House Preview

We're almost done finalizing the plan and we think the front elevation is finalized. Here is a little rendering Tom put together. I don't know about you but I'm excited. :)

We're going with an Arts & Crafts (Craftsman) look with some Timber Home accents. Tom's dream is to have a timber framed home, so we're adding a few things that give it that look as well. In particular, the entry way and the garage doors. We also plan to have some wood beams, headers and posts somewhere on the inside as well. 

Colors and stone selection is still not finalized but the basic layout is final. Tom and I both like this color combo which is very similar to what he designed. 

Mineral Quarry
	Main Body: Monterey Taupe
	Second Body: Timber Bark
	Trim: Cobblestone
	Accent: Red, Green, Blues, and Browns of various shades will all work
When in doubt, this combination is foolproof. It offers a stronger contrast between its neutral body colors, Monterey Taupe and Timber Bark, but not too much because of the softer shade, Cobblestone, for the trim. This combination is great with any landscaping color palette, from strong reds, soft pinks and vibrant rusts.

I love the look and can't wait to be sitting in a rocker on the front porch. :)

Back on the Horse - Day 4

So, here's how I did on the goal's I set for today...

1. Log what I eat - I use loseit.com and their iPhone app - DONE!
2. Eat under 1250 calories of high protein, good carb food - this is net of exercise calories - DONE! (Or so far so good anyway, so long as I don't go on a Cheetos binge in the next hour)
3. Drink 32 oz. of cranberry juice/lemon juice/water mixture and 32 oz. of water - DONE! - Well, again kind of - I need to change this goal for days I'm home or on the run and not in the office. I can't seem to make tea when I'm at home. And, today I was out of the Sugar Free Cranberry juice. So, I made an effort to drink water. I'm on glass four so 64 ounces today.
4. Exercise for 40 minutes - DONE!
5. Take a vitamin - Excuse me for a second - Gulp - DONE! 
6. Be accountable - I blog about my progress in the evening or next morning - DONE!


All in all a good day. The hunger is wearing off which is good and I didn't go on any snack binges. But, man oh man, the exercise is really kicking my tail. I'm doing Insanity and I just can't get my mojo right. I'm sore so I know it's doing something but I physically can't make myself do the moves most of the time. And, it's not because I hurt or my cardio's not there. I literally just don't want to do it. I'm not sure what to think on this front other than it will come back to me. I just have to keep at it. The main reason I love Insanity is that they're only 40 minute workouts at first but they are seriously intense. 


As for accountability, this is really doing it for me. I'm telling you I was so close to just saying forget it and grabbing another Diet Coke (instead of water) and canning the exercise today. It was a bear to fit it in since the kids were up a little early and I was up a little late. But, I knew if I made an excuse today, another excuse would just crop up tomorrow. Just going through the motions this week will hopefully make next week a little easier. 


Here is a list of goals for tomorrow...


1. Log what I eat - I use loseit.com and their iPhone app
2. Eat under 1250 calories of high protein, good carb food - this is net of exercise calories
3. Drink 64 oz. of water or green tea
4. Exercise for 40 minutes
5. Take a vitamin
6. Be accountable - I blog about my progress in the evening or next morning

Back on the Horse - Day 3

Here are the results from yesterday's challenge -

1. Log what I eat - I use loseit.com and their iPhone app - DONE!
2. Eat under 1250 calories of high protein, good carb food - this is net of exercise calories - Went over by 250 calories - I blame date night. :)
3. Drink 16 oz. of cranberry juice/lemon juice/water mixture and 32 oz. of green tea and 32 oz. of water - Did the same as yesterday - 32 oz of cranberry/lemon/water and 16 oz. of green tea - I had a ton of water too
4. Exercise for 40 minutes - DONE!
5. Take a vitamin - Oops - I forgot about this one. I tried taking it in the morning which is when I remember but it made me nauseous on an empty stomach. Need to remember this one tonight.
6. Be accountable - I blog about my progress in the evening - Doing it this morning - again blaming that on date night. :) 


As I mentioned, last night was date night, so going out to dinner makes it difficult to strictly stay on with calories. I still did way better than I would have done normally.


Here are my goals for today:


1. Log what I eat - I use loseit.com and their iPhone app
2. Eat under 1250 calories of high protein, good carb food - this is net of exercise calories
3. Drink 32 oz. of cranberry juice/lemon juice/water mixture and 32 oz. of water
4. Exercise for 40 minutes
5. Take a vitamin
6. Be accountable - I blog about my progress in the evening or next morning


Today will be a challenge to get the exercise in since the kids were up early this morning and prevented me from doing it early. My plan is to do it after school when Jack is napping. I'm home today which also makes it a struggle to eat well - too many snacks around! I can do it though...

Back on the Horse - Day 2

Well, day one is done. Or almost anyway. Here's how I did:

1. Log what I eat - I use loseit.com and their iPhone app - DONE!
2. Eat under 1250 calories of high protein, good carb food - this is net of exercise calories - DONE!
3. Drink 16 oz. of cranberry juice/lemon juice/water mixture and 32 oz. of green tea and 32 oz. of water - Kind of done - switched it up a bit - drank 32 oz. of cranberry/lemon/water and 16 oz. of green tea and 32 oz. of water - may float away tonight...
4. Exercise for 40 minutes - DONE!
5. Take a vitamin - DONE!
6. Be accountable - I blog about my progress this evening - DONE!


Giving myself a virtual pat on the back. Nice work. 


Now, here is what I will do on Day 2...


1. Log what I eat - I use loseit.com and their iPhone app
2. Eat under 1250 calories of high protein, good carb food - this is net of exercise calories
3. Drink 16 oz. of cranberry juice/lemon juice/water mixture and 32 oz. of green tea and 32 oz. of water
4. Exercise for 40 minutes
5. Take a vitamin
6. Be accountable - I blog about my progress in the evening


I'm just going to review longer term goals on Sunday night. 


By the way, the cranberry/water/lemon juice mixture is something I found on Pinterest. I use sugar free cranberry juice and you're supposed to add two tea bags of dandelion root tea (blech). If you drink 60 ounces each day for seven days, you're supposed to lose 5 pounds of "water weight." I've never tested the theory completely, but I do know that water is good to get down when you're dieting and the cranberry/lemon juice just makes it a little more palatable. So, I make it work. Then, the green tea is good in so many ways. I use decaf green tea (Lipton) and mix it half and half with Yogi's Blueberry Slim Life (also green tea) with a little Truvia. I never get enough water and have to make a very conscious effort to drink this much non-coffee and non-diet coke beverages. 


Also, I'm going to can my Facebook feed for a while. No need to bore everyone with my own form of motivation. So, if you want to follow my progress, sign up on the left either as a "follower" or sign up to follow by email. 


This is another 30 day challenge I'm giving myself. Accountability will be held here for 30 days and then hopefully I will have built a good habit. Anyone want to join in? We can help each other out along the way. I'm committed to doing it anyway, but would love to have you along. Post a comment if you want to join in the fun! 

Back on the Horse - Day 1

So, after another week of doing nothing physical and gaining another pound, I've had enough. Enough excuses, enough eating poorly, enough feeling sorry for myself. So, today I was up at 6. Well, 6:18 after hitting snooze one too many times. I busted out the Insanity DVD's and decided to just go for it.

Today should have been Fit Test, but I decided I already know I'm not fit so why waste an early morning with a 20 minute workout. I did Pure Cardio which is only 40 minutes, but intense. I can't believe how much strength and cardio I've lost since the last time I did this. I guess it has been a while (March) but I felt like I was keeping up with things through running. But, in all honesty, I've done very little since the house sold.

Either way, here are my short term (today) goals and my longer term goals. (Excuse the odd phrasing for the goals - goals should be stated in the present tense. I suppose it makes them seem more attainable.)

Today, I do the following:

1. Log what I eat - I use loseit.com and their iPhone app
2. Eat under 1250 calories of high protein, good carb food - this is net of exercise calories
3. Drink 16 oz. of cranberry juice/lemon juice/water mixture and 32 oz. of green tea and 32 oz. of water
4. Exercise for 40 minutes
5. Take a vitamin
6. Be accountable - I blog about my progress this evening

Longer term goals:

1. Run the Riley Run 5K in 25 minutes
2. Lose 10 pounds by October 31 - a pound a week

Wish me luck...

Other Victims of the State Fair Collapse

As I've been writing, our Sales Consultant and very good friend, Andrea Vellinga, was injured badly in the Indiana State Fair stage collapse on August 13th. She is fighting to regain consciousness this week as she has been in a coma since last Saturday. This will be a baby step process, but she is making those baby steps and we are so proud of her.

I think I have mentioned that I am glued to Facebook updates about her from her brother and parents. We went to visit her yesterday and I plan to go back tomorrow. I have heard a number of very positive stories about victims of other traumatic brain injuries. Today, I talked with someone whose son was in a bad car accident that was in a coma for two weeks. On Thursday of the second week, he began to come to very slowly. On the following Monday night, his mother went in to the rehab center and saw him sitting up in a chair with his wife and he recognized her. He spent about three months in therapy (occupational and physical) and now is at 98% and you wouldn't know he had been through anything like that. I will again say that if anyone can make that happen, Andrea will be the one.

I have also been following the status of some other patients around the area. Here are links to their stories.

Bradley Humphrey - Brad is a 17 year old tennis star. He is in the same hospital as Andrea but different floor with leg and back injuries.

Shannon and Jade - Jade is only 11 years old and appears to be in the same stage as Andrea, early awakening. Shannon is her mother.

And, of course, Andrea's page. I believe her brother's inspiring updates are posted to this page too. As you read, you will realize he is destined for bigger things. :)

I know what a difference has been made by the prayers of many in Andrea's recovery. Now, I ask that you add these and others injured to your prayer lists too. Pray that they not only recover but become motivation for all of us to overcome whatever obstacle we may face.  Their struggle has already caused many to come closer to God, including yours truly.

This is Not Easy

This has been the toughest week of probably my entire life. I really want to go back to the time before the stage collapse and back to the innocence of bad things not happening to the good people that I know. The ups and downs of Andrea's condition are weighing so heavily on me and I really can't stop thinking about her and her family. I'm constantly on Facebook to see if there are any status updates and checking my phone too.

Then, I'll put myself in check. If I'm going through this and feel this horrible about things, then how must her family feel? Her brother, Tyler, is doing a fantastic job of keeping all of her supporters strong and informed. I do believe that God is building a testimony as part of her healing. Tyler mentions people in his posts that have come to Jesus or began praying in earnest as a result of Andrea's situation. It has certainly strengthened my faith as well.

I've struggled with a lot this week. I'm just sick about the whole situation. I haven't kept up on house chores or things at work. I bark at the kids and really just want to lay on the couch. It's starting to rub off on them which is obviously not good. Today, I made myself snap out of it. I picked up the house, paid bills, organized paperwork and get this, I even ran on the treadmill. I feel better.

But, it's not about me, it's about Andrea and her family. It looks like there is good news on her recovery today too. It looks like they're lessening, if not totally removing, the sedation medicine. Now, I have no thoughts that she will magically wake up and start saying What Happened, Where Am I, etc. But, it's certainly a good step in her recovery.

She is an awesome person and I just miss her. I miss her optimism and smiles at the office. I feel for her and the struggles she will go through in her recovery. But, I also know she can do it. Hoping for more good news in Tyler's update tonight...