Mamavation Monday: Let the Wedding Begin

May 2, 2011 By
It is Mamavation Monday time again!

Last week, I don’t even know what happened to last week besides it was really busy for some reason. I can’t even tell you why it was so busy because we had a pretty normal schedule most of the week. hmmm. At any rate, I maintained. I was happy with that since I found little time for myself minus the fact that I did finish my last homework assignment for the semester early. Thank goodness!

This week is going to be crazy. We leave for my sister’s wedding on Thursday and get back Sunday. I will be thrilled to maintain during this time. My to-do list is growing by the minute and I wonder how I will finish baking her wedding cake. This was a good idea a few months ago. It really was! I know it will turn out fabulous … they always do. I am just starting to hit my wedding planner groove (I gave that business up a few years ago) but adding the family packing and travel aspect to it might drive me crazy. If nothing else, my running around like crazy will burn any extra calories I consume so that is a plus.

A better, new plan happens after we get back. I should of thought better and taken a day off after this trip. What was I thinking? It will all be good though!

Are you ready to watch Mamavation TV tonight? You can check it out here! (It is past my bedtime so I miss the show every week!=/)

Filed Under: healthy living, Mamavation, Mamavation Monday, weight loss

Mamavation Monday: No Excuses

April 25, 2011 By
It is Mamavation Monday time again!

So last week I worked my butt off outside moving railroad ties with my husband, digging, moving pavers … oh and mulching. My body hurt. I still have a nice purple bruise on my knee for all of that effort. I figured I would lose weight with all of that. I was doing good at maintaining for most of the week. I kept telling myself I was adding muscle because I know my calorie burn was way up. Then came Easter with Reese’s peanut butter eggs. I have this thing for chocolate and peanut butter. It is bad. I enjoyed a few too many and as a result went up 0.78% from my last number. ugh.

So this week, I hope to get a couple of walks and well more mulching. The mulching not only requires some major loading the mulch into the wheelbarrow but walking up and down our back hill. The hill is a killer after about the tenth time up and down. The Easter candy is hidden away and I know I won’t look for it so that is good. Hopefully more activity in the afternoons/evenings plus less candy will bring good things next week!

Are you ready to watch Mamavation TV tonight? You can check it out here! (It is past my bedtime so I miss the show every week!=/)

Filed Under: healthy living, Mamavation, Mamavation Monday, weight loss

Mamavation: Ice Cream

April 18, 2011 By
It is Mamavation Monday time again!

So last week, I don’t even know what I planned. I still watched what I ate pretty good. I ended up working extra hours and trying to balance a crazy to-do list. I made it through the week and was happy with that. The ice cream place here has 5 cent ice cream cones once a year. Grace, my oldest, had wanted to go out to get ice cream for weeks (we rarely do this!) So we decided to go get ice cream. I do have to say it was the best quarter (5 ice creams), we spent in a long time as the kids enjoyed it so much. Sometimes you just have to give in and be a family. I am glad I gave in and joined them for this as I will remember it as the first ice cream cone Grace ate!

Last week, I lost half a pound. It isn’t much but I will take it as the scale moved down and that is the right direction. (I have a bridesmaid dress to wear come May 7th!)

This week, I get to work my butt off in the yard. Literally. I am off work this week to help landscape. We are making a path so the preschoolers can go in our back door directly into the preschool space instead of tromping through my living room each day. We had 19 cubic yards of mulch delivered on Friday. Between yesterday after church and this morning, we spread probably a third to half of it on the playground. Next up are the flower beds and path. Can I say now my back is killing me?! I expect work off some calories this week outside for sure. Any days it rains are my inside cleaning days. And to think someone asked me if this was my “staycation”. If yard work and cleaning is a staycation, I don’t ever want one of those!=P

Are you ready to watch Mamavation TV tonight? You can check it out here! (It is past my bedtime so I miss the show every week!=/)

Filed Under: healthy living, Mamavation, Mamavation Monday, weight loss

Mamavation Monday: New Year!

January 3, 2011 By

It is Mamavation Monday time again!

Happy New Year! It has been a year since I have joined Mamavation as a Sista! Thanks for a great year. While I may not be at my ideal weight or even logged a lot of weight loss last year, I did get smaller and I am excited for that!

Looking for my last Balance Ball post? There isn’t a new post yet. Find my last one over on bookieboo.com? It is HERE if you missed it! Join us in the discussion. Another will come soon.

I did start a post about the EA Sports Active Challenge too. We decided to go EA Sports Active 2. The start date will either be Jan 7 or 9! My EA Sports Active 2 should arrive tomorrow. I am excited! We will check in our weekly Mamavation post. I will start my weigh-ins again with that effort.

Mamavation TV is on tonight! Details are HERE!

Filed Under: healthy living, lifestyle change, Mamavation, Mamavation Monday, weight loss

Mamavation Monday: Stretch

December 27, 2010 By

It is Mamavation Monday time again!

My subject is just “Stretch” as reminder to me to stretch this week.

Looking for my last Balance Ball post? It is over on bookieboo.com? It is HERE if you missed it! Join us in the discussion. I said I would get another post up last week. I have the next one in my head … I just need to write it out and come up with a picture or video. I was trying to avoid myself being in it but I think it may come to that. aye.

Last week after I wrote my Mamavation Monday post, my back spasmed out on me. I have never had back issues … minus being overly pregnant. My husband who has had many back issues due to his Army days helped me get moving. I was sore all of last week though and had to really watch what I was doing. Then came yesterday and I had to help move a dresser. I should of known better but it had to get down the stairs and my husband couldn’t do it himself. I woke up in the middle of the night with my back killing me again. Motrin and heating pad did help me get back to sleep. I woke up and realized I wasn’t thinking all last week. My husband kept telling me to stretch but I don’t think about it and honestly am a horrible stretcher. I can’t keep a good form when stretching and therefore don’t get the full stretch most of the time. EXCEPT when I use my balance ball. This morning I broke out my balance ball stretch DVD. I did the spine and relax segments on it. What a difference. I know what I will be doing every morning this week.

I didn’t weigh in last week. We were busy celebrating with family and that is more important than one week for me. I will start anew in the new year.

I started a discussion on bookieboo.com about an EA Sports Active or EA Sports Active 2 challenge. You can find that discussion here or the one in the Mamavation Forum here. If you are interested in joining in, let me know. So far EA Sports Active 2 is “winning”.

Mamavation TV isn’t on tonight as Leah is taking a well deserved break!

Filed Under: healthy living, lifestyle change, Mamavation, Mamavation Monday, weight loss

Mamavation Monday: Here Again

December 20, 2010 By

It is Mamavation Monday time again!

My subject is just “Here Again” as in roll call and I am here … again . Once again, that is about all I can say this week.

Looking for my last Balance Ball post? It is over on bookieboo.com? It is HERE if you missed it! Join us in the discussion. The next post should of gone up last week but it didn’t. Hopefully this week I can find some time … hopefully!

We got over being sick. YAY! I finished my work for my graduate class (grades still aren’t out at last check.) I decided that I needed to balance my family and work right now. I have been missing my family time and am working on some deadlines for my work. So I will be restructuring my “working day” time. I am going to see how that works this week and next week. I honestly have no clue where work out time falls in there but if I get my family time then I will be happy.

I back at the maintain weight stage it seems. I am at my favorite body weight for right now. Well my body’s favorite … totally not mine. To top it off my jeans are annoying me. My size 14s fall off me. My size 12s make me feel like a sausage in its casing. I have been going with the 14s this week just to breathe but I am going to try to get those 12s fitting better here soon. That is my near term goal. Well, that and not to eat too many cookies. We made an insane amount of cookies this past weekend. I haven’t made Christmas cookies since 2004 or 2005. I am making up for lost time it seems. I am having good self control though!

Anyone willing to start the EA Sports Active 30 Day Challenge in January? I am going to start the Wii version. I think I will start a discussion over on bookieboo.com. So look for that and my balance ball posts.

Mamavation TV is on tonight. Find out the details HERE!

Filed Under: healthy living, Mamavation, Mamavation Monday, weight loss

Mamavation Monday: Travel

September 20, 2010 By

It is Mamavation Monday time again!

Last week I continued my traveling adventures in my back-to-back trips. It was not a good thing for my plan to watch what I was eating. I did get a really good oatmeal breakfast one day and ate an very good vegetarian restaurant for lunch another day. I need to keep those meal choices up when I am on the road! I also did a fare amount of walking too. I realized I miss walking to places. Living in the middle of no where means that we drive everywhere. I need to figure out the walking thing as I really enjoy that.

This week I leave tomorrow and am not back until Friday. I am trying to figure out my eating plans but I am going to place I have never been. I also don’t know if I will be eating with the folks I am meeting with or if I will be on my own. (I admit I actually like eating on my own instead of with people that I don’t really know.) We will see how I do this week.

After all of my travels, I was up 2 lbs. At one point, I know I was up much more and I really checked what I was eating again when I got home last week. That made me realize that watching what I eat is a big deal and really does help me. So I am going to try to keep on top of that!

I am still looking for vegan and vegetarian recipes. If you have any you want to share, let me know!

The Mamavation Moms are done with their job titles and now they are up for grabs again! Are you the next Mamavation Mom? If you apply, let me know! You can find out the details on tonight’s Mamavation show here!

Filed Under: healthy living, lifestyle change, Mamavation, Mamavation Monday, weight loss

Mamavation Monday: Go … no really … GO!

May 10, 2010 By 11 Comments

It is Mamavation Monday time again!

What did I do last week? Little dude didn’t sleep last week which meant I didn’t sleep last week and I was lucky to exist last week. We did get a Wii and the EA Sports Active I ordered from my Tropicana Juicy Rewards came on Friday!!!

My challenge this week: My husband and I will be starting the EA Sports Active 30 day challenge together. I don’t know if we will start today or later this week. Little dude blessed me with whatever funky illness he has. Breathing is still a challenge so as soon as I can breathe again, my butt will be moving. I promise.

Results so far: Totally skipping this section unless lack of sleep counts as results but I think that goes in a negative pot not a positive one!

So what is next for me? I am headed back to watching what I eat a little closer. I have been slack and admit it! I will be moving too. I am hoping to report some good progress next week. It is coming. I feel it!!!

A little request … I recently wrote a submission about one of my healthy indulgences at For Her Information online magazine. I need votes! So I am asking you to head over to their site and vote for “Is it summer yet?” by Beth M. You can vote once a day, no registration is needed!! Go HERE to cast a quick vote for me. Thanks so much!

Mamavation #4 has started! Congratulations to Kim (@mentallyinked) and Rachel (@Rachel_L). Go follow them on Twitter. They are both tons of fun and as expected are totally rockin‘ this Mamavation Mom gig!

Aquahydrate is sponsoring this week’s blog carnival. Well it is obvious I am a fan so go check them out!
Mamavation TV is tonight! Here are the details.

What else do I need to be doing? … Besides the fact that my kids need to stop getting me sick!=P Leave me a comment and let me know.

Filed Under: healthy living, lifestyle change, Mamavation, Mamavation Monday, weight loss

Mamavation Monday: A Start

January 4, 2010 By


Have you seen the #mamavation hashtag on Twitter? Well you will probably be seeing it a lot more here soon!

Mamavation is a weight loss campaign and social media experiment brought to you by Earth Footwear, The EA SPORTS Active & Smooth Fitness. The Mamavation campaign is a unique movement in social media. Not only does it support two moms (Mamavation Moms), it also supports a group of moms called “The Sistahood.”

My start to healthy living this week is my Two Week No Soda Challenge that you can find here. It is a small step but it is good step. I already watch what eat, limit my sweets, watch my portions but even at that I know I cheat. I might grab two cookies when I said I could have one. I will get a soda while we are out and well there are free refills so I will get a refill “just because”. So this is my start to keeping a better eye out on what I am drinking … and hopefully leaving that second cookie in the cookie jar for another day!

Why healthy living this year?
It is time for me. I spent the last 5 years trying to get pregnant, being pregnant, and in between being pregnant. My husband and I feel that we have completed our family and I ready to me again. I am still nursing Little Dude but I can do this while I finish that journey with him. Over the past few years, I did lose 20 lbs and additional 10 lbs with my recent gallbladder issue but I am not where I want to be. I want to get back in that box of clothes that is in the crawl space. Yes, I know it is probably all out of style but I want to be able to FIT into those clothes again before I decide that I don’t want to keep them. I have kept them there this long with the goal to fit in them again so this is my kick off to meeting that goal!

The challenge for this week …
My challenge is to keep up my no soda goal for this week. I know I will struggle some days because there are days where a soda was my treat for that day. I will learn to love my water bottle again even if it does mean running to the bathroom more often!

I say all of this with the ending note that I will be submitting my vlog to be put in the running for the next Mamavation Mom. I am hoping to get that done tonight. It will be a separate post here so watch for it and stay with me as I start this journey of getting healthy in 2010 while (of course) staying in our budget!!

In submitting myself as a candidate to be one of the Mamavation Moms, I will be asking for your help and support! As my first request, Please start tweeting for me! Head over to twitter and send this tweet:

Hey @bookieboo! I want @simplybudgeted to be the next #Mamavation Mom. She has my support!

Also check out Bookieboo.com to add your support the Mamavation moms and be sure to join in MomTV show tonight (Monday, Jan 4th). There are some great GIVEAWAYS!! Go here for the details on the giveaways!

Filed Under: healthy living, Mamavation, Mamavation Monday