it's a win/win/win

Yesterday after my arduous Walmart trip, I collapsed for a brief moment at my laptop before putting the groceries away. Twitter was already up so I quickly skimmed the tweets. Tweets? Are we birds? Anyway, I saw there was an ISU contest. All you had to do was take a picture of yourself wearing an ISU shirt, three winners would be chosen and the prize was a new ISU t-shirt. I looked at the clock, i had 21 minutes to put on some ISU gear, take a pic, email it to myself, crop, figure out how to put a picture up on Twitter and tweet it to CyISU. My hubby graduated from Iowa State and also was a football manager for a few years, so we have a super abundance of authentic football jerseys. I tossed one on and had my son take a pic.

do i love this picture? no, but I wanted to win a tshirt!

Whew, my tweet was sent and winners would find out later in the evening if they won. So I cleaned the kitchen, then made some muffins.  Blueberry.  Blueberry Fiber One.  Two points each.  I froze half and ate the other 12....JUST KIDDING. 

don't these look divine?

I was sitting.... ok, sprawled on the couch and my blackberry started blinking. Could it be? It was a direct message from Iowa State Athletics!  I WON! 

ISUCy Congrats 2 @nickmongar @Dabobie @acrozier22 4 being selected as this weeks Searching Cy winners! Searching Cy will take place again next wed   (I am @Dabobie)

Then, this direct message :

ISUCy Congrats on being selected as a Searching Cy winner! Please send ur shirt size and address and we will mail you ur prize!
 
So, there ya go.  I had a pretty eventful night. Now my dilemma, do I get the tshirt for me or do I get a size for my hubby?

OHHHH, and I lost 5 pounds during week one of Weight Watchers :)

baseball and running and cowboys - Oh My!

Short post today, busy day ahead of me.  First off, I already did my Couch25K run for the day.  It was 78 degrees and it seemed like a good time to just get it done with.  Shortly after heading into out, after my first leg of running, I saw a deer.  He was crossing the road and was very interested in me.  He stopped and posed (of course because I didn't have a camera) and was very curious about what I was doing.  He didn't even notice the gray mini van waiting for him to cross.  I kept running towards him, then he realized I wasn't nearly as interesting as he first thought, and trotted off.  I was happy for the nice little distraction as I was puffing through another 60 second leg of running.  I did the entire workout!  Ran when I was supposed to, no stops for stretching, tying my shoes or because I was out of breath.  I'm proud of my muffin-top self.

We spend a lot of time at baseball fields.  Our son, Ryan is playing in a very competitive league which means we have 4-7 games/week.  We love baseball and especially watching him play.  Hubby and I both love the game.  I sometimes wonder how we will spend our summers when he is too old for the league.  This year has been relentlessly hot and humid.  I always pack a cooler to keep us from the unhealthy and expensive concession stand.   Usually there are carrots and granola bars packed but since this game started at 8pm, I skipped it.

We always sit behind the left center field fence.  It's a good seat...we like it, sometimes I think we are the Waverly Bleacher Bums.  However, when Ryan needs a Gatorade, one of us has to hike over to the dugout, last night....I volunteered.  After giving him the drink, I decided to walk around the entire field.  I came to the parking lot and lo and behold...there was a picture I HAD to take.  It was glorious.  Fine.  A nice reminder of what wonderful things Nebraska has to offer.   I quickly snapped one shot (omg it was so blurry - camera phone) and then he MOVED!!  I wanted to cry.  So then I pretended to be talking on the phone and I walked away, but not tooooo far.  Then he went back to his 'pose' and then 'CLICK' I got it.  I was very pleased with my paparazzi style photography, and then I ran away.  What if someone saw me?  Well, it was worth it.

How nice of him to pose.  Boots, wranglers, hat.  There is a God.

Couch to 5K

Couch to 5K is also known as C25K for the super cool and work out savvy (of which I am neither).  Before last week, it was nothing I had ever heard before.  I thought it looked kinda funny on Twitter, but then,  everything looks pretty foreign to me on Twitter.   My sister, @LovelyShaw was talking about being 'motivated' and 'ready and excited' to start this new workout/running regime where you will be able to run a 5K in 12 weeks.  After finally figuring out how to put the workout on my Ipod, I knew it was time to get out and START. 

I was all geared up with my Nike running shoes, Ipod and headphones and armband to keep the Ipod in place.  I clicked 'start workout' and got ready to GO!  Then it hit me.  I can't do the podcast along with my Nike Plus ( Nike Plus tracks your pace, how long you ran, where you ran, and how much time it took you to do it).  I grabbed another Ipod, you know, for Nike plus, but it was d-e-a-d.   So off I went without my high techie running stuff going, the only 'reward' for doing the run was to ACTUALLY DO IT.  It was not easy dear friends.  About 10 minutes into it, my legs were telling me things I have never heard them say before.  Ohhh the four letter words!   You know like stop, don't, and quit!   I did walk briskly through 3 of the 60 second running segments, but I was alright with that.  Then I pushed.  I pushed my legs to MOVE, not my heart to race, I pushed my mind past the 'maybe I can walk the rest'.  I kept going and I'm pretty darn excited about it. 

I saw 2 deer and 2 dead snakes (my favorite kind of snakes), multiple rabbits...no pun intended.  I always think the first step in something work-out related is the absolute most difficult, and I am pretty happy that first step is over.    I hope I can find my legs by Wednesday.

back on the Weight Watchers Wagon...again and again and again.

Part of my success as a new real estate agent (when I pass the exam) is the 'image' of myself being an agent.  Thin(ish) and professional, cute skirts, tasteful heels, pin-striped jackets with camesoles, long dark brown hair.  (yes, dark brown!)    I deeply feel this image or new career path is a package deal.  So, this past  Monday, I started WW again...AGAIN!  

I don't mind WW....I really like the 'good for you' foods.   Veggies, fish, fruit, whole grain breads, whole grain rice, water.  So really that's pretty easy for me.  What happens is I lose the weight, then take 8 months and gain it right back.  Exercising outside in the summer is a challenge because I'm SOOOO heat sensitive.  Luckily for me, it stays light enough for a late evening walk or run,  errrr slow jog....trot, ok...stroll.   I'm also good at preparing my own meals.  I do buy a few 'Smart One's' a week, but only three, and I add rice, or more steamed veggies.   I took pictures of my last two days of lunches.  Yesterdays was 5 points, today is 8. 

(omg i see my toes!!)

4 point Smart One's with 1 1/2 cups steamed broccoli added

(my fork has been 'used' to take the salmon out of the toaster oven lol)

4 ounces baked salmon, 1 1/2 cups brown rice (I add salsa for flavor) and 1 cup(ish) steamed broccoli ~ I use a salad plate for a full meal look effect.

So, I'm back in the saddle.  I consider it another step towards achieving my ultimate goal, which really....now that I think about it, is a whole new me.  And that excites me....a lot.

the power of prayer?

I will be the first to admit that I do not attend church services, nor am I a bible thumper.  I do consider myself spiritual, and I do believe in God, very much so.  I guess sometimes I have wondered if God believed in me.

 I realized over the past few months that alcohol was probably going to keep me from real estate.  Why?  The constant fog, the oversleeping, staying up too late....it was a cycle I knew I HAD to break.  Then I did what I wondered if I could ever do.  I want to be in the real estate field far more than I want to sit up late and night and drink rum & diets....I had to make a choice, and I did.  I broke that vicious cycle.  Then something really strange happened.

When I started going to bed without my favorite sleep aid (rum)....I realized how insanely early my husband was getting up to go to work as a manager for a gas station/convenience store.   3:30am.  He's been doing this for almost an entire year, and up until the 'no rum', I really had no idea.  This had to change for him....and then I started to pray.

Prayer for me has not been a regular activity, if ever.   I mean, if you fall asleep before your head hits the pillow, ummmm it's hard to get a hearfelt prayer out, and honestly - I never even thought of it.  Maybe I didn't care, or see a reason.  I've always had this theory that someone, somewhere - has it much harder than I do.  So maybe God should take care of them first.  (i have some strange theories and mind methods lol). 

So, after going to bed, within a night or two of stopping my rummy drinks, I prayed.  In my prayers I ask God to fill my heart with the Holy Spirit until I could physically feel it, and then I did.  The feeling reminds me of my first communion....I physically felt cleansed for days afterwards.   From there, I do a childhood prayer, focusing on the Holy Spirit within me, then the Lord's Prayer, and then giving deep and heartfelt thanks for my blessings, continuing to feel the prayer stirring inside of my heart.  Then I ask for Him to take my hand and lead us (Hubby and I) down the paths He has planned.  Then something happened.  Things started to change.  The changes I will share in a future post, but I will say this, I pray every night.

I feel my prayers are becoming more and more heartfelt and genuine.  I now fold my hands.  I only ask for His guidance....because I have learned, I can't change the path that has already been chosen.  I can only go along for the ride and know that is what is SUPPOSED to be.  The funny thing is, I think we both want the same for me, you know....the me that I wasn't sure that He believed in.

no booze...is OK!

Well, it's been some time now since I decided to stop my rum chugging. I should update my 'I quit' blog to 'I'm changing my habits'. I no longer drink rum every night and in fact, I don't even drink on the weekends now. Do i miss it? Nope. I realized that never drinking again really isn't what I wanted to achieve....ex: pizza place with hubby, share a pitcher of beer. (I really just wanted the pizza and drank 3 glasses of water also) and I only had 2 glasses of beer and started to feel 'tipsy'! But I will admit, the beer tasted pretty darn good, and I have to think that's because I haven't been drinking lately. I'm feeling better, no hangovers, I don't sleep too late, I don't over eat at night, we are saving LOTS of $$$....I'm feeling this is a definite win/win. I'm realizing it was just a habit. Probably something I really didn't enjoy THAT much. I much prefer my ice water.

*edited* to add that I'm totally LOLing at my title of this blog and the giant pitcher of beer next to it LOL.

I quit

After years and years and years of drinking, sometimes WAY too much, I've decided to quit, at least for now. So many things are going on in my life, I need to put the pieces of this huge puzzle together. I can't do it hungover, sluggish, distracted, or dazed. Not to mention the cost. Not to mention the cost of a new liver, and that's not even in the budget! Will I never ever drink again, ummm I really doubt that I won’t do it(hehe), but who knows, maybe I will like NOT drinking more than i like to drink.

I’m really happy about this, it hasn’t even been that difficult. Well falling asleep has been but that is finally working itself out. Day 5 now….I’m excited about this. I feel like it’s the path to many, many good things.