FitBit Stats 1/20-1/26

My FitBit stats for last week: 

Total steps: 89,695
Total distance: 37.44 miles
Total calories burned: 17,412
Calories in vs. calories out: -1,128
Weight change: - 3lbs! Woohoo! It could be more because I wasn't completely sure of my starting weight, but I am REALLY happy with 3 pounds! :) 
Avg. sleep duration:5hr 32 min. Still VERY inaccurate. My average sleep is closer to about 7hours per night. I am working hard at being asleep by 9pm each night (my alarm goes off at 4:30 am each day) but it is REALLY hard.


Here are my daily steps and how I moved:

Monday: 30 minute core strengthening class and 60 minute Zumba class right after. I attended a class at a different location of my gym from last week and I LOVE this new class. The instructor is awesome! I know her, too, so it is dumb that I have not gone before!
Tuesday: 30 minute AM workout*
Wednesday: 30 minute AM workout, 60 minute Zumba class
Thursday: 30 minute AM workout, 60 minute Zumba class 
Friday: 30 minute walk
Saturday: 40 minute run/walk with my SIL and 30 minutes weight lifting
Sunday: 70 minute Zumba class

*AM workout usually consists of run/walk on the treadmill or if I am really sick of the treadmill, I will use the elliptical. This is also one of my only times to get some reading in, as I am weird and can read and run at the same time. I have been slacking hardcore on these morning workouts, but this week things should be changing .... cough,halfmarathontraining, cough...

This week I started training for the Drake Relays half marathon, so my morning workouts have changed a bit. I am dreading starting my training on the treadmill instead of running outside, but it will be warm enough soon (hopefully...)

Hope your week is going great so far! 

Fit Bit Stats 1/13-1/19 - Week 3

My FitBit stats for the week: 

Total steps: 96,112 - working on breaking 100k! It's hard in the winter!
Total distance: 40.36

Total calories burned: 18,055
Calories in vs. calories out: -1,715
Weight change: n/a
Avg. sleep duration: 6 hrs 49 min - still not accurate.

If you have been following these posts the past three weeks, maybe you have noticed these stats going UP?! I am very happy with these numbers, especially the calories. The first two weeks I had an overage of a little over 700 calories and this week (my third week) I came in under my goal! Woohoo! Nutrition is hard for me, so this is a huge accomplishment! Also, I do not feel like I deprived myself AT ALL. I ate within moderation and if I had something I shouldn't have (ahem, school pizza) then I just worked out hard to work it off!

Here are my daily steps and how I moved:

Monday: Regular early morning workout, 60 minute Zumba class at night. I could not stand the instructor for this class - way too much booty popping and more hip hop than I care for. Won't be back. :(
Tuesday: Regular early morning workout, skipped my PM workout in favor of sushi with an old friend!
Wednesday: Regular early morning workout, 60 minute Zumba class
Thursday:  Rest day. Not by choice though. I tried to get to the gym ... in a blizzard.... and got caught out on the roads with crazy drivers and traffic EVERYWHERE for an hour and half. I only went about 15 miles too. It was INSANE.
Friday: Regular morning workout
Saturday: Two hour "Zumbathon"! It was so fun!
Sunday: 60 minutes barre class that kicked my ASS. I need to add strength to my repertoire SO BAD.

So far this week has been going well. In addition to Sunday's barre class, I also got in a 30 minute core strengthening class before Zumba on Monday and I absolutely loved it. I'll have to report more next week, but I have a feeling the current week will be a great one for workouts!

This weekend we're heading to Spencer (my fiance's hometown) and I am determined to stay on track. My SIL works at the YMCA in town and I am hoping I can get a day pass there for Saturday and hopefully make it to a Zumba class or Body Pump. Their schedule is not online (weird!) so I am waiting to hear back from someone.

How are your workouts going? Have you tried anything new lately? Barre is newest for me and it is stinking HARD! I am pretty wimpy though with muscle strength. :-/ 

Today I am linking up with Jenn from Bliss to Bean!

Staying organized AND cute with Thirty-One

A few years ago, when someone asked me if I was interested in going to their "Thirty-One" party, I thought they were talking about a birthday party. Ha! Fast forward to now, and I am loving how Thirty-One keeps me organized and stylish with quality bags and cute monograms and patterns!

When fellow blogger friend, Gina from Hiyaluv asked if anyone would be interested in hosting an online Thirty-One party, I jumped at it. I mean, why not?! Earlier this year I hosted a Lia Sophia jewelry party in my home, and it was my first party like that. I found it fun, but a lot to organize in my home (and I had just moved!) so having an online party is perfect for me!

If you have ever thought about purchasing anything from Thirty-One, now is the time! Anyone who places an order will be placed in a drawing for a $25 Thirty-One gift certificate!

Check out my party and the Thirty-one catalog here! You have until 1/29! There's a lot of cute stuff!!!

Here are a few things that I am loving ....

This utility in the Navy Wave pattern - I love these colors together! 

I have been carrying my black and white Thirty-one lunch tote for a few years now, I would love to update it with this one!

I think technically this little bag is for eyeglasses, but I would love to make it a small makeup bag to keep touch me ups in my purse! 

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask! I am happy to help!

A Quick "Looking Forward"

Following Lisa and Emily's lead and doing a looking forward post! 

This weekend ... one of my kids has a HUGE gymnastics meet that I am hoping to attend (she practices at the same gym Shawn Johnson and Gabby Douglas practice at!) There is also a 2 hour Zumbathon I am looking forward to on Saturday!

Next week ... my birthday! I'll be the ripe ol' age of 32! Does not even seem possible ... My girlfriends have planned a night out at a hibachi/sushi restaurant and I can't wait! Yum!

This spring ... spring break! A week off with nothing on my to-do list while also getting paid??! Yes, yes, yes! Sign me up, immediately. I plan to relax and read lots of books!

This year ... this one is obvious. Getting married!!! I cannot wait to walk down the aisle and marry the person I waited so long for! :) I promise, wedding details will come soon! I realize I haven't revealed much to you guys!


What are you looking forward to?

FitBit and Workout stats for last week

My FitBit stats for the week: 

Total steps: 92,610
Total distance: 38.90 miles

Total calories burned: 17,804
Calories in vs. calories out: +778
Weight change: Haven't weighed myself yet
Avg. sleep duration: 7hr38min. I know this slightly inaccurate though because two nights the FitBit did not take data (I must not have turned it on right), but my sleep was within an hour of this. 

I realized last week it would probably be interesting to see how many steps I took each day, since that is the point of the FitBit! My daily goal is 10,000 steps which roughly equals 5 miles and is the recommended amount of walking we should do each day. At first, I thought 10k steps would happen easily. I have quickly learned that 10,000 steps is not going to happen by accident. I think spring/summer will be a different story, but for now, since we are mostly bound to the indoors with the frigid temps getting that many steps really requires focus and awareness. No wonder we pack on the pounds in the winter...


Here are my daily steps and how I moved:

Monday: 10,414 steps, 3 mile treadmill, 20 minute elliptical
Tuesday: 10,940 steps, 3 mile treadmill, 20 minute elliptical
Wednesday: 16,679 steps, 2 mile treadmill run/walk, 60 minute Zumba class
Thursday:  21,662 steps, 3.5 mile treadmill run/walk, 60 minute Zumba class
Friday:12,543 steps, 60 minute Zumba "happy hour" class
Saturday:11,081 steps, 3 mile treadmill, 20 minute elliptical
Sunday: 9,253 steps, 2 mile treadmill, 10 minute elliptical

Clearly Zumba is my thing right now! At my gym January is a big month for Zumba. The American Heart Association is sponsoring a Zumbathon next Saturday, there are lots of Friday "happy hour" events and there just seems to be a lot extra in regards to Zumba this month. Fine by me! It's fun and really burns the calories! 

However, I have to step it up and do some more strength training. Like, now. My dress really shows off my back, shoulders and arms (as most dresses do) and I need to get those areas under control because they're pretty flabby right now! Somehow I will fit some Bodypump into that schedule...

Last week I started getting up between 4:30 and 5am to hit the gym for a quick 30-45 minute sweat sesh, and I have noticed that on those days I burn way more calories. Even if I skip the morning workout and do the exact same thing at night, I will not burn as many calories as I did on the days that I did the activity in the morning. It is definitely some major motivation to get my butt out of bed and onto the treadmill.

Speaking of the treadmill... I CANNOT wait for nice weather. I want to run outside so bad. The treadmill is only good for the reading time I get in. Other than that, I hate it. And, no, I do not know how I read on the treadmill. I just do. Probably because I run pretty slow. I set the treadmill at a 5-5.5 mile pace. 

So far this week things have been going well. I worked out morning and night Monday. Tuesday I worked out in the morning, but had dinner with a friend in the evening so didn't get back to the gym. On deck for Wednesday is a possible spin class and Zumba at 4:30.

Someone please get on me and make me lift some weights. I cannot keep living this cardio crazed schedule. As much as I would like to... ;)

How are your workouts going? What kind of strength training do you do and how much per week?

Back to school, back to school...

::title sang in a sing-songy Adam Sandler, a la Billy Madison, voice::

I'm sorry, I'm not sorry if that song is stuck in your head ... Haha ;)

Well, we left for winter break on December 20, came back on January 2nd for two days, then the weekend, then the Polar Vertex hit. Bam, two more days off.

I wish I could say I am happy, but ... I'm not really. First of all, there is a TON of material to get through before June and we are quickly approaching half way through the year. You do the math. Secondly... June is for wedding planning/preparation. Not babysitting. Because, lets face it, by that time of the year my job will lean more towards babysitting and the kids will be Done. Capital D, Done. Annnnd, maybe I will be, too.

Anyway. School is back on today with a reasonable 12 degrees.

I am going to attempt to fit one week of reading lessons into three days and start teaching long division. We can do this, fourth graders. We. Can. Do. This.

Catch ya later, blogging buddies.

Workin' it out 12/30-1/5

Wow, my first week with the FitBit was a great one! I ended up coming in #1 out of my "friends" online (most I do actually know in "real life") and I found this aspect to be VERY motivating. I am not really that competitive of a person, but being #1 in any ranking is dang motivating, no?

My FitBit stats for the week: 

Total steps: 87,283
Total distance: 37.05 miles
Total calories burned: 17,421
Calories in vs. calories out: +742
Weight change: Haven't gotten up the courage to weight myself yet. Probably won't.
Avg. sleep duration: 7 hrs 44 min.

Here's how I moved:

Monday: 50 min. run/walk 4 miles on the treadmill, 20 min., 2 miles on the elliptical
Tuesday: 60 min. run/walk 5 miles on the treadmill
Wednesday: 60 min. Zumba class and 20 minutes on the treadmill (hopped on the treadmill after class to get my steps up to 10,000!
Thursday: 60 min. Zumba class
Friday: Rest - 6,823 steps
Saturday: "long" run 5 miles on the treadmill
Sunday: 10 min. bike, 10 min. elliptical, 25 min. treadmill

So, as you can see, I moved a lot!! However, my calorie intake was higher than my goal, so I do not expect to have moved on the scale. I really need to get my calories under control. My weakness is food. I eat what I want, when I want it. Absolutely no willpower.

I was a little disappointed to see that both days of school last week averaged 6,000 steps per day. More than the average employee, I'm sure, as I spend most of my time on my feet but I was surprised that it did not end up being more. Maybe with this awareness I can boost that number up a bit. 

I am hoping these weekly posts help me out! With my goals that I posted yesterday, and having to put all of this out there, it should hopefully motivate me to be better each week. I cannot wait to see what my stats look like when it gets nicer out and my mileage with race training gets high!!

Stay tuned!

2014 Monthly/Annual Goals

Hello, hello!

Well, it looks like I am snowed in for another day. Besides heading out to the gym, I have been bundled up, cozy on the couch the past couple of day! I have actually been quite productive, and am completely caught up on grading and ahead for lesson planning. 

Perfect time to blog, no?

It is January 6th and I figure I should set some goals, right?

Like many of you, I'm not a huge fan of yearly resolutions and would much rather set smaller goals that work up to something much bigger. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.

Similar to what Kelly does on her blog, I would like to set monthly goals and blog about them. We'll see if I actually follow through. December was kind of a wreck. ;)

For January, here is what I would like to accomplish:

• 31 days of fitness. Yep, you read that right. I want to move everyday in January. Let me explain before you think I'm a loony that is setting myself up for failure. I have recently rejoined Gympact, now simply called Pact and Bill got me a Fitbit for Christmas. The goal on the Fitbit is to get to 10,000 steps daily. Once I make it to 10K steps, it will count as a "workout" on the Fitbit. This added feature to Pact is what pushed me to change my pact to 7 days instead of a typical 5 day pact. So, some days I may not make it to the gym, but as long as I get in the requisite "steps" I will be okay. So far, a typical day at school has been 6,000 steps, so getting in another 4,000 outside of school really should not be that difficult!
• Read 4 books. My attention span has been crap lately. I cannot seem to focus on anything for longer than 20 minutes... I feel like a 4th grader! Ha. Ok, that's not funny. But, really. I want to read more books. I have been reading a lot on the treadmill and the elliptical, so hopefully that helps with my total books read for the month/year.
• Track all meals on My Fitness Pal. Even on the "bad" days. Simple as that, right? Wrong. I'm going to try though. I want to look goooood in my wedding dress. I tend to avoid MFP when I have been bad. Ignorance is bliss.
• Strength training class at least once a week. I am terrible at getting to body pump or doing some lifting on my own. I am sort of a cardio freak and will just do cardio. However, I am well aware of the benefits of strong muscles, so I really need to make this a goal of mine and get to more strength training classes. Body Pump is a great start. I have also downloaded the app Sworkit, so hopefully I can squeeze in a little strength training at home here and there. My wedding dress really requires a toned back and arms, so upper body is my focus!
• Cut out pop. Completely. Aspartame makes your body think it's hungry when it's really not. As a good friend of mine (who happens to be super smart) pointed out to me, the soda people and snack people are manufactured by the same companies for a reason... I still really crave that fizzy, bubbly drink though, so this weekend I picked up some La Croix sparkling water on sale at Whole Foods and a couple cans of Zevia. It seems to do the trick!
• Blog at least once a week. I miss you guys. Plain and simple. 

As you can see, most of my goals this month are pretty cliche. Really cliche, in fact. I am sure my goals will be very similar in February - or at least, I hope they are.

I don't care though.

I am not drastically changing anything. I have been living a relatively healthy lifestyle for two years now (ever since that damn PE Methods class where I found out my actual body fat percentage and drove home bawling my eyes out!) and now I just have something even more motivating to get me going....

Wearing a wedding dress in front of 150-200 of my closest friends and family and having pictures that will be seared into time forever. If that isn't motivation to get your butt gear and tone up, I don't know what is.

What are your goals for 2014? Are you on Fitbit? If so, lets be friends!

2013 Review in Books

I cannot let 2013 end without talking about one of my favorite subjects... reading and books! Due to this year being such a big year for me and (mostly due to) spending so much time working on my first year of teaching, my reading time has been drastically reduced. Up until about September, I was going strong with my goal to read 75 books, but as I got busier and busier with my 28 new friends I was spending less and less time reading for myself.

However, I will not be disappointed with what I did read. I finished a total of 59 books and I am sure (ok, 99% positive) that is more than what most people read. ;)

In 2013 I read some really great books and even found some new favorites!

Here are a few that stick out:

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes  - ohhhh, this book. Read it if you're looking for a tearjerker that is very well written. It's also British and I just love the way they talk!

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness - one of my favorite books (maybe my most favorite!) This was an amazing blend of Twilight, Harry Potter and Fifty Shades but written so well!

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - ahhh, this was so good! I have recommended this to so many kids. Very unique and interesting story about a boy that grows up with ghosts in a graveyard.

Wonder by PJ Palacio - this book is THE IT book in elementary literature right now. This was my first ever read aloud and we finished off the book listening to the audio while the kids followed along on the document camera. Now that is the only way we do read alouds. The kids were so engaged and it has sparked so many great discussions.

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight - I think we read this for book club and I loved it! Such a great mystery!

Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman - I had been anxiously awaiting something from Beth Hoffman since I devoured Saving CeCe Honeycutt a few years ago. This is did NOT disappoint. Such a great novel.

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult - Omg. Finally. Something from Jodi Picoult again that I just looooved. Her books were getting a little boring for me, but this knocked my socks off!

The End of Your Life Book by Will Schwalbe  - ohhhh, this book. Such a great book. A book about books is always okay in my opinion!

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blume - Oy, another WWII novel. This was simply amazing and I adored it. Read it.

My Year with Eleanor by Noelle Hancock - I remember thinking this was a great book to start 2013 with! Very inspiring!


Annnnd this list just happened to end up being 10 books! This is not a top 10 list and is not really in any specific order. (actually it's in reverse order from when I read them).  If I had to choose a favorite, I would probably go with A Discovery of Witches... I just started the second book in the trilogy and I am already feeling those feelings of need-to-savor-this-book! Third-book-doesn't-come-out-til-July! Take-your-time!

Yeah, I have problems. ;)

What is your favorite book that you read last year?