{Workout} Wednesday on a Whim

This is a whimsical post because I'm literally just typing it as I go along...so there really was no planned post for today, but I feel like writing, so here I go.

I've got a few things running through my mind lately...future plans, goals...things like that. As I get closer to my "contract end date" at Boeing, I realize that I very well could be back to being a stay at home mom by next month. However, there is a chance my contract will get extended. But as far as anything permanent opening up in my current organization, it's looking pretty grim and the work has definitely slowed. I'm OK with it either way though...I started mentally preparing myself for this possibility about a month ago and I tend to live life in a "roll with the punches and rise above it" sort of way. With this possibility of being back at home on the horizon, it's given me some time to really think about what I want to do and how I can make a career - whether full- or part-time - out of something I'm passionate about.

Without getting into too much detail in the very early stages of my "planning", I can say that my future plans are definitely fitness-oriented. I have been so passionate about improving and challenging myself physically for well over a decade now. There is no doubt that I love fitness and I've found that along with that, I really love sharing my knowledge with others and helping drive them to succeed at their own health and fitness goals. It really is rewarding. I have an idea in mind for where I want to end up as far as the business end of this industry, but for now, my first steps are getting my personal training, group training and specifically, Barre instructor training certificates. I'm hoping to get my feet wet in teaching some classes soon.

I have started a neighborhood boot camp and the first class is tonight. I'm pretty excited to get some great girls through a challenging workout. I'm hoping to make it a weekly thing for the neighborhood and that the attendance tonight is good. I'm a tad nervous, but I've got a class plan and many of these girls are already friends of mine, so I know it will be a lot of fun {and hard work!}

So other than all of that, I have been pretty much keeping good with my clean eating and workout schedule. I have really found that writing it out on Sunday evenings has been beneficial and I've stuck to that process for 3-4 weeks now. Here is a snapshot of my workout plan for this week:

Hope you're having a great week!

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2015 New Year's Resolutions

Each year, I like to reflect on the past year and think of ways and areas I could improve. I feel I'm always working toward a better version of myself, but it's also important to give myself a timeline of sorts so I stay on track with certain things.

Most of my goals this year are just to stay in pursuit of the things I'm already pursuing, or possibly bringing back to the forefront some things I've let fall to the wayside over the last few years that still nag at me from time to time.

For instance, I'm constantly in pursuit of a healthy and active lifestyle and pretty much live that way most of the time...but I am human and can get lax at times. I like to use the New Year as a recharge and reflection on what I want to accomplish...and put those goals back into focus. Additionally, I've thought and said for years that I'd love to become a personal trainer...but either being lax or having babies would constantly have me putting it on the back burner. This year, I'd like to find a way to finally go for it.

Here is my list of 2015 resolutions. You can also view my 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011 ones here and judge how well I did - ha!

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Friday Five: A New Year, A Chest Cold, A Lot of Giraffes and Some Goals...

Friday...this is the last day my oldest son has off of school for this vacation...it will truly feel like our schedule is back to normal on Monday. Call me crazy, but I'm actually looking forward to having to be up at 6am because even though it sucks, it forces/motivates me to get some things done...and having my Body Beast workout at 6:30am every day really makes a difference. I've admittedly been on a little hiatus from it since my mom came to town and with all the holiday hoopla...but I am eager to dive back in. As far as the gym, I am eager to get back on my regular schedule there too, but I am NOT looking forward to the overcrowded classes and waiting for machines {end of February, please come soon! Tee hee.}

{one}

I could feel a cold coming on all this week and of course with NYE, I drank {and sang karaoke} anyway. I was feeling it yesterday, but I am really feeling it today. I think I've got a full-blow chest cold now. I hope with some nursing, I can at least get to feeling ready to go on Monday. I can't put off getting back on track any longer. Colds are the worst and kicking off a new year with one is not my idea of a good start. I'll try not to consider it an omen, haha.

{two}

After Christmas, I rounded up Farrah's rapidly-growing collection of giraffes. It all started with Sophie La Giraffe a few months back and my obsession with giraffes {for her} started to grow. I am also working on some art for her nursery.

{three}

Sadly, I ended the year not reaching my goal of losing all of the pregnancy weight. I still have a good 10-12 lbs that are really holding tight {and the last couple weeks of holiday crap definitely didn't help}, but rather than get down on myself, I am going to look back and realize that I didn't gain a "normal" amount of pregnancy weight. Had I, I would be like 20 lbs under my pre-baby weight! Farrah was a 57-lb pregnancy! So the fact that I've lost 45-47 lbs in under 8 months is an accomplishment in itself. I wasn't sitting around wishing and waiting for it to happen...I was working hard. So yes, knowing that I was working so hard and it isn't ALL gone is a little hard to swallow, but I'm not far...and spring/summer weather is about 4-5 months away. I know I can make some big changes in that time. Here are my goals for the short-term {4-5 months}:

• Finish a round of Body Beast
• Continue with my gym schedule in conjunction with the program {two barre classes, one HIIT class and cardio on my own}
• Get back to meal prep and clean eating 
• Run at least one 5K a month

Notice I didn't include a specific weight loss goal in there...that is because I know by doing this and working to my full potential, the right weight will come. I am tired of focusing on a number. Yes, I will still weigh myself, and I have a specific range where I'd like to fall into...but I'm not going to say "I need to lose 10 lbs in one month" or anything like that. If I do that, GREAT, but if not, I won't beat myself up for it...if I'm doing the work and eating right, it will eventually fall into place. I posted this pic on some of my social media a couple weeks ago...being proud of my accomplishments thus far...my abs are starting to come back! {Now c'mon all you mommies out there, you know what a good feeling that is just to get there!} Still a ways to go...but progress is being made and that is motivation.

{four}

A fun winter outfit:

Sweater / Scarf - Similar  / Boots {On Sale!}

{five}

I just scored THE BEST patio chairs for FREE! And they are beautiful...I can't wait to get them back to shape and show you here.

Happy New Year!

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Blogging Goals

I've had this blog now for a year and a half...this of course does not count the blogging I did prior to that before all of my blog identity crisis/name changing.

However, I feel that to keep on truckin', I need to outline some clear goals for myself and this space of mine. I love blogging...I don't do it for money {that's a good thing cuz I'm not makin' any!}...I do it for fun, as a hobby, and it also has brought me to find other women's amazing lifestyle blogs that introduce me to products, style inspiration, home decor inspiration, etc...it's major eye candy and so addicting. It's been a creative outlet for me...I was a very creative person growing up, however, somewhere along the way I lost my desire and inspiration to create and be an artist...it wasn't until blogging that I started painting again, so that in itself lets me know what a great outlet this is for me.

So, onto those goals now.

{via}

1} Stick to an editorial calendar. List a month's worth of posts in advance.
2} Be more organized...make a schedule for myself that includes: Facebook page time, Twitter time, reading other blogs and commenting, creating collages and editing images for my posts, working on projects...rather than being so sporadic with it all.
3} Do more outfit posts. Get Hubby to help with taking pictures. {This will of course be more so after having the baby and dropping some of the weight, but I'll try to work up some maternity style posts in the meantime.}

That's pretty much it for now. You'll notice I didn't mention monetizing or getting sponsors at all. I feel that shouldn't be the goal...the goal should be doing what I do...doing my best at it...and letting the rest fall into place. If I'm meant to be sponsored/monetized, then eventually it will happen as long as I stay the course with my goals in just making this a blog worth visiting.

Thank you as always for your support and readership. I truly appreciate every single visit and that you make me a part of your day/blogosphere.

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Home & Organization Goals for 2014

With every new year, I like to set some goals for myself around the house. A lot of these ideas have been looming for a while, some have unexpectedly come up {hello, nursery!} I'd like to take 2014 to focus a bit on my personal home and organization to-do list. Of course, a big part of these first few months will be dedicated to nursery projects, but once I have this baby girl in May, I'll be a SAHM and I'll be able to dedicate more time to home projects.

I like to make a list because I get a lot of ideas from day to day, but tend to overwhelm myself and often forget about things after a while. I think it's great to have a list to come back to, so I always have it in mind when I'm out and about shopping {so I can pick up necessary items for the projects}, or for days I have a little extra time to dedicate to getting something done around the house.

I also look forward to sharing all of the finished projects on here with you!

Without further adieu, here's my Home and Organization Goals for 2014:

Do you have any household/organization goals for this year? How do you plan to tackle them?

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New Year's Resolutions: 2014 Edition

So I'll just go ahead and say it - I'm a list-maker. I love to organize my thoughts and goals on paper. Whether that just be grocery list, daily to-do's, blogging plans or life goals...so when the time comes to write New Year's resolutions, as much as I hate to admit it, I'm one of those corny people that jumps on that bandwagon. I try to keep my resolutions realistic and attainable. It really just helps me focus on a timeline for things I'd like to accomplish...and even if I don't 100% complete the goal by year's end, I've at least made a dent where it's needed. So all of that being said, here are my 2014 New Year's resolutions:

Do you have any resolutions or goals for this year? Happy New Year!

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New Year's Health & Fitness Resolutions - Check In!

I posted yesterday on my other blog, Style Oyster, about where I am so far with my New Year's resolutions. I posted my health and fitness resolutions here earlier this month, so I thought I'd do the same with those. Please don't judge because I have a feeling I'm not doing so well...but if this is how I can hold myself accountable, so be it. 

To refresh, here's the resolutions:

1. Well, I think it's safe to say I haven't completely accomplished this, but I am definitely down 3-4 lbs from when I first posted these, so progress IS being made, people! Woot!
2. I am not doing so well with this. I did forgo the January half marathon due to falling so behind late December with my surgery and all. I am still trying to work out a good schedule to get all of my runs in, so I can be ready for March. I really want to do this!
3. I have been doing well with this!
4. I'm kind of halfway on this one...was doing well...this week, not so well...but I plan on getting back on track with a menu plan, stat!
5. I've been doing pretty well with this one.
6. I haven't started yet, but I do have my Groupon for some barre classes and will start next week.
7. Yeah, need to work on this.
8. Have not done this.
9. Would like to do this, but it's not the end of the world if I don't.
10. Didn't do this once this month. I blame the cold, don't you? {Though it did hit about 80 degrees one week this month, so I really have no excuse.}
11. This is still the plan - ongoing goal.
12. Gotta start this.
13. Need to implement this in our daily routine.
14. I haven't done it 5x a week, but a lot more than I was...and working on it.

So did you have some health and fitness resolutions this year? How are you doing?

New Year's {Health & Fitness} Resolutions

Yesterday I talked about what it takes to make a good, solid New Year's resolution/goal. Hopefully you've had some time now to think about your resolutions for this year and have created a good plan for sticking to them. Here are my health and fitness resolutions for the New Year. {You can see my other New Year's resolutions here.}

Best of luck to you in obtaining your health and fitness goals this year! I hope you'll continue to read along and share the triumphs and challenges in fitness with me. Happy New Year!

30 Days of Me: Day 2

OK, I guess I've slacked a little bit on my 30 Days posts. I started early last month and haven't done one since. My bad.

Well, so Day 2 is: Write about something you love about yourself.

Let me start by saying I think this is the one I was dreading the most. The last thing I want to do is write a whole post about something so vain. But at least it's a far cry from the Day 1 post. I suppose it's actually a healthy thing to be able to look at yourself and actually talk about something you love rather than do what most people tend to do which is openly complain about everything they don't.

So here goes...I would say something I do love about myself is that I'm a very motivated person. It doesn't take much for me to get motivated to attain something I really want.

For example, in terms of fitness...I've been successful in so many of my goals. And I actually LOVE to work out because of it. I'm a mom of two boys (one of which was just born last August) and I'm already back to (less than) my pre-baby weight. I'm also about 25 lbs less than I weighed in high school and 15 lbs less than I was before I got pregnant with Tanner 6 years ago. I'm back in a bikini after Breckin! Perfectly in time for summer, as I promised myself I would be. I know some girls may be reading this and thinking "I hate you, shut up", but I want you all to know that I'm not saying this to be cocky at all. I know that I'm nowhere near perfect and that my body could always use a little work. But the point I'm trying to make is that when I was pregnant with Breckin, I made a goal for myself and I succeeded in attaining it. I motivated myself by honestly probably being a little hard on myself when I looked at my post-baby body in the mirror during my first couple of postpartum months. I don't recommend nor do I think any woman should be too hard on herself after pregnancy. Unfortunately, I'm just one of those people that if I don't push myself hard right away, I will procrastinate and never achieve my goals.

Another thing I'm motivated in is my future career. I'm definitely a person who knows that I want to be my own boss. I've started a cleaning business and plan on eventually making it successful enough that I can just rely on that as my sole income. I've still got a lot of work to do, but believe I am working on it and setting goals for it one at a time.

I also love to motivate other people. I know a lot of people that voice what they want, but need that extra push to go get it. I love to help them realize their personal goals and support them along the way. I believe having a good support system is key in achieving your goals. It's so easy to get discouraged, so sometimes you just need someone cheering you on from the sidelines and encouraging you to keep moving forward. I especially love it when friends ask me health and fitness advice...not only is it incredibly flattering, but I feel confident that I can really help them in that area.

OK, so I hope this post hasn't been sounding like I've been tooting my own horn. Not my intention at all. And for those of you who don't know me in person, I just want to clarify that I do not talk about what I love about myself or go on and on about myself. So I really hope I haven't given off that impression. That's why I really didn't like the subject of this post (ME, lol).

New Year, New (Old) Me

Happy New Year! I hope all of you will be safe tonight and that you have a wonderful 2011. Unfortunately, hubby and I aren't going to be going out tonight as we have no sitter for Tanner and Breckin. But I don't mind - we are actually going to hang out with our neighbors and their kids. Champagne around the firepit - not a shabby way to spend an evening. And the most important thing is that I'm with the ones I love when I ring in the New Year, and my boys are all I need. :)

Anyway, being that 2010 was spent being pregnant and then trying to reverse the damage said pregnancy caused...I am definitely ready for a new year. Don't get me wrong, there are so many wonderful things about pregnancy, but it definitely took up the greater part of my year and I'm ready to get back to me...get my body back and really enjoy the year to come. So the "new me" I'm wanting to be is really the "old me", as in having my pre-prego body back!

If you read my previous New Year's Resolution post, you will see I've set some specific fitness goals for myself. Now, I'm not like the many New Year's resolution-ers that up and decide I'm going to get fit this year and start out all gung-ho then give up by March. I'm an exception to the rule being that I'm not someone who hasn't worked out for years and is trying to go all out just because it's a new year. I'm a self-proclaimed fitness nut and before finding out I was pregnant last December, worked out 5-6 days a week on average. As well as worked out as much as I could during pregnancy. Anyhow, I feel the goals I've set for myself are attainable by me and I'm going to take it one week at a time. This week, my specific goals are to:
1) Complete Week 1 of Insanity,
2) Run at least a total of 10 miles,
3) Cut out bad carbs (no more holiday junk!), and
4) Drink at least 8-10 cups of water per day (64-80 oz) or more.

I love using this blog to keep track of my goals. In a way, I feel it helps keep me accountable. So if you would like, please check back often as I will be posting updates of my progress. I will post my beginning stats (measurements, etc.) here shortly.

I wish you the best of luck in whatever your goals are for this new year!

New Year's Resolutions 2011

I know it's so cliche, but I love making New Year's resolutions. I don't know whether it's because I like to think of each new year as a new beginning or a chance for self-renewal, or if it's just my need to organize my thoughts and goals because I'm a little OCD. :)

With that being said, here are my New Year's resolutions for 2011:

1. Lose the last 5 lbs of my pregnancy weight, and then about 10 lbs more.
2. Eat clean and drink more water (at least 8-10 cups a day).
3. Starting January 1st, begin the Insanity program again and stick to it for the full 60 days. (Doing this with hubby)
4. Continue to build my cleaning business.
5. Focus on being the best mother and wife I can be.
6. Give the house a good cleaning at least once a week :)
7. Make a visit back to visit family and friends in Idaho.
8. Make a visit to Cali to visit old friends.
9. Take a long girls' weekend with good girlfriends.
10. Introduce and cook healthy meals for my family at least 3 nights a week.
11. Make an effort to send relatives pictures of the kids more often.
12. Keep up this blog.
13. Take a new class - or 2. Particularly interested in Barre Evolution or dance classes.
14. Run in 5-7 local 5Ks, but aim for more.
15. Run 10 miles per week starting in January and build up endurance for more.
16. Have date night with hubby twice a month.

That's all for now!