Learning from Jenn

Ok so after reading Jenn's hmwk post after post, I got to thinking. I should really be doing this for myself. I am so good at loosing weight then putting it on (plus some!) So I printed out a picture of someone who is the size that i want to be, someone who is about my height and body build and wearing normal clothes. I was trying to make it more realistic and an easier goal. So, I printed it out and put taped it on our tredmil. Along with the picture, I taped up 2 sayings "Don't give up" and "You can do it". I figure if I look at that while I am running it will keep me motivated.

I also went onto the daily plate and found out that if I eat 1842 calories a day and run everyday I CAN loose 2 lbs a week. Now I put major emphasis on can because we all know everyones body is different and some weeks no matter what we do we dont loose and others we may loose a lot.

My next step it to get a hip hop aerobics dvd or something of the sort, so I can feel like I am back at the church with all my girls! p.s. a prego mj teaching aerobics would be so cute to watch.

So this is my goal, I am starting today. I planned out what I am eating today and how much I am exercising and I have 315 extra calories to eat today! YIPEE. haha

***** before and after pictures will be posted when I can take an after!

Just in need of a little encouragement here...

This week I tried 2 new recipes! Yay for me, right? 2 recipes in less than a week? At least for me, that's something to brag about! Here's the bad part: the food! They were terrible! I followed the directions to a "T", and they even resembled their magazine-picture-perfect counterparts, but they tasted nasty!

When we got out to eat, Joe-Z always likes to get something new. Me, I like to stick to the tried-and-true...and I'm never left disappointed! Joe-Z on the other hand...seems like he's barely ever happy with what he got and says he should've gotten what I did, LOL. This new recipe thing sounds an awful lot like our restaurant problem!

Has anyone else ever experienced this problem? I'm not one for trying new things, so maybe this is more common than I thought...do you have to try a certain number of recipes before you hit on a good one?

Please tell me I'm not the only one, unless I am...

Jenn's HM-Week 16 & other updates

The good first! I ran Monday through Friday this week, making it a grand total of 19 miles ran!! My legs certainly are sore and I decided to take the morning off to let them rest, no joke. I did do a little better on drinking water but need to continue to get back to where I was. As far as the crunches and video, I didn't do them even once! I'll set a certain time this week to see if that helps.

My more specific goals:

Saturday-4:00pm, video and 50 crunches
Monday-6:30am, run 4 miles; 4:00pm crunches
Tuesday-6:30am, run 4 miles; 4:00pm video
Wednesday-6:30am, run 4 miles; 4:00pm crunches
Thursday-6:30am, run 4 miles; 4:00pm video
Friday-6:30am, run 4 miles; 4:00pm crunches

• drink all water
• no fried foods! & overall healthy choices

I have been trying to get Mallorie to recognize the letters of the alphabet. She can recognize A,a,B,b,G,K,k,M,m,O,o,R,r,S,s,X, and x!! She's doing well! It's neat to see her sponge up the information and then when we are in a store or something point at a letter and say "That's a ___!" She's also even understanding how the letters sound! Funny story, we were going through the alphabet with flash cards. We got to "Gg" and after we said "G" mallorie goes "Like Slim Jim!"(yes, she likes Slim Jim's) At first I was like, no Jim begins with a J, but my mom overheard and reminded me that a "Gym" begins with a "G"....Wow!! Mallorie is really getting it!--I couldn't believe it. It's neat to see the transfer of information.

Good luck this week, everyone!

the book

I just posted an excerpt from "The Death of Flora May" on my blog. Please read and comment. Feedback is vital!

Several Things...

Still working on keeping the house clean, it's a struggle with amazing Anjali the mess-maker. Trying to do a little bit everyday.

The novel editing is going well, it's hard to find the time, but I'm getting there. Fai is now reading it as I edit, and giving me some great comments and suggestion. Got a copy of Writer's Market 2009. This weekend Fai is going to start my website. My hope is that soon it will be all ready to start the search for an agent/publisher. Again, trying to do a little everyday. I want to be done editing by mid-Sept.

And now Anjali is sleeping in a big girl bed, I've started a quilt. My big fear is that I'll run out of fabric for it. I want to finish the quilt by the end of September.

Those are my three goals: A cleaner house, the novel finished, and a quilt for Anjali.

Jenn's HM- Week 15

Hello all...if anyone is still out there?! Here are my updates!!:

1. I ran in the morning for 4 mornings!(3 mornings I did the 4 miles, and one I wanted to see how fast I could run a mile...9 and 1/2 mins is not too bad, right?! I honestly don't know)
2. I was not a good water drinker, although I did drink some on top of the sodas instead of solely water...I will work on it.
3. I did crunches and the video once...I will work on that, too.
4. I did try to make better eating choices, but can still greatly improve.

Here are next weeks goals(maybe this format will help me stick to everything better):

• Saturday-do video and crunches since tropical storm Fay has bludgeoned all hopes of going outside today!
• Monday-6:45am, run 4 miles...50 crunches
• Tuesday-6:45am, run 4 miles...strength training video
• Wednesday-6:45am, run 3 miles normal, 1 mile faster...50 crunches
• Thursday-6:45am, run 4 miles...strength training video
• Friday-6:45am, run 3 miles normal, 1 mile faster...50 crunches
• And very important that I eat as healthy as possible and drink plenty of my H2O friend:)

I'm curious as to how everyone is doing. Drop a line...or a post as it may be...when you get a chance. I know how life gets pretty busy sometimes. Just make it a bloggable moment when you can! Have a wonderful week!

Jenn's Health Mania-Week 14

Although the number 13 may be my lucky number, it was not a lucky exercise week if you catch my drift. I did the video twice! But that's the highlight of the update! I ran twice, boo..... It was my birthday this week and the schedule has been just enough awry that I only got to run twice, though I sincerely wanted to every night!! I did crunches once, and drank more sodas than I had been. So, this week has been a good "what I need to improve on" week, sort of an eye-opener.

So, here's what I plan on adjusting: I would like to start solely running in the mornings instead of at night. This way, I am the only one that has to be out there. When I go at night Mallorie tries to stay up and wait for me and doesn't understand why she can't run with me. But....(there's always one)...I just have to get into the habit of getting up really early! Which means I have to go to bed earlier, but it'll actually turn out to be a blessing all around. Exercising in the morning helps the day get started off right. Wish me luck!

Goals for next week:

1. Find my love of water again!


2. Wake up in the mornings & run (aim for 4 times)


3. Alternate between the video and 50 crunches each day


4. Make healthy eating choices

P.S. Where is everyone???!!! I'll be e-mailing soon about the side bar bio, so get your bios and pictures ready!! Thanks y'all!