Fit Friday

I spoke to a friend recently who is gorgeous but is wanting to lose some weight. She asked me how I stay motivated. Now that really is the key to healthy living isn't it? We all know we need to eat healthily and exercise. We don't always do that though.

There's some people out there (I'm not one of them) who eat like they're fourteen and never break a sweat and somehow they're not over weight. Their insides may not be too happy with them but physically there's no problem.

For the rest of us we need to stay on track. So I'll answer the question of how I stay motivated.

Well, I really do a few things for that. I've said it before (probably many times because I tend to repeat myself) but I truly take my health one day at a time.

This keeps me from beating myself up if I've missed a workout or indulged too much the day before (ie combination Mexican food plate at Julio's on Tuesday). This also helps me from telling myself things like,"I won't workout today but I'll do an extra hard workout tomorrow."

I just focus on the day. I can do anything for a day.

Last year for motivation and for some laughs, I glued John's and my faces on Brad Pitt's and Jessica Simpson's bodies and taped it up in our exercise room. I think maybe we threw it away because I can't find it but here's the pictures I used for us...






What keeps you motivated?

Time marches on...

While I was in El Paso earlier this week I took a drive by some of my past and found some huge changes.

I had been warned about my old middle school. Here she is...





Apparently Eastwood Middle School has not just been renovated but it's a completely new building than when I was there.

There was foundational problems or something like that with the first building. I've been told the details but my brain chooses not to remember anything but the biggest and most obvious one.

I also drove by my grandparent's house. They recently sold it and the new owners got cracking on their to do list immediately. I guess a two car driveway just wasn't enough parking space for the new owners...



They also have completely ripped out everything in the yard...





(I really hope today is NOT the day my grandma decides to look at my blog.)

In the same neighborhood is the house my parents bought the summer before I started high school. It looks pretty much the same...





It was fun seeing my old stomping grounds but aside from loved ones and great Mexican food, I wouldn't move back to El Paso even if you paid me a million dollars. Well, for a million I probably would.

My Favorites...

I just drove back from El Paso yesterday after a three day visit with family and friends. I was able to spend time with four of my favorite people in the whole wide world.

This is Eliza. She is my sister's 17 month old little princess and for three nights she was one of my roomies. I already miss her sweet babble and her stories. She's a lovely story teller.



This next picture is of Nicole (and my brother). She's my brother's oldest daughter. She'll tell you she's not a little kid any more...she's five. This little girl is smart, sweet and so funny. We have some pretty good verbal sparring. She totally understands sarcasm and can joke like a champ.

On Tuesday I accidentally called her a very bad name in Spanish. Being bilingual she knew what I called her and said she was going to call the cops on me. On my way out of town I visited my friend Diana and told her what I had called Nicole. She started laughing and said I had called my five year old niece a b!@#h. Oops.

Note to self: Don't use words in another language that I'm not completely sure of the meaning.



This is Natalie (NatNat). She will be three in September and for an almost three year old she already knows what she wants in life...whatever her brother or sister have. Making this girl laugh makes my day every time.



Then there's Joey. He'll be one on Sunday. He makes my heart melt.



I love these four kiddos with all my heart. I also love that they all have parents who would walk through fire for them.

Fit Friday

I read an article by Oprah some time this year about her struggles with weight loss. Something she said really hit me. She talked about how when she had lost her weight she felt like she had all the answers to living a healthy life and that everyone in her life should listen to her on the subject. She said she even got kind of a pompous attitude about it.

I do have to admit that when I lost weight (30 pounds) I had similar thoughts. I thought that people should definitely listen to me because I had found something that really worked...for me.

That's the whole thing...I found something that worked for me. Here's the thing too, before I got on this last program I had tried different programs before that were just as good as this one. Why did this one work and the others didn't?

I think it's because I was ready. I just realized after writing that last sentence that Bob Harper asks, "Are you ready?" at the end of the You Tube video I posted on my blog awhile back. I guess I was Bob.

But seriously, I was ready and I did it based on information I sought out...not information that was given to me by people giving me unsolicited advice about what worked for them. So I don't want to be a giver of unsolicited advice...

Time for some unsolicited advice: Love your body and how you look right now. (Based on advice from Bob Harper...I love him).

Now for some giggles I give you two pictures that were taken last summer soon after I had met my goals.

Flash on...



Flash off...



You have permission to laugh at me. Go ahead, I took pictures while I was flexing...laughter is warranted.

Have a great weekend Everybody!

Wedding Dress

I'm participating in Kelly's "Show Us Your Life" today and for this week it's wedding dresses.

I'll show you a couple shots of mine. This first one the photographer was trying to get all artistic on me and I'm not sure I posed quite the way he wanted. It felt a little awkward...




Here's the full body shot...




I bought the second dress I tried on. My sweet sister in law was with me and she picked out this dress. I tried it on only to be nice to her because I really wasn't all about it. I put it on and was like, "This is it!"

Suitcase already coming out again...

A small one anyway. This time the destination is El Paso. I'm leaving on Sunday and coming home on Wednesday. It's not quite Hawaii but there's some pretty special people I'll get to see once I'm there.






I'm really excited to see family, old friends and to be in a place that has Taco Cabana. I love me some TC. The only thing I'm not excited about is going to El Paso without my number one...




John has only been back to work for a week since our vacation so it's probably not a great time to take more time off.

This will be my last trip of the summer before I go back to work. I think summer needs to put on the brakes a bit so it can last a little longer. I have more relaxing and non-tanning to do.

I'm getting a pedicure today...I LOVE pedicure days. Hope your day is a happy one.

Obsession curbed for now...

I welcome old age and looking my age when I am old. I don't welcome premature aging. I've been freaked out for a few years now about the lines around my eyes.

They're there when I smile...they're there when I don't. They drive me CRAZY. Poor John has heard ALL of my belly aching about them.

I went to the dermatologist on Monday with all of my complaints and she gave me this lovely bottle of serum...in exchange for money.




She assured me that it will soften my lines and help to prevent a road map on my face.



I want to believe her.

Hawaii Highlights...

After this post I promise no more Hawaii talk but I really wanted to share my whole trip...every single detail...from the moment we got on the plane. Just kidding. I'll do highlights only. (We have 442 pictures total...too overwhelming so instead of flickr you can check out John's pictures on his myspace right here...there's only 25)

Our trip to Maui was a whole bunch of firsts for us...first time in Hawaii...first time ziplining...first time snorkeling (for me)...definitely our first time riding bikes down a volcano.

I was nervous (but excited) about pretty much everything we planned to do. John took this picture as we were riding up the mountain before ziplining. I made an impromptu nervous face for some giggles. It worked, he did some giggling when he saw this...



Before we started ziplining, one of the tour guides told our group,"If you're up for some adventure we'll be your buffet." I'm going to steal that line.

Check out the view from up there...



This is John and me at Warren and Annabelle's in Lahaina. This place was FUN. Our package included dinner, 2 drinks each, dessert and a comedy magic show. You should definitely make reservations if you're going to be in Maui.



Warren is the owner (he performs too) and Annabelle is a friendly ghost. Warren wasn't there when we were there but the two magicians who were there were hysterical.

We got to see where the government faked the landing on the moon (in black and white)...



Don't get mad, I'm only joking...it's just the top of Haleakala. I think this place is so amazing that it looks fake. The whole crater up there is the size of Manhattan. I've already posted about the bike ride down Haleakala. If you missed it go ahead and scroll down.

We got to see some pretty amazing things when we went hiking. This is the Dragon's Teeth...



The Dragon's Teeth was formed when a volcano erupted and lava was flowing into the ocean. The wind and waves forced the lava back up and it cooled into these teeth like formations.

To get down to the Dragon's Teeth we had to do our most precarious hiking...we had to walk down a golf course.

Here's the Nakalele blowhole...





The Olivine Pools...





We went to a black sand beach...



and a red sand beach...



We sunset dinner sailed...



We snorkeled...



Our last morning there we went for one final snorkel and saw a giant sea turtle. Sorry to be cliche but it was truly a perfect end to a perfect trip. Our trip to Maui was the most fantastic, unbelievable trip John and I have ever taken. We will both remember it vividly forever.

Top 10 Monday

Since I've been back from Hawaii I've had the aloha and vacation spirit inside of me. I love it. I hope it stays forever...especially when I go back to work in August.

Even though I'm not back to work yet (I'm a teacher) I've had my aloha spirit tested but I've still maintained. I don't think it's been tested ten times since we've been back but here's the top ways so far...(I'm going to throw some Hawaii pictures in too...they help to show why I have the aloha spirit).



(This was taken at Black Rock on the beach in front of our hotel. Every night at sunset a guy lights the torches and then dives in.)

5. I was the only person on the plane back from Maui who didn't get any sleep...and the lady next to me was the ditziest lady ever born.

She had a bunch of charms on her flip flops and one of the keys fell off. I handed it to her and said it fell off her shoe and in a Minnie Mouse voice she said,"I don't think so," then proceeded to make fun of me to her daughter.

Ditsy rude lady. I was annoyed so I tackled her.

4. I need four new tires by Saturday.



(There he goes.)

3. I had a pain in my belly yesterday for 8 hours and after googling my symptoms I was convinced I had appendicitis. John thought it was a pulled muscle. He put Icy-Hot on it.

2. I came close to heat exhaustion when I was outside with John while he was working on our crazy air conditioner. It was seriously at least 112 degrees when we were out there.

1. Our air conditioner stopped working the day we got home.



(This was on our sunset dinner sail on our last night.)

So I guess my aloha spirit has only been tested five times. Not bad. Don't you just love how you feel when you come home from a great vacation? Me too.

Update: I think the Icy-Hot worked. Thanks Johnny.

Fit Friday

Exercising Aloha style is my new favorite way to work out. All last week we never "worked out" but we got our exercise in every day.

Here's a cardio day...





I consider this next day to be a toning day. I pedaled only a handful of times but I was so nervous that I had a Kung Fu grip the entire time...and my bootie was really sore. I don't really think the bootie part can go into the category of toning but I wanted you to know.



Meditation day...



Every day was a lifting day...



Aw, Aloha style exercising...I already miss you so much...I want you back.