Heffer- on attack.

HOLY MOTHER FREAKING COW!!!!

I went to a strength training class yesterday. It was my first time since.... well it has been awhile. lol! ;)

How'd it go?

Well... lemme tell ya!

I  CAN'T MOVE.

I almost feel like I snapped my back in half and stabbed my hamstrings with a fork- five billion times.

The tricepts are popping up in full force- like they are ready to blow up from the amount of CRAP that is tearing my body in half.

They say when you lift weights and build up muscle, you are tearing muscle fibers. And that you need to give yourself a day of rest so that your muscles can mend.

MY MUSCLES AREN'T MENDING. THEY ARE FALLING OFF OF MY BODY.

And they are taking my brain with them!!!!!!

I need to take a hot shower... and burn off all of my skin. I need to pop my neck and back, back into submission... and tear off my calves while at it.

And can I just leave you all with one more thought. A question if you will?

WHY DO WOMEN WANT ABS???

I honestly feel like I have been in labor all morning. I mean, sure. I want to be hott too. But at the expense of putting myself into false labor every time I do a crunch? Because apparently that's how it feels to build up those long gone flabby friends of mine. I'm not so sure this is what I signed up for when I went to that class yesterday.

Pop my eyeballs back into my head- I am going to take some ibueprofin and ice this sexy phat body of mine.

AND THEN I'M GOING BACK TO THAT CLASS TOMORROW! ;)

Image found on bing images.

5 Tummy Types

This blog posting is basically amazing. I have the ... well... embarrassingly enough... the spare tire! ack! haha! Well... I'm doing all of the right things so I'm already half way there! ;)

Did you find your tummy type listed here as well?

~Nikki

More Than Just a Number?

Holy Hannah. I have had a revelation in the last two days.

 

I am not ALONE.

 

Huh. Who'd a thought?

 

I started following this blog KTJ Weighing In, and just yesterday she started her own facebook group page. So of course I had to join, right? Who isn't curious to see who else is out there? Well, I was very excited to learn that there are several other young women out there that are JUST like me. Like, scary amounts of similarities. Made my heart happy. ;)

 

One of the things that I really admire about KTJ is she holds a linkup once a week  called non-scale victories.

 

Hallelujah!

 

Someone who rejoices in more than just the number.

 

I think I can handle this!

 

So here it is my Pretties. My non-scale victories! (NSV)::

 

1. I dragged my lazy butt out of my house yesterday and hit up the gym! (By myself! Gotta be my own supporter, remember?)

 

2. I didn't stop by DQ and get myself the most AMAZING chocolate chip mint milk shake.

 

CELEBRATE IT FOLKS!!!

 

3. I am fitting back into my pants... AND... need a belt. Oh yes. The small victories. :)

 

4. We made dinner before Josh had to go to mutual last night. Yum- and it was GOOD!

 

5. Shaylee let me put her hair into pigtails. (This is worth mentioning... EVERYTIME!)

 

6. I drove over Snoqualmie Pass TWICE two days ago... to take my mom to visit my sister and her family. And I didn't crap my pants! WOOT!

 

ALWAYS celebrate clean underwear folks. Always.

 

and 7. I put myself out there and joined this KTJ group and met some amazing hot mama's out there.

 

And with that, we are gonna rock it!

 

Because we are ALL beautiful!

 

~Nikki

Gotta Work It!

I don't really have any time to go to the gym today... and I'm feeling withdrawals. That's a great sign my peeps. A great sign at that.

I had decided to start off slow this go around and work my way up. I figured this will really help me not feel the burn out after 10 weeks like I tend to do. I'm a machine, and I don't mean this in the, "look at me go- I am amazing" way. More like the, "I am amazing and no one can stop me... until my parts all fall off." And then I'm done. For months.

Defiintely something I am working on... cause who wants to be the lady with missing parts? ;) You get me? haha!

Also different this time around is my motivation.

Oh don't get me wrong, I always start out like a tank. (Notice the machine metaphor?) I am unstoppable and food? Psh. Doesn't phase me. (Unless it's chocolate... cause holy hannah, we all know I'm a choc-a-holic! wink wink!)

THIS time, instead of waiting for whom ever my buddy is to meet me at the gym ... I am my own buddy. I do have a buddy system and have another amazing friend coming along this journey as well, but our circumstances are a little different. So I need to be my own best friend. I need to be my own cheerleader. Because in the end, I am the only one that feels the disappointment and emotional heartbreak when I don't complete my goals.

So... since I can't go to the gym today, I will attempt "Insanity." This will be my third time in a two week time frame. Because of my weight and strength level I am not doing the program, just choosing a work out and going for it in my own sexy phat self way!

Picture it.

And when you are done laughing...

Do it!

Because you deserve it too!  ;) ~Nikki

Organizing the Chaos...

In order for me to get myself and my life in order I need organize my mind. But in order to have an organized mind... I need to first organize my home. We have lived in our new home for a year now, and within that time had a new baby. Put new baby in the mix and you have a recipe for chaos and definitely NO time for decorating. But now that my Ms. Lou is getting more independant I have time to actually do things in my home that makes me feel better about it.

So here we go!

 

And so far my one pound a week goal is on fire. Haha! I have lost two pounds. ;) Right on track, right? So that puts me at 256. I'm actually pretty proud of myself. YAY!

Let me know what things YOU are doing to help clear up the chaos in your life? 

The Sweetest Thang...

                                                                                                                                         THAT'S ME! V


Happy New Year every one! :)

In closing to 2012 I am going to confess something...

The GLADIATOR Challenge was the WORST thing I have EVER done! I think I killed myself... seriously. I never worked so hard in my life. Ever.

Think about it here.

In one week I went to like 4 strength training classes. YES YOU READ IT RIGHT FRIEND. FOUR!!!!

What ever happened to giving a specific muscle group a day of rest? Well... wah wuh. That is why I am sitting here with my head hanging low announcing that.... my team did not... make the cut. ACK!

But the challenge DID do something for me. Oh yeah.

It taught me I am a SORE loser. Festering, stinky wound type of sore!

I have been to the gym TWICE since being wiped off that board like a dirty wash rag. Um. Yes. And it was MONTHS ago.

Okay, well now that I am done wimpering about it I can move on and say, "Happy New Year!" And with that I have NEW goals! Yay! But of course they are still pretty much the same since I have yet to lose all of my amazing grandeur self! Yup. I went there. I am GRAND!

1. Eat healthy... and teach my family how to eat healthy... and be HAPPY about it.

Eating healthy isn't a life sentence to hell. But somehow my mind gets all muddy and I feel depressed at the thought of pushing aside the cookies to make room for the collared greens. ICK.

2. I'm not in this to become a super model...

 I mean heck- I probably could have been one at one point in my life... but that was pre-hubby and definitely pre-babies! Now I will only ever be type-casted as an ogre. LOL... words someone has actually said to me. Woot! Bring on Shreck baby!

... But I am in this to get a healthy respect for myself and food. I AM BEAUTIFUL DANG IT! Why do I NOT still see it? Harrumpf.

3. And finally... I need to find happiness in all the little things.

For some reason "The Sweetest Thing" just started running through my head.

Soooo.... Here's to 2013. Hopefully I write in my blog a little more consistently. I also started a facebook group page that I and a friend head up called  "Super Moms Making Lifechanges." Yeah yeah... there's a typo. I can't change it and it is KILLING ME! I'm OCD. This is definitely not in harmony with my soul.

FOUR!.... Let loose of my OCD TENDANCIES!

Dear lord. You would think it is the end of the World. ;)

Oh wait. We already surprassed that, didn't we?

And with that I bid you adue! And c'mon! Share your goals with me already! ;)
(Ps. My hubby just shared his with me and we had a great big laugh. He wanted (past tense) to accomplish 1,000,000 push-ups and sit-ups in a year. Lets do the math shall we? That is 2,739.63 a day folks. A DAY!!!! BAHAHAHA! Yeah- that's pretty funny!)

Love Nikki!

An Amazing Woman... and Story...

Hey everyone! I know it has been WAY too long since I have been on here and for that I apologize. My life has been in CHAOS since the last time I have written. We have had a death in the family, gone to Las Vegas to visit family, and I even participated in a Gladiator Challenge. But enough of all that! I wanted to introduce you to Heather.

Heather is a mom just like most of us... except she has a story. Her story is one that is inspirational, and scary. She came to me a few months ago asking if she could guest post on my blog. At first I felt shy that someone I didn't know was interested in writing for me to tell her story... and then I wasn't sure if it was legit. I e-mailed her back and learned that she was a real peson behind her e-mail. Not just another scam. So then I got excited! Anyway, I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post this!

I hope you all read closely... and maybe we all can make sure we're taking care of our little ones the best way we can. By taking care of ourselves first.

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My Shocking Diagnosis

Three and a half months after I had my first child, I heard words that I never expected to hear. I will never forget the shock that I felt when my doctor walked into the room and said just three words, "You have cancer."

As a new mom, I was supposed to be enjoying one of the happiest times of my life. After the initial shock of my diagnosis wore off, I wanted to know everything that I could about my disease. I found out that my type of cancer was called malignant pleural mesothelioma. Mesothelioma cancer is normally a result of asbestos exposure. When I found out this information, I was even more confused. I thought asbestos was banned, and how could I have been exposed?

It turns out that I was unwittingly exposed to asbestos as a child. My father worked as a construction worker, mainly with drywall. The dust from these messy construction projects came home with him every day on his clothes. At that time, we had no idea that millions of small asbestos particles were being spread throughout our car and home on his clothes. I inhaled those fibers day after day. Many years later, this inhalation would result in a very serious form of cancer.

I received my diagnosis when I was just 36 years old. At that time, the Mayo Clinic only knew of one other person my age who had contracted malignant pleural mesothelioma. The typical mesothelioma patient does not look a lot like me. Most patients are males who are older than I am. They typically have worked either in the military or in a trade, such as electricians, construction workers, plumbers and mechanics.

However, doctors started to see a new influx of mesothelioma sufferers. Many women started getting sick, and most of these women were wives of men who worked in these areas. These women were being exposed to asbestos every day as they washed their husband's clothes and cleaned their homes. When a woman would shake the dust out of her husband's shirt, she was inhaling these deadly particles. Some women were also exposed to asbestos as they entered the worked force. Secretaries who worked in office buildings with asbestos in the tiles were exposed on a daily basis.

Sadly, the extent of mesothelioma patients does not end with middle-aged men and women. My case was one of the first of many among younger mesothelioma sufferers. Many of us were exposed to asbestos as young children. I have heard hundreds of tragic stories. Children played in attics that were filled with asbestos, or went to schools that were affected. Others were exposed when they hugged their dads at the end of his workday. Since the asbestos dust was still on his clothing, they were inhaling a poison that would come back to haunt them.

It is sad to see so many other young adults suffering from mesothelioma, but it is comforting to know that I am not alone in my journey. I continue to share my story so that others will know there is hope after cancer. No one expects to spend the best years of their life surrounded by doctors and hospitals, but there is beauty among the ashes.
As this cancer becomes more common, mesothelioma treatments are advancing. More patients are surviving and going on to lead healthy, normal lives.

I would never have chosen a mesothelioma diagnosis for myself, but I refuse to live in fear of this disease. When I share my story with others, I want them to know that there is life on the other side of cancer. When you are very sick, it is easy to feel isolated and lonely. Each time I talk with another young mesothelioma patient, we are able to support each other.

Cancer changed my life, but not all of the changes have been negative. I know that I appreciate the little things in life more now than I did before I was sick. I do not take my friends and family members for granted, and I have learned how strong I can be in the face of tremendous adversity. To learn more about mesothelioma, watch this short video: What is Mesothelioma?

 

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Thank you so much Heather for sharing and teaching us about something not many of us are aware of.

 

You truly exemplify what my title means. You are beautiful.

 

~Nikki