get fit. get healthy. week 4.

it's been a strange week.
i've felt constantly distracted every day this week... pulled from the things i should do (like stick to the good schedule i'd had in place for a few solid weeks now) towards other stuff that i'd rather be doing. but i'll catch up on all that later...

time for week 4! as i said it's been an odd, odd week but i still feel positive about it. i wasn't able to log as consistently as i had been but i think i still stayed under my diet plan for the week. the fitness part was a little wonky... mostly due to bad timing on my part and not being totally committed to the workouts. so here we go...

get fit. get healthy. week 4.
height: 5'6"

weight: 154/154 no loss. no gain... so i'm good.

your fitness challenge(s) for the week: my challenge this week is to stay excited! i've lost a little of my enthusiasm for my daily workout plan (it's been really heavy on circuit training the last week) so i haven't been as committed to them or to getting in the extra workouts that i actually LOVE (like the box-fit routines, and long yoga sessions).

your food challenge for the week: still working on getting in more raw veggies. really need to watch my water still...

how well did it go: last week went OKAY, but it was for sure off. how can i describe it any better than, i didn't suck? i was basically away from my computer all week so i didn't log everything like i had been. (i'll say it again,i love keeping track so i can really look at the week as a whole objectively.)

my food challenge last week was to get in 5 new veggies. well i BOUGHT 5 new veggies but we haven't gotten them all cooked/eaten yet. that's today's work in the kitchen. i did eat a raw tomato in my salad thursday night. OMG! p.s. that's crazy huge for me. i hate, HATE raw tomatoes just about 95% of the time. when i got pregnant i started eating them with the steak quesadillas from Baja (our favorite and joe started ordering and picking it up for me when i craved it... SO GOOD.) well Joe has been trying to push me to eat more tomatoes so he suggested getting a few plum tomatoes for me to try. i got up the courage and cut one up in my salad and went for it... it was, okay. they are still growing on me but i didn't freak out.

fitness last week was a little off in motivation and committment. i did what i "had" to, and got in a few extras... my heart hasn't totally been into it so that's my re-focus for this week!

failures and slip-ups: there were definitely many! but this week i feel all of my issues came from being really disconnected to what i was doing plan-wise... and really distracted by everything else around me. that's not necessarily a horrible thing, especially when your distraction is wanting to watch your husband and baby girl play together! i just need to get my balanced schedule back on track, watch it, and commit to my workouts while i'm doing them... then i have the time to focus on everything else i want to AND feel great physically.

weekly challenge wisdom:

"For he who has no tranquility there is no concentration."
-Bhagavad Gita

advice to fellow GET FIT members: Stay Present. that's my challenge to all of us this week! and not just when it's easy... when it's hard stay in it. you'll be happy you focused and find that whatever you are doing gets done more efficiently and yeilds ultimate results! focusing the mind and committing to "being here now" as it were changes your whole perception, you become more aware in every aspect of your life... so refreshing!

arm-length self-portrait: i totally don't have time to do a selfie today so instead i thought i'd share a selfie from this week last year... 31 weeks pregnant. can't believe it's been a year!

i promise promise to catch up and share everything i've done this week... little miss has been super busy too!

love.

get fit. get healthy. week 3.

happy st. patty's day (again)!

it's time again to sum up the past week of my fitness challenge. i have to admit that the week ended with me really struggling. i know i need to get over this 2nd/3rd week so that my new lifestyle really sticks (they say you form new habits in about 6 weeks)... but for some reason towards the end i watched myself trying so hard to self-sabotage my plans.

so now as i write this i once again have to take a step back... i had one bad day. tuesday. it was rough for a couple of reasons, but i got into a bad mood, started telling myself i couldn't do this, wasn't seeing results (so dumb because i totally am)... the reality is that i need to lighten up.

what i love about this challenge and participating in sharing it is that i'm really forced to take a look at the week as a whole... not stay bogged down in the failures of a single day (or even a couple of days) but to see the curve of my week and know that i really did make good progress and am working hard. and to learn from it...

get ready for a long post friends because i might have a lot to say in some of this week's responses!

get fit. get healthy. week 3.
height: 5'6"

weight: 156/154... 2 pounds this week!

your fitness challenge(s) for the week: this week i'm moving my program up to the "challenging" level. i did all of my extra workouts at "challenging" level on a whim to see how i would do and was so proud of myself for getting through them. i'd also like to continue doing my extra calorie burn on 4/6 of my workout days... the other days i'd like to start working in some sit up/crunch workouts via the 200situps program.

your food challenge for the week: this week i want to refocus my water intake. on my slip up days i started in with the diet coke again and could really feel the difference (i felt hungry all the time even though i'd eaten!) also... vegetables! my goal is to work in 5 vegetables that have been absent from my menu for too long. no more standards (green beans, corn, onion, carrots, broccoli) it's time to get some new stuff in there!

how well did it go: my challenges for last week were to get in 5 extra workouts and work on healthier lunches... i did pretty well on the fitness side. i got my 5 extra workouts in no problem... and some of those extras were really big ones to offset some of my diet slip ups. healthier lunches are still a problem. i'm finding that making wraps is working a lot better for me than full sandwiches with tons of bread. i'm hoping to get out to some markets tomorrow (weather permitting) to see what kind of produce is available to make my wraps and salads better tasting and healthier. we had to go to the grocery store super late this past sunday and the pickings were pretty slim.

failures and slip-ups: well i did a big no no and let some stress take over on tuesday and i succumbed to the old pressure of using food to make me "feel" better. unfortunately because of how WRONG stopping off for that immediate gratification fast food meal (that took up 90% of my daily calorie goal) actually felt, i spiraled into a bad bad negative attitude that took me the rest of the day (and a few moments on wednesday) to get over. after that sad sad lunch i had to force myself to do my workout and i bitched and complained the whole time. it's a machine and i was literally talking back to it like a bratty teenager... i even said the forbidden "i can't" several times. that was such a disappointment to myself because i was saying i couldn't do things that i was totally doing just the day before when i was so motivated and proud of my returning strength.

i'm much better now, and i'm glad i had the experience and was able to talk to joe about it so that he could understand how much i need his support even though he's super busy at work. this is a tough time in my program and i'm committed to getting through it... i'm blessed to have a new community to turn to and a husband who is so proud of me for trying to get my body and our family's lifestyle back on track.

weekly challenge wisdom: "Use perceived failures and misfortunes as a catalyst to push you toward bigger and better things." - Jillian Michaels

advice to fellow GET FIT members: find your support system! and don't be afraid to tell someone you need them, or ask for help if they aren't giving you want you need. chances are they don't even know it and NO ONE is a mind reader!

arm-length self-portrait: the week 3 assignment was a couples valentines day selfie... well obviously valentines day is long gone, and there really isn't an opportunity for joe and i to take a photo in the five sleeping hours that he's been home each day this week... so instead here is a photo of little miss and i after our st. patty's day trip to go see daddy at work.



i'm not totally in love with the quality of the photos we took in the mirror today. this was the first time i'd tried taking them with her in awhile and she's gotten much wigglier (is that a word??) since then. very hard to get a 9 month old and myself in focus with a 50mm fixed lens, poor lighting, while not looking through the viewfinder. but we look happy and we always have fun talking to each other in the mirror before bathtime. (maybe tomorrow i'll post some of the outtakes for fun!)

here's one i took with my point and shoot...


again due to a wiggly baby i'm pretty sure the focus picked up the books. it's been such a long time since i worked on self-photography. i'm glad that this challenge includes a prompt to get back into it!

i hope everyone had a great st. patty's day! i know me and my little leprechaun did. i'm super excited that tomorrow is promising to be 70 degrees out... it may call for another trip into the city to try a different park since i had no clue that bryant park was still basically a big pile of dirt. for sure we are heading to the union square greenmarket... i sure hope that's open!

love.

a bit later...

Happy St. Patty's Day!

i started my week 3 post for get fit. get healthy. but i really need to use this naptime to get myself and little miss all ready to head into the city. daddy's been working really hard and it's a gorgeous day outside so i thought i'd get my additional calorie burn in by trekking the city and going to visit him. not sure we'll make it for the parade exactly but it will be nice to get out!

so i'll be back later this evening for week 3 and maybe even to share some photos of our adventures... wish me lots of luck navigating the throngs of "irish for the day" haha.

love.

my unrepeatable miracle.

{My Minds Eye Tres Jolie: Paper, Border Stickers & Die Cuts;
Making Memories Alpha}

this is the layout i did for the MME sketch challenge...

it's super simple but i totally love it. more and more i'm beginning to realize that this is the kind of scrapbooking i love and love to do. i spend so much time trying to over embellish pages (i do really love the way some people can go crazy with them) but i just can't.

i do have to work on journaling more. for abby's book i've been concentrating on just making layouts i love that mostly feature her pictures since i only print them out to scrapbook. i'm not sure if i've said this before but i've been either hand writing or typing letters to abby on the back of each layout. the letter is either about the day/event/subject of the layout or just about her on the day i'm actually making the layout. i find that a lot of the journaling i want to do on my pages is just too personal... i feel like it should be private and isn't important to the beauty of the layout itself if someone wants to look through her books. plus i think it will be so special when she's older and i give her the books for her to be able to read all the notes that are just to her.

i'll be back soon with more!
love.

*oops... forgot to add that the base pp is MME stella & rose!

turntable tuesday: old friends.

hello.
my apologies for the late post, again.
today was a bit of a roller coaster ride for little miss and i... her pediatrician appointment today was kind of tough and that on top of a horrible decision to get fast food for lunch put me into quite the mood. things are all good now... thanks to my amazing little girl, and then music...

i wanted to share my go to albums this week that always can put me right back into a positive state of mind no matter what i'm dealing with. i would have named it my "top 5" but when i took a look at what records are usually sitting next to my record player it turned out to be 7. a few of them i have shared before... like fleet foxes (always lift my spirit) and bridge over troubled water. it's absolutely no surprise to me that simon & garfunkel have two albums on the list. fakin' it, america, and at the zoo are some of my favorite songs ever.

i love wings. joe totally makes fun of the fact that i love wings... but i do. there is something about linda and paul that just make me happy in a way that john and yoko could never do. wings over america is a great live album... i'm still looking to pick up their "best of" with mull of kintyre which is probably my favorite wings song. it's one of the songs i sing to abby at night...

so here is the list of the albums that i am calling my "old friends..." the albums that always have a place right next to my record player and can always lift my mood and remind me that life is good and there is so much to be thankful for....

what a long strange trip it's been: the best of the grateful dead
fleet foxes
jethro tull: songs from the wood (or best of)
simon & garfunkel: bookends & bridge over troubled water
the beatles: abbey road*
wings: wings over america

*i'll be doing a beatles post in the upcoming weeks... we have a lot of beatles!

i lost my light today before i could take good photos of my layouts so far this week but i'll get them all done tomorrow afternoon... in the meantime here's a sneak i took a couple of days ago before my entry for the my minds eye sketch challenge was finished. i was happy for the opportunity to use some cha bits and pieces i picked up YEARS ago... they were from the tres jolie release. i never used them because i knew i wanted them for when i had a baby... the colors and patterns were too precious to just use for myself, or wedding photos, or really anything else...


goodnight + love love love.

some late night gushing...

hello + goodbye monday...

sorry for the late post. today was a busy day for me, most of the house "stuff" leftover from sunday had to be finished today because tomorrow is abby's 9mo. ped appointment (and coincidentally the day she turns 9 mo.!!)

sunday was so insane. we tried to get our tire fixed, no go, the tear isn't in the tread but on the side so that means next week we'll be buying a full set of new tires. it's been too long coming anyway... after that we did laundry, target shopping, and grocery shopping. doing any of those things on a sunday afternoon/evening is such a ridiculous propsition. too crowded, stores too messy... all we wanted to do was get back home.

when we finally did i pushed myself HARD to do my day's workout. i was so proud of myself afterward but it really took some coaxing, and my back was screaming at me after the laundromat... it got done though.

so today was a "putting the house back together" day... and then when i was all done i spent the rest of my alone time working on the many layouts i have sitting waiting to be finished after this past week and watching my current obsession...


i watched season 1 & 2 last month on netflix streaming but just got my dvd queue fixed (joe had too many off the wall things coming that just weren't appealing to me) so i'm now working on season 3. i'm wholly addicted to this show. first of all... Jonathan Rhys Meyers is phenomenally hot. and yes... this is the gushing part...


like seriously hot. he and all his many stages of facial hair... plus he's irish. which, well... just kind of gets me.

and if he's not enough eye candy to make you want to watch this show. i give you Henry Cavill...



so besides the great looking people on the show i have to say that the story of henry VIII and his wives... and his successors... has always been one of my favorite in history. and i really think this show is well done, exciting, dramatic, sexy. good times!

i feel a little weird that i just did a post about a. a tv show and b. the fact that i'm crushing on the boys like a teenager... but oh well. tomorrow is a big day but i promise to share another turntable tuesday and get some photos taken of the layouts i've finished!

love.

busy little miss.

hello.
joey went into work today so little miss and i had a quiet saturday to ourselves (although we REALLY missed having daddy home...) i should have been working on the four layouts i have started on my table but instead i got consumed in a new photo technique i learned at selfie magic.

i think it looks pretty good for my first one... and by the end i just really didn't care about the imperfections i kept seeing. taking these shots of abby really made me want to go out and get a new tripod (ours broke a long time ago and i didn't feel like replacing it right away)... i didn't take them exactly the same way each time so making sure the wood floor lined up right was a bit of a challenge. i had some lighting issues too when roxy decided she didn't want to look out the window anymore... i have some great shots of roxy and abby while abby was playing her piano but i just couldn't make it work into this project, maybe i'll do another one later with a few of abby's other adventures around the living room this afternoon.

oh, and don't mind the grey swatch on the wall by the window... i still haven't decided what color i want the living room to be... i'm sure i'll pick one as we are packing to move to our next place, haha.

for the rest of the evening i'm planning to work on some layouts. i gave up on finishing my daily december for now because i have a greater desire to keep getting through all of abby's photos so far and break into my studio calico kits. into the woods came yesterday and i am itching to work with it... but for some reason i can't when i know i have 3 older kits sitting there untouched. ocd.

i'm really looking forward to having joe home tomorrow. we have a super busy day... church, laundry, grocery shopping, getting a new tire, maybe a little mall time... i'm hoping we can get it all done without too much crankiness.

love.

in the history of bad ideas...

my plan to go out to the hoboken st. patty's day parade could have been the worst.

it was so incredibly packed, and by time the parade started and was in full swing most of the population was well on their way to wasted. but we were able to maneuver the stroller through the throngs of jersey girls, guidos, and frat boys getting their irish on. (we totally ran into some serious fist pumping outside of one bar... love it.)

(not very) surprisingly few people were actually watching the parade so i got in some good shots...


despite having a front row seat abby was pretty disinterested in the whole deal...

{staring at an abandoned cup of green liquid, probably alcoholic in nature}
{and yes i tripped over it...}

she much preferred yelling at the people as we waded our way down washington street. and flirting with all the tipsy girls who fawned over her as she passed.

i, however, love bagpipers. and there were plenty of them! i counted at least 4 groups before we dipped into a sushi place for lunch.


when i went through my photos i saw this gentleman...

{mr. president? i had no idea!}

abby did perk up for the fire trucks, LOVE the pink one for GEMMA... she watched them with daddy...

{still not going to smile for you mom...}

all in all it was a beautiful day, a little chilly towards the end of the afternoon as the clouds rolled in, but a good indicator that spring is indeed coming. it was fantastic to be out walking with joey and little miss... even with the crowds. want to beat the crowds on st. patty's day? steer clear of the pubs & go for sushi!

today we did church & fruit shopping for purees (and mommy's new diet). then dad made mommy slip up on her new diet... but that's for next week's get fit. get healthy. post...

it's been raining all day so we've been napping and hanging out all afternoon. i'm still hoping to get some of the craftiness done tonight that i wanted to but it's SO tempting to just hang out with my besties.

hope everyone had a great weekend!

love.

a sketch challenge + weekend wip.

hello friday!
it has been a great day so far...
took care of my workout this morning, keeping on my healthy eating...
drinking a ton of water and already feeling so good! (and sore)

during abby's early nap i was able to retake the photos of my layout for the sunday sketch challenge on the studio calico blog. i really love how this one turned out (another two pager? what's going on here?)...


i again used the november 2010 SC kit napa valley. this kit is still available if you want to purchase one for yourself. i did add the base paper in from my stash. it's american crafts: blue skies: so happy together, the solid side. i have SO MUCH of this specific paper. i think i bought 4 or 5 packs of it when i was making abby's announcements and i still have a pack and a half left. (over buy much?)

i still have a ton of the napa valley kit left but the rest of it reads fall to me so i'm going to pack it back up until i am inspired to work with some of last year's fall photos. i really want to break out another one of my SC kits this weekend but i'm holding off. instead i want to switch gears and work on a few different things this weekend...

daily december: ugh. in know, nothing like working on 2010's daily december in march. i only got through the first week in real time last year... but i did continue to print out photos each day so now i want to go through and finish it up.

the "fail" glamour pattern: for the past five months i've been working on a knitting pattern with this...

photo: lion brand.com

i hate this yarn. it's been driving me crazy. i bought 9 skeins of it in topaz in order to knit a shrug pattern from lionbrand.com and the pattern was a total fail. even if i doubled the yarn it was TINY... and using bigger needles looks awful. so now i'm working on a new idea. sad part, this was supposed to be my sister's birthday present. her birthday was in february. i'm the worst sister ever.

so that's mostly what i want to accomplish this weekend... besides grocery shopping, daddy time, and hopefully some outside time. oh, and i have to groom roxy tomorrow morning. she's blowing her coat for spring and is starting to get SMELLY. i hate how all the old hair smells... yuck.

well, i had intended to talk about lent coming up... but little miss has decided i've spent enough time on the computer so i'm off to play and read a few books with her. my thoughts on the upcoming season will have to be saved for another day.

hope everyone has a great weekend!
love.

edit: after posting i realized i forgot a few things on the above layout that weren't in the SC kit. the tiny alphas are making memories and the ones above the stamped title are american crafts. the pennant banner cardstock stickers are sassafras lass indie girl. thanks!

get fit. get healthy.

hello.
i need to thank my good friend kim for turning me on to this "get fit, get healthy" challenge. i've been in a bad bad weight gain/weight loss cycle since having abby. i did extremely well during my pregnancy, kept exercising, stayed really fit, perfect weight gain. but post-birth has been a whole other story.

it really started when abby was about 3 months old. i started having some issues with breastfeeding. i'm not going to go into the whole two month long struggle, but basically it ended with abby totally rejecting breastfeeding and me turning into a bad eater.

abby is now happy and healthy... and i'm overweight and unable to fit into any of my lovely spring pre-pregnancy dresses. don't even TALK to me about bathing suits. ugh. but here's to looking forward!

i highly suggest you check out {shutter}mama and the art of making a baby and join in on the challenge... both are really amazing blogs and definitely worth reading. so much great information (not just on getting healthy!)

today i'm starting week 1 and i began by re-starting my 12 week program on:


the first workout is actually a 30 min fitness test of increasing difficulty and omg... i am crazy out of shape but i made it all the way through. i'm already feeling sore but it feels good, my body is waking up! i'm optimistic and i am ready to work hard, and get back to my best!

so now for my first questionnaire...

get fit. get healthy. week 1

weight: my starting weight is 160. my goal is to get back to my pre-baby weight of 135 but mostly i just want a flat, toned belly back, and my hips & thighs back in shape.

your fitness challenge(s) for the week: my goal this week is to do the entire week's routines on my program (it's set to work 6 days a week) and go on at least one long dog walk with joey (and little miss) on saturday and sunday.

your food challenge for the week: most important to my get healthy challenge is water. this week i'm challenging myself to drink 8 glasses of water per day and cut down my soda intake to one glass per day at lunch. (soda is my crack... i need to let it go.)

how well did it go: we'll see, i'm feeling good about it!

failures and slip-ups: i promise to blog them as they go, but today so far i'm doing really great. and i may even skip my glass of soda with lunch because i don't even WANT it right now, lol.

weekly challenge wisdom:

The only people who will fail in their goals are the ones who just don't try.

this is taken from {shutter}mama's week 4 questionnaire and it really resonates with me right now. i have just not been trying for the past 6 months. after my workout this morning i started thinking about abby's birth. not to toot my own horn but i did so freakin' amazing. it was the hardest thing i'd ever done physically and mentally and i can't explain how proud of myself i was afterward. i went in, with a goal to do it naturally and be strong... i was so confident and i did it, exactly the way i wanted to. after that i felt like i could do absolutely anything... so what changed? i need to remember that feeling, and rock out in every aspect of my life in exactly the same way.

advice to fellow GET FIT members: building off the above... just try. you'll be amazed what you can accomplish if you set your mind to the goal, love yourself, and do your best.

arm-length self-portrait: the week 1 self-portrait homework was to post a photo of you from the past that you strive to look like again...


this was july 2009. two months before i got pregnant. i was in the best shape of my life and felt amazing. how good i felt physically was one of the big factors in us deciding to try to have a baby - having a really fit pregnancy was so important to me. it's time get the skinny little happy healthy me back so i can be at my best for my little miss.

i hope everyone joins in!

i'll be back later this evening with one, maybe two new layouts! hope everyone is having a great thursday!

love.

hello march.

abby and i are very excited to see you!
we are looking forward to:

starting classes at the little gym of jc
getting two front teeth (they are just about out!)
turning 9 months!
spring weather + trips to the park
our first big nyc parade
losing weight + getting back in shape (that's me...)
lots of scrapbooking
turning off the heat (for good) + opening the windows
spring cleaning!

maybe even learning to stand up... omg.

really really happy we are headed into spring. it opens up so many more possibilities for little miss & i. it just needs to get a little warmer and then we are spending every single day OUTSIDE. well, close to every single day.

today i looked up from the layout i'm working on...

{little tiny sneak of another two pager. woah.}

and saw little miss doing this...


omg. i have to say that i hadn't actually put her down anywhere near her piano... i usually leave it at one corner of her play area so she can get to it herself when she wants it. and there she is kneeling at it. that's like one push away from STANDING. standing. one her own. without my help. seriously?!? my baby cannot be working on how to stand herself up yet. no no no no. *sigh*

{ok mini mommy-tantrum over}

the increased mobility of my little miss in just the past two weeks completely boggles my mind. i'm so proud and amazed by her every day. not to mention just how independent she is. i can't wait to start classes at the little gym next week. we are going to have a blast and i'm hoping we meet some great babies + mommies to organize some more playdates with!

so, i think that's enough blabbing about my amazing kid for today...

i hope that everyone has a fantastic march & that spring quickly shows it's beautiful face in all of our lives!

love.

turntable tuesday: the stones.

hello.
today i thought i'd share our rolling stones collection...
i didn't have a ton of time to take photos this afternoon, so pardon my bedspread as the backdrop.


first and foremost i have to say that i'm not the biggest rolling stones fan. i like them, and can listen to whole albums... but i'm in no way a stones aficionado. all of our rolling stones records are from joe's dad's collection. i don't think my dad really liked them (i could be wrong on that but to be honest i don't remember having any stones records or cds in the house growing up).

that said. our rolling stones albums are some of my favorite in our collection for their cover art. which, if you ARE into the stones probably isn't a surprise. i photographed my favorites, except for "their satanic majesties request" because i'm pretty sure trying to photograph a hologram will trigger a migraine.

my favorite album cover is "some girls." i love advertising from the 50s + 60s (see my posts on marshal mcLuhan here + here). my favorite albums to listen to are "sticky fingers" (also cool cover with a real zipper on the front), "some girls", and "beggars' banquet" (which i'm listening to right now).

our full catalog goes like this (random order):
some girls
let it bleed
beggars' banquet
their satanic majesties request
sticky fingers
it's only rock 'n roll
goat's head soup
exile on main st.
emotional rescue

to be honest i haven't even listened to all of them yet because a few are still in major need of a good cleaning... so there might be more favorites in there that i haven't discovered yet.

i do still intend of having joe "guest" blog soon. he knows so much more about the vinyl we inherited from his dad. soon i hope!

off to work on some things for the house and SC's sunday sketch.

love.