It's 12:30a ET and I'm up so I figured I would get us started! This is the second night I haven't been able to sleep--UGH!



I'm so psyched that I have a paid holiday Friday--a 3 day weekend!!! I have so much that I want to get done--lots of it is fun stuff!

Edie--send that packet in girl...maybe they'll accept it, maybe they won't but at least you will have closed that loop for yourself! Congratulations!!!

Viv--so sorry things have been rough lately. I can't believe how well you keep it all together! I might have knowledge that you'll soon be receiving a little pick-me-up and I hope it brightens your day!!!

Well, I'm off to my scrapbooking/stamping room to re-organize some project stuff...I don't even know what is in my project bin anymore!!! And hopefully I'll catch some zzzz's at some point!

Make it a great day!!!

Vicki

(I'll post food & exercise later!)

Give me an "M" Give me an "A" Give me an "R" Give me a "Y" .... That's right! She's goin' to Denver!!! woohoo!!!!!!!!! I am soooooooo excited!!!! If anyone deserves to go to Denver, Mary Mary does!! =) yay!!!

Well today is the official move out day and my bf wants to be back in Rolla (a 2 hr drive) by 10 a.m. I really don't see that happening (as the living room is still a wreck), but I'll let him dream.... lol. He did carry my elliptical down three flights of stairs all by himself, so I'll give him props for that!! =)

Well I'm off!! My meals haven't been the healthiest the last couple days; I've just been stressed to hell & trying to get everything done, but NO EXCUSES. If I have to get fast food I can get a chicken sandwich on a whole wheat bun & only eat one side of the bun. That's just what I'll have to do!

Ok I'm goin' to bed!!! Wish me luck with the move out!!! xoxoxo

"Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking."
-H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

lol Thank you, Josie! And good luck on this first part of the move, girl!

WOW, what an incredible night. I was so happy to have been on the radio show tonight... and even MORE happy that Clarissa offered to sponsor me to go to Denver! That was the last thing I was expecting. That was so awesome! Unreal!

Right now my body wants to sleep but my brain is still going. I had a fire under my butt before, but now it's like crazy!

Good Morning, Everyone!!


Congratulations, Mary_Mary!!! WooHoo!!

That is some exciting news, Mary! You so deserve a trip to Denver, and how fantastic is Clarissa, too!!!

I had a super fantastic workout last night. One of those that ended up a sweaty mess that lets you know you actually did something. I don't have those very often! Unfortunately, I don't get to have another one because I may have a blood clot in my calf. While I have insurance that will cover the cost of my funeral should this thing decide to travel, I don't have insurance that will cover a hospital stay. How warped is that? Anyhow, just what I needed....100* out and let's wrap up in a heat pack! UGH!

I said if God wants me to workout, He will drag me out of bed, and apparently He doesn't!

I will be eating as clean as possible, so hopefully won't backslide.

Have a GREAT WEEKEND!!!!!

~Patty

Good Morning Team! Wow! Lots goin on around here!!

Vicki, hope you have fun doing projects and that it gives you a sense of accomplishment that will allow your brain to let you REST!! Happy holiday weekend!

Josie, good luck with the move... that's a workout!!! Something very exciting about a new beginning though. Hope it all goes well today!

MMary, I must've missed the news about Denver, but it sounds like you had a great day yesterday. YAY, lady! I'm trying to work Denver out so I can spend some time with Jami, if she can work it out. Maybe I'll get to see you with my own eyeballs. Fingers crossed!

Patty... what does one do for a blood clot like that? Is it just a maintenence kind of thing, or is there something that can be done where you will feel okay to exercise again??? Scary! I hope you have a nice weekend inspite of it all.

Good Morning to all who follow!

I woke up ravenous this morning, so I went ahead and ate M1 and will just add my cardio into my workout later on. I have a gig tonight (I sing in a dance band), so that'll be 3-4 more hours of fun dance cardio. I love my job! hee hee!

Meals yesterday were perfect... Here's my plan for today:

M1: 4 egg whites, 1 yolk, 3 oz 93% lean beef, 1/2 cup oatmeal
M2: 1 scoop whey, 1/4 cup almonds
M3: 4 oz white fish, 1/2 cup brown rice,1 cup broc
M4: 1/2 cup ccheese, celery
M5: WO shake
M6: 4 oz chicken, 1 cup green beans (eaten in the car on the way back from my gig)

Later on, beautiful peeps!

Carla

Hey there teamies!

EDIE - send off the packet. Even if it is a couple of days late, I am positive they will look at it. I wonder what happens to all of them... we should ask Bill.

VICKI - I am so glad to have a day off too. Whew!

JOSIE - Good luck, girl. There are ways to eat clean even when you have to resort to "fast food". Just be careful out there.

Mary_Mary - WOW! Clarissa is sponsoring you? That is so awesome. If anybody needs to be there it's you girl.

Patty - Yeah, what can you do for that?

Carla - Break your legs tonight! How do you measure everything out? Do you weigh and use cups? I am sorta lazy and use the old "fist" and "palm" method. LOL!

Exercise for me -
Mile and a half run first thing in AM per Hal Higdon training

Meals -
m1 - oatmeal & cottage cheese
m2 - RTD shake
m3 - tortilla wrap
m4 - banana & cottage cheese
m5 - protein and steamed veggie (from my stash)
m6 - Right shake

Good morning and happy Friday!!!! Thanks for the start, Vicki, so sorry you are having sleep issues! That stinks. So glad you have the day off!!

Josie, have a good move! Moving is never fun, but think of it as one big long workout. lol Be safe!

The radio show was great last night...HUGE CONGRATZ, Mary Mary!!!!! Woo hoo!

Patty, if God got you out of bed, you wouldn't get that good feeling of choosing to do something awesome for yourself...that's what gets me out of bed! lol Then you feel like you can conquer anything the day brings. I love that feeling.

I'm playing catch up today! Tomorrow the kids are going to be in the 4th of July parade in the back of my dad's gorgeous 55 Chevy pickup (I LOVE classic cars!) and then I will be cooking for a birthday gathering my siblings are having for my mom and my big brother on Sunday. I've never cooked for her on her birthday, so it feels like one of those big firsts. Small thing, but big.

So, I found this interesting little piece on getting un-stuck for those who've been in a funk. I think it can go along with Bill's latest blog about letting go. I think he said something last night about letting go of the bad stuff so we can hold on to the good. (I don't remember exactly what he said.) Denise said something like that to me last December, to clear out the painful baggage so there is more room for God's love. It's so true.


The Most Powerful Way to Get Unstuck



Article by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead; follow him on twitter.

Have you ever thought about why you get stuck?

I’m sure you have. There are entire industries built around productivity. There are multitudes of books, seminars, webinars, podcasts, blog posts, desktop apps, email apps, mobile apps, and physical products centered around helping you get things done. They are supposed to help you get unstuck, right? Because if you weren’t stuck, you wouldn’t need any of those things to keep you going.

But what if you didn’t need any of those things? What if you could solve all of your “problems” with getting things done with one simple question?

So the question is: Do I care?

Sure, sometimes you may have to do things you don’t really care to do. You probably don’t care much for cleaning litter boxes and filing your taxes. That’s a given. But we’re talking about the big things here, like the work you devote your life to.

Do you care about it? Be honest with yourself. Do you really care?

If you don’t care, allow that to be okay. At least you’re acknowledging the fact that you don’t care. Now you know that it’s not a water-tight productivity system you need to get you motivated. What you need is work that you give a damn about.

The first step is allowing yourself to not care and being honest with what you do care about it. That’s where most people get stuck. A lot of people spend their lives working on things they don’t care about, because they think it doesn’t matter that they don’t care. They think they’re supposed to suck it up and deal with it. Are you one of these people that believes it doesn’t matter if you don’t care about your work? It’s okay if you are. I used to be this way, too.

Then I realized something.


I discovered that not only is it valid to care about the work you do, it’s absolutely necessary. I used to think that you didn’t have a choice, or that doing work you love was some kind of luxury for the retired or gifted. And you know why? Because we’re taught that we can’t get paid to be ourselves. We’re taught that we need to become something in order to earn a paycheck.

Here’s some refreshing news: That’s an assumption.

More refreshing still: Just because a huge number of people believe in an assumption, doesn’t mean it’s true.

A lot of people once assumed the world was flat. And a lot of people now assume that work and play are not meant to coexist, that life must be a struggle. But the simple fact is, your life is a gift. To spend that gift in drudgery and grim duty is a waste.

So here’s the question you might want to ask now: How can I do what I care about?

Here are a few suggestions:

• Do something amazing.
• Start a revolution.
• Learn to give up caring about all the unimportant things.
• Pull out all the mental weeds to allow room for the things you care about to grow.
• Create a legacy project.
• Do something Epic.

If you allow yourself to stop caring about the things you don’t really care about, something amazing will start to happen. Once you move out all that attentional garbage, you finally create room for the things you love to take up residence in your life.
http://zenhabits.net/2009/06/the-mos...o-get-unstuck/

Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew. They're what make the instrument stretch-what make you go beyond the norm.
-Anonymous

Carla...shake it, don't break break it...took your mama 9 months to...WHOA!!!! Have a great gig..."A Night in the Piazza" it ain't. lol I just love you, gosh, you make me silly, though!!!

Brett...have a great day rockstar!!!!

shake
egg whites, potato
shake
chicken, veggies
shake
cc&y

Legs and The Stairs of LIFE (and torture)

Hubby act of love: continue my closet quest

Organizing closets is so much like organizing our lives...you can't avoid making a bigger mess to arrange it the right way...usually!

Hey Jami and Brett!!

Brett, I use measuring cups... my sink always has at least one in it. You rehearsing all weekend??

Jami, how's your head, Chuckles? Thought about you yesterday and hoped it had eased up so you could enjoy your day. Love you!!!!! Did you read my post about my IGNANT mom last night? I thought you would get a kick out of it!

xoxoxoxo
Carla

Ah, I'll have to check that out, Carla! Thanks so much for the text, I saw it last night once I recovered from the lake! It eased into just a headache, so I was able to still have a good day. Thanks so much!

Vivienne and Mary2me, thanks for your texts this week, too. I sure am blessed to be with such an amazing crew!

I hope you all have an incredible, fun, disciplined, and relaxed (as much as possible) weekend!

Good Morning!
There is alot going on around here today!

Josie-- I hope you have a good move girl!

Vicki-- You are a sweetie! You inspire me Hope you get some rest!!

BRett-- Hope you and Hal rock it today. I like his stuff!

Yeah! For Mary that is AWESOME!!

Carla-- That sounds awesome, have fun!

Edie-- get that packet in girl!! If nothing else YOU will feel better! I just sent mine in this week!

Love you all ! Hope you have a great day!!

Mary - CONGRATULATIONS! I am so excited for you. Clarissa is amazing!

Vicki - I hope you were able to get some sleep. I tend toward insomnia and it is no fun. Especially when I look at the baby finally sleeping peacefully and I am wide awake as can be. After a few days, it starts really wearing on me.

Josie - you know it is true love when your bf carries an elliptical down three flights for ya

Carla - I am so jealous - It has always been my dream to sing in a dance band! Of course, I can't sing. But I can't think of a job more exciting than that!

Jami - thanks for Bill's words. I too have felt stuck and needed to hear them.

Patty - I'm sorry about the clot. Give yourself the rest you need and try not to get too discouraged.

Brett - Hal Higdon training?

I am still stuggling a little, but hanging in there. My eating has been OK and my workouts fine, but I just don't feel the drive that I felt doing BFL in the past. I am getting ready to take my 6 week progress pictures and measurements. I have lost 8 pounds, so that is decent (although I'm use to a little faster progress than that). It is a challenge because I'm still nursing the little one - helpful because it burns calories - a challenge because I tend to be hungrier and I need to be cautious about not losing too quickly anyway.

Hubby and I are taking the two babies to an Inn on a lake tonight to watch fireworks and stay the night. I have packed shrimp cocktail, salad, fresh fruit, and hummus (a little higher in fat, but mostly from tahini and olive oil). I just returned from a run with my 12 year old daughter.

I'm hoping that the progress pictures and Assignment #6 fire me up a little. I'm also giving myself constant pep talks about how I have 12 weeks to go which is what I have done for BFL in the past and I'm actually closer to my goals than I was in 2006 during my last challenge.

Anyway - I'm far from out of this race, just feeling a little down and sleep deprived.

I'm headed out for a fabulous family outing. It is a glorious day! Thank you for listening!

Lori

Good Friday Morning!

Vicki thanks so much for getting us started today!!! I hope you sleeping situation changes soon for you! I know for me sleep is my favorite thing to do! LOL! And if I have trouble sleeping it makes me very upset!!!

Josie you have a great attitude for the move! No excuses..........ever!!!

Mary - GIRL I am so excited for you! You absolutely are deserving of this amazing gift!!!

Patty!!!!!!!!!!! Thats scary!!! What do you do when that happens? How do you know you have one???? That can't be right that insurance won't take care of something potentially life threatening!!!

Carla your meals look great! Super clean! Have you checked fitday to see what your caloric intake is? Is it enough?

Jami great post!! You always find some pretty amazing stuff to share with all of us! I always look forward to gaining some insight, motivation and inspiration from your posts!

Viv I am glad you stopped in! You stay in my thoughts and my prayers girl!

Lori focus all of your attention on the positive! Don't minimize your efforts and accomplishments..celebrate them! You can do absolutely anything you set your mind to!

I hope you all have an amazing Holiday weekend and be safe! Enjoy your families!!!

Hey Mellie... yes, with my Metrx shake (200 calories), my calories are right on. Funny, after being on a comp diet, this plan seems ABUNDANT. hee hee!

Lori, how great that you incorporate your family with your fit lifestyle so well. I'm so impressed!

Hi Viv... that sure is a cute pup in your profile picture. I love that there are so many animal lovers on this team!

Jamikins... glad your throbbing eased. Hope it continues to disipate.

Headed to workout!

xo
Carla

Hey guys I am really excited to welcome our newest member!!! Tania!!!!
http://www.transformation.com/Momma

Please welcome her MELLIE CREW STYLE

She is such a beautiful person inside & out!!!!

Mellie, Life Insurance will take care of my funeral -- Health Insurance -- I can't afford. I am one of those thousands of Americans who can either be insured, or eat, and I soooo love to eat -- and I really don't like doctors!

It looks like a superficial blood clot (not in a deep vein), probably caused by some injury that I don't remember getting. Chances are slim that it will travel to my lungs and kill me, but I still need to take it easy for a few days. Elevate, heat, ibuprofen.....repeat as needed.

Carla - we only have rehearsals during the week, and my next one is not until Wednesday! For a while it will be an easy schedule as they work through parts of it where I am not in the play. I love it when that happens. Means I can learn lines AND workout a lot.

Lory - Hal Higdon is a guy who posts training journals on line for runners. It gives you a plan to work up to a certain distance in 8 weeks. So I am training right now only for a 5k, and then will move on to his half marathon routine. Google him and you will find him! :-) I seriously doubt I will ever want to run a full marathon. I would end up soooo skinny! Toothpick with hair...

Jami - You rock it out too! :-)

I am mainly cleaning today. I have a birthday party for a friend at my house Sunday. So I get cardio like dusting and vaccuming. But I already got in my official run, and hopefully maybe I will do a workout on muscles later or tomorrow.

Brett

Mary, Mary--congrats and how awesome that Clarissa is sponsoring you!

Josie--I actually like to pack, move and unpack. I start packing early, label every box with what room it is going to in the new place and what's in it. Insane, huh?

Patty-awesome workout. If you can't get a physical work out in while you take care of that blood clot, consider spending more time on t.com--visitng forums and blogging with other people! It's a great way to stay on track!

Jami--about a mile and a half into my run this morning I came two stairs and it's like a little Jami was sitting on my shoulder say "do stair repeats" and so I did...I went up and down 6 times--I think that equals 12 flights---6 up and 6 down? Anyway, it was awesome! When I came back that way, it was at about 8.5 miles so I only went up and down twice!!

Brett-I usually still get up real early on a day off but since I went to bed at 2:30a I didn't set an alarm so I finaly rolled out of bed at 8:15a----felt like I missed 1/2 the day! LOL! But the day is still young and I have lots I want to do!

Lori and Mellie--I had insomnia years ago and never want to go through that again. I think my problem last night was that I was sooooo looking forward to having today off (no work and no husband at home--my time!) that I couldn't sleep. Silly, I know...it's happened before. I'm like a little kid waiting to open presents on Christmas morning!!

FOOD:
M1: protein bar, apple and gatorade (immediately following my exercise...)
M2: cottage cheese and fresh strawberries and blueberries
M3: protein shake and special K crackers
M4: probably grilled chicken salad..not sure yet but we have good eats available and I'm going grocery shopping today
M5: banana bread with fresh strawberries and blueberries
M6: nothing---I won't be up long enough today for 6 meals!

EXERCISE:
Despite sleeping strugles the past two nights I ran 10.08 miles this morning! I selected a relatively flat run along the Erie Canal. There are a few hills and some steps. After my iPod said "You have reached your goal of 10 miles" Lance Armstrong's voice came on and said "Congratulations on your longest run yet!" At first I thought I was hallucinating and then I realized he is programed in the Nike Plus! My pace was 10:54. I burned over 1100 calories. I think I'm in SHOCK that I ran 10 miles!!! I better get up from this computer before my quads atrophy in the sitting position!!!!

I'll check back later tonight (unless my legs just collapse and I sleep where I land--sort of like a cat does!)!!!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Love-Vicki

Vicki, you are an animal, girl!!!!! I only count UP, not down, that's just icing.

Stairs are our friends. Nothing like sucking wind 45 seconds into a workout. lol They kicked my butt this morning and I like it!

WELCOME TANIA!!!!! Oregon is representing! How stupid is it that we've never met? he he

I LOVE YOU GUYS!