Project: Yearbook

I spent a small part of the day organizing pictures. The school year is almost out - three weeks until finals. I am starting to get sentimental.

Next year (ha, 3 short months!!) , Isabel will be in the 8th grade. Alex will be a junior. And Nico will be in Kindergarten full time.

I've saved a lot of their pictures and school stuff over the years. But with technology where it's at nowadays, I know I could do a better job of cataloging everything I have - and everything that is sure to come.

Thus Project: Yearbook was born. Since I plan to print this blog off yearly, I figured I could do the same for another portion of this blog.

I've added a link to the site in my tabs list. When you click on it, you will be taken to another site, where you can click on any of the pictures to be taken to an update or blog post. I am trying to go in and back fill as much as I can now. Before school starts, and things get CRAZY again!

I am in awe about how fast all this child growing up stuff is going.
SMH.

Day at the Museum

Way back here, in this post, I mentioned that the hubby and I wanted to spend some more alone time with Nico. We came up with a list of five things we wanted to do relatively soon.

While looking for additional ideas, I came across an ad for the Arizona Museum of Natural History. I had no idea such a place existed. It's been around for 35 years... and I may have gone as a child. But in the last 19 years since moving back to Arizona, I never realized that we had a Natural History museum in our state. My older kids have never gone.

And they have still yet to go. This trip was for Marcos, Nico and me. Beware, lots of pictures below! ;)

We got started fairly early, up and out of the house by 10am. When we got to the Museum, which is in downtown Mesa, things were already in full swing, and there were at least 3 schools there for a field trip.

We saw a lot of the stuff you'd expect to see at a Natural History museum. Nic LOVED the dinosaurs.

Besides dinosaurs, we got to see a little of Arizona's history.

We had truly hoped that with Nico alone with us, he'd behave. But as you can see from the picture below, that wasn't the case. No need for Super Nanny. We know just what to do.

I kid, I kid. He was actually very well-behaved. And excited. He LOVED being able to run around, touch things, and explore.

We insisted on getting pictures with him, to help document his special day.

I caught Nico several times trying to pretend he was a dinosaur. What a character.

Look at this cool stage coach!!

And look! Nico knows where we live.

Once we were done exploring the museum, we went outside to pan for gold. And we were QUITE lucky.
I just realized I never did take a picture of our loot. Which is probably better, since we'd hate to tease you and then you come over and rob us of our nuggets. =)

After the museum, we took Nico out to lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. It was delish. We were in our old stomping grounds -- Tempe. I MISS living there SOOO much. I love my home and our community now, but Tempe will always be my home. Look at that LOVELY ficus tree. We can't have them out here in QC because of how much colder we are on the outskirts of the valley. They would freeze each year.

Could you imagine grabbing a good book, climbing up in that tree, and wasting the day away!?
I could.

After lunch, we stopped by Marcos' sister's house and visited with her and Nana for a bit. On the way back home, we decided to treat Nico to a little ice cream. Look at him, chocolate wasted!! =)

We had such a fabulous day! We loved every minute we spent with Nic. We can't wait to do it again.
We paid $26 ($10 per adult and $6 for Nic) for the museum, so I would call that a relatively low price for as much fun as we had. Nic really enjoyed it and wants to go again.

This time, maybe we will take the older kids.
Maybe.

A Royal Workout - Week 1

If I had written this post on Tuesday night, say at about 7:30ish, you would be reading a ton of curse words and extremely negative comments, like "I quit!"

During most of Tuesday night's boot camp class, I, in my mind, tried out a few variations of how I was going to let Coach Asad know that I would not be returning on Thursday, or any of the subsequent weeks, for that matter.

I kept coming up with excuses. Even lies.

Let's start back at the beginning.

If you haven't read my introductory post - about why I am trying to kill myself, you can find that post here.
If you are already in the know, continue on.

Tuesday was a rather busy day for me. A full work day, which included back-to-back conference calls from 9:30am-3:30pm. No joke. After lying down for 30 minutes, I had to run to Target to pick up materials needed for class: a yoga mat and a foam roller. I took Alex along with me and we ended up having to go to both Target and the Sport Chalet.

At Target, I picked up a new workout shirt. Prior to leaving the house, I tried on several different outfits. I actually spent time trying to find something that wouldn't make me look hideous.

Alex and Abby had Poetry Night at the high school, so I was going to drop them off on the way to meet my new boot camp buddies. Isabel was on babysitting duty, with Nic as her charge. Here I am killing it:

Look at all of those colors going on. You'd think I was on my way to an 80s aerobics class.
When I got to the gym, I had a chance to meet my other classmates. There were 8 people total, all of whom were friendly and fun.

The fun ended when Coach Asad decided it was time to get to work. After a brief warm up which consisted of jumping jacks and pull-ups (so not what you think. We didn't do actual pull-ups, that was just me pulling up my workout pants. After each jumping jack, my pants would fall down around my belly. Next time, workout shorts. With a drawstring.), he had a circuit workout for us. 4 areas, 4 times around. I think. I could have lost count. My chest (not lungs) was hurting. My upper back was sore. I couldn't get enough water, I didn't want anymore water. I felt like I was going to throw up. All while Coach Asad walked around the room, correcting form, giving words of encouragement, telling us to keep going. He ventured over to me several times, with concern in his eyes, "Are you okay?" he asked. Maybe the concern was because he was afraid I was going to kick the bucket in his gym.

In retrospect, I am ashamed of my answers. I am sure I sounded ungrateful, defeated, even annoying. I told him it hurt. He told me to keep going. As I mentioned above, I spent quite a few minutes, especially during sprints, trying to figure out how I was going to bow out gracefully from this commitment. I came up with illnesses for the kids, added activities for me. Bad, I know. But I was desperate. Finally... I decided to pretend that a camera crew was following me around. That helped for a bit.

When I thought I was for sure going to die (which is why I am glad I wore my good under-roos, just in case I did actually die, as I explained to Alex and Abby on the ride over), it was over. We cooled down, did some stretches, got to lie down on that beautiful mat. And I forgot about the pain. I finally caught my breath. I felt almost human again. This isn't so bad. I told myself.

Last night's workout was a little easier, but still hard. I had another rough day, chalk full of meetings and tasks. Around 5, I climbed up the stairs and took a quick nap. And then I got in the shower... and headed out the door. I think I yelled at the kids to fend for themselves. I hope.

I tried to keep myself in check, to not say negative things last night. That's hard when you are hurting. We did another circuit, this time with cardio then strength training, using our body as the weight.

Again, the stretching was the most fab part. We all started chatting, we could relax... catch our breath.

After the workout, I came home and swooped up Marcos in my two-seater.
Okay, it's a five-seater, but you know what I mean.

We headed out, into town, to get some veggies!!!

$72 later, my fridge is PACKED with good, fresh stuff. I am happy about that. I love Sprouts; I just wish they were a little closer.

I start Week 2 on Sunday, and my goals for this coming week, and all future weeks, involve stepping up my workouts to at least 5 days a week, watching my nutrition a WHOLE lot more and documenting in my food journal. When I get weighed in and remeasured during week 4, I want there to be progress!!!

Ode to my Magic Bullet

I will admit, once or twice I scoffed at the infomercials.

I was intrigued at the whirring of your little engine,

but I failed to see 

what you could become to me.

But then I saw you on sale at Costco.

I have an urge to by anything on sale, at Costco.

Regardless if I needed it, or not so

much.

I remember the first time I plugged you in.

Wait, I didn't. My son, Alex, had the honors.

He wanted iced coffee.

In a plastic cup, you served.

Finally I had a chance to use you.

To figure you out.
What you liked, what you didn't.

What you excelled at.

And what you failed at.

You make my mornings easy,

Because of you I am able to

start my day off right.

A quick protein shake,

to make me feel full, yet lite.

It's not just me you please...

The husband loves his strawberries squeezed

and with a little sugar added,

perfect to atop a slice of angel food cake.

Thank you, Magic Bullet...

for everything you do.

For everything you are.

We love you.

 

Sew Determined: First Project Ever

You guys can't even begin to imagine the tears. The hurt. The pain. All because I couldn't get my new sewing machine up and working.

If you missed the first installment of Sew Determined, click here.

Otherwise, keep reading. =)

Once I knew I had to replace my chairs out front (wait, I forgot to tell you, see pic below:)

Yes... my beautiful Adirondack chairs had to vacate the front premises. So I decided to buy new, rather boring, chairs and dress them up with a fun pillow.

I found some pillows at Goodwill a while ago. The cover unzipped and it came right off.

After my dad came over to help thread the darn machine (this is after hours of me trying to read the Greek instructions), I was able to get my sewing on. I practiced a few times on a scrap of material. I broke the needle. I cried some more. But eventually, I got the material sewn shut on three sides.

I ended up doing a google search for instructions on how I should close the third side (I say third because I left the material attached on one end, and just folded it over the pillow).

Again, after some trial and error, I decided to hand stitch. The section I was doing by hand was to be the bottom of the pillow, anyway. No big deal, right?!

Here is the finished product - my first ever sewing project - with the new chairs out front:

Of course, I couldn't stop there. I HAD to have a coordinating wreath:

The fabric is my FAVE... $8.99 a yard from Hobby Lobby... then I used my 40% off coupon.  So,  nice price considering I got 2 pillows and 1 new wreath out of it. The colors and BRIGHT and CHEERY! Just my spring style.

Sew.... I feel like I may be able to actually get some more sewing projects done. The machine is no longer my nemesis; it's my friend.

 

Nic the Sailor Man

Nic came up to me last night... dressed in a non surprising fashion. The kid is always coming up with his own costumes. But with his very slight speech issues, I had NO IDEA what he was dressed as. I couldn't understand him.

After a game of charades... he finally was able to get me to understand that he's a sailor.

It's after 10pm in these pictures... and yet, he's got his shows on. 

His floaty swim vest. And his Nerf gun.

He demanded a photo shoot (which helps explain the poor lighting).

Can you tell what's on his head?!

Seriously, he's been wearing that thing on his head all day. Let's just hope he doesn't lose it. I see one very important item in there that Alex would hate to lose.

Happy Monday!

A House that Smizes

A Royal Workout - Week 0

Bloggers come in all shapes and sizes.

I've blogged about my weightloss trials before, but mostly on another blog, not tied to QOTC in anyway. Why? Because I felt that if I admitted I needed to lose weight, then I was admitting that I am not perfect. As random as my posts usually are (about everything under the sun), I've decided to add one more category. Perhaps it will allow me to have a sense of accountability... since I am putting it out there for the world to see.

Why now? Why at all? you ask....

Well, last week I met this fantastic couple... they are local, in my area.

This couple, Michelle and Asad, are invested in so many things: our community, healthy eating, total well-being, their five children and giving back, just to name a few. Michelle is a licensed Massage Therapist and Asad is a Certified Personal Trainer. Music to my ears.

I think I mentioned that I tried P90X starting back in January. It's a great program. But not for me, not yet. (Ever?!) You see, I hurt my back several years ago (bulging or slipped disk/disc). I get nervous about hurting it again, so I tend to tense up or modify workouts too much. Mr. Horton is dandy and all, but there's nothing like having a Certified Personal Trainer providing you with support and instant feedback on form, etc. 

To make a long story short, I decided to work with Coach Asad (pronounced Ass-Ad, not Ah-Sod, like I imagined) for the next 3 months (at least) to see what I can do about finally getting in shape. Now don't get me wrong, I am a shape. Just not the shape I want to be. ;)

Coach Asad is owner of Fitness Revolution Queen Creek.  Just from our initial conversation, I can tell that he is working hard to bring affordable fitness options to my local community. We live outside of Phoenix, on the very outskirts of the valley, and there are not a lot of options out here. Generally, if you want something, you have to drive. Having a fantastic trainer just down the dirt road is priceless.

I went to my assessment on Tuesday.

Meet Coach Asad.

He's from the UK; London, to be exact.

I have a weak mind. I find myself copying his accent.

Shameful.

Coach Asad sent me an introductory email with a nutrition guide, information about what I could expect and a medical type form to fill out. We were set to meet at 3pm on Tuesday. 

I arrived at 3:10. 

Shameful.

Because I knew I was going to blog about this experience, I decided to bring Alex along to help capture the pictures (what's a blog post without pictures?!).

I found this pic on my camera. I assume he wanted me to include it.

P.S. Look at that ORB!

Coach Asad and I went over my medical forms, we set goals, he asked questions about what my typical day is like. 21 hours later, we started to get to the meat of the assessment.  Okay, it wasn't 21 hours... but you know, as a parent or a spouse (woman?!), that when we are asked about ourselves, we talk. I gave him THE spiel. You know... I am busy. I work full time from home. I have 4 kids in my care. I have a husband to deal with love. I am working on a new venture (more about that later). Life is crazy.

It got just a bit crazier.

Look at that look on my face.

Get me out of here!!

Coach Asad took my measurements, as he will every four weeks. It's a great way to understand my starting point. The scale matters, but not as much as how I feel and what the tape measure says.

 After the measuring, Coach Asad took me through several different exercises to check out my form.

He said that my lunges were good.

I had no idea that correct lunges meant BENDING the back leg.
I always focused on the front one.
See, I learned something already.

 Some of the stuff wasn't easy (nor beautiful, as you can clearly see).

But Coach Asad was next to me the entire time, giving me feedback and suggestions. Correcting things immediately.

And for that, dear friends, I am paying DEARLY. After 5 push-ups, some planking, hip lifts, foam rolling - not even close to a real workout - I am STILL sore.  But I think the soreness is a great reminder for me to keep going. To take breaks throughout the day (I tend to sit at my desk for 8-10 hours without moving). 

Now, you know nutrition is a HUGE part of any workout/get in shape/change your life plan. Coach Asad is so knowledgeable on healthful eating. He gave me some great tips. He mentioned that they recently became ambassadors for Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. (another score! - love what Jamie does!).

Over the next 12 weeks, I will be posting a Royal Workout post each Friday about my adventures in getting into shape. I named the series "a Royal Workout" because it ties into my blog's name. But we all know I am not fond of calling myself a queen or acting all royal. But when I met Londoner Asad, I knew it would be cute. Get it?! Royal? You get it... right?

During the next 3 months, I will be joining two boot camp classes a week, Tuesday and Thursday evenings. It will not be easy. In fact, it's going to be down right difficult. Summer is just around the corner, so are final exams, doctors appoints, etc. But I am committed to making myself a priority and attending the classes. I am excited about meeting new people that live in my community; that is a huge plus for me.

If you are in the Queen Creek/San Tan Valley area, I highly recommend you looking Asad up. I believe they have a free-trial period. And come on, wouldn't I be a fun workout buddy?

P.S. I probably should have worn a more supportive bra.
Ah. there's always next time.