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!

Challenge 2 Day 39- Sick Kid #2

Well I woke up this morning with my youngest son who was sick with the stomach bug. And my typical routine- bring my son with me to work (office), get some work done there, then head to the Y and have my husband come and pick him up and keep him since I cannot keep him at work.. Then, afterwards, meet my husband at work and try and get work done while having my son at work.

I got to the gym early and was preparing for my classes, since I haven't taught this class yet. This class was a pretty easy class, a lot easier than my Thursday class. After class was said and done, I headed back to the office, checked on my son, and rolled up my sleeves and dove in. After work, I picked up the rest of the kids from school, and headed home. Since it was such a gorgeous day outside, the kids and I spent an hour walking the dogs and enjoying the nice weather. Jocko, one of our schnauzers got loose, and we spent 15 minutes chasing him, and he was caught!!! I was sweating like crazy- but hey, it felt good. A year ago, I would walk down 2 houses and be already sweating!

Here is my food journal entry for today:

Workout
1 hour swim lesson class

Breakfast- 10:40 am
Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt
Coffee

Lunch- 1:15 pm
1 Drumstick
2 Chicken Tenders
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans
Water
Biscuit

Dinner- 5:15 pm
Ground Beef, Rice & Tomato Skillet
Water

Tomorrow is Thursday, and I have my Day 2 of swim lessons. Bring on the kids!

Challenge 2 Day 38- In Raleigh at UNC

Today is orthodontist appointments for the kids today. It was kind of nice to get out of town for the night, to have a break, to just focus on having fun with my family today.



We checked out of the hotel after breakfast, and headed to UNC for the orthodontist appointment, which was a real quick appointment (2 minute wait time- nice!!). After we got done, we drove through the campus, which is beautiful. Then we bought some UNC sweatshirts for the kids, and let the kids have fun in a kids' museum. It was a lot of fun to just walk around and kind of reconnect with the family, and just have fun.

My husband loves the show Man vs. Food (and I admit, I love that show too!) Anyways, he did an episode in Chapel Hill, so while we were in the kids' museum, he had me look up what restaurants that he went to. When we go out of town, we always try to eat somewhere that we haven't been to before. So we went to Mama Dip's, which is a great southern home cooking. It reminded me of my grandmother's cooking.

We spent the rest of the day, spending time, went shopping and had a dinner at the mall. Now, I remember why I don't eat at the mall.

Here is my food journal entry for today:

Breakfast- 6:45 am
Waffle
Coffee

Lunch- 12:15 pm
Chicken Fried Steak
Mashed Potatoes
Collard Greens
Fried Green Tomatoes
Fried Zucchini
Sweet Tea

Dinner- 5:15 pm
1/2 Fettucine Alfredo- Yuck!
1/2 Greek Salad
Tea
Garlic Bread
Chick-fil-a Sandwich

Tomorrow I have swim lesson class, so I will talk to everyone later!

Challenge 2 Day 37- Back On Blogging Track

If you can tell I am finally getting my blogging back on track. Last week was very challenging, and I am glad that I was able to make it through it. I didn't get 6 days of workouts in, but I did the best that I could with the best that I got.

Today has been a busy day for me. We were leaving out of town today because we had to have the kids to an orthodontist appointment in Raleigh at UNC to find out if they do or don't need braces, and if they do, it can be cheaper. I made it to the gym and got a great workout in, but since my son was home sick from school, I couldn't get my work done at work. So, I took him home and put him down for a nap, and took one myself.

We left later this afternoon and headed to Raleigh, and it was nice to get out of town with the family and just relax.

The new thing that I am going to add, I am going to add my workouts so I can keep track of them as well.

Here is my food journal entry for today:

Breakfast- 10:15 am
Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt
Water

Lunch- 11:35 am
Chicken BLT Salad w/ Honey Dijon Dressing
Water

Afternoon Snack- 4:15 pm
Carmel Corn Mini Rice Cakes
Water

Dinner- 7:10 pm
Chipotle Burger
Onion Rings
Salad w/ Raspberry Vinegrette
Water w/ lemoon
1/2 PB Cup Shake

Workouts
Elliptical- 10 minutes: 134 calories/.68 miles/Average Heart- 147/ Maximum Heart- 155/ 2:48 in Heart Rate Zone

Stationary Bike- 10 minutes: 130 calories/ 3.52 miles/ Average Speed 21.1

Abdominal Exercises- 20 reps of Standard Crunches x 3
20 reps of Straight Legs x 3
20 reps of Angled Plank x 3
20 seconds of Plank
Tomorrow is our appointment with the orthodontists. Talk to everyone later.

Challenge 2 Day 28-36- The Week from H-E-Double Hockey Sticks!!!

So, obviously I have been not blogging lately, and it has been chaotic around here. My daughter had broken her thumb, and the casting was coming off of it, so we went back to the pediatrician to have it re-casted. Well, he took the original cast off & wanted to take an x-ray of it to see how it's healing.

Well after the x-ray, the bone that was fractured was at a 55 degree angle (NOT NORMAL!!!), so he said that I had to take her to an orthopedic hand surgeon immediately to get it looked at. I took her straight away and after we finally got in with the surgeon, he spent less than 5 minutes and said she had to be back here at 9:30 am the next day for her hand surgery. When I got home, I was so exhausted. My meal choices that day was awful. I let my stress take over what I should & shouldn't eaten, and I ended up eating Chick-fil-a sandwich w/ waffle fries & a lemonade.

We were back the next morning bright and early for her surgery. I remembered the bad choices I made yesterday, so I made sure to pack my own lunch & snacks (healthy of course), not only to have bettter choices, but to also save $$. It was great and I had great energy. She made it through the surgery well, and I got her home right away and let her rest and take the rest of the week off to recoup and get used to her new splint that she had on.

The rest of the week was caring for her, getting the house somewhat decent and trying to fit a workout in as well as teaching my swim lessons. Today, I am finally getting to slow down, so I am getting back on track. I did a terrible job tracking my foods and only worked out 3 days last week, but I am going to be back on track this week.

Talk to everyone tomorrow!!

Challenge 2 Day 27- Start of Spring Cleaning

Happy Saturday! Today, I was hoping to sleep in this morning because since we didn't get home late, I was going to enjoy a late morning snooze....... But nope, that didn't happen! I was up at 6:45 am. The kids didn't wake me up, I guess my internal clock woke me up instead.

I woke up and enjoyed a nice cup of coffee while I finished my email to Renee of my food journal for the week with all the workouts that I did that week. I was thinking that I wouldn't hear from her until Tuesday, but nope.... Her promptness, I heard back from her within the hour. I was thinking it was going to be terrible, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. I still need to work on my snacks, but it looks like it is an improvement.

The rest of the day was running errands, getting groceries, and my daughter had a sleepover at a friends' house. It was kind of nice to just hang out at home, and not have to run anywhere, worry about work, and so on. We ended the night watching UNC get murdered by Duke. Sad, sad game!!!

Here is my food journal entry for today:

Breakfast- 7:30 am
2 Eggs & Hashbrown Skillet
Coffee

Lunch- 12:45 pm
Arby's Chicken Pecan Salad Sandwich
Water

Dinner- 5:45 pm
Hunan Chicken Salad w/ homemade Asian Peanut Dressing (see recipe link)
Water

Tomorrow is laundry day- our dryer is broken and we have to bring our laundry back & forth to the office. Talk to everyone tomorrow.

Challenge 2 Day 26- TGIF- Man I Deserved It!

Happy Friday everyone!!!! I am so glad that it is FRIDAY!!!!! This work week has been really hectic, but I made it through and I am glad it's over.

This week has been a tough week to get my food on track. When I went over my review on Thursday with Renee and she wanted me to change some things that I need to help improve my weight loss. It has been real tough to try and transition from a lot of the foods that I have eaten, but I know has really not been the best choice.

We were short staffed today, so I had to cover working the front desk, but at lunch, I met with Renee for our workout. We did more therapy on my shoulder and adductor, and we did elliptical and treadmill. I brought with me my posture strap to help hold my shoulders back, help keep my shoulder down and keeping it from rotating forward and getting hurt.

I did pretty good on the elliptical, but when we went on the treadmill, my back started to spasm so bad that it was radiating through my chest. It was freaking me out. Renee had me push through it to and even though it was tough, I finally got through it. I took off the posture strap and the pain subsided, which was a bit of a relief. We went into the aerobics room and did more shoulder and adductor work, which was better, but a bit painful.

After work we went out with some friends to eat Thai and go to a movie. We wanted to go see Alice in Wonderland, but it was so packed, so we went to see Copout, which was a cute movie, but I could of waited for it to come out on DVD to rent. But it was a nice night to get out of the house and be with friends.

Here is my food journal entry for today:

Breakfast- 7:15 am
Bowl of Special K Cereal
Coffee

Lunch- 11:15 am
Healthy Choice Lemon Pepper Fish on Wild Rice w/ Steamed Broccoli & Apple Crisp
Water

Afternoon Snack- 2:15 pm
Almonds
Water

Dinner- 7:45 pm
Pepper Steak
Jasmine Rice
Water w/ Lemon

Tomorrow is cleaning day at the house, so I am going to be doing a lot of stairs, and lifting tons of stuff in and out of the attic. Talk to everyone later!

Challenge 2 Day 25- First Day On The Job

Today was my first day teaching swim lessons. I was really excited to start back to teaching. I really loved teaching the little kids, and I am glad that I get to do it again.

I dropped the kids off at school & I headed to the gym and got my workout in. I did 10 minutes on the bike & then I worked on my shoulders & adductors. Then, I played about 10 minutes of volleyball setting to work on my shoulder. Once I got done, I changed & got into my swimsuit and taught my class. It was great!!

After my classes, I took a water aerobics class (I am going to get back into teaching those as well- taught them for 3 years back in the day), and I really worked my shoulder. When I got done & got cleaned up, I picked up my daughter from school because she was sick, and picked up my youngest son, while my other son had to stay late to make up late days & my husband picked him up from school. I laid down and passed out for 3 hours-- I forgot how much energy gets sucked out of you when you are in the water 3 hours. Wow!!! Now, I am wide awake!

Here is my food journal for today:

Breakfast- 10:15 am
Myoplex RTD Chocolate Fudge Shake
Water

Morning Snack- 12:45 pm
Almonds
Water

Lunch- 1:25 pm
1/2 foot long Philly Cheesesteak Subway Sub on Honey Oat
(Provolone Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Green Peppers, Red Onions)
Sun Chips
Water

Dinner- 6:35 pm
Leftover Chili w/ Fritos
Water

Evening Snack- 8:45 pm
Popcorn
Hot Cocoa

Tomorrow is my workout with Renee- let's see what she has in store for me tomorrow. Talk to everyone later!

Challenge 2 Day 24- Snow Day/No School- Are You Kidding Me!!!

I woke up this morning & there was a snow storm overnight, and the kids were out of school. I didn't agree with it, but in some areas, it was pretty bad. So, I understand it, but by mid afternoon, all the snow melted.

Today was suppose to be my first day teaching swim lessons, but because there was no school, there was no work. But, I had to get into the office because my desk was overflowing with work that I needed to do. So, I had to bring the kids with me to work, which was kind of hectice, but I was kind of glad that it was a light day. I powered through all the work, and the kids and I were out the door.

We got home, walked the dogs & picked up the house, then around close to 4 pm we were out the door & to the gym. Future note- I am never going to the gym at 4 pm ever again!!!! It was packed first of all, but there were so many school kids, especially high school kids that were being ridiculous. I ended up after my workout going home and taking a shower- I just had to get out of the chaos. But even after the hectic day, I still made it to my workout!!!

Here is my food journal entry for today:

Breakfast- 7:45 am
2 Eggs
Hash Browns
Homemade Whole Grain Bread w/ Homemade Strawberry Jam
Coffee

Lunch- 1:15 pm
Healthy Choice Spicy Chicken Carbonara
Water

Dinner- 6:25 pm
Seared Salmon
Steamed Broccoli/Carrots
Water

Evening Snack- 8:15 pm
Leftover chili
Water

Tomorrow is cardio day & doing more rehab on my shoulder & adductors. Talk to everyone later!

Challenge 2 Day 23- Food Journal Review.....Need More Work

Happy Tuesday everyone!!! Today was my first day at my new job, or at least I thought it was.

I went into the YMCA this morning thinking that I had swim lessons, and the aquatics director, Kimberly, came and found me & told me that I didn't have swim lessons today, so I went ahead and unpacked my gym bag & headed back to the office. I had my husband work on my back, and we found out that I had a rib head out under my rhomboid/shoulder blade area and that was what was causing my shoulder problem. The other issue that he saw was that my left leg was turning out. He said that I needed to work on the adductor muscle to correct this problem. When he adjusted my rib head, the shoulder pain went away. It felt so good!!!

I headed back to the gym around noon-ish to workout with Renee & we did 15 minutes of cardio, and then we did some rehab on my shoulder and worked on the adductors to help turn my left foot in. While we working the adductors, I was talking to Renee about why I think my left leg turns out. Since I was carrying around all of this weight for 10 years, I have had to change how I walked, moved, etc. We were doing leg lifts one day and I know that with the excess weight and I couldn't lift my leg straight up, I have to kind of swing it around to pick it up. When I started to do squats and my stomach was definitely getting in the way, I have had to turn my leg out to get the full movement. Sad, so sad!!!

We also went over my 2 week food journal and we went through that as well. I definitely have a salt/sweet issue, and because of work, I eat out a lot. And even though I work a lot, that isn't an excuse to eat out. I need to pack my lunch, or buy a bunch of those Healthy Choices to keep in the freezer so that I don't eat out.

Here is my food journal entry for today:

Breakfast- 8:15 am

Bowl of Special K cereal

Coffee

Lunch- 11:35 am

Healthy Choice Tortellini Primevera Parmesan

Water

Dinner- 6:15 pm

Homemade Chili w/ ground beef, chili/kidney beans, diced tomatoes, onions

Whole Wheat Bread

Water

Tomorrow is cardio day, and I am going to keep pushing on. Talk to everyone tomorrow!!

Challenge 2 Day 22- Slump Won't Take Me Down

So yesterday was my slump, but today I was going to back to it. I woke up this morning and got the kids ready to school. My middle kid, stayed home from school since he was sick, and I took him to the office to stay with his dad while I went to the gym. I got my workout in, which felt great, and then I picked up my son, since my husband had a meeting to go to, and brought him with me back to the YMCA for my job orientation (by the way, I got the job- teaching swim lessons- free membership!!). I did my orientation, then took my son out to lunch, ran some errands, and then picked up the kids from school.

Our dryer was broken, so I was at the office finishing some laundry (we have a washer/dryer unit at our office), then got home and made dinner and got the kids in the bath and into bed. It was a pretty flowing day, and I am glad that I made it to the gym and glad that it was pretty easy.

Here is my food journal entry for today:

Breakfast-10:15 am
Yogurt Parfait w/ Granola & Craisins
Coffee

Lunch- 12:34 pm
1/2 Cajun Chicken Sandwich
Salad Bar w/ Thousand Island Dressing
Homemade Chips w/ Ranch Dressing
Water

Dinner- 5:45 pm
Hunan Chicken
Jasmine Rice
Mixed Vegetables
Water

Tomorrow is my first day back at swim lessons, then my one-on-one session with Renee. We are going to go over my food journal to see what I can change. Talk to everyone tomorrow!!