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Friday, April 29, 2016

No workout - Getting Ready for my Trip

Good morning! Sorry to say I didn't workout this morning, because I was busy getting ready for my trip to Boone this weekend. I did weigh myself, and I'm up to 124 now - I gained another 2 pounds this week, but I'm hoping that some of it is muscle.

In other news, I'm really looking forward to our trip this weekend - it will be nice to be somewhere I've never been before. I hope everyone has a great weekend, I'll try to remember to post pictures if I can.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Chest and Back and a Kickboxing Abs Workout

Good morning! This morning I did Chest and Back, since I didn't do that on Tuesday. I still need to figure out ways to make some of the push-up exercises easier, and how to have good form on others, like standard push ups and military push ups. After that, because I was running short on time, instead of doing Ab Ripper X I did this short ab workout that's on a kickboxing DVD I have - it's not as intense as Ab Ripper X, but at least it's something.

I'm at work right now, and things appear to be back to normal - all the technical problems we had because of problems with some of the databases we use to pull information have been resolved, and the interviews I had in pending on Tuesday have been closed out, so I'm looking forward to today hopefully being a low-stress (or better yet, stress-free) day. Hope everyone has a great day!

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Plyometrics and Two Days Until my Birthday Trip

Good morning! I'm having a good morning so far, this morning's workout was Plyometrics - I enjoy that workout, although I usually can only do the first 5 sections of it - by the time I get to the last section I'm too worn out. I like it because although it starts out kind of boring, it gets kind of fun towards the end - I like the exercises like Mary Catherine lunges, gap jumps and leapfrog squats.

Only two days until I go to Boone for my birthday - I'm looking forward to it, it should be a fun trip. Hope everyone has a great day!

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Shoulders and Arms

Good morning! This morning's workout was Shoulders and Arms - should have done Ab Ripper X too, but I got busy doing something else and didn't start my workout until later.

Feeling better after having my temporary crown put in - most of the pain I had yesterday (which wasn't very much) is gone now. I'm trying to "baby" it a little so it doesn't come out before I have my permanent crown put in on May 16.

Hoping that today is a busy, but not too crazy, day at work. Hope everyone has a great day!

Monday, April 25, 2016

My Temporary Crown

Well after a whole lot of drilling by my dentist, and a whole lot of squirting water and air by my hygienist, my temporary crown is in. I was surprised that it took them longer to put the temporary crown in than it did for the other dentist to do the root canal - but it's in and I don't have to go back until May 16 - that's when I made the appointment for to get my permanent crown. Until then I just have to watch what I eat on the left side of my mouth. I'll sure be glad when all of this is over.

In case you're interested, here's a picture of what I look like with my temporary crown in:]


Can't even really tell which one it is in this picture, but I can tell you it's on the bottom left. 

That's it for me, back to my normal posts tomorrow. Everyone have a great evening! 

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Legs and Back and Ab Ripper X, My Plans for the Week, and Deadpool

Good morning! This morning's workout was Legs and Back and Ab Ripper X - I think I need to find ways to make some of the leg exercises more challenging - I may try adding light weights to the wall squats (the ones that use both legs, not the single-leg ones).

I'm looking forward to this coming week - tomorrow I get my temporary crown, so I should be able to go back to eating everything without having to worry about my temporary filling possibly coming out, and on Friday after work Kevin and I are going to Boone, NC for the weekend to celebrate my birthday. Since we're going away for the weekend, I'm not sure what my workout schedule is going to be like, I'll post it later once I figure it out.

Yesterday Kevin and I went to the movies to see Deadpool - it was  a great movie. I won't spoil it, except to say that it ends the way you'd expect most "superhero" type movies to end. Still, it was a good movie, and it's definitely worth seeing.

That's it for now, I hope everyone has a great week!


Saturday, April 23, 2016

Kenpo Cardio

Good morning! This morning I did Kenpo Cardio as my workout instead of Legs and Back, because I ended up oversleeping and didn't have enough time to do Legs and Back - I actually suppose I could have done it, but I would have had to have my husband put my chin-up bar up. I did use my heart rate monitor though for this workout - I rarely use it because I have a hard time getting a reading with it. I used it today though, and just used a little heart rate monitor gel on the contacts, and it seemed to work well. This is what the graph looks like from my workout:



Today I plan to work on some stuff a little bit, then Kevin and I may go to the movies later. Hope everyone has a great Saturday!

Friday, April 22, 2016

X Stretch and My Plans for the Weekend

Good morning - got on the scale this morning and found I'd gained  half a pound - not worried about that though. This morning's workout was X Stretch, which felt great to do after all the strength workouts I've been doing.

Not sure what I'll do this weekend - I do have some freelance work to finish up, other than that I have no plans. I hope everyone has a great Friday and a great weekend!

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Shoulders and Arms and Ab Ripper X

Good morning! This morning's workout was Shoulders and Arms and Ab Ripper X - I'm amazed at how much stronger my shoulders are getting - today I was able to do seated two-angle shoulder flies with 8 pound weights, as well as in and out straight arm shoulder flies, and I know I could increase my weight on some of the biceps and triceps exercises I do - I'm already at 8 pounds on those. Tomorrow's workout will be X Stretch - hope everyone has a great day!

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Plyometrics

Good morning! This morning's workout was Plyometrics, which I worked up a good sweat with, as usual. I love that workout because I get a good cardio workout from it, and it's really kind of fun (to me anyway) once I get past the first two sections. I usually don't do the last section because I'm usually pretty exhausted once I get to it. Tomorrow's workout will be Shoulders and Arms. Hope everyone has a great day!

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Chest and Back and Ab Ripper X and Feeling Better After My Root Canal

Good morning - this morning I woke up feeling great. I did have some mild discomfort after my root canal yesterday, but nothing that I needed to take pain medication for. But now even that mild discomfort is gone. I just need to remember to not eat anything hard or sticky on the left side of my mouth until I get my permanent crown, or whatever the dentist is going to put in. I'll go see my dentist about that this coming Monday, April 25.

This morning was Chest and Back and Ab Ripper X - had a great workout as  usual, but I need to find out what the difference is between standard and military push-ups so I can make sure I'm doing each type right. Tomorrow's workout I believe is Plyometrics. That's it for me, hope everyone has a great day!

Monday, April 18, 2016

A Better Vision Board

Here is a vision board I made using Jack Canfield's Vision Board mobile app - it's a better representation of my long-term goals:


Workout schedule for this coming week

Good morning! Here is my workout schedule for this coming week:

Tuesday - Chest and Back/Ab Ripper X
Wednesday - Plyometrics
Thursday - Shoulders and Arms/Ab Ripper X
Friday - X Stretch
Saturday - Legs and Back/Ab Ripper X
Sunday - Kenpo X

My numbness is gone now, and so far I don't have any pain. I just have to be careful what I eat on left side of my mouth until I can get in and have a new filling put in, or whatever the dentist wants to do.

My Root Canal

I got back from my root canal a little bit ago, and I'm glad to say it went well - it was much shorter than I expected, actually. They started by having me sign a consent form, then they had me put safety glasses on over my regular glasses.  Then they put a rubber "dam" (a thin rubber sheet) over my mouth so they cold keep the area clean while they worked. They also Novocained me (of course) - whenever dentists give me Novocaine (which isn't often, luckily) I can't help but think of Bill Cosby's "Dentist" routine from "Bill Cosby, Himself" - it's so true what he says, when dentists give you a shot they always hold it in there way longer than when a doctor gives you a shot. (For those of you who aren't familiar with Bill Cosby's "dentist" routine I'll put the YouTube video in this post).  Other than that, it was basically a lot of drilling, and they also sat me upright a few times to take x-rays - other than that they had the chair reclined pretty much completely flat. Once everything was done and they put int he temporary filling, I was good to go. Once the Novocaine wears off, I'll have to call my regular dentist to make an appointment to have a permanent filling or crown put on, whatever they want to do.

For you viewing pleasure, here's Bill Cosby's dentist routine:

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Another Vision Collage

I updated the "Why I Work" vision collage with captions for the photos:


And I also created a vision collage for my  long-term goals:



The captions on this one will be hard to see, but my long-term goals are to reduce my hours at Apptical, which I'll consider doing once I'm getting more steady income from other sources, like writing and transcription. I also want to buy a house, and eventually get back to playing piano - that one is last though because the first two are the most important to me right now. 




My Vision Collages

I've finished a few of my vision collages, so I thought I'd share them...

This first one is the reasons why I work:


The piggy bank in the upper left corning represents the money I make from my sources of income, the second picture represents paying bills, the piggy bank in the lower left corner represents saving for retirement, and the picture in the lower right represents taking vacations. This was the first one I did - I probably need to re-do it because I didn't get to put any text on it - I used the Pic Monkey website to create these images, and I kept having problems with it because I would hit backspace and end up backing right out of the image, so I would have to start all over again. 


This one should be a bit easier to understand - I was able to add text to this one without any problems. This one I actually printed out two copies of - one to put on my wall above my TV, and another to put tape inside the door of the closet I open to get my workout shoes and weights out of. 

I think I'm going to go back now and re-do the first one - I'll share it once it's done. 


Legs and Back and Ab Ripper X - New Personal Best for Chin-Ups/Pull-Ups!

Good morning everyone! This morning's workout was Legs and Back and Ab Ripper X - I'm excited to say I achieved a new personal best for chin-ups and pull-ups - I was able to do four each of reverse grip chin-ups, close grip overhand pull-ups, and wide front pull-ups - before all I could do was three.

I also came up with a great idea for motivating myself to reach all my goals - not just my workout goals, but other goals that I'm working towards, too - I'm going to create vision boards for each goal I'm working towards, and put them in places where I'll see them every day. I'll put my workout/health vision board on a wall in my workout area - I may even put one on the inside of the door of the closet I keep my dumbbells in. My work vision board I'll tape up next to my computer. Once I've got them done and up, I'll be sure to post pictures of them. Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Figuring things out

Ok, so I'm starting to try and figure out how I really want to spend the rest of my working years. I read through a PDF from Tony Jeary called "The Productivity Blueprint" - the first thing he suggests you do is come up with your dream salary - my dream salary would be probably around $50,000 a year - but right now I think I'll start with getting my salary up to about $30,000 - that's a little more doable for me. That means I'd have to make $15 an hour if I'm working 40 hours a week. I'm currently earning around $11 an hour working 40 hours a week, but of course out of the 40 hours a week that I'm working, I'm really only on the phone for my job about 27 to 30 hours of the time, if I'm lucky. That's probably a good thing, if I was on the phone any longer than that I'd probably go nuts. But still, I need to figure out ways to make more money, whether it's through my job or through other sources of income. I still plan to work on the other sources of income, but in the meantime I'm also going to work on making more money at my job. The easiest way for me to do that would be for me to make outbound calls when they're available. I could also (and probably should) get back to doing audits when we're slow. I'm going to use this coming week to try and figure things out.

Les Mills Combat Power Kata

Good morning! Decided to do Les Mills Combat Power Kata this morning - felt great to do that workout because I haven't done it in a while. After that showered and got dressed, then Kevin and I went out for breakfast - of course I ate way too much of the things I shouldn't be eating, but I'm not worried about it - I'll make up for it the rest of the week. Not sure what I'll do the rest of the day, will probably spend part of it working on some personal projects and part of it relaxing with Kevin. Hope everyone has a great Saturday!

Friday, April 15, 2016

Pilates, Lost a Pound and My Plans for This Weekend

Good morning! I'm pleased to say that after gaining for the past few weeks, I finally lost a pound this week. This morning was supposed to have been a stretching workout, but I decided to do a 30 minute Pilates workout instead.

Not sure what I'll do this weekend - hoping to get some work done, and of course will also spend some time with my husband. I have my root canal on Monday morning - hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Welcome to my New Blog!

Hello everyone, and welcome to my new blog! If you've been following my posts on My Beachbody Transformation Journey, I'll now start posting those posts in this blog. In addition, I'll be writing other posts about things I'm doing to improve myself and my life. Be sure to follow me on Google Plus if you aren't already - if you're following my Facebook Page for My Beachbody Transformation Journey, I'll be moving those posts to a new Facebook page soon.

Shoulders and Arms Without Ab Ripper X

Good morning! This morning's workout was Shoulders and Arms - should have also done Ab Ripper X, but wasn't feeling up to it because I'm still trying to get over my sickness - my sore throat is gone, but I'm still trying to get over my stuffy nose. I started trying to use some heavier weights in Shoulders and Arms today - I actually was able to do shoulder flies with 8 pound weights, so I think when (if) I get heavier dumbbells for my birthday, I may have to go up even heavier.

That's it for today, hope everyone has a great day!

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Kenpo Cardio and New P90x worksheet.

Good morning! This morning I decided to do Kenpo Cardio instead of Plyo X, because I'm still feeling a bit under the weather. Got a good workout from it though, as usual. Tomorrow's workout will be Shoulders and Arms and Ab Ripper X

Also, for those who do P90x and are interested, I've created an "alternate" sheet for keeping track of your workouts - it's a little longer than the regular workout sheets (the exercises go onto two pages) but I've tried to include a little more space so you can add notes about the different exercises if you want to. You can find it here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KfHCKaBXKsbKf3M-06d6IbHjq3jaSFR7_bS7Ld6udp0/edit?usp=sharing

So far I've only done it for Chest and Back, but you can modify it for other P90x strength workouts.

That's it for today - tomorrow's workout is Shoulders and Arms and Ab Ripper X. Hope everyone has a great day!

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Chest and Back and Ab Ripper X and My Measurements

Good morning! This morning's workouts were Chest and Back and Ab Ripper X - both went pretty well. I tried to use heavier weights on some of the Chest and Back exercises, at least as much as that was possible with the weights and resistance bands I have right now.

I also took my measurements this morning, they were as follows:

Chest - 30 inches
Waist - 29 inches
Hips - 35 1/4 inches
Upper Arm (right arm) - 10 inches
Thigh (right) - 20 1/2 inches
Calf (right) - 13 inches

I'll take my measurements again after a month and see if they've changed at all.

That's it for now, hope everyone has a great day!

Monday, April 11, 2016

My Dermatologist Appointment

Good morning - had my dermatologist appointment this morning - it was short. The doctor prescribed me some steroid cream to use on the skin irritation I have on the back of my neck and my shoulders - if it's not better in a week I'm supposed to call her back. We'll see what happens.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Fitness Blender Lower Body Workout and my Workout Plan for this week

Good morning! This morning I decided to do something a little different - I did a YouTube lower body workout from a website called Fitness Blender. You can check out the workout below:


It was a pretty good workout, but I used 5 pound weights for the exercises this time around because I wasn't familiar with the workout - next time I think I'll use eight pound weights though.

Not sure what I'm going to do for my workouts this week, I'm kind of getting tired of doing the same workouts all the time - I think I'm going to go on YouTube or on the web and find some other ideas. Tomorrow will be my rest day as usual, but I'll probably publish a post with my workout schedule for the week.

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Kenpo Cardio and Controlling Bread Cravings

Good morning! This morning I decided to do P90x Plus Kenpo Cardio - I like that workout because it's got more cardio in it than the Kenpo X workout in P90x, though it doesn't have has much as the Les Mills Combat kickboxing workouts.

I also wanted to ask, does anyone else have bad bread cravings? If so how do you control them? I have real bad bread cravings - and not just for bread either, but for other bread products like crackers and croutons - if they're around I'll eat them. I think I'm going to try a few things this coming week to control my bread cravings - I'm going to try either eating more vegetables when I get a craving for bread or a bread product, or if that's not possible I'm going to drink more water. I'll let you know how it goes. Hope everyone has a great Saturday!

Friday, April 8, 2016

X Stretch and Gained Half a Pound

Good morning! This morning's workout was X Stretch - yesterday was Shoulders and Arms, I actually contemplated doing a cardio workout this morning, but my thighs were sore, probably from the Plyometrics workout I did on Wednesday, so I decided to do X Stretch like  was scheduled to. Also got on the scale and found I gained half a pound this morning - up to 122.5. I know it's not much, but I really need to get myself going back down. Not sure what I'll be doing this weekend, probably doing a little work and relaxing a little bit like I usually do. Hope everyone has a great day!

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Plyometrics

Good morning! Did Plyometrics as my workout this morning - it felt good to do that workout, because I haven't done it in a while. I actually like that workout better than Interval X Plus, because it's a little less intense, and some of the moves are more fun, at least after you get past the first two sets of exercises - I like the exercises like Mary Katherine lunges and leapfrog squats that require a little more movement, and even exercises like the one where you have to hop on one leg (can't remember what it's called now, LOL) - I actually had gotten pretty good at that exercise, but now I need to work on increasing the strength in my legs again.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Chest and Back and Ab Ripper X

Good morning! So this morning I decided to start the P90x Plus Hybrid all over again - this morning's workout was Chest and Back and Ab Ripper X - I like Chest and Back because it's a little shorter (52 minutes) but I still get a good workout from it. Looking forward to seeing how well I do by the end of this round of the P90x/P90x Plus Hybrid. Hope everyone has a great day!

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Power Kata, our (Short) Vacation at the Beach, and my Workout Plan for this Coming Week

Good morning! Well, we went down to the beach Friday night after I finished work, and ended up not getting the room we were told we would get over a month and a half ago - Kevin  had requested an oceanfront suite on the second floor, and what we ended up getting was a poolside suite on the first floor. In addition, the suite wasn't all that great - it didn't look like it had been cleaned, and people there were being very loud and obnoxious, so we ended up leaving yesterday morning.

Since we came home early, I decided to do Power Kata this morning, which felt great. Tomorrow I'm goign to get back to my regular routine. My schedule for this coming week will be:

Monday - Rest Day or Stretch Workout
Tuesday - Chest and Back & ARX
Wednesday - Plyometrics
Thursday - Shoulders and Arms/ARX
Friday - X Stretch
Saturday - Legs and Back/ARX
Sunday - Kenpo Cardio

That's it for now, hope everyone has a great week!