Fitness @ Home: Week 1

It all started with a few extra pounds hanging out on my butt. I climbed onto a stationary bike that was wasting away in my mom's living room. I pedaled. I got bored, lost my breath, and felt uneasy about sweat dripping down my back. 

Maybe it's just me, but self induced sweating was definitely an acquired taste.

Anyway, I slept like a baby that night and decided to try a bit more the next day.

I quickly became hooked and decided I needed to upgrade my fitness status.

So I joined a gym. (Of course.)I was suddenly of the mindset that having a membership to a building that had a lot of fitness equipment validated my fitness level. Having to carve out time to get ready and drive to a place of exercise made me feel more serious about this sweaty business. (Come on. Anyone else?)

And then life took over, and I began to use the membership less and less. I began to make excuses about not having enough time to drive there, workout, and drive home. After all, it was about 25 minutes worth of driving to and from, and it just wasn't worth it to waste all that time and gas.

On some level, I knew that I COULD workout at home, I just liked saying that I didn't have time to use the gym. In some twisted way, by keeping the membership active (with my inactivity)  I felt fit.

Fast forward through another weight gain and loss. Add a dog, some fresh air, some PT study, some basic gym equipment (dumbbells, bands, homemade box for box jumps/step-ups/dips, a jump rope, and a stationary bike) and an increasing love for slow running....

You get this:

-Sunday: 30 min sloth run, stretch

-Monday:  30 min stationary bike with ten minutes of intervals at end

-Tuesday: Easy/light strength workout( circuit style w/ 3 cycles and  2 minutes of cardio between each) and yoga

-Wednesday: 30 min run

-Thursday: Repeat Tuesday

-Friday: 30 min run

-Saturday: Long dog walk (active rest)

I will try and post my weekly workout schedule each Saturday. I'd also LOVE to see what other people are doing, because I love to mix things up.

If you're interested in starting a running program, and you're a beginner or looking to improve, I HIGHLY recommend this book:

Runner's World Complete Book of Women's Running: The Best Advice to Get Started, Stay Motivated, Lose Weight, Run Injury-Free, Be Safe, and Train for Any Distance (Runner's World Complete Books)

I'm currently trying to lose ten pounds, and without turning this into a weight loss blog, I will list my weekly progress/stalls on Saturday. I'll just share +/- .5 lb, etc. It's more for me and accountability, so just ignore this blog on Saturdays if that isn't your thing.

*Food/diet is incredibly personal and unique to each person. While I no longer count calories as carefully as I used to, I do keep a rough idea going in my head/on a piece of scrap paper, and try to stick between 1300-2000 calories each day. I'm usually pretty content with ~1500 a day. I will post more about what my weight loss menu looks like next week!*

Brothers

It's a big weekend.

We're sending  my brother (and Dan!)  off to Tennessee.

This dark brown boy is now in his mid twenties, and he's a doctoral candidate.

He's not the big tough, ''leave my sister alone'' kind of brother. He's more quiet and keeps to himself. But even so, he has taught me quite a bit, and I'm not sure he knows it.

He taught me to eat more vegetables. 

His music brings a lot of different people together in one room.  I hope he doesn't stop playing.

Anyway, I can't say much more. I'll probably start to cry.

Hey, Matt! I love you! I'll tell you a bunch more tonight, probably.

Can't wait to come visit you in Tennessee.

You'll do great things...you already do. (Yeah. I said that. Hope you're not embarassed. Eh. It's fine if you are. You're moving far away.)

Lots of Love.

She Got Married, Too: Jessica

I love reading about other couples. I love getting a

sneak peak into their lives and seeing how they make their situation work. Some would say that I'm nosy. Which I'm fine with. Because enough people were open enough to take me up on this guest poster series and answer with honesty, heart, and humor.

Enjoy :)

Names: Jessica & Mike

Ages: Both 25

We live in: a suburb outside Chicago

Do you blog? (Where can we find you?) About what?

You can find me at Faith Permeating Life. A lot of my posts are advice-giving and advice-seeking about making marriage work and just being happy with life as a 20-something, whether it’s around money issues, sex, work, or friendships. I am Catholic, but I’m not your typical “Catholic blogger” because I write more often about areas where I disagree with the Church (mostly around gay rights and sexuality) than where I agree. I’m also following Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project for 2011, so I post updates on that once a month.

What do YOU do?

I work at a college where I design surveys, analyze data, run focus groups, manage student course evaluations, and otherwise try to make sure our students are getting what they pay for. I also have a side job editing manuscripts for aspiring authors. And another one reviewing resumes and cover letters for job seekers. I’m trying to put all of my experience to good use :)

What does HE do?

Mike just got a job as a restaurant manager and I am super-proud of him! He graduated with his master's degree in social work over a year ago and just had rotten luck finding a job. He has been involved in food service since high school but wanted to move into management if he was going to stay with it. This new job sounds wonderful and I think he will be very happy

How long have you been married?

It will be two years in August.

What holds the two of you together?

There’s a whole blog’s worth of answers to that question! Here are some: respect, trust, good communication, balance, laughter and shared values, and complementary strengths. Also, since we put pretty strict boundaries on our physical intimacy during the time we were dating, we had almost five years to really get to know each other through conversation and doing fun things together, which I think gave us a strong base for marriage.

What do you argue about the most?

Because we have such open and honest communication, we rarely fight about the typical things (money, sex, etc.). We are most likely to argue about communication itself; e.g., “You sound like you’re mocking me,” “Don’t get so defensive,” or “Stop giving me advice, I just want you to listen.” We inevitably end every argument by immediately going back over it to figure out where the miscommunication happened or how one of us could have rephrased something so it was less attacking. I guess that’s what happens when a communication major (me) marries a psychology major (him)!

Do you have kids? If not, are you planning on them anytime soon?

Not yet! We want to adopt a big family eventually, but that requires saving up a lot of money, so it will depend on when Mike finds work. Also, a lot of adoption agencies require you to be married at least three years, and I think right around then we’ll both be ready for kids, emotionally if not financially.

What is your favorite way to spend a weekend together?

We love to do projects together. My husband is a big-ideas man and I am more detail-oriented, so he comes up with an idea and I help us create a plan to make it happen. One project (see the picture!) that has been in the works almost as long as we’ve been married is our four-piece artwork that will eventually say, “Love is a collaborative work of art” (taken from the book Metaphors We Live By). It’s supposed to represent things that we like to do together. “Love” is a photo collage of four cities where we have family (Chicago, Buffalo, Seattle, and Columbus). “Is” is made out of pieces from various board games. “A” is a leaf because we like to take walks outside. The rest is a giant Scrabble board that is just missing the letters, which we’re still working on.

Who cooks the most?

Mike. He is an excellent cook. I’m happy to leave that up to him, and he’s happy to leave our finances up to me. It works :)

Who cleans the most?

Mike does the dishes every night and is more likely to vacuum than I am. I keep things organized and am more likely to go around and pick up stray clothes and papers. We live in a small apartment, so there’s not a lot to clean, fortunately.

What was the biggest shocker of married life?

That there wasn’t one. I’d spent my whole life hearing that shortly after you get married, the “honeymoon phase” ends and reality comes crashing in. I think because we spent so much time really getting to know each other inside and outside before marriage, there wasn’t much to be surprised about by the time we got married. I wrote about that here in a very long post shortly after we got married, and nothing’s really changed since then.

What is the most difficult part of married life?

Carving out time for myself without feeling guilty; making time for Mike amidst work, errands, chores, appointments, and the like. Just time, in general.

Where do you see yourselves in five years?

We want to move to Washington State within five years, so I’m trying to get enough experience under my belt that I can get an equivalent job out there. With any luck, we’ll be living out there and will have adopted at least one child, and we’ll be looking at possible choices for land to build the house we’re designing.

If you could give an engaged couple any advice (assuming they asked for it), what would it be?

Regarding planning a wedding, I wrote a post about what I think is important to focus on.

Regarding marriage, let go of the things that don’t matter, and talk out the rest. Fight fair. Don’t expect your spouse to read your mind. Say “I love you” as often as possible.

*I will admit that I initially did not run over to read Jessica's blog because she had told me she was semi-anonymous and didn't share pictures of themselves. Perhaps that's a bit juvenile of me, but it's the truth- I love seeing the face behind the words when it comes to blogging. Her blog is well-written and you'll find very little fluff over there. She is passionate about her life, values, and her marriage...it most definitely shines through in her blog. Grab a cup of coffee and go take a look...it's worth it!*

**Also, thank you if you've continued to read all the way to this point! Please take a second and consider voting in my poll at the top of the blog on the left hand side. The question is, 'Which DIY post would you most like to see? (beer/bread/cabinetry makeover) Thanks, all! **

Other Love & Marriage Posts

Living Well on Less

In preparation for the purchase of our first HOME (Eeeeee!), we've been making even more lists and keeping a close eye on our money.

Our list of expenses is pretty short, or at least I think so.

So after sitting down and looking at the 'extras', we've made some cuts.

• Smart Phone...........................................$29.99/month
• Gyms...................................................$34.99/month
• Netflix Downgrade.....................................$3.00/month
• Cable Box...............................................$8.00/month *

*I had mentioned in a previous post that we do not subscribe to our own cable plan. Because of the fact that we rent an in law apartment, we just paid for the cable box. While $8/month doesn't seem like a lot, we barely ever watch TV and we figured that since we won't have it at our new house, why not start now??!

Smart Phone: Yeah, it was cool. I'm not going to lie to you. Technology is great, but we decided that for our purposes, it wasn't totally necessary. I remembered how cool it was just having a cell phone (without a color screen!) and made the jump back to an average 'standard' phone. I sold them my blackberry and got a rebate. For $50, I got the LG Octane. I like it a lot, and I'm really happy that I made the switch back. I always used to feel a little awkward having my blackberry. But now, I feel right at home with my standard phone.

Gyms: I remember thinking that the gym was necessary. It's not. After getting certified as a trainer and becoming a dog-momma (relevant because I didn't like leaving her in her crate so early in the morning...barking and waking up the in-laws just didn't seem like a good way to start the day), I became pretty creative in designing workouts. While we are able to get some of the money back from our insurance company, we also save time/gas/miles on the car by working out at home.  I'll be sharing my updated workout schedule in a post at the end of the week! No gym required : ).

Netflix: We would not have downgraded if they hadn't switched their pricing around. We have the unlimited 2 disc plan and it costs us 11.99/month. I cannot remember the last time we went to a movie theatre...netflix is our treat and we love it!

Cable: I know I've already explained this, but give this a try if you're trying to save money. So many people look at us like we're INSANE when they find out we're CHOOSING to go sans cable once we move. It's become somewhat of a necessity in this society of ours, and it's a bit scary. I've heard of people taking out credit cards before they cut their cable/hbo/hd/fios.  If we wanted to afford cable, we could. But we choose to afford organic peanut butter (Seriously. It's probably around the same haha). Whatever floats your boat.

Savings?

$911.76/year

That's almost two years' worth of house insurance. Yes please.

That isn't all we've done to save, but I just wanted to share the things that are more common.


If you have any suggestions for me, please tell me! We really need to be super frugal for this upcoming year, and I would appreciate any tips and tricks.
Also, we're thinking about getting a chest freezer for our basement to store breads, beans, rice, meals, etc...does anyone have one? Is it worth it?
Thanks all!

Eating Well on Sixty: 7/24-7/30

I could easily spend an entire paycheck at the store each week. Sometimes I make excuses to go to Whole Foods when I really don't need to. Luckily, Brett is quite good at knowing when we really do need to, and when I'm just having WF hallucinations. (That alone probably saves us close to $1000 each year).But now that new school bills are looming in the very near future, it's time to get serious. And since I couldn't find many $60 meal plans that were healthy, delicious and vegetarian, I decided that I would create my own. Armed with three $20 bills, we will eat. And we will eat well.

Check in tomorrow for a living well bit. I'm going to share what we cut this month in order to save for our big move!

Every week, there are some staples that I buy. They are:

-yogurt

-cheese

-soymilk

-coffee

-diced tomatoes

-flour

-apples

-bananas

-lettuce (depending on what I have in the garden)

What do you buy for staples???

$__57_

 

This week:

Breakfast

-oatmeal with raisins, walnuts, and brown sugar
-toast with peanut butter and fruit

-banana pancakes

 

Lunch

Most days, leftovers from dinner will be eaten the next day as lunch. Other days, these are what I rotate in:

-veggie burger veggie wrap with veggies and slice of cheese

-baby green salad with green peppers, tofu

-brown rice, broccoli, spinach, and tofu

-tofurkey roll ups, veggie sticks, cheese

Dinner


Sunday

-Indian take-out treat!

Monday

-Gemelli/Penne with edamame pesto

Tuesday

-Chili with rustic bread and steamed veggies

Wednesday

-Tofu squash burgers with potato coins, raw veggies, and salad

 

 Thursday
-Quesadillas with raw veggies and melon 

Friday

-Pizza on homemade dough


Saturday

-Spaghetti squash linguine with creamy sauce

Snacks/Treats

-melon chunks
-mini smoothies with frozen fruit
-cheddar and apple melt

Last Week

Enjoy!

Eating Well Round Up!

I could easily spend an entire paycheck at the store each week. Sometimes I make excuses to go to Whole Foods when I really don't need to. Luckily, Brett is quite good at knowing when we really do need to, and when I'm just having WF hallucinations. (That alone probably saves us close to $1000 each year).But now that new school bills are looming in the very near future, it's time to get serious. And since I couldn't find many $60 meal plans that were healthy, delicious and vegetarian, I decided that I would create my own. Armed with three $20 bills, we will eat. And we will eat well.

$__46.35_

There will be no menu this week, just confetti.

Over the past FOUR weeks, we have spent $204.85 on our groceries, for an average of $51.21 weekly!

Here is what made this possible:

-Sunday cook-fests on the busy weeks
-Coupons for things like Olivia's organics (through swagbucks) and yeast
-Sale on a tank of olive oil
-Mindful eating (Incredibly important)

-tea instead of expensive coffee ( good mugs help )

-homemade frozen treats on the hot days

To see the menus and more healthy recipes, click!

I'll be back next week with a fresh menu and MUCH more. Rather than just our grocery bill, I'm going to take the transparency to a whole new level. I will be including a 'living well' bit, and everything but our housing expenses will be here for all to see.

It's hot. Try this.

Grocery Cart Challenge

She Got Married, Too: Carrie

I love reading about other couples. I love getting a

sneak peak into their lives and seeing how they make their situation work. Some would say that I'm nosy. Which I'm fine with. Because enough people were open enough to take me up on this guest poster series and answer with honesty, heart, and humor.

Enjoy :)

Names: Carrie (and Kurt)

Ages: Kurt and I both just celebrated our birthdays within the last month! He just turned 23 and I totally had a weird I’m-dating-someone-waaay-older-than-me moment as if I’m in still in high school and he’s a hot substitute teacher who totally fell for me (Scandal, anyone?)! Only I forget I’m 22. Seriously? Where did 17 go?

We live in: Hot and sunny Southwest Florida!

Do you blog? (Where can we find you?) About what?

I (Carrie) blog at http://www.20-somethinghomemaker.blogspot.com/ as a – wait for it- 20-something Homemaker! I just recently quit my job to devote 100% of my time and efforts to my home and family. My current blog documents that journey! Baking, crafting, saving money, rocking DVR and sleeping in (only sometimes!) are just a few topics I cover over at my blog.

What do YOU do?

Home make 

What does HE do?

Kurt is currently a FedEx package handler/ delivery driver. He commutes almost an hour every morning to his route where he delivers to crazy huge places including homes owned by Kevin Bacon and John Travolta! Granted, they’re never there. And if they are, he’d never know as they have butlers who handle everything. But it’s still cool!

In the future, Kurt wants to return to school to pursue a degree in law.

How long have you been married?

We got married on a beautiful sunny day in June of 2009. So it’s been about a year and ten months! Just this month we’ve actually been married for as long as we had dated (before we married). It’s CRAZY how different we are and how much we’ve grown since we started dating, and even since we married!! But it’s wonderful and rewarding to see!

What holds the two of you together?

We were both incredibly and humbly blessed to come from married homes. My parents have been married almost 40 years, and they’ve been through it all in that time. Seeing my parents struggle relationally, financially and emotionally growing up was hard, but seeing them stay committed to one another for the sake of love taught me so much about marriage. Though I can’t speak for Kurt, I believe our strong commitment to marriage and to one another, along with our faith, are what keep us bound to one another.

What do you argue about the most?

Money, hands-down!! Kurt tends to be a free-spirit when it comes to finances and likes to spend on things like boxing classes, movies, golf rounds and other people, whereas I tend to be a penny-pincher and a money hoarder. Luckily we balance each other out pretty well and challenge the other to spend and save in an appropriate manner.

Do you have kids? If not, are you planning on them anytime soon?

No babies yet!! Call me Michelle Duggar, but I’m all about leaving the size of our family in the Lord’s hands (though the Duggar resemblance stops about right there). Unfortunately, Kurt and I have learned over the last year that infertility is a very likely a problem for us. It’s been a hard pill to swallow, to say the least. But we also realize that, although we’d love to bear children of our own, we also have the incredible opportunity to adopt children who otherwise may not have a lot of great opportunities in life. This thought definitely excites us!!

What is your favorite way to spend a weekend together?

Vegging out on the couch over dinners while watching The Office, Lost, or old Saturday Night Live skits!

Who cooks the most?

It used to be Kurt until I discovered a crazy dinner planning service called e-mealz. Now I cook almost 100% of the time and I LOVE it!!

Who cleans the most?

Mwah!

What was the biggest shocker of married life?

I totally wasn’t expecting marriage to be this easy. It’s definitely hard, but it’s nothing compared to what it seemed the whole world over was making it out to sound like!!

Can we peek inside your home? Share some pictures!

Have you ever heard of Tumbleweed Tiny homes? They’re basically the world’s tiniest living spaces, evah! Well, our apartment is just about one step up from those.

What is the most difficult part of married life?

Coming to the realization that the way I treated my immediate family growing up would be the exact same way I’d treat my husband. And THEN realizing I’m wrong about a lot more than I used to think I was back then… Marriage is humbling and it hurts sometimes.

If you could give an engaged couple any advice (assuming they asked for it), what would it be?

Find a much older married couple whom you believe has a very good marriage and meet with them regularly to learn from their relationship. Call it marriage counseling, if you will. Your relationship doesn’t have to be broken in order to be fixed. This will help strengthen and challenge you as a couple and will give you TONS of support.

They ALSO Got Married!

Janelle
April

Emily

Caitlin

Ana

Heleen

Meghan

Justine