My Debt Free Road

Moving to Wordpress

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 03:18:00 +0000

Tomorrow I am making the switch and moving my URL to Wordpress. Nothing will change except the fact that all my Google Connect people will not be able to follow me anymore. {That and most of my links and pictures will not show up until I fix them}.That is such a sad thing...

So if you follow via Google Connect, go ahead and subscribe to my blog and you will miss nothing!

ING Direct: Above the Rest When It Comes to Ease of Saving

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:55:00 +0000

This is a guest post from David Spader who writes about the best saving accounts over at SavingsAccount.org.

Hands down, customers and financial bloggers have agreed that the system established by ING Direct provides the easiest, trouble-free approach to online bank saving. The ease of the bank's website along with its tools encouraging saving has turned many a person into a saver as well as a personal retirement planner.

Background

ING Direct began as an intentional branchless bank operating primarily over the Internet and as a subdivision of ING Group, a Dutch banking holding company well-known in Europe. Established in the U.S. at the beginning of the decade in 2000, ING Direct began building its customer base through Internet ads and account-opening bonuses. Unlike other banks, ING Direct made a point to immediately fund new customers with $25 for every new account a household created. The offer went viral and brought in even more customers.

Ease of Use

ING Direct quickly gains appeal because of how easy the bank account website works. A customer has almost complete front-end control of what accounts he can have once a checking or savings account has been created. Savings can be created by one-time transfers or automated withdrawals from source accounts. The bank offers all the traditional links to payments sources for deposit as well, removing as many barriers as possible to get money into the bank.

Certificates of Deposit

Known has one of the most traditional forms of savings with a better rate than a generic savings account, CDs have often been hard to establish for young savers because many banks wanted at least $1,000 before creating one. ING Direct chose to make CD creation as easy as possible with no pre-set amount. In fact, if a saver wanted to, he could create a CD for $1. Again, the entire control is left to the account holder via an Internet website. At the height of the U.S. economy in 2008, ING Direct was easily paying CD rates in the range of four to five percent and lockable up to five years at a time. Many savers took advantage of the option and ING Direct grew further.
Currently, CDs unfortunately suffers the same as all bank accounts with very low interest rates, and ING's offerings are no exception. However, the tools to create them still remain in the control of the customer.

Retirement Savings

ING's plan to put the customer in charge works double with a built-in system for individual retirement account, or IRA, savings. The system sets up a new Roth IRA account to keep IRA monies separate from regular funds for tax purposes, but it works the same way as the regular account. It includes a basic IRA savings account and then the option to create IRA CDs as well. Funds can easily be transferred into the IRA from any other ING account as well as external bank accounts. At the end of the year all the necessary tax reporting is provided as well.

Stock Marketing Investing

In the end of 2007 ING Direct acquired Sharebuilder, an online stock brokerage made popular by low fee trades based on pre-set calendar trading dates. As soon as the brokerage site was integrated, ING Direct accountholders became able to transfer funds into new investment options in the stock market. In doing so, ING Direct became able to offer its customers a full financial service in terms of saving and investment.
The combination of all the above features and continued customer control makes ING Direct still the best online savings tool available on the Internet.

Don't Know Where to Begin in 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:10:00 +0000

I am one of those people who has a TON of ideas, but then when I try to sit down and follow through with them, they leave my brain. I really need to start writing things down! {Now if I could only find a pen that works and paper that isn't drawn on, I'd be all set!}

Update on our debt free journey. We've been in limbo with paying down the HELOC. You can read what baby step we are on in this post. For a few months we were able to put an extra $1000 into our payment. I realized that since my husband gets paid bi-weekly rather than bi-monthly we have a few months were there is a little extra income. Lately, we've been using anything extra for expected expenses like our auto insurance and HOA fees.

The family computer. We had to break down and get a family computer that the kids could use. My computer is up in my bedroom so I could not monitor the kids when they were on it. I would usually get on it and find any work I had opened shut down and lost. {grrrr....} Now we have one in our living room where the kids can do their homework and I can peek in on what they are doing.The bonus of paying with cash is that we saved the money and paid for the computer outright. No interest, no payments!

Our 2011 taxes are complete! We are getting a refund this year. I know it's best to not let the government use your money interest free, but I really like getting some money back! We've tried adjusting our taxes so that we would have more money in the month and less at tax time, but we can't seem to get it right. That will be something we work on this year.

Learning new things. For many years I designed websites. This year I decided to learn how to build apps for the iPad. It's a little intimidating to say the least. I am a self taught programmer so learning something new takes me longer than a normal programmer. It is also more difficult when I have a toddler saying, "I pway on the 'puder" whenever I try to sit down and figure it out.

There are a few other developments that have happened like getting rid of cable...finally! I'll tell you all about that experience and what we did in a later post.

Computer Image
Tax Image

February Challenge ~ 29 Days of Love

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:48:00 +0000

The 31 Days of Nothing Unhealthy is complete! I made my goal to work out during the month and have seen quite a bit of change. Bodyrock.tv had a 30 day challenge which was awesome!! Okay, it really sucked the first week because it was hard, but I made myself do it.

The last week was a little more difficult because my littlest man came down with a horrendous upper respiratory infection. I have been so busy with taking care of him that I haven't had a chance to let you know about Christie's February challenge!

It is called 29 Days of Love. She just posted a great list of ideas on how you can tangibly express love during this month. I am so stunned at all the ideas! I'm so glad I can look at her list because I am a dunce when it comes to creativity. Just look at her blog design. Awesome!

I will be participating in the challenge, but I've got some financial posts on the brain. So you may see some posts about Love and Taxes. Wait...what?!?

You also haven't seen me around because {aside from taxes} I have been working on my hubby's WordPress blog design. He launched it in the midst of the last challenge. Talk about a client who puts on the pressure! {Love you, Babe!} If you are interesting in the acting arena, his blog gives advice in how to get into acting and not get ripped off! Acting Career Info

Well, that is my quick update post. Show your love in the next 17 days and get ready for taxes. See... love and taxes!

Nothing Unhealthy ~ Days 23-26 ~ Changing the Status Quo

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:00:00 +0000

It is the 26th and we have only 5 days left of the Nothing Unhealthy Challenge! As I have said before, this challenge has been a challenge to get regular exercise in my routine. Maybe it should have been called the "Get Moving" challenge.

There have been days where I just wanted to stay in bed and sleep. We have had more rainy days than sun this month, which is unusual for the South. I have felt sluggish and blah. Today, I did NOT want to get up and exercise. It's a good thing that the Bodyrock program is only 12 minutes! {It's a LONG 12 minutes, but I'm improving.}

When I first started with Bodyrock on January 6th, I was barely getting through the first few minutes without feeling like I was going to pass out. Now, I can get through 3 minutes without being too winded. If I need the modifications they suggest, I take them. I try to push myself without trying to kill myself. I'm starting to do push ups without being on my knees. Woo Hoo!

On the food front, I feel like I've been a failure. It did not help that we had a birthday to celebrate this month. One of the gifts my daughter got was a cupcake decorating kit. She is very artistic and has already used her kit twice. As a result, we have had many cupcakes in the house. Just last night she asked why we weren't eating the cupcakes. I had to gently remind her that Daddy and I are trying to eat healthier and as much as we want the cupcakes, we are trying not to have too many. It's a hard balancing act to try to eat healthy and get in shape at our age while trying not to make body image an issue for a teen girl.

Aren't these cute?!? They were delicious, too!

What I love {and hate} about challenges is that they mess with your status quo. We sometimes get into a routine that is not necessarily the best for us. It's a gradual thing and when you step back and look at it you wonder how you got to that point.

Honestly, I have tried exercising before. I would do it for a week or two and then get bored and give up. I wouldn't see or feel any difference that would make me want to continue. This time, I had the accountability of this blog to post whether or not I was doing something different. It's been almost 4 weeks and I'm seeing changes in my shape that I never noticed with other fitness regimes. Now I'm to the point that I don't want to waste what I've started by going back to the status quo.

I'm still going to work on changing to a healthier diet. My weakness is carbs. If this had been a no carb challenge, I would have failed in the first hour. It's so much easier to make food with carbs. I'd list them, but then we'd both be hungry. I'll let you know how that goes throughout the year.

Nothing Unhealthy ~ Days 19 - 22 ~ Where Have I been?

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:10:00 +0000

Holy, Moley...what was I doing last week?!? I didn't realize that I had not posted about this challenge in four days!

Let me think...there was some cake...pizza...oh yeah, I birthed a teenager. Man, carbs will dilute your brain. I Bodyrocked every day minus Thursday. I had a sinus headache thanks to the ever changing I-don't-know-if-I-want-it-to-be-cold-or-rain weather around these parts. I wanted to work out {did I just say WANTED?!?} but knew working out with sinus pressure would make me miserable.

One thing I like about Bodyrock is that it give you the weekend off and you can have cheat food. I'm sure their cheat food is something healthy like Almond Butter on toast. Mine was a burger at Chili's...last night. Surprisingly it wasn't as mouthwatering as I remembered and I only ate half. I even skipped the Chocolate Molten Cake dessert {which was the reason I wanted to go there in the first place.}

I said "No" to this?!?

What is happening to me?

I'm not eating as much, I'm foregoing my usual desserts, and I want to exercise? Have pigs learned to fly? My hubby did make me some chocolate chip cookies and they were great. The downside is that my tummy was a little upset after I ate two. It's amazing what your body reacts to when you make little changes in your diet.

So far today I had two bowls of Kashi Go Lean cereal and my iced coffee. We are either making baked chicken or chili tonight. I'm not sure. I try not to cook too much on weekends because it's not my favorite task and my creativity with what to make is pretty much shot. Hence the trip to Chili's last night.

Christi's over at Bushel and a Peck has had some great dishes on her site that her hubby has been whipping up. I'm so shocked because when he lived with my husband in college, I don't remember him cooking at all! It's amazing how people surprise you!

Marriage: Serving and Communicating

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:50:00 +0000

I'm taking a break on posting about the 31 Day Challenge because I ran across a great post about marriage and communication. After I read the post, {no worries, I'll post the link at the end} I remembered a comment that someone recently made to me that left me speechless, "So & So thinks your husband waits on you hand and foot."

After my momentary shock, my husband and I both laughed at the comment. He was just as stunned as I. There were some implications in the comment that we didn't appreciate, but considering who so & so were, it wasn't surprising. Here are the assumptions:

I don't do anything therefore my husband does everything.
I make all the decisions in our home.

The people that know me best would laugh at what I just wrote. Nothing could be further from the truth, but sometimes those that are jealous don't want to see the truth.

Truth is my husband and I have a marriage based on serving each other and open communication.

Yup, there's the secret.

We serve each other.

My husband has a servant heart. He plays with his children, sometimes makes us breakfast, brings me coffee, and works hard. He also is a servant outside our home. He serves our church, he mentors other young husbands, and he helps people when he can. That is who he is and I am a very blessed woman.

In return, I serve him. I make him meals, clean our house, run errands for him, and take care of our children while he goes and serves others. I tell him how much I appreciate him and what he does for our family whenever I can. I tell our children they are so blessed to have him as a Daddy in front of him.

Because he serves me, I serve him. It's amazing how that works out. When someone serves you with their heart, your immediate response of gratitude is to serve them in return. I also found that when I tell him how much I appreciate what he does for me, he tends to do more.

We communicate.

The one thing that was most attractive to my husband was my blunt honestly. I don't beat around the bush, I don't try to hide my feelings, and I am honest about everything. That opened up our communication skills immensely.

Growing up, my husband was exposed to a fair amount of manipulation. Emotional manipulation was the key to make someone do something. Guilt, silent treatment, gossip, uncommunicated expectations, self-imposed martyrdom, all were a part of that game. When he met me, he was surprised I didn't play those games. And I still don't play them.

The reason we have a great marriage is that we talk through things. Our home is not a dictatorship where only he makes the decisions or only I make the decisions. We make decisions together. Actually, we talk through things together and I let him make the final decision. I defer to his leadership in our household. I trust him in this because I know he bases all his decisions on what is best for our family.

It might be hard for some wives to give in to this type of leadership, but I will tell you it is very freeing not to be responsible for the backlash of certain decisions. Ironically, sometimes the backlash is directed towards me because people on the outside thought I made the decision. In this instance, this just shows us how little those people know about us and proves their unwillingness to get to know us.

A strong, healthy marriage is possible.

It all depends on what you want your marriage to look like. My marriage was not always like it is now. We had to work hard to make it work. We each had to let go of our individual self and unite as a couple. My husband sacrificed some of his passions for a season to focus on our family. I had to learn to let go of control and let him lead our family. We both had to get over ourselves in order to grow our marriage. And we had to put up boundaries around our marriage to stop others from trying to attack it. {Sometimes that means we limit contact with couples who are toxic. Jealousy from others is not healthy in your marriage.}

When people see us they see a good relationship. When they get to know us, they know it's a healthy marriage. We don't put on an act or pretend things are perfect. There is no perception we need to hide behind. It is not perfect because we are not perfect.

The reason we were able to get out of debt was because we were able to communicate and sacrifice together. Going through that challenge strengthened our marriage. We were able to align our goals and work towards them together.

Make a goal together that you will have a healthier marriage in 2012. Here are two books I always recommend to young couples:

And the link that started my thought process on this post:

The Tale of Two French Fries

Nothing Unhealthy {Not} ~ Day 17 & 18 ~Celebrations and Food

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:24:00 +0000

Celebrations and food do NOT go well together. Birthdays are a prime time to totally eat unhealthy. Yesterday, I celebrated 13 years of the day I became a mom. Yes, I now own a teenager!

My excited new teenager wanted to go to Olive Garden for dinner and then have birthday cake {of course}. I will be the first to tell you that there is hardly anything that is healthy for you at Olive Garden. There is the salad and soups, but there is a LOT of pasta. Mostly everything is breaded or slathered in heavy sauce. I love eating there, but try not to go there too often.

Fortunately, I am still Bodyrocking every day. {I'm getting the lingo now since I've done it for two weeks straight!} Yesterday was the fit test so it wasn't too terrible. I was still surprisingly out of breath which just shows me that my cardio sucks.

Today, I exercised again, but then had the same meal I had last night since it was leftover night. Oy! I could just feel the cellulite accumulating on my thighs. I haven't had the cake...yet. {Notice the "yet" part?}

Here are some observations in my 18th day into this challenge:

I've gained 2 lbs {Wait...what?!?} I'm just going to attribute this to muscle gain and not the cake and pasta I've eaten in the last two days.
I'm eating less at meals. I really didn't eat much at meals, but I'm not feeling hungry as often.
I feel better if I exercise between 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM. Not quite sure why.
Twelve minutes of intense exercise is shockingly effective.
Interval timers are a little confusing when you first start to use them.
There are only 13 days left!

This isn't me, but let's pretend!

Phew! Some things are a little surprising. I will say that many of my jeans are loose on me and I've had to resort to wearing belts and washing jeans a little more often. Yay for belts...boo for more laundry. Eventually, I will have to buy some better fitting clothes. I know that is a good thing, but I have a hard time spending money on myself. {I am frugal, what can I say?} Hopefully, I can wear what I've got until I absolutely have to get new sizes. I may have to visit my local Goodwill in the meantime.

Image: luigi diamanti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Nothing Unhealthy ~ Day 12-15 ~ Still On the Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:08:00 +0000

I just finished my Bodyrock workout for today so I thought I'd quick type all this up before I go pass out...

I stated posting several times in the last few days only to be interrupted and incomplete. I have not given up. I'm still going, but we have had some things taking over our lives like a soon-to-be teenager's {ahhhhh} birthday celebration weekend.

First, I have continued on the Bodyrock momentum and I will say there are days that it feels like I'm improving and then others that make my legs feel like lead. I know it is a good thing that the exercises don't become too easy because that means I am still pushing myself beyond my limits and gaining strength. On Friday, I had the throw-uppy feeling again. I don't like!

Second, I have not lost one pound. Two things could be happening here. One: my muscle is strengthening and muscle weighs more than fat. Second: I haven't totally given up cheat foods. I'm guessing both are in play here. That is okay. My goal was to get exercise in my routine, not lose a bunch of weight.

Bodyrock is great because it gives you two active rest days. Boy did I need them! She had some killer leg workouts and walking was a challenge. I did not exercise all weekend. This weekend is the prime example of cheat foods. My soon-to-be teen {ahhhhh} had a plethora of girls for a sleepover and I was requested to make her favorite Bailey's Irish Creme chocolate cake WITH peanut butter frosting. It was delicious!

TO. DIE. FOR!

During the time I wasn't blogging I did have good things like Greek yogurt, cheese, hummus. I also had this beautiful salad.

Okay, so I got the popcorn chicken from the local Publix. Yes, it was fried. Yes, it was FABULOUS.

Last night I did go out on a date night to Genghis Grill. It's a restaurant where you choose your meats, seasoning and veggies and they stir fry it for you. It's a great way to get a lot of healthy veggies at one time. I would have taken a picture, but we were in a rush to make a movie.

There you have it, four days that flew by and got lost in life. As of tomorrow I will be a mom to a teenager {ahhhhh}!

Nothing Unhealthy ~ Day 11 ~ My Unhealthy Day

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:22:00 +0000

I hinted that I may or may not have eaten something from Dunkin' Donuts on my previous post. Well, it's true. I had to take my little man to get his ears checked to make sure his infections finally went away.{Three ear infections in a row!}

The day did not start off well. I had trouble sleeping and then a HUGE thunderstorm started around 5:30 AM which woke up my middle kid. Once he wakes up it's all over! I was in a grumpy, tired mood. I got him off to school and then got my littlest one up for his appointment. Dropped my middle schooler off at school, headed to the appointment and sat in the car for about 5 minutes resting my head.

After the appointment, I was supposed to go get his blood drawn, but I didn't feel like holding down a toddler while watching a phlebotomist tried to get blood from my baby. Passing out was not on my agenda. Daddy can do that on Friday. I was so exhausted that I went to DD to get some coffee. I ended up getting 6 donuts as well {I had a coupon}. I gave my boy one and then I had one...and then another one. CRAP!

I have no willpower when I'm cranky and tired.

To add to the carb-o-rama, we had homemade pizza for dinner. Oh, my bloated stomach! My sweet hubby knew how exhausted I was and decided to make dinner for us. He's a master pizza-maker!

A few hours later, I did the Bodyrock workout. I had to make up for the heinous food choices I made. Not only did I do the 12 minutes, but then I did an extra minute of crunches!

You can pick up your jaw from the floor now.

Once again, after working out, I felt like I was going to throw up. See above food choices for the reason. I knew I was going to feel this way. Personal trainers always tell you that part of the reason for that feeling is what you've eaten. Totally proved that theory tonight. Tomorrow I'm going to climb back up on the wagon. Hopefully after a good nights sleep.

Nothing Unhealthy ~ Day 10 ~ Girls Night Out

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:16:00 +0000

This is going to be really short since I have had only 4 hours of sleep and I'm not thinking very clearly. {Thank you thunderstorms!} Yesterday I had two Eggo Waffles for breakfast with milk. It was a school day for my youngest so I had 4 hours to myself! FOUR HOURS!! I love school days. After dropping him off, I immediately crawled back into bed and had myself a two hour nap. Yippee!

When I woke up, hubby had an iced coffee waiting for me and I quickly did the Bodyrock 12 minute workout. Mind you after four minutes I was still hyperventilating and my form was way off, but I was doing it! I finally had a talk with myself and realized that 12 minutes isn't going to kill me...hopefully.

For lunch I had string cheese, peanuts, and apples. Keeping it healthy people. {That is until I swung by the Dunkin' Donuts this morning...don't ask...might tell you tomorrow when the guilt fades.}

At dinner time, I met some of my girlfriends at a local mexican restuarant and had a beef burrito. It was good, but the conversation was better. We shut the restaurant down! I said next time we need to go somewhere that is open until midnight. Love my girls!

That's it. Easy, peasy. Not really, but I'm trying. Until tomorrow...

Nothing Unhealthy ~ Day 9 ~ Good Food, No Exercise

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:09:00 +0000

People always say that the third day after working out is the worst. I completely agree. My hip flexors were so sore that I was I could not stand up straight without groaning. I tried not to stay in one position too long because my muscles would just tighten up. Because I was so sore, I decided to give my muscles a break and not exercise. {Can you feel the relief?!? I did.}

I am really liking my snack basket! I know I said that yesterday, but it is so helpful! I don't like to make big lunches so all the items are perfect proportion and size. I just grab a couple of items and eat and run. It makes it a lot easier than eating the scraps that my toddler leaves behind or not eating at all.

For dinner, I had a chuck roast in the crock pot that cooked ALL day. Can you say falling-off-the-bone delish? I added roasted red potatoes, fresh baked bread and fruit. It was so good that we didn't have any leftovers! {Or pictures...it gets a little nutty around here at dinnertime.} That's a little disheartening because I was looking forward to a beef sandwich today. Oh well.

I did have cinnamon toast before bed. I needed to curb the craving for chocolate chip cookies. Fortunately, my husband is eating healthy as well so he pretended not to hear me when I asked for them. Good man!

Image: m_bartosch / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Nothing Unhealthy ~ Day 8 ~ Exercising Rocks! {Not}

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:56:00 +0000

For the last few days I have been walking around like an old 90 year old woman! My muscles are screaming at me for torturing them. Last night I did a core routine from Leandro Carvalho's Brazil Butt Lift. I probably should not have worked my core two days in a row, but I did. Ouch!

The good thing about the soreness is that it is motivating me to keep exercising because I don't want to be in pain for nothing. I wish I liked exercising, but I don't. I find routines boring and I don't have the cash to pay for a personal trainer. I guess I haven't found my exercise niche. Some people like to run, others bike ride. Me...I like naps. Therein lies my problem. If I have an hour to exercise or an hour to nap, I usually opt for the nap. So sad, I know. Praying that will change. We'll see.

One fabulous thing that I did enjoy was a scrumptious lunch that my hubby made just for me!

Scrambled eggs with basil and seasonings on a grilled tortilla. Pita chips and carrots with hummus. Mmmmmmmmm.....good! Just what my hungry I-didn't-want-to-cook self needed!

I'm trying to eat more protein so that I feel full longer; thanks to a suggestion from one of my readers. The snack basket is working beautifully as well! I don't like to cook much on weekends because I get burned out during the week. It was nice to have quick, healthy items for my kids to grab. Convenience is good!

Nothing Unhealthy ~ Day 7 ~ My Snack Basket

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:16:00 +0000

I am posting this a day late because I was too tired last night to write anything. It also doesn't help that my muscles are sore from the exercising I have been doing for two straight days.

You read that correctly...TWO STRAIGHT DAYS! I did Bodyrock.tv again. It was a bit easier since it was mostly core work. When I do cardio I feel awful.

I don't remember much of what I ate yesterday. I did go to a friend's surprise 40th birthday party. I had some nuggets a few chips and a cupcake. I wasn't hungry when we first got there, but my hubby is a socializer so we stayed a bit longer than I anticipated.

After the party, we went to Sam's Club and I stocked up on snacks for me and the kids. I mentioned a few posts ago that my downfall is not having something ready when hunger strikes. Well, I finally got the supplies and here is my new snack basket.

This is just the pantry items. I still have to get snack bags to portion out the pretzels and pita chips. In this basket are prepackaged peanuts and cashews, granola bars, fruit snacks and Kellogg's 100 calorie thin crisps. The items you don't see in this basket {I'm thinking I need another one} are the goldfish, almonds, and chips. I also got fridge items that include Greek yogurt, sliced apples, and hummus. I'll be adding cheese sticks if they are on sale.

I'm thinking this will work out nicely for us. I always complain how my children are grazers. They like to eat little things throughout the day and then are never hungry for dinner. Maybe I just need to embrace that because apparently I like to eat that way as well.

I'll be posting about Day 8 later tonight if I can. Want to find others on this journey? Here are a few:

http://keirajoy07.blogspot.com/

http://wangalangers.blogspot.com/

http://31daysofnothing.blogspot.com/

http://mandywho.blogspot.com/

http://silverscoop.blogspot.com/

http://sparrow2012.blogspot.com/

http://justanordinaryfamily.blogspot.com/

http://ouryoungcreations.blogspot.com/

Nothing Unhealthy ~ Day 6 ~ Bodyrock.tv

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 04:10:00 +0000

I decided last night that I really needed to get my rear in gear with the activity. My first decision was to exercise in the AM because I would not be able to use the excuse of being too full from any meals. I decided to try Bodyrock.tv first thing this morning. It was a 12 minute intense interval workout. Surely I could survive 12 minutes.

I must have been delusional.
By the third minute I was praying for a quick death. My arms were shaking, my ears hurt, and I could not stop looking at the timer wondering how 12 minutes {50 seconds workout with a 10 second rest} felt like eternity in hell.

I finished....{barely}. As I crawled to the shower, I prayed that I would not throw up. Yes, it was that difficult. My husband said that the pukey feeling meant I worked hard.

No wonder I hate working out.

My food today consisted of a protein shake, omelet for lunch, and some easy Mexi dish I threw together. My daughter made some chocolate chip cookies tonight and I ate ~~four~~ a few so I wouldn't hurt her feelings.

If you want to take a look at the torture I endured this morning here is the video showing how the exercises are done with modifications towards the end. What is interesting is that it is a brief explanation, you don't actually do the exercises with the video. The blog post has the list of the exercises.

Oh, and by the way, there are a lot of pictures of very fit people on the website. It can either motivate you or demotivate you. I'm hoping the motivation will kick in...eventually.

Nothing Unhealthy~ Day 5 ~ Oy My Aching Head

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 03:22:00 +0000

I wish I could blame all my headaches on caffeine withdrawal. I would LOVE to blame my aching joints on all the workouts that I've been diligently completing. But I can't.

Why?

Because I am not having caffeine withdrawal and I definitely have NOT been working out. I have been under the weather for two reasons: 1) The weather is being fickle going from warm, no-jacket-necessary to what-the?!? My body does not adjust well to sudden temperature changes...apparently. 2) I went to the chiropractor today with a massive headache only to discover that my hips were out of alignment as well as my back, my neck, and my jaw. I felt a lot better when I could walk without shooting pain in my lower back. {Note to mothers of daughters-cheerleading stunts DO have repercussion in adult years-avoid at all cost}

The highlight of my bone-adjusting visit is that somehow my co-pay is now only $4 and I have a credit from overpayment! I will be visiting them tomorrow and maybe asking for a therapeutic massage!

Tonight we went to Doc Greens for dinner. We had never been there and it had tons of healthy, fresh food options. I got a California Panini sandwich, chips, and water. My daughter shared her make your own salad with me so I rocked healthy tonight.

I have figured out that not having readily available snacks is becoming a problem. I went on Pinterest and found a great Snack Basket idea that I am going to try to implement.

Source: iheartorganizing.blogspot.com via Anna on Pinterest

Now I've just got to get motivated to go to the grocery store and find snacks that we all like. Are there any healthy snacks you like to have on hand? Please give me suggestions!

Nothing Unhealthy ~ Day 4 ~ The PopTarts Called my Name

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 03:53:00 +0000

Yes they did! Ahhhh-nnna, Ahhhh-nnna {I pronounce my name On a, by the way}.

It didn't matter that I had a good healthy oatmeal breakfast. Or the BLT lunch with cucumbers my hubby made me. Nooooo...

Even dinner was fabulous! We had grilled pork chops with caprese salad and sauted green beans with almonds.

I mean LOOK at this spread! Yummo!

I even had a few M&M's to try to curb the sweet tooth that suddenly developed! Didn't make a dent. We had dinner at 5PM and by 8PM I was hungry...again...

I gave in...I had the brown sugar and cinnamon PopTarts and they were gooooooooood! The last pack. They were just sitting there taunting me for the last 3 days. I had to end them.

Gone....with a cold glass of milk.

Nothing Unhealthy ~ Day 3 ~ Twix Bars are My Weakness

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:26:00 +0000

Now you know! It's my cryptonite when I am weary. I can't resist the temptation, I tell you!

I can. But I didn't.

It was one of those days where I was hovering over my toddler because we are potty-training. There is not much to do when you are hovering. I cleaned the kitchen, ate my oatmeal, read some of my book and *gasp* prepared dinner all by 11AM. I did get a load of clothes in the wash, but I didn't want to spend too much time upstairs in case I missed the "pooping" cue. {My laundry room is upstairs which is nice because I'm not lugging clothes up and down stairs, but it can be a problem getting laundry done when I'm hardly upstairs. Such a conundrum.}

Since my husband was going to be out during dinner time, I decided to make beef stew in the crock-pot. I also started a loaf of bread in the bread machine. I guess I can be pretty productive when I'm trapped on one level of my house. While making the scrumptious meal, I snacked on these:

{I also may or may not have downed a handful of Fruit Loops, but my mind blurs when I'm hungry.}

I also ate a disgusting protein bar for lunch. It was so gross I made my husband finish it. I don't think we'll be buying those ever again. I should have eaten more, but I decided to wait for dinner. BIG MISTAKE!

At 5PM I ate two bowls of my beef stew and some whole wheat bread. It was scrumptious! I was tired and wanted something sweet. Rather than get an apple or something else that would help fill me up, I saw the frozen snack-sized Twix bars in the freezer.

It was over. I had two. {Hanging my head in shame...}

Ok. I'm over it. I'm not going to beat myself up over two measly snack-sized Twix bars. I mean I choked down a disgusting protein bar. That must count for something.

I still have to do some type of exercising tonight. But I think I really need to figure out how to supplement the times where I need a quick snack. I think that is where I run into some issues. Anyone have any ideas for snacks that don't take hours to prepare?

Nothing Unhealthy ~ Day 2 ~ Feeling Icky

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 02:09:00 +0000

Today is the last day of Christmas Break and I felt like I accomplished nothing. Probably because I accomplished nothing until about 3PM. I was feeling sicky icky which tends to happen when the weather goes from balmy high 60's to mid 30's with chilling winds. The weather has been so fickle this last month.

After I finally dragged myself out of bed this morning, I had a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar. I abstained from the buttery toast I normally have with it.

A few hours later my sweet hubby made me lunch. A BLT with low-fat/small curd cottage cheese. It was yummy! I highly recommend cottage cheese as a substitute for mayo.

After lunch, I took some pain meds and drank my iced coffee while waiting for them to kick in and erase all the aching I had been feeling. It only took an hour before I felt like I could get out of the house and brave the mall. We had one more thing to exchange from Christmas and I wanted it to be done.

I was so surprised to realize when we got there that I was really hungry...again! It had only been two hours since I had my delicious sandwich! My hubby, being an RN and all, explained that eating a healthier/leaner meal will digest more quickly and you end up being hungry sooner. If I had eaten a high-fat meal, I probably could have gone for four hours without the hunger pain.

Our dinner was at the food court at the mall. I had a grilled chicken Ceasar salad wrap and water {I have to up my water intake!!} I only ate 3/4 of it and snuck a few fries from my son's meal. I also stopped by Godiva Chocolate to get my free truffle for the month. Don't worry, I only ate half and gave the other half to my other half.

Because I am feeling icky, I didn't do Just Dance 3 tonight. My activity was walking the mall and then I did 100 crunches before relaxing in a hot bubble bath. I know that if I push myself when I feel crappy, I will relate exercise to feeling crappy and then not ever want to do it.

I know that if I burn more calories than my intake, weight will come off. I lost 10lbs last summer and it has not returned. If I were to post a picture of myself, I think I would get a lot of emails/comments telling me I don't need to lose weight. That is not my goal in this challenge.

My goal is to get more active. I need to strengthen my core to help my weak back. After having three children cut out of me, my abs are not what they once were. It's going to take a lot of work to get them strengthened. If I can strengthen my core so that my back will ache less, I will probably be able to get a more restful sleep. However, if I don't eat right in the first place, all the energy I need to actually get active will not ever be there. It's like a vicious cycle! One that I will get out of this month! {I might need to start adding prayer to this challenge...a LOT of it!}

Nothing Unhealthy ~ Day 1 ~ I Will Survive

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 02:13:00 +0000

It has begun! As of midnight, the challenge was on. By 8AM I already had a problem. My middle child, my 8 year old, early rising son was up. I heard him {loudly} get the toaster out in preparation for his traditional Eggo Chocolate Chip Waffle breakfast. He normally turns on the TV, gets his waffles and milk and we get to sleep in {if our toddler doesn't get woken up by all the ruckus.} I thought it was going to be one of those Sunday mornings.

I was wrong.

My tender-hearted boy made me an Eggo Chocolate Chip Waffle {sans butter because he can't spread it well} and brought it upstairs to my bed. I asked him why he made me a waffle {he also made one for his dad and sister}. His response? "Because I love making breakfast for my family."

Heart melting. Had to eat it so I didn't break his.

Oh well. Whatcha gonna do? What's healthy about that scenario is that my son is learning to think of others and serve them rather than just thinking about his needs. It was worth the waffle.

Now, I'm sitting here writing this post, drinking a protein shake after dancing to Wii Just Dance 3 for an hour. Woo Hoo! I got off my *donkey* and started the activity I promised myself I would do this month. Did you know you can work up quite a sweat to that game?!? Um...yeah you can.

Here is what I ate today. I'm not as organized as Christie over at Bushel and a Peck, 'cause she actually planned and prepped her food pantry for this challenge. She's a smarty, that one.

After my Eggo Waffle breakfast {only 1 with no butter and a small cup of milk}, I had my usual iced coffee with Splenda and cream {and light whip cream and caramel~but you didn't just read any of that.}

At lunch time I had a chicken and Munster cheese sandwich on a wheat roll with cucumbers and cottage cheese. Instead of chips, I ate carrots. {Yay, Me!}

I took a little snooze and then had an apple and another iced coffee because we were headed to our evening church service. Now it's just the protein shake because I'm trying not to eat after 8PM. Looking at my food intake, I realize that it was not much and that is not normal nor is it recommended.

My eating schedule has been a little off over Christmas break and it has been loaded with lots of unhealthy {but delicious} goodies. I really went all out for New Year's Eve and ended the year with a greasy pizza and a cupcake. Oh...but on Friday night I went to Olive Garden and loaded up on the bread! But I digress...

Day 1 is always the easiest {especially after a week of eating crap}. I'm hoping to find a lot of healthy meal ideas from fellow bloggers that are in on this challenge. If you want to join in, you can! Christie has a Mister Linky signup at the bottom of her New Year's Eve post. I have a lot of fun seeing what other people are doing and how they are doing it. Let me know if you're in so I can follow your progress. Until tomorrow...

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Hope your 2012 is fabulous!

Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Happy New Year's {Eve} ~ 2011 A Year in Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:41:00 +0000

A Year in Review

Well, 2011 is coming to a close and it's been an interesting year. Tomorrow begins the 31 Days of Nothing {Unhealthy} Challenge. Honestly, I am not looking forward to it, but I'm going to do it. I've also been preparing myself by eating a lot of crap! Just kidding...well, maybe a little. *ahem*

Anywho...Here are the Top 10 most visited posts in 2011.

I thought it was funny that the Mommy Cheated post was popular. I readily admit I am not perfect and even though I challenge myself, I often fail. I'm sure you will be seeing a lot of failure this next month as I try to amp up my activity and tone down the sweets. It's gonna be hard!

Have a wonderful and safe New Year's Eve!

Image: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A New Year ~ A New Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:16:00 +0000

I know, the new year hasn't even started, but I need mental preparation for this next challenge. Christie over at Bushel and a Peck has a biggie and boy do I need it. It's the 31 Days of Nothing {Unhealthy}.

I will admit, I have over-done it in the cookie/sweets department during Christmas. I baked platters full of cookies and had to test everything! It was sooo good! Then my mom had petit fours and cream puffs and pies...oh my! I had a hard time turning those goodies down! By Monday, I was starting to feel the effects of my gluttony. {I could have sworn I put on the 10 pounds I had lost over the summer.} I started feeling extra tired, unmotivated, and blah.

January is the challenge where I will eat healthier and start exercising. *gag* I'm not in this for the weight loss, but for my general health. I have been suffering from chronic fatigue for a long while and last year I was determined to figure out the problem. Part of my discovery was a sleep study where I found that I do not have a long REM stage. That is the time where a person gets the deep sleep recovery that is needed. Basically, I have been lacking deep sleep for the last 10 years. {And it's not just because I have kids!}

I know that if I exercise I will have an easier time falling asleep {I suffer from insomnia as well}. I also know that eventually I will like to exercise if I can just get started. I also know I will want to eat healthier when I do exercise.

This challenge is going to call me out if I don't exercise. I'm not saying I'm going to go to a gym everyday of the month, but I have to at least get active at some point in my day.

What I should do is start P90X (an exercise plan on DVD), but when I tried it a year ago, I discovered that finding an hour and a half everyday without interruption was almost impossible. We'll see. I have four more days to figure it out. EEEK...FOUR MORE DAYS! Quick hand me a Poptart!

Merry Christmas to All!

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 19:37:00 +0000

Merry Christmas to All!

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

31 Days of Goodwill ~ Giving Gifts Without Expectations

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 04:36:00 +0000

We completed our baking task yesterday. Phew! Not only was I in a hot kitchen, but it was in the high 60's in the South. Not the ideal situation for baking, but we did it anyway. My only problem was the Hershey kisses on the peanut butter blossoms did not set for a looooong time. Yes, it was that hot in my house.

Once we finished all the different sweets, we piled them on plates and had my kids deliver them {in the rain} to our neighbors. They were all appreciative {well, almost all}. One of our neighbors has a difficult time with social interaction, so his negative response surprised my daughter. I thought his wife or my daughter's friend would be home to answer the door, but that was not the case. I just told my daughter that she did a great job helping me bake and delivering the goodies. Not everyone is going to be cheerful and appreciative and we have to be okay with that.

We do not give gifts to get affirmation from the receivers, but to serve someone else without expectation of anything in return. We never know what challenges someone may be going through during this season {or any season}. Although the knee-jerk response is to be negative back when negative is received, the point of goodwill is to be kind and helpful in all situations.

A few hours later I received a voice mail from the neighbor's wife. She was very thankful for the cookies and wanted to let me know how much she appreciated our kindness. "It's good to know we have good neighbors," were her exact words.

Image: zirconicusso / FreeDigitalPhotos.net