I Did It

I joined with 10,000 people to support a great cause, and ran my first 5K this morning! Phillip and the boys came out to support me and my friend Chelsi, and they were cheering us on at the at the finish line. It was a great way to start my Thanksgiving Day and a tradition that I hope to continue each year. Who knows...maybe next year I'll try for the 10K.

 



We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner celebration with my husband's family this evening. And while many are out in the craziness of Black Friday, Phillip and I are going to watch a movie in the bed and eat a few more bites of Thanksgiving dessert. Tomorrow we are going to start putting out our Christmas decorations. I am one of those people that can't quite get into Christmas before Thanksgiving. I have to take it one holiday at a time. (Although I have been enjoying a little She & Him Christmas.)

We did a fun gratitude project with the kids and family today. I'll share that with you tomorrow. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Always,

Amanda

No Time To Lose!

The baby weight that is.

At least I'm still calling it baby weight even though Little Man is now 18 months old.

I have always had to stay on top of my weight. I'm not one of those people who can eat whatever they want and still be thin. If I want to be thin, I have to watch what I eat and exercise regularly. Unfortunately, I wasn't raised in such a way that eating healthy or working were a natural part of my lifestyle, so I have to make a very conscious effort to do both.

After I had Buddy, I got into the best shape of my life. I was eating right, running and working out regularly. I felt great! Then I found out I was pregnant with Little Man. I started out with the best of intentions to continue a healthy lifestyle, but first trimester queasiness combined with the Georgia summer heat, made me throw in the towel rather quickly.

I ended up gaining a lot of weight with that pregnancy, but I wasn't too worried because I had gained about the same with my first pregnancy, and lost it all easily. A lot of different factors contributed to my inability to get it together and lose the weight this time around...

When I lost the weight with Buddy, I lived in a small town with no restaurants. I was also part of a weight loss competition with people from my church. (I am very competitive...I won!)

Now I live in a town with every restaurant option in a 5 mile radius of my house. Also, no competition meant no accountability.

I began losing weight when Buddy was about 6 months. When Little Man was 6 months old, my dad had just died. Enough said.

When Buddy was little, I could just sneak out of bed early in the morning and workout. I can't sneak away from Little Man. He gets up when I do.

Having two kids is MUCH different than having one.

So those are my reasons....err....excuses. I'm tired of those excuses. And I'm tired of being overweight and unhappy with the way I look and feel.

Enough is enough. I am ready.

Phillip and I started a new lifestyle of health and fitness a few weeks ago and I am proud to say that we are doing great and have already begun losing weight and have noticed an overall improvement in the way we feel.

Because I tend to get a little obsessive, I am not weighing myself. I know what size clothing I want to fit into, and I will use that to gauge my results. Also, I am treating this as a change in lifestyle, not just a diet to lose weight. Even when I get to the size I want to be, I want to continue to eat healthy and workout. It is important to me to raise my boys in a healthy home.

For those of you that might be curious to we are doing, here is my plan.

Breakfast: Herbalife Shake
Lunch: Herbalife Shake
Snack: Zone Perfect Bar and Herbalife Raspberry Herbal Tea
Dinner: Sensible Dinner (Whole Grains, Lean Meats, Veggies)
Beverages: I am only drinking water and aiming for 64oz a day. I am tracking my water using this free app on my iPhone.

My workout routine is as follows:

Monday am: Power 90 Phase 1-2 Cardio & Abs

Tuesday am: Power 90 Phase 1-2 Circuit (5lb weights)
Tuesday pm: Walking/Running 30min

Wednesday am: Power 90 Phase 1-2 Cardio & Abs

Thursday am: Power 90 Phase 1-2 Circuit (5lb weights)

Thursday pm: Walking/Running 30min

Friday am: Power 90 Phase 1-2 Cardio & Abs

Saturday am: Power 90 Phase 1-2 Circuit (5lb weights)

Saturday pm: Walking/Running 30min

Sunday: Rest

Power 90 is the prequel to P90X. It is awesome, but less strenuous than P90X, so it is perfect for someone starting out who is not quite ready for P90X. You can purchase the version I have here. We hope to move up to Phase 3-4 (also included) after another month or so of Phase 1-2. 

For my walking/running, I am using the Couch to 5K app on my iPhone. I love it! It takes all the guesswork and math out of trying to gradually go from walking to running. I am currently on Week 3 and by Week 9, I will be able to run 5K. 

Phillip is doing everything the same as me, except when I walk/run, he bikes. This is the first time we have ever really been on the same page about health and fitness. It is awesome having him as a partner.

I've already noticed how our new lifestyle is influencing the boys. They are already drinking a lot more water because they see us drinking water all of the time. They usually get up with us and watch us workout. Sometimes Buddy joins in. They enjoy going to the trail where we walk/run/bike. Buddy already talks about how he wants to run and ride his bike too.

I am really excited about this new chapter in our lives! I'll keep you posted on our progress.

Always,

Amanda

Handmade Rice Heat Therapy Bags

So I know that I said I was going to take a little break from the blog this month because I have lots to do.

But then I came down with the flu. Bad flu. 

Unfortunately I am not the kind of person who can sleep a lot. I am more the type to lie awake at night because I can't shut my brain off. Or because I feel miserable. And right now it's the latter.

One thing that is bringing me great comfort is my rice heat therapy bag. 

I have it on the back of my neck as I am sitting here typing, 

and it is so soothing to my swollen glands. 

So just in case you or someone you know are feeling under the weather, I thought I would pass the idea along. 

I first saw one of these when I was reading one of my favorite blogs a while back. I did a little search online to see if I could find a tutorial, and of course I found one at Sew, Mama, Sew!

I kind of followed their tutorial, making a few changes as I went along. I didn't actually make a separate cover for mine because I was kind of in a hurry. 

A hurry to get my heat therapy on! 

Anyhoo, I loved the way they used scraps of fabric versus just one solid piece of fabric. It's a little more work, but totally worth the cuteness!

The prints are some fabric scraps from my stash, and the off-white is an old pillowcase I cut up. It is perfect because it is so soft and nice next to the skin. I scented my rice with lavender essential oils and they smell so nice. 

(I just wish I could smell right now. *stuffy nose*)

They are easy to heat as well. The little ones are perfect for the eyes and only need about a minute in the microwave. The big one is great for the neck or lower back. I usually heat it for a minute, then move the rice a bit, 

and heat it for another minute or so. 

They are also great for those extra cold days (which we haven't been having here in the South). You can heat them up before you head out the door and hide them down in the car seat to keep the kiddos extra toasty. 

Buddy loves the eye pack!

I think I will be making a lot of these this Christmas to give as gifts.

So back to my break...maybe. We'll see if I feel like doing anything tomorrow.

Always, 

Amanda

Baltic Amber: A Natural Pain Reliever

I recently learned of using Baltic Amber teething necklaces as a natural alternative to Tylenol or Orajel. This couldn't have come at a more perfect time for me, since my 4 1/2 month old is drooling like crazy and constantly chewing on his fingers. When Baltic Amber is worn against the skin, the warmth of our bodies causes the amber to release trace amounts of oil that contain succinic acid which are absorbed by the skin. For teething babies, this   works as a natural analgesic to alleviate teething pain and other side effects such as restlessness, drooling, and irritability. Here's a picture of Little Man, looking like a "cool dude" in his necklace from Inspired by Finn. 

Baltic Amber can also be worn by adults on various parts of the body to help with arthritis, carpal tunnel, back pain, menstrual pain, and migraines!  I can already tell a difference in Little Man. His drooling has greatly decreased!
 To learn more about the benefits of Baltic Amber, click here and here.


Always, 

Amanda


Disclaimer: As with any infant jewelry, Baltic Amber teething necklaces are to be worn under adult supervision only, and should not be worn while child is sleeping.