The Polar Express!

So, check it out.  I got back onto the saddle all the way this week.  Already, I  had bought a new pedometer, and started consistently hitting 15,000 step per day, 5 days per week.  I have been running 1x per week, Monday to be exact, for the last month.  I've really been enjoying it.  I'm a regular at my local gym, the friendly staff knows me, and my boys LOVE the playtime in the kids room.  However, for me, I've wanted a little bit more...to take it to the next level so to speak.  I have been toying with the idea of ramping up my workout routine, but I have yet to figure out how to do it.  Where do I get the time?  What about Maurice and the boys?  What about work?  Well, this past week, I decided that it was much too cold to take the boys out just for me to run for 2 miles.  My oldest had strep, the other 2 had no idea, and no desire to slow down, and my hubby had no strength to do it all by himself.  So, like the good wife and mother that I am, I stayed home.   It did help that I'm wearing my real hair and I didn't want to sweat it out, lol!  So guess what I did this week......

I pulled out my $100 plus dollar Shaun T. Insanity DVDs.  And guess what...our love hate relationship is still there.  I hate him when I'm working out, but I love him when I'm looking in the mirror.  It's not for you, though, don't worry.  I did all of this for me.  I knew what needed to be done to get me to place I want to be.  And, after all, since the title of my blog is NO MORE EXCUSES, it's about time that I really had no more excuses.  It's been a while since I can say that I lived that one.  But this week, I definitely did!! I went all out too! I'm talking tracking EVERYTHING I ate this week: the good, the bad, and the ugly. And my hair held up quite nicely might I add!

I don't know how much of a difference it has made in my weight.  To be honest with you, I've made the decision to no longer live and die by the scale.  It causes too much mental anguish.  I don't need that.  I need to know that I'm living and doing what I should be living and doing.  The rest will come.  If I do lose, that's great.  If I don't...well I doubt that is really possible.  But, if I don't then who cares?!?  I have already lost big.  I lost crazy mindsets and rhetoric that was holding me back.  I lost self-hatred, I lost low self-esteem, and I lost emotional eating.    And the weight that came off in that process was just a bonus.  

So my Christmas message, if you will, for this blog entry is this:  Jesus came into this world, was born of a virgin, so that we could live!  I mean really, really live!!  Take advantage of that very thing.  Decide this day, at the moment that you are reading this that because Jesus lived, you can too! Let go of everything that is holding you back.  Love yourself enough to get off the couch and do what is best for you.  Put down your excuses, and live!

Merry Christmas!!

Get Up!

My favorite tune to motivate me...my alarm on my phone to wake me in the morning....Enjoy!

I stopped making excused, and I got it done!!  Yes sir and yes ma'am, that means that I, Ashley, am working out regularly.  How you ask?  Well that's a wonderful question.  I'll be glad to answer it, but first I'd like to share the journey with you.  

The last time we talked, I told you that I wouldn't post again until I had put my money where my mouth was.  I went out that same weekend and bought what I thought was a new pedometer.  Now, any sane person would have tried to use theirs right away.  Not me though; I waited until Monday morning to try and take it out of the box and put it on.  Of course, that's when I realized I had purchased the wrong product.  Then, somehow my schedule was so jam packed that I couldn't exchange it for an entire week.  I know none of the people reading this have ever done that before.  You all have it all together all the time.  So just bear with me and my adventure if you are one of those people.  

Fast forward to the 2nd week of October.  I have my pedometer, and things are looking good.  I set a personal goal to hit at least 10,000 steps per day.  That's what every website and all the research has shown we should aim for to be healthy.  Well, I blew that right out of the water.  I hit 13,500 on my first day wearing it.  The 2nd day, I set a record of 18,450 steps, which I have been trying to match ever since!  Something about wearing the pedometer makes me want to get up and move more, so I have done exactly that.  

I also began to do my Insanity workouts again the same week.  Have I mentioned to you before that I HATE Insanity...nothing against Shaun T.  I promise, the annoying quality of his voice is only a minute part of the reason for my detesting the workout.  I love the actual workout.  I love the way I feel afterwards.  What I hate, I mean what I absolutely detest beyond any feeling I have ever before experienced....that would be the warm-up.    Who warms up like that?  The warm-up drives me the most crazy because it makes me feel like I'm doing a DVD.  Running in place, jumping jacks, the Heisman, lol, and the rest of them are so completely confining.  I am an outdoors person, and that makes me know that I am stuck in my house running in place.  The workouts remind me of something I could have done in the gym or back in the day at my peak.  Those I can handle.  The screaming through the pain is all me!  But that jogging in place is for the birds! I'd rather run around the block and come back and stretch than do that mess.  

And that brings me to my next point, why do people have to infuse yoga into every workout they sell??  I don't like yoga, nor do I truly agree with all of the centering it asks you to do.  Why do I need to do the downward dog to stretch my back?  Is there not another way??  

But all my complaining to the side, I've done well.  I have not been able to do everything that I want to do, but I have done 10 times more than what I had been doing.  I'm proud of myself.  I will continue to move forward.  I think I'll start by setting a new goal.  Last year I was all pumped about the marathon, until I remembered how much I hate running distance, lol!  Seriously though, I have to set some new goals to keep me motivated.  I'm going to think on them over the week and get back to you soon!  

I fulfilled my goal of coming back...honestly, without excuses, and on the road to success.  If you care to join me I'd love to have the company.

Special shout goes out to Frankie J. for letting me know that my blog posts helped to motivate her.  Knowing that I am making some sort of difference in somebody's life is what keeps pushing me to keep posting.  Feel free to drop me a line and let me know if I help, if you have questions that I can answer, or if you just think I'm silly and you can't hold it in any longer! 

Until next time....

Hello...Is It Me You're Looking For?

Well, you may have found me at the Texans game today!! I spent all of my time planning for the birthday surprise of the century!  I had a great time, and I did a GREAT job of moderating how much I allowed myself to indulge in the atmosphere.  You know what I'm talking about....giant nachos, footlong hotdogs, turkey legs bigger than your head!!  Well, I only had 2 things, both of which I split with my wonderful husband.  If that's not called self-control.  I don't know what is!  

On another note, I must admit that this school year has been THE hardest yet.  For the first time in a very long time (ahem, wve days, ahem) I actually wanted to quit.  Employee morale is sooo low....which surprisingly helped me out.  Somehow, knowing that everyone else on my campus is as disgusted and disheartened as I am made me feel better.  It's not onen of those "misery loves company" kind of things.  It's more like a "I'm not crazy; this is not just me" kind of thing.  Which, now, I'm sure you can see why it made a difference.  I understand that change must come...but all change isn't good.  I wish people understood that more.  But, I must confess, this has made me even more dedicated to my students.  It's going to be one of those "close my door and mind my own business" kind of years...I can see that already. The saddest part of it all is this:  a lot of good teachers have NO interest in returning to our campus next year.  How do I know this?!  Well let's just say that when anyone in my profession tells you "I'm keeping my options open," that really translates to, "I'm looking for a job, and if I get an offer I'm outta here!"    What am I doing you ask?  Well, let's just say I'm keeping my options open, lol!

My action item for this post is: developing an exercise routine/schedule.  I know what you're thinking, and yes, I too have trouble finding time to exercise.  With no marathon to train for this year, I haven't had the motivation that I'm used to having.  But, where there is a will, there is a way.  So the next time you hear from me, I'll be updating you on what I am doing to make sure that I find time to exercise.

On a final note,  I want to stress to you that God is able to exceeding, abundantly above all that you can ask or think.  I know that He can do it for you because He does it for me EVERYDAY! 

Until next time....

Maybe today is lonely, maybe the sky is gray. Morning Will bring the sunshine...

Tomorrow really is another day...it's not just that corny song that we learned in 6th grade that went on to be the song at the end of Forest Gump!  

Well for me, tomorrow is day 1 all over again.  Like most people who experience extreme weight loss, I have had a struggle with my old habits trying to resurface.  A candy bar, some ice cream there, and the next thing you know, I put on 5lbs!  Well to most people 5lbs isn't much.  To me, 5lbs is a HUGE red flag that some things need to change.  So tomorrow, I recommit.  Tomorrow, I pull out the pedometer and hit my 10,000 steps during the day.  I'm wearing my walking shoes to school so that I will have no more excuses (pun intended)!  Best of all, I'm tracking.  What's that?  It's the process of writing down EVERYTHING that I put into my mouth.  Everything has to be written so that I am accountable for it.  It's funny how differently I eat when I know someone is watching, even when that person is me, lol!  So, lunch has been packed, snacks included.  And tomorrow is officially the 1st day of the rest of my life.  I know I can do it, now all I have to do is ACTUALLY do it!

Here's the biggest challenge, and by telling you this I'll be letting you in on a little secret.  I know how to eat healthy, and I pack my lunch everyday when I go to school.  The biggest secret to my success is: EATING WHAT I PACKED!!  Yep, that's the key.  You can pack all you want, but if you don't eat it what's the point?!  It's like that apple I carry around in my bag "just in case."  Amazing how I've somehow never needed it.  There always been an "easier" way.  But the truth is, my mother was right.  The road to hell is paved with good intentions!  I guess it's time for me to make good on my word, and put my knowledge into action.  Faith without works is dead!

Until next time.....

Renewing the Committment

Well, this is kinda awkward.  We haven't talked in a year.  To be exact, it's 1 year and 12 days.  I would love to tell you that I have written these amazing unpublished posts that just haven't been edited, but sadly that is not the case.

I can say, however, that I have been extremely busy.  How busy you ask?  Well, working/teaching full-time and 2 different grade levels, earning my Master of Science degree in Education Media Design and Technology, raising 3 beautiful boys, being a devoted wife, daughter, and friend, and moving into our first home just to name a few. I have had amazing intentions for writing more often, but somehow I never got it done.  I can tell you for sure that I, too, fell victim to the "facebook is easier" syndrome.  But somehow, I always come back here.  I read my old posts.  I become inspired again!  

For a very long time, I have compartmentalized my life.  Professional, person, public, etc.  I have never allowed the two (or 3 or 4) to cross over, and I must admit that it is a bit overwhelming.  I had a blog for my class, a blog for grad school, a blog for my kids, a blog for my professional portfolio, and I think I may have had another one for a dog that I don't even have, lol!   

So I've decided that this is it!  I have to put my foot down and tell myself that enough is enough.  I stopped the boys blog because Facebook was so much easier.  My dad and mom and sisters and in-laws all have pages.  So that one, I'm kinda ok with.  This blog, though, was my lifeline.  It was my weight log, my journal, my voice.  And so, I've decided to pick it back up if for no other reason than to give me an additional sense of accountability.  It also helps that I now HATE Facebook, and if I can get a good rhythm going here, I may just delete my account altogether.

So I invite you to join me again, on the journey of my life; the journey of a mother of 3, wife of 1, and full-time teacher.  The journey of a woman on a mission, determined to have EVERYTHING that God has for me; the journey of a woman who is discovering that all of the power that I need to be successful is already on the inside of me.  I'm excited about sharing my life with you again.  I sincerely hope that you are too!