An Update...on Yours Truly

Alright... it's officially August.  Since diets/fitness etc can only start on Mondays or first days of the month I suppose it's time to start.  Joking.  Kinda.

ACTUALLY, one of the facebook groups I'm a part of is hosting a Biggest Loser-esque challenge starting Aug 1st and so I jumped on board.  Is it odd that I'm not worried/concerned about winning, but its the whole posting my pics weekly that will keep me accountable and I'm excited to watch the number go down.  I'm not ready yet to post my "before" pics on here...too many people that actually know me read this.  Once there is progress then I'll post some :)  But I can post my weekly weigh-in picture.  It's just a number...that's gonna go down.  It has to. And with the half training it will.  AND I'm taking part in another "challenge", sorta.  Here's my weigh-in pic for last Wednesday, the 1st of August. .

I've had tons of people on the facebook group talk about AdvoCare. I don't know enough to tell you about it at all but I can tell you my experience as I go through the 10 day cleanse.  Yeah....it's a cleanse.  It's suppose to just "clean everything out" so that your body can better absorb nutrients like it's suppose to.  I should be able to eat normal healthy things and not so many restrictions.  It's 10 days. I figure I can do 10 days.
The distributor that I am working with is also training for a half marathon and is a believer in the products and how they have been beneficial for her (duh, or else she wouldn't be a distributor, lol.) I mean, she feels the products help her train/run.   So I ordered the package for the 10 day cleanse and we'll see how that goes.  There is a 24 day challenge too that extends for 14 days after the cleanse that really boosts your metabolism and all that good stuff. See, I have no idea what I'm talking about - no pride issues in typing that either, haha.  Anyways, so once that comes in I'll be happy to post how that's working for me.

Monday I start going back to the classroom every day...all day. I'm hoping my blogs don't suffer but honestly, in the grand scheme of things......being a wife/mommy and then a teacher take priority over my blogs, sorry.  Hang in there and hopefully I'll get back into the habit of things soon.



In the mean time...I dug through facebook and found a face shot from 2010, 3 years ago and my 4 year old had just turned one....and I think I can do a side-by-side shot for a  possible Transformation Tuesday pic (my first ever! wooop).  Let me know if you can see any difference! I think I can!

Blogger Mentor

Confession...I have another blog.  Don't get upset, it's my "professional" blog. Being a teacher, I've started my site Cantrell's Got Class and have really connected with other teacher bloggers.   Yet my blogging adventure is just beginning and I have lots of questions.   I posted some of my questions here and here but figured I'd repost here and see if I could get any answers from different readers. 

Here are some questions that have me stumped. 

1. How do y'all get items for giveaways? Like Target giftcards, or race gear, or even products like Scentsy?  Are ya buying the items and then raffling them off?  I'd love to have a giveaway (to celebrate newbie blogger moments) but not sure how to get that ball rolling. 
2. Fonts.  I want to use some different fonts on the blog. But all my posts are boring Times.  In the writing part, there are maybe 7 options, all of which are boring.  Suggestions? 
3. What's the best way to grow my "fan base"?  
4. Lastly (for now at least), I know how to show a blog roll of favorite blogs. Do you know if there is anyway to connect my blog to BlogLovin to pull the blogs I actually follow over to my blog roll instead of me typing every single URL into the widget? 

Thanks for any feedback you can give me! Feel free to email me or put the answer in the comments...I LOVE comments.  

Where do YOU turn when you have blogger questions??? 

Reality Check

I love SkinnyMeg.  Have you heard of her? Yeah..she's great and also going by "PregMeg" for the next few months.  Absolutely love her blog and how true she is.  If you don't know her, go check her out.  She's also on Facebook.  That's where I noticed she posted a link to a site that talks a bit about body image.  It's a clothing site in the UK: Marisota but they have a neat visual that helps assess where you are and compare it to where you think you are. Trust me, it makes more sense once you do it.

You click which picture mostly looks like you, then fill in some measurements.

Then, based on your measurements it tells you what your true body shape is.  It is pretty neat.  From what I'm seeing from other people posting in response to her post, I'm not the only one that has a better body than I expected.

The site says I'm the "Perfect Hourglass" ahh..to hear something about my body is "perfect"!  I also am 12.5% smaller than what I view myself.  Interesting! Guess I need to change up my self-view, yay!

So here's the link to see your body image vs measurements.

I'm interested to see how your body image compares to the truth with your numbers.   Comment back and let me know what you think!

Let's Talk Food

School lunches, to be more exact.
Next week I start back full time and the kids will be at the sitter's.  My students start the 14th and then HooBear starts preK on the 15th. This info is crucial because starting the 14th I'm restricted to 30 min lunch, which consists of taking kids to/from lunch, personal bathroom break and doing whatever needs to get done before the next lesson. So figure about 13-15minutes for lunch. I do not kid. And HooBear got a lunchbox for school and thinks she will use it every day.

All this made me start thinking "Oh crap, I gotta start planning to take my lunch in everyday. Ack, and HooBear doesn't exactly eat sandwhiches!"   Last year I ended up doing WeightWatchers shakes for lunch for Healthy Choices frozen dinner, which worked pretty well. I had to make sure I ate a protein packed breakfast and had snacks towards the end of the day. This was usually almonds, cheese sticks or yogurt.  I ofcourse can't snack in front of the kids so whatever I take needs to be eaten quickly or else I would eat it while they were  at Music or Computers.

So I started looking online.  I actually didn't have to look far because I happened to be on Pinterest and saw 2 intriguing pins for school lunches.  The first one was 20 lunches that were gluten and allergy free over at Keeley McGuire's blog. I'm not concerned with either of those but I loved the simplicity of the meals and saw how easy it (seemingly) is to come up with creative yet healthy and balance lunches for kids. It also inspired me to realize that my lunches don't have to have HUGE amounts of food, but it's all about balanced meals.   This site also made me go on the hunt for some Bento items. Check out the little Bento cups she uses to hold the carrots or dips to keep them from touching the other items.

Another great way to compartmentalize and make use of all those Gladware containers that don't exactly fit what we need.

The second site, Once a Month Mom, is one that I used to follow a lot, before baby #2.  It's for Once a Month Cooking...you know, you spend one day a month shopping and preparing several meals that can go in the freezer and last your family of 4 through the entire month.  I tried a few recipes with great success but once AbbDabs got here, all extra time went out the window - even though this technically saves time in the long run, I just couldn't cut it.   So I was excited to see some freezer ideas for lunch box lunches.

I haven't dug too deep into these recipes but I'm thinking I can afford to try a few of them and get the family's feedback.  (Forgot to mention that the Hubs is the only leftover eater in the house, and he does it out of the fact that if he doesnt then we're wasting food....taking one for the team! Atta boy!)  But anyways, check out the recipe for Pizza in a Sleeping Bag, or Cheesy Ham Biscuits.  YUM and totally doable for the kids or me (remember the less picky Hubs, he'll be happy too!).


So what exactly do you take to eat on your lunches? Do you pack lunches for you kids (especially non-sandwhich meals)??   Where do you get your meal ideas? 
I'd love to hear!

Single Momma

Soooo I'm fortunate to be married to one amazing guy (93% of the time he's amazing, the other 7% he's pure male, haha).  However his job, that we both love, occasionally takes him out of the state. This time he's actually out of the country! This usually wouldn't be an issue, especiallly since I"m still on summer break and can just take it easy with the kiddos until he returns.  (Last time he left, it was the first full week of school, I had a 10week old and a crazy clingy 3 year old, AND they had just started at a new baby sitter....yeah, I can handle this time).

But what I didn't realize is how it affects my Half training.  Typically Tues/Thurs/Sun are my running days. Once he gets home and we have dinner one of us will go for a run. Thankfully he runs on my off days - it works best that way, for some reason we feel that an adult needs to be here with the kids.  Silly parenting, I know... haha.   It just dawned on me though....that I can't get out and run tomorrow. That is a problem. I dread the ol' treadmill.  Seriously. I can find so many excuses while I'm on it that I neeeeeed to get off. Wait, let me rephrase... that I NEED to get off.  Sometimes it's because I forgot to turn on the dishwasher. Or maybe because one of the girls needs a snack.  And sometimes it's because I have gotten off too many times to go pee and feel "what's the point?"  I'm not kidding. It seems I ALWAYS have to pee more when running inside.  Don't get me wrong, I almost always have to pee while outside but not 5 times in one mile.  Maybe I hit the floor harder on the dreadmill, or my mind knows the bathroom is super close. Either way, it happens.

What I'm getting at is that I don't know how single mommas do it?  Do you run/workout before you pick up the kiddos? I imagine most SAHMs aren't single and so the issue of being single and the kids not at the sitter is never a problem...or am I assuming...or did that even make sense?  Either way....I'm doomed to the treadmill this week. Gonna have tos uck it up and do it. No there's no one around to watch the kiddos for me.  Luckily it's only 2.5miles but it's 1.5 mile more than I'd ever like to do on the machine. Did I mention I hate the treadmill?  ughhhh.

Someone hold me accountable! Check in with me tomorrow on my running day and make sure I ran.   Shoot, someone check in with me on off days too to see if I did my strength or XTrain because I'm a slacker there too!

How do you fit in your workouts if you have kids, are a SAHM,, are single, both or well....what keeps you accountable??

Link-Up: Top Ten Running Songs

Yay for my first linky party!! Wooohooo!!   We're sharing our TOP TEN songs on our running playlists.  So hang in there and then check out the other bloggers' sites for their best songs!

So, here are my TOP TEN songs on the playlist right now, in no particular order:

1. Eminem: Cinderella Man
2. Katy Perry: Fireworks
3. Feist: I Feel It All
4. Katy Perry: Wide Awake
5. Afrojack: Take Over Control
6. David Guetta: Sweat
7. Pink: Raise Your Glass
8. Ludacris: My Chick Bad
9. Linkin Park: Burn It Down
10. Pink: Blow Me

So it's time to link up. Here's how it works. Grab the picture/button and put it in your post, linking it back to this blog.  Then once you finish your post, come back here and "link up" by clicking on the blue button below! Be sure to check out everyone else's blog posts as well!!

Thanks everyone!!

More Rambling: Music This Time

While I'm running I have started talking to myself, in a good way.  (See the previous 2 posts for more details if you're brave enough).  But it intrigues me to hear that some people listen to audio books or podcasts.  Right now I listen to music but have recently found a blog that lists ideas for songs and Pandora stations! Stay tuned for that one.

When I started running, I quickly downloaded several songs to listen to.  I found myself listening to Black Eyed Peas, Pink, Kelly Clarkson, Eminem, Ludacris, Pitbull and other random songs I hadn't heard of but were recommended.  I quickly learned what songs worked for me and which ones I consistently skipped.  I can't do songs that I would typically listen to and sing along with.  but instead found powerhouse songs or songs with a heavy beat with rap that would allow me to drown out everything.  That's what I love about music.  I fall back to it when I just want to consumed.  Sometimes it's at work and I need to power through some deep lessons. Sometimes it's in the car -- stressful day or emotions running high.  Other times I'm cleaning (rarely) at home and need to forget about what I'm doing and let the music carry me through the dreaded task.

When people were talking about podcasts so I downloaded PodRunner and listened to techno music that was set to so many beats per minute.  That lasted a few months, then I was bored.  I've gone back to listening to music from my playlist and I'm ready to find more songs.

But I saw this blog post that lists "12 Secret Pandora Workout" stations.  I have Pandora but haven't bought the ad-free (I REALLY hate the ads.  Definitely planning to buy the adfree Pandora sooooon) but the possibility of listening to Pandora while running is intriguing.   Pop over to her blog to see what stations she recommends!  I'll try them on the next run.

What do you listen to?