Helen & Me

I have never meet Helen Anderson, but I'd like to think we're in the same boat.

Having walked through her house several times before offering to buy it, I noticed the similarities between us.

We are both moms of small children, we both drive SUVs, we both share an affinity for pottery barn, Zulilly, Kiehl's products and Home Goods. We both graduated for Virginia Colleges, we value our family and our kitchen drawers are remarkably well organized.

We have similar tastes in paint colors, shoes, cleaning supplies and from what I can tell, we both have a secret stash of candy hidden out of view of our kids.

My heart goes out of her. Six weeks before Christmas her husband's company promoted him. While the promotion, I'm sure, is awesome. It also meet moving from small town PA to San Diego, CA. Since January she's been on one side of the country with three small girls while her husband is on the other side waiting for their arrival.

That CANNOT be easy.

What also isn't easy is being married to a man that loves to make a deal. How do I know? I'm married to one too.

The two of them have been battling it out for the past two weeks. While I have full faith in my husband, the stressed of offers and counter offers and deals on furniture, etc. have given me headaches and tummy trouble. I'd imagining Helen is feeling the same while.

While I'm sure she's hoping to make good money on the home she's loved for three years. She is probably also looking at the calendar, counting down the weeks left of school and realizing summer break is fast approaching and the opportunity to relocate with a sold house hasn't.

I'm stressing over moving across town. She's stressing about moving across the country.
I sure hope she has access to wine and Xanax.

Like me, I'm sure she was ready for more negotiating from the man cave and pep talks from her realtor.  Our realtor and I were prepping for the long haul. Dave was prepping to rage war over bar stools.... yes, you read the right, BAR STOOLS.


Thankfully, the wheeling and dealing had to wrap up early when the talk of another offer forced both our hands.

We wrapped up negotiations in record time and ended up exactly at the number we were hoping for.

Everyone walked away with a sense of satisfaction.

I'd also like to think while our husbands were busy congratulating themselves on being master of the universe, Helen and I were sitting at our kitchen tables pouring a glass of wine and making detailed lists regarding our up coming moves.


So there you have it, we're moving!

Exactly How Many Shoes Are Going to Drop?

In the past three weeks my family has gone through:

• One children free vacation
• One 10 month old with a nasty ear infection
• One Grandpa with a has on shingles, who gave......
• One 11 month old a nasty case of chicken pox
• 5 missed days of work between 2 parents (mostly just one but we're not keeping score... apparently)
• One In-Laws Visit (they brought me a free sewing kit an ambulance company was giving away as a promotional item..... don't ask, even I don't know)
• 2 Successful Swimming Lessons
• 3 Trips to the Pediatrician for one kid
• 1 first time dentist trip for the other kid
• 4 sleepless night
• 3 house showings (more on that in a few minutes)
• A stomach virus for one parent
• A toe situation for the other parent
• One 36th birthday celebration
• and about a million missed appointments, workouts, unreturned emails, forgotten about grocery list items and money spent on emergency baby sitters

Whew...... whirlwind much.

And to add to all that fun and excitement and stress (so much stress) we're putting an offer in on a new house and putting ours on the market should such offer be accepted. 

Because all of that goes so quickly and easily normally (ha!)

New house is significantly bigger then our little house on the hill and is in a better school district. Not to mention it's got a finished basement, two living rooms AND a huge play room. Oh and a awesome laundry room complete with wall lockers and build in cook book shelves.

(and obnoxious blue toilets, sinks and tub surrounds but that's fixable when you're a plumber)

Good For The Soul

Last Friday we woke up to freezing rain, snow and both major highways in our area shut down due to major accidents. This morning we woke up to fresh air flowing through out open windows and birds chirping their good mornings to the rising sun. Spring decided to give us a preview this week and it's been so good for the soul.  I know I've felt a little lighter, a lot brighter and refreshed.

As of tomorrow I'll complete the first set of workouts in the 3rd phase of Jillian's Body Revolution. It hasn't been easy but dare I say, it's been an enjoyable challenge. I've certainly pushed myself to go harder then I've ever done before. I'm loving the results. While I'm still about 6-8 pounds above my pre-babies weight, my clothes from the time period are fitting and I'm able to wear almost everything in my closet again. Yes, things fit differently now, but they fit none the less.

Right now I'm nursing a sore wrist. I don't think I did anything damaging to it. I think it's just tired and a little over worked. The Body Revolution has been incorporating a lot of planks in weeks 9 and 10, so there's certainly a contributing factor. That and Mr. Berg broke his wrist in February and has been wearing a fancy brace. (They don't cast adults so much anymore, don't ya know?) With the brace comes restrictions especially when it comes to picking up the kids and holding 23 pound Jacob for long periods of time. I'm sure the combination of the two has something to do with it.

All in all, I feel as though I am in a better place then I have been in some time. The mid day workouts are provided the mental break and physical challenge I need to push through the rest of the day. I have tons more stamina and I'm sleeping so much better. I'm not waking up in the middle of the night and I'm not longer waking up achy and sore. Well, sometimes I'm sore but a good workout sore, not a bad night's rest sore.

This little life change of mine- so very, very good for the soul.

3 Days in the 3rd Month.....

Why does Jillian Michaels hate me so much?

That is exactly what I told my husband this morning as I got out of the shower.  A mere 20 minutes before I had completed the cardio workout that came with Phase 3 of the Body Revolution workouts for the first time. While there weren't tears, there was certainly a lot of huffing and puffing and a quick break to talk myself out of puking or dying... which ever came first. 

Basically, I woke up at 4:16am to torture myself. 

The one nice thing about early, early morning workouts are that you're barely awake when you get started. Thus, you don't necessarily notice how tortured you are until you're almost done.

That is good.

The bad thing? You have to drag yourself out of your nice warm bed. Be super quiet so you don't wake up your children, put cold ass workout clothes on your once warm and sleeping body and bounce around your basement like you love it!

That is not good.

So far Phase 3 is full of the hardest workouts I have ever done, ever. I still have two more workouts. I won't see them until the 14th. So far, I'm in total denial that I'll ever need to do them.

While I will say they are so, so hard. They are in no way impossible. What makes them particularly hard for me is that I wasn't familiar with some of the moves prior to these workouts. Thus, there's been a bigger learning curve then before. Also, a lot the moves have been plank based and I really lack flexibility when it comes to lowering the front half of my body onto my elbows. So, I do my best, but not certainly not killing it in that department. 

Prior to Jacob's arrival, I was a huge fan of the 4:30am workout. I did them until I got pregnant. While I was pregnant I gave up on workouts in favor of carbs, sofa sitting and copious amounts of candy.

(This Ladies and Gentleman is exactly why I'm now stuck working out a lot and saying yes to wine only a little)

Anymore these days, early morning workouts aren't as realistic. First of all, I'm not guaranteed a full night of sleep. Jacob and Ryan typically sleep through the night but we've hit cold season, so it's not a perfect system. Plus, the Jillian workouts are intense and require a lot of weights. They aren't designed for doing on an empty stomach.

Since I'm not waking up earlier just to eat. I try to only workout in the morning if it's absolutely necessary and a cardio day.  

So long post short, I'm just checking in to tell you I haven't died.... yet. Phase 3 is do-able and I'm still doing hard things.

(and I really, really, really miss wine.)

8 Weeks Later

Eight weeks ago, after months of feeling like totally crappy both mentally and physically, I decided enough was enough. It was time to do something about it.

I jumped in with both feet and started the Jillian Michael's Body Revolution Workouts and a week later started an Advocare 24 Day Challenge and ended up doing 2 Diets, one to help out a friend and another with my favorite mom's group. They ran simultaneously, so no, I'm not that crazy.

Anyway...... Eight weeks later I'm down 8.2 pounds, my pants fit, my energy is through the roof and my strength is greatly improved, especially my core strength.

This puts me at exactly half way to my goal weight. 

Part of me is really thrilled about this.

Another part of me feels like a have such a long way to go.

I'm telling the Negative Nancy part of me to stfu. Seriously, so many good things are happening. Why ruin it?

I am very, very aware that this is typically where the self sabotage typically kicks in whenever I set out on a journey like this. I know this is when that little voice in my head kicks in a says shit like "You can totally put cheese on that salad" or "You've been working so hard, have another beer!"

NO, NO, NO, NO,NO!!!!!

I'm so not having that. I've planned out my cheat days, my meal planning is on point and I am just trying my best to crush it.

I still keep repeating my daily mantra "I can do hard things." There are days when I feel like crap but I still keep plugging. Partially because I don't want to slip up and fall off wagon and partially because I have faith I can do this.

The hardest month of my workout program starts Monday. I'm honestly scared shit-less, but guess what, last month I was scared shit-less too. Yet, I made it. I can make it this month too!

I have faith..... I can do hard things.....

I got this!

 

Getting There

It jsut wouldn't be a weight loss journey with out the bi-polar feelings associated with the highs and lows and ups and downs.... and I'm not just talking about the scale.

I spent the beginning of last week beating myself up for doing everything right but not getting anywhere. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I was trying really hard to trust the process but wasn't getting the results I felt I deserved. What results you ask? A lower number on the scale. 

Did it matter my pants were fitting better? Or that a jacket that had been tight on me was fitting properly again? Did I mention I'm sleeping better or my energy has increased? Nope, instead  I whined that I was stuck at the same number and how much that sucked.

I have a tendency to be a complete brat sometimes..... It happens.

So, complete brat melt down aside, a funny thing happened..... RESULTS, in the form of Jessica Approved Results. As in, a nice number on the scale. As in .2 away from my pre-pregnancy weight with Jacob.

Well, what do you know?

A large part of me is really thrilled. However, there's an equal part of me that's bewildered because I should have trusted the process a little more and not been such a brat.

So, for the sake of attempting to be a more positive and progress driven person. I would like to highlight some accomplishments and pat my bratty self on the back a little bit.

As of today I have lost just over 5 1/2 pounds since starting the Advocare  24 Day Challenge on January 11th. This puts me within 90% of my diet bet goal. 

My Diet Bet ends February 3rd- I have until February 4th to weigh in. So, I have some work to do in the next three days but I'm feeling confident I can drop that last 1/2 a pound.

This weekend I completed my first month of the Jillian Michael's Body Revolution. I'm not going to lie, that's some hard stuff. Yes, it's only 30-40 minutes a day, 6 days a week, but there are days when I wish I was a man because sitting on the potty is out of the question.

I am so nervous to start the next round today. I keep reminding myself that I can do hard things, this is just another hard thing to get done.

My jeans were ready to wave the weight flag at the beginning of the month. They are no longer asking for a hostage negotiator.

I'm starting to recognize parts of my body again. Do I have a long way to go yet? Sure, but every day I'm reminded that I'm getting there. 

So, today I will continue to move the ball forward, so to speak. As a little voice in the back of my head chants.... You're getting there, you're getting there. 

 

A Case of the Grumps....

I had every intention of checking in on Friday but that turned out to be a big fat fail!

My parents had to make the very unfortunate choice of putting their sweet, faithful and ever so loved 15 year old lab to sleep on Friday. Charlie was the last of my pets. We adopted him as a puppy when I was a senior in high school. He was truly a wonder dog. I'm going to miss him.

So, that put a huge damper on my mood Friday.

Not to mention the fact that that scale has decided it won't budge, not even a little bit. It will go up but the damn thing won't go down.

I am desperately trying to trust the process but I can't help but feel discouraged and frustrated. Losing the baby weight with Ryan wasn't nearly this hard. 

I'm following my Advocare Plan to the letter. I reached out to a fellow distributor on Friday. She  double checked my food journal and supplements and agreed that I'm doing the right things. But still, no change.

I'm trying to look at the good things: My pants are fitting a little better, my stomach seems less pouchy, there is definitely more muscle ton to my physique.  Unfortunately, I'm just stuck at the same weight. 


Depressing doesn't even begin to cut it.