Day 9... Feelin' Fine!

Alrighty folks. Today was about the same as the rest. I did not do my exercises this morning... I know shame on me. BUT I did my yoga and that is what these 30 days are about. Doing something everyday. The morning exercise is just a bonus for right now. As I said in an earlier post, I will incorporate exercise and weight loss in the second 30 day challenge.

So at Russell's parents house ( I can start referring to him as just Russell right? Or do I still have to refer to him as my husband?... You know who he is... He is just Russell from now on) we got a boat load of chocolate from Santa in our stockings. Well I am truly grateful to "Santa" because I LOVE chocolate. However, I am trying to shed a few pounds, and they are taunting me in our candy bowl.... I would like to put them where I can't see them everyday, but Russell says I need to have will power. Well if you know me, "will power" is not in my vocabulary when it comes to chocolate. Maybe I will put a little note that says "1 PER DAY MEGAN". I guess we will see how that works out.

Well, like I said, I did not do my exercises this morning. I realized after depositing my commission check, that the title company (which shall not be named) sent all three commission checks in the same envelope and addressed it to me... Naturally, when I picked it up from the office, which is an our away from my house, I just took it home. My check was on top, and I didn't even think to look at the other papers in the packet. Why would I? Normally when a check is sent to me, it is only my check... When I detached the check from the packet to deposit it, I saw the other ones. I had to make a trip to the office just to drop off those checks to the team that I don't work with any more... Grrrr. Oh well. It got me out of the house I guess.

When I got home today, I got a call from the office saying that I had another commission check at the front desk. Well I am going to wait to get it tomorrow, since I will already be in town. I guess it's a good problem to have. Getting paid and all. haha

I completed day nine of the yoga challenge. Woop Woop! This one was a little harder. A lot of downward dog, and deep lunges, and cobra poses in between sets. My shoulders were burning. Here is the video if you are doing it with me.

The pose I liked the most out of this video was the chair twist. It engaged the muscles in my thighs, and gave a twist to the back and chest. However, you have to be careful with this pose. There are a lot of elements to it that you have to be careful of. Full body awareness is definitely necessary.

1. Make sure when you twist one way, the opposite knee isn't in front of the other one. As Adrian says in the video, what ever the knees are doing, so are the hips. Make sure your knees are inline.
2. Make sure that your knees are not going past your toes. This can cause problems in the knees.
3. Make sure your not collapsing into yourself. You want to stay engaged, and lift the chest and relax the shoulders. 

Here is the pose: My phone was dying and wont let me take pictures until it is around 30%. So here are a couple of pictures from online

Front view

Side view

Food:

Breakfast: Lean Green Ninja

Lunch: Turkey and ham sandwich (Same sandwich I had for dinner last night)

Dinner: Texas Style Pork Ribeye ( The package just said Texas style ribeye... I thought they were steaks...) brussel sprouts... I thought I liked brussel sprouts. Apparently not... Oh well. It was good for tonight.

So I didn't do TOO bad for food today.... I did have a handful of candy and chocolate though... :-( I need to stay out of the candy bowl... 

Exercise:

Day 9 of the 30 day yoga challenge

Motivation:

Stay motivated! Only one more day of 2015!

Have a great night. Until tomorrow my friends 

Day 8 ... It's all about meditating

Hello All,

Well, we are only 2 days away from 2016. I feel like this year went by so fast, like a blink of the eyes fast. 2015 was a difficult year for my family, Russell's family, and me and Russell individually. We went though a couple of deaths in the family and among friends. Russell was laid off from his job, I got into two wrecks in my new car, and one of my contracts fell through the day of closing.

However, with the bad, there was a lot of good as well. I got my Real Estate license and will do $1.9 million in sales for my first year. Russell started classes to be a home inspector and be his own boss. Russell bought me a new car. There were a couple of births in the family and among friends. So this year was not all bad. What I always say is, God allows the bad to happen, so that we will appreciate the good. Everything happens for a reason.

So, as you may have noticed, today was day 8 of the 30 day yoga challenge. Here is the video if you are doing it with me. Today was all about meditation and just relaxation. This was a really good video. I think I needed this today. My contract that closed yesterday, was one of the most difficult contracts so far. It was difficult right up to an hour before closing. So, this video couldn't have come a at better time.

The pose I liked the most was pigeon pose. It reminded me of when I was in dance in High School. This is the pose/stretch that we would do in order to achieve our split. Here is the pose:

This morning I did my work out, with one of my videos. It was a pretty good video. I didn't do all of it, because I only wanted to focus on the arms. So I will do the rest of the video tomorrow morning.

I went grocery shopping and bought a lot of good things to make some delicious and healthy food. I also bought some stuff for shakes to make with my Nutri Ninja that Russell bought me. I made a Lean Green Ninja. I should really start going to the grocery store in the morning on a week day... there really wasn't very many people there.

Lean Green Ninja Ingredients.

1/2 cup Mango
1/2 cup Pineapple
1/2 ripe Banana
1/4 cup Kale (no stems)
1/4 cup Spinach
1/2 cup Water
1 cup Ice

Add ingredients in this order, and blend. It is delicious. You cant taste the spinach or kale. All you taste is the sweet from the fruit.

Food: 
Breakfast - Chocolate Protein Shake
Lunch - Panda Express... Not the greatest...
Dinner - Ham and Turkey Sandwich with spinach, tomato, pickles, cheese, mayo and mustard, with chips and salsa.
Snack - Lean Green Ninja smoothie

Exercise:
30 min work out video
Yoga Day 8

Motivation:

 

Stay inspired everyone! Until tomorrow.

Day 7.... Baby its cold out side!!!

Hello All,

It's the first real cold day of the year... Only in Texas is the first real cold day of the season the 28th of December.

Well this morning, after not wanting to get out of bed because it was 68 degrees in the house, I decided it was time to get up and get moving. I got the dogs some food, and put on one of my work out videos. I did the Brazilian Butt Lift High and Tight video. Did my 40 minute work out, and got a protein shake! Yummm Chocolate!

I'm actually kind of proud of myself. I stuck with my schedule for the most part. Granted I was about 30 minutes behind schedule, but that's better than most days. I put on my calendar to call my past clients to see how their Christmas went, and to make sure they received the Christmas card I sent. I also wanted to check in to get an update on everything. That task was completed. One of my clients was so thrilled that I was still communicating with them, it made me want to stay connected with all my clients. Another one of my clients said that he gave my information to his brother in-law and that he should be contacting me sometime mid January, because he wants to purchase some land! That made me feel amazing!

I also put on my calendar to set up a date for an open house. I did that too! I am so proud of myself! Today was a great day!

And to make today even better, my clients closed today. Woohoo! Another one to mark down! I am so excited for them. They were first time home buyers too!

Well, if you hadn't noticed, today was day 7 of the 30 day yoga challenge. I just have to make it 14 more days to make this a habit. I feel good that I will be able to continue this routine! I guess we will just have to find out. Here is the video if you are doing with me.

The move that I liked most was 3 legged dog. Again, I don't have anyone here to take the picture for me, so I will just find a picture online.

I cant do it as well as the girl in the photo, but I do what my best, and my best is enough.

This move strengthens the abs, the back, the muscles, and the buttocks, all at the same time. Its a great move!

Food:
Breakfast - Chocolate protein shake
Lunch - Cheese, summer sausage, and crackers. and a strawberry banana smoothie with no added sugar.
Dinner - Baked potato with butter, sour cream and cheese.

Dinner wasn't so healthy, but I guess I could have done worse.

Exercise:
40 minute Brazilian Butt Lift - High and Tight
Yoga day 7

Motivation:

Thanks for reading! Until tomorrow.

Day 6 ... It's almost closing day for my clients.

Hello All,

I hope you had a good night playing with all your gifts from Christmas. I know I did..

Well this morning, Russell went to cook at the L & L Ranch in Wimberley, TX. He will be cooking today, tomorrow and Tuesday. Making that money until he gets to start inspecting homes. Woop Woop!

This morning I did not go walking. I went to my clients house at 10 am in San Antonio to do a walk-through before closing tomorrow. Also, it was cold and raining. I did do some exercising and my yoga today though, so I did not skip today, even though the weather made me want to. GO ME! No give up in this girl, only gitty on up!

When I got home from the walk-though, I sat down at my desk, ate some breakfast, and added the dates to a new weekly planner I got from my mother and father in-law. Then when I was done, I "blocked out" what I am going to do tomorrow.

When I was done with that, it was about 1:30 pm so I ate lunch. Then I binged on the couch for a while and did a little exercising during commercials.

Around dinner time, I started to get hungry. I thought, "Oh I still have some frozen salmon in the freezer. Russell isn't home, so this would be the perfect time to cook it!" So I did... When I sat down to eat it, it did not taste good at all. It was about a year old. I thought that since it was frozen, it would last... I WAS WRONG!!! I threw it away. At least I attempted to eat something healthy. We don't really have much when it comes to making meals right now. We held off on going grocery shopping last week since it was the holidays. Guess that's what I am going to do tomorrow in between what I already have scheduled.

I did day 6 of the 30 day yoga challenge. It was ALL ABOUT ABS! My abs are BURNING! But in a good way. Here is the video if you are doing it with me. There weren't very many "poses" this time. It was really all about the abs. We were more so, exercising, than doing relaxing yoga. It was still good. I'm not complaining. I guess if I had to choose a move that I liked most, it would have to be "cinching" my ankles together, putting my hands under my hips, and raising my legs up and down. You synchronize your breath to your motion. Breath out slowly as you bring you legs down, and inhale while bring your legs up. I had to take a break with this move. My abs were KILLING ME!

No picture of me, but here is the move:

Food:

Breakfast - Refried bean and cheese taco

Lunch - left over fried chicken, homemade honey mustard, and a biscuit

Dinner - Tried to eat the salmon, but couldn't... Didn't eat dinner. :-( 

Exercise:

Squats, Lunges, and floor ab exercises

Day 6 yoga

Motivation:

 

                 I need to start doing 1.                                               Why do you work out? 

                I need to stay hydrated.                      I work out because I want  to be a better version of me.

                                                                                                  

Until tomorrow!

Day 5 ... Part 2

Day five continued...

So I just completed day 5 of the yoga challenge, and it was really good for my back. It feels nice and stretched out. It even popped a little. Here is the video if you are doing it with me.

The pose I liked the most out of this video is the triangle pose. It stretched out my hamstrings, and my back.

I am not the best at these poses yet. I am only on day five of course. But I will get better! I know I will.

As you can tell, we took down our Christmas decoration. :-( Russell insisted that we do. If it were up to me, we would leave them up til the end of the year. Sadly, it's not up to me. 

Food:

Breakfast - Strawberry, black berry, blue berry and banana smoothie

Lunch - nothing.... Time got away from me today.

Dinner - 2 Grilled cheese sandwiches.... I know...I know... NOT GOOD MEGAN!!! 

Snack - Candy... Ugggg Christmas candy. I cant resist.

Just because you don't do well today, doesn't mean that you are doomed... Just do better tomorrow.

Exercise:

10 - 15 minute walk 

Yoga day 5

Motivation:

Until tomorrow! Have a great night!

Day 5... Part 1

Hello All,

I can't believe how fast this year has passed. We only have five more days til 2015 is over. I wont go into what has happened this year. I will save that for the 31st.

Well I have officially decided that I am going to walk in the morning, and do yoga in the evening. I walked just for a little bit with both my babies, Pepper and Hank. This was Peppers first walk around the neighborhood, and first walk in a very long time. She is not completely leash trained, but she did very well. We will have plenty of time to work at it every morning.

I will probably keep my walks to about 30 minutes. Today I think it was only about 10 minutes. It started to rain, and I just really wanted to take Pepper out for a test walk to see how she would do.

So Russell got two air compressors for Christmas. One from me and one from his parents. I guess we will have to start communicating. He took the one his parents gave him back and bought a shop vac, and some Christmas decorations for next year. 50% off!!! We will be ready next year.

At my parents house, the adults usually do a white elephant, or Chinese Christmas. What we normally do, is we all sit in a circle, with our gifts, and someone reads Twas The Night Before Christmas. When the reader says the word "and" we pass to the right. When the readers says the word "the" we pass to the left. Then at the end of the story, what ever gift you have, you get to keep. It's a pretty fun way to exchange gifts. Usually they are gag gifts of no more than $10.

This year, we did it differently. We did the traditional draw a number, and in numerical order, we pick gifts. There are only two steals, and once the 3rd owner has that gift, it is no longer "stealable". So if it's your turn, you can either pick a gift, or steal someone else's. Once a gift is stolen, the person whose gift was stolen gets to either draw or steal someone else's. Once everything is settled, you continue with the next number. It can get pretty hectic when people are arguing about what is no longer "stealable" and what is still available. We ran into that last night, but it all ended okay, and everyone was happy. We will probably continue to do it this way, since very one seemed to like it better than the story exchange. But I think we should raise the amount to $20 or $30, since we want people to want the gifts.

Well I will add another post later today when I finish my yoga, and I will continue to keep track of what I eat.

Until then, have a great day!

Day 4 ... Merry Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Did you celebrate Christmas once or twice this year? Was this year the year you spend it with your family or your significant other's family? Or did you do both in one day? Either way, at least you had a family to spend it with!

We did both families in one day. We went to Russell's parents house EARLY this morning to do stockings, presents and breakfast. Then around noon we went to my parents house for dinner, presents and stockings. Thankfully our parents only live 30 minutes away from each other, so it's easy for us to split the day!

Well today was day four of my 30 day yoga challenge. Here is the video if you are doing it with me. I had to do it this evening at 9 pm since we spent the day with family. BUT I did it even though it was a lot later than I usually do it. NO EXCUSES!

I was actually talking to Russell about my yoga and what my goal is, and he suggested that, if doing the yoga helps relax me and helps me sleep, it might be good if I take a walk in the mornings, and do yoga at night. I actually feel really relaxed right now, and am about ready to go to sleep. So... I might start walking in the morning!

Today's yoga move is thread the needle. The pose helps the back mainly. It also helps the shoulders. You just do them on either side. It's not the prettiest pose, but that's okay. This isn't about pretty poses. :-)

Like I said, it's not the prettiest pose. 

I wasn't alone this time. I got Russell to help me take the picture!

Today I want so great with food. I mean it is Christmas, so there is a lot of food on this day!

Food:
Breakfast - 2 eggs, 1 biscuit, 2 pieces of bacon, 1 small hash brown (all homemade)
Lunch - Lasagna, Penne pasta, both with sauce, one piece of garlic toast.
Dinner - IHOP (BLT, with Fruit)

Not too too bad, but not the best.

Exercise:
A LOT of walking around
Yoga, day 4

Motivation:

Until tomorrow! Have a great evening!

Day 3 Y'all!... Merry Christmas Eve

Hello All! Merry Christmas Eve! Have y'all been good this year? Or will Santa be leaving coal in your stocking? ;-)

Day three of the yoga challenge is complete. Here is the YouTube video if you are doing it with me. It was a little harder to get up and get moving this morning, but I made it happen! GO ME! Day three was a little bit more about strengthening your core and engaging your abs. With out a strong core, your back will start to hurt. I know mine has been hurting a lot more than it should. Mainly because I don't have as strong of a core as I used to have, when I danced in high school. Hopefully I can remedy that.

Today I decided to choose Warrior 2 pose. This pose takes a lot of correction when you do it the first time. You have to make sure your core is tight, your posture is in line, and your hips are square. This strengthens your leg muscles, ab muscles, and arm muscles. This is a great full body pose!

Again, sorry for the not so professional picture. Camera timers are the best when you are alone!

Russell (my husband) and I opened up gifts last night. We couldn't wait any longer. I got him the Air Compressor Combo Kit from Home Depot, and the LG Bluetooth headset that everyone is wearing. He doesn't have Bluetooth in his truck, so I thought that would be a good gift for him. Now he will be legal while driving down the road. HANDS FREE! You don't have to use it just for calling either. You can use it to listen to music while you work or workout as well. Pretty handy little device.

He got me the pants you see in the picture. I needed some new comfy pants. The ones I have now,  I have had since high school, and they have a lot of holes in them. Thankfully I only wear them around the house. But it is probably time that I retire them. :-(

He also got me some soft comfy socks since my feet are always cold. A space heater/fan for my desk, since the office is the hottest, and coldest room in the house. Some Adam Levine perfume that I admired one day. A gift certificate to get my nails done. And a Nutri Ninja!!!!

I am so excited for the Nutri Ninja! I made a blended coffee this morning. I am trying to be a little healthier, so this will help out a lot! not that a blended coffee is healthy haha. But I have to have my coffee in the morning. Thought I would try out a blended one.

We have a Ninja blender, but when you are just doing one serving of a drink, shake, or soup, it gets tiring to have to clean the big blender right after you make it. The Nutri Ninja blends the drink, shake, or soup in the cup you drink/eat out of, and comes with a lid, making clean up a breeze! I sound like an infomercial...

Tonight we are going over to Russell's grandmothers house to do their big family Christmas. They do a white elephant type of thing. It's always fun. Hopefully I can stay somewhat healthy during the festivities. I will try to make good choices!

Food: 
Breakfast - 1 bean and cheese taco with hot sauce (not the best, but it at least has some protein in it from the beans)
Lunch - 2 Sausage links with ketchup and mustard
Dinner - Chicken enchiladas, Chips and guacamole, wheat thins and cream cheese with a spicy sauce on top, bean burrito with green chili sauce.... This was not a very healthy meal. :-(

Exercise:
Day 3 of the 30 day Yoga Challenge

Motivation:

Yoga Goal

NO MORE EXCUSES!

I hope everyone has a great Christmas Eve! I will update the blog later today! Otherwise, until tomorrow! 

Day 2...

Hello All,

Today was day 2 of my 30 day yoga challenge! Woo hoo! Gotta keep motivated to achieve my goal. Here is the YouTube video if you are doing the challenge with me. I am going to start incorporating a yoga move in my blog, that I felt helped me the most during the video.

Today is upward facing dog. This helped with my back, my chest, and my shoulders. I felt the most relaxed while doing this move. 

Sorry for the, not so professional photo. I was at home alone, so all I had was my camera timer.

I started working on my huge pile o' laundry today. It still isn't done, but it will be finished tomorrow hopefully. After it is finished, I am going to do my best to keep it at a pretty small pile.

I am also going try to keep my house straightened up regularly. I cleaned it Sunday and Monday before my friend Colleen came over. I told my husband (Russell) that we need to have people over more often so the house stays clean. Haha. I'm gonna try my hardest to keep it this way. I do so love a clean house. I'm not sure why it's so hard for me to keep it this way. Guess I get lazy.

WELL NO MORE EXCUSES!

As the infamous Yoda once said "There is no try, only do." I'm not going to "try" any more. I am only going to "do", one day at a time!

This is me, keeping myself accountable.

Food:

Breakfast - Special K Breakfast sandwich (flat bread, bacon, egg, cheese, mayo, salt, and pepper)

Lunch - Sausage with ketchup and mustard, 1/2 of an avocado, small can of V8 Juice.

Dinner - Caesar Salad
Snack - Cheese, summer sausage, and crackers. 

Exercise:

Day 2 of 30 day yoga challenge as mentioned above. :-) 

Motivational Quote:

Have a great day! Until tomorrow! 

FYI: If you didn't know...TOMORROW IS CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!!! I am so excited. 

Day 1 ... Challenges

Hello there!

This morning I decided to start a yoga challenge. 30 days of yoga for beginners with Adrian. Here is the YouTube link if you would like to do it with me. This video definitely eases you into the whole yoga thing. I do not do yoga, so I am very much a beginner. However, I found this very relaxing, and not too strenuous.

I needed to get out of the house for just a little bit. My husband was working at the ranch cooking for lunch, and I was just at home watching TV, not being productive at all. I remembered I had a Maurices gift card. It was only $15, but that was okay. It was my excuse to get out for a bit.

I found a couple of things to try on. I asked the sales woman if I could get a dressing room, and she happily assisted me. As I took my clothes off to put on some of the store clothes, I glanced at my self in the mirror. I cringed. I have gained a lot of weight since I started my Real Estate career. I told my self 2 years ago, that I would never let myself get as heavy as I was. A whopping 160 lbs. I have let myself get 12 lbs past that point. Needless to say I am not happy with myself.

One piece of clothing that I decide I want to try on were cream colored leggings. I thought, sure what the hell. I'll try these on, maybe I will be surprised. OH NO, I was REALLY wrong! These showed ever single ripple, and jiggle... These were not going to work. I didn't even put them on all the way before taking them off. How did I let myself get this far? How do I get myself back to a healthy weight I was?

I put on the gray equivalent of the cream colored leggings, and they looked pretty good. They didn't show as much. Then I put on a green loose fitting shirt with a lace accent at the shoulder. The two paired well together. I still don't like how I look in the mirror, but this will have to do, until I can get myself back down to a healthy weight.

Here is the outfit that I purchased:

And here is the outfit I tried to replicate:

I would like for the clothe tso fit me the same as the model in the professional picture. This my goal. I know I can do it if I stay on track. I need to start eating healthier, and exercising more. Even if its just eating more veggies, and walking everyday. That is a good start right? The only thing is, I always seem to "forget" or "take a break" and never get back at it after a week....

I hope I can keep it up this time.

I think I will do something different that I usually do. I am going to set small goals, in order to reach my big goal. I will start with a week starting today and my big goal will be 30 days. If I meet my goal of doing SOMETHING every single day for 30 days, I will buy myself one new outfit.

There isn't a goal weight that I want to accomplish in this 30 days. Those challenges do not work for me. My challenge is actually doing something every day. If I lose weight in the process, then great, but that is not what I am working for right now. Maybe on my second 30 day challenge I will incorporate weight in the mix.

Here goes nothing...

Food:
Breakfast - Leftover mac-n-cheese :-(
Lunch - Leftover Chicken Express (fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and a biscuit) :-(
Dinner - Leftover sausage :-(
Snack - Gram crackers :-(

Not a great start. But I can only go up from here.

Exercise:
Day one of the 30 day yoga challenge. As stated at the beginning. :-)

This is a good start!

Inspirational Quote:

Until tomorrow.!