Posted in Encouragement

My grandpa passed away this week. He was fighting lung cancer that was caused from him having to work with asbestos.

I am praising the Lord that I was able to see him back in June/July this year. We had a good time together. The Lord's timing was perfect in me being able to go see him and for that, I am very grateful.

My Grandpa, also a WWII veteran lived a wonderful life. The stories and memories I have of him will continue to live on. Through the years my grandfather would write down his stories of him and my grandma and he'd send them to me. What a neat heritage to be able to sit down and read about his life that he shared with my grandma.

My grandpa spoiled me. I was his Princess. He'd buy me things that I wanted while we walked the flea markets. He took me to museums which were often followed by a game or two of put-put golf. He taught me a lot about gold prospecting, rockhounding and metal detecting. He gave me great advice when I was being taught by my dad how to use a rifle and a pistol. He gave me great gardening tips and even encouraged me a few times to become a bee keeper.

He was a kind, gentle man. He loved life. He loved adventure which in his eyes was a good treasure hunt or a gold prospecting trip.

He didn't want to have a memorial service, instead he wanted all that knew him to celebrate his life in their own way. I think for me I will go gold panning at one of his favorite places.

I will miss you, Grandpa. May my life be as wonderful and fulfilled as your was.

Posted in Glimpses of our homeschool

What a busy summer this has been. Since the end of June it has felt like non-stop. We get home, unpack, then a few days later repack for another adventure. It's been wonderful, but I feel tired. Thankfully, I have three weeks of hanging out at home before another fun trip or two.  This weeks focus has been laundry and cleaning the long neglected house.

Next week we'll work on getting back into the home schooling routine.  We've had a fun summer full of outdoor learning but now it's time to get back to the basic "R's".

I am back from vacation/ not so vacation. I was visiting my grandfather who isn't doing very well.

Bullhead City, AZ got up to 118 degrees. Thank God for my dads pool! We also visited my in-laws in Mayer, AZ.

Hoover Dam was 110 degrees when we were there.

Grand Canyon was beautiful and a nice cool 80 degrees! I did some pushups overlooking the Canyon. =)

Weight-loss so far....... 30 pounds and 33.5 inches are gone!!

Posted in Encouragement

Journey - process of development. A gradual passing from one state to another... from innocence to mature awareness.

We've all been on journey's and have gone through seasons. Praise God for them so we can grow.

Of course my latest journey has been weight-loss. Who would of known that it is more of a mental journey on the path to huge weight-loss. The past five months have been hard, but I have learned a LOT.

I have learned to think and eat like an athlete. I have learned that I enjoy a good challenge. Pushing myself is quite a rush. I learned how lazy I used to be! Oh my word! Even though I was busy before I still was not at par due to lack of energy.

My family is benefiting from all this too. They enjoy long walks with me. They like to exercise with me. The other day my son asked me to help him gain muscle. His words after feeling my triceps and my tummy, "Mom, I want muscles like you!" Aaaaaah, music to my ears! Granted there is still flab on my arms and on my tummy, but underneath I've got a six pack, baby! Doing almost 1,000 crunches, push-ups, 1/2 get-ups, squats and other exersices per week is paying off.

I feel stong, I feel good, I feel healthy. I still have a ways to go to reach my goal, but this time next year I will be half the woman I am today. =)

I took tears to get to where I am today. Tears of frustration. One night in prayer I asked the Lord to help me and to plant the desire to physically become the woman He wants me to be. That night He planted new desires, new energy and new motivation in me. It is to God that gets the glory everytime I sweat!

Loss so far - 22 lbs. 30 inches.

Life, 'tis a lovely gift.

It's been a rockin' year so far! I'm doing things that I thought I wouldn't do. Learning at home is awesome! It all is just getting better!

I have had to cut some things out of my life lately due to not having the time for them, like reading other people's blogs on a regular basis and even posting on my blog. I have always enjoyed blogging and I don't plan on stopping, I just need to log on and get it done.

I'm looking forward to this summer and fall. This is the time of year that things get real busy for us. Camping, hiking, rockhounding, gold prospecting. Al Fresco, Baby!  I have a lot lined up already. I'm looking forward to it! The only "glitch" would be the gas prices.

Give Glory to Christ in all things!

I am rejoicing today! I have lost 20 pounds as of today. Oh, I'm siked. I'm losing weight the hard way and naturally! Tons of exercise, calories in - calories out. I still have a ways to go, but goodness it feels great to be 20 pounds less! My hubbs told me today that when I reach my goal weight that he'll take me on a nice vacation! 

Sweet!!

I'll post more later. The homeschooling front has been wonderful, busy and blessed.

Posted in Glimpses of our homeschool

I learned this week how motivation is contagious!

Back in December I was so un-motivated! It really stank and I was tired of it. I prayed and sought ways to overcome! I did, back in January. Nothin' compares to discipline, hard work, exercise and soap to get you movin'!

The motivation, the drive that I have has carried on to my kids. Oh, what joy!! The past two days my children have gotten most of their learning done, the stuff that doesn't require me to help them that much, like math, handwriting done without me prodding them. In fact, my oldest has been getting up before I do and does his math. Total shocker! I'm proud of him!

I can only hope and pray that this lasts with the kids. I know I want to stay driven!

I've been out of pocket. I think this week I'll be back to normal postings again.

On the learning front: Aside from our "normal" stuff, we have slowly been doing a bird unit together. I think in a week or two a nice trip to the zoo would be nice... or to a local bird sanctuary. We have been a bit lax with learning the past two weeks because of the sickies that have been passed around the family. Families share a lot, I just wish sickness wasn't one of them!

Weight loss front: So far I have lost 18 pounds and 25 3/4 inches.

Today's exercise: BL Powersulpt and Mr. D's challenge.

Mr. D's Challenge this week is 15 min. BRISK cardio, 3 min. rest., 3 circuits of the following- 30 squats, 30 crunches, 30 tricep dips, 30 step-ups, 30 push-ups, 30 flutter kicks. Then 15 more min. cardio (80% effort) and finally 10 min. cool down.

Posted in Encouragement

What a journey I have been on this past week. I am amazed at what I have been through. I haven't really been through that much really... which doesn't make much sense. I have realized and learned a few things about myself that I didn't know! How cool is that? For some what I have went through might not be much, but for me they are milestones!

I realized that I am even stronger than what I thought I was. I've always been tough, but... wow... I've suprised myself this week. Glory to God, He is the One that has given me the strength, the morivation and the joy to do what I have done.

What have I done? Besides doing a hard physical challenge I have learned that getting past that one has made me hungry for more! I've always liked to push my limits with myself. I have learned that when I humble myself and completly let God take over areas in my life that I become stronger. Weight has been a struggle for me and now I am doing things I would of never considered doing - like these challenges I'm doing. I find myself pushing even harder on a daily basis because I desire a healthy, strong body.

Now I just have to get back to getting up early in the mornings again! Wake-y wake-y!

Exercise today: 30 min. on recumbent bike and 40 min. BL Cardio Max.

Yesterday after I came home from church the family decided it was time to get out! The sickies had taken their toll with cabin fever. We piled into the new 4WD and headed for a local touristy park to drive in.

I'm driving along and then my urge to break the new car in hit! I just had to go on one of the dirt roads I haven't been on in a long time because with my other car I couldn't. (Not high enough clearance!)

It was a beautiful drive which takes us high above the city. The view is breath taking. We get to some signs that say "Moterized vehicles beyond this point - Not recommended" Road not taken care of. So what do I do?? I keep going. I mean goodness there were a LOT of other tire tracks in the snow and mud...

There were places where I had to lock the 4WD - Yeah baby! It was a very fun, bumpy, and beautiful drive. My hubby enjoyed it and he was also very glad I was driving and that I know how to 4-wheel because he said he wouldn't of gone where I did. He would probably get stuck. I guess I'll have to take my hubby 4-wheeling a bunch of times to teach him. Like I mind! Any excuse to get me out with my hubby! Yes!

 Below: It was one of the "easier" places to drive. (Other places were rougher and took some maneuvering to get through.)The snow was pretty deep (It's kind of hard to tell in the picture(A foot and more in places)). There is no way a car could make it through the snow and mud. There were a few places where it looked like people got stuck. It was a bit slippery because all the snow and mud. Don't worry... my hubby took the picture while I was driving. This is the kind of roads I learned how to drive on. Ice, snow, and drop-offs!

Exercise today: 20 min. Recumbent bike

SP Challenge: 55:37 min. to do 6 circuits each of 50 push-ups (modified), crunches, tricep dips, flutter kicks and "get ups" (Get ups are laying down on the floor, then standing all the way up.) I had to modify the get ups because of my knees, so instead I laid down on my bed, got up, stood up.. ect.

My family is doing much better and so am I. I've been dealing with sinus stuff... but at least I didn't catch what the rest had. During the week I was still busy taking care of them all, so I didn't get many chances to exercise much. I did on Saturday though and did a total killer workout!! But, I sure feel stronger today! I'll be doing it again today too! In the end I end up doing 300 modified push-ups, 300 crunches, 300 tricep dips, 300 flutter kicks and 300 get ups + 20 min. brisk cardio! Shewww eeeeee!

I also have some pictures that my hubby took while I was driving.... in snow and mud on a fun mountain road. hehehehhehehe. Oh, it felt good to get out and play in my new 4WD "Toy"! I'll get those pictures posted later today or tomorrow.

My family is still fighting this bug. Thankfully they are all on the mend and are doing much better. I did have to take my hubby to the Doc today. The Doc said even though he had "the signs of flu", he still thinks its not the flu because he wasn't as bad as other people that have gotten it. He thinks it is some sort of respiratory virus, which actually makes since because of all the mucus!! I've had to buy 9 (NINE!) boxes of tissue in 4 days.

So far I haven't gotten it. I have a bit of congestion, but nothing like everyone else has. I am thankful!

Exercise for today:

20 min. on recumbent bike.

15 minutes CONTINUOUS CIRCUIT (that means you don't stop)
10 crunches
20 squats
10 push ups

wait 5 minutes

Repeat the 15 minute continuous circuit

wait 5 minutes

Repeat for 5 minutes.

It's been snowing off and on all day today. Like I mind! I love snow! The more the better!

I'm still taking care of my family, now all five children have it as well as my hubby. I'm refusing to catch this sickness! I will not get it! No one could take care of me if I get it. In between going to the grocery store to get popsicles, juice and other feel-good-for-sickies-food I've been looking for learning stuff to get for this year and next. I may wait until April/May when a lot of places have discounts.

I already purchased some Science kits from treasurebox.press. I just love those! I got the robotics one for my oldest. One on electricity and another on on Natural disasters. It shall be fun. My kids love those kits!

Today's exercise:

20 min. Recumbent bike

50 min. Power Sculpt

2 min. of step-ups.

Posted in Rambles

Today was such an off day for me. My hubby and 4 of my children all have the sickies. I've been taking care of them today. I'm grateful that I have a hubby and wonderful children to take care of, I just wish they all weren't feeling so bad.

I still managed to get some exercise in.

At the grocery store I parked at the end of the parking lot and walked as quickly as I could to and from the store. There was a slight hill which was nice.

I also did 2 minutes of step-ups. (SP challenge to see how many we can do in a minute.)

Then I did:

15 minutes CONTINUOUS CIRCUIT (no stopping!) of: 10 Cruches, 20 Squats, 10 push-ups. Wait 5 minutes. Repeat the 15 minute continuous circuit. Wait 5 minutes. Repeat circuits for 5 minutes. Rest. (This is also part of SP challenge.) I will do this again on Monday and Wednesday of next week.

Posted in Encouragement

From now on any type of post I type I will include my exercises for the day at the end.

Here is what my weekly workout looks like.

Mon.-Wed.- Fri. : 45 to 60 min. Cardio plus 30 to 50 min. Strength. I also do challenges with a group through Sparkpeople.com.

Tues. - Thurs. : 50 to 60 min of Cardio. (rest from strength)

Saturday: 30 to 60 min. Cardio. (rest from strength)

Sunday: Rest

My favorite exercise is: Crunches

Exercise I hate, but try do it anyway: Planks

Today: 3 mile Walk of the Pounds (50 min); 2 minutes of step-ups; 10 min. streching.

Posted in Encouragement

My blog post about how I exercise with 5 children follows my exercises.

My Exercises for today: (All complete!)

Circuit training: The goal is to complete this the quickest you can. Make sure you do not let time compromise good form!

3 sets of 10
3 sets of 9
3 sets of 8
continuing in descent to 3 sets of 1 (if you are tough enough)

push ups
dips (tricep dips, you can use a chair, but I use my stairs)
crunches
squats (jump squats if you can do them, but don’t injure yourself. Do what you are capable of.)
lunges (each leg)

Today I did this in 27 minutes compared to Saturday's time of 36 minutes. This is a challenge from one of my teams on SP. (Go Project Mayhem!)

50 minutes of Power sculpt. This video is a major rear end kicker. I highly recomend it!

30 minutes on recumbent bike.

Approximate calories burned: 1162.6 (Yeah!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I copied the following from my sparkpeople blog. It was in response to a question that was raised about finding time to exercise with 5 children.

I have 5 children and on top of all the child rearing, house work... I also homeschool them.
Getting times in to workout is probably the hardest challenge I have yet.. it makes the "Mayhem Project" a breeze! LOL.
I don't have a workout partner. Maybe someday I will. I do have the support of my husband, whom I'm trying to get to workout with me. I also have the support through SP and other online buddies. =)

My children also workout with me.
It makes a huge difference to get them involved in what you are doing. Go for walks or hikes with your children. While they are playing at the park, play with them or walk around the park. Get some low impact exercise videos that they can do with you. I think Leslie Samsone has a family walking video out.
Even smaller children have fun exercising even if they aren't as coordinated yet. (It also provides great entertainment!) LOL.

Some of my more intense workouts I do in early morning before anyone wakes up. Often late at night after they are in bed I'll get about 15-30 min. done on my recumbent bike. Often I'll give them a project to work on which also allows me to get some exercise done.

I have also started doing squats, lunges, walking in place or other simple exercises while I cook dinner In between stirring the food is a great time get some exercise in.

Another thing is to set a timer for 5-15 minutes and go up and down the stairs or crunches (something) while the kids do a chore for the amount of time on the timer.
Speaking of stairs, I also put more oomph into climbing them. I'll swing my arms and dip my knees more when going up them.

If you have younger children that still need to be picked up, make it an arm workout. At least once a day I'll lift my 1 yr old. I'll sit on the couch, put my elbows on my knees, then I'll pick her up, give her a kiss and then put her down. I do this about 10 times and of course she loves it!!

You can do it! Children love to be involved with what you are doing. I know it has been great for bonding with my kids.

Honestly, nothing compares to your children telling you to keep up the exercise because your butt is getting smaller! My kids have been excited for me because they are eagerly waiting for the day (which will be soon) that they can play soccer or basketball with me.

Oh, and for bonus... for me when I am more active during the day, not only do I sleep well, but so do the kids!

Posted in Encouragement

Spring is in the air... kind of. The robins have been showing up on our trees, so that means spring is near! I am looking forward to getting out and hiking! For my hubby and mine 15th wedding anniversary we bought an 8 passenger 4WD SUV. I can now go to even more places in the mountains! I'm totally siked!

Since January I have lost 16 pounds and almost 20 inches. I've been working hard! I'm thinking about adding my weekly workouts here on my blog. What do you think? If your interested and  are tough enough to join me in my workouts you are more than welcome to. I've been getting great results! My workouts are not easy and they make you sweat buckets! They will kick your behind as they certainly kick mine and they'll boost your metabolism! As a result my behind is quickly getting smaller and I am getting stronger!  I have energy and I feel great!

I will have to come back here and brag on my daughter for a bit. She has been busy sewing quilts, pillows, dresses, skirts. She is becoming quite the little seamstress. I am so proud of her. I never really liked sewing, but it tickles me that she does. My mother has been teaching her. My mom is the best sewing teacher! She taught me, but I'd rather play in mud and catch lizzards and snakes than sew.

I'm also shopping for our homeschool learning stuff. I don't like using "curriculum" as I don't use any set curriculum. I use a bit of that and this.

The robins are back so we got out our Bird study from Sam's Science Adventure.

I am eagerly waiting for spring. I love winter but, I am anxious to get some hiking, camping, gold prospecting and rockhounding in this spring, summer and fall. Not to mention spring run-off that will deposit more gold in them streams.

My Hubby and I are on the look for a new vehicle. We have an idea for what we want, we just need to start looking. Since our van broke down last year it's been frustrating not being able to take all the family somewhere at the same time.

Our 15th wedding anniversary is tomorrow and we still don't know how we'll celebrate. (We'll probably end up looking at cars). I'm sure we'll go out for a nice a meal and maybe a movie. I'm just really happy to be able to spend the day with my hubby without the kids. I get him all to myself!! (I even bought myself a new shirt to wear!)

Time - I wish I had more sometimes. The time that I usually use for blogging and other online fun has been used for exercising. It really is a good trade off since my rear is getting smaller! I just need to get into another routine and then my blogging fun should get back on track again. Blogging is enjoyable for me. I find myself thinking... Oh, I have to blog that... but then a day or two goes by and I didn't do it. Time eludes me.

I have restless leg syndrome. It's frustrating to have.

Before I started seeing those commercials on the TV about it, I only thought I was weird. (Which, I am weird...) I didn't think other people would get those "restless" feelings in their legs too. I just figured that I had to get up and pray. =) I get it in my hands sometimes too.

Anyway, the only time I didn't have problems with my legs being restless was when I was nursing. Now that my 1.5 yo is weaned the restlessness has started up again.

If any of you dear readers suffer from this is there any "natural" things that you know of to help this. I do not want meds for it and I can't keep asking my hubby to rub my legs everynight. I'm zapped at the end of the day and I want to sleep!

Posted in Rambles

I forgot in my previous post that the reasons why I was so distracted was because my hubby was in Germany for 6 weeks. It's funny... I'm still pretty distracted. I wonder why?

I also had a Birthday on Tuesday. I'm figuring out what to do with the money that was given to me. So far, I have bought myself some dumbells and some Norwegian Salmon. (Boy, was the salmon good!) When I was buying my salmon at a local organic store I noticed the crab cakes and mentioned they looked good. Then the lady behind the counter asked if I needed help yet and I said, "I'm just figuring out what I want to make for my Birthday dinner. Salmon or Halibut." As I was looking at all the goodies (fish) the lady handed me a package and told me it was on the house, "Happy Birthday." They gave me a free crab cake! Boy, was it delish! (Those crab cakes were $7 a piece!) I admit, I was feeling pretty special.

I've been having to ponder again as to what to do for our learning stuff. We've been a bit lax since my hubby has been back home. I received a new Learning Through History Magazine which is on American Indians, in which my children are excited about learning.

I also have a Barnes and Noble gift card. I think I'll browse online first and then to get out of the house I'll go B&N later so I can get any books I want and a green tea frap!

 Oh! I almost forgot! Thank you for the award, Nikowa, I am honored. I will post about it more as time allows. (I hope this weekend!)