RESULTS!

Insanity is amazing, and I'm not even through the first two weeks of the two month program. But, more about that in a minute...


So, to re-cap this past weekend:  not much went according to plan.  We were supposed to have a fun movie night with April and Jeremy Friday night, but Jake has been slammed with work and needed my help.  So, like any loving wife would do, we had to take a rain check on the movie and I helped him finish up work and we had a joint project we were doing for our jobs so he and I worked on a floor plan layout. 

Saturday, Jake almost didn't go to play softball because he had a lot of work to do, but other guys called out last minute and his team needed him to play or else they would be disqualified from that entire league (I think it was ISA or something like that?) for the rest of the year.  I went to watch that game, but then I had to go get my oil changed.  My pretty little car already has 22,000 miles on it and it hasn't even been a year quite yet (July 31st).  Good Kia does not have the biggest or best selection of cars, but they have a fantastic service department!!  Then, Saturday night we did get to go to Karen's luau which was very, very fun.  Great food and great people.  We were exhausted when we left after playing in the pool all afternoon. 

Sunday, I had all intentions of waking up and going to church, but my poor little Kona was sick and I was starting to get really worried about him.  He had been having stomach issues for the past 3 days and since I didn't want to have to wait a whole week to take him to the vet we packed up in the car and I drove him to the emergency vet off of Westinghouse.  We had a different vet than we did the last time we were there (for Reece's seizures) and I did not like this one at all.  She was the type that was trying to up-charge every little thing, and I can't stand doctors like that.  They should be worried about the health of their patient, not making extra money wherever possible.  So, after about $206 and two hours, we left and headed home.  I gave him his first dosage and didn't end up leaving to go golfing or to lay out at the pool because I didn't want to be gone if he had a bad reaction to it.  Luckily, the medicine started working and he was already better by Tuesday. 


So, back to Insanity.  For those of you interested or considering trying it, here is my opinion:  it's wonderful for ME.  I am someone who is naturally very athletic, played a lot of sports in high school, and enjoy working out (once I'm in my routine, which is the biggest part of the struggle).  If you are like me, then you will love it.  It only took me 3 days to get into my routine of coming home from work, have a very small, healthy snack (mainly just to sustain me because of my hypoglycemia), change into my workout clothes, do the workout, shower, cook/eat dinner, and I'm relaxing by about 8:30-9pm.  With that said, this is definitely not for everyone.  With Insanity, you do not use any props or weights, only your body.  It is very much like intense sports conditioning.  Some of the exercises you do are ones from track, basketball, volleyball, and boxing.  The rest are intense training exercises.  You work out your entire body, but I would say the areas of focus are your core, quads, and toning your shoulders/biceps/triceps--in that order.   I would think that a lot of guys would want to do additional workouts to focus more on upper body muscle building, since it's mainly toning your arms.  It also seems to be targeting the young adult age group.  Everything focuses on tightening your core, but in the beginning it's not a ton of actual ab workouts.  There is a DVD that you add in to some of your days starting the end of week 2 that is solely ab workouts, so I will let you know how that goes this weekend!  Am I seeing results? Yes, already! After week 1 I was definitely feeling results and I could tell that it was already working because I tried on an old pair of shorts that had gotten too tight, and they fit!  But now, mostly through week 2, I am definitely seeing results.  I love it, total motivation to keep going :)


In other news, I signed up the for Charlotte Color Run!  We have a team, if anyone would like to join it!  Right now our team is myself, Kelsey, April, and Todd.  There is no limit to the amount of people on your team, and the only reason to be on a team that I can see is to get a $5 discount, but hey-it's fun with friends!  I wish it wasn't so late in the year (Nov 17th) because it will probably be very cold, but it will be a lot of fun.  I've never run in a 5k before, but lately I have been really intrigued by them and considering signing up for one.  This one I heard about through friends on facebook and it seems like a really fun one, especially to start off with.   What is the Color Run, you ask?  Just a way to spice up a 5k and make it a little more fun.  All of the runners are supposed to wear a solid white shirt, and at certain points along the path there are "color zones" where volunteers spray you with some sort of paint mixture.  Each point is a different color, so by the end of it you look like a tie-dyed rainbow of sorts.  As an artist, I think this is really cool.  Each city also picks a charity to raise money for, and Charlotte's is Habitat for Humanity this year.  Be sure to check back in November to see the awesome pictures from this event :) 


That's all for now, we are getting ready to go out to Tequila with Todd & Kelsey because apparently it is karaoke night?? Who knew they had such a thing.  We will not be singing, just enjoying the crazy people and some good food.


Lastly--say a prayer for the families, soldiers, and safety workers in Colorado right now.  I am so thankful that my brother left there right before the wildfire started, and that he is home safe as it is raging closer and closer to the Army base.  Also, prayers for the students at the Air Force Academy because it is dangerously close to them.  Google "Waldo Canyon Fire" if you want to see more info and pictures.

Fun in the Sun

...we have a lot of that planned for the weekend!  But, first--my Insanity update:

Four days of Insanity down, and lots more to go!  This only shows the first month of the two month program.  Don't let yesterday's workout fool you--"Recovery" only means that all of the reps are done very slowly--which anyone who's ever done weight training can tell you that the slow, repeated reps hurt just as much as the fast, maxed out reps.  My quads were burning for about 4 hours last night...but that's what I call success :)  Also, the fact that I'm only four days in and a pair of shorts that I could barely button a month ago fit pretty darn well last night!



So, back to the weekend plans...

Tonight w/Jeremy & April...not sure what we are going to watch but it should be lots of fun!

Jake has a softball tournament tomorrow in York

My friend Karen is having a Luau tomorrow night which I'm super excited about!

Hopefully some driving range action on Sunday after church

Going to check out a new store in Charlotte on Sunday-pretty excited!

I'm also getting an oil change, grocery shopping, and of course some Insanity workouts, but those don't get a fun picture...

Busy Bees

It's only Tuesday and this week feels so busy already!  Lots going on with work for Jake and I because the big project that my company sold a few months ago is starting installation--where Jake's company comes in.  It's a fun new experience going to all of the weekly construction meetings and seeing the updates.  Things have just started but I'm looking forward to seeing it all come together--especially their custom reception desk that I designed.

I'm looking forward to the weekend!  Not sure of our plans Friday night, but Saturday Jake has a softball tournament, we have a friend's Luau, and then Sunday will be church and I'm hoping some golf.



Insanity Update:
Day 1 is completed!  It was the 1st Fitness Test, and I was satisfied with how I did on it.  DEFINITELY a long way to go--I felt like my endurance was pathetic.  Not too much muscle soreness today, but I can already tell tomorrow will be a different story.  Tonight will be the first actual workout-wish me luck!

Moment of Insanity

 

 

I should probably stop watching infomercials...first, I was convinced into purchasing Bare Minerals back in October, and then today I was convinced into getting the Insanity workout package.  I'm hoping that I am as happy with this as the make up! Haha

I actually think I could really like the way this system is set up.  As an athlete all through my childhood and high school years, my workouts were my coaches telling me what to do and what to do next, for how long, faster, slower, etc.  My biggest struggle since then has been to find motivation during work outs and ways to hold myself accountable.  The way the dvds are set up will give me a schedule and certain tasks to complete each workout.  I am apprehensive but excited! Beauty is pain, right?  I really want to build muscle back and get more tone.  I still wear the same size clothing I did all through high school and college, which I suppose is an accomplishment because as I freakishly realized today I started high school exactly TEN years ago (holycrapimgettingold!).  However, I don't have all of that perfect muscle tone that my high school body had.  Lets hope this works, I like it and want to stick with it! At the very least I see it as an investment for a few years from now when I need to work off baby weight!

Info for anyone interested:  it's a little pricey, $120 for the set, but I have been getting really awesome feedback from everyone I know who has used it.  I'll post some updates once I start and let you know my experience first hand!

Updates!

How fun is this?  I came across ImageChef on a friend's blog and thought it was so fun!  It's completely free and you can customize shapes and colors.  You type in whatever words or numbers you want on there.  I can see this being something really cute to put all of a baby's birth information on and have it scrambled to hang up in a nursery.

 

Golf Update:

Sunday at the driving range went very well (for the most part)...I went to a range in Fort Mill with Karen, Shanti, Derrick, and Reina--who has her own very adorable fleece golf bag complete with driver and putter, haha.  I finally figured out my stance and how I need to set up with the ball for my irons and woods.  There wasn't a chipping or putting green so that will still take some practice.  I was feeling really good about my hitting though.  I'm between 100-160yds from my 9 iron up to my driver.   I'm happy with that, but I think it will continue to get better as I practice and get those muscles back.  I was hitting straight for the majority of them, but I have a tendency to hook to the left (I golf right-handed although I'm a lefty).  I also bought a new Callaway Big Bertha driver that was on a VERY good sale at Dick's Sporting Goods (which has a MUCH better selection than our Academy for golf), along with some new balls, high tees, golf glove, and hat. I thought that my golf bag was still in good condition, but Karen realized as we were loading our bags back into my car that the bottom of my bag is about to fall completely off.  Looks like I will be in the market for a good, cheap bag soon so I will keep you updated!

 

We had a great night for our anniversary on Monday.  We met after work at Outback for dinner, which is always good although we don't typically go there.  We had a gift card for it from Christmas so I figured we would put it to good use!  My hubby got me some beautiful roses

After that we went to go see this movie:

which was hilarious!  It was funny how they connected it to what is popular right now, with everything from TV shows to baby names.  There were some interesting baby names in the movie--Henry, Emerson, Theo, and I can't remember the others. I am all for going with names that are not too common, but I wasn't a fan of any of those.  I don't really like the trend of naming girls a boy name at all. And before you get ahead of yourselves, NO we are not expecting and don't plan to be for a while.  However, like probably every other couple we still like to joke and "plan" our future kids' names.  

I also realized today that we forgot to eat our wedding cake so we will have to do that tonight and I'll let you know if it actually still tastes good!

Our First Wedding Anniversary!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"And where was I before that day, that I first saw your lovely face?

Now I see it everyday, and I know that I am the luckiest"-Ben Folds

 Looking forward to a special date night with my hubby!

<3 

Better Luck Next Time

So, apparently my photos were "not what the juror was looking for."  Oh well!  The photo competition was judged by one person so you never know what style she prefers.  When I dropped my pictures off I saw that there was a lot of black & white photography so mine were very different being in full, bold colors.   I'm excited to pick up the photos, paint the frames, and get them hung up in our house though!  I think that they will look really good in the dining room and bring some more bright colors in there.



As I said, better luck next time.  At the end of the summer, I believe in August, they are holding an art competition that I am really looking forward to.  Drawing is something I am MUCH more familiar with and have had many years of formal training, plus a degree in fine art.  I will have to read their requirement sheet, but I am definitely planning to enter my drawing of Jake and my wedding picture.  It will be sad to take it off of our wall while it's being entered in the competition though, I've fallen so in love with seeing it every time I walk in or out of our bedroom...makes me think of our wedding day each time :)

 

 

Side note---can you believe our wedding was almost a whole YEAR ago?!  Our first year as husband & wife has flown by, with so many wonderful memories...

Aside from that...I am looking forward to a very fun weekend.  Tonight we are going to finally see The Avengers!  I hope it lives up to all of the hype.  I'm worried it's more of a guy movie, but I really like a lot of the actors in it.  Tomorrow my parent's are coming up to visit and Jake has a softball tournament.  Sunday we have church and are going to the driving range with some friends in the afternoon. 

I am LOVING getting back into golf already.  We went and played 9 holes last weekend and I thought it went pretty decent for not having golfed in about 7 or 8 years (with the exception of the occasional putt-putt course).  I had wanted to just spend lots of time on the driving range to remember my swing and get the feel for everything again, but the boys (Jake, Todd, TC) wanted to play the course so I only got to hit a little bit before jumping right in.  As TC said, as long as I was moving the ball forward it was progress!  I wasn't getting the ball in the air as much as I would have liked, but I was making some fairways, staying out of sand traps, and didn't lose a single ball until the 8th hole!  I see that as a nice accomplishment :)  Hopefully this weekend will go better and I will start to get my swing down again.  It's frustrating knowing how much better I was at one point and trying to get my body to remember how to do everything properly.  I kept bringing in habits from my softball swing like lifting up my front foot during my back-swing.  That was the whole reason my parents had me choose during high school--softball or golf, because if you continue to do both your swings are going to blend together and you won't be good at either one. Now I'm having to deal with my choice of picking to play softball!



That's all for now, have a great weekend!


 

Leap of Faith!

Well, my photos are ready to go for the competition and I turn them in tomorrow morning.  I was pretty impressed with the print quality of Staples for the large format photographs.  The color came out very well, which was my main concern going into it.  They are also very quick! I chose simple, wide black frames that really make the color pop.  I think this is as good of an effort as I could be making for this competition, so it will be fun to see how this all plays out.  Even if nothing comes of it, I still enjoy getting my artwork out there and have it viewed in a public forum. 

Aside from that we have a busy day tomorrow with a birthday party and a wedding.  I haven't been to a wedding since our own, almost a year ago!! We have four that we are going to this summer so tomorrow is officially the start of wedding season :)

I am really hoping to get out to a driving range on Sunday afternoon since we didn't get to last weekend.  I am really trying to get back into golfing like I used to. 

Off to bed in a few, have a great weekend!