Week in Workouts

I'm going to start sharing each week again about what I did in exercise including my upcoming half marathon training.  I will also post my weekly weigh in.

The past week has been a somewhat lazy week, other than teaching my Zumba classes & subbing for one of the other instructors at my gym while she was on vacation.  I got a lot of workouts in, just not much variety.  That is my biggest goal for 2014, to make sure I'm doing different things.  While I love teaching Zumba, doing my routines all the time isn't the most effective way to lose weight.  I'll be sharing about some of the new things I'm doing as the weeks go on.

One new thing I did in the past 2 weeks was teach a Zumba/TBC fusion class with my dear friend Beth.  She teaches TBC at my gym & takes all of my classes as well as some of the other classes that I take.  Our gym cancelled all classes on Christmas Eve & New Years Eve, but our students friends were all upset & wanted to have classes those Tuesdays.  So Beth & I threw this class together.  We taught 2 Zumba songs for cardio then slowed it down with one song of strength training.  We went back & forth like that for 90 minutes.  It was a GREAT workout!  My muscles are still sore from yesterday's class.  We are actively pursuing having this class added to our gym's schedule going forward.  I'll be sure to keep you updated!

Beth & I before our New Year's Eve class - those hats lasted like 2 songs - too hot!

Here is what the last week looked like for me:
Wednesday, 12/25 - Nothing but playing & enjoying my boys  :)
Thursday, 12/26 - Taught a 60 minute Zumba class (am) & practiced Zumba (pm) for 20 minutes when no one showed up for my class
Friday, 12/27 - Walked around COSI for about 4 hours
Saturday, 12/28 - Taught a 60 minute Zumba class
Sunday, 12/29 - nothing
Monday, 12/30 - Taught 2 60 minute Zumba classes, one am and one pm
Tuesday, 12/31 - Taught a 90 minute Zumba/TBC fusion class

1/1 weigh in - 225 lbs
I'm up almost 20 lbs since my lowest weight in Oct.  I'm no longer looking back at that, only looking forward at what I can do in 2014.  I'm recommitted to myself & also have multiple friends & challenges to hold me accountable.  I'm ready for a great new year!!

Happy New Year to all!!

How have your workouts been over the holidays??  Try anything new recently??

Menu Plan Monday (12/30-1/5)

So I thought I'd start doing this because I really love meal planning.  It sames me time, money & calories every day.  I cook almost exclusively from recipes.  Most of my recipes come from a menu planning site called Relish that I pay for, and think it's worth every penny.  I will link to any other recipes I use from online, or type up ones that aren't online.  If they are from Relish, I will note that, but I don't think I can share their recipes, sorry.

The theme of this week's menu is a weird one.  We've been eating horribly whatever we want unhealthily for the past 2ish weeks & it's starting to take it's toll on our waistlines (and also my moods, energy level, motivation, etc).  The first half of the week is finishing up all the fattening food we have in the house.  The second half of the week is getting back to calorie counting.

Here's what we're eating this week:

Monday - Ham & Cheese Breakfast Quiche (using up the last of the frozen Christmas ham)
Tuesday - frozen appetizers & leftovers (New Year's Eve)
Wednesday - ribs & sauerkraut in the crock pot with pierogies (New Year's Day tradition)
Thursday - Chili Mac (recipe below)
Friday - Easy Cheddar Chicken (Relish)
Saturday lunch - Black Bean Soup with Avocado Salsa (Relish)
Saturday dinner - BBQ Chicken Hashbrown Casserole
Sunday lunch - Quinoa Salad with Asparagus & Beans (Relish)
Sunday dinner - Salmon on Greens with Ginger Dressing (Relish)

I try to cook a lot over the weekend so we have a lot of food leftover for when  the weekdays get busy.  That way if I don't have time to cook a dinner, we still have a healthy option & don't have to eat out.

Chili Mac
12 oz ground beef (I often use ground turkey or deer)
1 medium onion, chopped (I don't like onion so I sub onion powder)
14.5 oz stewed tomatoes, Mexican style
1 1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tbsp green chili peppers
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin

1 cup dry elbow macaroni
15 oz kidney beans, drained & rinsed

In large skillet, cook beef & onion until meat is browned, about 10 minutes, then drain fat.  Stir in stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili peppers, chili powder and cumin.  Bring to a boil, then stir in macaroni & beans.  Return to boil, reduce heat, cover & simmer until macaroni is tender, about 15 minutes.

What are you eating this week?  Any new, interesting recipes I should check out?

Family Week in Review - Christmas Vacation

Since Adrian had a ton of vacation time saved, we decided a while ago that he would take off the Thursday & Friday after Christmas so we could enjoy all the kids' new toys.  Then his office decided to close on Christmas Eve so he took Monday off as well & ended up with a 9 day stay-cation.  We have had a great time the past week with no real schedule (other than me having to teach Zumba).  We've balanced doing fun things with staying home and relaxing.  I think the boys really enjoyed it, I know I sure did!

Some of the highlights included taking advantage of some unseasonably warm weather to walk around downtown to see the lights, going to COSI to see the Curious George exhibit and enjoying a few new movies including Monsters University, Polar Express & Despicable Me.  Adrian was also able to sneak out one night to see the second Hobbit movie with a friend & I got a night out of dinner and shopping with a few of my friends.  We also had a date night to see "Flashdance - The Musical."  While the play wasn't the best, it was nice to get out of the house alone & relax during this busy time.

Christmas was very low key for us, the calmest one since we've had kids.  We went to Carl's house on Christmas Eve and had an amazing meal with them.  Then on Christmas Day we did NOTHING!  We just got up, opened presents, played with our new toys & relaxed.  I didn't even cook for us, we just had leftovers, sandwiches & frozen apps.  It was glorious!

We all got a ton of awesome gifts this Christmas!  AJ & Daniel especially like their new video games, Disney Infinity, Skylanders SwapForce & Lego Marvel Superheroes.  Zachary is enjoying the new play sets, including Mike the Knight, Superman, Spiderman & Skull Island.  I got new shirts, headbands, workout DVDs and jewelry.  Adrian got movies, gift cards, OSU stuff & running gear.  We also got a bunch of board games & movies which are making for tons of family fun nights!

Hope you all enjoyed Christmas week as much as we did!!

Santa came!!

Stockings hung by the chimney with care

Merry Christmas!!

2013 Review & 2014 Preview

Wow, it's been over 2 months since I blogged.  Part of it was that I was busy, Oct-Dec are the busiest months of the year for me every year.  Part of it was I didn't feel like writing the specific posts I was thinking I "should" write.  I didn't have monthly updates for the kids, didn't want to update the goals, etc.  But recently I really wanted to get back to blogging.  I took some time to think about it and I think the way to go is short but often posts.

This post will be kinda long & will be one final update on my goals from 2013.  Then starting this week, I will do 3 posts each week:  Mondays Menu Plan (a plan of what we are eating the next 7 days), Wednesday Work Out Updated (an update on my exercise & weight loss plan) & a Week in the Life post over the weekend (some highlights of our week as a family).  Hopefully this works better for me & is also interesting to those of you who read the blog.  If not, I'll change it up again.

Here is the final update on my goals for 2013.  I'm not doing specific goals like this for 2014.  I still have goals, but they will be more monthly or shorter focused than a full year.

 Exercise Goals
1.  Do 13 races in 2013 - Did it.  It wasn't pretty, and the final few were virtuals & slow, but I did it.  Gonna try 14 in 2014, but most will be free virtuals.  I also have 2 half marathons on my schedule, would like to find a 3rd.
2.  Exercise 5 days/week - Pretty much nailed this one all year.  It helps that I'm teaching 4 Zumba classes per week.  Will continue this in 2014.
3.  Do monthly challenges - Did it, including a plank challenge in Nov that I loved.  Will do this again in 2014 as well, will follow the Sisterhood of Shrinking Jeans monthly challenges.

Weight Loss Goals
1.  Stay under my calorie goal for the day for 13 out of 14 days - I was all over this thru the year.  The last 2 months my eating has been horrible.  Giving myself until 1/2/14 then it's on again!
2.  Lose 1-2 lbs/week - I was doing well, then my eating fell off & I was maintaining, then gaining.  I'm up like 10lbs since Halloween.  Yuck!  I will end the year down around 20 lbs so at least that's something.
 3.  Get under 200 lbs by my birthday the 1/4 marathon the end of the year - Didn't do it.  Pissed off.  I will do it in 2014.  That will be the LAST year I will ever weigh in the 200s.

Family/Personal Goals
1.  Declutter this house - I did really well with this the first 1/2 of the year & things were under control.  Then I got involved with a huge project for the PTO at AJ's school & that took over my time.  I'm proud to say that I finished that project in Nov, well ahead of my goal of finishing it in May.  Starting next weekend, Adrian & I are cleaning & purging this house.  It will probably take all year!
2.  Read at least 12 books this year - Done!  I actually finished 14 books & have 20% left in the one I'm currently reading so I'm gonna finish that in the next 4 days!
3.  Take one picture each day - This has been a super fun challenge!  I have taken a picture everyday & will make sure to finish out the next 4 days strong.  Not sure if I'll do this again or not.  Thoughts?
4.  More consistent blogging - See above.  :)

Jones Family - 2013

Zachary - Terrible Twos!

Happy 2nd Birthday to Zachary!! 

Wait, what do you mean it's not February??  Zak's not 2 yet??  We still have 4 more months until the "terrible twos" officially start?  O.M.G.

In all seriousness, I never believed in the terrible twos.  For me it was always to treacherous terrible threes.  Both of the other boys were fine at 2 and a nightmare at 3.  But Zak seems to have hit this phase much earlier.  I guess it's having 2 big brothers to show him the ropes.

Some of his antics include:

• Climbing on toys to change our thermostat
• Using the step stool to play in (and make a mess in) dish water
• Climbing on the counters to get to his vitamins
• Torturing his brothers (especially Daniel)
• Stealing food off of everyone's plate (yet not eating what he has even if it's the same thing!)
• Coloring on walls, tables, screens, etc
• Not napping

He also did this on the way home from grocery shopping:

That sucker was really stuck in his hair!

But he's also a cutie.  He continues to be so verbal it amazes me.  He repeats everything everyone says.  He loves being outside and playing with his brothers.  His newest obsession is our sidewalk chalk.  He loves to color on our driveway, deck and garage floor (as well as a few places he's not supposed to - see above).  He has a new friend at the gym, he spends most of his time playing with a little girl whose mom takes my classes.  He continues to grow & amaze me every day.

Here are a few better pictures of Zak from the past month:

Picking the perfect pumpkin!

Cheesing after we picked up AJ from school

Mom, can I have an apple??

Spiderman!

AJ Update

AJ is about 6 weeks into first grade and he is thriving!!  I could not be more proud of him and how amazing he is doing this year.  I was worried about him adjusting to full day & eating lunch at school, but he has adjusted like a champ.  He doesn't always eat his lunch (I suspect that is because he's too busy chatting with friends) but he doesn't come home starving so I'm happy.

For those who don't know, we went through a very long evaluation process this summer for AJ and in the end he was diagnosed with severe ADHD.  He started medicine in July and it has been the best decision Adrian & I ever made.  He is still the same AJ, only better.  It is obvious that he can think clearer, communicate better and focus better.  I know this route isn't for everyone, but it is the right route for us.

I love walking home from school with AJ every day hearing all about his day.  He tells me what he learned, who he played with, what people said, which special he had, etc.  I NEVER heard any of that before.  He has  made friends with some of the other boys in his class & they even got in trouble for being too rowdy on the play ground!  I know I shouldn't be happy that he got in trouble, but I'm happy that he has friends that he is playing with...even if they are playing the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Fighting Game."

Walking home from school...all 3 boys love it!  So do I!

AJ is also playing football this season and he is loving it!  His team's season started a little rough, but they finished the season with 3 straight wins and have a very good chance of winning their first playoff game.  AJ plays defense and he plays about half the game.  He has improved tremendously since he started and I am thankful for his coaches working so hard with him and all the kids.  I'm also thankful AJ didn't want to give up when he was struggling and his team was losing.

AJ in his game day uniform

Ready for practice!

We are also in AJ's favorite month of the year.  He loves all things fall and Halloween.  We went apple picking and to our first corn maze a few weeks ago and had a blast.  AJ went to a local farm for a field trip last week and got to pick apples and make applesauce.  In the next 3 weeks we plan to go to 2 other corn mazes, pumpkin picking, apple picking and a ton of Halloween parties!  We are going as superheroes this year, AJ is Wolverine.

Apple picking

Showing how tall he is this year

Goals Update - September

September was a pretty good month, finding our routine with school in full swing.  We are super busy and I'm finding it hard to find time to blog during the week, but here is a quick update on what's been going on.

 Exercise Goals
1.  Do 13 races in 2013 - So I was signed up for 4 races plus a virtual race in September and I only finished one of them, the virtual one.  The foot and knee pain I've been having has been really bad and I finally went to my doctor.  She advised me to stop racing & see a foot doctor.  He told me I had blocked sweat glands "because I'm an athlete."  Best.  Diagnosis.  Ever.  He said wait a week or so and I can go back to racing.  For now, I'm just going to focus on the Fall 5 and 10 mile virtual race series that I'm in.  I'm registered for one more race this weekend, I'm debating that one as well.

2.  Exercise 5 days/week - I was pretty spot on for this goal in September.  I'm not going to go back and count, but I think I exercised all but a few days this month.  I'm really proud that I didn't let my injury stop me, just modified what I've been doing.
3.  Do monthly challenges - I signed up for three challenges in September:  one on Challenge Loop to move my body everyday, one on Facebook to burn 500 calories everyday and one on a blog to get back to basics.  While I met the goals for these, I didn't log them regularly.  But I still completed them so I feel good about that.

Weight Loss Goals
1.  Stay under my calorie goal for the day for 13 out of 14 days - Again, I was pretty spot on with this in September.  I think other than retreat weekend, I was pretty good with my eating.  I stayed under (or at least near) by goal most days.
2.  Lose 1-2 lbs/week - I weighed in at 210 this morning for a total of 8 lbs lost this month, averaging 2 lbs per week.  Yay!!
 3.  Get under 200 lbs by my birthday the 1/4 marathon the end of the year - I'm currently at 210.  Still determined.  11 lbs or bust!

Family/Personal Goals
1.  Declutter this house - I am eliminating this goal.  The house is in pretty good shape after half a year of doing this.  I continue to do what I can, usually one thing per weekend including switching out Zak's clothes, cleaning the pantry out, organizing the front closet and cleaning out the file cabinet.  There is just too much else going on right now.
2.  Read at least 12 books this year - I finished 1 book in September "Same Kind of Different as Me" bringing my total to 12 for the year and satisfying this goal.  I won't stop reading, will see how many more I can finish.  I'm currently in the middle of 2 books, which is rare for me.
3.  Take one picture each day - This has been a super fun challenge so far!  Not like I needed to take more pictures, but it is a really cool way to chronicle the year.  You can check out the pictures on Facebook.  Still going strong with this one, haven't missed a day yet, although some days are harder than others.  In October I'm doing the #sisterhoodshots challenge again, should be fun!
5.  More consistent blogging - I blogged here and there in Sept.  I'm backing off a little on blogging because we are just very busy right now.  I have stopped my weekly workout blogs because I'm not doin ga lot more than Zumba, so it's not that exciting to read about.  I'm still keeping up with the monthly blogs about the boys.  Hope you're all enjoying keeping up with us!