Hi Everyone..... Been In Hiding

Hey everyone!!! Like the title says, I have been in hiding. The past few weeks for this month, I have been trying to get all the 2009 taxes done for our accountant before the 15th. Ugh!!!! The other thing was that I started at the Y, planning on teaching one, maybe 2 classes, and now, I have been teaching 8-10 classes, adding more water fitness classes and preparing to be the YSL Swim Lesson Coordinator for the summer. And I only started to take this job to get a free family membership!!!

For all of my followers, I appreciate you all being patient with me, and not giving up on me. I have been working out daily, and if I don't make it to the treadmill/elliptical/stationary bike & I have to teach swim lessons, I get in the pool 30 minutes before class and swim laps before I start.

My food choices on the other hand has been pretty bad!!! Looking at everything that I have been doing so far, I have to say that my food choices is my weakness. I am an emotional eater!!! I LOVE FOOD!!!!! I love the taste of food, how flavors work with the food. I have learned not to use food when I am stressed or upset, but I do let food flavors dictate what I do & don't eat. I also let my husband's emotional eating control what I do and don't eat as well.

For example, we are in Atlanta, GA for the weekend for a Pettibon Seminar, and on our way down here, we just crossed over into Georgia. We had stopped in Hickory, waiting for my new laptop to come in from Dell via FedEx, and we ate Japanese at the mall. About an 1 1/2 after eating at the mall, and back on the road, we drove to an exit that had a Krystal's restaurant (my husband's favorite). He wanted to eat there, even though we ate 1 1/2 hours ago. I stopped and not only ordered his meal, but I ordered a meal for myself. Did it taste good.... Heck ya!!! But was it something that I needed to eat..... Heck No!!! About 10 minutes after eating it, my husband started to complain that his stomach was hurting and he was getting really bloated.

After we ate, we talked about what we just did, and we both knew that it was such a bad idea. All we could do was talk about it, make the changes & move on. He has been real focused on doing the changes because I signed him up for an 8 week boot camp and even though he fought it at first, he has made a lot of changes- involving more exercise. His attitude has changed and he has been more motivating to keep me moving. He even without me having to do this, signed up for 8 week Beach Body Abs workout at 5:00 am in the morning.

Well, I wanted to start back at my blogging, especially since I have on my desktop of my laptop, I can blog right here without having to pull up the full website. If anyone out there is willing to take on this challenge, I need an assistant who will send me an email to say, "Hey lady.... Where's your blog post?" I have noticed that I have been so overwhelmed with everything, that I think I am going to need someone who would be willing to help, remind me to blog & also when I blog say, "Hey, what are you doing? Did you workout today?" or "Did you eat right today?" I hope someone will help me out with that.

Talk to everyone later!!!

Happy Easter Everyone!!

Happy Easter Weekend everyone! The first 3 months have flown by so quickly. I was looking through my planner to see what was already filled in my almost full schedule for the month of April & into May, and I realized at the end of May, that the kids will be out of school. Also, I am two month away from our girls' trip to NYC. I am super excited! Five days- no husband, no kids..... Just us girls in NYC!!! Now, just trying to get tickets to Wicked and figure out what to do for fun that isn't just tourist-y. Anyone who has been to NYC or live/lived in NYC have any suggestions, please send them my way.

This week, my workout has been slow starting, but I pushed through the rest of the week sweating like crazy. Monday, I was stuck at the office, trying to get all the tax stuff together for the accountant. In the middle of last year, we had an accounting software (Peachtree), and the computer it was on was getting "cleaned up." So I put all of our information on a memory stick and store it away. About two months ago, I realized that I had lost the memory stick. Holy crap!!!! I tried to start over with Peachtree, but it was so hard to understand. So I ended up buying Quickbooks, and I had to start over. So I had worked day and night all this week to try and get this done, and Thursday night, I finally got it all done. Phew.......

I finally made it to the gym on Wednesday, and I was pushing hard on the bike & the elliptical. Then I worked on weights & did abs. This week was my first week without Renee, and I was slow going on my own, but I at least I did it. Now, I am working with a co-worker to start taking on some water fitness classes, and creating more intense water fitness classes to really push it.

So, my week has been really interesting, and I am really looking forward to start this next week. Meeting with the accountant on Monday. Now, I am going to talk to everyone later, I have to get ready and head to the Y for my private swim lesson today.

I Haven't Fallen Off The Face Of The Earth.......

Hey everyone!!

Sorry that I haven't been on in a while to blog. The Nieland household has been turn up on its head this last week, and I now feel like it is somewhat back, right side up. Have anyone out there had a day/week/month like that? I was also getting burned out on being on the computer everyday all day and I just took a mind break from technology (except for my phone- my lifeline!!)

Well let me get everyone caught up in what I have been up to...... Since the last time that I have been on, I have picked up more swim lessons. I planned on only doing 2 days a week in the morning, but it has now turned into two classes on Weds & 2 classes on Thurs morning, one class Tues & Thurs evening & a private swim lesson on Sat. I have also completed my water fitness certification class this past weekend, and I am hoping to work with the YMCA Aquatics to offer more intense water fitness classes. But, I haven't dropped my workouts. Still doing them 6 days a week, and I have been focusing on "cleaning up" my eating habits.

My daughter had a new cast put on two weeks ago, and this Thursday, she goes back to the othropaedic surgeon to have her thumb x-rayed to make sure everything is healing properly. My boys are being boys, playing in the mud, cars, legos & anything else they can get their hands into. My husband is pushing through work and teaching his classes at the college. I signed him up for a boot camp course at the YMCA, and for the first 2-3 weeks, we was cursing my name, but now, he has gotten over the pain, and is pushing through. I am so proud of him that he is hasn't given up. He has also add jiu jitsu 2 days a week as well. Way to go honey!!!

Now, I know I might sound like a broken record, but I am now back on track with the blogging. It is great to see people that have read my blog or read my posts on Facebook emailing me or IMing me on Facebook making sure that I am still doing what I need to be doing and not giving up on me. If you are reading this and you have done it, "THANK YOU!!" I am still working out 6 days a week, and now, I bring a lunchbag filled with my snacks, breakfast & lunch (sometimes my dinner as well), and water! I haven't given up, starting to fit in clothes that I haven't worn in years & loving it! I promise everyone that I am going to be back to blogging every night. Talk to everyone soon!!!

Challenge 2 Day 43- I Am Wishing This Weekend Isn't Over

Why is it when Saturday comes, we cram so much things to do instead of enjoying it, and when Sunday comes, we wish it was Saturday again so we can "just relax." We didn't wake up until 11:30 am, which is nice to sleep in. We got ready to go to the brunch with our family friends and then, we had to cut it short because Ally was feeling really sick. That stomach bug is really kicking her butt!!

The rest of the day, I rested and the kids took naps. It was nice to relax the rest of the Sunday.

Here is my food journal entry for today:

Breakfast- 2:15 pm
Chicken Thigh
Corn
Green Beans
Biscuit
Dirty Rice
Meatloaf slice
Sweet Tea

Dinner- 6:15 pm
Leftover Ground Beef, Rice & Tomato Skillet
Water

Tomorrow I will see if I can make it to the gym, if Ally is still sick. Talk to everyone tomorrow!

Challenge 2 Day 42- Have To Work On A Saturday

So today was a work day for me & my husband. It has been such a crazy week, that we have needed to catch things up. We spent the morning picking up the house and waiting for the repair man to show up to fix the dryer that still isn't fixed. I decided that I didn't want to eat out, so I packed up my George Foreman Grill, chicken breasts, rice cooker with rice, corn, & BBQ sauce so that we could have a nice little grill out and relax.

We headed to the office, and was getting a lot of work done. The kids played on the computers, watching movies and relaxing. We ended up grilling and we let the kids go outside and play while we grilled BBQ chicken on the George Foreman. We had a whole meal together and it was really good.

By the end of the day, we ended up staying at the office until 12:30 am. We didn't get home and get the kids into bed until 1 in the morning. I was so exhausted!!

Here is my food journal entry for today:

Workout
None

Breakfast- 8:20 am
Scrambled Eggs
Hashbrowns w/ Onions & Green Peppers
Slice of Homemade Whole Wheat Molasses Toast w/ Butter & Strawberry Jam
Coffee

Lunch- 12:15 pm
Healthy Choice Portabella Mushroom Pasta
Water

Dinner- 5:25 pm
Grilled BBQ Chicken Breast
Jasmine Rice
Corn
Water

Tomorrow is Sunday, and we are heading to our monthly family dinner get together with friends. Talk to everyone tomorrow!!

Challenge 2 Day 41- Bringing On The Pain!

Today is torture day..... I mean Friday! What a great way to start my morning but to workout with Renee at 8 am. Now I like to workout first thing in the morning because I can check it off of my list and then I can focus on my work that I needed to get done.

When I got to the gym, we started with a run outside. It felt nice to be outside, but it was freezing cold. Of course, Renee said it would warm me up, but in no way did it. I was freezing after I was done. We headed back into the Y and straight over to the dreaded stairs, and of course, 10 flights of stairs. But, I am really proud of myself..... I did it without having Renee "guide" me up the stairs. And straight from there, it was "wall sits" for 20 secs. My feet were shaking! Then straight from there we did 20 chest presses and 2 reps of 20 of leg presses at 230 & 240 lbs. I did great on the first rep, but when we got to 10 on the 2nd rep, and my legs were shaking like crazy. The last 10 were the toughest.

When I got all done, it was so hard to stand. I was leaning on anything that I could lean on. I walked down the hall to the locker room and all that was playing in my head was, "Please don't give out on me legs. Please don't fall." It took everything within me to be able to stand. I sat in front of my locker because I didn't want to stand. Typically, I don't use handicap showers & bathroom stalls in case someone needs them, but today, I needed it. Half of the shower I couldn't even stand up on my own. I had to use the seat to shower. It was so sad.

The rest of the day was getting a lot of work done, and I picked up the kids from school. It was such a gorgeous day that the kids & I took the dogs for a walk through our subdivision. It felt good to enjoy the weather and the changing from winter to spring! The rest of the day I enjoyed just relaxing with the family.

Here is my food journal entry for today:

Workout
One-on-One with Renee

Breakfast- 9:10 am
Pear
Coffee
Water

Morning Snack- 10:45 am
100 calorie snack Lorna Doone
Water

Lunch- 12:34 pm
Leftover Tuna Patties x 2 (added to the recipe link)
Cucumber Dill Sauce (added to the recipe link)
Apple w/ peanut butter
Water

Dinner- 7:15 pm
Salmon w/ Mixed Veggies
Fried Rice
Water
1 Bud Light

I am so glad that is Saturday, and I have to spend the day working in the office. Talk to everyone tomorrow!!

Challenge 2 Day 40- Enjoying A Somewhat Normal Schedule

It was nice to get back to a decent schedule. It has been about 2 weeks since I have been able to get things done that needs to be done. I started my day going to the gym to teach my swim class then to the office to get caught up on paperwork without distraction. (Our office is closed on Thursday.)

The rest of the day, I was at the office, trying to weed through all of the stack of paperwork that I had piled on my desk. It felt like it was through the roof. It was nice to get started in it, but I needed more time to get through more. And this afternoon, I had to take my daughter to the orthopedic surgeon to get her stitches taken out of her thumb and get it re-casted. It was kind of gross to see the 2 pins sticking out of her thumb. I am so proud of her. She didn't cry one bit. She took slow deep breaths, and I was talking her through the tough breathing exercises that she was having trouble of getting through. I am so proud of her!!

Here is my food journal entry for today:

Workout
1 hour swim lesson class

Breakfast
Missed

Morning Snack- 11:15 am
Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt
Water

Lunch- 1:25 pm
Healthy Choice Potstickers (Pretty gross- never going to eat again)
Water

Dinner- 5:25 pm
Nacho Bell Grande
Beef Taco Supreme
Mountain Dew

Tomorrow is Friday, TGIF and I am going to hopefully get through all of my paperwork. Talk to everyone later!