Day 103 - Abducted by Aliens

Who are you and what have you done with my husband?

In the same day, my husband, whom I often refer to as "Daddy,"

1.) Offered to babysit the kids so that I could get out of the house and socialize with my adult friends

2.) Called me from work JUST to tell me that the chicken that I had grilled the night before was absolutely perfect and very delicious

3.) Only called me one time while I was spending time my friends (and it was only to verify the amount of medicine to give to Lil C, so it doesn't really count), and

4.) Had the dishes done and the kitchen cleaned when I got home.

Suspect, I tell ya, but I'll take what I can get.

He might actually feel bad for me since I've been stuck inside for 7 days with sick kids, or he might be seeing signs that I'm about to crack and he'd rather take the offensive and be proactive than be on the receiving end when I actually DO crack.

No, I didn't work out today. I DID, however, do 20 kitchen counter push ups at the BFF's while her hubby opened a bottle of wine for me. I can't really count that as exercise, though. I was just warming up for my 8oz bicep curls.

On an AWESOME note, I'm down 10 lbs. Yep, you read it correctly. 10 lbs. AND, my belly button ring has come out of hiding. I'm celebrating by wearing a tube-top tank today. Yay me.

Photo is of my jeans. I think it might be time to retire the fat jeans and go shopping.

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Day 74 - Discombobulation

Day 43 - Alligator Headache

What a fantastic weekend. Celebrating my in-law's 50th wedding anniversary and getting to hang out with all of the people that we don't get to see enough of throughout the year.... *sigh*

The day started out slow... had to go through the recovery process after partying like rock stars the night before. Watched the original subtitled "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" then headed out to The Florida Aquarium with the entire family. LOVE that place...except for those darn alligators. I walked up behind all the kids to see what they were so interested in. I poked my head through the wall of cousins and WHAM!! Gator eyeballs two feet away....looking right at me. My heart skipped a beat then nearly jumped out of my chest. My skin got really hot and then tingly and my head started pounding. I'm not too fond of alligators, as some of you may know. That headache lingered for a couple of hours...

I have to give a shout out to my sister-in-law, Mary, for stepping up to the plate and joining me on my "twenty" - Although it was short lived, we managed to squeeze in a brisk 10 minute walk around the neighborhood and then returned to do 50 kitchen counter push-ups. When questioned about what I was doing, my other sister-in-law, Carrie, explained that they were my "kitchen counter push-ups." She reads my blog!! Yay. Feels good to share and know that people are reading!! Finished off the weekend with some yumalicious pasta with cappicola meatballs at Aunt Toni's!!! We've been eating low-carb in our house for months, so it was hard not to slip into a carbohydrate coma.

Gonna miss that bunch. Hoping to get together again this summer sometime!

Day 42 - The 50 Year Anniversary

Seriously. 50 years. I don't know what their secret is, but I plan to be there in 41 years...or is it 42??? What gets me is the the 7 years that Charlie and I were together BEFORE we got married. We earned those years, darn it.

So, today was a rest day...not planned in advance, but a rest day none the less. I woke early and then headed out to the University of Tampa for a Photography class field trip. It was fun, but I didn't really learn anything other than the fact that if you go to the concrete amphitheater in downtown Tampa and stand in this one particular square, the audio echo when you speak comes back - directly into your ears like you have headphones on and you can hear yourself speaking. It's wild. One step to the left, and it doesn't work. It was very cool.

After class, I had to rush home & clean the house to show it for a Realtor that was coming by at 2:45p, then we headed straight up to the clubhouse to start decorating for my In-Law's 50th Wedding Anniversary party. That lasted into the wee hours of the night, of course, leaving no time to take back my twenty. Today, however, I didn't mind. It was a fabulous day all around. Good times with good people and good wine. Cheers, all.

Photo is of the Bride (Meme) and Groom (Papa). Meme with my Lil C and Papa letting a young Sierra play beauty parlor with what was left of his hair while we vacationed in North Carolina. Priceless. Love my life.

Day 35 - Your Children Will Become You

The BFF and I took our families to the Monster Truck Show tonight. As we were about to enter the complex, we were faced with the decision of either standing in line to go up the escalator or walk up the 30 degree incline ramp. What came out of my son's mouth next just about blew my mind. Lil Charlie, for those who don't know him, is my 7 year old son. He is a video game master who hates sweating, team sports, and being outdoors in general. Well, as we approached the complex, Lil Charlie says, and I quote, "Let's take the ramp so we can get our exercise." OMG. It makes me want to cry right now, just thinking about it. This is profound. If any of you reading this think that your kids aren't paying attention to the things that you do and say, think again. Your children will become you. Be who you want them to be. (A modification of my favorite quote from Mahatma Gandhi "Be the change that you want to see in the world).

There was our answer. Little did I know JUST how far of a walk it was. Each lap around was about half the size of a standard track. Add on the 7 layers of ramp and I'd say it was at least a mile walk all the way to the top...at a 30 degree incline, I might add....with 4 kids. I'm sure you can imagine the kids reactions when we got to the top and then turned around to tell then that we now have to walk back down. HA!! They were pissed!

We eventually made our way back down, crossed over to the other side, and then decided to hop on the escalator this time. Ahhhhh...

The show was great. I want to be a Monster Truck Driver!!!

Photo taken from THIS blog page.

Day 29 - A Walk in the Park

Literally. The weather here in Mid-Florida today, in the heart of winter, was a balmy 75 degrees. We packed up the bikes and drove down to Hillsborough River State park. Lil Charlie learned what happens when you mix bike tires and soft sand....the same thing I learned while riding my Harley through soft sand about 7 years ago. Ouch!

We rode around the main loop and then checked out the camp grounds...wondering why we never camped here before...so close to home. Instead, we would drive 50 miles to a campground that looks exactly the same. I didn't think that Hillsborough River State Park allowed campfires for some reason, but there were campfires burning all over the place. I'm thinking that this little trip might lead to a new (and by "new" I really mean "used") camper in the near future.

Missed the BFF today...we'd be attached at the hip if we could get away with it.

Day 28 - Nothing

I have nothing for you for this day. I did get some movement in today, playing X-Box kinect... Boxing, Volleyball and Bowling....catching up on the 29th. It's hard blogging on the weekends!

Day 26 - Time Warp to BHS 1990

BHS.
1990.
Volleyball.
State Championship.

The only differences:
An extra 40lbs.
It's 2012.
We were in my living room.
We are on different teams.

That's me and the BFF in the blurry photo. Her daughter Jenna took it for us. Beggars can't be choosers, I guess.

We decided to use the X-Box Kinect to take back twenty tonight. The game of choice: Volleyball. You see, we played together back in high school. We placed 2nd in State in 1990, so this match got a little heated. She won the first match, I won the second match and the tiebreaker went into quadruple overtime. Final match score: 9-7 Winner: J.V.

I have to admit, I was skeptical and didn't think I would get a good enough workout. Well, let me tell you otherwise...the sweat was dripping from every possible sweat gland on my body. Thinking this might become my workout of choice...at least two or three times a week. In fact, we ended up taking back between 25-30 because we couldn't beat each other.

Tonight was a fun twenty. We all need a little fun in our lives. Doing the same thing every night would bore me, which is why this seems to be working. In 26 days I've had 2 rest days and 1 fail day, which I'm hereby declaring "an unscheduled rest day," and going forward will be known as "PMS DAY" No one knows when this day will come. It will lurk in the shadows, skulking behind you and when you least expect it...... BAM! Kind of like real life PMS. Toodles!

Day 25 - X-Rays and Monster Trucks

One part about getting older that I wish I could change is the amount of time it takes the body to recover. Bang your leg on a table and you have a bruise for 2 weeks. Go out drinking and partying until 5am, and pay for it for 3 days. Pull your back doing dead lifts in November, and you will find yourself at the Musculoskeletal Medicine / Orthopedic Surgeon guy in January. He was my age and he had like 2% bodyfat. Scheesh.

So the nurse took me back into a room and tossed a pair of paper shorts and a paper gown on the table. I looked around. There was no x-ray equipment in this room. WTH? I was going to have to walk OUT of this room in paper clothes. No way. Started thinking that they probably have portable equipment by now and she'll be rolling it in any minute.

Nope.

"Come this way," she says as she opens the door. {o.O} Hoping that we would be going into the room next door, I followed her down the hallway, past a lady and gentleman sitting in another room, around a corner, down another hallway past a few more people and finally made it to the x-ray room. Seriously? As if wearing paper clothes isn't bad enough? You had to parade me around the office too? Julie - I know you're reading this. Please send them a message asking them to not make you change until you get into the x-ray room. Seriously. How embarrassing.

Either way, the x-ray looked good and I start physical therapy next week because a Strain/Sprain shouldn't last for 3-4 months. If there are any x-ray techs out there that see anything abnormal, please let me know. :o)

In case you are wondering, I DID hit the gym tonight. 20 minutes straight on the treadmill, then 60 treadmill push-ups. Arms were burning after 45, so I know they're working. It was infiltrated by a pack of 17 year old high school boys towards the end of my workout...thinking about waking up at 6:30am to take back my twenty tomorrow. Not to mention the 500 calories that I'll save by going to bed at 11pm.

p.s. We got out Monster Truck tickets tonight for the Feb 4th show. Good family fun with the BFF and family. Can't wait!!

Day 24 - Karma Bites

Before I get into my story about how Karma bit me in the rear end this morning, I want to share this little tid-bit about my readers. According to my "stats," I have had readers from Russia, Serbia, Australia, Costa Rica, UK, Germany, Ecuador, Canada and France. I think I know who my Australia and Serbia readers are, but I'd love to hear from the others. Message me and tell me what you think.

Ok....back to gym. As I pulled into the gym this morning, there were two ladies who had also just pulled in and were getting out of their car at the same time. I caught one glimpse in my direction and then make an attempt to hurry towards the door.

You see, there are only 3 treadmills.

Now, under normal circumstances, I would, without a doubt, let someone else go ahead of myself, especially if I thought that they needed it more than I did. However, they had the numbers and my current state of uterine uproar prevented that from happening. As I put my head down and picked up the pace, you could see the one who had glanced in my direction earlier start to fumble something as she tried rushing the slow-poke along to beat me to the door. I failed to take back twenty yesterday and I wasn't going to let that happen again today.

If you've been reading my blog, you'll know who I mean when I tell you that the lady who decided to come join me on the treadmills was the "louder-than-and-more-opinionated-than-Fran-Drescher" lady. In addition to that, her friend had to use the elliptical located about 10 feet behind us and so the "louder-than-and-more-opinionated-than-Fran-Drescher" lady spent the next 15 minutes talking EXTRA loud so that her friend on the elliptical could hear what she was talking about. Her topic of choice today: "Glee (The TV Series) and how Americans are lowering their acceptable standards because she has to fast forward through some parts so her 5-year-old can't see them."


........................{o.O}....................


If you can't see the irony in this, I can't help you.

Day 23 - Twenty Excuses: The Day That I Failed

Day 23. Today I failed to Take Back Twenty. I have no photo. I could have easily hammered out 100 Kitchen Counter Push-Ups, or 50 sit-ups, or run up and down the stairs 20 times, or even played the X-Box Kinect. I didn't. I have lots of excuses, in fact, I have TWENTY excuses.

1. Stayed up too late.
2. Slept in until 8:45am.
3. Desperate Housewives
4. Facebook.
5. Had to clean up before my friend Michelle came over to do London's 6-month photos.
6. Had to do London's 6-month photos.
7. Facebook.
8. Had to eat lunch.
9. Had to sort through and edit London's 6-month photos.
10. Paranormal State.
11. Facebook.
12. Had to make Charlie's afterschool snack.
13. Had to pack my camera equipment.
14. Had to figure out where I was allowed to park for tonight's class at USF since tonight's Presidential debate was held AT USF!!!
15. Had to wash my hair.
16. Had to do my nails.
17. Had to go to class.
18. Had to eat dinner.
19. Two & a Half Men.
20. Happy Endings.

For those of you who placed bets on how long it would take to get to this day, fess up now.

Day 22 - Late Again

Today was utter perfection. I spent most of the day reading in a quiet house...all alone. I don't get many days like that, so I don't offer any apologies when I milk them for all they're worth. My daughter talked me into reading a book called "A Handmaid's Tale" a few months ago and I read the entire book in 2-3 days. If was compelling. You should read it. I did, however, hate the book's ending. I was so angry at how it ended, that I decided that I wasn't going to accept the ending provided and took it upon myself to re-write a new ending summary. So there. Take THAT Margret Atwood.

My awesome sister in law, Mary, was so thoughtful and bought me two of Margret Atwood's other books, one of which I spent 6 hours reading yesterday. There wasn't much moving or shaking going on yesterday at all, and so technically, I didn't take back my twenty. However, while hanging out at my parents house last night, enjoying a glass of Cap't Morgan and Coke, the guilt set in. Not sure if it was guilt, or an actual craving to use my muscles. Either way, I started hammering out 65 kitchen counter push-ups, in sets of 10 or 15. When my daughter asked what I was doing, my father, who was standing behind her, piped in, "She's taking back twenty." Wow. At least I know my dad is reading my blog. I think he started taking back twenty too...says he's lost 7lbs??? I think it was 7. Even if it was only 3, that's still progress, and progress is good.

Day 21 - Trampolines Rock

Who says exercise has to be boring??? Spent the afternoon with the BFF and her family. The first half of my 20 was spent on the trampoline. Talk about a workout?!?!?! Spend 5 minutes jumping and you'll know what I'm talking about.

After this, we headed inside, kicked on the X-Box Kinect and played a few rounds of Kinect Adventures and then Dance Central. Heart rate soared and I got my twenty. Talk about sweaty fun!!! After dance central, we played a few rounds of Family Feud and then soaked in the 104 degree (F) hot tub. Can't beat that for a Florida Winter Night!!! Exercise comes in many shapes and sizes. I got mine. Did you get yours?

Day 20 :: 10 x 2 = 20

Friday night. No kids. Yamato's Japanese Steak House... hot dinner date with my man. He also Redbox'd "Moneyball" for me - Yeah - with "old" Brad Pitt - got my first 10 earlier...getting another 10 later. The end. :-P

Have a fabulous weekend.

Whaaaaaaaaaat? You don't need many words with a picture like THAT!!!

Day 19 - Master Debater

I sat down tonight and flipped on the first coverage of the debates that I could find. Anderson Cooper it is. Did you know that Gloria Vanderbilt is his mother? I didn't know this until tonight.

I would normally have only taken back 20 at the gym tonight, but we have a DVR at home that only allows you to record 2 shows at a time, and then makes you WATCH one of the shows that you're DVR'ing. How stupid is that? Why DVR it if you're going to make me watch it while I'm DVR'ing it? I'd complain, but my husband works for the company. ...and in this economy, my DVR is the least of my worries.

I DID, however, stay at the gym for longer than usual so that I could watch some of the debate....Watch the debate? At the GYM? Yes. I took 2-3 minutes watching the gentlemen who were there to decide whether any of them were really watching the basketball game that was on the TV. No one appeared too interested, other than a stolen glance here and there to catch the score. So, I scanned the gym for the location of the remote control and made my move.

Without hesitation, I flipped the DUKE basketball game off (((GASP???))))) and turned it to the Republican Presidential debate.... and then smiled...silently daring anyone challenge me on which was more important. Yes, I was a Remote Control Bully tonight, and I'm not sorry...and Newt is a Master Debater... (chuckle - hahaha) That joke is as funny now as it was in the 8th grade. Thanks Anderson Cooper.

p.s. (This is NOT an endorsement for Newt Gingrich. I think he's a womanizing greasy pig.)

Day 18 - My Sister's Butt

Today was a "Day Of Rest" for me. We had no band practice, no guard practice, no Cubscout meetings and no karate. So, technically, I took my 20 and THEN some... hanging out with the kids watching American's Funniest Home Videos. It was more for mental health than anything else. Today was gray and gloomy and I edited photos ALL DAY LONG.

My good news today: I received a pic/text message from my little sister that read, 'Squeezed into my size 12! You inspire me! <3 And yes...I just sent you a pic of my fantastic booty.'

This kind of feedback is absolutely heartwarming. There are a few people who have messaged me directly to tell me how I have helped to inspire them to take back their own 20 minutes. Those messages inspire me more than anything else!!! Even my husband and kids are jumping on the bandwagon. LOVE IT!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic week. Please keep posting comments for me, and share my blog with your friends and family. They really do help me to stay on track. I'm seeing changes, although they are not drastic changes. It took me 2 years to get here, so I'm giving myself at least 1 year to get back to where I was, physically, 2 years ago. Too much math..."just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming" (-Dora, from Nemo) ....please don't censor me, SOPA!!!!

Day 17 - Pads to Pits

arm·pit
(ärmpt)n.

1. The hollow under the upper part of the arm at the shoulder.

Keyword: hollow.

It was a chilly day in early December when I strutted into my bathroom, reached under the bathroom counter, grabbed a fresh new razor, took my seat on the edge of the sink and realized that I no longer had armpits.

They were gone. Not so much "gone" in the sense of actually leaving my body, rather, they had inverted. They were no longer "pits," ....they were "pads." Soft, fluffy pads. It was that exact moment that hurled me into Taking Back Twenty. I can't believe I'm putting this out there.

I suppose I wouldn't be putting it out there unless those pesky pads were already beginning the process of recoiling back into my armpit where they belong. I think that you could say that they have reached a state of neutrality. They are not the fluffy pads that they used to be, but they are not the cave like structures of my youth. I miss my armpits. More than anything.

Wanna know what else is working? That beautiful young woman in the background of my photo is my incredible daughter. I was dressed and walking out the door when she asked me to stop so that she could go change and join me as I took back my twenty. Charlie also started Crossfit again yesterday. He does well with rigid exercise plans like that. Not me. I prefer a Yin Yang structure. So after 27 days total, including 17 days of blogging, I can safely say that something is working. Something is changing....and it feels good.

Leave me some comment love!!!!

Day 16 - Do NOT Ask Charlie to Pick A Number

Well, this "running out of time" crap is starting to become a pattern...a pattern that I am not comfortable blogging about. It was a very busy day for me and I think choosing to hang with my BFF, (haven't seen her in almost 2 weeks), then heading out to check out the BFF's future-daughter-in-law's new house left no time to take back from...But I'd do it all over again tomorrow! I love my BFF. After High School, we found each other again, 15 years later, on Facebook, and it was as if no time had passed. She's my hero. She works more than full time as an ARNP, has 4 kids, a clean house and still has the time and energy for ME!! My goal is to have the same energy.

So, you see how this could have very easily been my excuse to type here tonight. But it's not an excuse. It's an explanation....an explanation of how I'm letting outside forces control my time. After returning home at almost 10pm, I had to make a decision. I spent a few minutes having an internal debate, while scrolling through my Facebook page, then decided to crawl down onto the floor (still in my good clothes), in front of the TV. {o.O} While lying there, I asked my wonderful husband, who was relaxing on the couch... sipping his drink of choice... to pick a number....any number. I think he knew what I was going to do so he picked 75. Really? Seventy-Five??? Tonight was going to be a "push-ups" night - yes... real, authentic GIRL push-ups. I wasn't too happy with the number 75, but figured, if I was able to hammer out 100 Kitchen Counter Push-ups while eating a burrito and drinking wine, this should be no problem. All I have to say is, it took me 10 minutes to recover the feeling in my arms to be able to type this blog post. Arms will be burning tomorrow. Fo Sho.

Day 15 - Ghost of WAY PAST CHRISTMAS.

I had a GREAT night with 4/5 of the BFFC tonight...only missing the Bestie...Miss you, Julie "J.V." Hammond!!!

Sierra was so moved by "Fatal Attraction" last night that she insisted on sharing the experience with Gabi and Tori - two USF rockstars and 2/5 of the BFFC!!

I spent 80% of my day editing images from my photoshoot at Lange Farm. WoW! What a fantastic location for family portraits. In between my last two editing sessions, I sat on a heating pad to help ease the sciatica pain from yesterday... and it seemed to work!

Around 7pm, I headed to the gym to take back what was mine. About 5 minutes into my fast-walk, I started to feel the pain.....tried focusing on Mind over Matter. I was starting to break a sweat, getting the endorphin rush, and it started aching again...a sharp jagged pain...I was torn. It felt SO good to sweat, yet SO bad to have a knife stabbing into my lower back.

I pushed through the workout, but not because I'm strong. It was because there was this weird guy in the gym tonight. He was a ginger and appeared to be talking to himself. Not just jibber-jabber, and not just self motivation talk....He was having a full-on conversation with someone. Someone who I didn't see, hear or acknowledge. I couldn't leave. I had to see where this was going! My next thought was that maybe he had an earpiece and was actually talking to someone. Nope. No ear piece. No phone. Just as I hit my cool down, he threw on his jacket and headed out the door. I guess I'll NEVER know!! All I know if that I GOT MY TWENTY!!! Did You!?!!!!?????

Day 14 - Fatal Attraction

So, I managed to talk Sierra into going to the gym with me today. I didn't clock many miles on the treadmill...my sciatica decided to show itself tonight and I had the most wonderful pain shoot from my back down my left leg as I hit 3.7 on the treadmill. I tried switching to the seated cycle machine, but that didn't help.

Circuit training would have to do. We have a fairly nice circuit system at the gym...haven't had to use it yet, but tonight was the night. Leg extensions, chest presses, lat pulls, etc.

Circuit training was a breeze...two times around...then home to Sierra's "Winter Guard" leg lifts routine....talk about some PAIN!!!

We bonded over the pain, then watched "First Wive's Club" and "Fatal Attraction" with our new Cinemax ON DEMAND.

Tonight was a good night. Tomorrow will be better, I hope. Sciatica pain sucks.