Two days in a row...

Forgot to post yesterday.  I was melting.
Is it possible to be allergic to exercise?
My symptoms include redness of the face, sweating, sore muscles, labored breathing, etc.
If only I was allergic to junk food, my problems would be solved ;)

Yesterdays stats are:

2.08 miles
31:08 minutes

I walked most of it, and maybe ran 1/3 of a mile on the 2nd mile.

Call me "slacker"...

August 16th...another month has almost come and gone since I last worked out.
Today, the temps were perfect.  Mid 80's, low humidity, and a breeze.
Did I mention it's August?  That's practically unheard of here.  Normally we don't see temps this low until middle of October!

2.11 miles
30 minutes 56 seconds

I walked most of it, and ran .33 of it.
I was red in the face, hot, sweaty, and out of breath.
Talk about out of shape!

Thursday

Walked 2.08 miles.

Humid and hot, but I did it.
If I can just keep this up, I'll be doing great.
At least 3 times a week.

Walking in the rain

Low 70's all day and rainy...drought releif.  Perfection in the middle of July when it's normally
unbearably hot and humid and no rain in sight.

So, in celebration of this beautiful rainy day, tonight the hubby and I went out and walked.

1.59 miles
25 minutes
189 calories

Walking is all I could muster, but it felt so good getting outside today.
I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow since it's been ages, but that's okay.
Now I just need to keep it up and try to do this a few times a week until
the temps cool down enough for me to go out everyday.

Ugh.

Good news first.  Puppies have found their forever homes!  Yay!

Bad news.
I've fallen off the workout wagon.  Big time.
Can't remember the last time I exercised.
Though I'm sure I blogged about it, so it's been a month at least?  2 months?
Reason why?  Every excuse in the book, but mostly because it's HOT outside.
When it's 100 degrees out, heck even 90, it's miserable.

That is all.
Just a quick update.
Feeling like a bum, but it's just too hot to do anything about it.

Frustration...

Feeling frustrated and overwhelmed.

I went from a house with 0 dogs to 2, in the blink of an eye.

My allergies are raging, the kiddo is constantly scratching at her eyes and skin too thanks

to being allergic, and I'm running out of allergy pills!

Then there is the issue that my family has fallen in love with these dogs, and the longer they stay,

the harder it'll be to let go.

They tug at my heart strings, I want what's best for them, but I don't want them 

here with us.  

I need them to find good homes, where they'll be loved and taken care of.

What a face!

Look.at.this.FACE!  

Still no luck in finding his owners :(

Found, two wandering pups...

So today was quite eventful.

Between the kids being in VBS this week and a birthday party at a local splash park, the hubster found two wandering pups along a road near his work, out in the boonies.

Being the good guy that he is, he lured the dogs off the busy road and immediately tried to figure out who they belong to.  Sadly no tags were on either of the pups, though one was wearing a collar.

Finally, the decision, after a long day, was made to bring them back to our house where both very dirty pups received baths and flea treatments.

Meet, "Max"

The kids of course are on cloud nine with our 2 visitors, and I'm hoping and praying they don't get too attached.  Ava is actually allergic to dogs, as am I.  Not a good thing in this situation, you know?

So tomorrow the dogs are being taken to the vet for rabies shots, flea baths and grooming.

We've posted on facebook about these two, a "found" add on Craigslist, as well as one for the city the two were found in.

My gut tells me these two were dumped by someone.  They are malnourished and the big guy is extremely matted.  They look like they haven't been cared for in months.  Sad really.

And here's, "Ruby"

In the meantime, pups are sleeping outside in the backyard, right up against the back door.  The little one, is whimpering, and it's just so sad.  They both want in soooo badly, but I just can't risk letting them in if they've got critters coming in with them :/  Fingers crossed their families are out there looking for them and they'll be reunited soon!

Friday's Fitness!

It's been in the upper 90's here the last few days, and that means running outside
is completely out of the question.  Normally, when the temps get that high I stick to working
out on the Wii Fit, or swimming.  Swimming is by far my favorite thing to do, but I won't do it if the water is too cold, and when I say too cold I mean anything under 86 degrees is a no way.  My kiddos on the other hand will jump into the pool when it's barely 70 degrees.  Brrr, makes me shiver just thinking about it.  

We're really lucky to have a gorgeous tree that shades a huge part of our pool
during the morning and early afternoon.  It allows the kids to be out there multiple times throughout the day without me having to worry about them getting sunburned.  When I'm not swimming with them I'm watching them from under the little fabric gazebo we have set up in the back, with feet propped up on a chair, and a glass of ice cold water, or coffee if it's really early, on the table.  Really it makes for such awesome mornings!

Today however, was the first time it was warm enough for me, so instead of doing my workout on the Wii, I got in the pool :D

20 laps in the pool
Various other exercises for 20 minutes
2 hours of playing in the pool with the kids.

My muscles are sore, especially from jumping up and down with a 50+ kid on my back, but it
was worth hearing every giggle.  I'm not sure how many calories I burned, or if it was a good enough workout, but it doesn't matter.  Today was about getting in the pool and having fun with the kiddos!

Shorts for summer...for mom :D

Finding age appropriate shorts to wear is quite the challenge.
I mean, I'm no longer 20, right?  ;)

3" inseam shorts?  Um, yeah, that's a big fat no.  Not for this 5'10" frame.
Bermudas?  Mmmmm, not my style, though definitely appropriate.
Capris?  It's just too hot!

So, I've managed to find a compromise.
4" shorts are a little short but they don't look too too short.
5" shorts are even better, thank you tall sizes!

I'm especially loving the fun patterns at Gap this year!
It's the first time in several years that I've shopped at Gap.
I've found them to be very hit or miss with their clothing and most of it doesn't
work well on me, but I've had some luck this year.

Two years ago I wouldn't have been caught in a pair of shorts like this.  I'm just beyond happy that
I've come this far in my weight loss to be able to wear them.  Yay for fun summer shorts!

Gap shorts (5"), Gap Outlet shirt (both this season)

Easing back into working out.

It's been 3.5 weeks. 

Almost an entire MONTH since my last work out.

Ugh.

Feeling unhealthy and out of shape.

So today, I got off my rump and did a fairly easy, low impact workout to ease myself back into things.

Wii Fit Free Step with riser (LOVE this thing)

20 minutes

1988 steps

5 minutes of yoga

The Sun Salutation is a favorite of mine!

So there it is.  25 minutes.  It's a start.

Can't seem to get back into the groove

I was doing SO well.  Exercising everyday, eating right, drinking lots of water, and then...it got hot, Ava got sick, we traveled out of town, the list goes on and on.  

Even this morning, when I actually had the time to get a workout in, I chose to take a morning nap.

And now, I'm sitting here, on the couch, killing some time before I have to go to a parent/teacher conference for the kiddo.  

See?  Sitting!

Why's it SO hard to get back into the routine once it's been interrupted?  Ugh.  Feeling super guilty about it, and yet, I'm not making any changes toward fixing it.

Dresses

Oh how I love to wear dresses, much more so than a pair of shorts or jeans.

Even more now that the fit and flare style is in style and more readily available in stores.

I love the bright colors, the patterns, the way I feel in them.  So feminine.

But there IS something I don't love, and that's the fact that so many dresses are sleeveless, or worse, on such a thin strap that wearing a regular bra underneath them is out of the question.  So far my solution has been to wear a cardigan over these dresses, but let's face it, it's almost summer time and it's getting HOT.  Truthfully, it's been hot here for a couple of weeks, hot enough that wearing a cardi looks silly.

My outfit to a Birthday breakfast yesterday.
I was melting it was so warm, but I dared not take the cardi off.

So here I sit, pondering, what's a girl supposed to do?  Where do you guys shop for dresses that actually have a sleeve on them? 

When it rains it pours...

Didn't work out Friday, Saturday, or today.
A million reasons why, and I won't bore you with most of them, but
the biggest reason is that my littlest is sick with pneumonia.  3 days of fever for baby girl and no sleep for this mom, makes for a tough weekend.  Crossing fingers the rest of this week will be MUCH better.

Blech, humidity is NOT my friend

I did it!
A one week hiatus from working out and today I got back to it.
But oh my heck, it was ROUGH!

80 degrees out with 80% humidity.

YUCK!

I'm dreading what summer is going to bring, especially when we start seeing those 100+ degree days.
Oh my.

Here are today's stats:

Distance:  2.47 miles
Time:  37 minutes 23 seconds

According to RunKeeper I burned 303 calories.

Oh did I mention that I looooove RunKeeper?
Such a cool app. Not only does it tell me my average time, distance, calories, but it also maps out my route.  So cool!

Evening workout

31 minutes
2.08 miles

Walked the first mile, and it was slow, but ran most of the 2nd one.
The scale isn't showing any progress, but my clothes are starting to fit differently which is super exciting.  It's slow progress, but it's progress!  Yay!

Hair-tastic Thursday!

I love getting my hair done, and I hate it too :). I don't love sitting in a chair for 2 hours, driving the 30 minutes there and back, or the expense, but I do love the way I feel when it's all done.  There's something about bright color, no grays, and a fresh cut that does something for my mood.  

Instead of sitting in a chair bored while I wait for the color to set in I do what every rational woman would do.  I take "selfies".  I always feel like I have leftovers from a fancy restaurant on my head while its getting done and can't help but giggle at how I look.  I will usually make a funny face with all that foil on my head and message my husband with it, but I thought I would spare you that agony, hee hee.  

So there it is.  Rather than going with more blonde, I went back to my more natural brown with blonde highlights.  It helps keep me from looking too washed out, and it looks a lot nicer when my roots start showing.  I'm lucky to have found a stylist that listens to what I want, and does a beautiful job each time.  I started going to her 3 years ago this month, that all started with a horrible at home dye job.  Thankfully, she was able to fix my huge mistake all those years ago and each time I go to her I love my cut and color :).

   

Wacky Workout Wednesday!

Today was "Walk to School Day", so Christian and Ava were up before their alarm clocks had a chance to ring, which of course meant Ava trying to wake us up, and Christian telling her to leave us alone, because we still had time to sleep.  Of course as sweet as Christian's plan was, it didn't work :)  The excitement of walking to school with all of their friends from the neighborhood was just too exciting apparently, and noisy too ;).

Today, also happens to be an "early release" day, meaning the elementary kids get out of school at noon.  My kiddos love early release days, but for me, they always feel so discombobulated, not enough time to really get anything done.  Anyway, because of the noon dismissal I decided that I would walk with the kids to school today and then go ahead and get my workout in.  I was pleasantly surprised to see so many neighborhood kids AND parents walking with their kids and teachers, talking, and laughing, that it made for a really nice morning.  I think we'll be participating in more of these "walk to school" days from now on.  I walked with the kids up to the door of the school, said my goodbye's, barely got a wave from them, definitely no glance back at me, and off they went into the school.  I took that cue, and headed out for my walk, feeling slightly miffed that my kids obviously don't need me as much as I thought :/  

Today's stats:

2 miles ( plus a 1/2 mile with the kids, at a semi brisk pace, but not included in time)

30 minutes

Terrific Tuesday!

Gorgeous morning for a walk!

31:08 minutes

2.14 miles

I'm definitely improving on my time, thanks to adding in running this week.  I was able to run more today than yesterday, so yay!

New shoes...more fitness

33:03 minutes

2.26 miles

Calories burned: 297

Oh the joy of new shoes :)

Playing with color.

I've been pulling away from a matchy matchy look with my wardrobe and instead playing with color. I'm not sure I'm always successful, but it's fun trying. Here's today's outfit for running errands in. What do you think? Hit or miss?

Marvelous Monday

I'm such a slacker!
Completely forgot to update Friday's stats, but maybe it's because I didn't do ANYTHING!
Ugh. Such a slacker!

The weekend blew by, and I'm not sure how it's possible it went by so quickly.
Saturday I took Ava to my mom's house to play with my niece who had come over while Aimee and I, along with a friend, drove out to an outlet mall and spent the day roaming and of course shopping (but not too much).  I wore THE cutest pair of converse that day, and they were new, so suffice it to say after 4+ hours of walking around my feet hurt like crazy.  But seriously, SO cute!

Getting ready to go to Babcia's house!

Then on Sunday, I decided I wasn't doing anything, but that backfired because I was going stir crazy.
I decided a 2 mile walk/run (first time to run outside by the way!) would take care of the stir craziness :D  I walked most of the time, but ran the last .3 and would have run more but wow, it's hard running outside compared to running in place at home.  My goal now is to get outside a couple of times a week and bump the running up a little each time.  I'd like to be able to run the entire 2 miles by the months end, but we'll see.  Grand plans, you know?  :D

Take it Easy Thursday

Wii Fit free run- 25 minutes 

50 crunches with 5lb ball

No Workout Wednesday

Spent the day running errands and looking for something cute to wear to a concert that's coming up. Found something I think will work, but I'm not 100% sure just yet.  I'm still looking for the perfect fun accessories to go with it.

So, with that said, I didn't work out today.  Do I feel bad?  Yes.  Am I exhausted from being out all day?  Absolutely!  Tomorrow, as soon as the kids are off to school, I'll be back to working out.

Terrific Tuesday

There's no better way to start the day than with a morning nap, breakfast with the hubby,  and then the 2 of us going for a brisk 3.06 mile walk!  I'm beat, but rejuvenated.  Ready to take on the day and it's challenges.  Happy Tuesday folks!

Monday moves

A quick workout today.

Wii Free Run- 30 minutes
60 crunches with a 5lb ball

Now back to washing the mountains of laundry that have somehow appeared over the weekend :D

I love weekends :)

Friday evening we attended our elementary schools carnival, the two oldest kids volunteered to work the ring toss, and the two youngest had the best time running around like crazy little monkey's.  The bounce houses were the biggest hit, even with the big kids after they were done with their shifts.  I love that they are still kids at heart.

Saturday we spent the day hanging out at home in the morning, running a couple of errands that afternoon, and finally that evening was DATE NIGHT!  Have I ever mentioned how much I love love love date night?  We went out, had melt in your mouth steaks, "smashed" potatoes,  with the most delish sauteed spinach and mushrooms on the side.  After dinner we met up with 2 other couples, talked and laughed until we all realized it was almost midnight and we all had kids to get home to, lol.  The night was definitely a success and I can't wait to do it again...soon.

Today brought sleeping in, coffee and kolache's for breakfast, and finally a 3 mile, 45 minute, walk with the hubby.  I'm completely tired and sore, but a good tired and sore.  Oh and NO ankle pain :D  Yay!  

Now off to watch some "Good Luck Charlie" with the kids!  Happy Weekend!

Friday Fitness

Wii stats:

Free Run- 30 minutes
Crunches- 60 with 5lb ball

Now time to get ready for the day, get some grocery shopping done, and then let the weekend begin!
See y'all Monday!

Where did the day go?

Busy day...by the time I sat down it was after 8pm and I just didn't have the energy to get a workout in.  Tomorrow, I'm back to it!

Wednesday Workout

I rested my ankle all day yesterday, and I'm happy to say that I was able to workout today!  WOOOHOO!  It's a little sore today, BUT nothing like yesterday or the day before, so I'll take it.

Wii stats:

Free Run- 30 minutes
Free Step- 10 minutes, 988 steps
50 crunches with 5lb ball

Aching ankle...

Argh!  Woke up this morning to an ankle that just doesn't feel right.
I'm experiencing pain from just walking, but I think I now know why.
Last week, I stepped on one of the kids toys and I felt a sharp pain in my ankle but didn't think anything of it.  Of course that was on Friday.  Since I didn't work out on Saturday or Sunday I didn't notice anything unusual.  Yesterday's workout must have triggered something because today it hurts all the time.  I'm not sure if I should rest it more, or if it's just something I have to get past.  Decisions, decisions...

One look is all it took...

Have you ever left the house feeling "put together" and cute?
And have you ever walked by two people, that you know in passing, that were obviously talking about you and making faces as you're feeling cute?
Did it just suck the wind out of your sail?
That was me today.
I allowed the "catty" behavior of two women, that I barely know, to make me feel self conscious and insecure.
It's so hard to get past our own insecurities as it is.  We don't need fellow women tearing us down through glances or stares, nor words.


Now, onto happier news, today's Wii stats:

Free step with riser- 20 minutes, 1988 steps
60 crunches

Unfortunately, I had to stop early.  About 4 minutes into my free run my left ankle started to throb and it hurt to put pressure on it.  So resting it up tonight and will see what happens tomorrow.

Fitness Friday

Wii Fit stats:

Yoga stretches- 8 minutes
Free Step w/riser- 20 minutes
Free Run- 10 minutes

Phew!  Talk about tired!

Terrific Thursday

Got to spend the day hanging out with a friend and her sweet kids today at the mall.  We walked and talked for over 3 hours and when we both had to head home, I wasn't ready for the fun to end :)  Oh well, I needed to get home and get a workout out in before getting the kids, and so I did.  Now my legs feel like jello, and my abs want to know why they've been awakened from their happy slumber :)

Todays exercise:

Wii Free Run- 30 minutes
Crunches- 40

Style inspiration

One of these days I'm actually going to get it together, take photos, and link up.  Love seeing all of the different posts and styles that people are wearing.  Great inspiration.                                                              

What I Wore Wednesday

How about you?  Are you linking up to The Pleated Poppy?

Workout Wednesday

Wii Totals:


Free Step (with riser)- 10 minutes
Yoga- 8 minutes
Free Run- 25 minutes (ugh, wanted more but just too tired)

I'm not sure if I'll try and do more later or not, but for now I need a break.
Happy Wednesday!

Wait...it's Tuesday already?

Yesterday was a day full of cleaning and I counted it as my workout.  Several hours of constant motion around the house counts, right?

Then this morning crept up on me, and I let it slide into afternoon.  My lazy side was staging a hostile take over, but it didn't win.  I got on the Wii.  So there lazy side!

Totals:

Wii step (with platform)- 13 minutes
Wii run- 10 minutes

Oh, and let me tell you, the Wii platform.  Game changer.  You snap the three pieces together, place your Wii Fit balance board on it and go.  Definitely worth the $20!

Platform for Wii Balance Board

I should have done more, but carpool duty calls so it's time to start picking up kids, working on dinner, and helping with homework.  Fun stuff.

Dried Mangos...mmmmm

I think I'm in love!  No seriously.  So good I could eat the entire bag full in one sitting.

6 pieces, 130 calories.  The perfect snack to shut that sweet tooth up with :)

There are approximately 3 servings per bag, and they make a great snack to throw in the purse for those times I'm out and need a little pick me up.  

Taking the weekend off...

No Wii fit today, I'm taking a break.  Actually, no Wii fit tomorrow either.

Have a great weekend!

Girls Night...what to wear???

I love girls night out!  It's a chance to cut loose a bit, no kids, no husbands, dressing up, and hanging out gabbing about all sorts of nonsense :)  

So yesterday, while the family was at work and school, I was rummaging through my closet, trying to find the perfect outfit for girls night and it dawned on me that I didn't have a jacket that would work for this beautiful spring-ish weather we've been having.  It's the plus side to losing weight, new clothes, but also a major downside for my wallet, ha.  

With just an hour before I had to pick the kids up from school, I jumped into the car and headed to Target where I didn't actually find a jacket, but did find a really cute tank with polka dots and ruffles on it.   Luckily or maybe unluckily, as my wallet groaned, there was a Kohls on my way to the school so I made a quick stop.  I was in and out of there in less than 15 minutes, but came out with the cutest gray 3/4 sleeve blazer AND it was on sale, AND I had a 20% off coupon, so my wallet wasn't groaning as loudly.

I had it all planned.  I'd wear the gray blazer, jeans...and?  Ugh.  What to choose?   Then Aimee came home from school and took the decisions away.   No arguing.  Suffice it to say she got her way, and I'm glad I listened.  I wore this with a pair of jeans and yellow B.O.C flats:

Girls night out, was a ton of fun.  It was nice to reconnect with a friend I hadn't seen in person for close to 6 months (busy lives), a little bit of retail therapy (mostly my friend, lol) and Sushi for dinner, topped off with a blueberry mojito made for an excellent night out!

Always.Hungry.

Is it just me or is this what happens when you work out?  I'm always hungry and my scale is starting to show it.  The more I work out, the more I want to eat.  It's crazy.


Today's Wii Fit activity:

Super Hula-3 minutes
Yoga- 5 minutes
Run- 30 minutes

I'm full of energy and ready to tackle the mountain of laundry that has built up in my bathroom :/

Back to blogging...

It's been a while since I've blogged, maybe 2 years?  I felt this silly pressure to post things and realized I was forcing myself to sit down and blog, only to not have anything to say.  I had it in my mind that it had to be something profound, funny, witty, etc. but frankly somedays, the most I could muster was, wow, I'm tired.  So I took a break.  I'm not sure how long this venture back into blogging is going to last but that's ok.  No pressure this time around.

So with all of that said...I'm Domi, short for Dominika.  I'm a wife and mother, and this year for the first time in 15 years, I'm home alone.  All 4 kids are in school now, the hubby at work, and then there's me, holding down the fort :)  As you can tell by the title of my blog, I'm in a laundry daze most days.  I mean how could I not be with 6 people in this house, right?

Okay, so now that I've sort of reintroduced myself back into the blog world let me get down to why I wanted to start writing again.  I'm on a journey...a weight loss journey that is.  Two years ago I looked in the mirror and realized that I had allowed myself to become obese.  Yes, obese.  I wasn't just over weight anymore.  I never payed any attention to the fact that my pants weren't fitting like they used to, or that when I would look at clothing I had to go up a size each time, and then I just stopped shopping.  I would get discouraged, not shop, and became a frumpy housewife.  My attitude was terrible, I was grumpy, and I hate to say it, but just mean sometimes.  I hated who I was but didn't care enough to change anything, and that's when it all changed.  Two years ago this summer, I finally woke up and knew I couldn't keep going down that miserable path.

So in those two years, I've been slowly working on becoming healthier, and when I say slowly, I mean snails pace.  I started with just counting calories and then walking every once in a while.  The weight was starting to come off and I couldn't wait for results.  When I didn't "see" the results I became discouraged and gave up a bit.  I was still counting calories, but only occasionally, and not gaining so I figured win win right?  Wrong!  Do you know what happens when you STOP exercising?  Oh dear.  That was quite the rude awakening, lol.

In February of this year, I finally decided it was time to make a real effort, and a real change.  Oh, did I mention I absolutely HATE going to gyms to workout?  No?  Well, yeah...it's the whole thing about being self aware.  Anyway, in February I pulled out the Wii, popped in the Wii Fit disk, and did a whopping 10 minute workout!  Oy.  The good news is that everyday I added a little more time and by March I was doing the 20 minute run with 10 minutes of free step and some yoga.  I was feeling great, and was starting to see actual changes in my shape.  That's when spring break happened.   See where this is going?  Suffice it to say, 29 days later, according to the Wii, I started back to working out.  I'm on day 7 right now, and did a 30 minute run.  My calves are killing me and I can barely walk, but I absolutely LOVE it.  The biggest shock for me is that I look forward to my daily workouts and when I miss a day I'm honestly disappointed.  So weird!

Ok, ok, ok.  Sorry, I got a bit long winded there :)
With all of that said, I'm ready for a change and hopefully by blogging about this it'll keep me accountable.  No, I'm not going to tell you my weight, or what size clothing I'm in, but maybe just writing down what's going on, how much I'm doing, it'll keep me motivated.  Oh and no, I won't be blogging ONLY about my weight loss/gain because that wouldn't be any fun :)

Thanks for reading this novel!