It's already April?!

I can't believe March is already over and April is here.  I am putting the final touches on planning my baby boy's FIRST birthday party!!!  I can't believe he is going to be 1 year old next week!  Saying this year has flown by is a complete understatement!  I will have a post with lots and lots of pictures after his party next Saturday.  I am having SOOOO much fun planning this party!!!

We took a few kids from our youth group over to Tennessee to Johnson University while they were on Spring Break.  We left after church on Easter Sunday....with an almost 1 year old.....it is an 8 hour drive there.  I think it was probably closer to 10 hours because of all the times we had to stop.  My son actually slept most of the time.....his daddy on the other hand (my husband) has a bladder the size of a pea and we stopped, and stopped, and stopped some more.  It was the same way on the way home but I think we were all so ready to be home that the trip seemed to take FOR.EV.ER!!!!  Here are a few pictures from the few days we were there.

This first picture was at a rest stop on the way to Tennessee.....he was such a good little travel buddy!!

Lovely family portrait at Calhoun's in Knoxville.  It was a really good Tennessee BBQ restaurant (except I got a cheeseburger).  But hubby let me taste his BBQ...delish!!!

Of course on youth trips, you have to have a little fun!  We weren't too far from Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg so we did a little shopping at the Tanger Outlets in Pigeon Forge and Camden just HAD to have these sunglasses.  He seriously threw a fit when we took them off of him in the store that I actually paid for the clothes we got and put the sunglasses back and had to go back in the store and buy them!  Spoiled rotten!!!

"Okay mom, I'm ready to go!!!"  Love my little stink pot!  He brings me so much joy and laughter!

No Scale Challenge

Sorry I am a little late posting my update from the No Scale Challenge.  This mama has been busy!  Due to me being a big idiot over Easter and the trip to Tennessee, I actually gained weight.  I still lost overall from March 1 until now, but definitely not like I wanted to.  It is so hard for me to eat healthy when I am traveling and was in a car more than I was actually at the destination.  LOL....plus I felt very rushed in getting things together and didn't feel prepared at all.  Excuses, excuses, I know....but you better believe that as soon as we got back from Tennessee, I was right back on the wagon the very next day!  This chick don't play!!!  So, for the results so far....

One Mile Time--12:20 (15:53)

Plank time--2:35 (1:47)

Crunches in 1 minute--55 (52)

Push-ups in 1 minute--40 on knees (37 on knees)

Burpees (OH HOW I LOATHE YOU!!!!)--12 (13)

Tricep Dips in 1 minutes--45 (41)

Weight--188.4 (190.4)

Purple italics are from March 1st.

Overall I didn't really lose many inches....in fact in some areas I gained.  I have been doing ChaLean Extreme and really increasing my weight lifting so that could be why.  Good news though is that my 16's are falling off of me and I am pretty much in a solid 14...woohoo!  I could probably get rid of my XL tops but since the "baggy" look is in I am keeping them until they look too sloppy!  So I would think it is safe to say I am in a solid L.  I lost 2 lbs total, but before I left for my trip I weighed and had gotten as low as 186.6.  I will get there!  Once I get my eating 100% back under control and as long as I don't slip up too bad I am anxious to see how I do this month!  Self control and willpower!!!  I got this!!!

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend and enjoy that spring has finally come!  (At least here in North Carolina it has!!)

Liebster Award!!!

Laura from Simply Healthy Mama nominated me for a Liebster Award!  I am so honored and excited!!!  For those of you that don't know what a Liebster Award is, the gist of it is that it is awarded to new and up and coming blogs/bloggers that don't have very many followers.  I have to give a little info about myself, answer the questions the person who nominated me wants to know, think of questions for my nominees and then nominate some blogs/bloggers for the award as well!  So, lets get started!

First I have to tell some things about myself:

1.  I am a preacher's daughter and have been my entire life.....contrary to popular belief, I am NOT "the worst", although I did go through a slight rebellious stage but my parents (at least my dad) knew about everything I did!  Haha!

2.  I also married a preacher.  :)  What can I say?!  It's all I've known!

3.  I have a Bachelor's degree from Bible College that I am doing nothing with, therefore I want to go back to school to become an RN.  :)

4.  I have lived in 5 different states.

5. I went to 2 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, 2 high schools, and technically 2 colleges.

6.  I absolutely hated living in Kansas when I was in high school, but now I wish I still lived there.  (Funny how things change after you have children!)

7.  I always wanted to be a mom and thought that pregnancy and birth would be so much fun....boy was I wrong!!!  I had "morning sickness" the ENTIRE pregnancy and anytime during the day.  After 2 days in "labor", my son's head started swelling through my cervix and they had to preform an emergency c-section.

8.   I think I will always struggle with my weight.

9.  My family means more to me than anything in the world!

10.  I have never traveled out of the United States.

11.  It is a goal of mine to become a Level 1 CrossFit Certified Trainer.  (I have a LONG way to go!)

Now, I have to answer Laura's Eleven Questions

1.  What is your favorite clothing store?  Old Navy
2.  Heels or flats?  Oh, I so love the look of heels.  They are just sexy, but they KILL my feet so I have to say, flats all the way!
3.  Favorite book?  Hmmm, this is a good question.  I have really enjoyed ALL of Robert Whitlow's books.  law/mystery with some religious undertones.
4.  What is the furthest you've traveled from home?  I have no idea what is "further"....Florida, Texas, Colorado, Wisconsin.
5.  Which season is your favorite?  Summer!!!
6.  Favorite tv show?  Biggest Loser, The Voice
7.  Favorite subject in high school? Is Band a subject?  If not, then probably Algebra and Chemistry.
8.  Beach or Mountains?  Beach all the way!!!
9.  All time favorite movie?  I have been thinking about this one for the last 5 minutes.....I have NO clue!  I like a lot of movies but none come to mind if I have to watch it over and over and over again.  Hmmm, I will have to think about that!
10.  What superpower do you wish you had?  The ability to read people's minds. 
11.  First celebrity crush?   JTT

Next up is my questions for my nominees.

1.  If money weren't an issue (for schooling) would you change professions?  If so, what would you do?

2.  What is your favorite color?

3.  Cats or Dogs?

4.  Soda or Pop or even Coke?

5.  Have you ever been arrested?  If so, what for?

6.  If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

7.  If you could go back and change one thing from your past, what would it be?

8.  What is your favorite food?

9.  What is your favorite sports team?

10.  How many states have you visited?

11.  What is your favorite exercise?

I nominate:

Emily @ Running Like a Mother

Lara @ Dandeleinss Fit

Ashley @ Work That Ash

Jen @ Losing It?!?!

I don't have 11 to nominate, sorry!!

Planning to Succeed and 11 months

I have really been evaluating what I need to change so I can really lose weight and my eating is at the top of the list.  I feel like even though I am logging my calories, I am still allowing myself to eat junk food if I have the calories for it.  For example, Friday night we went out to eat with some friends.  They found out several months ago that anytime after 7:30 PM, Krispy Kreme's HOT NOW sign is on....guess where we went Friday night after sushi?!  I have the picture to prove it!!!

I was a pure glutton for punishment and indulged in a WHOLE, 400ish calorie cookies and creme donut that is new.  It was good, but not worth the 400ish calories.  And then, of course, they original glazed were fresh off the conveyor belt so I had one of those too...at about 190 calories and THEN, half of a blueberry cake donut....and I don't remember how many calories are in that one....yes, I NEED to clean up my diet!!!!

So this is what I did.  Last night, I sat down and planned meals for the next 4 weeks based on what we already have in the house and what I need to buy.  All fairly clean, ex. switching pasta for spaghetti squash and definitely upping the veggies.  You can't really tell from the picture, but I even made my grocery list based on the different departments in the grocery store.  Bam!!!  Planning to succeed!  I can do this and I am so thankful for a supportive hubby who will eat pretty much anything I cook.  Makes my life soooo much easier!

While I was working out today, I attempted week 4 day 3 of Couch to 5K...keyword being "attempted".  I got halfway through and because of this horrible cough I have I was only able to complete half.  I completed the time but walked while I was supposed to be running.....the good news though is I shaved 1:07 off of my mile time!  I am now at a 14:46 mile instead of a 15:53 mile.  I know it's not great, but thinking about how long it took me to fumble through a mile in middle and high school, I am extremely proud of how far I have come!!  I am anxious to see what I can do when I'm not sick!  :)

And I will leave you with the many faces of Camden.  :)  Our baby boy turned 11 months old on Sunday!  I cannot believe how quickly the time flies!  We are in the midst of planning his first birthday party...sock monkey themed and hubby just printed out the invitations tonight!  He is a genius!  :)

Happy Monday y'all!  Hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Struggles

I am going to be completely honest in this post.  I am struggling.  I feel like I have several people looking up to me as such an inspiration and I am struggling.  I don't want to work out, I don't want to eat healthy, but at the same time, I don't want to be fat for the rest of my life either.  I think this is in part from feeling icky the past 2 days and pretty much eating whatever I want the past two days as well.  I don't want to fall off the wagon, but I know I am struggling.  I need to clean up my diet.  I need to work out because I know it will make me feel better.....but I just don't want to!  Where has my motivation gone all of a sudden?  I guess this is the time to just suck it up and deal!!!

I have goals to meet and I know that I can't meet them by sitting on the couch and sulking in my sickness.  Sometimes I wish I lived closer to the people that I could work out with or that I could afford a gym membership, but at this point in my life, I would rather stay at home with my son and not be able to afford to go to a gym.  Accountability is key and that is something that I don't feel that I have a lot of but I know that is what I thrive on.  

Anyway, time to pick myself up and dust myself off.  I can do this!!!  I will do this!!!

Beast Mode

I started writing this post yesterday and today ended up being a completely different feeling so I started the post over.  I started week 4 of Couch to 5K and beasted the first day, however, when running tonight for day 2 I struggled.....a lot.  I had to stop several times to stretch out my calves and hip flexors and actually ended up not being able to run all of one of the 3 minute runs, but then ended up running all of the next 5 minute run....it is all such a mental struggle!!  I pushed through the pain tonight, by seriously praying that God would take the pain out of my legs.  I continued staring at my Weight Loss Goal Milestone sheet and looking at my ultimate goal weight.  In fact, I actually bit the skin on my pointer fingers to make the pain go somewhere else so I would take my mind off of how badly my calves and shins were hurting....call me weird, but it worked and I pushed through and finished the last 5 minute jog!!!

I may have mentioned before but this summer is going to be full of lots of time spent at the beach and by the pool and beast mode is now in session!!!  I HAVE to get this flab under control....it would be nice that my second summer after having a baby, I could actually get in a two-piece and feel comfortable in it!  That is my goal, but I have a long way to go!!!

For those of you that are doing either (or both) of the March challenges, how's it going?  I will be honest.  I haven't worked a lot on my No Scale Challenge measurements (tricep dips, push-ups, etc).  But I have still been working out.  I am also really enjoying the Lean Legs challenge!  

Hope y'all have a happy Friday tomorrow!! 

It's March!!!!

Hey ya'll!  It's March....my birth month....:)  We have already started celebrating my birthday even though it isn't actually until Monday.  When I picked Thomas up from the airport on Thursday, he had gone to The Body Shop while in the Charlotte airport and bought me body butter, body scrub, and shower gel in   Moringa, that is a fruity floral (yes, it is both) smell that is awesome!!

The Body Shop

Then, today he took me to the Outer Banks to go to one of my favorite restaurants, Mama Kwans to get their famous fish tacos, that are OUT.OF.THIS.WORLD!!!!

Mama Kwans

And of course, while we were down there we had to go down to the o-chin!!

Anyway, enough of my day and the spoiling that my hubby does of me.  :)  

Again, it is March!!  That means it is the first day of mine and Laura's No Scale Challenge!  I wrote about it earlier in the week on Tuesday, but just as a refresher: 

The rules for the No Scale Challenge are:

• Weigh yourself ONLY once a month.  If you have too big of a temptation, have someone hide the scale for you.
• Complete these six activities and record your results:
• One mile time
• Plank time in one minute
• Crunches in one minute
• Push ups in one minute (military or on knees)
• Burpees in one minute
• Tricep dips in one minute
• Then, work on improving each of the above mentioned activities at least three times a week.

You can do as little or as much of this as you want.  But, YOU are your only competition in this.  Laura and I are mainly doing this to get rid of our obsession with the scale, but we both wanted other ways to see improvement, besides how our clothes fit.  We want to KNOW that we are getting stronger.  Push yourself!  We are also here if you need some pushing.  ;)  We can and we will do this!

I also, took my body measurements (neck, left and right biceps, bust, waist, hips, left and right thigh, and left and right calf just as a baseline.  Laura's awesome husband made a spreadsheet for us to keep track of all of our measurements and results that you can download from her blog!  (If I was all techy and knew how to put it in my blog I would, but this way you can check out Laura's blog too!)

So, here are all of my measurements for the month of March, and some pictures too!

Neck--14"
Right Bicep--13"
Left Bicep--12 3/4"
Bust--41 1/2"
Waist (at belly button)--39"
Hips (at largest part)--43 1/2"
Right Thigh--24 1/2"
Left Thigh--25 3/4"
Right Calf--17 1/2"
Left Calf--17"

One mile time:  15:53 (treadmill)
Plank time:  01:47:01 
Number of crunches in one minute: 52 (Sit-ups--coming ALL the way up were 35)
Number of push-ups in one minute:  37 (knees)  
Number of burpees in one minute:  13
Number of tricep dips in one minute:  41

Sizes:

Jeans: 14--YES, I am FINALLY in a 14 again!!!  I started this whole thing out in 18's--pushing a 20!!!

Shirts L/XL

I don't wear dresses, so I have NO clue!  I would imagine a 14 or 16....but who knows!  LOL

My final weight, as of this morning, after eating and drinking a cup of coffee was 190.4!!!!!!  WOOHOOO!!!  Total, I have lost 49.6 lbs since having Camden last April!  So exciting and so close to 50 lbs lost!

And, now for some pictures!!!

SIZE 14 Y'ALL!!!

And, this is my motivation wall!  On the paper, I have all of my weight loss goal milestones and rewards for each 10 lbs lost.  :)

Have a fabulous weekend y'all!!

March Challenges

My friend Laura and I are doing a non-scale challenge starting Friday.  We both have an obsession with weighing and want to break free of the feeling that we are defined by the number on the scale...that somehow it tells our worth or something.  Instead, we are going to focus on getting stronger and healthier.  The things we are going to be looking at are:

• One mile time (this is going to be killer for me, but the only way from here is up!!!  I can barely run 1/4 mile now as it is!!)
• Plank time
• Crunches in one minute
• Push-ups in one minute (on knees or military style)
• Burpees in one minute (burpees, I loathe you...and quite frankly am afraid of you since my knee injury!!!)
• Tricep dips in one minute

In addition to the things listed above we are also going to be taking our body measurements monthly. She has decided to weight monthly, but I don't know if I am even going to do that.  My husband hid my scale this past Friday and I haven't once had the desire to go searching for it.  I am loving that as long as I stick to my workout routines and eating properly, the inches and weight are subsequently going to drop.  I can FEEL it!  :)  So, the last number I saw on the scale was 192.4.  I have no idea if I have lost any weight as of right now but I do know that based on clothing alone, things are getting looser!  My favorite pair of pre-preggo jeans....I actually have a little extra room in them, which I didn't have before getting pregnant!  :)  Progress people, progress!!!

Anyway, back to the challenge.  We are going to take our measurements and do our first round of the above mentioned exercises as a baseline.  You are only in a challenge with yourself.....NO ONE ELSE!  Like Laura said, if you can only do one today, try for two tomorrow and so on.  We can do this!!!  Laura's husband is also making a printable sheet to follow along throughout the duration of the challenge as a place for you to keep track of your progress that she will share on Friday and I am going to sweet talk her into letting me use it on my blog too.  :)  

Secondly, each month, the group that I am a part of decides on a challenge to do.  February's was Fab Ab challenge where we have done sit-ups, push-ups, and planks, gradually increasing the time and amount throughout the month.  We started with 10 sit-ups, a 10 second plank, and 4 push-ups.  On Thursday, we will have increased our time and reps to 100 sit-ups, a 2 minute plank, and 25 push-ups.  For March, we are doing Lean Legs March.  I don't know about y'all, but I could definitely use some help in the leg region.  :)  I found this calendar on Pinterest.

Fun, Fit and Fabulous: Lean Legs March Challenge

This calendar is from last year but you can transfer it onto a calendar for this year.  :)  If you click on the link, she gives you demonstrations of all of the different moves, either by video or a picture tutorial.  If you aren't ready to hide the scale just yet, maybe you can join me on this challenge and get Leaner Legs by summertime!  :)

I am very much looking forward to both of these challenges!