Summer TO DO Lists......

I am a list-maker.  I like to have a list to work from when I have a lot of tasks that need to be taken care of.  Today was one of those days.....TONS to do!
I started my day by sleeping in...which is NEVER good.  I always end up with a mondo headache and then I feel terrible the rest of the day. Now, the reason for sleeping in: RAIN.  (Dreary day, rainy weather and "The Peanut" sleeps really well. Nathan gets up and is pretty independent, so he always lets me sleep.)

Well, today was no different, except I tried to preempt the headache by taking a Step class at the gym.  You know what????  IT WORKED!

By the end of the class, the headache was non-existent! GO ME!

The downfall is: I think I hurt my left foot today in class because I wore older running shoes.  So, they went into the garbage as soon as I got home today.  I am going to have to invest in a new pair of cross trainers or aerobic shoes (studio shoes).  My foot still hurts but I am hoping that it feels better in the morning.

Anyway, I made it home after that awesome class
and started on the list:

Shower

Make Lunch
Clean the Kitchen Counters

Unload the Dishwasher 

Wash Whites

Wash Darks (4 loads)

Wash Towels (3 loads)

Wash Bedding (2 loads)

I finished everything with the exception of the bedding, but will work on that first thing in the morning.  Nathan has been a great help and was able to unload the dishwasher for me while I was making lunch.  Gosh, I love that he is getting to be really independent...it means I am doing my job as mama!

***************Sketchapalooza 7 started yesterday at Feeling Scrappy and I am loving the layouts that people are pumping out from the sketch that Jayne posted yesterday!  We have some awesome scrappers taking this class!  Can't wait to see what people are going to do with the sketch tomorrow.

************
Keep an eye out in the next couple of days, I have a Project Life Update coming.
*******

Alright, this gal is going to turn into a pumpkin if she doesn't get to bed.
Until Next Time,
SCRAP ON!
~Cyn~

I did it! I did it!

I told Ben that I was going to join the gym and last night on my way to Jessica's house, I did just that!  I went into LA Fitness (I call it "LAFitness" - using the French accent of course, not L.A. Fitness - the way you are supposed to say it - ha!) and signed up for a membership.  

It is a monthly membership (not a contract) and I have to pay for each kidlet to go as well to be watched in the Kidz Klub. When school starts back for Nathan, I will be able to drop him off from the membership which will save me $10 a month. Nice eh?

Now, y'all know that I used to teach aerobics and personal train, but I stopped when I was pregnant with Sophie.  Well, I let my certifications lapse after Sophie was born and never went back to teaching or personal training.  In fact, I just didn't go back to exercising at all.   

NOT ANY MORE MY FRIENDS!!!!!  NOT ANY MORE!

So, I signed up late last night and went in this morning to do my first workout.  

I AM OUT OF SHAPE!!!

I got on the Elliptical and did 15 minutes of the manual preset.  I was sweating 2 minutes into it and huffing and puffing by about 7 minutes in!
My plan was to hit the Latin Heat class at 9:45 and I got in there around 9:55 after I had done 15 minutes on the Elliptical and burned 100 Calories on it.  

Can I tell you that this Latin Heat (kind of a mix of all latin dancing, some hip hop and belly dancing all at once) had me sweating even MORE?!?!?!  Plus, this white girl has NO rhythm what-so-ever!

  I am sure that once I get used to the moves, I could probably shake my tushie and add all kinds of flare. But this morning, I looked like I was having an epileptic seizure or something in that darn class!  It was hilarious.

At least I can laugh at myself, eh?

Anyway, all I can say is.....it is DAMN GOOD to be back!!!!

Now, to just get my cardio back so that I can start teaching again!

Go Cyn!  Go!

So, tomorrow morning, I am going to try to catch a step class.  I can't wait!
Until next time,

SCRAP ON!
~Cyn~

Last Week of School....

As room mom, I have a lot to do this week.  So, posts here on the blog will either be automated or not done at all. Not only do I have stuff to do for Nathan's class, but I also have things I want and need to get done BEFORE the summer starts.  
I have a garage that has stuff in it that we didn't even touch in Warner Robins and will need to be thrown out.  So, the thought was to get it done before Nathan gets out of school to allow me to run what we want thrown out to the landfill.  
Jessica is having SCRAP NIGHT at her place for the first time this month on Thursday night.  I am definitely going because I have a lot of sample layouts to do for the Feeling Scrappy Sketchapalooza Class that starts June 4th.  I am really looking forward to that class.
Also, putting together a summer activities calendar for the next two months so that we know what we are doing and when we are doing it.  I have bought a bunch of books that Nathan is not allowed to touch until AFTER he finished school on Friday.  Here is the pile, along with a Math Game for his DS.  I want to keep him reading and learning over the summer.  

 

Another thing I have done in preparation for the summer: I purchased the movie passes for the summer for each of us.  They show one movie a week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings at 9:30.  It was $5 per person for the entire summer.  So, I know that will be one activity that we have for one day a week.  It is for children, so if Sophie doesn't sit through the entire movie, she can play in the aisle.  I have been told that it is okay, so that covers one activity for the kids and I to do.

We have Zoo Atlanta memberships to use for the year and also Georgia Aquarium memberships.  On the really, really hot days, we will head to the Aquarium.  There are also other museums that I want to check out as well.  But this schedule of activities needs to get done before Nathan is out of school for the summer!
Nathan also got a free ticket to 6 Flags Over Georgia for reading this year and he wants Ben to take him up there for the day.  I am totally okay with that and I think it would be awesome for the two of them to have a Nathan/Daddy Day.  Ben just has to remember his camera!  ;)Oh and did I mention that I will be joining LA FITNESS on June 1st?  Yep!  That is the plan, Stan!  I have been really missing working out, teaching aerobics and personal training.  So, after talking with a few people and checking out the gyms in the area, I have decided that LA Fitness is where I need to join.  Luckily, they have child care available AND it is not a contract, so if I don't like it as much as I think I will, I can cancel at any time.  I love that!  I also think that by having activities and working out, my SANITY will be intact at the end of the summer!  HA!  I love my kidlets but Sophie has begun that whole terrible twos/threes thing with the temper tantrums and such.  Not a fun thing to deal with.  ARGH!  So, working out should help with stress management (OR at least I hope it does) and weight loss too!  Woot!  Woot!
So, that is the update for now. I have GOT to get to work! Catch ya on the flipside!
Until Next Time,
SCRAP ON!
~Cyn~  

Hello....Rock Bottom!

All my life, I have been a "Skinny Minnie".  I was born 4 lbs 9 oz. and stayed underweight until way after I was married.  I was totally okay with that. Then I had Nathan and stayed around 135 for a long, long time.  Then, I got pregnant with Sophie at 138 and stayed there until I was 6 months along and then the weight creeped up..and up....and up.  

I weighed myself on Monday (the 7th of May) and realized "HOLY CRAP!  I am 180 pounds!"

So, today marks the first day of the diet & exercise from hell.  

I like food.  I like to eat.  I know I eat more than I should and later than I should, but I like food.  I just am not good with portion sizes.  I used to like exercise.  Hell, I used to be a fitness instructor and personal trainer.  Well, technically,  I am still knowledgeable in these things, I just let my certifications lapse when I had Sophie.  I just don't do it anymore.  You know the deal:  I don't take the time to do it!  

Anyway, I kinda freaked last week and realized that it was time to do something.  Sure, I joined the Move More, Eat Well movement with Cathy Zielske at the beginning of the year, but I have fallen off the wagon.  I think I LOST the wagon, forget falling off!  Ha!   How could I let myself gain so much weight?!?!  I guess it is easy when you aren't paying attention and wear comfy clothes all the time.  Crap Happens.....

So, here I am, Cyn M, getting serious about this....again.....

Starting Weight as of today: 181 lbs.   Here we go again! Time to get to work!

Until Next Time,

SCRAP ON!
~Cyn~

MMEW 2012 - Measurements, 1 Thing

My Measurements were rough, but the 1 thing to focus on was easy!  Write down everything that I eat, no matter what it is and how bad it is.....That is the 1 thing I will focus on for January 2012.

~Cyn~

MMEW 2012 - January, My Story

We had to take body measurements and I posted about that here and also take a full-body shot.  Taking a self portrait is hard but seeing this picture was even harder!  I.feel.fat!!! Anyway, we also had to tell our story. Below, you will see my story which is the journaling at the top of the page above.  


Journaling: 

I was underweight for most of my life up until I met Ben in college, who later became my husband.  On our wedding day, September 18, 1999, I weighed 125 pounds and was in the best shape of my life.  I had begun working for Exclusively Women’s Fitness Centre in February 1999 and started instructing people on how to use the machines and teaching classes a year later. I then started personal training. I loved it.  EVERY minute of it.  We moved to Georgia from Canada in September 2002 and I wasn’t allowed to work due to the type of Visa I had.  So, I joined the gym and continued taking classes.  The problem with the classes down here, was that they weren’t all that challenging compared to what I was used to in Canada.  So, once I was able to work, I started to work for the gym. Then I found out that I was pregnant with Nathan.  I taught and trained my entire pregnancy.  August 16th, 2004, I went in for my C-Section and was 161 pounds. The weight fell off after Nathan arrived. 

Fast forward to 2009... I was 138 pounds and teaching aerobics at a new gym.   I found out that I was pregnant with Sophie.  At 6 months, my heart rate while I was teaching was at 220.  Not good for me or the baby and I had to stop teaching and exercising.  October 9 2009, I went in for my second C-Section, I weighed 173 pounds.  Again, the weight fell off. 

I didn't end up going back to teaching (cert. lapsed) and my husband was laid off 6 weeks after Sophie was born.  Everything fell by the wayside and I went into “survival mode” for our family.  Ben ended up getting a new job and we moved in November 2010, I still couldn't teach and we couldn’t “splurge” to allow me to take the courses needed to re-certify.  Add to that the fact that gym memberships cost money and you know what happened next.  I did nothing.

2011 rolls around, literally rolls…..  

The pounds are slowly creeping up and I don’t notice it until my clothes are tighter, I feel tired and sluggish all the time, my moods are all over the place and my body has changed dramatically. 

Enter 2012….my weight is now at 175, clothes don’t fit and it is time for me to start taking care of ME!!  So, here I am!!!

MMEW 2012 - 5 THINGS....

This particular page is about the 5 Things that you are good at.  I had to ask Ben what I should write.  I guess we are all taught to think about things we need to improve and focus on those.  Not boast about what we ARE actually good at.  So, this was hard to do.  Some of the things Ben shared with me were not something I want written down!  ;)  Gotta love him though!  ;)

Here is what I came up with after reading over some posts on the Skyline Sisterhood Forum and thank you cards that I have received over the last couple of months:

1. Organizing

2. Planning and Coordinating Retreats, Get Togethers, Trips, etc.

3. Enthusiasm and Encouragement

4. Taking pictures and scrapbooking them

5. Technically Savvy

MMEW 2012 Statement of Intention:

I have several intentions for 2012…

·          Walk 3 times per week to start, join a gym in March                                          

·          No eating after 7pm

·          Drink lots of water

·          Eat well, break the sugar habit

·          Record caloric intake

·          Try to give up pop (A&W Rootbeer is my weakness)

·          No alcohol intake AT ALL

·          Cook and eat at home as much as possible

·          Get in better shape to be able to teach classes again

I want:

·          To feel better and sleep better

·          Be able to wear my wedding rings comfortably again

·          Shed body fat and get back down to 140 lbs

·          Be able to run a 5K under a half hour

·          Get my certifications current so that I can start teaching/training again