Damn you, Bob Harper!

Sunday morning I took on The Biggest Loser: Cardio Max DVD and now, 24 hours later, am still feeling the burn. I selected the easiest selection on the DVD too! Most of the workout consisted of lunge type maneuvers so my thighs and hamstrings are killing me! If I keep this up, I will, like Bob says, be able to bounce a quarter off my ass! It's hard not to want to scream at him on the screen, bouncing around, being all cheerful and encouraging. Damn you, Bob Harper and your lunges!

In non-painful news... the healthy eating has been going well. I've been eating lots of fruits, veggies, yogurt, and lean meat. Saturday night I went to Chucky Cheese with the family and didn't partake in the greasy pizza. It was salad bar for me, including spinach with salad! Go me! Last night I baked some chicken and made extra for today's lunch!

Also, I started my LHOTP adventure. I'm almost finished with Little House in the Big Woods. I'm enjoying it so far. I love how each of Pa's stories has a moral to it, more or less. I will say this, I don't remember all of the drawings from the first time I read this series. Garth Williams rocks!

OUCH!

My week of the "new me" has gone well. I alternated pilates and Tae Bo each morning this week. So now that it's Saturday my calves are so tight that I'm hobbling around. I know there is an adjustment period before things will feel good and not painful after working out. I've been trying to eat more protein to help my poor, unsuspecting muscles recover faster. I'm taking today off from the working out. But tomorrow I'm back at it! I bought three new DVDs last night for half price as Barnes and Noble. Billy Blanks kicks my butt, yes, but he's also kicked my butt many, many times over the last ten years and I thought I needed something new to look at and motivate me. With options, I'm more likely to get out of bed in the morning to do this!

And I skimped on the reading last night. My box set is buried in the garage and I ran out of daylight before I could go digging. I will dig it out after work tonight, before I go to Chucky Cheese with my mom and nephew!

Correction!

My LHOTP obsessed friend (she's the one that used the acronym) informed me that in my previous post I have the first book wrong. It's NOT Little House on the Prairie. The first book, which I will start tonight, will be Little House in the Big Woods. My apologies. :-P

Returning to the Little House on the Prairie

I'm not sure why my mother challenged me. Maybe she was disappointed in my school system or irritated that I hadn't used my Christmas present, but one summer she came to me with a challenge. If I could read my entire box set of Little House on the Prairie books, she would buy me a TV for my room. I was 12 or 13 and probably too obsessed with television for my own good. I accepted the challenge and slowly began my adventure with Laura and all the others. It took all summer, but on the last day of freedom, sunshine, and swimming pools, I spent almost the entire day finishing up the last book of the series. I got my TV and continued my television obsession. (As exciting as it was, that it came with the remote was the coolest part! It didn't take much to excite us in the early 1990s!)

Fast forward fifteen years...I'm cleaning out my garage and find one of many boxes from my childhood. Deep in the bottom is my neatly packaged and cared for Little House on the Prairie box set. After a nice flashback to that summer of reading, I tucked the box safely back in storage and continued on my way. I'm no longer as television obsessed, and after completing graduate school am shocked to find that I still have a passion for reading. So a couple of weeks ago I found myself perusing some bestseller lists a few days ago and thinking "What should I read next?"

Well, my mother would be proud of me. I'm going to dig that box set out of my garage and take that journey to the West one more time! I vaguely remember bits and pieces of the books but not many so it should be a fun and enjoyable experience. Do you care to join me? I'll be starting this evening, Book One - Little House on the Prairie. After each, I'll post a review!

A cloudy day in the neighbor.

It's a cloudy and chilled morning in the neighborhood. Brrr. Makes it obvious that fall is quickly approaching. I love fall. LOVE it!!! It's my favorite time of year. And it's going to fly right by. All of my weekends are booked already, and there's not too much fun mixed in. But it's all okay. Why? Because I don't have to go back to school and will squeeze in my fall fun the best that I can. I'm already looking forward to some fall time decorating, baking, and a trip to Harvest Farms for some corn mazing, kettle corn eating, and pumpkin launching!

I completed morning one ... well, half of morning one. I couldn't finish. I was completely sapped of energy about 25 minutes in and my legs felt like 200 pound blocks. I don't even want to know how much I didn't finish. If my recollection is correct, it's about 20 minutes worth. I definitely can't do that everyday so tomorrow morning I'll take Brink for a walk and do pilates. Baby steps.

Damn you, Denise Austin!

My original plan for this morning was to wake-up at 6:00 to do Tae Bo with my old friend Billy Blanks. But I'm still sore all over from, of all things, go-karting. Every muscle is stiff and sore from my attempt to will the go-kart to go faster than it was capable of. When the alarm went off and I moved enough to realize my muscles still hurt, I cursed Billy Blanks and continued to lounge in bed. Tiny nap, wake up, curse, tiny nap, wake up, curse... an hour later I finally crawled out of bed feeling completely guilty that I bailed on my first day of the "new me." I decided that something was better than nothing and proceeded to torture myself with my Denise Austin 1 1 minute pilates dvd. It was painful. And the sad thing is, it was a half-ass attempt. This "new me" is going to take more work than I hoped for. I knew that, of course. After all, I've been down this road before.

Anywho, tonight is walking. Then tomorrow I'll take on Blanks. (maybe)

Romance awaits??

About a year and half ago I was searching Estes Park lodging for a place for Radio Man and I to go and I found the Della Terra resort. At the time it was still under construction. They had just broken ground on it. I visited the site every couple months to see the progress - they posted photos and videos of the build. Well, it's finally open!! And I want to go! Each room has a fireplace that opens to the bedroom and the bathroom. Very interesting themes for each room too. Very different! And romantic!