workout rountines,The sound of a thumping heart

                Don't worry I am still here.  If you are wondering why I didn't blog last week I wasn't in the best mood.  I wasn't in the mood to do anything last weekend, heck I didn't even volunteer.  I just sat on my butt and watched Hallmark Christmas movies and did jigsaw puzzles and play games on my ipad.  Yeah I know that is no not me.  I went to mom on Sunday saying "I don't know what to do I think I am depressed."    Of course she listened to me rave on and on and than she said "Do something about it, go get dressed and come running around with me, you've done nothing but watch TV all day which is so not like you."  So I got myself dressed and did some running around and sure enough I am back to my normal self.
                Anyway as you could tell this post I didn't put in my transformation week I am on as far as my weight loss.  I decided to not to label my posts according to my transformation week but I will let you know what week it is on the bottom of the post before I leave.  Anyway I figured you were curious if I overcome my fear of working out on the stairs and if I set up a routine.  The answer is yes to both overcoming the fear of the stairs and developing a routine.  I do five miles on the stability bike and yes I have to have my music blazing in my ears.  Don't worry I don't crank the music too loud so that my ears are ringing when I get through but here is what it's like.
                       The stability Bike
                        The bike is located in the basement and I will usually go down there when I am done with breakfast.  I will put on the Pandora Radio app and pedal away.  I don't go a fast pace.  I go just 3 mph or the fastest 4.  If I go faster than that my foot slips off the pedal and I don't usually stop until I reach five miles.
                        The Stairs 
                         I forgot how great it felt to do stairs as a workout.  It did take sometime to adapt a rountine but I got one.  Since I love music I decided I have to walk up and down the stairs to ten songs before I can STOP.  Again I set my phone on the pandora app and start walking up and down and before long I can hear the the sound of my heart which I love the sound of hearing.  
                       My Playlist
                        Yes if you are curious I don't just use Pandora I have music that I purchased on my iphone too that I have on play list called Workout.  There are so many songs on the list but I will name a few that may be unusual to workout too but here they are:   Animals by Maroon 5

                                                                           Blow Me One Last Kiss 
                                                                           Try 
                                                                           Raise your Glass                  by Pink

                                                                           Fighter
                                                                           Genie In a Bottle 
                                                                           Beautiful                               by Christina Aquilera 
                                                                         
                                                                          For your Entertainment 
                                                                         If I had you 
                                                                         What ya want from me?
                                                                          Cukoo
                                                                          Trespassing 
                                                                          Time for Miracles   by Adam Lambert 
                  
                                                                     Dream On    by Aero Smith 
                                                                This is far from over but we are getting ready to eat now so I better sign off.  Till next time.   
                                                                    
                                                                
                                                                           
                                             
                
                  

Cleveland Clinic, transformation updates

               Well... it's that time again for an update of the week for a detailed update of my week so lets get the post out of the way before things get busy this weekend with passing out candy to anxious trick or treaters and attending a baby shower.  Anyway this week as you could probably tell from a couple of my posts on facebook we carved pumpkins after welcoming home Mark and mom back home from Italy, had delicious food, and of course as many of you knew I was dreading The Cleveland Clinic appointment.  Yes that appointment went extremely fast and well especially for seeing a new DR.  All he basically did was ask me questions on my history and such and I had to fill out a assortment of questions. 
                       They didn't even weigh me which shocked both of us, but that doesn't mean I didn't weigh myself Thursday  morning.  Yes, I know I usually weigh myself Fridays but I decided to do it Thursday because I wanted to know the difference in the medical scale and our scale in our bathroom.  But I guess I never did find that out.  :)  The Dr said everything is going well but he can't stress enough how important my medicine is.  He said if I go too long without medicine there is a good chance I could have a seizure because there is disconnected  abnormal brain activity on the left side that can produce seizures.
                     Many people believe that my seizures are cured and that's not a known fact because of the small chance I have having one if I go too long without medicine but I can say my seizures are controlled and I am happy.   If you are wondering about my weight it's the same as last week.  I am happy.  I really got to watch it this weekend though, lots of Halloween candy lurking around the house and yummy food at the baby shower but I have a feeling I will do OK.  Wish me luck.  :)
                             If you are wondering how my work outs have been going, uh they are well but not as well as I'd like.  Yes, I still do the stability bike down in our basement but as you know it's getting a little nippy out and I won't walk when it's cold and yucky outside.  Mom suggested I walk up and down the stairs in our foyer and I will but I must admit I fear them at times because I took a fall on them a year ago and it was painful.  Yes I was working out on them believe it or not.  It's something I need to get over and I know I will.  Guess this is the year to overcome challenges and focus on me.  :)
                            Well that's all for this week, until next time bye.
               

My Transformation update month 4, (Week 1)

                Well as I mentioned on my previous post I am on my transformation process and I'd thought would keep you updated on weekly blog posts on how much weight I lose and just goes on every week so that you can get a detailed view on how I am progressing.  I will try and write every Friday afternoon  after volunteering or during the weekend, so that people can read read it on Facebook and comment ect.  Please continue to cheer me no matter how I am feeling these couple of weeks and give me advice if I need it.  Today I will be telling you what my meal plan has been over these last few months and how I came to lose 10 pounds so far and what my work outs are and have been.
                                    Breakfast   Weekdays
                                    My Breakfast consists of a packet of variety flaverored Quaker's Oatmeal and 16 ounces of water in my water infuzer.  
                                     Weekends I will have a cup of coffee with milk and sugar with the oatmeal.  (No more flavored creamer.)
                                    Lunch weekdays 
                                          Many times it's either chicken or tuna salad that I prepared ahead of time, a yogurt and some kind of fruit such as an apple and a serving of crackers to dip in the tuna or chicken salad 
                                     Other times it's a huge leaf lettuce salad with many healthy toppings added .  
                                     Weekends I will usually have the same thing but I won't be shy about having a little bowl of unhealthy soup or a cookie something along that line of unhealthiness as long as I don't have too much.   
                                      Dinner weekdays
                                       Just like lunch it depends.  If Mark and mom are having a protein such as steak or chicken I will eat it along with them but will prepare my own veggie since I prefer olive oil on the veggies rather than butter, but if they are having pizza or pasta I stay away.  I  will usually will do salmon or ground beef, or a chicken breast with the veggie.  
                                      Weekends
                                       That is my meal I cheat on the most, whether it's pizza or pasta or whatever.  Mark gets a kick out of it because he will ask me what I am in the mood to have as far as my cheat meal.  wither it's Saturday or Sunday I only allow myself to truly cheat one dinner at the weekend.  The other day I am still more careful even though I might have a bite of the side dish.  :)
                                  If you are wondering what I drink it's water.  I drink three bottles of 16 ounces of water every day.  Yes the  weekends I will allow myself wine or juice.  :)     
                               Workout rountines
                               I don't have a set routine that I really stick too.  Yes as many of you know I do walk and do the stability bike downstairs.  Yes I love to walk but I don't like to walk in ice cold bitter weather.  I will sometimes do the stairs.  I try to do five miles on the stability bike in the basement and I do walk up and down the stairs just to get my heart rate up at times.  I will also do ab work outs and yes every time I am working out I am listening to music and have my own workout playlist.  :)  I will list songs from there next week or so.    
                    

                      This week's progress
                      This week was great, despite what happened last week.  I lost two pounds and I am back to my 10 pound mark I was before Mandi's wedding.  This week I had a heart to heart talk with grandma that I really needed to have and ever since than I have been almost back to my normal happy self.  The reason why I'm not completely myself is because I am getting nervous for my Cleveland Clinic appointment this Thursday.  I just want the day to come so that I don't have to get it over with already.  Well that's it for this week hope everything is going well for you all. Bye.
                                        
 

A process of Transformation

           Wow it's been so long since I'd been on here it's amazing just how time flies.  The last time I had been on here it was around Febuary of last year and I was raving to you how busy I was at the thrift shop and how much volunteering has changed my life.  Yes I still greatly enjoy volunteering at the thrift shop but as many of my facebook friends know I am working on transformation process as far as setting weight loss goals and self esteem goals for myself to overcome. Many of you know the goals I set for myself but just in case you forgot here they are again.  1.  Look in the mirror and say
                                                                                                              something positive about myself
                                                                                                             every day.
                                                                                                             2.  Get down to 120-125.
                                                                                                             3.  On my birthday, no matter
                                                                                                                how much I weigh, I have to
                                                                                                             look in a mirror and tell myself
                                                                                                             "I'm beautiful".
                                   I know you might be thinking to yourself, these goals are going to be easy but I assure you they aren't as easy as you might think or at least to me.  Sometimes I have the hardest time doing the first one because I hate to look at myself in the mirror but I have managed to do it.  Goal number three petrifies me to the fact I have anxiety just thinking about it.  I  remember the last time I told myself I was beautiful.   I think it was in second grade when I was wearing my flower girl's dress or pink Easter dress and I was twirling around for my dad singing, " I am so beautiful, yes I am."  He burst out laughing and sang along saying something like "Yes you are."  Jeez the confidence you have when you are a kid huh? but that faded as soon as I got older.
                          As many of you know I had a boy come right out and tell me "I wasn't beautiful in eighth grade, when I confronted him he said no one in the whole wide world thinks you're beautiful."  It hurt me for awhile.  when I finally started to recover James and Nate were on the dating scene.  As you all know Hailee and Carson are beautiful inside and out but I thought I was the ugly fat black sheep in the family and I didn't feel as pretty as them.  So after many months of hiding behind a pretty smile and after an emotional day where i feel like I cracked and said to mom enough is enough, I've got to change my fat stomach."
                          Of course mom listened and was totally supportive, and asked James to get me started on a meal plan that is healthier and would help me lose the weight slowly.  He basically said I was doing well on working out but I had to change my eating habits and yes it has worked.  I feel like I have a lot more energy to work out than i ever did eating junk food. :)  My starting weight was 148.  i am now 140.  not bad huh?  yes it was 138 but due to a wedding and such I put on a couple extra but i am planning to lose those again.  Well I am going to go, I am spending time with dad but I will write soon describing what I eat and such.  bye.  lots of love.
                                     
                             

Valentine's day update, thoughts on lent

                        I don't know if it's just me but February seems to be flying quickly by.  Of course to me that's always the fastest month because it's the month with the least amount of days, but than again it seems like winter always goes by so slow, I call it the depressing season. It's the time where I don't want to talk to anyone, I force myself to be happy, when I know there is that part of me that wants to, and I miss my walks outside.  Thank goodness I did get myself that volunteer job or I would be as lazy as ever.  But anyway enough of the chatter.  This post isn't about the winter blues it's about Valentine's Day and lent. 
                                 Valentine's Day 
                                     I spent Valentine's Day with dad this year.  In a way it brought me comfort because I feel down on Valentine's Day since I live in a house surrounded by couples and I am the only one that's single.  Dad asked me to celebrate it with him a couple weeks ago and I gladly accepted.  He surprised me with Heggy's chocolate's and a dozen red roses. :)  It was a white out so we ordered a pizza but he cooked a fabulous breakfast Sunday morning.   
                                     Lent
                                     Well... as many of you know it's the start of lent,  Yes if you are wondering what I might be giving up I think I already have it.  I am going to give up my daily muffin I have before I volunteer at the cafe right next door to where I volunteer.  Trust me it's going to be so hard.  Their muffins so good and all the employees smile at me when i come in and ask,
                                "What kind today Heather?"
                                 It's going to catch them by surprise when i order something else for the remaining days of lent.  :)  wish me luck.  Well better go.  bye.

book overview ( The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants)

                      Don't worry I'm still here.  If you are wondering why I wasn't posting  I was waiting till I was done with a book so that I could do a overview because I hadn't done one in awhile.  Lately when I had posted it had been about volunteering and yes, it may have been different things going on every week in He
artville you are probably due from a break from hearing about that.  So anyway enough gibbering.
                                          (Book Overview )  
                                          Once there was a pair of pants, just an ordinary pair of jeans.  But these pants, the traveling pants went on to do great things. This is the story of four friends Tibby, Lena, Bridget, Carmen who make it possible.  
                                                (My thoughts)
                                                 I absolutely adored this story.  It is funny and touching.  It shows that you can still have a friendship with your closest friends even when you are both miles apart.  It also teaches you about body image without the serious lecture.  All four girls are different body types and you can relate to at least one of them which I loved.  :)  I swear this is the first book that I absolutely belly laughed and no matter how many times I tried to stop I couldn't.  Dad was getting a kick out of it. 
                                                Well better get going.  Till next time.

Heartville's Elves are hard at work

               Boy I didn't realize how long it was since I had posted on here.   The last time I'd posted I'd updated you on my last day at the humane society and what I was doing next.  Just in case I didn't mention it but I am now volunteering at the thrift shop Fridays as well as Wednesdays.  Fridays I'm hanging clothing in the back when yes Wednesday I am still pricing and restalking books.  They are both great fun but I must admit Tagging the clothing is a little hard. 
                 All the staff is extremely nice and they honor every volunteer because that is what basically who makes up the store.  There is only four paid staff in that entire place.  But anyway if you go into the section that says EMPLOYEES ONLY you can see for yourself how hard we work.  There are DVDS to be sorted and priced, electronics to test, furniture to move, ect.  But anyway on their website they had their holiday card up that said Heartville's Elves are hard at work and had every volunteer on it.  No, I am not included I am afraid.  they probably took it before I started volunteering but i probably will be included in next year's.  Well I hope you are finishing up the christmas shopping and wrapping, Till next time.