Monday, April 23, 2012

Back at it.

I am back at it. I am watching what I eat again.

I think I coped with the craziness of the house by reverting back to my old habits and eating whatever I wanted.

While I havent gained much weight back, I now have what SkinnyJeanDreams describes as a food belly. And I hate it. Jeans still fit, but I dont like what I see in the mirror.

So now that I have a bit of regularity back, here is my new exercise plan.

I cant go to the gym for classes because it is just too far right now. So I need to be inventive and make due with what I have.

Right now, I plan on running every night to every other night. I decided that I will be running the half marathon in June and so I need to start building up my distance running.

Also, I dont have access to my home weights. So instead, I will be doing the cardio portions of the P90X workouts along with Ab Ripper. Hopefully I will do these in the mornings before we need to leave to get Xavier to school. On the days that we need to leave really early for Landry's school, I will be running at night and then doing ab ripper.

Also I need to start reverting back to my diet I had before and stop the comfort eating. Last night we went to Olive Garden and I made a good food choice. The Venetian Apricot Chicken. Delicious. However, I did eat too many breadsticks. Carbs are my enemy.

And currently I dont have a scale. I weighed myself at the cabin and I weighed in at 171. Not horrible and I am finding that many of my neighbors have also gained the tornado 20. LOL. I know that a lot of this is from salt, alcohol and in general bloating. So now I need to decide whether to just exercise like crazy without a scale, or go and buy one even though I have one in storage at the cleaners. I am still within my comfort zone on the scale though I would really like to be down into the mid to low 160's again. Very doable. I just need to do it!

I did complete the 5k on April 15th with my father in law and brother in law. We had a lot of fun and ran together. We finished the race in 37 min, and about 45 sec. Very good for my father in laws first time.

And I did run this weekend one time while up north. I did my just shy of 4 mile run and it felt great. I didnt realize how much I missed running until the 5k and then the run this weekend. I guess that means that I am a runner for life huh? I ran 42 minutes and burned 468 calories.

Oh and I did get a new pair of running shoes. I had to. I wore my old running Asics while cleaning up after the tornado and they got totalled out. I have rips in the toes, mud all over, and they just arent suitable for running anymore. So they are now my gardening shoes and work shoes.

So off to Kohls I went. And I bought Adidas Liquid Running Shoes. In hot pink.

I love them! It was my first time running in them at the 5k and I was a bit worried because they werent broken in yet.

However I had no problems except one minor thing. The laces arent typical. They are more like a nylon and are a bit slippery. Even though I double knotted them, I found that after a while they started to come undone. So I stopped twice (once for each foot) and tightened them and triple knotted them. After that, no problems. And now I know when I run what I have to do.

That is the news for now. Time for me to get my munchkins around and get ready to get the big one off to school.

Hopefully I will be able to get back on here a bit more often now!!

Tip(s) of the day:
When you fall off the wagon, shake yourself off and hop back on. No one said maintenance is easy. Just keep your goal in mind and your eye on the prize. Bad stuff happens in life and how you deal with it is what matters. And life is all about learning from your mistakes.

Have a great day everyone!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Hanging in- and updates

Hi Everyone! I am just doing a quick check in to let you know I am still alive.

Work on the house is going at light speed. Lighting is done, drywall is up, cabinets are ordered and all selections (like carpet and granite) are done.

We are hoping to be back in the house by beginning of June which would then give me approx 2 months to start P90X all over to get into shape (again) for my sisters wedding. I can do it.

It has been quite a struggle but I am getting thru it. I can only say that I pray for those out west of us that have had to endure approx 120 tornados this past weekend.

On the downside, I know that I will have a whole new set of challenges when we move back in. We will literally have no neighbors around us for at least 4 more months so I know the reality and isolation will be taking its toll on us. Thankfully the neighbors have been great and I have met so many friends thru the Facebook board that they set up for our subdivision.

Anyways...just thought I would let you know how I am doing. Not staying so focused on dieting right now but I did do a 5k run this weekend (woo hoo) with my father in law and my brother in law. I ran at my father in laws pace and we finished under 40 minutes. Not bad for his first 5k ever.

June I will be signing up for my first half marathon. I figured, what the hell. So I will be hitting the streets to start training for that puppy and hopefully whip my body back into shape.

I can definitely tell you that by not eating clean, I have gained a pooch in my belly back. Bad, bad, bad but it is extreme in circumstance and I am really not fretting it.

Have a great day all! I am signing off for now!

Friday, April 6, 2012

Rebirth musings

With everything that has gone on this past month in my life...

Between the downs...

 in dieting (as in my weight going down)...

To the Debbie downer of our financial situation....

To the tornado (who could forget)...

To the missing of our cat after the tornado...

To my husband leaving for Alabama...

To the highs....

As in my weight going up a bit (lol..stress eating)

Our house is being rebuilt and now wont have a honey do list on it for many years...

To two cars getting totalled (that was a very good thing)...

To getting our cat back after the tornado...

To making many new friends in the community...

To the joys of seeing the community come together as a family...

To my husband working in Alabama...

I want to remind everyone the reason for the season. This is about rebirth. And this season has truly been a rebirth for me and my family.

So if you have struggled with your diet or any other goal for that matter...

Rebirth!!

Start over.

Clean slate.

Take things a day at a time.

Put everything into perspective...Remember, it could always be worse.

Keep moving forward (I love Meet the Robinsons)

You can conquer this.

You can meet your goal.

Good luck everyone! And have a very Happy Easter!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012


Picture of the front of the house. In the next picture, look up by the top of the picture by the round window.

That my friends, is not the moon. And there is nothing for it to reflect on. Nor was it still raining.

All the debris by the front door. Screen door is completely blown out




















Landry's Room. The ceiling was open completely to the sky.
















Yellow orbs are above the arm of the couch on the left. There was nothing to reflect on. You can see the white flash in the window, but they orbs are yellow.
















One of the totalled cars the day after the tornado. It even ripped the license plate right off.
















A picture of the front of the house the morning after. That is a shirt that was stuck in the wall above the garage door.
















This picture doesnt show the damage to this vehicle very well. Notice the windows are out and the entire inside was soaked. The car was in fact totalled.


A close up of the tire on the car. See the pants? They are underneath of the tire.



















Trees in the backyard that were knocked over. We have since up righted them. Hopefully they survive.












The house across the street. It has been demolished.

















The home to the left of the house above. The white truck was in the driveway. The tornado leveled the house.







The night of. Glass all over the couches.















Somehow the glass top table didnt get a scratch on it.

















The night of. This is the neighbors tub from across the street. You can barely make out Aarons car behind it.
Hi everyone-

I know you are wondering what the heck has happened to me. Did Red Robin kill me with their food or what? LOL

WELL...

Let me fill you in on the going on's in my life.

The last post that I put on here was about going to Red Robin for dinner.

That night my world took a very unexpected turn.

While we were eating, a storm rolled in. We were about 30 minutes away from our house and enjoying dinner watching the thunder and lightning roll in. The sky was looking a little odd in color but I didnt think much about it.

As we were leaving, it started to hail.

Aaron ran to his work truck, I ran to the Escape and we pulled up to the front of the restaurant for the kids and Aarons grandma to get into the Escape.

I jumped into the truck and headed off to the gym.

As I was headed there, I heard the tornado sirens going off. I called Aaron and told him to take cover at Aarons grandmas house. That I didnt know what the sirens were going off for- whether it was for severe storms or for a tornado- but I would head to the gym and take cover there.

Aaron said that it was for severe storms and that he was going home with the boys.

I got to the gym, changed into my gym clothes and started going on the ARC.

That was when my phone started blowing up with calls and texts.

"Are you ok?"

"We heard what happened"

I said we were fine and that we just had a bit of hail.

To which came the reply "Dexter had a tornado touch down. I think it was your subdivision".

My neighbor across the street (who thankfully wasnt in town) texted me.

I started to frantically call Aaron to see if the house was hit. He thought I was crazy. No way a tornado hit the house. The sky is blue. No clouds.

Then he pulled into the sub and it looked like a war zone.

I flew out of the gym trying to get home as quickly as I could.

And when I entered, I thank God that I was on the phone with my husbands cousin.

It did look like a war zone. First responders were there... people were wandering...police were guarding the entrance demanding ID to get into the sub...debris was everywhere. It looked like a zombie apocolypse movie set.

That night passed in a daze. I was in shock. I left Aaron behind at the house so I could get the kids to safety. I dropped them off with Aarons Uncle and switched cars with him.

It took me almost an hour to go about 5 miles because all of the trees down and power lines down. I was crying in frustration but trying to call family to let them know we were ok.

I called my parents. They wanted to know if they needed to come down that night...I was in such shock that I handed the phone over to Aaron.

I tried to pack up the house as best I could. There is no way to describe all the destruction that happened to the house. I will try to post pictures later but they dont do it justice.

I packed the kids clothes- my youngests roof was missing from his room.

Xaviers room was surprisingly unharmed but I grabbed his bedding because it cant be replaced.

The master was destroyed. The window frames ripped right off the walls.
Insulation from the attic was all over the clothes in the walk in closet.
Glass everywhere. I packed up our clothes, jewelry, camera, photo books, files, fire proof box and other things.

Water had come thru the ceiling, down thru the first floor, all the way into the basement.

Thankfully we still had electric. And someone shut off the gas for us.

Most of the windows in the house were blown out. Shingles from someones house were in the living room.

Aarons Ford 500 was totalled. It had been parked in the street and was now at a 90 degree angle from where it was. Debris was all around it and it looked like it had been in a roll over accident.

The extra Escape that we had been trying to sell was in better shape but looked like someone side swiped it on the passenger side. The windows on the passenger side had also been blown out. Underneath of the front passenger tire was a pair of pants from somewhere. The car had literally been picked up and slammed back down trapping the pants under the tire.

The house across the street (the person that texted me) was missing the entire second story. The house next to them was leveled down to the foundation.

Thankfully no deaths or hospitalizations occurred.

We were missing our cat Apricot for about a week. The police went out on horseback searching for him. The news station ran a story about him. The neighbors posted flyers for him with my phone number. And we got calls. And we got him back. And he is ok and has suffered no broken bones or major injuries- though he is a bit skiddish with storms now.

Aaron left for Alabama 3 days after the tornado. He had to. Times like these, you do what you have to do.

Aarons mom Andi came back from their trip in Arizona. We live with them in Dexter. It is their house and insurance work needed to be started. She has been an awesome help with the kids.

I cant say enough about the community, the news, and the positive attitude of the area. The day after my parents came down to help us. But they didnt really need to. We already had people on the job. It was just a lot of yard cleaning that we had to do. And we just wandered. Talking to neighbors. Meeting people. Hugging people. Listening to their stories.

Lucky for us, the night of the tornado a company came around wanting to know if we wanted them to board up and secure the house for us. They happened to be preferred by Andi and Bryces insurance company so with their permission, we signed with them.

The day after the tornado, they were already packing up our house and itemizing everything to be taken to be cleaned up, and either stored or totalled out.

Carpet and drywall started to be taken out the day after that. I found out that you have 3 days until things like carpet and drywall start to mold. Ours was out in 2 days.

The rebuilding has begun. Framing has been finished and the inspection completed. Electrical begins today with insulation to follow and drywall to start next Tuesday.

We have been displaced and are currently up at the cabin taking in some much needed rest and relaxation.

I have great faith in the builders and insurance company. They have been excellent thus far.

The house has been taken down in almost all areas to framing. A new kitchen will be put in. The bathrooms have been saved.

Some updates will be done that have been on the "honey do" list.

And with all this, my Aunt had the greatest words of wisdom with all that we have been going thru.

"They say that when God closes a door, he opens a window. Who would have known it would have been a doorwall?"

Everything is working out. We are now back down to two cars after the 500 and the Escape were totalled. The things that were going to have to be done to the house like a new roof, carpet, garage door, are going to be done. In fact, it will be a whole new house.

Yes it is stressful right now. Obviously I am not doing the veggie fast anymore. LOL. I have gained about 10 lbs back but I am not structured with my diet and have been eating things that are easy (like pizza). Schedules for the boys are crazy because we are still taking them back and forth to school BUT we should be back in the house by the end of May.

We dont have horror stories about our builder (some people do) or insurance company.

We have the family safe and sound.

The subdivision where we live is so close and are like family now. They even created a FB page for the people in the sub to talk about what we are going thru.

So besides for one breakdown as I was driving to the house the morning that Aaron left for Alabama, I have stayed pretty upbeat and positive. And that morning as I was having my breakdown, I knew it was going to be ok.

Why?
Because there was the biggest double rainbow I have ever seen over the town of Dexter.

It was then I knew that we would be ok. We would get Apricot (our cat) back. The cars would be totalled. That we would go on.

And finally.
I reviewed my pictures that I took the night of the tornado.

And on them, in three different pictures, I have what appear to be orbs. Angels.

In the one I took outside, in one picture there is nothing. In the next (same shot, same angle) at the top of the house by the gable is the biggest orb I have ever seen. It is as bright as the moon but is not the moon.

The angels definitely got a bit beat up that night. But they protected everyone when the storm came thru.

Dexter has been being called the Village of Angels now. Not from my pictures, but because of no injuries, and that the weather following the storm has been so perfect (it was about 80 degrees for over a week), and the rainbow. If you ever had any doubts, after this, most are believers.

Dexter is truly a great town and I am proud to live there.

I will try to post some pictures later today. Having some rest and relaxation today. Andi and I are getting our hair done. Tomorrow is a massage.

For now, the crisis has been averted but we are taking things a day at a time.

Please keep the Village of Dexter, MI in your prayers as well as the other cities that have recently been ravaged by tornados. I now know what it is to go thru one.

Thank God we werent home and that my boys didnt have to go thru that. And if you live in an area that has tornado sirens- LISTEN TO THEM WHEN THEY GO OFF!

Before I never would have gone into the basement. Instead, I would have gone out to the front porch to watch the storm roll in. Never again.

And thank God that the tornado hit at 5:30 instead of later like 9pm when children would have been asleep. It could have been catastrophic.

So that is my news for now...I will be able to access my blog until Easter. After that, I will probably be pretty scarce until we get back into the house (hopefully end of May). Periodically we will be coming to the cabin for more rest so I will put some updates on here.

Tip of the Day:
"what doesnt kill us makes us stronger"

It is true. Believe!