Dirty Pools

Last night was "scrapbook night" here - I was SO excited to finally pull my stuff back out and work on it! Brian's sister Courtney came over for dinner, and we worked until 11:30! Unfortunately, Ben wasn't in the sleepiest of moods, and he needed a bit of attention, so I didn't get to start really working for a while. I didn't get a lot done, but since I had pulled everything out, I just left it on the table and went back to it during the day today when I had a spare moment. I was able to get several pages done during naptime today, but I still have a long way to go... that's what happens when you allow yourself to get 2 years behind, I suppose. I'm working on the boys' baby books, and once I get caught up with them I'm going to go back and (finally!) work on our wedding album.

So I am not the most organized scrapbooker around. :P

I also went out onto the deck for a few minutes into the sweltering heat this evening (the heat index is supposed to be 115 tomorrow!), and a little friend followed me...

The fascinated look on his face - he saw his baby pool that has been out for over 2 months. It's been sorely neglected, as we've been spending a lot of time inside, and unfortunately, the pool looked like this:

Notice that spot in the horrible looking orange sludge on the bottom of the pool that is bright blue? Yes, that's where he stuck his hands and rubbed them around. I couldn't get him in time. My yelling "Ew, Nathan, don't put your hands in there!" didn't deter him in the least! I have to keep reminding myself that he is a boy, and boys are hard-wired to find the most disgusting thing ever and be fascinated by it.

Tomorrow Daddy is off work, and we will ask him to clean out the pool.

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My Shred accountability log: I did Day 3 yesterday, and Day 4 tonight. Only one more day and I'll be 1/6 of the way done! :P

Day 2

I just finished Level 1, Day 2 of the Shred... and it's 11:45pm. I really should start earlier tomorrow! Last night I finished at 5 til midnight. Brian has been getting home from work after midnight, so I have been procrastinating.

I also made skirt #3 of my new "trademark skirt" tonight. It is very bright spring green - not neon, but close. All 3 of them are exactly the same, sooo comfortable, and excellent for the summer - very light and airy. So far I have a bright blue and a dark maroon-ish one, and now, green. I also want to make navy and black ones... and possibly a tan. I am totally addicted! I have been limiting myself to buying the fabric only when I have a coupon for JoAnns - but I usually have at least 1 a week, and they take competitors' coupons, too. I am going to fill my closet before the summer is over... although they would probably work for the winter with some leggings under them! Okay, maybe not the spring green. It's a little too bright. (I keep meaning to take pictures but forgetting... and pictures always turn out so much better in natural light, so it's a little late now. Hopefully I'll remember during naptime tomorrow!)

I also finished another craft project late last week. The fruit of my labor:

Felt "Very Hungry Caterpillar" pieces. Yes, we are obsessed with that theme around here! (That was the theme of Nate's birthday party as well.) But it is truly his favorite book. It is so cute to see the look on his face when we read it. There is a piece to act out every page of the book. To give you an idea of the size, the butterfly is about 7 inches across, and the apple is about an inch and a half high. I used felt glue, which I was very wary of at first, but it worked great! These pieces have already been toddler tested. :) And now I have a felt-board-scene-creating obsession. (I still haven't finished my felt farm in the basement, though! It is on my "crafting to-do" list.)

The 30 Day Shred

I have started and stopped an exercise routine more times than I can count - I think that means I'm fairly normal. The longest I can ever remember doing a workout as a ROUTINE was after Nate was born - I did Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred for 12-13 days, and then got sick and stopped, then was too lazy to start back, and then found out I was pregnant again and completely quit. Since Ben has been born, I've done the workout 6 or so times, and a couple Walk Away the Pounds workouts, but nothing really consistent.

But now I am determined to make it through the 30 Day Shred IN 30 days, or as close to 30 days as possible. I won't beat myself up for skipping a day here or there, but I am going to try my best to keep up with it and complete it. I really, really want to do the Couch to 5k program in the fall (when it's not 100 degrees out!). I've always hated running, and have no idea why I ran track for 3 years in middle school! But this program looks doable, although challenging! I think it would be SO cool to be able to run 3 miles without stopping... or heck, even 1 mile! I would totally be satisfied with 1 mile. But I want to make it through the Shred first, and go from there.

When I attempted the Shred last summer, I noticed something after the first week or so - I had a lot more stamina. I actually WANTED to jog, for some strange reason. I didn't! But I had the urge to, and the thought of running didn't make me want to crawl back into bed with my laptop and a Snickers bar. One other huge benefit of the Shred was that I could touch my toes after doing it for a week. I have NEVER been able to touch my toes, for as long as I can remember. Even in elementary school when we did the physical fitness test in gym class, I always failed at the toe-touching part (there was a specific name for it, but I don't remember what it was.) But after doing the Shred for a little while, I could REACH! I remember standing in my mom's living room showing her how I could FINALLY, after all these years, touch my toes! She thought I was kind of nuts.

Why I'm rambling on my blog about all this: I NEED ACCOUNTABILITY. Isn't the first step towards achieving a goal putting it in writing? (Okay, so that didn't work really well with my New Years resolutions.) I'm planning to come back here often and update on my progress and post specific goals so I can see how far I've come. Even if no one else reads my updates, I will go back and read and relish in my success (or hang my head in shame at my failure. wait. think positive!)

Overall Goals:

1. Complete the 30 Day Shred.

2. Lose 40 pounds. (obviously the 40 pounds will take longer than 30 days. how unfortunate.)

Prize for Success:

Some new shirts that fit.

Punishment for Failure:

Continue to look 4 months pregnant.

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Today: Level 1, Day 1 of the Shred complete!