getting a little too old for days like yesterday...

It was St. Patrick's Day, yes...but I wasn't out celebrating that, at least not intentionally...nope, out celebrating the 40th birthday of one of my best friends.  She's the first of us to turn 40.  Now granted her birthday was two weeks ago, but yesterday was as good of time as any.  My turn is next...just one month and one week away now.  And then the last of us will be 40 end of July.  This is us early in the day:

There are, thankfully, at least not that i am aware of, no pictures from towards the end of the day.

Start 'em young...

And just one more post for the night...I will leave you with this:

This was from a few weeks ago (it has been in 'draft' mode), but this is Stella making use of some of Mommy's exercise tools.

To make up for the bad day...a skimble workout review

I am the buttless wonder.  Seriously.  Baby got no back here. So I have at least one day a week that I focus very specifically on that specific area in the gym as well as added squats here and there with other workouts throughout the week.  As I've mentioned previously, I have found the Workout Trainer by Skimble to be quite helpful.  My current favorite is the Brazilian Butt Workout. Love it!  Now granted...I have added some modifications such as:

• Squats with a bar in place of circling donkey kicks (eventually I will add weights to this)
• Stationary front to back lunges in place of split squat hops
• Side squats have become more of a hybrid of the side squats and split squat hops using a BOSU ball
• Hip lifts I add either a 20 lbs. kettle bell or dumbbell
• Lunge kicks I have replaced with dead lifts, currently with 40 lbs.

By the end of that 30 minutes, I'm definitely feeling like I've accomplished something...at minimum I have worked up a small sweat.  I have learned, however, that this is not a workout to be done immediately after a 30 minute jaunt on the treadmill.  I tried that once and had a serious case of shaky legs and it was all I could do to finish.

Today is just a bad today.

The week, actually...at least the second half of the week has been crappy.  A co-worker, love her to death, restocked her candy dish last week.  It's been several weeks since it ran dry and I was hoping it would stay that way because I have zero willpower.  None.  Well...when I noticed it was restocked, I started hitting it.  I hit it hard.  Feeling HUGELY guilty about that.  On top of that, I seem to be going through a bit of withdrawal from my Concerta since I just hadn't had time to get to the pharmacy to get it refilled (well...I had to remember to call the doc's office first, then I had to find the time to pick it up and then find the time to get to the pharmacy).  Yesterday I was dragging ass hugely and today was not much better in addition to feeling like absolute crap since I had been overindulging in mini Snickers, Twix, Skittles, etc.  I didn't even make it to the gym this morning that's how bad I felt.  I got up at 5:30 and rather than doing one of my Jillian Michaels videos (did I mention I recently added Six Pack Abs to my collection?) I took a shower and tried to eek out a little more sleep.  My prescription is now refilled, I hope tomorrow it is back to normal for me because I feel like crap not just with the upset stomach but with the guilt of not making it to the gym.  At all.

If not for bad luck...

I think you know how the rest of this goes...

40th birthday next month (boo).  Vacation has been booked (yay).  Nearly at my goal of 'being able to rock a bikini' (yay).  Purchased said bikini (perhaps it wasn't entirely advisable to buy a bikini where the top promises to add two cup sizes given my normal size) (yay).  So where does the bad luck come in?  We may now be taking a 22 month old child on this cruise.  Please do not misunderstand...I love my child to pieces.  But dammit, Mommy needs a vacation!  Mommy and Daddy need a vacation sans child!  I am already stressed (my child tends to be a bit...high maintenance).  It is what it is though...we will survive...and (I hope) have fun!

Updates on (Fitness) Goals!

Yep...time for an update...I think it's been a while since I've actually had a chance to do any sort of update on the goals I established at the beginning of the year.

Health & Fitness

Running 

So I haven't ran an actual 5k yet...but...I did complete the C25K app!  No short cuts, no breaks...I did what the program told me to and I survived...I did it!  Today was the last day, I ran 30 minutes straight (first time ever)!  I am not the fastest runner...I ran at a pace that was manageable for me while keeping track of my heart rate.  I did it and was so excited about it, I had to post this on facebook:

Improving strength, tone, all that fun stuff...

That is coming along as well.  There are definitely some areas that I'm nowhere near where I want to be...especially strength-wise (push-ups come to mind), but darnit...I'm getting there!  The definition is getting pretty decent...especially my legs.  Overall, I am happy with the progress that has been made.

Better eating...

As I've posted in other entries, we have been experimenting with a paleo diet.  Not 100%, but definitely have made some improvement in that area and I have been pleasantly surprised with a lot of what we have tried (but this does tend to get a bit expensive).  Last night's baking adventure, double chocolate muffins from Piece of Cake Paleo:

The bottom line...

I am seeing results and happy with what i see.  There are definitely some areas that could be improved, but overall...I'm happy.  We are about 6 weeks out from our cruise, my 40th birthday and I think that I will be able to wear a bikini with confidence on my 40th birthday (that was one of my goals).  I ordered two a few days ago, they arrived tonight and while one will not work without huge risk of wardrobe malfunction, I am absolutely in love with the other!