Day 9

101.5 fever today. Had 0 energy. Doctor put me on an antibiotic. Still considered doing the workout but decided that was crazy. lol. See Mim's comment from Day 1 of the experiment, lol. Woah. So I don't know if this a coincidence or if Jillian really does almost kill you. (hee-hee) I am determined to only take 1 or 2 days off. We'll see though. Maybe that is her plan to make people sick enough that they can't eat cupcakes and therefore lose 20 lbs... ;)

Day 8

So I've been doing this just over a week now and it feels like a lot longer. Level 2 again today. Just as hard as the last time. Jillian needs to hold her stretches longer at the end and do a longer cool-down for killing us.

I tried to convince Greg to do this experiment with me but he said no thank you... I think this workout would be great for/kill anyone.

Beautiful for me

BEAUTIFUL FOR ME Lyrics
Nichole Nordeman
Every girl young and old has to face her own reflection
Twirl around, stare it down
What’s the mirror gonna say
With some luck, you’ll measure up
But you might not hold a candle to the rest
“Is that your best?” says the mirror to the mess
But there’s a whisper in the noise
Can you hear a little voice
and he says

Has anybody told you you’re beautiful?
You might agree if you could see what I see
Oh
‘Cuz everything about you is incredible
You should have seen me smile the day that I made you beautiful for me
If it’s true beauty lies in the eye of the beholder
What my life and what’s inside to give him something to behold
I want a heart that’s captivating
I wanna hear my Father say

Has anybody told you you’re beautiful?
You might agree if you could see what I see
Oh
‘Cuz everything about you is incredible
You should have seen me smile the day that I made you beautiful for me
Close your eyes
Look inside
Let me see the you that you’ve been trying to hide
Long ago, I made you so very beautiful
So I ought to know you’re beautiful

Has anybody told you you’re beautiful?
You might agree if you could see what I see
Yeah
‘Cuz everything about you is incredible
You should have seen me smile the day that I made you beautiful
You’re so beautiful
Beautiful for me
So beautiful for me
Has anybody told you?

Day 7

So this morning I decided to do level two even though I am not perfectly awesome at level 1. I just needed a change and a new challenge. I got it.

Jillian - "You should feel like you are about to die."

Check.

It was a really good workout.

So the only downside that I can see to this video is that she is two for two for saying "ass" one time in each workout. Level 1 - "We're gonna kick ourselves in the ___. Level 2 - "This workout is gonna kick your ___." She's not lying, however not very good when there are kids coming in and out of the room. ;) I'll let you know about level 3 in a few days.

Simple Solutions: Turn the volume down and turn on your own music. Or you could use it to teach them that we shouldn't say that word....

Day 6

Per your request here is the daily post. :D

I am diggin' this workout. I love that I can commit only 20 minutes and I feel tired and that I worked every body part when I am finished and that I am still sore. I love that I have to grit my teeth and hold my breath to finish these dang shoulder exercises. lol. I also like that it is not as taxing on the knees as running. Still down one pound but I can now wear a pair of shorts that I could zip up but that were obscenely tight. Now they are just a little tight as opposed to obscenely tight. These are ok to wear in public now...with a longer t-shirt maybe. lol. I should have started out with measurements maybe. That would have been a better sign of progress at this point in the game. I can tell the biggest difference in my arms so far but I think that many times women lose weight from top to bottom. Looking forward to the bottom. ;) I can totally tell that my abs are getting stonger and my baby belly is pulling in a bit. Puffing down as Meadow says.

Purple Blankie love still going strong

When Meadow was a baby she fell in love with purple blankie. A lady in our ward made it and Meadow loved to work her little tiny fingers in and out of the crocheted holes and it helped her self soothe. She was my easiest baby to get to sleep. Short cuddle and a kiss and tuck her in on her side with purple blankie. I fell in love with purple blankie too. As a toddler, she walked around with it everywhere. We called her Purple Blanket babushka. During this time purple blanket was accidentally left under a table at a disney world. It was gone when we went back for it. :( We checked and called the lost and found daily. Left our name and number when we left incase it ever turned up. Meanwhile, I commissioned lovely lady in our ward to please make another one as soon as possible! We had it 5 days later. During this time Meadow grudgingly slept with white blanky (also crocheted) and the only one she would even consider. On our recent beach trip the kids and I were checking out the hotel gift shop while Greg and his parents were checking us in and purple blanket accidentally got dropped and left there. We didn't know that it was missing until later that night and we didn't know where it could be. The next day on our way down to the pool, Parker spotted purple blanky up at the front desk! Yes! I quickly went and retrieved our old friend. Pictured below is Meadow crying tears of joy. I have since learned to make these blankets. I think I will be making a twin size purple blanky for her to take to college one day. :) We love our precious Meadow girl.

Day 5

Did not want to sweat with Jillian this morning. But I did it anyway. Still sore. Used 2 lb ketchup bottles instead of my 5 lb weights because my arms wouldn't obey me and lift the things. 2 lbs was good. Maybe they will recover a bit. Definitely see some small changes. Change is good. :)

Lost a follower. lol. Maybe these posts are annoying. I didn't actually know this person so maybe the rest of the readers will be more tolerant of my self-motivation. Maybe I'll change to weekly or bi-weekly Jillian posts. Don't worry there will be some hopefully non-annoying normal posts too. ;) ;)

Day 4

Nothing very new to report today. Push-ups are getting easier! Staying the same weight wise. Building some muscle back. Meadow: "Mom! I see your arm muscles!" " I see the bumps in your arms!" "You look like her (Jillian) (hehehee, not quite but thanks for the encouragement)." :)

Day 3

Sore all over. This is a good sign. 20 minutes seems very long sometimes. heh heh. I find it funny how quickly I expect results. I'm like it's been three days shouldn't my old jeans fit again? No such luck. I do FEEL better however. :)

Day 3 - lost 1 lb. Woooo!

Day 2

Whew. Day 2 of the workout after a break on Sunday. My arms are really sore. Jillian is tough. The kids call her "Miss bossy pants." lol. They did it with me this morning using half full water bottles for weights. It was pretty hilarious. I think she just might whip me into shape. It feels good to push your body to this state at any rate. :) :)


0 lbs lost but muscle weighs more than fat so we'll hope that will change in a few more days...

Be still my soul

We sang this song in church today. It always brings tears to my eyes. I love the words. He is our best and heavenly Friend. :)


Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Jillian Michaels 30 day shred experiment - Day 1

Today I found my motivation while I was cleaning out a closet. I found an unopened dvd "Jillian Michaels (trainer from biggest loser) 30 day shred." I remember buying it when I was pregnant in the clearance bin at the grocery store for $7. I remember thinking I will use this to help lose the bebe weight. Across the front is the tag line "Lose up to 20 lbs in 30 days." Sweet. That happens to be the exact amount I'd like to get rid of. :) Here we go Jillian. Shred me! She has 30 day meal plans online to follow for your body type too. This is exciting. I'll report to my blogger buddies to keep me motivated. Also, I have a quiet house to jump around in because Liam is asleep and Greg took the other 2 camping yesterday. :) I am going to skip Sundays so this might be the 34 day experiment.

Wrightsville Beach

Parker tracked out recently for the last time until second grade. Eeeek! It all seems too soon! His grandparents made his dreams come true by taking the family to the beach (Thank you, thank you!!) :) We went to Wrightsville, It was beautiful although a little on the chilly side with the wind. Liam didn't care for the beach very much but he did briefly enjoy his first dip in an indoor pool. I think he enjoyed it for about 4 minutes and then he was done. :) Polar Bear Parker was the only one brave enough to swim in the outdoor pool. I got half way in. It was like ICE water. Whew!







Polar Bear Parker





Water Ballet :)









We ate at a restaurant that had really neat art in it. Greg worked on a shoot about this particular artist. His name is Ivey Hayes. He is an older african american painter with severe arthritis and he has to hold the paintbrush in a fist to paint. Amazing. I love the colors! There was also a really great band playing outside that we could hear through the window. Awesome. :)





Then on to explore Johnny Mercer's Pier. It had changed so much since I had been there last. They tore the wooden pier down (in 2004 we heard) and built this concrete one in it's place. It didn't seem right. Maybe it will just take getting used to. Also they charge admission now to walk on it (boo!). But it was pretty fun and on the floor of the pier there are some metal grates that allow you to see through to the ocean and make you dizzy to walk on. The kids were super excited to see and touch a Barracuda that a fisherman had caught.













They had the most fun flying their kite. There is no wind like the beach wind for kite flyin.' :)












The next day we explored the battleship downtown and ate at Trolly Stop Hot Dogs. I recommend the "Surfer Dog" with cheese and vegetarian bacon bits. Greg recommends the "Chicago Dog" with chicago sauce (vinigrette?) tomatoes and cucumbers. Liam recommends the ice water. It's great for teething. :)















But my favorite favorite part of the trip was when Greg and I got to go explore the end of Wrightsville Beach all by our lonesome. The kids wanted to stay in and watch cartoons with Grandma and Grandpa. A storm was coming in and we had the place almost to ourselves and it was gorgeous, quiet, peaceful, quiet, peaceful time with my sweets. It was fun to walk way out and look for shells, You find much better ones out there.







Dividing the spoils. One for me, one for you. :)

Field Trip!

Remember the magical days of elementary school field trips? The excitement of going somewhere new on the bus with the kids in your class...eating your lunch there...missing most of the regular work for the day...

It was fun for me to go with Parker on a first grade field trip to Laurel Hills Park in Raleigh and to see the stars in their eyes. :) We split up in groups of 5 and helped them go on nature scavenger hunts. It was pretty fun. We even found a bonus 3 snakes (they weren't on the list). Then a park guide talked to them about aquatic animals and the food chain and set us free with a net and a bucket of water at the edge of the pond. The kids in the groups took turns scooping up pond water/muck and then sorting through it to see what we could find. We found water snails. sun fish, minnows, clams and the most exciting of all...a bullfrog tadpole that Parker was lucky enough to scoop out. He was so big. We put him in a jar for a little while so everyone could see him. Parker named him "Taddie." When he set him free back into the pond he said "I hope you have a nice life Taddie." :D One of the groups found a leech, and another scooped out a baby yellow bellied slider turtle. It was a great time!




A Mushroom!







Parker with his Teacher Mrs. Zaccardo.

Easter Part II

We felt like our poor children were deprived since they had never dyed Easter Eggs (since they are allergic to eggs) so we decided to let them. They do have a shell after all and we boiled them first. We just warned them to be super careful not to crack them. They had a blast and carried them around for a couple of hours before we rescued them and put them in the fridge. Greg got tired of eating them so I made a potato salad to help them disappear. :)






Easter morning they were pretty excited to find a bubble gum egg trail leading to their baskets. Liam especially liked his rubber ducky.










After church we took pictures in the park, came home and ate lunch and then had an egg hunt outside. Thanks Easter Bunny, bock, bock. :)