P90-OUCH!!

I have completed 3 days of P90X now, and am also (fairly closely) following their food plan. I am feeling really great!! So far, the cardio exercise was the easiest for me, followed closely by the arms/shoulders weight lifting (although I did opt out of the Bonus Section of that one). Day 1 was the core workout, and OMG OMG. I am finally not sore (3 days later) from those squats. I could not even remotely participate in the push-ups b/c I am a weakling. But I kicked those squats' arse and then they kicked mine for two days. :)

Does anyone have words of wisdom about P90X? So far, the most common input I have received is to not overdo it - to do what I can to my threshold and then back off. I have been following that wise advice, and so far my very-out-of-shape self has no injuries. :)

What else?? I want to keep up with this... an hour a day is a huge commitment, but I think I'm actually able to DO IT!! I love Tony - he is hilarious with his overly cheesy comments. I daily put on my "Bring It Face" as he suggests :)

We have a stomach bug in our house today, but I seem to be untouched (fingers crossed that continues!!), so I went ahead and did my egg white/spinach/mozzarella mixture and canteloupe for breakfast this morning... so far so good! :) I put it on whole wheat bread today - added a few more carbs because I was up a lot last night and need a bit more carby stuff today I believe. Usually an illness will derail my diet plans, because I get overtired and choose poorly with food (sugar! caffeine! more sugar! fat!). I have noticed so far this week, though, that the protein drinks, lean meats, fruits/veggies, etc -- they all make me more energized and able to handle whatever comes up!! I'm keeping that in mind today.

Who else is working out and eating right? How's it going?? I know a few of you said you were working on it too -- let's BRING IT! :)

Happy Spring!! :)

The theme this week is RAINBOWS! (and spring, of course :) ) We drew rainbows yesterday, and I was so happy that we *finally* used the beeswax crayons I got awhile back. I bought them last year, but Natalie thought they were "weird". They are rectangular shaped (see them here) and are often used in the Waldorf style of teaching - more natural. Olivia was really into them, hurrah! And seeing me and Olivia using them inspired Natalie to go to town with them as well.

Later today we are going to make various colors of play-doh. And speaking of colors, I have been doing color-matching (and shape matching) file folder games with Olivia. The preschooling has begun!!

Week of 3/12

This Week's Plan/Overview:

Meals:
M - Greek Style Pork with whole wheat cous cous
T - tofu stir fry with mushroom & onion & brown rice
W - spaghetti tossed with some sort of combo of maybe tuna and veggies?
Th - salmon & artichokes OR lemon oregano chicken
Fr - BYOB (build your own burrito - with tortillas, fat-free beans, cheese, etc.)

Activities/Homeschool:
St. Patrick's Day theme - probably build a leprachaun trap, make some fun Irish-y meals/snacks
Shamrocks/Luck
ZOO! :)

In the weight loss department - I currently have 48 pounds to lose. I walked a 5K yesterday and it was SO nice. I'm really looking forward to more walking/jogging time now that I am not working. Planning on walking Wednesday and Thursday this week, at least.

I am not sure if I should post this for all to see... but I have ordered P90X. It's so hard core and I've heard how tough it is.... BUT... I am giving it a try. I was hesitant b/c what if I try it and then stop doing it...?? But this whole "I am losing 50 lbs in a year" thing is out for all to see, so I'm putting this out there too!! I'm interested in finding out what the nutrition plan is. Any experience with that out there? Words of advice for the program in general? :) I'll need it!!

I'm about to eat my lunch - a HUGE salad - heart of romaine, 1 cup each of broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, and green beans... a little Gouda and turkey slices and a handful of leftover spinach tortellini... topped with Ranch. YUM!! :) Lunch this week -- aiming for either tuna or a salad every day. And HEALTHY SNACKS in the afternoon... that is one of my problem areas... around 3:00. And then again around 8, when the kids are asleep.

Lots of goals, but trying to keep it simple and doable. I tend to say "I'm doing this!" and dive right in and expect perfection... and then I fail, and give up. NOT happening! :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day Week!!

Combining Blogs

Hi :) So I have a couple blogs going on right now, and I thought I would just go ahead and start using this one again for everything. Updates on our schooling at home, fun stuff with the kids, my quest to lose weight, and just general stuff. The title is still incredibly apt - A Little Bit of Everything!

Here are links to the other ones: Cactus Schoolhouse & 50 pounds in 50 weeks - if you want to catch up on anything. :)

My goal in 2012 is to simplify - so this is part of that. I just need to figure out how to tag/label posts so they can be sorted... hmmm... seems easy enough! :)

Menu Plan - week of 7/26

A little behind...

Monday - leftover chili mac (or goulash as my hubby calls it)
Tuesday - tofu stir fry
Wednesday - tilapia
Thursday - meatloaf
Friday - bday celebration @ in-laws
Saturday - chili
Sunday - leftovers

Presenting...

our newest addition, little Livvy :)
Soon after coming home from the hospital:



At the zoo a couple months later:


With big sister on 4th of July:



She actually watched the fireworks and didn't get scared! It was awesome. Probably the best 4th of July we have had all together as a family. Very fun. :)

FOOD

I have made some pretty food lately, and I wanted to share. The chicken piccata recipe was SO tasty and it looked beautiful, too. Here is a picture:

And last night I made a tomato/mozzarella salad with basil from the backyard, to go with our leftovers:

YUM! :) Hope everyone is having a tasty week.