deposit ;-)

My bad . . by Jj

2009-04-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it would appear that unemployment is not good for me, I slack off rather than taking a page from Maria's book and spending 5 hours in the gym. Honestly, I get really really bored. But I don't have all of the class options she has either because the Gold's in Layton kinda sucks to tell you the honest truth. However, they've just hired a new general manager and he was in my kickboxing class this morning. I was watching him the whole time and thinking, "He's way too buff to hit like a girl, but it's very obvious that he's more of a lover than a fighter." It was kinda sad really. And then there's this other guy that always comes who just looks like a dumb@*&. Seriously . . he acts like he's really in the ring and flails ALL over the place. If he comes near me I move because I'm afraid he'll have a 'roid fit and knock me out. Dude, we don't even use bags. Get over yourself.

My goal this week is to go back through all of the weeks that I haven't transferred my $$ into the savings account and actually transfer it. Apparently I'm a slacker all over the place. Ugh, okay so I've gained a few lbs back - enough so that I refuse to admit to how much online. But I'm punishing myself and not depositing anything for last week even though I worked out, it's obvious my diet wasn't that good. But (look at me go) I'm depositing $10 for this week. And next week, I'm actually going to take measurements again. I've been too afraid to look at the numbers for the past couple of weeks so I've been avoiding it. I can do this. Now I'm going to go take a nap.

MJ Week 30

2009-04-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

The truth is, I hit a patch of discouragement this week. Having to take time off to recover has set me back physically and I went through an "I feel fat!" phase yesterday. I hate it when that happens! But I'm back on track today.

I like how R is taking things week by week and so I'm going to follow her lead and make a goal to workout every day except Sunday. If I make it, I'll give myself a milestone!! I have actually forgotten to count milestones lately and I need to be more focused on that. So, here I am, ready to work extremely hard this week!

xoMJ
$8

Maria Week 30 - I JUST MIGHT BE A RUNNER

2009-04-21T17:44:00.000-07:00

I went to the PT this week and I am so excited to report that I am a runner! So the answer to my previous quandary is YES!
I was assigned to the running team at TOSH, because, well ... I'm a runner. My PT is a runner, his PT assistant is a runner, and his other assistant (who I didn't have the pleasure of meeting at this visit) is also a runner. They did all sorts of really cool evaluations and measurements on my joints, watched me run, stretched me out and determined that I am, in fact, a runner. They also told me that for someone who has been only running for like 5 months, I sure do look like a runner. It has also been determined that I have done no major damage to my knee (or hip for that matter), that there is nothing seriously wrong with me knee or hip, and that there is no reason I should have any problems running in the future.
I was given a series of stretches designed to try and alleviate my sciatica issues as well some good sound stretches any runner should use. And then I was given some exercises designed to help strengthen my hip muscles to assist with protecting my knees.
Ok ... so as for the other Butterfly Girls stuff. I am back to the gym with a vengeance. Now that my knee is feeling better and I am well rested and recovered I am hitting it and hitting it hard. I burned 2003 calories last Monday - with no job I can afford to spend 5 hours at the gym and it's a beautiful thing! I am back to resistance training, back to boot camp, back to cycling. I am loving it. Hmmmm....wonder if I can find a job that will just pay me to work out. Now that would be COOL!

Depositing ... Max $10.

Mj - I am STOKED for the Timp Cave hike!

Week 30!!!

2009-04-20T23:39:00.000-07:00

Well I meant to post on Monday but I missed it by 4o minutes...don't know why I'm still awake.!

My goal for this past week was to exercise Monday through Saturday... I was doing awesome until I had to take a break on Friday for my poor knee; however, I pulled myself together and went walking on Saturday!

I'll be depositing $10 and I'm going to give me $1 for a milestone well because I deserve it.

for week 31 I'm going to try for all six days...so far so..okay.

MJ is Back!!!

2009-04-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

I'm back from Cali and it sounds like I missed a snow storm while I was away! Thank goodness :)

Last week was pretty great as far as exercise goes. We did a ton of walking. I'm also happy to report that the greasy, sugary foods at LegoLand and SeaWorld did not find their way into my diet! A little bit of planning made all of the difference. It also feels great to know that your kids ate an apple and a ham sandwich for lunch rather than a churro and some nachos! (Patting myself on the back right now.)

I'm almost back to my old workout level. I was able to walk 3 1/2 miles without any complaints from my hip yesterday. I can't tell you how great that felt! I'm counting on you ladies for a trip to Timp Cave in a couple of months!

xoMJ
$10

weeks 28 AND 29 for Rachel

2009-04-11T20:44:00.000-07:00

oops! Monday came and went and here we are on a Saturday night heading for next Monday (I'm not sure if Mondays are working any better therefore I'm posting now so that I won't forget!)

I'll be depositing $14 for the two weeks :)

My goal for week 30 is to exercise M-S and if I do=milestone. I have to find a way to motivate myself !

MJ

2009-04-10T12:07:00.000-07:00

Ladies, I'm sorry this is late. Jet had the flu over the weekend and then Lexa came home from her school camp out with food poisoning. (That is what the school thinks it is because several girls got sick but I wondered if it was just the same flu bug Jet had.)

Anyway, I'm getting ready for our trip to Cali. And I'm sorry to say that the butterfly blog hasn't been at the top of my list. It actually kept getting moved farther down on the list this week until right now! It has made it's way to the top!

I'm happy to report that I have not had anymore Snickers bars for breakfast and I've been doing my best to stay active. I plan to really pump up my fitness routine when I get back from our family vacation.

I was wondering if you ladies would like to join me on a hike to the Timpanogos Cave this summer? Maybe in June? My hip is still improving and I would really love to go on a hike. It would be a family affair. Anyone Interested?

$7
xoMJ

Why?!?

2009-04-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

Why I ask you?? Why are we all such slackers? I really, sincerely hope that our inability to post on a simple little blog doesn't reflect on our ability to work some exercise and veggies into our daily lives. Obviously, I'm right there on top of the list of "other things to do" even though, I really actually DON'T have anything else to do. It's a boring/lame life I lead but no worries, I still managed to get a little exercise in here and there.

I really need to get on top of the diet again. I don't go crazy and over the top with anything but I haven't been tracking it either and I think that helped me drop the first 20 lbs better than anything. And before our vacation I've got at least another 10 to go so that I can be seen in public in a swimsuit - this time without another whole outfit over top it. You know what I'm talking about. Don't deny it. I'll be depositing $9 this week.

And as soon as I run out of all of the caffeinated/carb/sugar filled soda in the house (don't want it to go to waste, ya know) I'll be cutting soda out of my diet (again). It's a good thing that I bought plenty to tie me over since it was on sale last week. Don't mind me. I'll get there eventually. It's just SO good. I'd totally switch to diet if only it didn't make me so queezy. It's the weirdest thing. And it's a bad kinda queezy. You don't want to be hanging around with me right about then. Trust me.

And just as a motivational push, I've attached the following picture. I'd like you all to save this photo to your computers and make it your wallpaper because it's so not cool that it's going to make you all want to "work harder". Name that movie and I'll give you a special "you watch too many LDS movies" high five next time I see you. Enjoy!

Maria Week 29 - The Blues

2009-04-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

Looks like we did it again. We are a bunch of slackers. It is Thursday night and none of us have posted yet. I can't blame my ultra busy life - that would be a lie. I blame my lack of motivation.
Last Thursday I got laid off. That's right. You all know how much I loved my job, loved my co-workers, loved going to work. (It's sad, but I looked forward to Monday's and got a little sad on Fridays - how pathetic was I?)
Since then I've suffered from a serious lack of motivation. I've still hit the gym, but I get there and don't really feel like doing anything. I get back home and definitely don't feel like doing anything. Just want to take a nap - crawl into a hole and escape. In fact, if I didn't go to the gym first thing in the morning, I'm not sure I'd get out of bed at all. (And I can't explain why I get out of bed and to the gym first thing in the morning.) I don't think it's depression, just a little case of the blues. I'll snap out of it eventually, I'm sure.

(Maybe I'll feel better when I can run again, too.)

Depositing $6 for work outs

Discouragement . . . by Jj

2009-04-01T20:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's no secret that the last couple of months have been pretty crappy for me. And I'm not the only one. I know that we've all been having our issues. But I've been using mine as an excuse to be fat and lazy. I was determined to get back on top of my workouts and eating habits this week and I did okay until the weekend rolled around. Saturday and Sunday always throws me off and then I find it really hard to get back into it on Monday. But all in all, I'll be depositing $8.50 for this week for the workouts I got in the firs half of the week and for eating pretty well for half of the week at least (minus the half pan of brownies).

But on a brighter note, I've almost finished the freelance jewelry. I've only got 11 baby bracelets and some bedazzled dishtowels left to shoot and I think I'll have them done tomorrow and then I'm going to force everything back to normal. I'm sick of not moving. I'm sick of feeling flubby. I'm sick of losing all of the progress that I've made the last few months. And with that I thought I'd post this classic pic as a little motivational thought - I'm so gonna have the big guns one day. And sooner than later.

MJ Week 28

2009-04-01T15:03:00.000-07:00

Confession:

Yesterday I had a SNICKERS candy bar for breakfast.

I stopped at the store after dropping the kiddos off at school. It was a quick trip because I only had a few things on my list. I found myself waiting in line at the checkout and listening to my stomach growl. Before I knew what was happening, I looked over and there it was. I could almost hear it calling my name...
I was having a crazy morning and was feeling exhausted already. (Not the best feeling at 8:30am.) One thing you should know about me is that I always eat breakfast. I wake up starving everyday. Yesterday was the exception. I hadn't eaten anything before heading out the door. So, it's no wonder that I gave into temptation and snarfed that chocolate covered bar of nutty goodness down on the drive home. Mmmmm. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Just thought I'd share that with you ladies. It felt good to get it off my chest. (But we'll see if I can get it off of my waistline!)

$8

xoMJ

Maria Week 28 - Not Much to Say

2009-04-01T12:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I took all of last week off for recovery, but I still don't feel completely recovered. That's a very frustrating feeling. It was hard enough taking one week off - I am not about to take two.
So I returned to the gym this week. I am taking it easy. Will hold off on the two-a-days for a while. Will hold off on the long runs for a while. Might even hold off on running altogether for a while. (Much to my dismay). But it is more important for me to heal properly than to turn what I am hoping is a minor and temporary injury into a permanent injury.

Interesting to note .... when I am not working out I have a harder time drinking as much water and eating healthier foods. Funny how those two things seem to go hand in hand.

Depositing a measly $4 for workouts and fruits and veggies. What a sad week for me.

Rachel's week 27

2009-03-30T20:04:00.000-07:00

Much better week in being active... most workouts came from walking to places instead of driving....very resourceful on my side.

Depositing $9 this week

MJ is Getting There! Week 27

2009-03-25T17:34:00.000-07:00

First of all...
Great Job, Maria!
I admire your endurance!

Good news this week, I'm getting stronger!!! Last night I worked out using one of my favorite DVDs. This series from Carmen is a little cheesy and somewhat sleazy if you you look at the other discs but #2 is just a workout to tone up. I used to do it after spending 30 minutes on the treadmill. (Last night it was only the disc but next time I might be able to do both.)

This is the first time I've been able to handle an entire workout since last year. (Hooray!) My lower back and hip are letting me know that I need to take it easy today and tomorrow but I'm getting there!

$10

xoMJ

Adventures in the Diet Yo-yo . . by Jj

2009-03-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

Ugh. So sorry about not posting last week. I totally spaced it and then by the time that I thought about it and I actually had time to do it, it was Monday. So I just gave up. Didn't really matter anyway, I think I only got in about four 15 minute cardio workouts and one toning workout that week. . . and now that I think about it . . this week too. I've done pretty good with the vegetables but I tend to overload on the Easter candy when I'm shooting all the time. So I've banned myself from the candy isles (At least until right before Easter and I need to stock up for the rest of the year. Kidding . . sort of.). I'm not going to bother with measurements or weight this week. I stepped on the scale yesterday and I'd gained back 3lbs . . but that's been over the last three weeks where I've been borderline sedentary thanks to the loads of elementary school teacher jewelry I'm shooting. Unfortunately, it doesn't really lend itself to a lot of exercise. Maybe if it weighed more I could count it as toning but sadly, it does not. Stupid jewelry.

Anyway, sorry for the lame boring post this week. I promise to do better this next week. I even got up and went to the gym this morning for the abs and buns toning class AND I stayed and did 35 minutes on the elliptical. It's a good start and I'm really going to try to get up every morning and get it out of the way. If I don't, I get caught up in what I'm doing and I totally forget it later. So I'll be depositing $6 each for the last two weeks. Next week. I'm determined to be back on top of maxing out my deposits. I mean, it's not like I've got a job or a social life to keep me busy, right? I should have TONS of time to hang out there and flirt with all of the meat heads. Like the black guy with the bleached mullet and the short shorts . . I may have to draw you a picture to get the full effect.

Week 20 something

2009-03-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

oh the great day of 20 something...but I do love being 30 something

$7 for workouts and veggies

xoxoxoxox

Maria Week 27 - Recovery

2009-03-24T13:45:00.000-07:00

Big week for me! WOW! As you can see from my previous three posts things have been a bit crazy.

So Saturday was the BIG day. And as you can see from my post about the half-marathon I was really hurting by the end of that race. I was in a lot of pain on Saturday, soreness and stiffness of my knees set in pretty quickly. My hip hurt, but not like my knees. The sciatica issue is easily remedied. Stop moving. As I mentioned - it hurts worse to walk than to run, but if I stop moving COMPLETELY, then the majority of the pain goes away. I thought, like following my 10 mile run, I'd need a day to recover. My hip would feel better in only a few hours really. What I was not expecting was the intense pain in my knees....WOW! I truly underestimated the damage they had suffered.

Woke up Sunday morning at about 4 AM - very uncomfortable in my current position, but to try and move - unbearably painful! It was all I could do not to cry or scream whenever I tried to move I was in so much pain. (It's hard for me not to cry now just thinking about how painful it was.) You just have no idea how much you use them (even when you don't think you're using them) until every tiny movement is excruciating.
The rest of Sunday was pretty bad, but I loosened up a bit by Sunday evening - to the point that I could walk by myself and could actually sit in a chair and then stand back up by myself.

Sunday night/Monday morning I set my alarm for every few hours to wake up in the middle of the night and take meds as needed for the pain. I think that helped a lot. Was pretty stiff again by the morning, but after a few hours I loosened up again to the point that I could do many things by myself - including move my foot from the brake to the gas without too much pain so I could drive to work.

By Monday night I was feeling pretty good. As my knees loosened up I started to feel how sore my muscles really were. My left knee didn't really hurt at all anymore and my right was feeling much better. Went to bed Monday night feeling pretty good again.
Woke up Tuesday morning a bit stiff and sore again. But loosened up pretty quickly.

So my recovery has not been as quick as I had originally expected, but quicker than I estimated based on how terrible I felt on Sunday morning. I am just about going crazy actually taking time off from working out.

Now ... here's what I've learned from all of this ....
Huge way to relieve or prevent sciatica - stretching.
The problem with my knees, based on some internet research (not a doctor's diagnosis) - IT Band Friction Syndrome. Very common in runners. One of the easiest ways to prevent it - stretching.

Moral of this story - STRETCHING IS IMPORTANT! Take a leaf out of Mj's book - stretch.

It's going to be a new goal for me. I am going to stretch every night for 15 minutes. And for every week that I do that - a milestone.

Depositing - $8. $6 for working out and $2 for the half marathon milestone.

And the winner is ......

2009-03-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, my husband's sister started a family weight loss/fitness challenge. There were essentially two categories ..... highest percentage of body weight lost and highest number of points. To see how to earn points check out the blog at http://sanderslosers.blogspot.com/

It was a close race. Justin was weighing in at 264 yesterday afternoon. That's 13.68% loss of his body weight. He got out the calculator and started to figure out what his weight would need to be as well as that of his closest competitors to determine if he could easily win or not. If he could maintain that weight - he'd have a very good chance of winning.

Justin's oiled up striped down brother-in-law Brock came out in his tiny shorts and jumped on the scale. He had lost 13.9% of his body weight. Poor Justin.

But wait... Justin hadn't OFFICIALLY weighed in yet. Justin would need to weigh 263. He climbed on that scale (that only an hour ago he had used to weigh himself at 264) and .....

263!!!!!

Justin lost 14.25% of his body weight and took home the title of Sanders' Family Biggest Loser! He lost 44 lbs in 11 weeks!

Good job, Baby! I am so proud of you!

Oh.....and I won on the points section.

But the most important thing is that we all started making healthier changes in our lives. Just like the Butterfly Girls.

Our vacation will be great, but honestly ladies, we've already been rewarded by how much better we all feel about ourselves and the love, friendship, inspiration, and encouragement that we've received from each other.

Keep up the good work BG's. Keep up the good work Sanders Family. And keep up the good work to all of you out there striving to improve your lives!

MARIA'S 13.1 MILE-STONES

2009-03-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

I did it. It wasn't easy, and it wasn't pretty, but I did it. I ran the Canyonland's (Moab) Half Marathon on Saturday. I may not have finished strong, I may not have finished fast, but I finished - and I ran the whole thing. (It wasn't a pretty run, but it was a run nonetheless).

I need you all to look closely at my clothes. I had this cute melon or salmon colored tank top that matches my new running shoes that I wanted to wear, but at the last minute I had to change. It felt wrong to NOT wear my butterfly tank top in honor of my Butterfly Girls. I am also wearing the beautiful necklace they bought me to wish me luck. Ladies, you couldn't be there physically, but I know you were there in spirit and you were all in my heart.

The canyon I ran through was beautiful. The weather and temperature were perfect.
I felt great through the first half of the race. Hip was bothering me a bit by about mile 3, but not too bad. Definitely tolerable. By mile 8 my knees were starting to bother me a tiny bit, but again, tolerable. By mile 9 I got cell phone reception and my phone started vibrating like crazy. It was very encouraging to get voicemails and text messages from my Butterfly Girls and other loved ones cheering me on. At mile 10 I reached the tribal drums. I could hear them from about mile 9 through mile 11. They were amazing and inspiring. Also by mile 10 my knees and hip were REALLY hurting. By mile 11 I was choking back the tears - unsuccessfully. And by mile 12 - I just let it go. There were several people along the route, aid station workers, race route volunteers, spectators, racers who had already finished - cheering everyone on, encouraging us by telling us we were almost finished and many of which asked me if I was ok or needed help. (God bless them.) I must have looked pretty bad.

Justin and Hiro were waiting for me near the finish line to snap a photo. I put on a brave face for the photo op. (It looks like I'm walking, but I promise I'm not - not exactly).

Once I passed the finish line I had to walk and the pain of walking was excruciating. My knees felt better walking, but my hip hurt so much worse. Justin snapped a few photos and I finally had to ask him to please stop taking photos of me crying and in pain.

I had a medic with me pretty quickly after finishing and she was so sweet and so concerned. She wasn't going to leave me until she knew I was taken care of. She walked with me, told me where the doctor's tent was, and encouraged me to go. Then when we reached Justin she turned me over to him.

Justin took a few photos of me in the doctor's tent. So the good news - it's not a joint issue. The doctor is pretty sure it's a nerve issue...sciatica (just as I suspected). I didn't talk to him about my knees because at that time - I hadn't yet realized the severity of the damage done there.

Easing myself - gingerly - into the cot.

Despite the pain, I am so happy that I did it. I'm not giving up on running....I'm just going to make sure I get in to see a doctor before I continue.

As I have mentioned before in this blog - running has always been tough for me. I've never been able to run far - never ran further than a mile and a half before last summer. So to run 13.1 miles was a big deal for me. I've also always admired endurance runners. Saw their ability to endure as a sign of strength. For me to have accomplished this myself is exciting to me. It was an incredible and emotional experience.

(There were photographers along the route taking photos and I'll post those as soon as I get them so please check back!)

Luckiest Girl on the Plant

2009-03-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

OMG! I have the best friends in the whole world. They have made me feel like a high school football star - and that is a very good thing.

Back in my high school days I decorated many of the football players houses before homecoming with big posters, balloons, etc along with my beautiful BG's. Today, I joined their ranks. Today, I was on the receiving end of that same sort of love and support. This is what it is all about ladies. This morning I felt like the luckiest girl on the planet!

I woke up early this morning and went out to hit the gym for some last minute prep for my half marathon tomorrow and found a very amazing surprise.

(You made me cry you little stinkers!)
Thank you all so much for your love and support. This half marathon is a big deal for me. I realize that to many other people it may be ... half marathon, eh...no biggie. But for a girl who's never been able to run more than a mile and a half until last summer - it's a HUGE deal.

This is my favorite part - hehe ..... Go Rams!

Maria Week 26 - Can I sympathize with Mj?

2009-03-19T07:12:00.000-07:00

I'm in the final home stretch of my training....for THIS half marathon anyway. I hope that there will be many more to come and if all goes well, perhaps even a full marathon someday. I don't want to make a habit of running full marathons, but one or two might be nice. IF I can stand to continue running.

I want to thank Brady for his words of encouragement regarding my running issue. You have given me hope. I am determined to become a runner. That was a very daunting thought in the beginning, but now I believe that I can learn to love it. Thank you for that.

On Saturday I ran 10 miles - my longest distance yet (and a milestone). I started off the run with some minor pain in my hip and knees. Knee pain and often shin splints at the beginning of a run are very typical with me and if I can tough it out for about 30 - 45 minutes the pain usually goes away. Saturday, the pain in my hip slowly increased. By mile 7 it was approaching unbearable. By mile 8 I was choking back the tears. By mile 9 I considered, for the first time, walking - at least for a short distance. And it occurred to me - I've been in this same stride for so long that I'm not really sure how to walk at this point. But after a few minutes of serious thought I figured out how to walk again. The pain was unbearable! I probably only managed to walk about 15 feet when I had to start running again. It was much more painful to walk than to run. (Go figure!) So I kicked it back into gear. I cried the last mile. And by the time I finished I was in so much pain I wanted to collapse and just sob. (I nearly did). I don't know what it's like to live with that pain everyday, but Mj, for one day, maybe I could sympathize just a little. You are a real trooper.

I do at least one hour of cardio everyday but one. And on one day I did nearly 2.5 hours (Saturday). I am also pretty good about eating fruits (although not so good with the veggies). So I'll be depositing $12. My max amount plus one milestone.

Courage, Determination & Independence...MJ Week 26

2009-03-16T17:05:00.001-07:00

When we started this challenge, we all talked about getting into shape and looking great. I was hoping to trim down my waist and tone up a little bit. At that time, I never imagined that half way through the challenge, all I would want is for my hip to look like this!

I can't tell you how many times I've woken up in the night because my hip, leg and lower back were throbbing. It has been difficult. The physical pain brought out the emotional pain that I was holding onto from the original injury. It forced me to work on my emotional self as well as my physical condition.

But holding true to the butterfly analogy that we decided upon in the beginning, I kept working toward the person I wanted to become.

I have taken courage from Rachel, who was in as much pain as I was, just a different kind of pain. And who reached through the darkness to find the light.

I borrowed determination from Maria who was loyal to herself and to her goals, breaking down wall after wall as she pushed herself to new limits.

And I learned independence from Janis who doesn't let anyone tell her that she can't do something and who stands with inner strength because she stands on her own.

Cheer for me, girlfriends, I have been working hard & at the same time, forcing myself to take it slow. Allowing myself to heal. It has been discouraging and frustrating. But for the first time in a long time, I have hope! In fact, I am going to add a milestone to my total for this week.

Yesterday was pain free for me!!!

My hip didn't hurt for the entire day! It has been months since that has happened. I didn't take any ibuprofen the night before or yesterday and I haven't taken any today!!! I'm not finished recovering yet. I have a lot of work ahead of me. But it is as if I have finally climbed to the top of the hill and I can see the other side.

Bless you Butterflies!

xoMJ

$12

Rachel's week #?

2009-03-16T10:27:00.000-07:00

I don't know what week I'm on!!! Any who, here is the lowdown on the past week and a half
exercise 5 times...not too good but better than before.
toning 1 time ????????????????
fruits and veggies in the bank every day! yeah baby!

So my deposit for a week and a half $11.50

That's really sad... that's the amount for a really good week!!!

I have a milestone for the next week no sweets and my goal is to exercise EVERY day!

I will be strong!!!

MJ. . . What week is it anyway?

2009-03-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

It happened about 10 minutes ago...I suddenly remembered that I didn't post on Wednesday! What can I say, Brady has the week off of work and we are having a blast together. (While accomplishing absolutely nothing.)

Sorry ladies! Good to see that I'm not the only one who is posting on Friday!

$6

xoMJ

Maria Week 25

2009-03-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

Jj - I'm with ya! I was just thinking yesterday afternoon that it was Thursday already and no one had posted. Of course, that didn't get me moving either. I've been preoccupied - sorry.
So....shout out to my BG's who are awesome and bought me a beautiful necklace with a 4-leaf clover for luck in my upcoming half marathon.
Haven't really done much with regards to workouts aside from my running and then doing some light cardio or weights on my "rest" days.

Depositing $10 for workouts, fruits and veggies.

Rachel is moving Wednesday to Monday

2009-03-13T09:01:00.001-07:00

Okay Jj here I am! but this isn't my real post! I've decided that I'm, if it is okay with the rest of you, to post on Mondays?! Wednesdays have become a very long day with no me time! so let me know. And since you all love me sooooooo much you'll just nod your heads and say "but of course" -and it has to be with silly french accents because that phrase only works that way. Let me know if you're okay with my crazy plan.

Seriousy?!?

2009-03-13T08:13:00.000-07:00

Has it just been "one of those weeks" that it's now Friday and still not one of the four of us has posted? I'm unsure if that's good or bad. For me, it's bad. it means that I'm STILL working on my freakin lameo kitchen. And when I get that done I have a freakin HUGE jewelry shoot that I've got to get done on bright sunny days and in of all places . . my kitchen. Seriously, I hate my kitchen right now and if I could help it I'd never go in there again. I'd just stay in my room and live off the Eater candy that I've got stashed under my bed. Oh that would be the life. Until it got to the point that I was too big to get out of bed and had to use a bed pan and they had to take the sliding doors out of my room and lift me out via crane so they could put me on a truck scale. That part would not be so good.

Okay, done rambling on about nothing. I really haven't kept track of what I've been eating as I've been covered in paint EVERY dang day (notice the obsessive use of caps lock today) and I haven't been to the gym at all and yet I feel as though I haven't stopped moving. Poor, poor Chuck the Wonder Dog is still afraid to walk through the kitchen and he's only been walked twice in the last week. But, I know that most days, I've forgotten to eat. I know you're not surprised. Do send me emails about how bad it is not to eat - I know! I just forget. I always get this way when I'm home too long. Anyway, I'm just going to guesstimate this week and say $7. I haven't weighed myself and I haven't taken any measurements because honestly, I just don't want to see that. But I should be back to normal (as normal as I can be) in the next week. Wish me luck.

Now . . where are the rest of you hiding???

Easter Candy Will Be the Death of Me

2009-03-05T22:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, can I just say how glad I am to see that I'm not the only one that missed yesterday's posting? I was feeling like such a slacker and logged in at 11:30+ something last night to post when I realized that no one else had written anything yet either so I just went to bed instead.

Can I honestly tell you something? I've got a HUGE stash of Easter candy hidden in random places around my room (for those of you that may be visiting and need a chocolate fix, most of it's under my bed). I've always been a candy collector. I blame my mother. She does it too. I RARELY eat it all. I often end up throwing away stale candy (except for the Peeps which are always better stale anyway) but yet, there it is. I think it's a comfort thing. I feel better just knowing it's there. If only I could save my money and not bother buying it in the first place. But no! No matter now much I try, I continue to buy it anyway. One day I'll find some kind of a rehab program. But, I can also honestly say that Easter is the only holiday that has multiple kinds of candy that I buy/crave so every year I keep telling myself that it will be over soon and then the sneaky candy companies throw me a curve ball and take my favorite Cadbury chocolate mini egg things and introduce them as a Christmas candy. Their new slogan should be, "Cadbury: Making Girls Fat One Holiday At A Time." Of course something similar could also be said of the new sweet potato fries at Arctic Circle which is less than a mile from my house. Damn you, sweet potatoes!

So due to the home remodeling/construction I haven't gotten many traditional workouts in this week - and that includes walking poor Chuck. Sad little guy has been "walked" more than once this week by running up and down the stairs in the living room multiple times. I believe his record was 27 times up and down. One day he'll learn that I'm not really going down the stairs when I act like I am. But hopefully not before I'm done with the house.

I'm depositing the max of $10. I'm counting 5-6 hours a day of cleaning/painting/climbing stairs/moving furniture/running to the trash/climbing ladders as workouts. Also, I've developed a new salad addiction which is great for the whole fruit/veggie thing. Especially when it consists of about 1/2 cup salad and a cup of pineapple/apple/avocado/raisins/sunflower seeds/craisins/carrots. I'm really into the /// this evening. Sorry about that. Oh, and I've also started buying Crystal Light in the little tub things instead of the individual pouches (WAY cheaper) and making a pitcher up in the morning and trying to drink the whole thing throughout the day. Don't get too excited, I've only finished the whole thing once. But I find myself going for that instead of the calorie filled milk with my meals quite often.

And just in case any of you are bored and want to help, I'm hoping to finish painting the kitchen and the upper cabinets tomorrow and then I'm going to be painting the counter tops and the lower cabinets on Saturday. And then I'll be listing my house, and shooting all of the jewelry for my freelance job, painting the bathroom in the basement, painting the half bath . . and then I may be out of projects so I'm really hoping to have a job before then and I lose my mind. Wish me luck.

PS I stole the Peeps image off someone else's blog but felt it was totally appropriate. So thank you Brian Groce, whoever you are. And while I stole the picture of the Mini Eggs too, I totally could have taken that as well since I've currently got two bags under my bed. That is one candy that I can always finish before it goes stale. I believe there may also be two bags in the freezer from last Easter. My bad.

Where did Rachel GO!!!

2009-03-05T18:02:00.000-08:00

Hello..... I'm back! It's been a very interesting month (to say the least). My kids are back in school once again and we will go off track once more and then this crazy on and off business will be a thing of the past...well at least for the next three years; at least that's what the school district has promised?! I'm beginning to think that traditional school is going to be great!

As for my fitness program.... it went out the window! I've only exercised maybe twice in the past two weeks...I'm ready for the sunshine. Thank heavens that we are out of the doll drums of February.

Depositing $1 for last week because I remember exercising once!
Depositing $3 for one workout this week and I know I ate my fruit and veggies on Monday and Tuesday but I can't recall any further!!!!

I WILL do better this coming week. I'm taking back my life...laugh because I know that I don't know how to do that or what "my" life in compasses but I'm going to be active so it doesn't kill me!

Thank You, Martina!!! MJ Week 24

2009-03-04T09:11:00.000-08:00

Hey, Butterfly Girls!

I've been thinking about inner beauty this week.
I know that we are focused on changing our outer appearances, but what we are on the inside is very important too! (You three ladies are some of the greatest inner beauties that I know!) As I've been working on taking better care of my body, I have noticed that I feel better inside...happier, more energetic, etc. But I'm at a place in my life where I feel emotionally exhausted. I need to take some time to strengthen my inner self.

This week, I'm going to work on doing some things to keep myself beautiful on the inside. They are: scripture study, prayer and serving others. I know they are all religious things but religion is a defining part of my identity. I always feel better when I do these things! Maybe we'll call them the golden specks on my wings! I hope you all have a great week!

P.S.

I love these song lyrics!
I thought I'd throw them in this week!
I love you, Butterflies!

She remembers when she first got her wings.
And how she opened up that day she learned to sing.
Then the colors came, erased the black and white.And her whole world changed when she realized

She's a butterfly, pretty as the crimson sky.
Nothing's ever gonna bring her down.
And everywhere she goes Everybody knows,
she's so glad to be alive She's a butterfly...

Like the purest light in a darkened world.
So much hope inside such a lovely girl.
You should see her fly, it's almost magical.
It makes you wanna cry, she's so beautiful...

God bless the butterfly, give her the strength to fly.
Never let her wings touch the ground...

--Martina Mcbride

xoMJ $10

Maria Week 24 - To be or not to be....That is the question

2009-03-04T08:57:00.000-08:00

What does it take to be a "runner"? Do I qualify. I run 3-4 days a week. And I have now run as far as 8 miles in one run. I am signed up for and training for a half marathon. But does that make me a runner? I sure don't feel like a runner. And while I plan (at this time) to continue to participate in races and half-marathons; I plan to continue to run 3-4 times a week; I gotta be honest with you all ..... I don't think I enjoy running. And that sort of bums me out. Because I want to like it. Hopefully my problem is that my running at this time is primarily on a treadmill. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that THAT is my real issue here; that once I get outside with the sunshine on my face and shoulders and a breeze in my hair - I'll catch the running bug and be addicted!

Ran 8 miles last Saturday - new milestone!

I want to take just a minute to revisit a monster from my past. By the time I had graduated high school I had never successfully run more than about a mile and a half without stopping to walk a while. By the time I was 31 I had never run more than about 2 miles without stopping to rest or to walk a while. I have now run 7 miles without stopping at all. (I took a much needed potty break with my recent 8 mile run - hehe). I think I'll pat myself on the back today. And when I finish that half marathon in a little over 2 weeks - I think I might reward myself. Not sure what my reward will be yet. But I believe I will have earned SOMETHING!

Depositing $12. Max $10 for workouts and fruits and veggies and $2 for the 8 mile milestone.

Code Name: TORTOISE MJ Week 23

2009-02-25T13:36:00.000-08:00

Doop.....D.....Doop...
D....Doop...Doop....Doop....
Doop...DOOP!

I'm still here. Still moving. Slowly but surely!

$10

xoMJ

Adventures in NOTHING by Jj

2009-02-25T11:04:00.000-08:00

Seriously . . my life is so freaking lame right now. About 80% of the time I don't even bother getting ready for the day. I find it pointless. And when I do, I throw on a headband or a hat and grab whatever jeans are at the top of the pile. Other than going to church, I don't recall the last time I put on makeup. But hey, at least I shower every couple of days. Oh, and to top it off, this morning I realized that I'm about 8 weeks from the two year mark in my home which means that if it sells in the next 8 weeks, then I'll be charged capital gain taxes. So, I could wait another month before listing it but if I find a job and have to move then I'm still SOL because I actually have to LIVE in the house for two years to prevent the taxes. Now I'm totally lost and don't know what to do.

But, on a happier note, I've got a lot of time to go to the gym and I've been doing a lot of hard work around my house so I'm burning more. So I've lost the couple extra pounds that I put on in the last couple of weeks and I'm back to where I was (but I've gained a little in inches that aren't gone yet) - which is the same as I weighed at 16 so that deserves a little mini party.

Depositing $9 for this week.

PS This makes it sound like I'm really depressed, but I'm not. I'm just a little lost. I'll figure it all out eventually. Wish me luck.

Maria Week 23 - Totally Bummed!

2009-02-24T15:55:00.000-08:00

So the totally cute guy checking me out at the gym is totally not checking me out afterall. I am so bummed!

That's twice now I've been disappointed at the gym. The first time was when some guys started whistling at me and I turned around to discover they are my brother-in-laws buddies. Not that THAT alone makes it disappointing - but clearly they weren't whistling at me cuz they think I'm hot.

Oh, well.....I still have Kyle Whittingham.

Anyway .... depositing max $10 for workouts and fruits and veggies.
Narrowly missed a milestone as I mentioned in my Jordan River Parkway post. Bummed about that too. Darn it!

Jordan River Parkway

2009-02-22T19:38:00.000-08:00

Nearly a year ago - I took a walk along the Jordan River Parkway. I started at 12300 South and walked as far as I could stand. I felt like I had walked forever and there was no end to the Parkway. It made me very curious. It had to end eventually and I wanted to know where. But it was clearly too far for me to ever able to find unless I was on a bike. Well....that was last year. This year - I am strong enough to find the end of the Parkway. And it wasn't walking it - it was running it!!!!!!

Only....the thing is....I didn't really find it. I ran into a residential area and thought that was the end. Called it quits, turned around, and ran all the way back to the beginning.

I got onto www.mapmyrun.com to map out how far I had run - the goal was 7 miles. And the beautiful satellite photos of the parkway and my running trail showed me that 1- it was NOT the end of the parkway at all! It continued on after the residential area. And 2 - I had only run about 6.7 miles! DANG IT!

So I missed a milestone this week. Next week is my scheduled 8 mile run so - I should hit that milestone and just bypass the 7 mile one altogether. Oh, well! Whatcha gonna do?

But I am very proud of myself because that was my first time running on the road and not on a treadmill. Holy crap - you use completely different muscles on the road vs a treadmill and I was SORE! It helped build my confidence and that is a good thing. Moab doesn't look quite so scary anymore.

Good Fortune. . . MJ Week 22

2009-02-19T09:09:00.000-08:00

Well, look who missed Wednesday! Sorry about that!

It was a pretty good week for me. I'm still not exercising at the capacity I would like to be but I'm getting there. I overdid it a little bit on Tuesday and consequently, I paid for it yesterday. The hard part is taking it slow. I wish I could run!

The highlight of my week was a little slip of paper from a fortune cookie.

I don't like fortune cookies but it's always fun to read the fortune. Once in a while you get a good one! I can't wait to be on vacation! When I read my fortune I immediately thought of you girls! (My kids thought about our upcoming trip to Disneyland.) It really is nice to have a week with the girls in my future! We'll have to get together before the trip to buy big floppy sunhats and coordinating toenail polish!

I tried the bread that Maria suggested and it is great! I have never really paid much attention to what I was eating until I joined this fitness challenge. Now I look at all of the nutrition labels. Eating healthy has been very rewarding. Although, they do have Easter Candy in the stores. It is right next to the discounted Valentine candy! What is a girl to do? I'll tell you what I did this morning...I walked right by and then headed to the produce section and picked out some avocados, carrots and cauliflower!

$10

xoMJ

Being home all day DOES NOT help my diet... by Jj

2009-02-18T11:28:00.000-08:00

So since I got home from Vegas I've been trying to get to the gym more but I've been spending multiple hours online each day job hunting and haven't gotten in as much as I'd like. I've discovered that I've got to be much more careful about my diet and my food journal when I'm just sitting here all day. It's SO hard to remember to record things when it's just sitting there and I forget I even ate it. Ugh. I'm starting over again today and I AM going to do better. I gained a pound and a half and I just can't afford to go backwards right now. Of course, I did weigh myself at 11am instead of 8 like I normally do which I know could make a huge difference too. I'll weigh myself again tomorrow just to check it again. I'll be depositing $7.50 this week.

Oh . . and for my funny story of the week. You should have seen this guy on the treadmill last night! He seriously looked like a young version of Muhammad Ali. He was dancing around on the treadmill like he thought he was at a club. It was so entertaining that I almost fell off the elliptical. Hilarious.

Rachel has offical lost "it"

2009-02-18T07:36:00.000-08:00

Well ladies I have lost the proverbial "it". Which I think is my mind. I'm completely lost on which day we are actually living - in other words I posted on Monday completely thinking it was Tuesday or did I? Wait.....what day did I post on this week? Yep, it was Monday. Time has lost meaning! I've forgotten piano lessons and all sorts of things.

How do you re-energize your memory. Maybe I need a dose of sunshine too. I feel so...so...so blond. sorry Jj

Maria Week 22

2009-02-17T09:00:00.000-08:00

My focus is back on running. I have 1 month until my half marathon and I feel like I have really slacked off recently. I have a training coach and that is helping a lot in the motivation department - as well as keeping me on track.
As a result of shifting my focus to only running I have been forced to take some "rest" days - which are primarily days where I work out much lighter and for a shorter amount of time. Because let's face it - I WILL NOT take a real rest day. So I do what I can. And that may equate to smaller deposits each week.
Also, I have been avoiding weighing myself since that is no longer an issue for me - and because I was honestly obsessing about it.
Oh, and I fell of the wagon again with recording my foods. Gotta get back on that! Starting today!
I hit 6 miles again in my running and I am on track to go 7 this week so I should have another milestone week next week! YAY!

Depositing $12.00 - max for workouts and fruits and veggies and $2 for the 6 mile milestone

Rachel's 22nd week

2009-02-16T20:13:00.000-08:00

Back in a slump.

Depositing $3 for workouts

rachel week 21

2009-02-12T16:33:00.000-08:00

umm.... not a very good week. only exercised twice! Knee has been hurting me since I fell while ice skating.

$4 :)

ADVENTURES IN FIBER MJ Week 21

2009-02-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

Since I've been working on making sure I get enough fiber, I thought it might be fun to do a little product review. I'm sure you've seen the FiberOne products. Maybe you've tried them. How can you resist? So much of your daily fiber in just one granola bar or one bowl of cereal.

Well, I tried the Honey Clusters cereal a couple of months ago and they were pretty good. They weren't as sweet at Honey Bunches of Oats (my favorite breakfast cereal) but I thought the extra fiber made up for it. My kids liked them too, which translates as a thumbs up in my world.

Then I decided to try the Caramel Delight. They weren't quite a delight though. Both thumbs down! They offer about as much interest to the taste buds as a bowl of packing peanuts!

You win some & you lose some.

$10
xoMJ

The Rain in Spain Stays Mainly on the Plane

2009-02-11T21:58:00.000-08:00

But whenever I go on a trip, it stays where ever I am. Maybe I should take a plane to Spain and see what happens. hhmmm . . . Seriously?!? Why is it that EVERYTIME I go on a trip I get rained out? Don't get me wrong, I still had a good time but it made for a very cold weekend.

Sadly, because of the pouring and I really mean POURING (I'm using a lot of caps but that seems to be the only way to get my point across, but I'm open to suggestions) on Saturday. Well, really it was raining just about every day but we'll get to that later. So our hashing even was canceled. Actually, Aeon (Jana's BF) still went but we decided to go shopping instead. Much more useful in my opinion.

We went rock climbing on Sunday (don't judge - I was communing with nature). But it was so freezing cold that I only made it about 3/4 the way up the mountain before I had to come down because my hands were frozen and I couldn't grip the rock anymore. I think I was only about 5 feet from the sunshine and warm rock but I just couldn't handle it anymore. So I went hiking with some other people in our group to warm up instead. So either way, I got in some good exercise. I've got pictures but I haven't transferred them to my computer so I've attached some random photos from First Friday instead. I'll get you rock climbing pictures for next weeks post. (Ignore the guy trying to lick my cheek. That's Jana's BF.)

Unfortunately, the diet journal went out the window. I tried to keep track of some stuff on my iPod but when you're staying with someone else and random people are cooking you dinner you can't really go asking for the recipe so you can calculate the calories and digging for a measuring cup to make sure you only get one serving. Well, I guess you could but if you ever want to be invited back, I would advise otherwise.

Luckily, Jana and Aeon and friends are all pretty healthy eaters. I'm sure I probably went over on carbs more than once, but I think I did pretty good on calories. No milestones to report, but I didn't gain anything either. Maybe I should make that a milestone. I seem to be good at that one. And I know this isn't a milestone, but I'm excited about it so I'm going to report it anyway . . . I've gone down at least a full pant size. Before I was wearing a 10-12 but now I'm a pretty solid 8. I could stand to lose another 3 lbs to make them fit PERFECTLY and that will happen but I needed new jeans because the old ones kept falling off so I decided to just go with it. Whoohoo! Anyway, depositing the max of $10 this week.

And since I've got nothing but time on my hands for a while, I'm going to try to spend a lot more time in the gym for the next few weeks. If I don't find something to entertain me I may just totally lose my mind.

Maria Week 21

2009-02-10T09:10:00.000-08:00

I made another attempt at bootcamp. I am happy to report that I burned approximately 400 calories in the 45 minutes I was in class. I am sad to report that I was only in class for 45 minutes instead of the full hour because my toes couldn't take it anymore. I felt the skin rip this time and stopped immediately. Fortunately, it was the old injuries simply reopening and not any new injuries. So I should heal very quicly - in fact, I felt pretty good the very next day.
Huge day for me on Saturday and then again on Monday. I burned more than 1600 calories on both of those days in my workouts alone!
Depositing max $12 for workouts and fruits and veggies (more fruits than veggies I'm afraid) plus a milestone - 1 week of keeping my food journal.

WAY TOO MUCH time on my hands . . .

2009-02-05T14:56:00.000-08:00

and yet, still accomplishing nothing. Sorry I didn't get my post in on Wednesday. I was busy packing and cleaning up my house to go out of town. I'm not on my computer so I don't have all of my records, but I'm pretty sure I've met the max of $10. If not, I'll correct it again next week. I seem to be doing that a lot lately. My bad. I did lose another pound this week which means . . . I OFFICIALLY weigh the same as I did at 16!! Now, just another 5 to go and I'll weigh what my license says I do. Now, if only I could actually still fit in my old uniforms. Oh those were the days.

I should have a much more exciting week to report on next week. Jana and I are going Hashing on Saturday, minus the beer and the four letter words (it's not what you think, follow the link and check it out) and rock climbing Sunday or Monday. So as long as I don't fall off the face of the mountain it should be all good. ohohoh . . and I'm going shopping for new jeans! Gotta get some that fit as everything that I own now is falling off. Sad - but in a good way.

MJ Week 20

2009-02-05T13:00:00.000-08:00

I hope you ladies know how much I love you!

$9.00

xoMJ

Rachel's week 20

2009-02-04T21:46:00.000-08:00

I meant to do this last night but here we are doing it on Wednesday night! I love Wednesdays *please note previous comment is dripping with sarcasm!*
I'm waiting to loose 3 more pounds..... plateau?

This week did well with life just found out that our elementary is going to go from year-round to a traditional schedule!! I wonder how this is going to be???????

$10 deposit

Maria Week 20

2009-02-04T10:56:00.001-08:00

Gosh....can't think of anything exciting to say. Nothing really out of the ordinary happened this week. Nothing noteworthy or praiseworthy.
I will report, so that I actually have something to say, that I am now the points leader in the Sanders health and fitness challenge. Just need to hang on to that. If you want to check it out .... http://sanderslosers.blogspot.com/
I haven't ran another long distance since my crazy work week and then my injured toes and I'm scared to death to try that again and find that I am horribly out of shape :-( Oh, my toes are all healed - that's something, I guess.
Going to try and log my food again - I think I may have gotten a bit off track so I added a new goal with regards to that.

Well, depositing the max $10 for workouts and fruits and veggies.

Thanks ladies for all your love and support! And thanks to any and all of our followers!

Rachel's 18th week

2009-01-29T11:51:00.000-08:00

Oops it's Thursday!

I'm doing much better on exercising. Last night I even played...oh wait that's for week 19 so you'll have to wait!

Marion I think that it is awesome that you are finding a way to have this program help you feel and be successful. Way to go!

I love my morphing caterpillars! We are going to be so beautiful!

Depositing $10

PS I havae to admit my posts are very boring!

Dedicated to Men Who Attempt Yoga . . by Jj

2009-01-27T22:21:00.000-08:00

I've got one word for you (and then a whole bunch more) . . OUCH! Monday night I took a pilates class which wasn't too bad. I could feel it in my thighs on Tuesday. Then Tuesday night I took a yoga class. (That may have been a mistake but I'll get over it when I fit into a smaller pair of jeans.) And now I'm really feeling it. I slept with a heating pad on my back. Stupid degenerative disc disease. Who's bright idea was it to use alliteration to make something so painful still sound cute?

But, even though I was in a bit of pain through most of the class, I had to fight with myself not to laugh my way out of all of my balance poses because of the group of college age guys that were in the back of the class. Bless their hearts, they were trying so hard. The poor teacher kept having to go back there and correct everything they were doing wrong. She probably got more of a cardio workout than anything else from having to run back and forth. But hopefully they'll see the benefit and keep coming.

Oh, another random note . . about six weeks ago I'd gone to the gym on a Tuesday night and done some cardio before my yoga class. When I went back to the locker room to get my mat there was a woman in there who asked me what class I was going to. She'd never tried yoga before so I convinced her that she should give it a shot. And she's been in the class every night since! Look at me go, influencing the already skinny to try yoga and make me look chubby. I'm a giver, that's for sure.

As for this week, I did pretty good on my workouts and F&V's. I'll be depositing the max of $10. And when it comes to measurements and milestones . . . I lost an inch around my waist and my sexy muffin top. I would like to make a joker here about how sad I am that I now have less to hold onto but I just can't think of anything clever so I'll leave it alone. So my grand total this week is $14 plus $0.50 from last week since I was just guessing. Pretty good guess, I think.

And one last thing . . I found a body mass index calculator that I like better than the one we were using before. It's much simpler. Now might be a good time to recalculate where you are and what your weight loss goals may be so we can reassess and plan out our goals.

MJ Has Been Thinking! WEEK19

2009-01-27T18:30:00.000-08:00

OK . . .

I've been thinking . . .

I need to make some changes .

If I don't, I might not be able to earn my vacation money in time. And I really need a vacation about now!

Our original guidelines allow money to be earned by doing workouts, eating fruits and veggies and hitting milestones. It's a great plan. However, because my hip injury is still haunting me, I can't work out as aggressively as I would like. Therefore, my vacation money isn't building very fast.

As you know, I am a big fan of fitness. I think exercise is essential. But I also think that nutrition, water intake, sleep and other factors have an invaluable impact on one's quality of life. I would like to factor these things into my personal fitness plan and earn vacation money with them. Most importantly, these things will help me in my quest to achieve balance in life.

So, here is my new plan:

*Toning and strength training = $1 each workout

*8 glasses of H2O = 25 cents per day
(Potentially $1.75 per week.)

*Staying within my daily carbohydrate limit = 25 cents per day
(Potentially $1.75 per week.)

*Meeting fiber intake = 25 cents per day
(You guessed it! Potentially $1.75 per week.)

*Getting 6-8 hours of sleep = 25 cents per night.
(Yada. Yada.)

I am not putting anything down about protein or fat because it will max my $10 limit. And the items above are the ones I tend to struggle with.
I love you, Mountain Dew!

As for milestones:

*Yoga every Saturday for a month.

*1 inch lost from trouble spots.
I won't count inches lost from my legs or my behind everywhere else is fair game.

*3 miles on the treadmill in one workout.
After I meet this milestone consecutively for 4 weeks, I will add a mile and work toward the new total for my next milestone. 4 miles, 5 miles, 6 miles etc. I'm going for distance rather than time because of what I affectionately call my old lady hip. Yep, I walk about as fast as a senior citizen these days.

And That, Ladies, Is My New Plan!!

$6.50

xoMJ

school.discoveryeducation.com

Maria Week 19

2009-01-27T10:06:00.000-08:00

This was a rough week for me at work. Busy, busy, busy. But I LOVE IT! This was the week of our quarterly sales meetings and I got to hang out with all of my remote sales guys. Keeps me busy, but I am NOT complaining. It did, however, impact my workouts a bit. Don't get me wrong - I'm a freaking die hard! I still got in at least an hour everyday. And I found the time to take a few measurements.
I lost an inch around my ribs, an inch in my waist, half an inch in my hips. Fortunately nothing in my butt, but unfortunately, half an inch in my chest :-(
So...that's a milestone for my waist!
I took a bootcamp class on Monday. WOW! What a workout! Unfortunately I wasn't wearing the right shoes for the class and I now have two huge ruptured blisters - one on the bottom of each foot. Looks like I'll be taking it easy for a day or two :-(

RIGHT FOOT

LEFT FOOT

Depositing $10.50

Clowns to the Left of Me - Jokers to the Right . . . by Jj

2009-01-21T21:38:00.000-08:00

So last week I was at the gym . . it was probably two weeks ago but whatever. I was on the elliptical and there was nothing on TV so I was people watching. On the front row there was this guy, probably 25 years old or so, and a good 30 lbs overweight (mostly around the middle, first time I've ever noticed a guy with a muffin top). He was wearing very large baggy basketball shorts (typical) and sneakers. And he obviously though he was pretty hot stuff. I could see him checking people out and watching all of the women around the gym. He had longer hair and he kept running his hands through it and shaking it out of his face. All of that is fairly normal, but the one detail I left out is the best part. He was wearing a skintight metallic purple shirt that was about two sizes too small. It had 3/4 length sleeves and a rounded bottom like a dress shirt so it kept riding up around his middle and he kept tugging it down (in between hair sweeps). I tried to take a picture of him with my cell but I was moving too quickly and it was just a big purple blur . . I think we shall call him "Puplur".

Okay, now onto the real post. There's something wrong with BodyDaemon at the moment so I can't log into to figure out exactly what my workouts were so I'm going to guess. I'm thinking it's going to be about $8.00 for workouts and diet (I'll figure it out for sure when I can get back in and correct it next week). I lost another pound this week but I still need one more before I hit another milestone. I lost a 1/2" around my waist which is good because I haven't seen any progress there since the middle of October and I really want my 26" waist back. Ohoh . . I also lost another inch around my ribs but it's not a milestone. I just think it's cool. I'm really hoping that I can lose another 4-5 lbs before I go to Vegas next month (planning on doing some shopping for some new jeans) but I don't think it's going to happen. I just don't lose that quickly and I'm leaving in two weeks. Oh, and get this! I gained another 1/2" around my chest! Seriously . . HOW does that happen? If I'd known it was possible I would have done this years ago. Maybe by the time we're done I'll rival Marion or Maria! HAHAHA! It's okay, you can laugh.

Next weeks story. . how Janis had to walk out of kickboxing half way through because she was having a hard time keeping her lungs down. When is this cough going to go away?? I blame el nino. Okay, it's probably the inversion but el nino is so much more fun to say.

PS I've got that song stuck in my head now. Hope you do too. ;0) Thank you Lynard Skynard.

Rachel's week 18

2009-01-21T11:15:00.000-08:00

Wow we've been at this for 18 weeks!

It has been a very interesting time. I have discovered that I am mad at my body! Well, maybe that I just feel betrayed by my body and I think that it is broken. I've really only been "trying to exercise" because I didn't want to let down my butterfly girls. If it wasn't for this challenge I would have given into my ice cream self (plain Jane Vanilla for me!) and just let the fat hang! eww gross!! However, because of my Butterfly Girls I didn't. So thank you ladies! I'm not completely healed yet, which I think will take a life time, but I'm off my butt and trying to do it all. So some days I'll still just exercise to not disappoint but I'm beginning to do a little bit for me!

Thanks for the love and support!

$6 for work outs and toning
$0 for veggies/fruits because I indulged in too much birthday ice cream even though there was a banana included in my split with all sorts of sugary toppings!

MJ

2009-01-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

As far as exercise goes, I feel like I'm in The Great Depression! I miss my daily routine. All of those endorphins that I was getting on a regular basis were so great! Plus, I really miss my workout buddies! It won't be long now until I'm back up to working out daily but it feels like forever when you can't physically do the things you are used to.

I need to give credit to my butterfly girls! If it weren't for you, I might have just given up and surrendered myself to a life of Ben & Jerry's and The Big Bang Theory. (I'm not a big dairy person but the New York Super Fudge Chunk is delicious!!! I'm also not a big nerd person but Sheldon cracks me up!)

Thanks girls. Even though I am unable workout the way I want to right now, this fitness challenge keeps me on track with nutrition and water intake. I am so excited for our vacation together! I hope we will make this fitness challenge a lifelong adventure! I would love to vacation with you girls every year for the rest of my life!

2.00 toning
3.50 fruits and veggies

xoMJ

Maria Week 18

2009-01-21T07:26:00.000-08:00

I was thinking back about the week and felt like I hadn't been strong...but as I actually looked through my calendar I realized that it's really only been the last few days. I started off really strong. But Saturday my usual instructor wasn't there so I followed a different routine. Not as much strength and it threw me off. Then Monday and Tuesday evenings I had work meetings/dinners so I didn't get to do my two-a-days and missed my abs class so that has made me feel even more off. But prior to Saturday I was strong and so will finish this week out great anyway!
I am going to get to deposit the max for workouts and eating my fruits and veggies. Also, I not only hit, but surpassed my next milestone weight this morning! 116.6 That's puts me 1.6 lbs from my goal and 1.6 lbs away from my next milestone weight!
So depositing $12 for max workouts and a milestone

Fat Free Honey Mustard for Jj

2009-01-20T14:02:00.001-08:00

HONEY MUSTARD SAUCE (FAT FREE)
8 parts Fat Free mayonnaise 2 parts Heinz mustard 1 part sugar 1 part honey Mix mustard, sugar and honey together. Then add the mayonnaise. Blend and serve. www.cooks.com