Where does the time go?  A LOT has happen in the last year, to put it mildly, but instead of worrying about playing catch up too much, I’m going to focus on the here and now.  And the here and now is in PAIN!!!

In the past several years, really since getting married (not that I am blaming it on that in the least) I have put on quite a bit of weight.  For a while my husband and I were going to the gym somewhat regularly, and then we just fell off of the wagon about a year ago and didn’t get back on.  It has occurred to me in the last few months just how out of shape I have become and how MUCH weight I have put on.  I won’t put a number here, but regardless,  it isn’t pleasant.

So I made the decision to stop talking about it, and finally DO something.

There is a gym near our house called Compound Crossfit.  I’ve heard bits and pieces about crossfit, mainly from my cousin and her husband.

I finally realized that I am unhealthy, out of shape, and in no condition to even think about having kids.  One of my coworkers got a groupon for the crossfit bootcamp several months back, and signed up for the one in October/November.  Well, Friday I stopped  by to talk to them and sort of see what the whole thing was about, and now I’m going through their bootcamp with her.

Let me just say, this may be one of the toughest things I have ever done.  Saturday morning was the orientation and fit test.  That doesn’t sound so bad, right?

Well, if you were in even semi-decent shape, that may be the case.  However, not having been active pretty much AT ALL for the last year, I wanted to cry.  The fit test consisted of a broad jump, (how far you can jump forward from a stationary position) as many situps as you could do in a minute, as many squats as you could do in a minute, as many push ups as you could do in a minute, and your time on a 800m. run.  To say the least, I am not proud of my stats.  However, everyone has to start somewhere.  The fact that I am even doing this bootcamp at least means that I do want things to change.

Saturday afternoon I could barely move, and by Sunday it was all I could do to stand up and sit down.  Then came Monday… and Monday night, being the first actual night of the boot camp, I did end up crying.  I’m not really ashamed to admit it, because I know that I am pushing myself.  At least I didn’t throw up, although I came quite close.  We did a good bit of running to start.  Then we separated into teams (which we will remain in for the rest of the boot camp) and did various sprints.  They had regular sprints, and also lunges, broad jumps and bear walks (those were very not okay).  Then the teams that lost (sadly, mine lost a lot) had to do push ups and/or burpees as a result of not winning.  I have to say though, even through everything (the pain, the breathlessness, the near passing out or throwing up) everyone was incredibly encouraging.  No one thought it was bad that I was having trouble or trailing behind in *insert activity here,* instead they were cheering me on.  As silly as it sounds, I definitely need that. Then we went inside to do the longest 12 minutes of my life, or so it seemed.  We did squats for a minute, then push-ups for a minute, then box jumps (or step ups in my case) for a minute, then we got a minute of rest… then we did the entire cycle two more times.  That may not sound like much, until you are actually doing it, and then it is INTENSE!!

After Monday night I was wiped.  I went home, iced my knees, ate some dinner, showered and crashed.  Thank goodness I have a loving husband who fixed me dinner and brought me ice packs too!

Tuesday came and I was still SO SORE.  It was hard getting up and down because my legs and knees hurt so intensely.

Wednesday, still sore, and uber nervous about what was to come Wednesday night.

In fact, I was so nervous that I had butterflies all evening up until I went (I did Monday too though).  Maybe it is because it is challenging and difficult, maybe because it hurts, maybe because it is something that I guess I do care about, because I don’t want to be the sort of Mom who can’t keep up with her toddler, or even just the kind of adult who gets winded walking up a flight of stairs (which I do).

As it turns out, I did have every right to be nervous.  Once again, there was running, and then, just when it looked like there was a light at the end of the tunnel, we did Indian runs, which is where you are running in a group, and the person at the back of the line sprints to the front, and so on.  We ran enough for everyone in each line (about 10 people) to go twice.  I’m not sure how long that it took, but it felt like forever.  My lungs felt like they would burst, and I was nearly hyperventilating I was so out of breath. I am truly ashamed to be sharing all of this, but that is where I am.

After that, they had “the rope” out, so we ended up doing tug-of-war for a large part of the evening.  Team against team, winner against another team losers against losers and so on and so forth.  Of course the losers would do burpees or push ups, depending on how the trainers were feeling.

When we’d finally done enough of that, we went inside to do some more intervals of sorts.  We learned how to do a kettle bell swing and then our teams were put into stations.  We rotated between sit-ups, burpees, and kettle bell swings.  We did 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off for four minutes and then switched stations.  Again, it was incredibly intense.  My knees were bothering me so much near the end (I’ve always had issues with my knees, and to top that off they were actually bruised from Monday) so they had me switch to doing squats while my team was doing burpees.  I felt a little bad, but quite literally my knees are both bruised and it was more than just “pushing through” the pain.

When I got home last night may have been the worst, I was actually incredibly nauseous.  It was all I could do to force down a little food before I just couldn’t stand it anymore.  I was lightheaded and nauseous, I guess I pushed myself pretty hard after all.

So here I am.  Today, Thursday, I am still sore.  I am not as sore as I was before perhaps, but that doesn’t really mean it is any less, it’s just in different places.  They don’t care if you whine or complain… just as long as you don’t give up.

Well, so far so good.  I dread what tomorrow night is going to be, and I am sure that it will once again be out of my comfort zone.  In fact, I may be breathless and crying again before the night is out or even throw up, but his is just the beginning.  I suppose I’m putting this out there as much for myself as for anyone else, so that when I do make progress, I can look back to see where I started.

Did I mention they have us on a special eating plan too?  That’s all for another post I guess, but I’m doing my best to stick to it.

So right now that is the newest thing going on with me.

How is it out in your part of the world?

There was a chocolate cake layer and a yellow cake layer with vanilla/almond buttercream icing.  Overall I think that most people enjoyed it, so that was good too!

So happy fall and happy Halloween!

He is a Bichon Frise and about 14 weeks old.  He definitely keeps us on our toes!  So far it’s great though… hard work with house training and crate training etc. but I think that as new puppy parents, we are doing alright.

Happy Saturday!

I will not post photos of the stuff I’ve made in the last day or so because they are going to be gifts… and the people who will eventually be receiving those gifts may possibly read this (I doubt it, but you never know for sure).

However, I am reminded what a relaxing hobby it is, and I am glad that I chose yesterday and today to remember it.  Since I start my new job on Monday and am rather nervous about it (even though I am quite certain it will be fine) it’s nice to work on something that is relaxing for a while.  It’s especially nice to work on projects where you can see your results!

I have left my job as a graphic designer for a completely different career, though still something I will be able to use my creative abilities in.

I am going to be a cake decorator!

(Not me or a cake I’ve done, by the way)

There is a new bakery opening up and on a whim (it is COMPLETELY different than what I’ve been doing) I decided to apply for one of the cake decorator positions, and God had a bigger plan than I did, because I got an interview and got the job!

Things are very exciting and very scary right now, ( most new things are scary) but I am going to try and post a little more with what is going on, even if they are short little posts.

Also,  I am thinking of changing the name of the blog… the address will remain the same, because I’m still quite the dreamer, but now I’ll be a decorator by day!  So I am considering a change with that too.

There are many more things I could go on about, but that’s the update for now!

I find myself watching ‘Back to the Future’ tonight, even though I’ve seen it MANY times, and even though if I wanted to I could go and put the DVD in.  There are some movies that are just awesome.

I happen to be a movie lover, so I couldn’t even give you a top five list, it would probably be more like a top 25 list.  Besides, then there’s the whole category thing, as far as favorite action movies, favorite comedies, girly movies, fantasy movies etc.  Phew, it’s a LOT.  That’s probably why the DVD/Blu Ray collection in this house is a tad on the extensive side.

Granted, the Dave Ramsey get out of debt plan has prevented us from buying any lately (after all, we have so many to choose from to watch now, we can wait until we are debt free to buy more).

So, on this rambling note… what are some of your favorite movies that you could probably watch anytime?

I just don’t know where the time has gone.  I haven’t been doing anything crazy exciting, but I have been keeping rather busy.  I have had the opportunity to make some more cakes though!

This was a Settlers of Catan birthday cake.

Then there was the quilting cake for my mom’s birthday!  I got the idea for the cake online, so it’s not an original design.  I can’t recall now where I saw it though.

Then there was the Mary Kay cake for our annual awards night!

Most recently there was this fiesta inspired cake for my friend Morgan’s birthday!  We had a great time at her party.

So, there’s a brief update at least on the cakes I’ve been making, if not what else I’ve been doing lately.

I will try to post a little bit more frequently, in the event anyone is still reading.

These are some of the things I’ve gotten in the mail in the past few weeks:

Free stuff is AWESOME!

Here are the rewards of my shopping trip:

In case you can’t tell from the photo that is:

1 McCormick Perfect Pinch seasoning
2 Ortega Taco seasoning mixes
1 McCormick Grillmates marinade packet
2 Swanson stock
2 Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mixes
1 Betty Crocker cookie pouch
2 Suddenly Salad mixes
1 Texas Toast croutons
1 Betty Crocker chocolate frosting
2 Betty Crocker Warm Delites minis
1 Minute Rice Ready to Serve cups

My purchases rung up to $29 and some change.  So that is nearly a $30 value.  Then I handed the cashier my coupons.  I even got my green bag discount.  My new total was $6.05.  I also had a Kellog’s kickback coupon from my great purchases last week (which I have photos of and am planning on also sharing soon).  It was a coupon for $4 off of my next purchase, so that brought my total down to $2.05.

As my receipt says that is a savings of 94%!

Now you can probably  see why my husband felt a little bad spending $7 on the few items he brought home.  I didn’t mean for him to feel bad though!

I was asked today why I would purchase things  I don’t necessarily use regularly just because I have a coupon.  Well, the way I look at it is if I’m going to be able to get whatever that item is for free I don’t see what the problem is.  It also gives me the opportunity to try new products that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

Since February coupons have completely transformed the way we look at our grocery budget.  It has also challenged us to eat more out of our pantry and be more creative with our meals.  It’s exciting!