Challenge Week 3

Happy Friday Eve!!

Well, friends.  I am happy to report that this week I was once again a loser!! :)  

I lost 2.5lbs, not as much as last week but still a loss!  I am officially down 7lbs since the start of the challenge!  WoooHoo!  I haven't been hitting it as hard as last week or I'm sure the numbers would have been better.  Guess that just means I better kick in to high gear again this week!!  Another thing I need to work on this week is remembering to keep drinking the H20!  

This week for exercise I did mostly kickboxing, some kettlebells and a butt load of planks (aka the devil), ab work and "push ups" {do I get to call them push ups even if I do a sucky weakling version?! ;) }  Josh and I also have been going out on a 4. 5 mile loop around our neighborhood and I've been loving watching my progress as the distance I'm able to run grows each time we go out!   

I thought I'd share one of my all time favorite quotes:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
-Marianne Williamson

I don't know about you, but whenever I finish reading it I get a serious rush of motivation and feel like I can take on anything...  I hope it encourages you too!

And last but most definitely not least, I'd like to give a big shout out to all of my challenge friends, girls you are such a good motivation to me!  Thank you so much for your encouraging comments, I'm loving watching your numbers week to week!

{insert witty title here}

First things first...
I've got a confession to make.  I cheated.  I ate not one but two of these chocolate covered peeps... and they weren't even that good!  So, if my numbers aren't as good this week for the challenge I'm totally blaming it on the peeps!! ;)

Whew!  Now that we've got that out of the way... Happy Friday!!

I haven't done a Favorite Things Friday in awhile, but I have some things that I'm seriously loooving this week that I just have to share about.

1.  Kickboxing- I am puffy heart loving kickboxing, it's a total body workout, it relieves stress and really increases my energy levels!2.  Evian Facial Spray- I spotted this @ Sephora and it is ahh-mazing!   It feel so refreshing and is the perfect little pick me up.  The mist is very fine so it won't mess with your makeup, I mist it on after I put my makeup on for a dewy finish.  3.  Sunglasses- I love sunglass season!  There are so many fab styles to choose from and they are such a fun accessory and while I do a have a few pricier pairs, my go to is F21 for stylish shades on the cheap... especially with my little man on the loose!4.  Asics- I'm no shoe expert but these shoes are amazing!  I wore Asics when I ran track in high school and have tried a bunch of different shoes for running and I just had to come back to the good ole Asics! 5.  Water- "Water flushes unwanted toxins from your body and keeps your brain sharp.  Observe a plant before and after watering and relate these benefits to your body and brain." -Lululemon Manifesto
Soo... yeah, I fully back all of these and you should totally give one or all of them a try.  Especially drinking more water!!
This morning when I woke up I had an alert on my phone that our direct deposit had gone into our bank account and this song instantly came into my head:

I don't know about you, but after watching that I was having some serious boy band flashbacks!!  And if that doesn't make you laugh I don't know what will... Did anyone else think it was funny that Lance was the one donning the purple trench coat?!  

Hope you all have a great Friday night, whether you just got paid or not!  

Operation hot momma: Week 1 Results

  Alright peeps, it's time for the results of the first week of the weight loss challenge.  


Moment of truth... 


*drumroll please*


I'm happy to report that this week I am down 4.5lbs!  I definitely kicked it into high gear this week and I feel like the scale really reflects that.  I also think that I probably lost a good amount of water weight since I was constantly sipping on my water bottle {and going to the bathroom!} 

l'm pretty proud of myself because there were soo many times that I was tempted to cheat!!  My Ambulance instructor has been bringing doughnuts to class for Pete's Sake!  My new blog friend Rachel put this quote on her blog today and I think it's a really great thing to keep in mind when the not-so-healthy foods start tempting you...  

"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels!"

I really love working out and sweating everyday, plus it really helps me sleep better at night!  Shout out to my momma and her kickboxing class & Miss Jillian Michaels for kicking my butt! 

    

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm really looking forward to getting back on the scale next week!  Thanks again Lindsey and Rachel for hosting this fab challenge! 

What's up Wednesday...

Hi Friends!

Last night was my first time drilling with the Fire Department and I have to report that everything went great!  I even acquired a few pieces of my ultra-feminine uniform ;) Unfortunately the rest of my lovely ensemble has yet to arrive... but I'm sure my oh-so-flattering pleated pants won't disappoint!

zip-up

My better half and I in our department hats!

If you look closely in the 1st picture you can see the newest addition to my jewelry collection...  

Shout out to my girl Neely for hosting the Barberry and Lace giveaway! I drool over the pieces that the fabulous Miss Leigh Ashley creates and was lucky enough to be the winner of this gorgeous puzzle piece friendship necklace!

If you haven't heard of Barberry & Lace I highly recommend you go check it out!  Leigh Ashley was such a pleasure to work with and my package came with the sweetest handwritten note!  I'm all about the details and I will definitely be hitting up the barberry & lace shop again soon.

There is a weird glare in the last picture (forgive me, I'm not the best self-portrait taker... never really got into taking pictures of myself in bathroom mirror) but you can catch a glimpse of my current nail polish color:

lucerne-tainly look marvelous by OPI 

I luuurve it!  

Thank you so much for your sweet comments about Jay's scratched up face... I swear he's made of rubber, he wasn't nearly as fazed as I was.  His newest hobby is to find Josh's shoes and put his feet in them!  Keep in mind that Josh wears a size 16 shoe so it is quite the sight to see...

Hope you all have a great Wednesday!!

Somebody's got a case of the Mondays....

 Today has been a doozie so far.  

 I am soo thankful for the unexpected sunshine, Jayden and I had fun playing outside until he fell and scraped up his sweet little face... :(

Other highlights of the day include Jay not taking a nap, the rain that started pouring as soon as we headed out for a run and having to fish my car keys out of the toilet courtesy of (you guessed it) my sweet little Jayden!  Haha, I think it's safe to say that I have a case of the Mondays... 

Hope Monday is treating you well! 

"It’s Friday, Friday, Gotta get down on Friday"

 Take me out to the ball game...  Oh wait, somebody already is!!

I am beyond excited because today is Opening Day for the Mariners and my honey surprised me with tickets for Open Day earlier this week!    

It is also GORGEOUS outside today and let me tell you... there are few things better than spending a sunny day with friends, rooting on the M's at Safeco Field with the roof open!      My too sweet mother-in-law is watching Jay-man so that Josh and I can have some grown up time and I plan on celebrating with an adult beverage...or two... (I don't suppose they serve Skinny Girl margaritas at the ballpark?! ;) 

I'm also very excited to wear my adorable blinged-out M's hoodie from VS!  What girl doesn't wanna root for the home team with some style?! 

But honestly, I'm most excited about getting to spend some quality time with this stud:

I'm referring to the one on right... Even though they are both quite handsome (in my own humble and completely un-biased opinion!)

I love going to Mariners games with Josh, brings back fond memories of some of our first dates at the ballpark...

aww... we look like babies!  And now we have one... crazy!  

This is the first game we'll be going to without Jayden since he's been born.

So that's what we're up to today!  I hope that you have a fabulous Friday today, no matter how you end up spending it.  I'm gonna enjoy the sunshine while it's here, because tomorrow the forecast is calling for rain all.day.long!  Oh the joys of living in the Pacific Northwest ;)   And if you think of me tomorrow remember to send some love/good vibes/prayers my way as I take my defensive driving class with the Fire Department!!  I'm hoping it doesn't turn out like this:

p.s. my booty is officially on fiiire after my momma's kickboxing class yesterday... Thanks mom!

Operation hot momma: in progress

Once upon a time this momma had a banging body. 

 I was a 3 sport athlete in high school playing volleyball, basketball and running track.  I played basketball in college and after a two and a half hour practice, we would have to run 3 miles and then lift weights for an hour... needless to say my weight was never an issue.  I always felt so comfortable and confident about my physical appearance.  Then real life kicked in and fast forward to today.  After getting caught up in life, not making time for working out and pregnancy where 4 months were spent on bed rest, I am in obvious need to lose some lbs.

Since our trip to Brewster in February I've lost 10lbs (Josh has lost 32!)  I'm really proud of my progress but am ready to really kick it into high gear.  I want to feel comfortable in my clothes and feel good about my body again!  That and the fact that very soon I'm going to be wearing an already less than flattering uniform being an EMT, are my main motivators.  

Then, yesterday Josh told me that he bought me a bikini. Say whaat? 

Just incase I needed a little more motivation... Thanks hun!

  Here is a picture of said bikini:

Don't get me wrong, I love the suit

...and that hot body that looks very similar to my college basketball body.  

But sadly it is far from my current reflection.

So, today I'm really kicking it in high gear and going for it.  Life is too short to waste it being unhappy or uncomfortable in your own body.  You only get one right?!  I'm going to be linking up with my sweet blog friend Lindsey since she just so happens to be hosting a fabulous weight loss challenge.  I love the idea of a group challenge, we can help each other with tips/accountability and be each others cheerleaders!!

(Obviously my end goal would be to not jiggle at all)

My momma always said, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail" so here's my workout plan 

(♫ breathe, stretch, shake, let it go... *name that song*♫)

The Plan

• MORNING: I planning on running or going to a class every morning 
• NIGHT:  I plan to lift weights and allow myself to be tortured by Miss Jillian Michaels
• DIET:  I plan on drinking at least a liter of water a day, lots of fruits and veggies and lean proteins

Here are some things that have really helped me get started:

Cutting out soda was huge.  I was always a big diet coke/ diet Dr. Pepper fan and once I cut out soda I noticed that I lost a few lbs and felt a lot sharper both mentally and physically.

My incase armband for my iPhone.  I love listening to the tunes while I run, especially songs with high BPM (beats per minute)

Reading Skinny Bitch, the tone is pretty frank and they really cut to the point on a lot of topics.  I don't agree 100% with everything in this book, but it really was a great eye opener on a lot of levels... especially about cutting out soda and diet soda!

And when I'm really jonesing for some sweets I reach for Jello Mousse or Dessert Temptations, they range anywhere from 60-100 calories and are delish!

Today I started off by going to my mom's kickboxing class with Josh (Yes, you read that right... my mom is a kickboxing instructor!  Don't mess with momma, she'll kick your butt! :) and I am really excited to get my rear in shape gear!  

Got a few pounds to spare?  Join in on the challenge, it's a great way to meet new friends and have some accountability!