Two Miles of Walking and Yoga

Kyle and I walked at least two miles total!  Today is the first day of summer break for him.  We went for a walk around our apartment complex and I am guessing it was about a mile walk, although I could be wrong.  We went for a walk around 9:25am and then again at around 12:40pm or so.  It was overcast and not hot at all when we went for a walk the first time.  However, when we went for a walk in the afternoon, it was hot and humid!  

This morning, I also did 15 minutes of yoga!  

Shannon has been working non-stop since we moved.  So he’s been working just about every day for the last three weeks.  I think after this, he won’t be volunteering for this many days of work.  But then again, he knows we need the money.  He is trying to pay off his credit card, plus we have bills. 

I did manage to save us about $21 a month by switching our car and renter’s insurance.  I am very happy with the change.  I am also ecstatic about saving that much per month! 

Staying overnight

Shannon is staying overnight out of town.  He packed a few things before he left so that he had the option to stay at a hotel tonight.  His training class is very draining, so he wants to go to sleep and then wake up fully refreshed.  He may have to stay overnight later this week.

I can tell this is going to be a long week with him gone so much.  I hate that he in a different city and has to commute to the training class.  

I did more cleaning today.  I cleaned as much as I could in the living room and went through Kyle's toy box and got rid of toys he no longer plays with and broken toys.

I am also trying to keep the trash and boxes under control.  I am receiving several packages a day so the boxes can easily stack up!  The last few days, I have had to take the trash and boxes out after Kyle gets on the school bus in the morning and in the afternoon before Kyle gets home.   I am also saving big boxes so when we are ready to start packing, we won't have to buy packing boxes. 

I took a rest day on my workout program.  I hope to get back to it tomorrow!  There really isn't a workout schedule, so I am taking it at my own pace. 

Training all week

Shannon will be gone every day this week for training.  It is a free course given by the State but it's in another city.  He is leaving about two and a half hours before the class starts tomorrow because he doesn't know where it is exactly and he's not sure about traffic.  It's better to get there early than walk in late. 

The class is Monday through Friday from 8am until 5pm.  Hopefully he can come home each evening. 

This week, I will be trying a new workout program called Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred.  I am excited.  I want a new routine to try.  It features 3 20-minute workouts at 3 different levels. 

Apartment/Moving, Work and Workouts

Shannon talked to his mom the other day and apparently, they are wanting to move back to NC.  They are interested in the apartment complex we applied to.  They had looked at it two years ago when they were moving out of their house but on a whim, they decided to move to the beach instead.  Now, they want to move back to NC.  After my father-in-law's health scare a few months ago, they realized that it would be better for all of us to be near each other.  They can help us and we can help them.  Plus, they are already familiar with the area.  We also have Trader Joe's and a few other natural foods store that they like.  In their current city, the closest Trader Joe's is a few hours away. 

We still have not heard any word from the apartment complex regarding our application.  They told us it would take around 3 days (we turned in our application on Wednesday), so hopefully on Monday we will hear something.  We drove by that area again.  They have Walgreens on the corner (there is also a CVS across the street on the corner) and Harris Teeter (grocery store) and many other stores directly across the street from the complex.  The entire apartment complex property is on 32 acres of land.  It's a huge looking place.  When we drove through it, it looks so quiet and peaceful.  Very family oriented.  Plus, the office does a criminal background check. 

Shannon worked 12 hours last night.  He had to work from 7pm until 7am.  He had to work one site from 7pm until 11pm and then do his supervisor shift from 11pm until 7am.  But during the 12 hours, he will be paid the same rate of pay!!!   The acting manager (they still haven't filled the position of the former Account manager) told Shannon that he will have more hours for him this week!  I am so glad there are plenty of hours to be given out to everyone.  It sounds like everyone is getting extra hours or overtime if they want it. 

Since I am feeling completely better and no longer have dizzy spells, I started March off to a great start.  February was not a good month for me.  I am back to doing pilates for now.  I am going to continue with pilates and then add yoga here and there.  Once I have done that for a few weeks, I plan on adding Turbo Jam and then Turbo Fire.  I am just taking it day by day. 

Back to school...again

I sent Kyle to school today since he looked well enough to make it through the day.  He seemed like his happy self this morning.  He is still coughing but I didn't want him to miss too much school.

I was feeling much better too.  I haven't missed any workouts either, so I am happy about that. 

Shannon is feeling what I was feeling a few days ago.  His body is feeling achy and tingly!  I hope his isn't as bad as ours!  He got the flu shot, so I didn't expect he would catch the flu from Kyle and I. 

Feeling better

I am starting to finally feel better.  I didn't workout yesterday or today.  I started feeling sick on Friday or Saturday.  I was sneezing throughout the day and then I woke up on Saturday with a sore throat. 

I really dislike that I couldn't workout on Sunday and today. 

I hope to be back in full swing tomorrow!  I miss working out! 

New blog opportunities and waiting

I am axiously waiting for my casserole dish to get here!  I don't know when it was or will be shipped but I hope to get it soon.  I am looking forward to using it. 

I am also waiting for my Jillian Michaels' DVDs to get here.  I can't wait to try her workouts!  I love my current workout program but to add something new will be a treat! 

I have not heard anything more from the credit union, so I don't know if I was approved or will be approved.  I just want to start out with a savings account and then apply for a credit card or even a secured credit card to rebuild my credit.

We are doing better financially with Shannon working two jobs.  He has a separate bank account and his own credit card with another bank.  He has his security job paychecks going straight to that account.  He uses that account for his own spending money, such as gas, food, etc.  He just switched his Best Buy direct deposit to our joint account.  I will be using that to pay our bills!

I ended up pitching a PR firm that represents Soda Stream and I will be receiving the "genesis system" to review!  I am excited!  We don't drink a lot of soda, but this sounds like a healthier alternative since it uses water to make the soda! 

I am still on schedule with my new workout program: Les Mills Combat!  It's a little difficult but very motivating and fun!  Once I receive my Jillian Michaels' DVDs, I may add them here and there.

Giving Jillian Michaels' a try

I will be trying two of Jillian Michaels' workout DVDs very soon!  I am really looking forward to adding them into the mix.  I choose to receive 30 Day Shred and No More Trouble Zones.  Both workouts require dumbbells which I now have!  I have heard a lot of great things about the 30 Day Shred, so I hope I will enjoy it.

I have never worked out to her videos.  My first impression of her was that she is a little mean and yells at people (from the promos I saw from The Biggest Loser).  She seems tough but she knows what she's doing. 

I was going to choose her Kickbox FastFix video but I decided against it because of the current workout program I am doing.  I didn't want to confuse myself with the kicking and punching routines from her video vs the mixed martial arts program I am doing. 

Hand weights

Shannon bought me a set of hand weights at Best Buy last night.  He knew I needed a pair for my new workout program.  I've been wanting a pair of weights for awhile.  Before, I was using soup cans. 

He also bought a new desktop computer.  The last time he bought a desktop was in 2005 or so.  He really needed to upgrade his computer.  He plans on setting up his new computer once he is done with his last class (he is on the last week).  Plus he will be working so much in the next few weeks at both jobs. 

Productive

This morning, I ended up trying to clean up and de-clutter our second bedroom that is essentially a computer room, storage room and Kyle's toy room.  There were a lot of boxes and other things that could be thrown away.  I was tired of looking at it.  It's nice to have an almost clean room to be in. The closet is stuffed full of plastic storage containers.  Shannon decided to buy plastic storage containers instead of boxes when we were moving.  He figured plastic would last longer than cardboard (since we move so often).  I just hate how much room the storage containers take up.  So the close is full of our stuff in the plastic storage containers, plus several boxes of MRE's.  I am trying to clean up as much as I can and throw everything away that we don't use or don't need. 

I started my new workout program today!  Yesterday, I did the basic video that teaches you the moves.  Today, I started the actual workout program.  It will take me some time to learn the moves but I tried to keep up!   Tomorrow's workout requires hand weights, which I don't have so I plan on using soup cans instead. 

Shannon pretty much slept in until he had to get up and get ready for work.  I asked him several hours before he had to go to work if we could go grocery shopping and of course he said, "maybe."  That pissed me off, so I ended up walking to the grocery store and getting some healthy snacks and other things to help hold us over for a few days.  I am "okay" on dinner foods, but it would be nice to have a not-so-empty refrigerator.  On the way home from the grocery store, I stopped at McDonald's and bought a mocha frappe (chocolate chip)!  I love those drinks! 

Les Mills Combat

I gave in a just pre-ordered Les Mills Combat!  I heard about the workout program a few months ago and they are now offering free shipping (the offer ends Monday).  I am not sure of the actual shipping date, but I heard it may be December 3rd.

Here is a preview of the workout:

I am excited about the Mixed Martial Arts involved!  While I love Turbo Fire, I am getting a little bored of it and need a change.  It will be nice to add a new workout program to my routine!  

Friday work schedule

Shannon worked from 12pm until 7pm at Best Buy.  His security job called him while he was at Best Buy and asked him to come in an hour early to cover, so he's working 10pm until 7am.  He then has to work Saturday at Best Buy from 12pm until 7pm, I believe. 

I started taking a weight loss supplement called Raspberry Ketones.  It is recommended by Dr. Oz.  I am reviewing the product for my other blog.  I am also trying to get back into Turbo Fire.  I strayed from the program about a month ago.  I think I've been doing Turbo Fire for so long.  I am trying to stay motivated.  During the last month, I changed up my routine and rotated between pilates, yoga and Turbo Jam.  There's a new workout program coming out in mid-December but I think I'll wait to see what others are saying about it once it's out. 

Back to Turbo Fire

I am now on Week 2 of Turbo Fire.  In the weeks before, I was doing Turbo Jam to get my body and endurance up for Turbo Fire.  I took the summer off from Turbo Fire since the workout schedule is so intense and Kyle was home from school.  During the summer, I was focusing on pilates and yoga.  Now that Kyle is back in school, I wanted to get back into Turbo Fire. 

So far, I am staying on track and my body isn't that sore the next day.  I can feel my muscles getting strong faster this time around on the schedule. 

Feeling better

I woke up this morning feeling much better. I still have a cough but I'm feeling better than this weekend. This morning, I had the urge to do yoga since I wasn't able to workout all weekend. I did 20 minutes of yoga!

Kyle woke up soon after I did. I ended up taking him for a walk to Walgreens.

We went to Walmart this evening because we were out of food! Our shelves and refrigerator were pretty much empty.

This evening, I did 20 minutes of Pilates!

Old Shows and Pilates

Since we now have Netflix, we are taking full advantage of it.  I found a handful of pilates workout videos that I plan on using. 

I found a few shows that I saved to watch.  I started one series that I am watching from the very beginning.  I didn't really watch it when it was on the air, I am enjoying watching it now and seeing actors that I know from other shows in the present. 

One week of overlap

This week I have two classes that are overlapping.  I started a new class today (Tuesday) but I am on my last week of my current class!  It's a little stressful as I am trying to juggle the school work and making sure I don't miss a deadline!  My current class is pretty much done.  I have a few discussion posts to post and respond to and then I have to turn in my final paper (which is done). 

I've been keeping up with my workouts and doing pretty well!  I am proud of myself for sticking with the schedule.  I am trying to get into better shape since I want to take Kyle to our apartment complex pool this summer!  Kyle loves the water.  He loves taking a bath and I am pretty sure he would love the pool.  Although, I am going to have to get in the pool with him.  I may want to get arm floats for him to wear in the water, just in case.  He even loves putting on his swim trunks when he takes a bath. 

This morning, I gathered as much trash as I could.  I wanted to get rid of knick knacks, scraps of paper, old toys and junk that has been piling up.  I hope to do more trash gathering tomorrow.  I have to throw away things when Kyle is away from home, otherwise, he'll want to put everything back! 

We've been talking about canceling cable and switching over to Netflix.  However, I believe we need a special remote to use with the PS3.  We can still use and watch Netflix but having the remote would be much easier.  So we've been stalling on actually ordering Netflix.  I would also love to switch over to Magic Jack to save money on our phone service.  I'll have to discuss it with my husband and see what he thinks. 

Staying ahead

I've been doing good with staying on track with my workouts!  Yesterday I added a pilates workout to my day!  I am going to try to add pilates in the evenings. 

I look forward to the weekdays because Kyle is at school.  It seems it's the best time for me to work on my school work.  This weekend, I started my discussion questions for this week and finished them today.  I also did my reading and completed my quiz!  I got a 9 out of 10! 

I have found that when I stay at least 4 or 5 days ahead of my college schedule, it helps me feel organized and gives me enough time to do my school work.  I am done with everything for next week except my rough draft essay!  Next week, we have to write a rough draft essay and the final is due in a few weeks! 

Essays make me nervous since I haven't really had much practice in over a decade. 

The one thing I do miss about online college is lectures and being around other students and teachers. 

Flu = one week of school

We are pretty sure Kyle has the flu, based on his symptoms. Plus, he's been feeling sick since Sunday! He missed this entire week of school and next week he is off on Spring Break.

Having him home has thrown my schedule off as well. Normally, I would work on my school work while Kyle is at school. I've done the best I can to get my workouts in and do my school work. I did have to skip a few days of exercise because I was feeling so sore!

I also bought some protein powder to make shakes after my workouts. I did a search looking for help with boosting my energy. I looked on Dr. Oz's website and found an article that listed things I could try. So I bought a natural herbal supplement to try. I wanted something to help me get through a long day and be able to do school at night after Kyle has gone to bed.

I just hope I can continue school in the summer when Kyle is home all day.

Getting back on track

I am determined to get back on track. I am starting Turbo Fire after taking about a month off from it. During that time, I was doing Turbo Jam. I quickly realized Turbo Jam doesn't give me the same results as Turbo Fire. I am starting with the PREP schedule, which seemed to work best for me. I started the workout program today and I am not feeling sluggish by the afternoon time. I've been going to bed by 7pm or 8pm. There were days I would take an afternoon nap too.

This time around in the new year

Since I decided to start Turbo Fire again in the new year, I have realized that I can't keep up with the regular schedule.  I have to build up my endurance.  Instead, I started with the Prep schedule.  It seems to be more of my pace and I already know what to expect.  I am not obsessed with sticking with the workout schedule.  If I need an extra rest day, I'm going to take it.