Ch...Ch...Ch..CHANGES...

Busy busy week this past week. Lots of client horses. Hot. Humid. Swimming in the lake, loads of activity.

To end the week, on our way to our last client, I had (of course) to hit a rest stop. (Public potties normally gross me out, but my teeth were floating by this time.)

The potty (was CLEAN!) had a full length mirror on the back of the door. (Which was also CLEAN!) My first thought:
groan
"Good grief! Who the heck wants to view themselves while perched on the loo?"

I think there was an advantage though. For the first time in a long time, I was able to get a full view- from the soles of my boots to the top of my hat.

What I saw didn't make me happy, but it did not leave me deep in the depths of despair, either.

Things.
Are.
Changing.

There is more "shape"- and not just ROUND, either.
There is less of the "jiggly" stuff.
Not by a lot, but the changes were there enough for me to notice.

Huh. Whatdoyaknowboutthat?



NOW-- the REST of yas-- OS, I know you are busy moving, as is CDN. Laura, you've been busting behiney with work and moving Rusty. (YAY on the job stuff too girl!!) But we haven't heard from SquirrelGurl, Chelsi, or Regina lately. Ladies-- it isn't about who-lost-how-much--- it's way more than that. So let us know y'all are OK, OK?

You Know You've Gone Too Long When....

While watching television... a commercial comes on interrupting valuable program time to lead you down the path of temptation....

In my case, it was a SONIC commercial.

Showing deep, rich, warm, chocolate sauce slowly oozing down over ice cream.

Y'all, portions of my upper anatomy just about rubbed holes in my t-shirt.

The past three weeks have just totally SUCKED diet-wise. For real. For a wide variety of reasons, getting TO the store to replenish fresh foods has been ... well, frankly getting that done has been nigh on impossible. We've resorted to lots of pasta type meals, and bad carbs. Know what? Dear Husband (whose sugar levels are plumb perfect,) and I both feel like CRAP. Wrecking Crew is happy- that child could eat mac and cheese five times a day, eight days a week. The rest of us? Not so much.

The next chance we will have to hit the store will be sometime on Friday afternoon, on our way home from clients. (Always a fun thing to do. Go trim about ten horses and then go to WallyWorld to stock up on edibles. One of these days, I expect to see a story and pictures about us on PeopleOfWalMart.com....)

At any rate--- lesson learned. Do not allow excuses to throw your "good" diet to the wolves. You'll pay for it in mood, overall feeling like crap, no energy, and cravings for crunchy, crispy veggies and fruits that will wake you in the middle of the night. (OK-- so I'm hankering after a steak and taters too, but I'm ALWAYS craving that!)

Eat well everyone. I know *I'm* looking forward to it!!

Oh- side note. Our Jo the Wonder Nanny Dog is an easy keeper. She is older now, and watching her weight as well has been a priority, as she does tend to get umm.. chunky. Lately, she has gone from "chunky" to well, BLUBBERY. I was quite worried about her, until we figured out WHY she gained so much.

No, the Locust Brothers weren't feeding her THEIR food. They were just giving her about three times her NORMAL amount at each feeding. Jo being a polite pup cleaned her plate so she would not get into trouble. (That's her story, and she is sticking to it.)

Wish MY issue was as easy to resolve as Jo's!

Gotta make some changes

As some of you may know I'm going to be moving. Hubby & I have found our place in the country, finally. :D
Now we're not going to be out in the middle of nowhere, after all we need to be fairly close to work... especially with our abnormal hours! But I am pretty sure that I will be quitting Curves.
I just don't think it will work trying to fit it in. After all one of the reasons that I'm grateful we're moving is that I will no longer be making that hour (round trip) drive to take care of my horses. Why replace that with the gym?
My new game plan (to start after we move and get settled in) is to focus on diet. Eat more fresh food, more home-cooked food, more healthy food. Should be easier to implement once we move. Part of the reason I eat so much "convenience food" right now is just that, convenience. After running around trying to fit in time to get to and from the horses, time to take care of/ride them, time to do errands and get back in time to get ready for work I'm stuck grabbing something fast for lunch.
So I'm planning on keeping the house stocked with healthier choices. And if I have to tie a horse up, run to the house to start lunch and then go back to untack and put away the waiting horse... well that's at least do-able! Also there aren't any fast food places to stop by and grab something quick ;)
I know that I'll be doing more riding, and more just plain old moving around, once we're at the new place. And when I work at my riding and spend time at it I tend to lose some inches.
I also plan on focusing on my treadmill again once we're moved. Also hubby has a Bowflex (an older model) and if I can just figure out how to use it, and manage to not hurt myself, I think that would be a good option to work out 3x a week. Oh, and I think I've got the perfect spot in the new house for those two machines :)
I'm kinda sad about leaving Curves. When I do manage to fit it in its a good workout. I love that I can track the changes and the camaraderie at the location I go to. I like that I feel accountable there. Hopefully even though I won't be there my friend Nic still will go. That way she can give me that 'accountability factor' even though I'll be working out at home and she'll be at the gym.

I Like To Move It, Move It!! ... MOVE IT!!!!

For those of you who are parents, and have seen "Madagascar", you'll be familiar with King Jullian singing that particular ditty. Which always with out fail gets me and the Locust Brothers up and dancing around the living room, looking like we have totally lost our last marble.

But, it works. It gets us MOVING. The beat, turned up loud enough, blocks out those self-sabotaging thoughts of, "But darn, I'm TIRED"... or any other whiney pathetic excuse I might try to come up with.

It wasn't King Jullian singing this morning that got me motivated. Nope. It was Nazareth. Not a very "nice" song to many, I'll refrain from spouting off the title here. But let's just say it fit. The past two months have shown me what I had forgotten.

I had forgotten that I am indeed, very capable of DOING things. Be it trimming horses, heavy work in the yard, fixing fence, chasing the kids, jumping on the jumpoline, I. Can. Do. It.

So, with Nazareth blasting from the house in the background, Sonny Bunz got pulled from the paddock. His feet got trimmed. He was a putz, so he spent some time on the Patience Tree while I got a drink and changed clothes.

Every time those self- doubts tried to creep back up, I'd give myself a mental b*tch slap, and MOVE.

Once I changed clothes, Sonny got groomed.
Then he got ground work.
And then we rode.
And today we loped.
Bareback.
Up and down the yard.
We.
LOPED.

My legs now feel like rubber.
My belly muscles are really reminding me they are there.

And my cheeks hurt from the big sh*t eating grin that has not left my face in umm... what four hours now? hehe

I'll allow some sitting around now, since not only is the horse cared for, the house tidied up, the children fed (again), and the dishes done (again.) And tomorrow? Well, you can bet that in the morning Sonny and I will be back out there, loping across the yard again.

I hate *HATE* exercise. So, instead of "exercise", I am using my horse to get me into shape.

Let's see how this works.....

And what are the rest of y'all up to???? Still too quiet out here!!