Bailey

Bailey on the Right, Bria on the left

So my beloved Bailey is having some issues these days! He is almost 13 after all!

I can still remember the day I found him in Huntsville, TX. I was in college and I needed a constant companion. I found a notice on the mailbox about free kittens. When I got there he was the only one left and it was LOVE at first sight. Bailey has been through a lot with me.

When I was in school I would go on road trips to see my friends at other schools and we would pack up and head off. Bailey ALWAYS slept in my lap! He was a great car rider!

Well the last couple of weeks I have noticed that Bailey has been drinking an ocean’s worth of water and with that comes the release of said liquid. I was changing the clay pit I call his litter box everyday!

So last week my grandma came and picked up Bailey during work hours and took him to the family vet in the country…he is easier and cheaper! Well my fears came true…Bailey has diabetes!

I am sad for Bailey but happy that it is something that is manageable and can keep him here with me for years to come!

We are going to try and control it with food first and then if that doesn’t work…his momma might have to give him a shot everyday (EWWW), but whatever it takes…I will do it!

So here is to Bailey and a quick resolution to all that ails him!

On a side note…it is one year ago tomorrow that I found out that Bria was sick…and while Bailey and I miss her terribly we are so glad that she isn’t in any pain anymore!

Another Swap!

I LOVE the swaps! A great chance to get to know someone you NEVER would have met! My very first swap partner Cheryl is hosting a swap...drop on by and join in the fun!

THANKS CHERYL!!

Chance to Win A Blog Makeover!

Who couldn't use this? Keep your fingers crossed...maybe I can win!

Camping

Ok...there a quite a few things on my list to blog about and I will get to them all. But first I am starting with our camping trip that we took on the 21st of March.

J and I got up bright and early for the 2 hour drive to Colorado Bend State Park. Car was packed up the night before so it was easy to actually leave town when we said we would! 6 AM! So we stopped at Starbucks for our last bit of civilization and hit the road. The drive was nice and simple. We got to Lampasas and had breakfast The Country Kitchen. Sounded simple enough. Good home cooked breakfast before our day of hiking. So I decided on Biscuits and Gravy. Figured I would get in enough to have that little treat. Sorry to say folks...it wasn't that good!

So we get to the park and we park the car and hiked the 1 mile in and pick out of cushy camping spot. We made sure that NO ONE was around and we had a nice view of the river!

So we hiked the one mile back to the car and by this time I had talked Jason into driving to our starting point instead of hiking 3.5 miles to start our hike. (REALLY good thing I did that!)

It was a beautiful bright and sunny day and we were loaded down with water, snacks and lunch. We hiked for a couple of hours and ran across a cool cave. So we decided to stop there and explore and have some lunch...



It was BEAUTIFUL! So after we got our grub on and finished playing we hiked on for another hour or so. The whole time we were right along the river so every once in awhile Evie (the dog) would jump in a cool off and play! We were having a great time but we were in search of Gorman Falls and by this point we REALLY should have seen it. So we stopped and headed back to the last trail we had seen that had veered off. We hiked up that and FINALLY started seeing signs and such pointing us in the right direction. When we got to Gorman Falls...it was AMAZING!


While we were at the falls we ran into a tour being lead by a park ranger. So we pulled out the map and he gave us better directions on how to get back to the car. So we left the falls and headed back out towards the trails that would lead us back to the car. This time we had all kinds of signage! So we were hiking and talking and then realized...we had just walked in a circle. A little...OK a LOT perturbed...we finally found the road...NO CAR! So we started hiking down the road...and hiking and hiking. Finally we flagged down a truck and I climbed in a he drove me to the car...3.5 miles away. We were completely off of where we thought we had parked the car and where we had started. After checking out the map we realized we had hiked over 13 miles that afternoon.

We were BEAT!

So after we drove back to park the car and HIKED ANOTHER MILE IN! We finally got to eat our dinner...which was the same as lunch...but WHATEVER! I had smuggled a magazine with me and I chilled out by the river and read it while we lounged around. As soon as it got dark I was OUT! It was not the best night of sleep I have gotten thanks to the hard ground and the creatures being so darn loud! But it wasn't that bad!

The next morning we packed up and headed back to the car and then on for our last hike. This time...much MUCH more careful about where we parked! This trail was AMAZING. So beautiful!




That day we got in around 6.5 miles of hiking! Lots of good times! Got some sun, some fresh air, some exercise, but most of all some much needed time away from the daily grind!

If you have a chance go camping! It was FUN!

Until next time!

New Leaf!

OK...so some might know but if you didn't...I was SICK last week! So there was no counting! No behaving! I was sick and I wanted comfort! I didn't go NUTS...but I wasn't a good girl either!

So here I am...turning over the leaf and getting back to business!

I will be back on the wagon and being accountable for what goes in my piehole and what my hiney does in the gym and otherwise!

I will be back later today with all kinds of posts about the fun stuff that has been going on in my life the last couple of weeks.

Hope everyone had a GREAT weekend!

What has been going on in your world?

Christmas In March

So I read this blog post the other day:

http://tinyurl.com/ddju2t

and ever since it is all I think about!

I want something to track my runs and walks that tells me how far I have gone and how far I have to go. One that will make pretty graphs for me to look at!

Well I JUST joined the IPOD craze last summer and bought the classic. Well this only works with Nano...and today I bought a nano for a REALLY good price!

So at lunch I went and bought the Nike+ and just ordered the shoe holder. IT IS LIKE CHRISTMAS! I am so freaking excited about it!

Who knew gadgets could bring SUCH joy?

I will let you guys know how it works!!

Week 3 Lent Update

Well another week has come and gone and this does get easier! It was a week full of other life activities, so finding time sometimes was very tricky but I made it a priority!

Wednesday- Boot Camp-I wasn’t very happy that it got moved inside, but the weather won and I didn’t burn as many calories as I would have liked to! 60 Minutes 250 Calories

Thursday-Was my Dad’s birthday and I had to fit exercise in at nearly 10 PM! So needless to say I went to the elliptical to get it in! 33 Minutes 350 Calories

Friday-I worked out late on Thursday and then got up early on Friday to make breakfast for my sales room. It was the manager’s birthday and I wanted to do something nice! So while things were baking in the oven I did my own Janna boot camp! More difficult to think of things when you are on your own but I managed to get my 30 minutes in and burn about 200 calories!

Saturday was the Shamrock Shuffle 5K. J, Evie (the dog) and I went out and had fun. There weren’t too many people participating but it was fun. It was on a trail and there was lots of mud! We let Evie off her leash about half way through and she ran circles around us…so she actually did a 10K while we finished a 5K in 37 minutes flat with 400 calories burned. I was PROUD that I ran more than walked. It was a good feeling!

Sunday-Went to the gym and did J’s arm workout with him. Obviously he does higher weight than I do, but it was a good workout! 45 minutes and 200 calories. Kind of bummed about the calories burned but I KNOW I worked out my arms! I can still feel it J

Monday-I was a little weak so I had to take it easy but I got it done! Another gym workout…60 minutes and 400 calories! And my rear really does still hurt from the lunges!

Tuesday-Bike Day! I LOVE bike day! I rode my bike to and from the post office. 42 minutes and 380 calories!

Wednesday-I JOGGED…yes I jogged on the treadmill. I warmed up for 2 minutes and then ran for 5 minutes straight. Then ran and walked for a couple of rotations. I decided with 12 minutes left that when I hit 10 minutes to go I would jog until I couldn’t anymore. Well I lasted the entire 10 minutes! I might be a jogger yet! Calories burned 300! My goal is to actually be able to jog the entire 5K I am doing in May with my friend Kathy! So that is what I am working towards…well that and being able to jog the entire 5K at my Triathlon in June.

So there you are another week of exercise is in the books and I am feeling good! (2480 Calories burned this week)

Even the food is getting back under control. Since Monday I have been taking it one day at a time and doing WW 101 with NO EXCUSES!

Have a great one!

Update

Update:

• Actually RAN my first 5K over the weekend in 37 minutes Flat
• Completely went out of control on Friday with the food!
• Then didn’t go weigh in officially because I just couldn’t bear to see that number, but according to my scale I was up at least 5 pounds
• Had one more incident on Sunday night
• As of Monday morning I am back to WW, the REAL WW full time, no excuses!
• Still doing at least 30 minutes of exercise EVERYDAY! (Why can I do that but I can’t control what goes in my mouth?)
• Going camping this weekend where LOTS and LOTS of hiking will be involved!
• Doing a 40 mile bike ride on the 28th
• Doing the Capitol 10K on the 29th
• Sitting on the court for the Spurs game a week from today (right next to the bench…TONY PARKER)
• Wearing my favorite long green dress…because I PUFFY HEART TODAY!

Happy St Patrick’s Day!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!

I would like to interrupt our regularly scheduled program to wish my father and biggest cheerleader a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I love you Daddy and I can't wait to see you guys tonight!
I LOVE YOU!
~your favorite :)

Week 2 Lent Update

Week 2 came and went and I am still trucking along. It does get easier with time to get these workouts in. I won’t let myself have an excuse for it! And since my little meltdown last week I have been back on it as far as my eating goes! SO YEAH FOR WEEK 2!

Wednesday-Boot Camp- 337 Calories Burned-LOTS AND LOTS OF RUNNING!

Thursday-Boring…got on the elliptical for at least 30 minutes- 276 Calories Burned!

Friday-Boot Camp- I overslept a bit but instead of just staying in bed I jumped up and went…got there about 20 minutes late. Still got in a 40 minute workout-230 Calories Burned!

Saturday-I needed some quite time…so I went to Yoga and burned 184 calories!

Sunday-Again I was boring and it was late! Elliptical 270 Calories burned!

Monday-KICK BUTT BOOT CAMP!! 394 Calories burned and lots and lots of squats!

Tuesday-Bike ride to and from the post office…400 Calories burned!

Wednesday- Boot Camp, it was moved inside for weather reasons…so it wasn’t a big calorie burner…250 calories burned. Thinking I might go out tonight and do something else!

Total Calories Burned This Week: 2341 (Not BAD!)

Fridge full of good stuff!

It has been a good day!

Woke up on time to head to the early Saturday morning WW meeting. Today was my day to face the music...up 2.8 pounds. And while that is not ideal, I did it to myself and I will take care of it myself!

I am really glad that I started attending this meeting. While I know I can't do it every week because sometimes the weekends are just crazy, it is nice to see my girls (Kristin & Marissa)and the leader is AMAZING! It is like she know what I need to hear and she presents it in a pretty package with a beautiful bow! Today we talked about butterflies and change...

C omprehend Stages
H ave Awareness
A ceept relapses
N ote Ambivalence
G et More Confidence
E licit Support

"If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies"

After the week I had...this is what I needed to hear!

So after all that I met up with J and we went to this new grocery store down South and stocked up on some veggies and other goodies! We decided that we wanted taco's with homemade salsa...OMG they were SO good! And there is left over salsa...YUMMY!



After that yummy lunch I headed to yoga...where my new favorite pose is...the Cow Face Pose...now...I can't do the arm thing...but my hips LOVED the leg part. I don't know why I can't loosen up these darn hips...but I am working on it! It was nice to get the 30 in, all the while helping stretch out some of my taxing workouts this week!



Tomorrow I am headed to the gym early for a good workout before heading to the Spurs game with my sales room...in a stretch Hummer LIMO!! Should be fun times!

Have a great evening!

Yeah...another swap!

Check out this swap and sign up!

Swapping Fun!

So I have become a reader of many blogs lately. I love reading about other people’s lives. It is very interesting! So one day I see a post about this swap that Mamarazzi was putting together. It sounded like so much fun to swap your favorite things with someone else…so I signed up! I got paired up with Cheryl in Wisconsin and it has been a blast from the beginning! She has such a cute little girl and I love reading about their daily adventures. Reminds me a tad bit of Little Ms Mallory Mae (my niece)!

So when I started gathering stuff for the package I knew I had to get stuff for Abi…she needed to be a part of the experience! So I got her a couple of shirts and of course some Texas Bluebonnets so that she can grow them and see them for herself! She also got the ONLY thing I could find that said Abigail and had Texas on it. I wanted to get her one of those cute little license plates…but they didn’t spell her name correctly…darn it! But for her mom I got some of my favorite things and then forgot to put the letter about why they are my favorite things in the package.

· Bath and Body Works Lotion (2 of my favs…warm vanilla and sensual amber)
· 1 Minute Manicure and lotion from Bath and Body Works (quick and easy and gives you SOFT hands)
· My favorite Candles from world Market…Indonesian Teak (they smell so GOOD)
· My cute little find over the Xmas break was this little shinny beaded zippered coin purse at world market…I like to put my gift cards and such in it so that my wallet isn’t STUFFED!
· Cute Cup with a C on it (I love cups…and it was CUTE!)
· Camelbak water bottle (if you know me…you know I am always carrying mine around!)
· And of course…because I am a Texan and we are a proud bunch I sent her a Texas shaped cookie cutter!

I have already read that Cheryl and Abigail liked their gifts from Texas…and I am SO glad! The only thing I forgot to add to the package was some Rudy’s BBQ sauce…HOW could I have forgotten that…it is the best! OH well, she might find it in her mailbox soon!

As for my package…I LOVED it! Everything was so thoughtful and wrapped so cute!
Here is what I got!

· Cheryl likes to read and I got a copy of one of her favorites (Goose Girl by Shannon Hale)
· From her blog I learned that like me, she is a list girl so I got a magnetic to do list…and it already has a new home on the fridge!
· Her favorite color is yellow, so I got a yellow candle! (I would have thought her favorite color was pink, but I was wrong! :))
· She made me the cutest journal with ribbons and all!
· Great Lash Mascara…THE BEST!
· A book of puzzles with the pencils included…I LOVE THESE PENCILS! I haven’t seen them in years!
· And last but not least a book that she likes to give her girlfriends called Moments of Adventure

This was such a great experience and I can’t wait to do it again! It was fun getting to know someone and learn about them when you never would have even met them! I hope that I will learn more about Cheryl in her family! THANKS CHERYL for making my first swap experience a GREAT ONE!!

**Oh and Cheryl…I will be in Chicago for the Breast Cancer 3-Day in August…it would be COOL to get to meet you!***

Don't QUIT

A couple of weeks ago I was celebrating at my second WW meeting of the week with some of my girls from my old meeting. During that meeting the leader gave me my 100 pounds magnet…I was SO excited! Well since then, the wheels have shifted on the bus and my focus isn’t where it needs to be.

I am doing GREAT on the 30 minutes of exercise everyday but my eating SUCKS. There is no two ways about it…what I am doing is not going to cut it! I have struggled, not so much with what types of food I am eating, but with how much I am eating. I have been eating out of boredom and because of this funk that I am in. So I finally sat down and admitted it to myself and then admitted it to some friends in an email. And of course they came out in full force to support me and give me some sound advice! Some of which I have taken to heart and will be practicing!

• I need to take this ONE day at a time
• I need to get my life organized...I have lived in my place for a month and everything is in such disarray. (I worked on MY life for about 3 hours last night)
• I need to get on the scale tomorrow morning, face the music and move on!
• This weekend will be for getting everything back together again in my apartment, getting my car cleaned...in general taking care of myself...I have spent too much time recently worried about everyone else and what they need...
• I am going to continue with my 30 minutes a day...it has been good for me but I am not going to PUSH so hard every time I go out!
• I made a to do list...and I am going to work on crossing things off one thing at a time!
• I am going to take another 30 minutes a day to just RELAX...in my organizing last night I have a LARGE stack of magazines that I want to read...but I don't take the time to do it. (On top of a pile of REALLY good books that I want to read)
• I am going to stop buying things that I know will lead to eating the entire box, bag or whatever it may be...for some reason right now I just can't stop myself...so more veggies and less temptations in my house...if I am going to over do it...it is going to be on broccoli :)

Now back to that meeting a couple of weeks ago…at the end of the meeting she handed us this poem. She didn’t read it in the meeting but told us to take some time and read it…well in my celebration I stuck it in my planner and hadn’t gone back to check it out until just now. I think I needed to see this!

Don’t Quit
When you eat too much and you don’t write it down
And you feel like the biggest failure in town
When you want to give up just because you gave in
And forget all about being healthy and thin
So What? You went over your points a bit
It’s your next move that counts, so don’t you quit!

It’s a moment of truth, it’s an attitude change
It’s learning the skills to get back in your range
It’s telling yourself, You’ve done great up till now
You can take on this challenge and beat it somehow.

To stumble and fall is not a disgrace
If you summon the will to get back in the race.
But often the strugglers when losing their grip
Just throw in the towel and continue to slip
And learn too late when the damage is done
That the race wasn’t over they still could have won.

Making these changes can be awkward and slow
But facing each challenge will help you to grow
When you’re pushed to the brink just refuse to submit
If you bite it, you write it, but don’t you EVER quit!

All I can say is…I am NOT QUITTING! And this horse is back in the race!

Another Swap

Just because I had SO much fun with the first one...I am doing another!



Be back soon with details about the first one!

Week One Report

Last week I blogged about doing 40 days of exercise for Lent…here is how week one went!

So who knew that this wouldn’t be as hard as I thought it would be. The first day BY far was the hardest for me. I was busy all day and not thinking about fitting in my 30 minutes and before I knew it, it was 9:45 at night. I couldn’t wimp out on day 1 so I packed it up and headed off to the gym. When I got to the top of the stairs at the gym I see one of those Stair Masters that is actually a revolving set of stairs and I thought…I can do that for 30 minutes no problem. UH…yeah right! I didn’t set any land speed records and at first I thought…this is so SLOW. I got over that rather quickly! 30 minutes later…barely breathing and sweating like a pig, I am happy to report I climbed 94 flights of stairs and burned 356 calories.


Day 2-Again another nighttime workout…I think I got to the gym after 7 or so. I got on the elliptical for 30 minutes and burned 300 calories.

Day 3-I got home from work and thought…I should go now and have it over with for the day. As I was decompressing checking my email I thought…I should ride my bike to the post office and then to the grocery store. I haven’t been on my bike really all that much in the last year or so and I need to change that! So I aired up the tires, put on my spiffy lycra padded bike shorts (don’t be jealous), filled up the water bottle, got the IPOD and helmet and headed out. It was GREAT! It reminded me just how much I love to ride! So I took an extended route to the post office and back…45 minutes later I had burned 400 calories!

Day 4- I went with J to the gym and got on the treadmill. I decided that I needed to start practicing this whole running thing in order to train for the Triathlon. So I pushed the 5K button (3.1 Miles) and decided to run 1 minute/walk 1 minute. That went ok for about 20 minutes. Then I started walking more than I was running. I was walking quickly though! I really thought I could finish the 5K in 30 minutes…YEAH…not so much! I will definitely be working more on that! I did finish in 41 minutes and burned another 400 calories! Then later that day still in my gym clothes with my HRM on I went to clean and finish moving from my old place. In an hour and half I burned over 350 calories…and believe me when I say…it counts because I worked my rear off!

Day 5-I wanted to take it easier today so that my body could recover a bit since I was going to start boot camp the next day. I went to the gym and took a Yoga class. I am really liking Yoga, it is one big stretch session and boy did this body ever need it! Later that night I went back with J to the gym and got on the elliptical while I watched the first hour of Brothers & Sisters. I burned another 300 calories there.

Day 6-BOOT CAMP IS BACK! HOLY COW is it ever back! Started out with a leisurely JOG. Followed up by at least 120 pushups by the time the hour was over. (Someone actually counted them, not me…I was dying!) Of course there was a smorgasbord of other activities including squats, lunches, bear crawls through the sand volleyball courts…you get the picture! One hour later…I had burned 387 calories and sucked down 2 bottles of water!

Day 7-Decided it was time for another bike ride because it was a BEAUTIFUL day…geared up and rode to the post office…where I had a lovely package from my friend Anika! She sent me some Arnold’s Sandwich Thins…they don’t sell them here and I was interested in trying them out. What a GREAT surprise! Have I mentioned that ANIKA ROCKS? On the way home I decided to not take the easy way and work on some hills…GEEZ…my legs were burning but I did NOT stop! (YOU HEAR THAT DUSTY…I DID NOT STOP PEDDLING! :)) 50+ minutes later I had burned 400 calories.



I am proud of myself for setting my mind to this and going after it…even when my body HURTS! Which it does…A LOT! I am sore and my legs are jello…but I will keep pushing through because the reward will be GREAT!

Now…if I can get my calorie intake under control…I will have it all!

Don't forget to check out my 3-Day website (see the button on the side)...still need your help!