Saturday, October 23, 2010

Book 201010: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

 

So I have to say I’m loving my Nook right now. You get a bunch of classic novels for free and this was one of them.

It was a fun and easy read and I have to say I’m much more of Team Captain Nemo than a Team Captain Ahab fan. Not so much because I like Captain Nemo, but I just loved the story so much and Moby Dick was just one of those books that I had to force myself to finish.

On the other hand, this one had me hooked from page 1! You can read a full review here. As a young mother, I would love to have my own personal manservant. How I wish Conseil would come work for me.

My favorite character was definitely Ned Land, though. In a movie, I’d probably cast him as Harrison Ford. He seems like that type of guy to me, an adventurer who’s not afraid of getting his hands dirty!

Plus, Ned’s the one that drove their quest for freedom. Without him, the other two might still be trapped in the Nautilus stranded under the sea.

I also liked how Verne doesn’t reveal why Captain Nemo is so haunted. In my opinion, it makes the story seem more real. I guess because in life no one really knows what causes people to do the things they do. You can try to guess why, but you never really know.

In the end, I would definitely recommend this book to any of my friends. I know it’s a random review, but I wasn’t an English major and it’s about all that I can do right now. Plus, I figure there are tons of more philosophical reviews out there and mine is just short and sweet :)

A run, run, run I went!

 

Yay, I got to run today :) Grant it, it was later than I normally like to run, but the weather was great and I’m not one to complain.

We rented RobinHood last night and I have to say that I really liked it. My best friend was obsessed with Russell Crow in college and I can see why. There’s just something about him that brings the story to life.

We should have started it earlier, though. We kept our little one 45 minutes past her bedtime and she got really fussy at the end. Plus, I didn’t get her to sleep until midnight :(

Why is it that she can sleep through barking doggies and a direct tv installation, but try putting her down on her crib at nighttime and you’ll get an earful.

Oh well, can’t complain. I got to run my 3 miles in 30 minutes, plus our regular walk with the doggies so I’m a happy camper.

Off to play with my little munchkincita!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Fashionista in Training

Week10 010

Here’s my little munchkin’.  One of my friends made that adorable little hat for her and I find out she actually sells them.  I told her to sell her things on etsy, I bet she’d get lots of orders.

I keep telling my Mom the same thing, too. After seeing the little hat, she was able to pick up the pattern and knit a flower of her own. I wish I could say that craftiness runs in the family, but it doesn’t. She’s tried teaching me before, but I just have myself a little chuckle each time.

I’m so not crafty!

As far as fitness & nutrition go, I think they’ve taken a back seat to SLEEP!

She’s still really unpredictable at night, sometimes 2, sometimes 3-hr blocks. Very random.  Too random for me to think of having a workout plan :(

Hopefully I get my run on tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

Today we took the doggies for a walk and don’t have much planned. Just hang around and enjoy this great weather.

Looks like she’s a wakin’ up, so gotta go :)

Monday, October 18, 2010

Can I press the restart button for this Monday?

 

I swear, I would so press that button right now! If only that option was available.

I would go back and get in a workout at the 6 am mark. I had the chance, but decided to sleep in instead. Bad choice because I am so much better when I get a good workout in. I missed that energy rush and the chance to get ready and have breakfast before Brielle gets up.

By the time she woke up it was 9 and my whole day was thrown out of whack!!!

After we had our playtime, I put her down for her nap and did manage to have some breakfast.  She was having trouble going to sleep so I tried EVERYTHING in my arsenal, but came up empty. She was not going to sleep.

I try to stick to the Baby Whisperer’s EASY method. A loose routine that goes through Eat, Activity, Sleep in a 3hr set. Since she didn’t sleep, she went into another set and finally took a 2 hr nap.  I thought she’d be ready to play after she woke up, but she really didn’t wake up. She ate and wanted to go back right to sleep. Then she woke up but just kind of sat there, she wasn’t the active self she usually was. She did manage to talk to me for a bit and now she is taking her nap.

I have no idea what routine she is on today, none whatsoever.

I guess we’ll have our good days and try to manage the not so good ones. Let’s hope it doesn’t spill over to her nighttime schedule.

In terms of fitness, I think I’ve learned I can’t set a workout schedule right now. Sleep is too important and I really don’t have any control over how much I get of it each night. I just have to learn to make the right choices when I’m rested and have a chance to work out. I have to seize those opportunities!

Since I can’t control that, I’m just going to focus on the nutrition portion of it. I haven’t been the best, but I sure am going to try :)

Here’s to hopin’ tomorrow is another day :)

BTW, anyone know of any tips to get a baby to sleep?

Monday, October 4, 2010

Pure Cardio

 

I know, I think the insanity has infected me, but I am LOVIN’ the Insanity workout dvds!!!

I started last week, but because it was during the middle of the week I decided to restart back to week 1 today. Pure Cardio was probably not the easiest way to start, but man was it fun. You know you’re in trouble when even ShawnT, the instructor, admits to being nervous about what’s to come.

Oh no!!!

It was tough, but I somehow got through it. Grant it, I had to take some breaks (ok, many breaks). It also helped that the people on the video we’re also struggling to get through the workout. Plus, I loved how all the guys kept taking their shirts off as time went by. Too funny!

After a week, I honestly can’t believe how sore I am. I haven’t lifted any weights, but I am definitely feeling the burn. I’m also surprised because my abs are definitely feeling it, but I’ve done no sit-ups or abs work. All those moves definitely do target your core! They don’t lie.

After reading Kimberly’s blog post, it inspired me to post some of my goals this October.  By the way, let me just tell  you that Kimberly’s weight-loss journey is really inspiring. She recently met her goal of running a half-marathon in under 2 hours. Go Kimberly!!!

So, here are my fitness & weight-loss goals for October:

  • Follow the Insanity workout plan. It’s a little intimidating, but I’m going to attempt the 6 times a week workout plan. I just hope Baby Brielle will help out with the sleep portion during the night so that I can wake up and get the sweat out of the way!
  • Eat healthy, post my meals and try to stay at under 2000 calories a day. TRY is the key word here!
  • Limit my Chai tea consumption. It’s so hard, specially when I have a big canister of the best Chai tea mix sitting in the pantry.  Sure, it’s only 140 calories per Chai tea goodness, but if I have one every day (as I have been) in October, it would total up to 4200 additional calories. That’s more than a whole pound, people!!! So my goal is to only have one Chai tea on Saturdays IF I got in my six workouts during the week!
  • Try to stay patient during this weight-loss journey.  Sure, I’m only four pounds off my pre-baby weight but to be honest, I was a little heavier than I wanted to be when I got pregnant. I’m a little hesitant to set an actual pounds lost goal, but if I did, I’d say I’d like to loose another 12-15 pounds. My real goal, though, is to fit into my favorite pair of jeans by Thanksgiving. They’re just sitting in my closet, all lonely because I can’t wear them. I’ve done it in the past, I just have to remember that my body likes to hold on to fat for as long as possible and so, I have to be patient.

I have to take it one day at a time and try to make the best healthy decisions that I can. Oh yea, another goal:

  • Slow down as I eat my meals. I don’t know if it’s Baby Brielle or what, but I’ve noticed I’ve been inhaling my food recently. Maybe it’s because I want to finish before she gets up, I don’t know, but I really have to take the time to eat slowly!

In a nutshell, these are my goals this month. Let’s see if I can keep it up :)

Friday, October 1, 2010

So, so sleepy!

 

My little baby girl woke up A LOT last night. It seemed like she was up every 1 or 2 hours. I woke up at 1,3,4 and 6. Oh well, I guess that’s how it goes with a baby. The almost 5 hours from the previous night was too nice and made this night even worse :(

I still managed to get up and get going with the INSANITY!!!

Day 2 of the Insanity videos also kicked my booty into high-gear. The workouts remind me so much of my high school basktetball practices, oh how I miss those days!

I did get some energy, but I’ve been draggin’ the rest of the day. I tried to take a nap, but naps aren’t the same anymore. The cute little baby noises keep waking me up, so I have to settle for some time with my eyes shut!

I still can’t believe how sore I am, though. I hope that gets better as I keep doing them.

I’m off, it’s snack time!!!