Christmas at our House

Hi, there.  The following video probably only works for grandparents who just can't get enough Jackson.  I'm not sure the rest of you will want to sit through all 8 minutes of video.

But there's a pretty funny fart at 4:10.  You should at least fast forward and see that.

Shred Days 14-16: Halfway There!

Warning: this post will likely get a little goopy, so if you're not in the mood for sweet sentiments, keep it moving.

If it weren't for Bryan, I would have gone two days straight without working out. I know that doesn't sound like the end of the world, but staying on track with this is very important to me and losing momentum feels dangerous.

Day 14 went okay (Level 2 is still waaay hard) but the next day I just couldn't find the motivation. There was no injury or scheduling problem. It was, as my Mom would have put it, "a case of the Sorries." A BIG case. My inner brat took over, and I got tired of having something else to do everyday.

Yesterday was Day 16, and it was dangerously close to becoming my first second day skip. I have a friend in the hospital who wasn't doing well (he's improved some since then) and when bad things happen, I often give in to the Sorries. While I was walking around rationalizing a second consecutive off-day, Bryan said, "You're my hero." Well, what are you going to do after that? So, I laced up my shoes and got to it.

The boys came downstairs in the middle of my workout, and Bryan made a pretty convincing show of admiring my muscles. That was very sweet and helped me remember why I'm doing this. Then, Jackson did some clapping and stretched out across my body during crunches and "helped" me keep my abs tight. That was just funny and distracting, and also helped a lot. When I was done, Bryan did the workout so I had someone to be tired with.

I want to sincerely thank my boys for their support, in this, and everything else I do. You guys rock!

Shred Days 12 & 13: All's Well that Ends Well

Jackson, who's in a mimicking stage, did a perfect recreation of what I looked like telling Bryan about my recent weigh-in:

All this work just to lose a half pound!

I was devastated last night after seeing the scale, even knowing that heavy muscle is better than lighter fat. I only weighed because I was feeling so confident that I'd lost a few pounds. But I did the workout anyway.

Things all turned around though this morning when I did three things I haven't done in almost two years:

1. wore a pair of pre-pregnancy sized pants,

2. tucked my top into those pants, and

3. used the pre-pregnancy notch in my belt.

In light of those three details, who cares about that silly scale! I'm wearing clothes I couldn't wear before I started this, so there must be substantial muscle skewing the numbers.

I'm not weighing again until April 20th, when my 30 days of Shredding are complete. Hopefully by then I'll be so hot I won't care what number the scale throws at me. Since Bryan's already Shredded today, I've got some catching up to do.

So, I'll leave you with wishes for a happy and blessed Easter. We're having a great one here, just look at how smiley we are:

30 Day Shred - Day 5

Day 5 went well, except for a minor equipment failure.

It happened shortly after the first 6-minute circuit. The entire human part of our family was in the basement (the two furbabies were upstairs). Bryan stepped outside to make a phone call while little Jackson supervised from his warm spot inside the sliding door. I finished the first strength segment with a roar, and Bryan peeked in to make sure everything was okay. Here's what he witnessed after I dropped the handweights:

So, THAT's what's inside my handweights.

I didn't even notice all the little ball bearings on the floor since I was on to the next segment. Jillian has a strict "no rest" policy if you want results from a 20-minute workout. Alas, the weights had served valiantly for 15 years, so it was their time. Perhaps it was also a divine message for me to put on my big girl panties and use something heavier than three-pounders.

*Hee hee.* I briefly considered telling you it happened mid-bicep curl when I hulked out and snapped it with my bare hand. RAHH! You wouldn't like me when I'm angry...

One major change today was much less soreness. I also learned that I have much more energy in the morning. Since the radiator repair man was here during Jackson's morning nap, I worked out in the late afternoon and had to push harder to get through the evening blahs.

By the way, my sweet husband is Shredding as well for moral support. What a stud! I'd also like to thank everyone who has commented here on this project. You have no idea how uplifting your kind words have been. Extra special thanks to my sweet sweet stepmom, Dorothy, over at Counting My Blessings for sending your posse my way. Girl power!

I haven't weighed in a couple of days, but my jeans are getting loose. Which is FREAKING FANTASTIC.

Of course, here's your baby photo of the day. We call this hairstyle the curlyhawk:

If that's not worth some baby weight, I don't know what is!!