Day 9....weak sauce

alright- I admit it!! I worked out exactly long enough to burn 100 calories- approximately 12 minutes, then I QUIT. and ate ice cream.  and cleaned.  and rocked my baby to sleep. 

my oldest baby :-) 

I think the flash from the first pic startled him and he jumped a bit!  sweetest Abraham in the whole world.  

Life happens.  Not done, not quitting. just not the best night for sweat.  

oh my goodness do I LOVE this picture :-)  

have a great night and see you TOMORROW! 

Day 9- zuuuUUUUuuUUUUUUUmmmmmmmbaaaAAAAAAAAaaaaaaa and a Harness ?!?

Busy, Busy day!  I headed up to Rush University to take part in a Carrier study at RUSH University Medical center.  I completed balance, motor, muscle memory, gait, and vestibular testing.  Fun times :-) These studies... I will forever do them.  They stress me out like nobodies business.  It's that type A sneaking out.... Here I am, doing activities, that because of my genetic sequence, are designed to be difficult.... I won't be able to get every.single.thing. right.  They are designed to poke and prod at my weak areas.  clearly, I've not yet learned to let go of the fear of failing.  

Totally Glamorous, right???? 

anything at all that will help the medical community understand and treat Fragile X and it's related disorders!    

so that's what I'm doing.  I'm choosing to focus on why I'm doing this- my Abraham, my mom, my sweet friends and their amazing FX babies, my self.  

This.  the day before.... I start to rev up.  I start to let the stress and anger and grief of the diagnosis flow over into my stress regarding the upcoming appointment/study/blood draw/therapy.  I let it fill me with thoughts about all that is hard.  pthttthbbbthhhhhh. 

This challenge has helped me let go of that stress and anger by using !!!exercise!!!! to move on.  

Blurry, sweaty, tomato pictures!!! 

1. Sweat time 60 minutes, Calories burned: 648!! 

I'm  choosing to focus on the sweet.  the amazing.  the good.  

xo

Day 8- move

Holla back, now! 

Day 8 is in the books- Sweat time of 32 minutes of run/walk + 10 minutes of vigorous hose hauling and flower water... yep :-) = 42 minutes total with a   Caloric burn of 441!  

so I love to shop <----- not a shocker.  and I really love to shop for shoes. athletic shoes, specifically :-) 

Here are a few that I'm eyeing, in a 'no i'm not really shopping for new shoes but if i should happen to need a gift for, oh say, Labor day or Columbus day, or Tuesday, these would be what I might like :-) 

ASICS GEL-Kayano 19™

or 

ASICS GEL-Noosa Tri™ 8

Asics Gel Noosa Tri-7

Clearly, I love staid single-color tenny's :-) The Gel Noosa 7's glow in the dark!!! 

 i guess I'm on a mission to be as truthful as possible in cyberspace... that glazed over, sweaty, zitty, babies head in the armpit look is reaaaaalllly gorgeous, no??? 

Found this on Pinterst tonight... 

REALLY???? Honest Abraham Lincoln said 'Hustle'???? bahahahahaha :-)  I think not!

go make it sweet, friends. 

xo 

Day 7- you, yourself.

I learned a little bit about Yoga, and chased a whole lot of kids today :-) 

my workout came from Pinterest-

this guy was fun to watch ... he was all calm and easy with these dogs and babies and 'sweep the leg's while i was sweaty and huffing and puffing and falling over :-) 

1. Time: 20 min total. The above workout and a bit of a second video that was so relaxing it put me to sleep.  waaaaaaaay more sweat than i thought I would generate <----- clearly, a yoga newbie.  

My daughter is teaching me more about what it means to be yourself....  You want to sit in the hostas with your raquet?? go do it! 

you want to fall asleep with your tutu on? More Power to ya, sister! 

Headdress???

gorgeous princess girl.  

I hope you all have a happy Sunday!

Here's to week 2!!! 

Day 6- quick, quick

as it's already technically day 7, just a quick check in to keep myself accountable! 

another perfect day for the pool! these babies and their LONG legs!!! look closely and you'll see the husband working hard for that eye-contact! a bit blurry... we can't slow down enough for these pictures, momma!!

purchased some new workout gear from old navy...yep. shopaholic. but it's on SALE!!!! big time. and it makes me want to workout <----- i'm pretty sure that's a sign i have a problem :-) oy.  

such a day in the backyard and at the replex that middle man fell asleep!!!! on the couch!!!! in the early evening!!!!! no way. such a beautiful boy, my Bode.  

then I woke him back up and made him race me around the yard- wind sprints to the neighbors twirly slide and back!! not ashamed to admit he beat me every time. eeeeeeevvvvveryyyy time!!!  love, love, love this boy!   That's my pouty face... 

Statistics for today

1. Sweat time- playing outside with kids, sprints, squats while swinging, leg lifts while bubble blowing + this crazy good at home circuit workout! 

50 minute total, 441 calories burned! not bad for a 'sweating between the bathroom, wasp smashing, drink fixing' sort of thing!!! 

so thankful for what i've got.  Gotta leave you with a little Pinterest Love

we each have our road to travel ( not always in a sunshine little VW bus, though that would be nice :-)) every day, get better. 

source.com

I have a serious thing for Abraham Lincoln.  really, For Abe's in general :-)  This man, his brain and sense of humor just make him obnoxiously beautiful!  

see you on day 7!

Day - 5 sweat. for real.

Big kid loves to take our picture with the reverse camera on my iPhone .... loves it, loves it!! There were many years (still happening, let's be real) that I couldn't get him to look at the camera, or he'd smile and even with my fastest shutter speed, he was one millisecond faster, and when I'd go to review the shot I'd see half a grin and his shoulder.   I think seeing us talking and moving captivates him, keeps him looking, and has filled my files with excellent, sweet pictures that I treasure.  The below sequence melts my heart. 

love him. more than the stars in the sky, more than the salt in the sea.  forever and ever my baby, he'll be.  

I'm not really wearing a crown of gerber daisy's... but I totally Rocked the exercise portion of the day!!!

1. Sweat time- 32 minutes, Calories burned:  430!!  a little run/walking around town on this gorgeous day... that felt hot as hades as soon I passed the first mile mark :-)  

1/4 of the way to a new habit!! 1/6 of the way done with our 30 day challenge!!! 

The link below takes you to a blog post I love... one I read and re-read.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. 

'You Don't Have to Be Pretty'

xo

Day 4- marshmalllllloooooowwwwwsss

Today was the perfect day for the pool! Hot enough that the water felt delicious, not so hot that i couldn't splash around on the edges vs. getting all the way in the whole time.  

Big kid loves his cups - I wish we had shade.... but I'm not going to complain too much because we live in a town of less than 4 thousand people and have an awesome pool and splash pad!!! 

couldn't get too close to Bode- he's dead on accurate with his squirt gun!!!

Baby bell was watering, and floating, and being generally sweet as pie until someone wanted to 'share' their toys with her..  i.e. take what belonged to them/not us in the first place :-)  

We made a quick stop for popcorn at the concession stand on our way home... it totally makes leaving such a fun place much easier!!! <----- that's right, this momma works on her transition skills 24/7 :-)

Big hat!  Big glasses!!!! loved it, felt a smidge self conscious at first, quickly remembered that 1.  if I like it, it's all good 2. no one cares about your hat anyway :-) 

Sweat time- 25 minutes

Calories burned 235- thanks to Fitness Blender for their brand new Total Body Strength training video!! Dancing Baby wanted in on the picture action! Such a doll

I own far, far to many t-shirts... but they're all from someone or something and they make me happy, happy, happy to remember my friends when I workout (with them) :-)  My Vandy girls are serious exercisers!! The commodore and I totally rocked it out tonight! 

i really, really want a marshmallow.  maybe 3.  but i'm following  my recommendations on Myfitnesspal.com and even with my workout today, I don't have a lot of extra calories to spare.  

I'm hitting the showers and going to bed- busy day tomorrow!!!

xo

Day 3-- All together now!

Today- day 3.  Commitment was tested- no time to go anywhere, lots of household obligations to fulfill (shifty eyes to the folded laundry on the table, the stacks of mail on the desk) Babies up and WILD... But I DID it!!! YAY!!!! Shout out to Fitness Blender and multiple Zumba videos from youtube--- we worked it out!!!

Abe is ready to SIT DOWN, MOMMA.... look at him checking out the shaking!!! that Heidi Garza can dance!!!

Bo and Aur were LOVING it!!! the robot, the karate chop, the zombie- break it down, babies!!

Love Bo's face in this one- Aur is cheesing for the camera and Abe has had enough- poor babe, the sleep meds are so necessary but don't allow for much commotion after consumption.  

We calmed down by about 8:45- Sweat + time to make drinks + bathroom breaks  all together around 53 minutes, calories burned : 423!  Not bad at all.  

Sweetness for today- 

source

I fell like they're talking to me.... in fact I KNOW they are :-) and to you too!! start now, right here, get busy!!! 

source

amen.  amen and amen.  sometimes i might have to tell them multiple times in a 60 second period.  shut it. not listening.  focused.  

see you tomorrow! 

zuuuuUUUUUUMMMMBAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Day 2... I'm not going to scar you for life with a sweaty photo.  Feel free to imagine a serious tomato that you've just hosed off. for real.  red & sweaty. 

beautiful. 

 Here are my stats

1. Sweat time- 60 minutes! I made my way back to the no frills, arse kicking that is Zumba in a chuch- Calories burned- 710!!!!!! for real :-) emoticons totally deserved!

Love, love my heart rate monitor.  It helped me really put my soul into it tonight.  ( heart... soul... Debbie Gibson??) It was a rare treat to get to go secondary to family commitments- I wanted to make sure i took advantage of every single heart thumping, muscle burning beat. 

sweat today = sweet tomorrow.  every single drop helps me move forward.  

Your Pinterest love for today- 

and one more

later gators!

Day 1- Varzesh??

hey, hey blog lovin friends- i'm moving on! technically I've MOVED on! 

 My original blog, Babe on a Bargain, was good and fun, BUT

a. my children never stood still in the outfits I had originally wanted to blog about

b. I don't necessarily aspire to be a 'babe'... 

c. I love me a bargain, but have some serious new shopping rules in place that have dramatically curtailed my shopping experiences, making it much harder to blog about good deals (not that I really had in the last.... oh let's just say 12 months, anyway!!! )

d.  it felt like it was time to start fresh.  

So here I am- Sweet Life Z.  

Why?

 Life is crazy.  good and bad. Where I thought this life would take me is NOT AT ALL where I've ended up- and because of all the highs and lows,  This Life... it takes some work,  thought, and conscious planning to make it what i want it to be, which is = sweet.  Sweet for my babies. Sweet for my hubs.  Sweet for me.  Sweet for my friends.  Sweet for those whom I can help... in whatever way that may be.  Sweet.  

I'm starting this blog off with a 30 day challenge- I find I am able to keep myself accountable when I DOCUMENT my goals and my progress towards them (ground breaking not at all,  i know, right??) 

Here's my plan

30 days of exercise- I have a computer FULL of complete, FREE workouts.  I have feet that work and a beautifully paved town of streets to walk.  I will exercise ever. single. day for the next 30 days, no matter what.   AND because I can't seem to just do one thing at a time....

30 days o' bloggin.  

Starting off with a BANG- when I take a bit of time to focus on myself I am a better momma, a  better wife, and a better friend.  When that time involves sweat and a little bit of creativity, I'm a MUCH better momma, wife, and friend!   

TODAY's details 

1.  Sweat-   30 minute hip hop dance workout- a great way to ease my way back into sweating.  Seemed a little slow at times, but I was working hard, burned 300 calories, and remembered that 'Hey!! I like exercising!! I can do it!' <--- pretty cool as I was feeling exceptionally unable to do a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. active due to my ridiculously out of shape self.  

After I finished that, I decided I could do a little more and I found this ------>

Varzesh dancing sweat business which they say

 ' is a combination of yoga, zumba, aerobics, and cultural dance with  Persian music'  

25 ish minutes- 220 calories.  LOVED IT!!! made me miss Zumba and  seemed like a great  at home alternative since  our schedule is not conducive to attending class right now. I will definitely be looking up more of these videos this month! The instructor's got moves.  for real.  hips and arms and groove :-) 

 Total calories burned- 520- a great start to my 30 day challenge!

blurry sweaty photo #1!  

Here's to the next 30 days- you know I can't leave without some motivation from that delicious time suck that is Pinterest- 

this is how I was feeling

source

and because I believe the following 

source

We're off to the races to make this life what we want it to be 

source

make it sweet, friends. 

xo

a. z.