10 on Tuesday

I really came on to give an update but realized it was Tuesday. It's a long overdue 10 on Tuesday! I'm doing it from the wrong computer so my graphics aren't available. (Update at end)

1. I swear my kids are fish. And with it being so hot all they want to do is swim. Good thing we have a pool. Free entertainment. :)

2. Skyler started doing homework on her own today. Up until now I had been sitting with her being sure she knew what to do. Well, for some things. But today she did it all on her own and I just checked it after. I did go over her spelling list with her like usual though. Aww she's growing up.

3. Courtney is obsessed with our dog. She just has way too much love stored up in her that she just can't contain herself sometimes. She showed this today by being so distracted by touching, petting, and talking to the dog instead of being focused on homework. I seriously had to separate them so she could get it done.

4. So, the first elements of Christmas are starting to show up. Costco having Christmas stuff already. And my kids being in the mood to watch Christmas movies. We are currently watching "Elf". It's not even time to start decorating for Fall yet. :) So, that begs the question. When do you start decorating for Fall/Halloween and Christmas?

5. Did anyone watch the VMA's? Ug! There are some great articles out there that have said what I'm thinking about that.

6. If you have girls do they like to wear bows/hair accessories? Mine do now, but as babies would take off anything on their head. I just love them and try to make them occasionally. I have a small collection for my photography too.

7. Ooooh I just remembered it's "Extreme Weightloss" day tonight!! I can't wait to see the new episode. Another amazing transformation, I'm sure. Have any of you been watching?

8. Apparently I can not be trusted with cookies in the house. I need to stop buying them!!! When in the world will I get that? Anyone else have issues with certain food items and you keep buying them anyway?? I can't be the only one.

9. Ever just feel like you have so much to do that you can not be feeling sick??? That leads to number 10.

10. The update: I finally went in to the doctor to get my medical issues figured out. I hadn't been in the doctor since once in Victorville a year ago. I have not been all that convinced that what I'm dealing with is Chronic Epstein Barr. Don't get me wrong. The symptoms seem to be Epstein Barr but there are so many symptoms that really aren't covered. So, this doctor isn't convinced either. 9 vials of blood later (plus 2 more tests). Hopefully we will have some results. But regardless, she's going to have me see a Rheumatologist since the bulk of the issues seem to be like Lupus. It just would be nice to have an answer and possibly be able to do something about it so I don't feel like this all the time. It's really very exhausting. If anyone ever had an excuse to not workout I sure would have a million. I just don't ever know when I'm going to feel good so I have to take advantage of any lessening of symptoms and just work out anyway. Here's to hoping I feel ok in the morning because I'm supposed to hike with a friend and help another pack because she's moving.

TV Show" Extreme Weight Loss"

Ok, so who is watching "Extreme Weight Loss"??? Talk about a motivating show. It is a 2 hour show each week showing one person's journey in weight loss. They have a one year progress period and most of them lose most if not all of the weight they needed to. I LOVE this show!

Last night's show was amazing. Both the wife who requested the help from Chris Powell and the husband by her side both lost a ton of weight. They did amazing.

So, it got me thinking about how much they work out and how motivated they are. I feel like I have been stuck forever. So, I'm changing things up and sometimes doing double workouts so I can hopefully kick start the scale to go back down. What I really need to do is get my snacking in check. That's where my downfall is. I can have great breakfast, lunch, and dinner but don't even get me started on snacking. ug! So, I'm trying to figure it all out.

On a positive note I have been doing a lot more strength training. I can see the difference in my arms. And I feel stronger all the time doing various other workouts. So, that's good at least. I've been doing strength training first and feel so much stronger starting with it. I'm not all wiped out from doing cardio first. I really recommend it.

I love watching shows like the previous mentioned show. They are so motivational. And they get me thinking outside of my comfort zone. Get me thinking that maybe I could be doing more than I currently am. Striving to better myself daily.

WOW!

WOW! It has been a long time since I blogged. Sorry about that, friends. I'm pretty active on my facebook fitness page and I need to add blogspot to my phone apps again so it can be easier to post here too.

I've been having fun learning new things in photography and loving the chance to try them out. Too bad I don't have the pics on here to show you. I'll have to do that next time. I learned how to add clouds and sky to pics that are blown out (white sky). That usually happens if it's overcast.

We just got our laptop back after it died. So sad it took pictures with it. We had been adding our iphone pics to this computer. And ever since getting a phone that had a camera on it we have been taking much more pics on that camera than the good one.

The girls have been doing gymnastics and it is amazing the improvement they have shown in just 2 sets of lessons. Courtney can now do all 3 splits and a cart wheel. Before the class she couldn't do any of them. She was close in the middle but quickly went down during class. Plus, she likes to practice daily. So that helps her. Skyler just wants to practice at gymnastics so she is making smaller improvements. But what I'm noticing with her (actually both) is how much stronger they are getting. Every time they go they have to do push ups, squats, and many other things. They can do push ups better now too. (And so can I.)

I had a challenge to do 25 push ups daily for a week and now I try to do them whenever I think about it during workouts. My arms got a lot stronger. I also am getting stronger ever since I started doing strength training before cardio. It's amazing the difference. I'm looking forward to more improvements and increased strength.

Talk to ya later.