More footwear!

I am still in deep, passionate love with my Vibrams. I haven't come up with a name for my pretty pinkish-violetish shoes... yet.

I wanted to mention some more footwear that I really truly love. My favorite slippers are the Acorn moccasins in fleece or what appears to be Muppet fur. I have had many many pairs of these puppies and I have never been more satisfied with slippers before. I wash them frequently because I wear them outside, sometimes to retrieve a dog from the way back of the yard when he/she is barking, or to chase after Ty when I told him to stay on the deck, or I wear them in the garage or out to the mailbox. The sole is tough and like a shoe, but they are so soft and squishy on the inside. Back to the washing part - they wash and dry so well and no separate cycle needed. I just throw them in with jeans or whatever. Beautiful. I am sad to report that I will have to replace a couple pairs of my Acorn slippers. If you will recall, I noticed that my feet have slimmed down quite a bit. Well, since we are coming off of winter (or whatever that was that we had) and I wore slippers a lot during that time, I apparently had some chubbier feet than I imagined. A couple pairs are so stretched out that they look like I'm wearing mini footballs on my feet. It would take a few pairs of socks, layered, to make them fit properly. Oh well, I suppose I can get back some more slippers made out of Muppet fur. I would also like to mention that these slippers are great to wear in the house at the buttcrack of dawn and maneuvering around, atop and through dog toys that may or may not result in stubbed toes.

I used to wear Skechers all the time. No, not the thick soled tennis shoes, but ones that looked like bowling shoes! I had black, brown, cream, burgundy and a weird tan color that my sister dubbed "beetle" shoes. I loved these shoes, but sadly, just like everything else, they stopped making them. I have yet to find something comparable to the comfort and versatility of my bowling Skechers.

Since the Skechers, I have been on a quest for comfortable shoes. Anything goes. Again, I'm a fashion faux pas and not afraid to admit it. I go for comfort and practical. Always. Okay, there was one time that I was in a friend's wedding and my dress was pretty long. I had to get some heeled shoes. I found some strappy heels, chunky heels, though and in the store, I thought, "I can wear these for the wedding and change after the ceremony." So, there we all are, standing up in front of the church and my feet hurt so badly that I actually contemplated "fainting" to just be able to get off my feet for a few seconds. No, I didn't do it, I toughed it out and ended up paying for swollen, throbbing feet afterwards for days. Never again. Never.

In the last couple of years, I have discovered the pure heaven that is known as KSwiss Tubes. I honestly didn't know they still made KSwiss shoes until I saw them at the store. I thought they were strange looking, but would try them on since my favorite pair of shoes in high school was a pair of black canvas KSwiss shoes. They were so much so my favorite that PIC #2 ended up giving me her pair that she didn't wear after I had peed all over mine. That's a long story and not sure I really want to share that proud moment, either. You already know too much. Too much.

KSwiss Tubes are running shoes, but they are great for walking. Brett got me three pairs for Christmas this year and I've only worn one of the three pairs so far. I feel that it will be very soon that I will need to bust out another pair because I noticed a little knee pain in my walk today. This is usually indicative of needing a fresh pair with support and bounce. I'm not sure how you all can tell if you need new shoes, but I can tell the moment my knees or hips hurt that it is time. Once I get a new pair and upon wearing them for the first time, the pain is gone. I seriously thought for a while that I tore my ACL and was really bummed about it, then I tried a new pair of shoes and miraculously, the pain went away! The bad thing about wearing the same pair of shoes everyday is that they wear out faster. It is only 4 months into this pair of shoes and they are going to have to become my "play" shoes, whatever that means.

Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to those of you thinking of trying on a pair of KSwissers, until next time...

Too Tired?

The feedback I get from people that read this here blogarino is awesome! I love hearing from you all. It does help motivate me. Thank you!!!! I have responded to each one of you individually, but am going to share some of the overall thoughts that people have shared with me.

Too tired
I have heard that people would do as much as I do if they weren't too tired or they wish they had my energy. Believe me, I'm tired. I'm tired as all get out. I am usually falling asleep in the chair while watching Mickey with Tyson at 7PM. I think that is to be expected from getting up at 4:15 six days a week. I have to force myself out of bed at 4:15. I don't enjoy getting up that early to workout, but I do enjoy how good I feel after I have worked out. I feel an incredible sense of accomplishment by following through with what I set out to do. If I can just get to the point where I am ready to workout (water glass full, sports bra on, workout clothes on, shoes and DVD queued), I make myself get to it. It isn't like I'm sitting here in the chair every night after a long day trying to contain my energy. I have to summon the energy gods and push myself to get it done and do it well.

Typical Day
Some have asked what a typical day consists of for me. This mostly relates to the previous discussion about being too tired/lacking energy. I don't know if it is helpful, but I have put a lot of thought into my typical days to show the ins and outs of what I do most days and definitely weekly. I do also have to mention that Brett does help out with some of these things, but definitely not within the first two hours of my day. Ha!  The first two hours of my morning consist of letting the pups out, feeding them, prepping the coffee maker, getting Ty's sippy ready, working out, switching out the laundry, getting myself ready for work and snuggles with Ty.

I utilize my work breaks to run errands and make appointments. Errands meaning Target, grocery store and vet runs.

After I pick Ty up from daycare, I try to make it a point to spend quality time with Ty. Of course, I must vacuum everyday after work, so there are things that need to be done before playtime. We eat around 5 every night, so I don't have a ton of time right away with Ty. Once Brett gets home, I usually hit the kitchen and get supper started, unless it is in the crock pot, then I can go a little longer.

After we get done eating and cleaning up the suppertime mess, we have about an hour to play with Ty before bath. Yes, he still goes down pretty early. No complaints here! After bath, we sit down with Ty and watch an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (Lord help Brett and I to not rip our hair out) and Ty goes to bed around 7:30. Once he is down, I either get in another workout, do laundry, pay bills or watch a little TV. Getting up as early as I do, I don't have much time to spare after he goes down before I have to go to bed myself.

Contrary to what anyone may believe, we do not have a cleaning service that comes to the house. Oh how I wish we did. The bedding on our beds get changed weekly, or in Ty's case, daily. I cook something for supper 99% of the time. We hardly ever eat out. Having that meal plan in place is so helpful.

Once a week, I tutor away from home, so I don't have that one evening a week to do whatever else I need to do.

Our weekends are usually very busy. Between home improvement projects and trying to spend time together as a family, there are also grandparents and aunts and uncles that want to see Ty. This is a huge reason that I started working out at "normal" time on Saturdays so that I could get it in as a sure thing. Then, of course, I'm running around during nap time trying to accomplish whatever I can while Ty is sleeping. Most of the time it is going to the grocery store for the big weekly trip, steam mopping the floors or prepping supper, which Ty loves to help, but I have an issue with having him help with raw meat.

All of the stuff that I listed is just the stuff that I do around the house. This doesn't include anything that Brett does, which adds another monkey wrench into the whole thing because most of his stuff has to be done when Ty is not two steps behind. Brett is learning how to be more patient when it comes to Tyson's "helpfulness." Brett takes care of the dishes around here and Ty is more than happy to help put things away, but I know how frustrating it is to just want to get it done without "help" from Ty, but Brett now has a new understanding of why things take me so long anymore. Ha!

I'm no busier than anyone else. I am really creative with my time, though. I have to be in order to get stuff done. Until we can hire someone to do the things, I will continue to be creative with my time. Or if I could win the lottery and be a stay at home mom, that would be another option.

Working out with Tyson
People have asked how this is going. Well, I will tell you, it is going about as well as working out with a 2 1/2 year old can go. He doesn't have the attention span to actually participate in a 45 minute workout, or even a 30 minute workout. Example: the other day, I had a 45 minute workout on the schedule. I started it. By now you would think that Ty would be FULLY aware of what TurboFire is and that mommy likes to do it. This workout took over an hour and fifteen minutes to complete because I had to pause it numerous times.

After seeing me workout for over a year, he should be used to it by now, right?! Nope. Again, he's 2 1/2!!!! I just have to be sure to wear my patience on those days that I know Ty will be joining me in my workout. Anyone that has kids or animals for that matter should know that things hardly ever go the way you plan them. I will admit that it is frustrating at times to work up a sweat only to have to pause the video to go upstairs to refill a sippy cup only to have to go back upstairs to get him a snack four and a half minutes later. I will also admit that sometimes I'm not nearly as calm and collected as I should be when I'm trying to stay focused on working out. Then, I remind myself that it isn't my "normal" workout time and I'm actually on Tyson's time now. This is why I workout before he even thinks about getting up, that is MY time. I suggest ,to any parent wanting to expose their kids to working out, to keep your expectations low. Wear your patience HazMat suit. Stay calm. I am repeating all of this to myself as I type it. I feel like I'm ready to try again with the boy.

Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to those of you getting creative with your time, until next time...

Working and Working Out

Long long ago, while in college, I had a part-time job working in a gymnastics gym. Part of the time I worked in the office, taking tuition and doing bookwork and the other part, I taught recreational gymnastics classes to kids ages 3 to 12. I had a ton of fun working there. It is still one of my favorite jobs to date.

On Friday nights, the gym would have makeup classes for kids that missed during the week. I would teach these make-up classes every Friday. I would always have two make-up classes back to back on Fridays, the first hour for the preschool/kindergartners and the second hour the older kids. Sometimes, I wouldn't have anyone the first hour. One particular Friday, I didn't have any kids the first hour and decided to mess around in the gym for a while. Aside from basic gymnastics and teaching the younger kids, I hadn't done anything that required a lot of skill and/or muscle tone.

There sat the parallel bars. I thought, "I'm going to do a pull-over." The bars were set really low for the recreational kids, so when I would get up there to demonstrate, I would just have to jump up there, using my arms, like getting out of a pool from the side. When I got it in my mind to do a pull-over, I really had myself convinced that I could do it because the bars were lower. There would hardly be any upper arm strength to it, if I executed it correctly. I pulled my chest and chin to the bar and swung my legs up in the air to get around the bar. There was one problem. The last time I had done a pull-over, I was ten years younger and about 40 pounds lighter.

I recall seeing my feet in the glare of the lights and as they seemed to hang out up there, my arms realize that they cannot bear the weight of my lower limbs and hips. My arms go completely straight and with the strain of my entire body on my arms, my hands let go, slamming me down to the mats below. Yes, it did. I came crashing down and even knocked the wind out of me. Once I could breathe again, I couldn't help but laugh at myself. Nope, I didn't get back on that horse and try again, I moved onto the tramp track.

Tramp track. Harmless, right? I mean, how in the world can anyone injure themselves on a piece of equipment that is flexible and forgiving? I start off just jumping down the track in different fashions. I then move onto cartwheels, front handsprings and walkovers. I'm feeling like a rock star, a gymnastics rock star. I decide to go for it, the front tuck. Remember those weighty hips and limbs I talked about earlier? Well, I apparently didn't learn my lesson. I go for it, I have great speed, I jump, but you see, those damn hips and legs didn't quite make it around and I land on my butt. You're probably thinking, "you were on a trampoline, how could that be THAT bad?" Well, let me tell you. Where I landed happened to be where one of the support bars was located. My butt fat divided upon impact and allowed my ass bones to take the heat.

This was the point where I laid there gazing into those bright lights that I had minutes before watched my feet in and I just let myself feel the throbbing coming from my back and butt. I let it radiate through my body before I picked myself up and walked back to the office to await the second hour of make-ups.

Why did I tell you this story? I'm not quite sure. Probably because it could only happen to me. Maybe because I keep putting myself out there doing ridiculous things to myself and trying ridiculous things just because. I'm not afraid to try anything, really. My friends and I have been trying to get together to go to one of those stripper pole classes. I will most definitely injure myself there, but I've got to give it a try Carmen Electra style!!!!

Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to those of you who put yourselves out there everyday, until next time...

Setting Yourself Up for SUCCESS!!!!!!

I am confident that because I can make a workout routine work in my busy life, that YOU can do so, also! There are many components to being successful in your journey and accomplishing your goals, but if you can start with a strong foundation, you can do it!

If you are still trying to figure out what kind of workout to do and live in a changing climate, there's good news here! The weather is nice enough to walk. Walking doesn't require any extra equipment or videos. Most of you have a decent pair of shoes to start hitting the streets! Set a small goal for yourself and put it somewhere where it can be seen. For example, if your goal is to be more active, then set four days a week to make it a point to get out and walk. Four days a week isn't too much. You will still have three days a week to not do anything. Mark the walking days on a calendar where you can see it. Set the time. Make walking like you are going to meet someone for dinner. In other words, make plans to walk and keep the commitment like you would anything else. Set yourself up for success, choose a time that works for YOU to get your activity in. Make it a priority.

Follow through with your goals. I've said before that to START SMALL means to break it down into manageable bits. Start with four times a week for four weeks. If, after four weeks, you aren't feeling the love of walking or being more active, then after you have completed week four, you can push on to something different! You aren't tied down to one type of exercise, you have the freedom to choose what you want to do.

Maybe you want to join a gym because it helps you to get away from the house? There are many gym options available these days. You now have the option to go 24 hours a day. What a novel idea!! Or, check out your local community center and see if they have a weight/cardio room. These can be great for just starting out because some of these centers don't require a monthly membership and you can pay by the visit. Check out your local parks and recreation programs. They can offer different classes to try at a very reasonable cost. I got a lot of exposure to different types of workouts by signing up for different classes. If I wasn't fond of a particular class, it was usually only four weeks per session, so I knew it wasn't going to be forever. Taking one class that meets once a week for an hour can take care of one of the four activities in your goal. Find your niche! Find what you like to do and do it!!!!

After you have reached your goal, set a new one. Make it manageable. Example: if your goal is to lose weight, set a long-term goal to lose 40 pounds, but break it down to lose 8 pounds per month. Keep revisiting the goals. Make sure your goals are within your means, but also be sure to push yourself a little as well. Before you know it, you will be checking your goals off you list!!!

Tell yourself: I CAN do this! I CAN succeed! I CAN reach my goals!! I know you can do it all!!!!

Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to those of you getting busy on your goals, until next time...

New Favorites

I am still in love with VitaTops. Deep chocolate ones to be exact. I have been busy trying to find new things to snack on that provide the different nutrients I need and add some variety around here!

PIC #2 and I have recently tried 3 of the 4 Market Pantry protein bars. The bars are the store brand for The Zone bars, quite a bit cheaper and free from peanut anything. We have tried the fudge graham, double dark chocolate and the chocolate mint. All three are GREAT. Seriously. The double dark chocolate one is not as high in protein as the others, but it still tastes good. The difference with these bars as opposed to the other 19 brands I have tried is that the chocolate is actually chocolatey. The other bars all had a waxy chocolate. The waxy chocolate that is also found in the Special K cereal chocolatey delight. Gross. One bowl, threw the rest away. Awful.

I did try a Zone bar that was a coconut flavor. It was really good, too, but a lot more expensive and with as much of this stuff as I need in a day, I need to conserve the funds.

I have cooked spinach a couple of times now. The first time was not so good. The second time was not so good. The verdict is that I don't really like the consistency of cooked spinach. It was slimy and slimy. I still ate it, but had to think of something else while I was eating it because I was so incredibly close to gagging once I put a fork full in my mouth. I shall stick with the raw spinach salads. Hey, I tried!!!

I'm back to snacking on edamame in the pods sprinkled with a little sea salt. Such a filling snack and if eaten in moderation, not too bad for you.

Since I had the spinach in the house, I thought I would make Baja Rolls or Pinwheels. These are one of my favorites. Lightly spread whipped cream cheese, seasoned however you wish, minced onion, spinach leaves and deli-cut chicken or turkey rolled up in a tortilla. Yum! Except, this time around, I found that I don't really like them anymore. I couldn't even eat half of one and tried again today and couldn't even eat a quarter of one. Too bad because it has 4 food groups in it!

I have found that my taste buds have changed in the last few months. Like the Baja Rolls, I have found that I don't like Doritos much anymore, I didn't like my usual favorite Jimmy John's sandwich the other day and don't appreciate bread the same way I used to. It does seem a little easier to swallow (no pun intended) that my body is choosing these things rather than having to give something up like, say, peanuts. Sigh.

Something else that I have discovered for a sweet snack is cinnamon sugar pita chips. Hy-Vee makes a decent product right there. Not a great for you snack, but not a horrible one, either. Good to squash the sweet tooth.

The apple of choice around here is the Jazz apple. For a couple of months, we tried every apple that Hy-Vee and Fareway had to offer to find the one we liked best during this time of year. Of course, Honeycrisp apples are our all-time favorite, but they aren't the greatest right now. Okay, I won't lie, they absolutely suck right now. No flavor at all and they are just water with apple consistency and shape. Yuck.

I recently got a new Allrecipes.com spinner app. I'm going to be brave and try something new out once a week to expand our horizons. I'll let you know how that goes.

Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to those of you just hanging out reading my blog, until next time...

Footwear!!!!!

Most of you know that I just purchased a pair of Vibram FiveFinger shoes. They are so flipping awesome, I can hardly contain myself typing this out. I love them. Love them. Love them! They are really creepy looking, but they sure are comfortable. I was apprehensive about trying them because I cannot stand those socks that have the individual toes. Those things drive me crazy. We took a trip out to a local store here so I could try them out and see what they would be like.

I tried on a few sizes and thought I was on the right track with the correct size when a Vibram-loving salesman approached. He checked them out and said I needed to go smaller. I thought I needed bigger, but what in the heck do I know about these things? Nothing. Not a thing. I slip into the smaller size and Tyson thoroughly enjoyed this shopping trip because I was jumping around as high and as hard as I could in these shoes. He did, too. He actually wanted to put the shoes that I had on on his feet. He kept saying in his nicest, non-whiny voice, "mommy, my turn, please?"

As I was jumping around, I asked the guy if it was weird that I felt like I could jump higher in these shoes. He said, no, not weird at all. Yesssssssss!

I have worked out barefoot for quite some time. Our basement is carpeted and it makes it really difficult to move with ease with tennies on. Also, in working out with TurboFire, I need a cross trainer or something that has more support on the sides to keep my feet from sliding around in the shoes. I enjoy working out barefoot, I feel like I can move better. The only complaint about that is when doing Burpees or even push-ups, it is really hard to keep your feet from sliding. I've avoided injuring my shoulders up until recently when I felt something pull in my right shoulder. I've tried doing TurboFire on a yoga mat, but the mat gets bunched up and I end up spending more time fixing it than actually doing what I should be doing.

As I was talking to this knowledgeable gentleman about Vibrams, he shared that even as an avid runner, he has had the same pair since 2007. The only thing that he really mentioned as a negative was that his smelled even after washing them as he uses scent-free detergent. Otherwise, they are his favorites. He said that because there isn't really anything to break down on the shoes, they can last a really long time. He said the only things you might see after a lot of wear, are the soles wearing out or the fabric wearing thin. Another cool thing about these shoes is they are MACHINE WASHABLE! How cool is that?! I know, a lot of shoes CAN be washed in the washer, but mine always end up mangled and never quite the same.

I purchased the shoes and returned home and put them on to wear around the house. I knew I was falling in love. That evening, I tried them out with TurboFire for the first time. It was harmonious. It was me, Chalene and my new shoes. My feet were so happy. The Vibrams were better than I expected!!!! I found myself slightly bummed because I didn't get them sooner. I think I would have gotten more out of my workouts if I had purchased them sooner. They were that good. It was like my feet were being hugged the entire time I was working out. No foot pain and I was able to move easily. It was a great boost to have something new to incorporate into my workout.

I know friends who have these shoes and love them as deeply as I do. My shoes will never see the outdoors as they are purely my workout shoes. The salesman gave me a brochure on training your feet and stride to run in the Vibrams. I actually read it. Makes complete sense. Maybe one day I will return to running every so often, but for now, I will hold my new shoes hostage in the basement.

Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to those of you going to Google what these shoes look like, until next time...

Celebrities in the house!!!

The other day, my uncle stopped over to get one of Brett's deer mounts to borrow. My uncle is an extremely talented artist and photographer that now makes his living doing what he loves. If only everyone could be that lucky. He has been drawing and photographing wildlife and is going to give it a whirl with people. Before he said he was going to draw people, I jokingly said that if he needed a human face to draw...this is where I posed in classic senior photo pose with head resting on hands. Okay, so I wasn't joking. He laughed anyway.

We had to go to the basement to get the deer mount. Yes the basement. Not on the main floor. Anyhoo, we went downstairs and my uncle asks if "this" is where I workout everyday (pointing to the family room down there). I tell him, "yes, this is where the magic happens." You should have seen him, he was completely star-struck at the thought of being in MY basement where I workout and collect all my thoughts for this lovely blog. He was giddy. Completely giddy, as if he couldn't believe he was MY uncle!!!!!! I'm not joking, he was so sad that he didn't have his camera on him to get a photo of he and I together in this star-studded moment!!!! He asked for an autograph, but quickly retracted that request in case it was an imposition. I told him it wasn't too much trouble and signed a napkin for him.

Okay, so, the only truths in that last paragraph was up to the point where I said "yes, this is where the magic happens." The rest is pure fabrication. Sigh.

I thought briefly about making this post about how awesome and gorgeous I am to follow suit of that woman that recently did that on her blog and had a great deal of backlash for it. Okay, so I thought about it for a couple days, not just briefly. But, the difference would be that if I wrote all of that on my blog, all of you would know that I am not serious and find it humorous, if I could actually say that I am super hot and men worship me and mean it. Ha! It makes me giggle just thinking about thinking that kind of thought! You following me? Good!!!!

Okay, so to follow up my eyebrow waxing post and my friend's Brazilian waxing story, she said it was okay to use her name. She said, "it's okay if you use my name. Women need to be warned!!" Ha! Thanks, Nicole, I am now sharing your horrific self-Brazilian story with the people that read this blog. Also, if you didn't know, Nicole is also the one that pushed me down when we went roller-skating. She says she wants to go roller-skating again. I asked, "why? So you can push me down again?" She simply stated, "yes!"

Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to those of you that want Nicole's phone number to get the story in its entirety, until next time...