A walk in the park

Emma and I skipped the gym on Saturday and went on a little outing with Eric and the dogs; our 9 yr old basset Zoe and our baby Daxie. We drove up the canyon a ways and parked by a bridge that crosses over the run off stream and connects to the walking path. We normally start our walk down at the park and only make it as far as the bridge (1-1/2 miles) before we turn around and start back. I am so glad we decided to go to the trails end, it was sure worth the hike. As you can see there is a beautiful waterfall and the trail ends just beyond this point. From there we hiked down to the stream and followed it up as far as we could without getting wet. The dogs of course were wet head to toe! The water was cold and crystal clear and the whole stream bed is covered in riverrock vibrant with color, almost as if they are competing with the trees that are changing color this time of year. I feel so blessed to live in this bountiful place, we are surrounded by mountains, rivers and forests. Some of Gods most glorious art work is right here in our backyard.

I have to mention this awesome "Spooktacular" birthday party that Emma and I went to on Friday. Our good friend Gabby turned 10 and we were lucky enough to be there to help her celebrate. Gabby's party was at this awesome park in Green Valley. This park is like nothing I have ever been to before with skate board ramps and climbing walls; this is not your run of the mill swingset and slide park. It's like something from an amusement park. There was costume judging (and I have to tell you I think Daxie's bumblebee costume should have received some kind of an award :( ) and a pinata, chili with all the fixins plus 3 cakes, yes I said 3! 1 for the guests and 1 for each of the birthday girls; Gabby and her cousin Penelope had a combined party. The cakes, which Heather made, were so adorable. It was a good time for all, so many people I haven't seen for some time were there...it was like old home week.
If you want to check out party pictures I am sure there are some posted at "andreawatkinsphotography.blogspot.com"

Side note: my company is starting a 10-week fitness challenge begining on November 17th, which I will, of course, be taking part in. So I am kicking the workouts up a notch. This will be really good with the holidays right around the corner. In fact I wonder if that is why they are doing the challenge now....hmmm! Very smart move. Any way if any of you would like to take part (on your own of course) I would be happy to get the information to you. You do not have to belong to a gym to participate and it would be a fun challenge to do as a family with some prizes involved....of course.

Week End Get Away

It' is 5:30 Sunday morning and despite the fact that I am the only one awake at a hotel in Mesquite I am blogging as promised.
I got some slack about not posting a photo with my "bangs", but as most of you know I am the least photogenic person on this planet so it may take a couple million photos taken before I get one I like, so maybe next year sometime. I do have to say though that I have had a lot of good feedback on the bangs. My girlfriend Andi liked them and my Mom and Sister Shelby loved them! So I must be doing something right.
Like I said the Family and I are in Mesquite for a little together time which we desperately need. The kids are out of school Thursday thru Monday for UEA (deer hunt) so we scuttled down here yesterday and are staying until Monday. The girls and their cousins went cosmic bowling last night, then went pool hopping. They had a great time.
I didn't do so good at the gym this week. On Friday I had a lot of cooking to do for this trip and I was freaking out a little wondering how I was going to get it all done so I skipped the gym to bake 3 loaves of banana bread and put my roast in for shredded beef sandwiches that we will be having today and I made a macaroni salad. But on the flip side I promised myself a work out today and I usually take Sundays off. But, then Saturday rolled around and I had intended to leave the house at 2:30 work out with Kelsi and Emma until 4:00, pick Lonia up from work and head out of town. I got home from work around 1:00 and started packing, I had to shower and wash my hair, and I will admit I was running a little late but I was still on schedule for a work out when Em said, "Mom we cant leave early...it's suppose to be a surprise but Dad is coming home early so he can go with us." My house was a mess and I was backed up in the laundry department so once again I skipped the gym and did a quick once over with the vacuum (does that count as exercise?) and cleaned the kitchen, folded a couple of loads of laundry and put them away and cleaned my bathroom. Needless to say some days I feel like it just doesn't all come together the way I would like it to.
My good friend Shannon gave me some much needed advice though about skipping my work out and off setting it with the things and amounts that I consume. Great advice and I do think I followed that yesterday, so no beating myself up. Since I didn't go to the gym yesterday I have no weigh in. I will have to skip that this week and post it along with my measurements next week.
Daxie couldn't come on the trip so she is at the Watkins' being babysat by Gabby. Thanks so much Gabby I know she is in good hands. Andi is one girl who I know loves dogs as much as I do, and she has the sweetest family in the world.
Well ya all on a final note, wait just a moment I have to get on my soap box....this election is one that we all should take an active part in. If you haven't registered to vote or don't know if you are registered please do so. If you haven't chosen a candidate, there are lots of web sites that post their views on the subjects that are important to all of us and our nation as a whole. take an evening to discuss the issues with you family and find the candidate that is right for you. I spent 4 years as Legislative V.P. for Washington Cnty School District PTA and along with a Sarah Urqhuart initiated the "Kids Vote USA" Program in our district 8 years ago. I can tell you from experience Kids are very interested in their country, after all it is their future we are trying to secure. You may be surprised at how much your kids know about what is happening in the world today even if you don't discuss it with them at home current events are likely a daily subject of study at their schools. Having an input helps to reinforce that our kids feelings are valuable and important to us as parents. O.K. I am getting down now.
Until next week...

Zoe, always the center of attention

Bangs or no bangs???

I went in for a trim last Saturday and ended up with bangs! The whole bang/no bang issue has been haunting for quite some time. I have this huge head and I have always used my hair as a shield . Like, look at my hair not my body!!! Every time I see some big headed woman who has bangs I again teeter on the bang/no bang issue. This has been going on for way too long; like 3 years. It was Khloe Kardashian who finally gave me the final shove to go for bangs. Khloe is one big headed woman and she looks fabulous with bangs. I didn't do the straight across bangs like her (I am way too old for that) but I did get a sweeping bang. My girls say it is cute; so I guess it must be true.

One of the guys that I do a lot of business with keeps commenting that I look a lot different. This is because I started wearing my hair straight. I told him I have gotten younger, and thanked him for noticing. After seeing "The Women" with my BFF's and seeing Meg Ryan's transformation from curly to straight my mind was made up. Straight hair didn't necessarily make her look younger but it made her look less chaotic and more like a woman who took herself seriously. I think as women sometimes we struggle between our teenage selves and our middle age selves. There is nothing better than finding a really great pair of jeans (which I have) and the right style of hair, that makes us feel young but helps us look really good for our age. My ultimate goal is to be like my girl friend Shannon or Aunt Janece, to look so good no one knows your real age, just keep them guessing.

I had my weigh in on Friday, lost another 2 lbs, and I had my first measurements done. I have lost 1" ea on my arms, thighs and neck and 3" ea on my waist and hips!!! Definitely something to celebrate.

I did struggle a little to get to the gym this week, and I am finding that I have a lot of guilt when I don't get there as much as I would like to. Our cat Suki was sick on Saturday and kept going down hill all day, she passed away around 4:30 Saturday afternoon. Emma and I usually go to the gym together, especially on Saturdays, but we couldn't bring ourselves to leave Suki so we ended up skipping our work out on Saturday. I have beat myself up over that for the last 24 hours. I feel that I need to find a healthy approach to life/work out; I don't want to make this an issue to causes me guilt or stress I have enough of that. If any of you have advice please share.

Kudos to my sister Shelby for getting her first (of many I am sure) promotion at work. I am so proud of my sister, her work ethic is set to a higher notch than most and she is continually trying to better herself.

Eric is getting ready for his Wyoming fishing trip with his brother Mark. They leave on Thursday this week and he will be gone for 4 days. Hopefully he will be bringing home a mess of big beautiful trout for us to feast upon next week.

We had our first snow fall of the year yesterday and although I could have waited another month, or even two, it sure was a beautiful sight. I am so blessed to live where we have 4 seasons.

Next weigh in: October 18th
next measurement: October 25th

And now my journey begins...

When I turned 30 I went through a similar self exploration so I guess it is normal at certain times in our lives to take a look at ourselves and change what it is that we don't like and expound on the things that we do like. Ten years ago I was over weight, out of shape, and smoking a pack a day. I quit smoking (cold turkey) and started going to the gym. I got in shape by going to the gym a couple of days a week and I stopped drinking soda and eating all of the crap that we eat when life is hectic and we are too busy to cook. So here I am again full circle out of shape, and over weight, this seems to be my Achilles heel in life.
My oldest daughter Kelsi says, we all battle against our own cure! She came to rely on this phrase as a mantra in her life when she lost her biological father to his battle, and now she, and I and probably you are left here to battle against our own cure. Losing Tom and trying to hang onto Kelsi has brought a certain fragile quality to my life. I am sometimes afraid to speak for fear that I will say the wrong thing to her, and she will somehow end up like him. But I am getting off track here. This is for sure a blog of its own.
I am constantly battling what I know will make me happy and that is getting in shape. At the beginning of summer I started walking but I really was not seeing a big change in the way my clothes fit. So, after committing to a "we are turning 40 cruise" with my BFF's in November of 2009 I started going to the gym again. my first day back was September 15th. I met with a trainer that day and he was AWESOME! He gave me a work out schedule that I have kept up with for 20 days now and I have never missed a session. Donna says 20 days makes a habit, so I think I am on my way to a good habit. I met with a nutritionist a week ago and I really don't have bad eating habits I just have a really bad habit of eating to much in the evening. I am working on that.
I am not brave like Shannon and will not post my weight on the computer, although if I only weighed 120 I would totally post that so I take back the brave comment. LOL
But I will say that I have lost 1o pounds since the beginning of summer. My clothes feel great on me. I love being able to breath in my favorite jeans without that roll of fat hanging over my waist line.
And now my journey begins. I will be blogging my weight loss experience, as well as my coming of old age in this blog over the next year as I prepare myself mentally, physically and financially for my "Turning 40 Cruise". I hope I can count on all of you for love and support, cheers and kudos even when I eat too much at Thanksgiving and gain 3 lbs.
I am going to share my workout schedule with you and if any of you have advice on how to shake it up a bit when I start to plateau please feel free to share.
Monday - upper body
Tuesday- 1 hr cardio
Wednesday- lower body
Thursday- off
Friday- upper body
Saturday- lower body
Sunday- off from gym but still do about 1/2 of cardio (usually walking our totally adorable dog Dax)
I always start off by warming up with 5 min of cardio on the cycling bike; am working my self up to taking a cycling class on Tuesday's as my cardio but not there yet.
I do a circuit of training for about 45 minutes on either my upper body or lower body, followed by 60 crunches, 60 reps on the waist machine thingy (don't know what it is called) and 36 leg throws with the trainer. Then I wrap up with 5 minutes on the rowing machine and 30 minutes on the treadmill in cardio or fat burning at a 3.2 with a HR of 134, my max incline is about 5.5 right now, but it was 3.4 two weeks ago so I am improving. I weigh in and do my measurements every other Saturday, my next weigh in is October 11th.
My journey begins now, I can say I am fully committed to bettering myself in the year to come and I hope you will come along for the fun. And for all of you out there turning 40 this cruise is open to you all. This is a celebration to all we have endured and all we are yet to endure as strong, successful and self-loving women.
P.S. this blog is updated each week on Sunday morning.