Sore all over again, day 9!

Well she is definitely working on a whole new set of muscles in level 2 and my thighs, rear, shoulders, neck and back muscles are truly aching today. I panted and puffed and huffed through the whole exercise. I love it when cool down comes, my favorite part of the video. Now for those of you reading these who enjoy exercising you are truly blessed of God. I hate exercising however I know that it is needed and therefore I must continue. Even so it does not energize me in the least. Over the last 2 weeks my energy level is waining and I seem to be tired quite a bit these days. On top of all that, I'm still not sleeping well. I mean seriously, why is it that I'm expending all this energy, pushing myself everyday to keep going and not just sit and numbly watch something on TV? Why is it that I'm doing 20 min of exercise and 3 hours worth of housework, untold how many hours of school and I still lie in bed staring at the ceiling thinking, "I sure wish these drugs would work so that I could sleep!" Would somebody please tell my body that I need rest and at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. This insomnia is going to kill me or the exercise will. At my funeral, put me in a bikini and explain that is why she was trying to kill herself because she looked like that! LOL! Okay a little melodramatic I might be, but earnestly I am trying and I will survive.

To those of you sending post and encouraging me, keep it up. I need those little reminders to know all of us wish to exceed our goals and try and get fit! You are all truly the boost I need to keep at it. Some of you are even inspired to do this with me. Trust me, if I can do it, anyone can, I promise. To my hubby, I just want you to know that in about a year of exercising like this, I need a trip to Hawaii as a worthy goal to pursue??? What do you think?

8th day, Level 2

Okay, I admit that I was kind of getting board of level 1, however, well lets just say I was better at level 1 and it will take me a while to get used to level 2. She kicked it up a notch and there are many plank positions of doing ab work, cardio, and arms all together! I'm back to shaking after my workout and truly thinking that she knows each and every muscle in my God given anatomy that I don't use and making me use them!!! She is very encouraging though along the way, telling me I can do this when my muscles are telling me something different. They all screamed once again this morning and stated, "Stop it, stop making us move in ways we never have before!" Still seeing results, but wanting overnight success, although I know it never happens that way! For those of you who have joined me in my shredding it works, it really does!

7th day of shredding!

Sorry for no 6th day post and yesterday was rest day. I told myself when I started this exercise regime that I wasn't working out on Sundays. It's tough enough having to do it 6 days a week, much less 30 days in a row. Saturday, got her done after I had slept in. It was hard once again, had to talk to myself all the way through. I realized though that my knees were hurting quite a bit that day, but yesterday I climbed the stairs to my 3rd floor Sunday School room and I wasn't even out of breath (but my knees still hurt). Yesterday was nice not having to exercise and such. My little one became sick after church services in the morning and so I only attended church service once yesterday and stayed home after that. She doesn't have fever today but still not acting like she feels good. Poor thing!

After staying up way too late because of storms or because of my little one, I pried my eyes open this morning and managed to exercise. It wasn't as hard as I expected due to my missed day, but with the humidity here lately I was actually sweating quite a bit when I finished.

I also have to admit that Friday went out to eat and ate a few things not on the diet, Saturday's wedding cake and chocolate candy kisses, and yesterday's Mexican lunch buffet (a Sunday school class took us out to eat), and today's indian taco's at enrichment, my diet has been ill affected and I need to get right with eating things good for you or this exercise regiment won't mean a thing!

I step up to level 2 tomorrow, so pray for me as I'm sure to find more muscles than I ever thought I had and sure those muscles will complain for a while too!

5 days and still going

Well today I've officially been shredding for 5 whole days. Yesterday by far was the best day because I wasn't so very sore. Today though I was unmotivated although I did it and I truly did it to the best of my ability it was still difficult to do it. I talked to my self a lot during the video, telling myself, "Self, it's only 20 min, you can do this. Now its only 18 min. away from being done and then the last 6 min circuit came and I knew I was going to make it. I'm tired today and can't seem to shake it. I still can't quite fit in the routine and such. I know it will come in time, but once again my house is in shambles and I'm worn out. I think maybe the lack motivation comes with stepping on the scales and seeing them go the opposite way I want them to go. By golly I'm beyond a shadow of a doubt "burning" those calories, and not eating anymore and it's not showing. I know, I know all of you out there that want to say to me, muscle weighs more than fat! But I really would like to see the burning calories deal work for me more, than the muscles weighing in more. On the other hand my clothes are fitting great, in fact very loose. Yesterday, against my better judgement, I wore a pair of shorts that were way too big for me. Even my children noticed. It's just one of those days I guess where you have to grin and bear it for a time and know that you are doing good even when your tired and you really don't want too! Everyone has always told me that exercise is supposed to energize you, but this girl isn't energized. . . . "With God all things are possible!" Even exercise and shredding!

Shredding even more . . .

I accomplished my 4th day and I'm not near as sore today as I have been. What I have figured out is when I sit down to type or grade papers or do school or anything else I do sitting down my muscles tighten up and therefore when I start to stand up my muscles send a quick message to my brain, "We are denouncing our formal allegiance to this person we are attached to and decided to move into deactivation of all cell materials that will cause this person to receive the desired action they want!" (In other words, they don't want to do what needs to be done and therefore standing up, getting up, sitting up is still quite painful). However when I stay active moving about, although still some pain, at least not every move I make sends shooting sensations up and down every muscle I have. I have also noticed once again that this shredding is working. Today as put the clothes on I had picked out, my shorts are a tad big on me and the shirt that once was tight across the chest area is now fitting perfectly.

Another goal of mine was to show my children that they should also be healthy and physically fit. They all went for a bike ride yesterday and today we are all going (PE in school). They are all asking lots of healthy questions and fitness questions as well. It is getting in their heads that this is important to mom and to dad and therefore should be important to them as well.

Even so with goals being attained and such, there are some downfalls that I'm finding in my exercise routine. My house isn't getting straightened or cleaned, my grading is falling by the wayside, and things are just not getting done. It's amazing when I said that I didn't have an extra 10 minutes much less 20 minutes in my day, I really meant it. Now that I've squeezed in this 20 minute routine (which is really 25 to 30 min because I have to set up the computer, the video, put my exercise clothes on, get my weights, you get the picture) I've squeezed out some other things in my day. Right now as we speak, my bed isn't made, all the floors need vacuuming, sweeping, and mopping, both bathrooms need scrubbing, the kitchen sink is full of dishes, and I could go on. It is amazing to me what I could get done in 30 min, and what is not getting done now. I've got a list a mile long, but I won't let that detour me in my progress, I'll figure it out and I will survive, you just won't get invited to my house for a very, very long time!

Imagine . . .

if you were a piece of paper with feelings in every fiber. Now imagine that written carefully on you are important bits of information, facts, and figures. Somewhere along the way that information becomes too much and so into the shredder you go. Only halfway in there it stops. You are left hanging and writhing in pain that half of you has been shredded. The next day after searing pain courses through your body, the shredder is started back up again and the rest of you tumbles into the abyss below all shredded. Different parts of you are laying all around and when another paper is shredded or the abyss is moved your everybeing feels it and still in severe pain. The next day however they are convinced that you are not shredded enough and therefore dig you out of the abyss to do it all over again, and again, and again.

This is what it feels like to do the 30 day shred just after 3 days!!!!

Yesterday was interesting to say the least. Every walk, every muscle, everything I did associated with the pain that was coursing through my body. My calves are really ticked at me now and not sure they want to stay with their present owner. They are truly rebelling and feel like they are peeling away to find a new person who will not allow them to be stretched beyond what they are comfortable doing.

Although I am in much pain, I am seeing results, not on the scale, but the body (I'm holding to the adage that muscle weighs more than fat!). Amazingly so that even after just 3 days (and I did mine today), I'm on my way to a tighter me. Now I'm still jiggling and probably will even after thirty days, but I'm definitely seeing some definition in and around my abs and my glutious maximus! My body still hurts all over and I added weights today on my arms (cans of corn, need to borrow or buy some weights), so I'm sure to feel that soon. I sneezed this morning and oh my goodness, do you know how many muscles you use when you sneeze? Well everyone of those muscles you use burst into laughter and screaming and writhing pain in that split second that it happened!

Jillian Michaels smiles and gladly exclaims at the end of the Level I, "You are well on your way to being shredded!" I smile back (with an evil smile and laugh) I bellow, lady been there and there and there again! I'm shredded and back from the dead to do it again!

2nd day shred!

Before I get to the second day, last night in bed as I was watching some late night TV cause I couldn't sleep (which brings me to another point, isn't exercise supposed to help you sleep better?), I had to get up a couple of times and everytime I did my midsection screamed at me. Every muscle rejected the idea! However each time I was able to make it without screaming out loud cause hubby is asleep. So as my alarm sounded off this morning and I snoozed a little longer, I attempted to get out of bed and then I remembered what I had done yesterday! My whole body was sore and I felt like a truck had run me over. A warm shower helped and I sat down had a wonderful bible study and did some computer time before I got up and then my body said, "no!" I mean seriously it said, "No! I like sitting down, don't make me hurt you again." Unfortunately or fortunately (I'll let you decide), I got up and put on my exercise clothes, woke up the kids, and then went back to my room and started my shredding.

Warm up was more difficult this time because of the sore muscles. But the muscles that rejected this 2nd day most was my calves. They hollered, "stop, stop, stop this insanity please!" and they burned and tightened and wouldn't release for about the first 5 minutes. After that I was warmed up and did well. I wasn't shaking all over this time but it hurt all over this time (not sure which is worse just yet). The video didn't seem near as long as yesterday and I found myself actually thinking, "I can do this!" (I tell my kids all the time wrong thoughts lead to wrong actions???) After the video, I got dressed and ate breakfast and then my body protested once again. You see by now after typing this every muscle hurts that I have exercised and some that I have not or didn't know I had. As I walk through my house and get ready for the day, I'm refraining from saying, "ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" everytime I walk, tiptoe, crawl, or whatever I do. I'm still alive and I'm still going to attempt this tomorrow, although I might not be able to tell my body that. It is truly rebelling against me today! Yes, I'm being shredded!

The 30 day Shred!

I know that when you read "Shred", your thinking documents, and maybe even thought, "She has that much documentation to shred that it will take 30 days?" However that is not what I'm referring to. I'm referring to my new exercise video that I started this morning. It is 30 day Shred by Jillian Michaels. She apparently appears on The Biggest Loser TV show, however I'm never seen it. I was reading a blog here recently and they referred to the exercise video. What attracted me to it was this person writing the blog is similar to me and therefore I thought (my first mistake) that if she could do I could too. Now my other thoughts were as follows: I'm 40 years old now and I really need to exercise for good health and long life (hopefully), my biggest hang up about exercising is I don't have an hour to go to the gym (hence 20 min. workout video at home), and I really need my kids to see me be motivated about exercising because they are not into it at all, and last and least on the list is IT'S BATHING SUIT SEASON SOON! (Yes, I know that is a vanity statement, but I can't lie.)

So I started this morning promptly after I woke the kids up. I set up my laptop in my room in order to not embarrass myself in front of the kids and because they were eating breakfast (I needed it to stay down you know and if they were laughing too hard at it me, it would be hard for that to happen.). So even though I had it in my room, one by one, the kids poked their heads in to see what in the world was all the noise about!? A look of bewilderment was across each of their faces and one even giggled as they stepped out. Now one of the things the blog that encouraged me to do this video and caused me to take notice is that her teenage son said to her, "Hey mom you actually have abs!" Wow, what an amazing thing for someone to say because I've had three children (stretched all those muscles way out of whack), and I've had three c-sections that cut all those muscles and stitched back together and I'm fairly sure the muscles just laughed at each other each time and decided to go back together but never work again. I've also had a cut-open-wide and pull everything out hysterectomy and then stitched back together and I know for a fact then the muscles rebelled and yelled, "Are you kidding???" and laughed hysterically. After all that my stomach has been less than ideal (that is a nice way of putting it, other than as the Jello song goes, "Watch it wiggle, see it jiggle!"

Well after the first 2 minutes, I thought, no sweat I can do this (of course this is just the warm up), but then I started into the first 6 minute training (there are 3 of these, 3 min strength training, 2 minute cardio, and 1 min abs) and my knees and my legs, as each jumping jack was accomplished, hollered very loudly, "What in the world do you think you are doing???" They continued to do that, along with every other part of my body for the entire 18 more minutes and that included the cool down. Afterwards my whole body is shaking, I'm actually sweating, and I'm struggling to put one foot in front of the other.

After several hours have gone by, I still have shaking parts and add that to the hurting parts. As I get up from this long post, I'm sure to have a long sigh and a loud, "OHHHHHH, That Hurts!" My kids are still looking at me in bewilderment and my husband actually asked me, "Did you enjoy it?" I laughed, and looked at him. I'm still laughing because I'm been married to him 15 years and I've NEVER enjoyed exercise.

However for my children, my bathing suit, and my hubby, I will continue to Shred my body for the next 29 more days! Then hopefully I can continue a exercise regiment for the rest of my life (still laughing here!) I will post more as my body either starts to recover this ridiculous brainstorm I've begun or I will after I get out of the hospital!!!!

How Proud we are!

Parents have an amazing job some days. There are trench days where you are hunkering down in the trenches while explosions are happening all around you and you are battling it out left and right. There are non-eventful days that everything continues to go in its routine. Days in which you feel as a taxi driver, maid, nurse, teacher, personal chef, coach, encourager, and so much more. However there are days when your children make you so very proud!

Mike and I experienced one of these days just yesterday at State and Regional Bible Drill. All three of our kids are involved in bible drill at our church. Scroll down a few blogs past and read the description of the hard work these kids put into learning scripture and finding them in 10 or 8 seconds. They are amazing to watch. Zech and Isabella went to state this year (Zech's last in children's bible drill, Isabella's first) and both made perfect in their scores. That means no errors in all the 24 different calls made to them! They were awesome and we are so very proud of them!

Sarah has it tougher with the youth bible drill. She out of 25 calls ranked superior (which means 2 or less errors) and she was the highest score in her group! Woohoo. Not only that but she made it to State which will happen early next month.

As a parent you have no idea how or what your child will grow up to be. However hiding God's Word in their heart and learning to wield the sword of God is life changing and I know He will use that in their lives to come! Way to go!

And they are off!

Sarah's car named the Tree of Life.

Isabella leading the crowd in the Awana Pledge.

Zech holding the flag for the Pledge to the American Flag.

Couple of weeks ago we had our annual Awana's Grand Prix. The children and adults all make a car out of a block of wood, made to a certain specification and weight, but the design is totally theirs. All three of my children love this activity. Zech has won 1st place the last two years. Unfortunately his car this year decided it didn't want to be fast and disappointing as it was, we still had a blast. Enjoy the pics.

Isabella's car is the first pink one above, it is supposed to be a crown and named God's Girl!

Zech's car is the red one with pinstripes on it a little to the right of the pictures and front row. His car was named Pinstriper II.

Easter Lilies & one Prince!

Yes, if I didn't have heels on that day, Sarah has grown taller than me. I'm fairly sure that after all mine are grown I will be the shortest in our family. Some things in life you never grow out of!