Wii ... Can Help!!!

Okay, about a month ago, my husband and 8 year old daughter headed to Best Buy to purchase a Wii for our family... I have been sceptical about this gaming system for a long time (as I am sceptical of any gaming system that keeps you seated, distracted and glued to the tv)

Well, all I can say are POSITIVE things about the Wii by Nintendo!! This thing is AWESOME!!

My husband and I have been saying we needed to loose weight for while now, so when the Wii Fit was mentioned and we knew we had a little extra money, I finally caved and we got one. The rest is history! My husband has lost like 6+ pounds now and I'm down about 5. We LOOK FORWARD to working out!

Yes, I said we look forward to working out! We love to do the yoga as do our kids. We are all getting better posture, flexibility, gaining muscle and loosing weight (well at least Mommy and Daddy are!) The fitness activities are wonderful, the balance games amazing and did I mention the yoga (oh yeah, I did!) Now that we are into moving our butts to get some weight off, I have to give big thanks to the one thing I never thought I'd give thanks too, a video gaming system!

So Santa better be nice to me and bring me the Jillian Micheals Wii game, cause I need to up my workouts and who better than to kick my butt than Jillian!!

Oh yeah and to keep me motivated, my Mii (we character) is called Bigmomma! That way when the weight comes off and Bigmomma starts to shrink, I can change my Mii to Shrinkinmomma and then when I finally get to where I want to be, I'll be Hotmomma!! (Something to make me keep on going and find myself at the end!)

OHIO'S BIGGEST LOSER!!!

That's right, a letterboxing friend is conducting a version of the Biggest Loser beginning in about a week and running through May 30th, 2009. So what a better way to start off a new year than with a jump start into health and fitness.

I started this blog a while back, when I was loosing weight and feeling great about how I looked and felt. Well, its been a while since my last post and some weight has creeped back on me!!! So when I saw this Ohio's Biggest Loser, I figured why not, maybe making myself accountable to someone else would get me motivated. I am even dragging my husband in on this journey too, we're going to do this thing together so we can look like we did when we first go married!!!

So if you are up for a challenge, let me know and we can get you motivated and back into a healthier you!! If you'd like to join the letterboxing Ohio's Biggest Loser, check this out http://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.html?gEventId=1040

Oh Man!

Well, as you can see that I haven't posted for a while, its been one hectic June around here!

Since the 1st of June, we've had one child with a fractured arm, another child with a concusion and strep throat, and a mom with a bum lower back. I was hoping that things would slow down a little bit and we'd be able to enjoy most of the summer, but we've just been dealing with this stuff so much. (So there, that's the reason for not posting lately!)

Now onto some exciting news- we made it out to Glacier Ridge Metro Park near Dublin, Ohio today. We walked the wetland area looking for creatures and got to enjoy the beautiful morning! The kids loved seeing the huge bullfrogs, but the pictures didn't turn out to well of the big guy! I added one of him that my daughter took plus another of a bird out in the wetland on a tree. She was having fun with the camera, but not getting very many good shots! She's learning!

If you haven't been to this park yet, you are missing a gem. The observation deck from like 20-30 feet up is exciting for the kids to see and look out on the wetland. The boardwalks offer close up views of the bullfrogs in the water. Ducks floating, dragonflies zooming by and a quiet and peaceful walk. This is only part of the Glacier Ridge Metro Park. There is a full woodland area too. They have a great little playground, horse trails, disc golf and programs offered throughout the year.

So if you are near U.S. 33 and Post Road between Dublin and Marysville, make sure to check out Glacier Ridge Metro Park.

When it Rains...It Pours!

No, I'm not talking about actual rain. I'm talking about all the bad or unfortunate things that have happened or are happening in my life lately.

While out walking trails and planting a few letterboxes on May 24th, I had an unfortunate and very scarey accident. My girls and I stopped at a cemetery to view the site, it had a historical marker and it was in a really neat location. We had been having a great day walking trails, seeing the local castle and just having fun. When I pulled into the cemetery, I got out of my van, was about 10 feet from it and it started rolling down the hill in front of it. I raced for it, but couldnt' do anything. All I could do was get the door open and tell my kids to hold on. Yes, my three children were buckeled in the car as it rolled down the hill, through a fence, kept going down the hill and up another hill until it came to rest on that hill. It traveled about 1 1/2 football fields. Everyone was fine, a fence was knocked down, the van has some damage, I had some bruises, it was the absolute horrible thing I have ever had to see or deal with in my entire life. We are all okay now, emotionally, but I still think about it daily.

Today, my 5 year old fell off the bed and fractured her arm. It took her about an hour to really complain about the pain, then I took her to the urgent care center and they took the xrays. Sure enough, she fractured the lower bone in her right arm, just above the wrist. She's only 5, so its a little hard to explain that she has to keep this full arm cast on for 4-6 weeks and will be in pain for a few days. Luckily, it wasn't a full brake, so she was able to handle the xrays and cast wrapping.

This afternoon I also learned that my grandmother in law is not doing too well. She has cancer all over her body now, and it seems that her mind is starting to go. She had just had her 1 year date of "you only have a year to live" and she has kept a positive spirit all along. I just hurt for my mother in law, who lost my father in law in January. She has been having a hard time lately, adjusting to life without him, and now she is dealing with loosing her mother. I told her to be strong and if she has to get away, she needs to get away. She kept saying she's having flashbacks to my father in laws last days.

So when it rains, it pours. Thank God my family is doing well, we are all healthy and alive. I just pray that the rest of this year brings good things to our family. We've had enough bad around here lately.

Challenge

Okay, I've gotten feedback from a few people about their challenge for me.

1. Get a picture you don't like of yourself and post it somewhere that you can see it daily. This will help to remind you what you want to change.
2. Get a log, journal, piece of paper and start keeping track of your daily activity. Write down when you talk a walk, move during commercials, ride your bike, workout to a dvd. Just write it down. This will show you what you are doing and if it is enough!
3. Move! Any little step you take will get you on the right path. Whether it is walking around your yard, on a 2 mile trail, playing tag with the kids, crunches during commercials. Just move!

They say you have to jump right in and get started to meet your goals. I was doing really well and then I got the flu in April and it knocked me right off track. Now is the time for me and anyone else wanting to join in on this journey to take the step in the right direction for our health.

Feelin' Better but Needin' Help

Well, I'm feelin' better! My back seems to be doing great, not its just time to get back into the exercise routine! I have to admit that I've put a few pounds back on and I really need to get them off.

So this is where you come in, you friends and readers. I need motivation! I really need to get my butt moving and loose some more weight. I don't want to be one of the obese people who are keepin' our state on the "Fat list". I want to be a healthy 30 something woman! I want to be a healthy and fit mom so I can be a role model for my girls. I want to be healthy and fit for me!!

But... I still need motivation and help!

What do you say, give me some encouragement, some challenge or some advise... God knows I need it!

Not Again!!:-(

Well, I have hurt my back again!!!:-( That's right I say again because this happened almost a year ago to me and now it is back.
Last year I had two slipped disc and was in pain for over two weeks in April. Many visits to the chiropractor/ doctor and lots of massages and I was healing fine. Well, you know when you have a 1 1/2 year old, there is no way to get around picking them up from time to time. I was doing great and then... BAM... I reinjured it at the end of May. This time it was much worse, I couldn't stand up straight, I walked with a major sideways bend and it hurt like you know what!
Got an MRI and it all revealed two slipped disc and mild disc degeneration.
I'm only 32 years old at the time and worrying how this is going to affect the rest of my life.

So I think about what I need to do. I have scoliosis in the same excact spot where the degeneration is and where the two slipped discs are. Am I going to be dealing with this the rest of my life? Doctors tell me more than likely yes.

I'm trying to help fix this problem over the past year by exercising, stregthening my muscles and work on my posture. Obviously I'm not doing a very good job. (And heavy lifting is definitly a big no no for me, but I did lift a few things on Thursday night.) I felt fine on Friday, great on Saturday, woke up Sunday morning feeling a little sore, but I thought it was from sitting in the car for our little mini road trip.

Well, at a letterboxing event on Sunday, I stood up to stamp an image into my log and I gues it was the angle I was at... next thing I know, I'm in pain and thinking Oh no, not again.

Good thing my cousin is with me, she worked on my back last year as she was finishing up schooling for massage therapy. She just looked at me and I told her its happening again. She knows whay kind of pain I was in last year and I told her, I'm gonna need your help tomorrow!

So say a little prayer for me that I heal up and learn how to not do the things that are hard for me not to do. (If that makes sense!)

Hope you are all feeling well and take care of yourself!

My KindHearted Act

Not everyone can say that they have done this kindhearted act... but I did tonight!
I cut over 11 1/2 inches of my hair off!!!! All for a good cause... Locks of Love.

I am a co-leader of our KindHearted 4H Cloverbud group. For those of you who don't know, Cloverbuds is for Kindergarden through 2nd grade students, kinda to prepare them for 4H. Well, our topic for tonight was Relay for Life and how we are helping with our local Relay next month on June 13th.
I had this "hairbrained" idea that it would be neat to cut off my hair at the meeting to show the kids a kindhearted act.

It all began about a year ago at our Cloverbud meeting when we read a book about a little girl who cut her hair, so a wig could be made for someone who needed it. I told our club that I was going to do that someday.
The other day while at recess at school, I thought that our meeting would be a perfect chance to do this. I called my stylist and she said she'd let me know by 4:00 today. (Our meeting was at 6:30!) She called, so we set the plan in motion.
My co-leader got a book about a little boy who shaves his head to give his hair to his Momma who has cancer. That then lead in to discussion about why people would want to cut their hair. Then I introduced Missy and she talked a little about what she was going to do.

The kids were excited, I was a little excited too (not one bit nervous!) and the process began.
1. Pony tail - measured
2. Cape on
3. Scissors in hand, she cut about 4-5 times to get through the pony tail
4. I was holding my pony tail!
5. I couldn't believe I did it
6. Missy styled my hair!

All I can say is that I can't wait to hear what the kids have to say to people about this. We have encouraged them to help with Relay for Life by getting donations for Luminaria candles that will be lit the night of Relay for Life. Several of our kids are even coming to help fill the bags, write lables, place candles and put the luminaria on the track.

It is such a wonderful experience to have done this and I hope the kids will remember my kindheared act!!!

Girls Weekend

Yeah!!!!!! I get a weekend with my mom, cousin and aunt this weekend. I am so looking forward to this time with them and the time away from my own family. It will be a weekend of fun. We're heading to Fremont, Ohio to join some friends for a letterboxing event hosted by our good friend Bone Yard Recorder. (Not really her name, rather her trail name used when letterboxing.)

Not familiar with letterboxing? Well, its a great little hobby where you have a handcarved stamp, journal or notebook, and clues to find hidden stamps and logbooks. It is a great hobby to do that is really not all that expensive, unless you become totally addicted! This will be the first time my mom has gone with me on the "hunt" and I know she will enjoy it. Snapdragon (my cousin) and I will make sure that our moms get to rest when they need to, eat when they need to, and of course we'll be dragging them with us until they say stop!

So this will be my workout for the weekend. I'll be walking some trails and hopefully not eat too much. I hope you all have a great weekend!

No Relaxing!

Well, today I was woke up by a phone call at 6:00am telling me we had a two hour delay at school! Yippee I thought as I hung up. I was so excited because I am substituting in the district today, so I get to sleep in and so does my second grader!
Wouldn' t you guess, she comes into my room at 6:19 fully dressed and ready, the dog is bugging the heck out of me to get outside and then the two year old starts crying in her room. I tell the second grader to go back to bed or into her room to crochet because its early and you are on a two hour delay, I go lay with the two year old to quiet her down, the dog keeps making noise at the window at the creatures he sees below... long story short, I'm up at 6:30 on a two hour delay day!!!!!! I guess there is no rest for me today!
So since I'm up, I walk the dog (no fog at all!), eat breakfast and then check out stuff on line that I need to catch up with. In that 20 minutes or so, I glance out the window and low and behold, I can't see down my driveway now. Boy the fog sure does roll in fast! I'd pray for a fog day cancellation, but we already have to do a make up day on Monday June 1st, so I don't want any more days.
So now I guess it is time for me to get off this computer, get my tennis shoes on and get my butt into gear. Time for a workout since I didn't get one in yesterday! I am vowing to work out right now for at least 40 minutes! Check in with me and see how I did!

Take care and have a fantastic Tuesday!!- Rachel

The Great Outdoors

I love to be outside! Especially on days like yesterday and today. The weather is perfect, just the right amount of clouds, beautiful sun, t-shirt and jeans weather.
I got the yard mowed, well... at least part of it (we do have 5 acres.) Mulched around the flower beds, and house. Hubby got the garden tilled and marked his lines to start planting today!! Now to get things into the ground.

Being outside is wonderful. I love listening to all the birds, love watching the rabbits and birds soar through the air and just take in all that is around me. I love living in the country and wish I we owned more land with lots of trees that I could take walks through the woods.

So if you haven't been outside too much lately, take time to do that. If you aren't as lucky as I am to own your own little piece of land to enjoy the animals, go to a nice park and just sit there and listen to what is around you. I hope you all have a beautiful week this week and that you take time to view the Great Outdoors!!! Rachel

Gotta Do It!!!

Well, I just completed a 20 minute workout and am headed to do another 20 minutes on the elipitcal. I was thinking that I haven't posted in a while, so I'm doing it real quick!

I haven't met my goal this month!!! BUT I GOTTA DO IT!!!

Yeah, I'm a little dissappointed in myself, but I know I didn't do enough to get my 5 pounds off that I wanted too. So my goal for the next 30 days is to do my Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD every day. That's right, I said it out loud here on the blog. So check on me to see if I keep it up. The workout is only 20 minutes, and its a great 20 minutes at that. So I figured if I can do this for 30 days, I can get my 5 pounds off by the end of May!!

If you have done your goal this month, like I know Lynn has, I give you a round of applause!!!!!!!
If you are like me and didn't, get it into gear and do it with me.

YOU GOTTA DO IT TOO!!! Make a goal for yourself for the next 30 days and try really hard to stick with it! 30 Days is not that long and who knows what will happen as a result of this.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!

Time for yourself!?!

Is this a question or a statement!?!

Sometimes I don't know if I ever truly have time for myself. I know I want time for myself, but it doesn't happen very often. With three kids, a husband, three dogs, one cat and a bunny, I never have time to myself!!

So now is the time to try and find time for myself.

I am going to try and have at least a couple of hours this week that are for me only! (Maybe a dog will tag along if I go for a walk, but other than that- no kids or husband allowed!

So check your schedule and see if you can squeeze a couple of hours in for yourself this week. Who knows, maybe next week we can get a few more hours! Make sure to share your goal if you are going to try to get "your alone time" this week and let us all know what you did!

Have a happy week!!

Gotta Brag!

You know how I said I was putting a little jog into my walk, well that is nothing compared to what my friend did this weekend!!!
My pal Corie completed a 1/2 marathon!!!! That's right, she ran 13.1 miles in like 2 hours and 3o some minutes!!!! I just have to brag because she was very excited and I was excited for her!!!
I don't think I'll be running a 1/2 marathon anytime soon, but hopefully I can keep that little jog up with my walk and only get better.

Stuck in a Rut?

Are you stuck in a rut? I think I am!

What to do? How to get out of it? How to keep the motivation going?

- Well, I know I need support and its great to have a few people posting here, that's why I wanted to do this blog!
- Try something new!- I did walk the dog the other day, I got a little confident that I could jog, so guess what? I did!!!!! I did three little mini jogs as I was walking down our road. It felt good to set my eyes on a place down the road and run to reach it!
- Now I just need to keep this fire going! My husband has switched shifts at work, so I am able to work more now, that is throwing my workout schedule off! Hopefully I can get it back into gear tomorrow!

Short Term Goals

Okay, what is a short term goal? For many it is something that can be achieved in a small amount of time. Whether that is a day, week, or month. So think about something you want to achieve... will it take you a while to get there? Start small.
If it is a room that needs to be redecorated, you'd start by emptying all the junk, then move on to another aspect of the room.
Well, in respect to getting back into shape or loosing weight, you need to start small too.

Here's your list of questions to ask yourself-

What do I want to achieve?

Do I want lots of weight loss?

Do I want to gain muscles?

Do I just want to be able to walk a flight of stairs without being winded?

Do I want to be able to run/walk a 5K?

Now choose your goal and start with baby steps.
Maybe it will be getting rid of the soda you drink during the day, taking the stairs instead of elavator, parking in the farthest parking spot at work, walking around your block, down your road or on your treadmill for 10 minutes each day.

YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE CHOICE AND STICK WITH IT!
Let's pick one thing to focus on until the end of April. Write it down or share it here on the blog. Make yourself accountable to someone else!

My goal for this month- I want to loose 5 pounds. I will do this by continuing my exercise routine and watching what I eat.

Your turn to share! Leave me a message!

Staying Motivated

I know it is hard to do sometimes, but motivation is what keeps me going!
Just the other day I did not want to work out. My husband got me going and I eventually got my 40 minutes in, eventhough I was very tired and didn't want to do it.
So I guess the key is to stay motivated, set your goal and you will reach it. Make the goal achievable so you can reach it.
For now, my goal is to loose 5 pounds this month. That gives me 28 more days to keep at it. I know I need to continue my exercise routine, but more importantly- I need to eat a little healthier.
So join me please--- set a small goal for yourself to achieve this month. Together, we can do it!

Continuing On the Journey

We all started this journey 11 weeks ago with the Kmart contest, but it doesn' t have to be over! I know I still have a little ways to go towards my goal, and I really want to make it. Please join me on continuing this journey and reaching our goals for 2008 and looking GREAT!
If you don't have an account, it was really easy to do, I've never done this before and I figured it out! So take a minute and join me and continue this quest.