Author: Big Mama

Inspiration to Fitness – Week 3

So the good news is I was much better about my running regimen this past week and sticking with the Inspiration to Fitness program goals Ashley’s has set for us. I’d like to say it’s because I’ve found new inner strength and discipline that I didn’t even know I had, but the truth is I really wanted to get a pedicure.

And I threw in a shellac manicure for good measure.

On Thursday I treated myself to both.

Then I went out of town for the weekend and totally kicked my healthy eating to the curb. But I knew I would because man cannot live by roasted edamame alone. Especially during a fun weekend with friends.

I think the workouts were easier because it warmed up a little last week and it’s so much easier to get out the door when it’s not cold and all you want to do is curl up with a cup of hot choffee and see who’s guest hosting with Kelly Ripa.

Plus I really do want to be a runner. It’s like I told some friends this weekend, I LOVE the idea of being a runner. I seriously ENVY people who get to say cool things like “I ran the half last weekend” or “I have to carb up because I have my long run in the morning”.

I am especially jealous of the carbs part of that equation.

And maybe if I was a real runner I could wear some super cool shoes like these.

Or probably not.

Whatever the case, it’s been the actual running that is my stumbling block.

But here’s the thing, I ALWAYS feel better after I run. Yes, I may hate it while I’m doing it, but I feel better afterwards. And I love the strength training exercises that Ashley has incorporated into the workout because it feels like they’re working.

At least I think that’s what it means when you can’t sit down on the toilet.

On the days I run I can tell it clears my head, relieves some stress and gives me extra energy for the rest of the day. And that’s why I’m sticking with it.

Plus I really like my playlist. I tell you about it in next week’s post.

* Have you entered my Withings Scale Giveaway?
Queso, fun and nails. What are things I had a lot of this weekend?

So I spent this past weekend in Houston.

I believe I’ve mentioned that Mimi and Bops bought a vacation home in Houston, mainly because they jumped on the bandwagon with all the people that feel tropical vacation homes are overrated and opt to buy a second home in a large metropolitan area instead. And it really worked out perfectly because I ended up staying there this weekend with my friends Amanda, Janelle and Sophie.

At times like that it comes in super handy to have access to a house in a fun city with lots of restaurants and things to do. Let’s talk about the restaurants for just a moment. The following picture represents my personal kryptonite.

Can we have a moment of silence for the queso? I will remember it most fondly of all.

It’s safe to say that my healthy eating initiative kind of tanked over the last forty-eight hours, but I am planning to get right back on the broccoli-laden horse Monday morning. And I will remember once again what it’s like to go to bed feeling hungry every night.

Anyway, the reason I was in Houston was a Beth Moore event. Last year she challenged her blog readers to memorize twenty-four scriptures and this past weekend was a celebration for those that finished the year. It would be a lie for me to tell you I could recite all twenty-four verses completely by heart, but I could give you the general gist. Or I could go to my favorite fallback memory verse, “Jesus wept”.

Let’s also have a moment of silence for my long-term memory skills.

It was a great time to just get away and laugh with friends and eat too many of my favorite foods that I’ve neglected over the last three weeks. And I woke up Sunday morning, stretched and rolled back over with the joy that only comes when you know no one is going to jump on your head and ask you to turn on Shake It Up.

Then Sophie and I decided to go eat breakfast at Le Peep before I drove her to the airport to catch her flight. But as soon as we got in my car and began to drive, I noticed something was awry. Because I am an automotive genius. Also, the car was veering to one side and making a CLACKETY-CLACKETY-CLACKETY sound.

So we checked the tires as soon as we found a parking place and I can’t tell you how sad I was to discover this.

Bummer.

(Does anyone say bummer anymore? I don’t really think so.)

(Yet it has never applied more.)

And the question became what do you do about a flat tire in the middle of Le Peep parking lot on Sunday morning?

Well. You call your daddy.

At least that’s what I did. And he told me the location of a few places I could go but the problem was those places all required that I drive to them. Which wasn’t possible given the condition of my completely flat rear tire.

Then Sophie remembered she was a Triple A member and so we admitted we had a problem and appealed to a higher power.

Oh wait.

That’s the wrong organization. She said TRIPLE A.

But then we thought surely they wouldn’t come help her when she isn’t even in her car and is instead in the car of a friend who isn’t fortunate enough to be a member of Triple A.

We were wrong.

Sophie called the number on her card, explained our situation and they said OF COURSE they would come help us even though it wasn’t her car. They would be there in about forty-five minutes which gave us plenty of time to enjoy some french toast and coffee and eggs benedict.

All I can say is KUDOOZ to Triple A. I will be a fan forevermore. They sent the most helpful roadside assistant and he put the spare on my tire, checked the air in my other tires, told me I couldn’t make it back to San Antonio on my spare and cleaned out the floor mat in the back of the stay wag just because he was that nice.

When I called P to update him on the situation I told him we needed to join Triple A immediately. And he replied, “Or you could just learn to change a tire by yourself”.

He is hilarious.

I drove to Firestone because Discount Tire is closed on Sundays. (Do you care? Probably not.) The man behind the counter agreed with the Triple A man and told me the tire couldn’t be fixed. It had a gigantic nail in a bad location. So I picked out a new tire and we waited for them to put it on. Then they called me in to show me that my front tire also had a large nail in it, but it could be patched.

So I went to Houston this weekend and ran over a box of nails.

And I became a Triple A loyalist.

And then I bought a new tire which is my FAVORITE way to spend money.

And then I drove back to San Antonio.

The end.
Fashion Friday: Edition I’m going to party like it’s 1992

So this has nothing to do with fashion, but when has that ever stopped me before?

Yesterday I totally went out on a new limb and got one of those shellac manicures that all the kids have been talking about. I’d been thinking about it for a while and then I went to dinner with a friend and she had one and it looked so good.

And here’s the thing. I never get manicures. Because I have these short little weak nails that don’t grow. They just don’t leave much to paint. Better to not call attention to them with polish that will chip thirty seconds after they’re painted.

Now there was a time in college when I used to go every two weeks and get sculptured nails. And then I quit doing that because it was a lot of work and I graduated from college and I was poor.

But I have to say that I am a fan of the shellac manicure. My hands actually look feminine and not like I’ve been fighting off badgers with my bare hands. And I just had them paint them a nice, neutral color. No need to get flashy. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

I don’t know why I just brought Rome into this.

Anyway, so now I’ll just see how long it takes before they grow out and look terrible. I realize this is all TERRIBLY EXCITING. Maybe I’ll document the grow out process with some type of countdown calendar.

But enough about my nails. Let’s talk about clothes.

1. chunky knit cardigan

I’ve had my eye on this for a while. Love it. Keep waiting for it to go on sale for maybe $20.00 because $32 is pricey for Old Navy.

2. dotline boatneck

This is a darling top and perfect to transition from winter to spring. Even though the high here is 80 this weekend so apparently we’re going to skip right to summer sometime in February.

3. globetrotter dress

I think this is so cute. Love the colors and would look great with leggings.

4. slub knit cardigan

Old Navy has these right now and I really like them because it’s a good alternative to a long cardigan with buttons. It would work great with a skirt or anything that actually fits at the waist.

5. hey there wedge

Did I mention it was going to be 80 degrees this weekend? Because it is. And this makes me think about open toe shoes.

And last spring I bought a pair of nude wedge shoes that were my very favorite and they kind of look like these and I can’t wait to wear them again.

6. romantic lace blouse

I have loved various versions of this blouse for a long time. I can picture it with turquoise and cowboy boots.

7. mosaic ring

Speaking of turquoise…

Also, just a reminder that you can still get 30% off any regular priced item at Francescas when you use the code MAMA at checkout.

8. lifetime platform wedges

I couldn’t get this picture to work but just envision some really cute blue wedge shoes. I have no idea what I’d wear them with. I just know they’re really cute.

9. striped maxi skirt

I love a long cotton maxi skirt.

10. annie western shirt

At some point I’ve decided I’d really like a great denim shirt. There was a time when I owned about sixteen of them but that time was 1992, about the same time I still had sculpted nails.

So maybe this year is the year of a nail and denim shirt revival.

Anyway, I think it’s because I’ve seen a lot of cute outfit ideas on Pinterest that involve a denim shirt. Or maybe I just want to rock it like it’s 1992.

Y’all have a great Friday.
New levels of nothing

So I feel like I have written a real post in days. Probably because I haven’t written a real post in days.

And I’d love to tell y’all about last weekend but I can’t even remember what we did at this point. Give me a minute.

Okay, Friday night P was at the ranch and Caroline and I went to eat Mexican food with Mimi and Bops and my sister and her family. On Saturday we stayed in our pajamas until a shameful hour and then Caroline played in her first basketball game of the season.

Oh. I just remembered. I spent most of Saturday convinced that Caroline was getting sick because her cheeks were so flushed all day and she seemed very lethargic. Of course her lethargy is another child’s best day, but she definitely seemed subdued for her. But she never ran fever and never complained of any symptoms. I would tell you that she didn’t have the best performance in her basketball game, but I think that was due more to her lack of basketball skills than it was to any kind of illness.

On Sunday morning we made it to church. I’d half-convinced myself we wouldn’t make it to church because I was sure Caroline was going to wake up with a raging illness, but I guess she just needed a good night’s sleep. In fact, maybe she wasn’t even flushed on Saturday but just appeared to be because I’m used to looking at myself in the mirror and my complexion is dull and pale enough right now to be mistaken for a corpse. Maybe the rosy-cheeked glow of youth threw me off because it was so unfamiliar.

(Is this the most boring post ever?)

(It’s at least the second most boring post ever. At least.)

(I feel bad about it but absolutely NOTHING has happened over the last few days.)

Sunday afternoon we met my friend Jen and her daughter to go see Beauty and The Beast in 3D which, as far as I could tell, pretty much resembled Beauty and The Beast in 2D except the tickets were more expensive and I wasn’t twenty-four years old like the last time I saw it in the theater. But KUDOOZ to Disney for their clever marketing.

And for Nemo coming out in 3D this fall. What a racket. Don’t bother to make new movies, just release the old ones in 3D. PEOPLE WILL TOTALLY FALL FOR IT.

Sure, maybe I sound cynical but that’s just because I’ve had one piece of chocolate in the last two and a half weeks and I’m a little bitter. The good news is I’ve lost .2 pounds so it’s totally worth it. In the meantime, P has cut down to one bag of Orange Milano cookies a day and has dropped ten pounds in the last week.

That will be one of the questions I ask God when I get to heaven.

In other news, there just isn’t that much other news. Except I just noticed that my cursor isn’t working correctly. And by that I mean the blinking line on my computer, not my ability to use profanity. That’s working fine as evidenced by the words I muttered under my breath earlier as I helped Caroline learn this week’s spelling words.

So I guess that’s all for now. Sorry to be so lame. Maybe the next few days will bring some kind of something that’s actually interesting.

Or maybe I’ll just start talking about soup.

Either way, I’ll be here.
Weighing on my mind – Withings scale giveaway

The Withings Smart Body Scale Giveaway

I have always had a love/hate relationship with scales. Actually that’s not true. I’ve just had a hate relationship with scales. Because is there really a woman anywhere who wakes up and thinks, “MAN, I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE IF I PUT ON TWO POUNDS YESTERDAY!”?

So I will go months without weighing myself. MONTHS. Maybe even a year. And I’ve always justified this approach by saying I can just tell if I’ve gained or lost weight (like losing ever happens without me knowing about it) by the way my clothes fit.

If my jeans feel too tight? Then I’ll scale back on the Oreos. If my jeans feel too loose? Then I’ll get on my knees and say a prayer of thankfulness and celebrate with even more Oreos.

But current fashion trends have created a problem with this approach. All of my jeans now have just a hint of stretchy material in them, which is much more forgiving than the Levi 501s of my past. This, combined with the fact that I tend to wear a lot of loose, flowy tunic things as opposed to the days of yore when I tucked shirts in and wore belts, gives me a false sense of security regarding my weight.

Then I go to the doctor for my yearly checkup and realize I’ve been sitting on a throne of spandex lies. What I’m saying is I realized sometime over the last six months that I really needed to pay a little bit more attention to my weight. Not obsess over it, just keep an eye on it since my clothes are no longer an appropriate gauge.

On a total side note, P went to the doctor about three months after we’d gotten married, and when the nurse told him he weighed 185 pounds he told her the scale must be broken because he’d weighed 155 pounds since high school. But the scale was correct. He’d gained 30 pounds in the first three months of our marriage.

Which is such a relief because there was a slight chance I could’ve fit in his jeans when he still weighed 155, and I really don’t want to wear the same size jeans as my husband.

Anyway, all of this to tell you that I was excited when Best Buy sent me a Withings Smart Body Scale.

It’s a scale that features Wi-Fi connectivity so your weight data can be sent directly to your private online account. Key word being PRIVATE. You create a PRIVATE account, the Withings scale connects wirelessly, and keeps track of your weight. And you can set up accounts for each member of your family.

This is so much fancier than the scale we’d previously had in our bathroom, which was one of those really old, non-digital models that just gives you a weight range as opposed to an exact weight.

When we first got our Withings Smart Body Scale I was a little obsessed and may have weighed myself multiple times each day. This led to contentment first thing in the morning when I hadn’t eaten anything yet and misery late in the day when all the water weight and cheese had set in.

Obviously I needed a healthier approach. In more ways than one. So now I’ve cut back to just weighing myself once or twice a week. This gives me an idea of how I’m doing, and if I’m staying in my normal range.

I love that I can keep track of it all online. And I love that the account is PRIVATE.

The good news is you have a chance to win your very own Withings Smart Body Scale.

Just leave a comment on this post letting me know how often you feel the need to weigh yourself or if you just go for the yearly surprise at the doctor’s office.

Here are the rules:

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 1/18 – 1/24

Also be sure to visit the Inspiration to Fitness page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews, get great fitness tips and find more chances to win! You can also roll over the Best Buy image at the top of my blog to view a calendar of all the Inspiration to Fitness content. Good luck!

Best Buy does not sponsor, endorse, approve, or have any responsibility for this promotion.
Inspiration to Fitness – Week 2

So I need to be honest. This past week will not go down as one of my stellar workout performance weeks, even with the prompts of BlogHer’s Inspiration to Fitness program. However, I did manage to stay motivated to eat right and so I’ll claim that as a partial victory.

And it’s not that I didn’t workout at all. I did. I just wasn’t as consistent as I’d like to be. This is where I could write an entire paragraph about the evils of mountain cedar and allergies and sinus headaches but ultimately those are all just excuses. I know the real reason I got a little off track was because there were a couple of mornings that I told myself I’d go run later in the day and then later in the day never happened for the following reasons:

1. I still had a headache.

2. I really liked my hair that day and didn’t want to mess it up.

3. It was cold.

Yes. I’m a big loser.

But I won’t be the biggest loser if I keep this up.

(Get it? Biggest loser? Like the T.V. show that I never watch?)

The good news is I didn’t totally wimp out and the mornings I worked out were great. I felt better, I had more energy throughout the day, and, most importantly, I didn’t feel guilty for skipping out.

And so that’s why Ashley’s post this week was so good. It’s all about setting goals. So that’s what I’m working on. I’ve set the goal to run three days this week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And then I’ll do my strength training on Monday and Thursday. I’ll give myself Tuesday off because it helps me stay motivated to have one day that I don’t have to think about it and go straight to Starbucks.

But I’m also keeping my eye on the long term goal which is to be able to run a 5k at the end of eight weeks. This won’t be quite as enjoyable as my goal to get caught up on all seasons of Parenthood by May, but that’s okay.

And to give myself a little extra incentive, I’m giving myself rewards with each goal I meet. If I follow my workout schedule all week? I get a pedicure on Saturday. If I follow them for the next month? A cute new workout outfit.

If I don’t follow it at all and continue to complain about mountain cedar? Despair and shame are all I’ll get.

And that’s enough to make me want to get up and run in the morning.

* If you roll over the Best Buy image at the top of my blog, you can view a
calendar of all the Inspiration to Fitness content.