Rise and Shine!

Good morning, exercise!

Last night I decided I was going to try my hand at an early morning workout. I've done it a few times before, and I'm really wanting to get back in a regular gym schedule. It always amuses me when people don't understand how someone who works in a gym doesn't workout. Think about it. If you worked all day, would you want to then stay there for an additional hour? Not to mention that almost any time I work out people start asking me questions about the schedule or tell me maintenance problems... I might as well still be working! But I digress.

Anyway, I had been toying with the idea of working out in the mornings for a few days. The other day I was reading through my blog list and Julie over at Peanut Butter Fingers had written a post on Exercise Obstacles. I took that as a nod that maybe I should try the am workout thing again. Working out in the mornings is pretty perfect, if I can get myself in there. Most of the early morning visitors aren't there for social hour, so I don't have to worry about being interrupted. So last night I put my stuff together so I could roll out of bed and get out the door in less than 15 minutes.

It worked! I got to the gym by about 5:45, and I was done by 6:30. It was great! I was still interrupted, but it was by someone from my church so I'll let it go. The only down side was dealing with the tired muscles (and the tired self) for the rest of the day. I'm sure that it will even itself out soon, but today sucked. And the 3 sets of walking lunges probably didn't help.

Focus

My diet bet ended yesterday, and I'm sad to say I didn't win. I will be completely honest and say that I just lost focus. I did GREAT for the first week, and then... I don't know. I just lost track of my goal. And by the time I tried to get back on track it was too little too late. I'm not happy about it, but I'm not beating myself up over it either. I know I can do this. I'm just not doing it for some reason. I need to get out of my own fog.

I'm am happy to say that my mom lost well over the amount she needed to lose to win. I think she went over her goal by 2 pounds! In all honesty, if only one of us could win it, I'm glad it was her. Hopefully this will be good motivation to keep her on track. She even put a pedometer on her Mother's Day Wish List, so here's hoping!

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One thing I have been able to focus on was my crochet habit! After I made Moose's moose, I made a golf club cover for Greg's friend Casey.

I'm planning to type a tutorial for it later. I'm hoping to have a red and a blue one finished by the time Greg and I have dinner with Casey and his wife this weekend. I have tomorrow off, so it shouldn't be too much of a task. Famous last words, I know.

But I'm also done with Melissa's April Hat! I started and finished it Sunday evening. That's kind of rare for me. Usually it takes me a few days of stalling. :-) Now I'm just waiting on payday so I can mail it to her. I promise to have a pattern review posted soon.

If you give a Moose a moose...

The past few days have been... let's just say rough. I've been feeling a little defeated. Some it is hormonal, some of it is external, It's just been a weird time. Have you ever had one of those days where you couldn't pinpoint exactly what went wrong, but it was still a bad day? That's been my week.  But hopefully, I'm coming out of it.

I think it didn't help matters that this morning I didn't have my quiet time. Normally, it's the first thing I do after brushing my teeth. I'm not sure how or why I forgot this morning, but I did. I'm choosing to blame it on the Zyrtec I took last night. I didn't even realize I forgot until almost 8pm! I'll have to pay more attention to my routine in the mornings.

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Easter was Greg's friend's birthday. His nickname is Moose, so I decided to make him a moose as his gift. (His real name is Jason, but I only learned that after knowing him for several years.)

I think it turned out really cute! I found the pattern here. It is actually the first crochet pattern I broke down and bought (but not the first I wish I had). The pattern is really well written, and was totally worth every penny. That being said, I'm not making another one! It was simple enough, but it's just not going to happen again. Sorry, Moose. I love ya, but next time you get a gift card... 

Of course, another of Greg's friend's birthdays is this week (they met in school and were all born about 5 weeks apart. I love it.) and I have been toying with the idea of making one of these.... 

We'll see. 

Hat of the Month: March Blonde Braids

For March, I decided to channel my inner princess.

I'm so happy to have this hat finished! Not because I didn't have fun making it, but because of the mental block I had surrounding it. As I said before, I started making one hat, and just when I thought I was finished I decided to change what I was doing. I was just going to make a basic hat then fold up the brim and sew on a button (ala Blossom). But when I was almost done I spotted my yellow yarn and decided to try for the braided look. Voila!

Here's what I ended up doing...
For the hat:
- Approx. 2.5oz of yarn, any color (I started with a new skein of Red Heart Candy Print and used about half of the skein)
- J-hook

Round 1. Ch 3, work 7 hdc into the first chain. (8 hdc)
Round 2. Ch 2, hdc in same st. 2 hdc in each st around (16 hdc)
Round 3. Ch 2, hdc in same st. *1 hdc in next 1 st, 2 hdc in next st* repeat from * to * around (24 hdc)
Round 4. Ch 2, hdc in same st. *1 hdc in next 2 st, 2 hdc in next st* repeat from * to * around (32 hdc)
Round 5. Ch 2, hdc in same st. *1 hdc in next 3 st, 2 hdc in next st* repeat from * to * around (40 hdc)
Round 6. Ch 2, hdc in same st. *1 hdc in next 4 st, 2 hdc in next st* repeat from * to * around (48 hdc)
Round 7. Ch 2, hdc in next st. hdc around (48 hdc)
Round 8-18. Repeat row 7.
Round 19. Ch 2. Working in back loops only, hdc in st around. (48 hdc)
Round 20. Repeat row 7.
Weave ends.

For the braids:
Cut 52 pieces of yarn, each approx. 4 feet long (or twice the length you want your "hair" to be).
I used a combination of 3 yellows to give it a "natural highlights" feel, but you could use whatever color(s) you choose. I didn't really count how many strands I cut of each color, but I probably had about 8 light yellow, 18 medium yellow, and the rest the darker yellow. Since I had them on hand, I have no idea what the color names are, but if I had to guess, my light yellow was Red Heart Super Saver Light Yellow, my medium yellow was Red Heart Super Saver Bright Yellow, and my dark was Red Heart Sport Yellow... I like Red Heart :-)
Go back up to Round 19. Starting from the center (I used the ch 2 as my guide, but you can really start from anywhere), count over 5 stitches each way and mark the 5th stitch on each side. Take 2 pieces of yarn, fold them in half, and pull the middle of the folded yarn through the front loop of the 6th stitch, just enough to have a loop. Pull the other ends of the yarn through the folded-yarn loop. Repeat in the next 25 stitches, and again on the opposite side.

The blue yarn was marking my stitch.

Separate the hair in to 3 even sections and braid. Finish off by wrapping the end of each braid with a piece of yarn and tie to secure.

I finished the hat with a simple flower, and called it done!

Hope you like it! Let me know if you have any questions!

Diet Bet

Today was Day 3 of the Diet Bet. Technically I weighed in on Saturday, but the game didn't start until Monday. It's been good so far. I've been pretty well with my eating. I went a little over yesterday, but not too badly. And I still logged everything I ate (which I've been bad about lately). I'm not mad at myself for it.

I made it a goal for this week to hit 10,000 steps on my pedometer each day. I knew it was going to be difficult, but the only day I didn't make it was yesterday (noticing a theme?). Greg and I went for a nice little hike on Sunday. We were going to take a walk at a local park, but the trail was closed for construction. We ended up taking a hike around the property behind his house. His family has a lot of farm land behind his house, and I'd never really explored it. Plus there's a wooded area that we wondered through. It ended up being about a 3.5 mile trip. Monday and today I did a walk-at-home video to hit my goal. 

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Amy and I were talking about how we didn't realize how much weight we had gained until we started losing weight. We were looking at pictures from our trip to New England, and then it was obvious. Today she made me this to keep me inspired in my progress...

I remember I was trying to sit up straight and draw in my stomach. I was so self-conscious, and I still didn't realize how big I'd gotten. It's nice to see that I have made progress towards my goal.  The only down side is that I have remained pretty stagnant since the after picture which was taken almost 9 months ago! But the diet bet should help me head more towards my goal. 

A-Weigh We Go

Welp, it's official. I've submitted my weight for Hannah and Olivia's Diet Bet Challenge. My official starting weight was 210.8 pounds...

Everyone is given a word that has to be in the scale picture.

That means I need to lose 8.4 pounds by April 14. It's a little over 2 pounds a week, which I think is totally doable. I'm a little bummed at myself that my weight is back up (I had been down to 201 at one point), but hopefully this challenge will help me refocus my goals.

Mom and I have spent some time going through all of our healthier cookbooks. We have quite a few! I would say at least 12 that are just low calorie, low fat, healthier cooking... Let's not even talk about my "regular" cookbooks.  My name is Jen and I'm a cookbook hoarder.  Anyway, we're really just trying to get some ideas. I love healthier foods, I just get in the habit of making the same ones and get burned out.

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My phone is acting up again. It had been charging without a problem for the past few weeks, so I was thinking the ghost was out of the machine. But I woke up this morning to a completely dead phone, and now I can't even get it to register that it's plugged in. I'm going to order a wall charger and spare battery from Amazon, but I have to wait until I get paid on Thursday. Hopefully I can get it to charge, at least a little, between now and then. July's upgrade cannot come fast enough! Although, I'm kind of tempted to see what I can make work until November and leave for Straight Talk. Anthony and Amy both have it and like it. And I could still get the phone I want I'd just have to pay full price for it. We'll have to see.

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I guess I need to run to the store! I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Losing Bets

Oy. I am worn out. I feel like this has been my theme song for the past few days.

Side note, PicMonkey is so fun!

I started to say that I'm not sure what is wearing me out, but that's a lie. I need a day off. I have gone in early almost every day this week so I can train on the managerial side of my new position. Plus, I've had to work the past 3 Saturdays and my few days off have been full. I just feel exhausted from the time I get up in the morning.

Luckily, it's not combined with another low period or I probably wouldn't be able to get out of the house. My mood is fine, I'm just exhausted! I was thinking about going in on Saturday to help organize the stock closet, but I don't think I'm going to now. I'm just going to try to enjoy my day off and get some stuff done around the house. I know, really restful. ;-)

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Today I registered for a bet. I follow MyFitspiration, and last week they made a post about a diet bet.

DietBet - Have Fun. Lose Weight. Make Money! from DietBet on Vimeo.

After talking to Amy (she also follows the blog), we decided we would both register for the game. Even our moms are getting in on it! That will definitely help me since my mom and I live together lol. And shucking out $25 will make sure I stay on track! I'm going to try to spend some time tomorrow looking through my cookbooks and making menu plans for the next few weeks. I'm not sure if I'm more excited about the competition or the chance to try new recipes.