Working out - 28 Weeks into my Fitness Journey

28 weeks you guys! I can't even begin to describe how I'm feeling. I'm so proud of myself for sticking to this and finding a new normal. And enjoying the process. 

Recapping back to Week 25.

Working out has 100% become a habit. Not just a habit...something that I feel like I NEED to do each day. Call it a discipline. I don't want to call it motivation because let me tell you, there are plenty of days that I'm not motivated. And now that it's dark outside when I wake up...I even finish my workout and hop in the shower before the sun comes up.

It's crazy.

What I'm now figuring out is how to build muscle but lose fat (not just overall weight, but actual FAT LOSS). 

So because I started counting macros, I have a better understanding of what I eat and what it does for my body.

Figured you'd might want to see pics of me in real clothes. lol and let's be real, I'm wearing a sweatshirt that says "COZY" on it. 

The basement is a dark and dreary place and now that it's like pitch black when I go down there....ugggghhh.

The light switch for some reason is across the room so I have to walk alllll the way to the other side in the dark (whilst keeping an eye open for any HUGE SPIDERS).

WHATEVER. 

The end of Week 24 and the start of Week 25 I started using heavier weights more consistently. For any squats I do now, I add in dumbbells (12 per side). I REALLY felt it the next day! 

For almost all of my upper body I'm now using the 8lb dumbbells. Progressive overload, people.

Still doing about 4 sets at 15 reps for my upper body work. 

Post workout shoulder PUMP

Like I mentioned, another thing that I'm starting to do now that I'm in week 25, is really paying attention to what I'm eating. 

Don't worry, I started using an excel spreadsheet. I am looking for the right app to use. Any suggestions?

Anyway.

I'm increasing my protein intake because it's just too hard to get in 110grams with just food. I can usually get in around 70-80grams via meat or other foods, but the other 30-40grams is now coming from protein shakes, made with whey protein. Gluten and soy free. I mix it with 8oz of skim milk. I drink it 1-2X per day.

Protein and carbs (seasoned chicken breast and sweet potatoes)

Read that tilapia is a good source of protein with very little fat

All the protein. 

I shouldn't eat eggs, but since it's been a while, i let myself have one. This meal was DELISH. Scrambled eggs with spinach, a tiny bit of cheese, mashed avocado and beef. 

Working on them leggggggsss

I completed week 25 with no real issues or hiccups. 

The start of week 26 (December 9)

We had a surprisingly nice day on Friday and I took that opportunity to get Steve's snow tires over to the garage. 

Now remember that I moved my snow tires from the shed to the garage.

And then last weekend I moved my mom's snow tires from the shed to the garage.

And then it was the big ones.

Steve's tires are ginormous. For his Ford Expedition.

But it was a nice day out, so I figured it was the day to do it. Nothing worse than having to do it in the rain or snow or something.

It was super sunny out. I need to be careful of my face, or I'm going to get some serious crows feet. 

Not mad at this in December. It was 50 degrees out! 

Had to move these fuckers one by one. I burned 90 calories doing it. 

I'm still hanging in the same weight range as I expect to be. I'm upping my protein intake by a lot and being much more mindful of what I put in my mouth.

111 lbs this morning. 

Today (Sunday, December 13) was a decent day out (40's) and not raining or snowing so I am still taking the dogs for walks outside around our property. I put Bella's sweatshirt and harness on and off we went.

It was a decent 15-minute brisk walk. I don't want to be out there TOO long because MR will run into the woods and NOT listen to me and it's hunting season...so...

But, we're still feeling good about workouts. Like I mention above the newest thing for me is nutrition for these last couple of weeks. 

As I learn how to eat, I also want to learn how to grow muscles. Like really learn about the physiology of muscles so I can design my own workout programs. 

I just started focusing more on the kinds of workouts I should be doing. Since June, I've been doing full body workouts. 

Now I want to figure out how to break up my workouts and focus on certain body parts. 

So this past week, I started to focus on lower body/legs/glutes on Friday, upper body Saturday but going harder, lower body again Sunday morning (I added on a quick 10 minute arm circuit) and then at the end of each workout I will either do my slam ball for 2-3 minutes (without stopping), or pushups to failure. 

Sometimes, very rarely will I do both - either time restrictions or I'm just tired. It's just a good way to end my workout strong and on a good note. 

Grocery bill is going up also this week due to the sheer amount of protein I'm buying now. Plus my protein powder is $30. Not sure how long it will last me, but I'm drinking about 1-2 per day. I eat less during the work week (I get busy and forget to eat, not lying) so I will drink a shake. I tend to eat a bit more on weekends so I will only drink one on the weekend days. 

Week 26 COMPLETE Y'ALL. On to Week 27!

I have a confession to make: I bought a two-piece bathing suit. From some random site I found on Facebook. I was worried it'd be Barbie doll-sized but it's surprisingly cute and feels like it's decent quality. It doesn't feel cheap at all.

And um. 

Well...

It's my first "non-mom-body" bathing suit.

Listen, I'm all for being confident and YOU DO YOU.

I personally just felt more comfortable in a cute one-piece suit, that you know, held everything in and smoothed things out. 

I did get a couple of two-pieces this past summer and wore them. Around my family.

And these new ones? 

They are what you call "cheeky" lol.

Let's see if I actually wear them on vacation next year. 

Christmas 2020

We had a wonderful few days with family over the holidays.

Now that my mom is home and living with my sister, we have a little juggling to do.

We used to spend every holiday with Steve's parents because we're all local. 

With COVID and everything going on, my sister in law and her family are not traveling and ergo did not visit this year.

We decided to spend Christmas Eve with Steve's parents and have the girls enjoy their first Christmas of the season. We spent a lovely afternoon there, had lunch and opened presents. 

Super low-key this year

We measure the girls against this door every year. 

Ava being a goof

We spent a good part of the afternoon explaining to Grandpa what streaming TV is. 

Another Ruple tradition - hand prints on the tree skirt. 

We got home in the late afternoon and spent the rest of the evening as just the four of us. Did some last-minute gift wrapping and enjoyed each others' company. 

I made more Christmas treats.

My first time making Christmas Crack. It was delicious and I'll be making it each year! 

And of course, chocolate chip, for Steve

Christmas morning was magical. 

The girls came running into our room around 7:45am and there was a lot of giggling and "Santa came!"

They gave us a few minutes to get up and get some coffee going because...duh.

And then they went for it.

Santa brought stocking stuffers and a few gifts this year. 

Dad got new whiskey glasses! 

LAVA LAMPS! Remember those!?

LOL. Mila got a teeny, tiny drone. 

We stayed home and relaxed for the morning so the girls could play with all their new toys. We packed ourselves up around noon to head to my mom's house for Christmas #3!

New Wellie Wisher dolls! (From American Girl)

The hand-sewn stockings my mom made. Love them. 

My heart is so full. 

The aftermath. Holy shit so much stuff! It was so fun - the first Christmas with my side of the family in 9 years. I'm so grateful my girls get to experience this. 

I've been making prime rib for Christmas for...maybe 3-4 years now? I forget. 

So I was very excited to make it this year for my mom and sister!

Got us a 5.75lb prime rib.

Don't get me started on the "Rotisserie" story. It doesn't matter now because I have one. And let me just say that I have NEVER made a bad meal in this thing. Roasted chickens were a weekly thing when I first got it. But even if I only made prime rib with this thing once a year it'd be totally worth it. 

I literally "set it and forget it"

1.6 hours later...Perfection.

Jennifer made a Christmas tree salad! 

💖

I failed to get a photo of the whole family, because well, that's just me. Nothing formal around here!

We truly had such a wonderful time. We helped mom clean up dinner, packed up our stuff and headed home. Steve had to work the following day, the dogs had to go out and we had to get ourselves settled. 

Now I just have to put away all the Christmas decorations....ughhh....

This is the first time in several years that I'm working the week between Christmas and New Year's. The last two years the company I worked for at the time closed the week between. Prior to that, the company I worked for also closed the week between - all of those closures were a "surprise" and were definitely not a tradition - I think we were just lucky to enjoy it for the last few years.

Being the new girl and the "lowest person on the totem pole" I opted not to take any time off during the holiday season. 1) I work from home all the time now, so it's less stressful to actually work. 2) It's generally pretty quiet so I don't think I'll be too busy. 3) I want to save my PTO for what might be coming up in the next couple of months. I haven't gone public with it yet...and I'm not sure I will. If I'm being true to myself, I will. So time will tell. 

Anyway. 

Time to get back to the grind. Get back to real life. 

For 3 days. 

Then I have 4 days off again for New Years. 

But THEN, it's time to get back to real life. 

Bring it on, 2021! 

Home Office (for now)

If you're following, you'll know that we recently renovated the loft again so the girls will have more space that's a little more "grown up" if you will. 

My office has been moved to our spare bedroom.

Luckily the desk fits in there and it doesn't feel TOO horribly crowded, but it IS still crowded.

We contemplated removing the bed and putting Ava's bunkbeds in there and giving HER the nice queen. 

But ugh. That's also a lot of work and she does love her bunk beds. It gives her a TON of space in her room.

So we measured and knew it'd be tight, but it'd fit.

And yep. Just barely. 

Not gonna lie, I love looking out the window when I'm working! And now I have the ability to shut the door. 

So it's tight. But it works. I have enough space between the bed and desk surprisingly, although this pic doesn't show it well. 

The toy chest will need to be moved and that will make it feel less crowded in there.

It'll work and I'm happy that we got this all settled and figured out. And in only about 3 hours! 

The Girls' New Space

I mentioned a couple of months back that we had plans to renovate our loft again.

It had served its purpose, but we needed to be more practical as I now work from home full time.

The loft was an awesome space to do work when no one was home.

It was just too loud out in the open to get any work done and not be distracted when people were home. 

Even the dogs' feet on the hardwood floors when they got the zoomies would drive me nuts! And forget it if I had a conference call. Which happens like 5 times a day! 

We took the opportunity while the girls were at school on a Tuesday (so they could be in school before break) and we were both home to tackle this project.

Surprisingly, it took only a couple of hours and I really thought it'd take the better part of a day. We had disassembling to do...reassembling....then unpacking and assembling new stuff. 

BUT! 

Steve and I have always been good at doing projects together. Since forever ago. We don't fight, we just get shit done and we work REALLY well together. I always thought we should do the Amazing Race together. HA! 

ANYWAY.

We were done before lunchtime.

If you remember, here's the before.

And drumroll please!!!

New TV stand, shelving unit and cute little gaming chair that folds.

Need artwork on the walls

Now that Steve doesn't need the power recliner in our room, we thought it'd be a great addition to the girls' new space. And because it's a slim chair, it really fits well up here and doesn't take up too much space! 

As you can see, we moved the desk into the guest room, along with the pigs. It really opened up the space for the new TV stand and shelving unit I got. 

Not only do they now have a smart TV, they also have the Wii and PS3 up here as well. My babies are growing up and needing different spaces now! 

My dad, being the absent grandparent, loves them hard and shows his love by sending money. That's kinda how he's always been. Not a touchy-feely parent by any means - shows his love with food and money!

So he funded almost this entire renovation. We will make sure to FaceTime with him to thank him for this! 

I can't wait to surprise them when they get home from school today! 

Celebrating Ava

We try to make sure each kid feels special on their birthday. 

Ava's is tough because it's just so close to Christmas.

In prior years, we've had to have her birthday party super early in the month, because people's calendars just get booked up quickly with other holiday parties.

Not to mention any venues were usually booked as well for holiday parties. 

Well, because of COVID, neither kid got a party this year. 

We still made sure she knew it was HER day and it was a special day just for her.

I got them to bed around 8:30 Saturday night - hoping they'd actually go to sleep relatively quickly. I knew Ava was excited, but I told her that she needed a good sleep so she'd be ready for the next day.

Steve and I got busy.

Sorry for the dark pics! 

I woke up extra early to get my workout in so I'd be showered and ready to go before she came downstairs - I didn't want to miss her reaction! I was getting my coffee ready when I heard her open the door and see all the balloons in the hallway!

My big 6 year old! 

New LEGO set from Grammie and Grandpa!

I managed to do a pretty good job wrapping the hot dog cart lol.

After spending the morning at home playing with new toys, we packed up and went to my mom's for lunch and cake. And more presents! 

My mom made this rice dessert and I just poured pink frosting on it for Ava to blow out the candles. I knew she wouldn't be interested in ANY cake we had, so whatever. Just needed to blow out candles and make a wish! 

I think she had a great day. 

I can't believe my baby is 6.