Challenge Day 3-Results Already?!

Wow. That is really all I can say. Woooooow!

Today is day 3 of my Body by Vi 90 Day Challenge. Yesterday I didn’t do so great because it just turned out to be “one of those days”. You know the ones where you’ve got more planned than you can possibly fit into one day. (I see you shaking your head ;)

Well, I had a shake for breakfast and took a bottle of Neuro and a 100 calorie package of Cocoa Roast Almonds to my 10:30 meeting. Then, I ran from there (late I might add) to my darling niece’s 3^rd birthday party. Since I was already late I caved and ate a small sampling of party fare. I had a hot dog with mustard (only half the bun though), a few pretzels, and a couple of chips with sausage cheese dip. No cupcake! *high fives myself* And as soon as we got home I had my shake.

We left around 3:30 to go to “the big city” for dinner and a concert. I took along some more water, so I actually made my water goal for the day. For dinner we had grilled shrimp for an appetizer and I had one “big girl drink”. *hangs head* I felt pretty guilty for it. I had already technically “cheated” for the day, I should’ve nixed this. Oh well, better luck next time!

My dinner was a 6 oz. sirloin and steamed broccoli. (And it was SOOOOO good!!!!)

Lucky for me the concert was rocking so I feel like I got a decent workout just dancing along with the music! LOL, seriously, my abs and sides were a little sore this morning :oP I was rockin’ out!

Anyway, I was a little hesitant to step on the scale but decided I had better face the music and see how much damage I had done. Much to my amazement I was down a couple of ounces! What?! I measured just for giggles, mainly because my abs were sore-and I’m down ½ inch in my waist! WHAT?!

This was an excellent start to the day and has me fired up even more! I’ve done excellent today. According to MyFitnessPal.com I have about 140 calories still allotted for the day and I’ve already brushed my teeth today so those aren’t going to be consumed. And, I’ve done some exercise. A few push-ups here, a few minutes of jump rope there, and then right before my shower I tried my hand at Insanity again. It still kicked my butt and I only made it through the first 15 minutes, but I was dripping with sweat so I’m counting it as a victory!

I’m finishing off the last cup of water now, and truly feeling like a champ! Oh, PS-I think it’s rubbing off on DH too! He came in while I was doing the Insanity workout (while the girls were in the tub in our bathroom and I could see them because I was exercising in my bedroom), checked me out a minute, disappeared, and then came back to announce he was going to his shop “to lift weights” ;)

Body of my dreams………..I’m coming for you!!!!

Challenge Day 1-Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

I officially began my Body by Vi 90 Day Challenge today! Woo hoo!

I busted up out of bed and could hardly stand to wait to make my first shake! I did wait a few minutes though. I needed to weigh in, take my measurements, and get my girls settled. I really didn’t want anything to stop me from savoring a freakin’ chocolate milk shake for breakfast ;) LOL

A good friend who signed up to do the challenge with me stopped by and we took our “before” photos. I’m pretty sure both of us are even more determined now after seeing ourselves against a stark white background (my bedroom door) donning bathing suits and smiles! Our goal is to win a “Transformation Vacation”, yeah baby!

So, I had my shake for breakfast and it was even more tasty than my usual breakfast of skim milk Ovaltine because I of course added the ViSalus shake mix and ice cubes, blended it well, and it was literally a chocolate milk shake. GOOD morning to me!

For a mid-morning snack I drank an 18 ounce bottle of lemon Neuro-it’s this special drink mix that stimulates the brain helping to clear brain fog and boosts energy. My water intake goal per day is 73 ounces. I read that to get your personal daily quota you should shoot for half of your weight in ounces. (Dang it, now you know how fluffy I am :oP)

When lunch time rolled around I blended up a yummy strawberry shake. This went a little haywire as my blender lost its mind :/ IDK what happened, but I made a HUGE mess! LMBO, I think something must’ve happened to a seal on the bottom or something when I washed it this morning because it simply wouldn’t hold liquid. I added a new drink mixer to my Wal-Mart list (I ended up getting a Ninja).

For my afternoon snack I had 3 slices of turkey, 5 wheat thins, and a small handful of baby carrots.

I just finished part of my at home workout-500 jumping jacks. I plan on doing some light weights and more jumping jacks before bed.

I’m still not sure what I’m cooking for supper, but it’s almost 4 o’clock and I’m not even in the slightest bit hungry :/ Hopefully the girls will give me a suggestion of what sounds good to them.

I’m just amazed at this point that today has been so easy………….if it stays like this I’ve got this in the bag!!!!

Reclaiming my Body-90 Day Challenge Starts Tomorrow

You probably know that I’ve been doing a “fitness challenge” of sorts for a month or so now, and I just posted about how I was stepping up my game with the Body by Vi 90 Day Challenge.

I officially start tomorrow as the package full of goodies came to my door step late this afternoon!

When I realized what it was I of course tore into the package like a kid on Christmas morning. I took out the shake mix, opened it up, and took a deep breath of that heavenly “cake mix” smell and smiled smugly to myself about how “torturous” it would be to drink “cake mix” shakes for the next 90 days ;) I couldn’t help myself, I made one right then-just a snack size one though.

I’m seriously stoked beyond explanation! I have full faith that this will be “the one true fit” for me and my body. I feel it in my veins! (And hopefully will soon see it in my waist……..and thighs………….and butt…………and arms! LOL)

There are several reasons why I’m so ready to do this full on! Like, leave the half-hearted efforts in the dust, put my game face on and get ‘er done!

First and foremost is that I realize that though God gives us many blessings, few are as irreplaceable as our bodies. The scripture calls our bodies “holy temples” of the living God. It is my belief that we should praise him with everything he gives us, especially, and of course, including our bodies! He lives within me. Do I want him living in junk?! Heck no!

And then there’s the fact that I recently got my first piece of “you’re not getting any younger” mail. Yup, I’m headed toward the big 3-0 and unfortunately my health insurance provider saw fit to remind me NOW that my rates will increase as my “age bracket” moves up this summer. I will officially no longer be a “20 something”………..it’s time to get serious about reclaiming my body………..I’ve got to do it before it falls apart! LMBO

Then of course, there’s also the issue of my girls and how they will grow up viewing body image. I don’t want them to think “dieting” is normal, nor is being “overweight and/or unhealthy”. Through this transformation (as the kit is so aptly called) I want to instill in all of us a better understanding of how to properly fuel our bodies and just take care of ourselves in general.

And last, but certainly not least, comes my pride. We own a boat and DH’s dad has a place at the lake that we spend tons of time at during the summer months. With my kids being almost 3 years old, I flat don’t have an excuse to be a little extra fluffy anymore! I want to be able to wear a bathing suit and not wish myself invisible the entire time.

It’s here. Now is the time. My mind is made up. I will not fail. I will succeed in reclaiming my body!

Bottoms up! (on my shakes that is ;)

Fitness Challenge-Stepping up my Game

So, at the beginning of December I started another Fitness Challenge. I would LOVE to be able to rave about my success and post bikini pictures (that wouldn’t permanently burn your retinas), but…….sadly, I can’t.

I’ve lost 3 pounds. Seriously. Three. Pounds. Hmmmmmm………I’m a horrible waiter.

Thankfully, like a shining beacon in the foggy night of my lackluster performance, in walks someone who introduces me to the Body by Vi shakes. (And the clouds opened up and angels sang!)

I’m quite hesitant of things that sound too good to be true or just too easy in general. So I began researching like mad. (Not to say though that I didn’t trust my friend’s recommendation, especially given her medical background ;) I couldn’t find a single negative thing, so I decided to give it a go!

My friend came over this afternoon and hosted a “Shake Party” at my house so people could just stop by, sample the product, and learn more about it. I have to say that I was pretty amazed at how tasty they are! And that there are literally 100’s of recipes so you never get bored :o)

Now, I sit here, very impatiently waiting on my kit to come so I can get this thing crackin’! I clearly need an extra boost and I KNOW that this is just the thing to get me there!!!!!

Summer fun in the sun, here I come………..and I’m going to be looking hot in my bathing suit!!!!!!!!!! Woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!

I’ll be sure to post my progress as I go! If you want to join the Body by Vi 90 Day Challenge, let me know and I’ll get you started <3

Confessions of a Mommy Blogger-Piling it On

I can tell that this “confession” thing is going to be pretty easy for me to keep up! LOL, I ALWAYS have something to confess ;)

Despite the vast majority of days ending with a game of “That’s not my Name” I have made a couple of moves to pile a little more responsibility on my plate.

Before I go on, I have to confess what “That’s not my Name” is. *hangs head*

When a day has been entirely too long or flat too tiring, I find myself responding to calls of, “Mommy!” with a chorus from the “Ting Tings”, “that’s not my name!” The first couple of times I pulled this stunt they literally froze and stared at me like I had just sprouted a third eye. And then eventually shouted, “Yes it is Mommy!”

They’ve gotten much better at our little game. Almost 3 year olds are more clever than most people give them credit for. Now when I whip out, “that’s not my name”, they are quick to quip, “well, Nic Nic (in a very sarcastic tone) we want blah, blah, blah.”

Despite the craziness, I’m actually really excited about my new ventures. See, I’ve found that for me to be a truly happy mommy I have to feel like I’m part of something bigger. Something just for me, something I enjoy, and that gets me away to a private “all big girl” land for at least a little while.

Bunco is great, but is only one night a month and really doesn’t take any preparations. Christmas Cantata is PERFECT, once weekly, requires work at home, but unfortunately only lasts a couple of months.

Yesterday after briefly flipping through my “All You” magazine and ripping out the coupons I wanted I spied a small write up about a stay at home mom who “mystery shops”. That’s always sounded so intriguing to me, almost “too good to be true”. She quoted the site she signed up at as freelancebyu.com. She saw it on the Today show, signed up, and is actually getting jobs! If she can do it, so can I. I just have my fingers crossed that even Po-Dunk southern towns need mystery shoppers :/ Oh well if not, I can at least say I tried. And, the best part is that it gives me a reason to check my email! LMBO, I’m HORRIBLE about checking my email…….

And then, this afternoon I attended a meeting at church about revamping our next to nonexistent Sunday School program! There were 8 of us there and we’re going to give “rotations” a go, so that no one person bears all of the responsibility or misses all the services. This is something I’ve dreamed about for as long as I’ve been classified an “adult”. It’s weekly, it takes planning and preparation (both of which I feign for), and best of all, it’s sharing God’s word! I’m. Super. Stoked!

With things to look forward to this twin mommy can endure almost anything! Bring it on world! I feel important again…………for now :o)

Confessions of a Mommy Blogger-Clearing the Air

I’ve been having a hard time fulfilling the commitments I’ve imposed on myself as a mommy blogger.

There just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day nor discipline in my body.

That’s where this idea stems from. I’m a journaling kind of girl and finally realized that, “Hey, this is my blog! I can journal/vent/confess here if I want to”. So, that’s just what I plan to do.  I’m not perfect, in fact on most any given day I would bet my left big toe that I’m borderline insane. And I’m sure that for anyone who regularly partakes in the mommy blogger madness, it will be a breath of fresh air to get some reality checks.

I mean, yes, we do crafts and I home make this and that, and we go here and there, and our lives are pretty swell, but to leave out all the “behind the scenes action” just no longer seems fair.

So here I go, clearing the air!

This stay at home mom stuff is freakin’ hard! For me, it’s more mentally so than anything. The majority of my conversations are with preschoolers therefore I’m going to assume that is the reason my brain normally struggles to function at bare minimum on a preschool level.

Just a couple of days ago I spent from the time we got up (5:45am-ish) until noon (when we finally busted camp and left the house) being “baby cat”. My almost 3 year old twin girls were my “mommy cats” and we spoke this entire time in “meows”. It started out pretty entertaining and suddenly went to seriously alarming that we were having full blown conversations, and clearly understanding each other, with just body language and meows. I really wish I were making this up :/

Then, on days like today, I’m so exhausted by the time supper is on the table that I literally go hide out in my bathroom. My excuse is always “number 2”, and while I usually do save it up until then, I constantly look for new inventive ways to milk it for every second I can. I can’t believe my husband hasn’t forced me to go to the doctor to find out why it takes so long for such a normal bodily function to occur :oP  Truth is I sit there, all alone, in (almost) perfect silence, listening to the “fart sniffer” muffle out distant cries of “Mommy, where are you?! You don’t need your privacy!” I open the second drawer of a little corner shelf and grab the magazine on top and browse through as much as I can manage.

This magazine browsing is actually a pretty useful way to pass the time as I actually pull out articles that I want to file away for later use in a folder I’ve created for this purpose.

Don’t judge me. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do ;)

This actually feels nice-to just clear the air, let it all hang out, and to flat tell it like it is. I could get used to this (and hopefully will).

Geek Mom wants to go from Geek to Chic

In light of the new year and all it represents, this self proclaimed geek mom is aiming to glam it up a little. There's only one little problem..........I'm really feeling lost as to how to go about this :/

Since giving birth to my identical twin girls I have lost back down to my pre-pregnancy weight, but as all of you with kiddos of your own know, it doesn't necessarily look the same. With that said, I am feeling trapped inside my frumpy post baby wardrobe. The majority of my closet contains sweats, tees, and ill fitting jeans. This doesn't fit with the image I'm going for! (But at the same time I don't really know exactly what I want.)

Am I alone here?!

I'm attempting to tone up what I've got so to look and feel better in clothes, but truly struggling with it! I've got a terrible sweet tooth and an almost aversion to anything "healthy"! LOL, well, not everything, but lots of it. It's a texture thing.......*shivers*

But, I have come up with some things that help me feel better about myself despite what I have on and/or until I achieve the body I'm shooting for:

1. paint nails (just my toes, my fingers get messed up too soon to put forth that much effort)
2. whiten teeth (because you're never fully dressed without a smile!)
3. shave (no one may know it but me, but something about being silky smooth just makes me feel sexy)
4. have a fresh hair/brow 'do (a trip to the salon always perks me up)
5. new outfit (although I don't know exactly the style that's best for me yet, I do know that I am refusing to buy anything that doesn't fit me perfectly AND flatter my body when I try it on it the store-no more just thinking it's cute on the hanger, buying it, and then letting it sit with tags still on in the closet because I didn't feel comfortable in it when I got it home)
6. look myself square in the eye and remind myself that God formed every single inch of me and He makes all things beautiful-it's up to me to keep in the shape He intended for me though
7. accept my natural body type-endomorph-and treat it like the blessing it is

In the meantime, I still want to find a "style". I need some suggestions! I have a "style for dummies" board on Pinterest with some things that look doable for me. I want something cute, not to dressed-but not underdressed, washable, covers all the necessary parts, comfortable, and most importantly that is age appropriate (I don't want to look like a college girl, but not an old lady either). HELP!!!!