Working on My Fitness | Week in Review

Well, I didn’t mean for it to work out like this, but I think Sunday afternoons are when I am going to recap my week as far as fitness goes.

Pinned onto my board "Working on my fitness" via Maranda Blacknell on Pinterest

This week was hard, but rewarding! I feel so much better overall by the few changes we’ve made. The main goal I’m consistent on is WATER, WATER, WATER! My goal every day is to drink my 64 fl.oz. of water. I have only fallen short on one day. I measure via a water bottle I have and make sure I drink two of them.

I would love to say I’ve been eating better, and really I have been! This week though was my craving week, and what the uterus wants, the uterus gets. We had Pizza Hut P’Zones, we had pizza, we had sherbet, and ice cream! We even went out to eat… ITALIAN! I feel like I eat all day long! I previously mentioned using My Fitness Pal, and I have come in under calorie count every day! (well, I’m not so sure about yesterday when we ate out… but the scale was nice to me today!)

I weigh myself pretty much every morning. I know the proverbial “they” say you shouldn’t, but I do. I even track it most days. It either motivates me that I’m awesome and can do this… or it motivates me to get my bleeping bleep off the motherbleeping couch! It must be working because as of today, same time I weighed last Sunday, I have lost 4.3 pounds. [I know I psyched people out on facebook and twitter with that whole 2.4 mess- that was from the other day!]

WORKOUT: The proverbial “they” also tell you to take a day of rest for working out. Well, I only half listen to them. Hubs and I go to the track Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. I walk for a half hour (which is usually a little more than a mile and a half). Today- I jogged almost an entire lap, which was HUGE! The other days of the week I do my crazy calisthenics (this week was 5 minutes a day, but I’m bumping it up from 25% to 30% of the 100 workout this week, so we’ll see!) and usually a walk in the evening. I tried to take a day off this week and felt so sluggish and gross.

I can’t wait to go to my doctor with all my notes of what I’ve been doing, how I’ve been feeling (which is why I’ll be blogging it here), and what the results are!

Hubs and I were joking today when we were “stretching” on the track that we should have someone take pictures for us on the track being gimmicky now. You know, 70’s tube socks, awkward stretches, wrist bands! Then in a year or two do the same type photo shoot so we can be amazed at the differences! Any takers in the Camp Pendleton area?

Here’s looking forward to another “Flab-u-LESS” week!

Millie Fillie | 7.29.11

I noticed these popping up in my google reader and I used to do them every week… then somewhere along the line I fell off the face of the earth with them. Here I am folks, back for the millie fillie 😀

1. Facebook or Twitter?
They both have their pros and cons. I always have them both open on my screen too! FB is more for college and high school folks, people from organizations, and women whom I don’t want to lose contact with as the navy takes us our separate ways. Twitter I use more to build relationships with my bloggy loves 😀

2. Hard Tacos or Soft Tacos?
Definitely the crunch of a hard taco… until I moved to Southern California! Nothing beats a street taco- a small, petite taco with a soft-ish handmade shell, from like cornmeal or something? If it’s taco bell though, it’s definitely some mexi-melts 😀

3. Gardening or crafting?
Well, we’re not really allowed to take part in yard maintenance at this house since the landlords hire people, so I have to go with crafting! I can’t wait to get our HHGs and set up all my craft supplies 😀 I’ve been reaming of how it will be set up!

4. Fruit or vegetables?
Oh man, most definitely fruit! Veggies I find need dressing, which adds calories… or butter, lots of butter.

5.  Motorcycle or bicycle?
Definitely bicycle. A friend of mine died on his motorcycle a few years back and it was pretty traumatic for me. Southern California has also made me loathe motorcyclists! They are pure CRAZY on the roads! Hubs and I definitely miss our days in Coronado, riding our beach cruisers everywhere! Now my pink beauty sits in the garage, waiting for our next move, so we’re back to the beach and not the mountains and can ride them 😀

Everyday I’m Shuffling

Working on getting fit and healthy is a challenge. I’ve done pretty good so far this week with an initial shock to the system loss of three pounds. (Motivating, isn’t is!) I’ve been doing the “quarter” of the 100 workout I posted this weekend and it has been rough on old flabby over here. The first day I was shaking and wobbly half way through, but I persevered repeating in my head mantras I pinned on my “Working on my fitness” board. I managed to get 25% done. It was the greatest “pain” in my life!

The next day my muscles were a little sore and tight for sure, and the last thing I wanted to do was my personal “INSANITY”, but I remembered my motivators, snuck a peek at them, and did it again. Today, I wasn’t going to since we were headed to the track, but I did… and my body is thanking me even though it hurts to sit, or stand, or reach to grab my phone when someone tweets me.

The song that gets me pumped and through it all is this one:

How can I lose motivation when I’m Party Rocking? It is infectious and gets me pumped up every time!

PS: I’m still figuring out the little nuances to wordpress, so if the video isn’t there, I’ll work on fixing it! I’m also linking this bad boy up with Amber over at Goodnight Moon later on for the Music Link Up, but I can’t figure out how to get the button in my blog… and wordpressers know?

I Love You THIS Much…

That’s the title of one of my “boards” over on pinterest. While recently browsing I saw something too cute that had to be added:

Source: http://mycreativestirrings.com

Sometimes hubs and I sit around on the weekends and the infamous exchange takes place:

“What do you want to do today?”

Oh, I don’t know, what do you want to do?”

Wouldn’t it be great to go to a can of pre-thought “free” ideas? There is a list of ideas over on My Creative Stirrings, but I came up with some for us already: We have memberships to a Mission and the zoo! Free date. There is a gorgeous pond up in Temecula we could picnic at. Free!  Head to the beach with a picnic. Free!

 Date days and nights don’t have to be expensive, however I saw another idea for a Christmas gift: 12 preplanned, prepaid dates– one for each month! I’m thinking of making it for hubs and I “from Santa”.

What are some things you do for dates?

CLOSED :: Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String…

Image by Jonathan_W via Flickr

Thanks everyone for participating in it!

These are a few of my favorite things… and soon, one lucky reader will have them! What’s that? You follow from facebook but don’t blog? No worries: you can win! You twitterly tweet with me? You can win! You read and love my blog? You can win! You’re a new follower? YOU CAN WIN!

I’ve made the switch from Blogger to WordPress and am mostly comfortable over here. Sure, I don’t know how to comment on all the old blogs I follow so you can reply to me. Sure, I’m still working out kinks with pictures… and the fact I think they’re automatically sourced when I add from a link (big oops on that one!) Eh, I’m not even sure you can follow me over here! But, you’re here and sticking with me! I appreciate all the love I’ve been getting over here and as a thank you, dear friends, giving away some of my favorite goodies 😀

What is it you’ll be winning? Well, there is a lot of stuff that can fit in one of those boxes! If I were Bob Barker, there would be fancy music playing right now and some hot middle-aged model would be showing you the showcase showdown, instead, you’ll have to imagine the announcer’s voice [oh, and a picture to come Wednesday after I get the licorice at World market!]:

Burt’s Bees new lip balm | Mango Licorice | Strawberry Margarita by O.P.I | Shea butter soap in an adorable box | a small bottle of BLOOMINGDALE’S signature perfume! [haha, remember my Bloomie’s stop!] | Re-usable tumbler 😀 | Pearl Necklace, because every girl needs to feel beautiful! | Nautical Napkins [even if you’re not affiliated with the Navy, they’re great for summer in general!] | A scentsy scent circle! [Donated from the wonderfully amazing Katie! Check her out!] … plus, this weekend was crazy, but Wednesday I’m heading to World Market so there could be a few more goodies 😀 (I’ll keep you updated via facebook and twitter!)

 Now comes the complicated part:

 “Oh,” you’re thinking, “how AWESOME! But Elizabeth, how do I win?”

 EACH INDIVIDUAL COMMENT IS AN ENTRY.

 Well, are you reading this post? You are? Then go on down and comment telling me you are! If you are not a blogger, just comment using your name and e-mail address! That one comment is one chance to win.

 Oh, but you want more chances to win?

 Do you like The Young Retiree on facebook? Oh, you do? Tell me you do in a new comment 😀

What’s that? You don’t? Well, head on over and “like” me and let me know in a comment!

Either way- another chance to win 😀

Oh- you’re a twitter tweep and follow my deepest tweets? Let me know you are and your handle- BOOM! Another chance!

Those all seem pretty easy, huh? That’s three entries.

I think we’ll kick it up a notch.

TWEET this giveaway [by clicking the T at the bottom of this post] INCLUDING @THEYOUNGRETIREE and come back to let me know- TWICE… that’s right. Tweeting earns you TWO CHANCES! You are eligible to tweet once a day, every day! Please leave two comments per tweet.

What? You want more chances to win? Well, now you’re just being selfish, and nobody likes selfish girls, do they? I’ll give you one more though: BLOG about this giveaway, linking it to my blog, and you can get FOUR entries [please leave four comments].

All entries must be received no later than my bedtime on: Friday, July 29th. It’s a Friday, so I might be up a little later… so we’re looking at about 10:30, 11pm PST.

Winner will be posted via facebook [so, that’s an entry you’re not going to want to miss!]. Winner will then have 24 hours to contact me before we move on to the runner up!

This giveaway is not endorsed by any of the product companies. Good luck to you all: let the madness BEGIN!

Just Working On My Fitness

source: http://how-to-be-a-healthy-bitch.tumblr.com

A change can do you good friends, and so the hubs and I are making some changes 😀 We got up this morning, laced up our kicks and went walking the track over on the base. I created a MyFitnessPal account and started tracking my caloric intake. I have already drank 24 ounces of water today (HUGE improvement!) and passed on chips with my lunch!

I have been working on my weight for a while now. I’m obviously not just sitting around content in my girth. I was browsing the interweb and found a tumblr that made me realize I was just sitting around! (Oh, and no, it’s not the healthy B* tumblr! It’s a BETTER one!) We go out to eat far too often and don’t always make the best choices when we do (did someone say dessert nachos?).

Having a partner to get healthy with is ESSENTIAL in my opinion. Someone to motivate you. Someone to keep you going. Someone to cheer you on when you just can’t take another step! I am so lucky to have a husband who is there to support me and be my workout buddy! Right now we’re planning on the weekend mornings and two days a week of me dropping him off so we can work out when I pick him up. I also saw this CRAZY workout:

Source: http://sidebysideblog.blogspot.com

Yeah, I’m getting right on it. Minus the run (I’ll be walking in the hillsides of Fallbrook! That’s workout enough!) I’m going to start tomorrow on the quarter workout. (You like that, don’t you!) 25 Jacks, 22 crunches, 20 squats,  18 leg lifts, 15 jacks, 10 squats, 8 leg lifts, 5 jacks.

Here’s some motivation for ya: The Marines that were at the track this morning were doing a very similar routine! I will let you know how sore I am afterwards!

We Saw It On Dr. Oz*

When talking with Nan I very often hear: “I was watching Dr. Oz the other day and he says if you eat _____, you can _____ (lose x pounds, gain energy, not be the fatty I am, etc.).” We joke that if Dr. Oz says it, it must be the word of the Lord truth! We got her good last night after we got back from dinner!

We gave her a call and said “Nan, you’ll be so proud of us! We saw an episode of Dr. Oz where he was talking about a fabulous new diet! We’re trying it out!”

I think she knew we were full of bologna, but she went ahead and asked us what it was.

We told her: “Eat… until you are too full to eat another bite!”

We found a cute little Mexican hole in the wall here in town La Caseta, and if you recall, I NEEDED nachos in my life! Not only did we have nachos for dinner… we had them for dessert too!

You want to talk about delicious? This is most definitely it! 

*Ok, well… maybe we didn’t see it on Dr. Oz, but it was worth a shot in justifying our actions!

Why, Oh Why, Wyoming

You thought this was a square with a heart? No, it's Wyoming.

Retirement. It is something I think of almost obsessively. Yes: I am 26. Yes, my husband has another [hopeful] 20 years in the United States Navy. It is the United States Navy that has given me this complex of nomad-ness. We don’t really have a “home” anymore. We love it here in Fallbrook, but let’s be honest- California is just too expensive to buy a house and come back “home” to when our time moving is over and done with.

Hubs is from South Carolina, and let’s be honest: After “suffering” through the Southern California heat- there is no way we are ever moving back to the south on our own recognizance. I grew up half of my life in Connecticut and the other half in Virginia. Virginia: hello humidity! Connecticut: Hello worst memories of my life! The only plus to New England would be a summer home on the Cape!

I often think about not having children, and by the time retirement hits we can pack our belongings in storage, buy an RV, and travel across the United States looking for the perfect home to call our own! There are only 48 Continental states and 52 weeks in the year, so we would have time for the military to still move us there!

We once thought Yuma, AZ would be nice. I think the heat got to our heads. We also thought Texas would be good- you just can’t beat the BBQ we had at one place as we were driving through last summer. Now, your old pal Hubs has chosen WYOMING as his next dream retirement destination. I can see a spring vacation there in our future!

These are the things we sit and discuss, dreaming about our future, on Friday nights. Let’s just see how many times this changes over the course of the next 20-25 years!

One Of Those Days!

Hello friends! It is FRIDAY and the weekend is upon us! I have been pinning all day over on Pinterest and it has been feeding my “girly-time-of-the-month-cravings!” The one I keep coming back to and drooling is this pin:

 

mmm... delicious!

 

I even sent the following e-mail to your old pal Hubs:

Baby,
Maybe you could come home with some rainbow sherbet (from Albertson’s or Baskin Robbin) or some nachos or some cape cod style potato chips. Or maybe you could just call and when you get here I can have the dogs in the kennel and we could go and I could run in so you didn’t have to in your uniform if you didn’t want to. Or… maybe we can after dinner. I have been having crazy cravings all day 😦 I’m a hopeless cause this week!
Love you!
Elizabeth

Thank heaven for the man who puts up with me! I don’t know how he manages to keep his sanity in tact! It’s awkward because I never dealt with this in my teens, and it’s all new with my new medication. I crave saltiness… and sherbet. One month I seriously ate three bags of pizza rolls (we’re talking the bags of 90, here girls!) over the course of 4 days… and it was all I ate! Another month I bought 2 bags of chips (normal sized bags) and ate them in one day.

Hubby is no longer deployed and I can’t get away with that kind of gluttony anymore.

I suppose one day I’ll get used to these cravings and get them under control. Until then, excuse me while I fill a 10 Gallon Rubbermaid Container full of kettle cooked potato chips and eat every last one. Nom, nom, nom!

Have a wonderful weekend, stay cool, and I’ll catch you in the twittersphere and in facebooklandia! (You know… by clicking the “F” and the “T” up over on the top left side of the screen)

PS: WORDPRESS FOLKS: do you know how to just put the link to the pin in and have the blog take care of it? I know in blogger you can just put the ling there and Pinterest takes care of the rest… another thing I’m getting used to on the WP.

Sh*t My Husband Says | Web Journalism Duo

Last night hubs and I were making a Costco run. Since we were going up to Temecula we figured we would stop and grab something to eat. We’re still checking out the area and visiting new restaurants. This led to not knowing where to go as we threw out ideas to each other of places near Costco. We decided on a cute little pub called The Tilted Kilt.

Well, it wouldn’t be an outing with my husband without some entertainment for you!

 

As we are turning into the mall area to make our way to the restaurant hubs says: “We can do an investigative report on the place since we’re web journalists now.”

Yep… you read it right, but if gets better! I inquisitively respond with the simple: “Web journalists?”

His response: “Yeah, like Hilton Perez.”

“Baby, you mean Perez Hilton?” I ask.

“Oh, well whatever his name is,” he responds. He thinks for a quick minute and says “Do you think that’s a spoof on Paris Hilton?”

“Yes, hubby. Yes I do.”

Bless his poor little heart. I bet you didn’t know this little blog was the musings of an Investigative Web Journalist duo! Navy Man and Housewife by day – exposing the truth by night!

I lay there wide awake last night in bed jittery and asked if he wanted me to leave the room so he could fall asleep. He asked what I would do and I told him nothing- lay on the couch. He said “You could write the SMHS blog post!” I’m thinking I might need to start a separate blog for his budding “web journalist” ego and all of the Sh*t My Husband Says!