I'm a winner, you're a winner...

everyone's a winner. okay, the FOUR of you. email me your mailing addresses and keep an eye on your mailboxes. allison, I can send your treat to germany, if you'd like...!!

in other news, I have spent the last four days at lake wabaman with Connie and Ty. as a result, I have a lovely sunburn [AGAIN] and I haven't been to a yoga class in 4 days. EEEEKKKKKK! good thing there's a weekend, so I can get back on track!

have a great, safe long weekend! [oh, and only 7 more sleeps until we leave for osoyoos. YIPPIE!!!!]

I am a dork

really. you all know it. I'm just stating the facts! as I type, there have been 10013 visitors to my lovely blog-o-rama! last week I had said that I was going to post a picture of some blog-candy. YEAH. like THAT happened. seriously, I just forgot. REGARDLESS, today is the day. there is no picture, but I will randomly choose someone from the comments left between today [it's 9:46 MST] and wednesday sometime [let's be random and say...9:46 MST???]. I would do it tomorrow, but I am out at the lake and will be forgetting in a mass of martini or margarita!

this is what the winner will receive: [I was contemplating this during yoga class tonight...] a handmade accordion album using all current SU! product. I will mail it to you and you can just SLAP in your pictures!!

there it is!

and in other random news...

I was up a pound at WW this week. DAMN my crazy hips. this is HARD, HARD work. I drove directly to yoga and sweated it all out [gross, I know!]. yesterday and today I have been fighting a feeling of defeat, although my head knows I am not a loser [am a loser? mmmm.] my heart is having a rough go of it.

so my word of the week is PERSEVERE. HOLD ON. KEEP GOING. DON'T GIVE IN. DON'T GIVE UP. KEEP REACHING. HOLD TIGHT. PERSEVERE. when I get into this space I typically cave. I eat junk and stop moving and gain back every last pound and more. not this time. I had a seriously great yoga class today and if anything, I am getting stronger. I AM STRONG. this whole weight thing will NOT beat me. so, here's the deal. whatever you are going through, just keep holding on with me. WE CAN DO IT!!! [no, don't start with the Bob the Builder chant!].

leave comments - otherwise Susan or Kathy will win by default!!

xoxo!

almost 10 000!

perhaps there needs to be some celebratory blog candy. let me see what I can cook up for tomorrow - I'll post pics...THEN, you'll have to actually leave comments. shocking, I know! but that is how it works, folks. mmmm...my mind is a going...what kinds of sweet treats [sweet in awesome, not just sweet as in opposite of salty!] can I dream up?

I'll let you know tomorrow!!!

my sweet baby...

is SIX! EEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKK!!!! hard to believe that my first born has been on this planet for six years. John & I had a moment tonight looking at some photos...of which I'll share with you. in the meantime, here are six things that I love about my Nate:

1. he has an amazing memory [just like his father!]

2. he is kind to others [not always family, but ALWAYS to others!]

3. he is sensitive and often overwhelmed when people are nice to him

4. he gives the best bear hugs

5. he always gives me a hug on both sides and a kiss on both cheeks when I leave the house

6. he is curious and imaginative [dare I say, like me?? LOL]

happy birthday, son. I LOVE YOU!

I DID IT

okay, so yoga is tough. it's physically tough, but I have a hard, hard time with dizziness. it's getting better, since I am getting use to the ups and downs of the poses and with drinking more water. trying to smile more and not clenching my teeth totally helps. so yesterday night I tackeld "THE CAMEL". okay to look at this pose, it totally seems impossible [okay, in this picture it TOTALLY is!] but every time I go to to lean back on this pose, I totally get a huge head rush and it puts me in la-la land. well yesterday, I leaned back and grabbed my ankles and held on for dear life! and then I did it again today. yup. I rock. okay - just looking at this picture and I'm scared...do not be mis-led. I do not do this...yet!

and this is Monday

so, a morning of CRANKED music and some rockstars doing their thing...[I believe we were listening to "maneater" by nelly furtado], a trip to the library and then to the park with the cousins [bottom picture!!]. a good monday!

video killed the radio star

okay folks...let's see if this worked!! enjoy!!! it's a bit grainy - I think I must have saved it funny. AND, because it's grainy and weird, you can't see the subtitles under the "insert witty title" which was me trying to be funny. yeah. I just look like I forgot to insert title. LOL

a lovely little storm

so we had a bit of wind through here last night. LOL okay, enough wind to have us racing upstairs to shut all the windows when it felt like the house was going to come down around us. fortunately, the kids slept right through it. the only damage was to a tree in front, and it wasn't even bad damage...just a dislocated branch. there was a tree that got split in half on our street. literally. half of the tree is on the street!

I went to yoga this afternoon. HOLY FULL CLASSROOM, BATMAN! how many sweaty people can you fit into a room and NOT get someone else's sweat on you. yeah. LOL however, I had a great class - a great workout! I have discovered my key to breathing...I have to smile. I totally clench my teeth when I feel a bit funky. and I clench more when I am focusing on breathing. so, today I worked on NOT clenching! I smiled a bit. loose jaw, happy yoga practice.

off to put small children to bed...hopefully THAT is not the battle it has been known to be!

how do you do that?

lot's of randomness today:

1. last sunday we took the kids to the zoo - yes, the pics are mainly of ty, just because I don't think you can buy that kind of cool. not too sure where the kid gets his style, but he just makes me either REALLY angry or REALLY happy! the top picture is a bit blurry, but I still love it. the bottom one is missing the bottom half of his chin - still love it too!

2. there were some questions about my poster in the last post - I made it with pages 09 on my mac. it was a template, and it was super easy!

3. had my SU! open house today. it was a great time and I am so thankful that people took the time to come! now I am going to post the rest of my retired sets on kijiji - if I can figure that out!

4. I barely survived yoga yesterday. I had a headache on thursday and I thought it had gone. yeah. it hadn't. I could hardly get through the breathing exercises, let alone all the standing and balancing poses. sheesh.

5. went to the red piano with some girls last night. GREAT place!

6. I was down 2.2 lbs today. I'm back to the -20.6 mark. same place I was on june 13. WOW. what a month! let's hope that I can squeek out a pound for next week so I'm at the 10% mark.

7. okay, I can't think of much else. ty is having a bit of a meltdown. off to deal.

xoxo!

the party is coming...are you?

okay, so it's not really big...so if you want a copy emailed to you, just email me! plus, I'm a bit annoyed that the photo moved over. at one time it was lined up on the LH side!!! oh well, first time "making" a poster, so whatev!

had a great yoga class yesterday, and hoping for another great one today - breathe, breathe, breathe! I'll let you know how it goes!

xoxo

have you noticed?

there haven't been any pictures lately! mmmm. I'll try to fix that this week, considering I took a ton at the zoo with the kids today. yes, the zoo was my exercise today. I figure that 2.5 HOURS of walking around the little valley zoo merits enough walking for the day. and since I am making the rules up for this challenge, I say that walking at the zoo counts!!! plus, by the time we got home, made & ate dinner, and got the kids off to bed, I was ZONKED. and yes, I am in bed as I type. the wonders of modern technology!!

perhaps I will post some old-ish pictures to keep you all entertained until tomorrow - I have had 2 days away from yoga and I am craving it. I can't wait until 3:30 rolls around tomorrow and I can just breathe. and push both my mind and body HARD. sad, I know.

yeah, can't post pics tonight - I keep getting knocked off the server [or something equally as crazy!]

it feels like sunday

but no, it's only saturday.

and this morning I was pretty pissed off when I stepped on the scale and saw that I was up 1.6 WTF? although I am currently having a moment of over indulgence, I went for a serious walk with my mom tonight [6.5 km] and she gave me some ideas on how to switch it up a bit. I think I was maybe counting yoga as more points than I should of...that is an easy change to make for next week. and I am going to only allow myself to have 4 points after supper next week. I am a bit of a point hoarder and I am using a lot of points with dinner and AFTER dinner. I can tweak that a bit. and then there is the salt. I don't think I am a big salt consumer, but I am going to make sure that my post-supper snacks are not high salt snacks.

friday's yoga was with intention - breathing. in through the nose, out through the nose. sounds really simple, but it's REALLY hard. I think the focus of my next few classes is going to be the breathing. it's SOOOOO hard! I did, however, buy myself [okay, so my mom bought me for my birthday!] a two month unlimited pass. I would love to practice four times a week over the summer. that is the plan!

gonna go chill with the j-man...have a great weekend!!!

Day 7 and already behind!

listening to the kinks - this time tomorrow. LOVE this song. "...this time tomorrow, where will be be? this time tomorrow, what will we see?"

so yesterday was a bust. in the exercise and parenting department - not in the "really nice visit with a friend and her kids" department. then 6:00 hit [après swimming lessons] and yeah. I am once again the president of the bad mom's club. I know you have all been there before, but last night I wore the crown! blah. I didn't exercise today [rain issues!] but I didn't drink either, so I am counting it as a success!! needless to say, I promptly went to bed to begin the day on a fresh note.

and fresh it was!! a 6 am bikram class. my goal today had been to do every pose at least once. fought through the dizziness and totally reached my goal. there were poses I had NEVER done [balancing stick and rabbit!] and today I did them. WOOHOO! and since today is my birthday, I have a 10 am appointment with my guy at the apple store, then a pedi, then swimming lessons, then dinner with my sweet husband at dadeo's [sans kids...they are having a sleep over at grandma's!! man, I'm spoiled!].

you have a good day too...I never blog this early, so I never get to say that! be good to yourself!

on yoga and coffee

so, I did it today. I braved the fears of the hot room and went to bikram this morning with allison. for all my panic and hot issues, it really wasn't that bad. okay, dripping sweat is never that attractive, but I wasn't wearing my date panties or anything like that. I am going to aim to go every day this week and use my $20 pass to it's fullness!! AND, since the studio is SO close to my house, I really have no excuses. I could walk there. okay, so I may faint on the way home, but you know what I mean!

John and I went for a 30 minute power walk last night. we dog-sat steph's dog over night and the boys had a sleep-over at auntie's house. a win-win!

AND, dear, sweet Kathy left me muffins in my mailbox on saturday night. they were WONDERFUL one-point muffins! and now I need the recipe!

back to yoga. LOL I have to say that I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. did it kick my ass? absolutely. it's a hard work out. I was reading on-line about calories burned doing bikram and I think that they guy saying that it wasn't a real workout has never been. [yes, someone said that!] I like a good ass-kicking. and I SO hope that this gets my weight loss kick started. I am committing this summer to my good health and I am off to a good start!

Day 2

walked to starbucks and back this afternoon - BEFORE the thunderstorms hit! 45 minutes at a 10 min/km pace - not too bad! and, in good news, I was down 1.2 today. 30 weeks and down [yes, I really want to use the word "just" here!] 19.6 lbs. that is an average of 0.65 lbs per week. not quite what I had been aiming for, but hey, it's definitely better than nothing [which is what would have happened, if I hadn't started this journey at all!]. if I can kick it up a notch, and make it to 1 lb a week, I could really be down 44.6 by the new year. THAT is a number I do like! BUT, since I often get ahead of myself, let's just aim to be down 1.4 this next week so that I can make the 10% mark. the ever elusive 10%. THEN, we [I] can focus on the next 10%.

okay, enough about that.

if you are not up for an exercise challenge, why not try a 30 day challenge of your own making? try changing just one habit. create a healthy habit. one thing, one month, one change.

as I was walking today, I was thinking that I am really going to aim to blog through this wee challenge of mine too. keep me accountable!

and kathy - YOU ARE NOT OLD!! [or matronly!!!!] not even CLOSE!

xoxo

holy bagina

okay, so I know you are all looking at my title saying "bag-ina" and thinking "HUH????". think no further. it rhymes with vagina. it's ty's new phrase - mainly because I say "holy dinah" a lot. he thinks it's funny. he's right. I have no good reason for using that as my title either - just feeling funny. LOL

so it's friday night. you'd think sitting down that I'd have something to blog about. as I sit here, nothing is coming to me. my life is rather dull when on summer vacation. no busy things. no real stress. so, I think I am going to invent some. for real.

I am going to invent for myself a 30 day challenge. kinda like a birthday-ish lent. no sunday's off. no easter at the end. no 40 days. just 30 days. it's my birthday in less that a week and at this time of year I begin to feel my age, just a bit. yes, I will be 37. THAT FREAKS ME OUT! funny enough though, a friend of mine said to me a couple of weeks ago - and perhaps as a put-down that I took as a complement - that I really like a 15 yr old in an adult body. he had a point. I don't really act my age, mainly because what does an almost [okay, like in 3 years] 40 year old act like??? and if you use icky words like: stuffy, matronly, grey, wrinkled, menopausal - I will scream in your face. let's be honest. I may have a few grey hairs lingering beneath all the dye jobs and I just may have some wrinkles because I kinda like to laugh and I may just be someone's mother, I am not really that old. yet. nor will I ever be. especially if stuffy is part of the definition. okay, sorry about my anti-aging rant. perhaps I protest too much!!!

the challenge - if you wish to participate with me - is such: I will exercise for at least 30 minutes for 30 days. starting today [yes, I walked 30 minutes tonight!] and ending on august 2nd. WHO IS WITH ME??? [oh, and there are rumours about starting hot yoga next week so I can get my ass kicked...let's see if I get up the nerve!!]

AND, tomorrow is weigh in day. LOVELY. last week, I was up 1.4. I'd better be down this week because this is driving me CRAZY!!!