Every Penny Counts!

Money.  That dirty word that no one likes to talk about.  From watching the news and reading posts on Facebook today, I think we need to talk about it.  Just a little.  This won't hurt, I promise.

Ways to Make some CASH:

• Sell your stuff!  We all have extra "stuff" in closets, spare rooms, the garage, etc...  Get rid of it!  
• Consignment Stores:  There are plenty of adult and children's clothing stores around town.  And let's not forget Home-to-Home in Centerville.  You can take furniture, pictures, and other household items here for consignment.
• Garage Sale:  It's almost spring and time to plan a garage sale.  My mother, sister-in-law, and myself will be having one this year.  We have done them in the past and done well.  My recommendations:  A) Have it the first weekend of the month.  or B) If you live in or near Centerville, do it during their Annual Garage Sale Weekend.  What better way to get free advertising and customers?
• Make what you have available:  Let's say you have two printers, but only use one.  If you are someone on Facebook and have at least 50 or so friends.... post it!  This is the first lesson in sales:  ask for the sell!  You have to tell people what you have in order for them to buy it.  
• Online Opportunities:
• Did you know you can take surveys online and they will pay you?  I have never done this, but know many stay-at-home mom's who do this.  Google it for more info.
• Ebates (or other sites that are like it).  I am an online shopper.  I have about a zero tolerance for human's inside a shopping center.  And by humans, I mean teenagers who are wearing their pants down low and are just gawkward.  (Yes, I made that word up.)  If you online shop, go to the Ebates site first, find the store you want to buy from, and then click-thru the ebates site to get to your shopping store.  During the Christmas season I received a $68 check from Ebates.  
• Coupons.  Print them.  Use them.  No more information should be needed here.  Go to couponmom.com for a good starting point.
• Music downloads.... are you ready for this?  GoMusicNow.com is an overseas (UK or Australian) website that allows you to download music for .09¢ - .15¢ per song.  You have to create an account first and upload $25.  Then every time you download a song it subtracts it from your account balance.  It also keeps a list of all songs you have purchased/downloaded so that you can download them again FREE if needed.  
• Auctions:  I'm not a big fan of Ebay for selling, but I have gotten some great deals here.  For our business we have used AuctionZip.  Other than computers, there is nothing in our building that we have not purchased brand new.  We have a really nice counter in our show room that we paid $50 for.  The original Invoice was in the drawer... they paid $10,000.  Perhaps that is why they went out of business?
• Sneaky Ways to Save
• So you know Kroger gives you .10¢ off per gallon for every $100 you spend with them, right?  And you know that you plan on spending at least $100 on your kid's summer clothes at... let's say Old Navy (or insert whatever store!).  Go to Kroger, buy a $100 gift card for that store.  You have just earned .10¢ off your gas.  And if it's during their double deal time... it could be .20¢ off.  I recently remodeled a bathroom and purchased all my Lowe's gift cards there first, and then went and bought paint, lights, etc...
• Online "Points":  Whatever "points" program you use, put it to your advantage.  Stop thinking of it as you winning the lottery.  Choose a gift card that you will use for something valuable.  Say a gas card, or Target, or Wal-mart.  You know, places that sell toilet paper!  I mean really, do you need that Starbucks card?    
• Aldi:  I am a strong supporter of Aldi grocery store.  Stop rolling your eyes.  Between my friend Stephanie and myself we can tell you what is good or bad.  But seriously, if you're making smoothies... who cares where you get that frozen bag of blueberries?!  Only you know!  And I'd like to go ahead and give their guacamole 5 stars.

That is it for now.  Want more great ideas?  Turn out Clark Howard or Dave Ramsey.  :)

Reality Check 101

Yesterday I was at Indian Lake for the day.  After just being there a few hours reality set in.... we eat and drink a LOT at the lake.  Since I was just going to be there a short time I did not take any food with me.  (dumb)  Before heading northbound I ate my usual breakfast of eggs, bacon, and avocado.  For some reason my little brain thought I'd be okay with just this.  Around 1pm the snack foods and beers came out.  I enjoyed lots of cauliflower and too much cheese.  So far this is sounding lo-carb to you, yes?  But something is missing.... protein!!!  Real substantial protein.  It wasn't until 7pm that I ate a burger (no bun of course) and had a handful of carrots.  This was NOT enough daily food intake.  Around 3am I woke up starving!!  Again, no food at the lake house so what is a girl to do?  I got in my car and drove back to Dayton.  DUH!!!  I walked in the door and immediately ate a small piece of leftover beef with some guac.  Nighty night.

So what did this experience teach me?  I am going to have to plan, plan, and plan again.  Not only for my weekends at the lake, but just in general.  I have been very lenient the last few weeks and this needs to stop.  I kind of forgot that most people eat pasta, crackers, and more pasta like it's the norm.  I also realized that summer is just a few months away and I really need to get cracking to lose these last 10Lbs.  So food prep Sunday begins now!

On this week's menu:

Herb Rubbed Sirloin Tip Roast :  This will most likely last me a few days.  And I am one of those people who doesn't mind eating the same food repeatedly.  Except for chili.  I pretty much killed myself on chili a few months ago and can't even look at a bowl of it now.  #ruinedforlife

Blueberry Muffins:  Ok, so these aren't the greatest paleo things to make, but for me they are very handy.  On mornings when I am running late (too often), I can just grab these and go.  I also only have about 45 minutes between work and crossfit so eating one of these helps get me through the workout.  They are full of protein and fiber.

Sun-dried Tomato Bake Chicken:  This is the easiest recipe EVER.  I also like to add mushrooms and onions to it.  Make it with a side of spinach salad and you will have a great meal.

Veggies:  Pick your fancy.  Cut, slice, or dice them ahead of time so you have no excuse.  (Hence today for me)  And don't be afraid to add seasoning.  When I first started making veggies I would only add salt.  Boring.  Now I add garlic, paprika, basil, etc...  Just depends on the dish.

February Update

I'm finding it hard to believe that it is already February 13th.  Seriously, where does the time go?  I foresee flip-flop season approaching!  Are you ready?

I recently returned from cruising with my mom to Mexico.  We had a great time!  I now have a tan which will last for about one week due to the OH-IO cold.

This is me and my mom's 3rd cruise together.  For the record, on the first cruise I gained almost 10Lbs.  Yes, you read that right!  On the 2nd cruise I gained 5Lbs.  On the 3rd cruise, I lost a pound!  Proof positive that eating and exercise combined make a huge difference!  My mom and I exercised daily.  She would walk the full ship while I ran.  I made it six times around without stopping!  That is 2.5 miles and the first time I have ever jogged that far without stopping (or feeling like I was going to collapse).  On other days I would go to the gym and make up my own wods (90 sec row, 30 sec rest, 90 sec plank, 30 sec rest, 90 sec sit ups, 30 sec rest, 90 sec squats, 30 sec rest.  Repeat 5 times.)  At one point my mother looked at me and said, "Please don't hurt yourself, I won't be able to get home without you."  She is one funny momma.

This is one of the meals.  Lobster and shrimp with veggies and rice.  I did not eat the rice.  Not going to lie, I did eat frozen yogurt EVERY SINGLE DAY!  And yes, it was worth it.  Did I mention I still lost a pound?  HAHA!

Recently I have come in contact with many people who ask me how often I workout.  Or they make comments that I'm a gym rat.  So, I just want to take this moment to clear that up..... I go to the gym on Tuesday and Thursday nights.  And I occasionally throw in a Saturday when my schedule allows it.  For the love of Pete people, it has taken me 37 years to realize this so I'm going to let you in on the secret..... what you put in your mouth is what appears on your thighs.  If you eat crap, you're going to look and feel like crap. Period.  You have to have the will, it's not in a pill.

It is truly strange for me to hear people call me little.  I have looked at this picture above multiple times in the past week and said to myself - that's really you.  I can't wait to see what the next year brings!  Hopefully I am ripped like some of my fellow crossfitters.  (Val S., I'm talking to you.)

Life as I know it

It's already the 18th of December.  I'm really not sure where the past two and a half weeks went.  I keep being told by the older generation "the older you get the quicker time goes by."  Crap.  That must mean I'm getting older.    

The Centerville Crossfit challenge has been going great.  It's only the second week, but I can see the motivation that everyone at the gym has.  It's been great!!  My shoulder has caused me some pain, but I've gotten pretty good at knowing when to stop.  I have also started shoulder strength exercises over the past few weeks, I really think these have helped.  This past Saturday we all had body measurements taken.  I was pretty excited to see that I had shrunk even more since my last measurements in November.  YIPPEE!!!  I was told last night that I need to eat more.  As someone who has been fat all my life, it is very hard to grasp the words "eat more".  I went home last night and hard boiled some eggs and bought some healthy guacamole.  (Side note, check your labels!  Not all guac is the same!)  This will hopefully help me get some more protein and fats in.  Life is all about progress.

Below is one of my favorite Paleo treats.  It is a Blueberry Muffin from Elana's Pantry.  My suggestions for if you make them:  Cut the eggs down to 4 or 5 so they aren't spongy, add a pinch of ground nutmeg and cinnamon, and don't use a mixer.  They are delicious.

Life at work has been pretty great too.  Generally the months of January and February are very extremely slow.   We did a large mailing that has drummed up new business for us.  Thank God for the recession.  And yes, I'm being serious.  Previously people were only buying name brand product which costs about 4x what we sell our items for.  See website here.  Once the recession hit, people have realized that they just need product that works.  It no longer needs to have the expensive names of Leviton or Panduit..... sorry boys, I just bashed your companies.  But really, your stuff comes from China just like ours!  Stop mugging the crap out of people.  Oh wait, no, keep doing it.  Because that leaves more business for me.  

Bring It 2012!

Happy New Year!!!

As I sit here and think back on this year I realize how truly blessed I am.  We can all come up with things in our lives that we feel like we are missing.... say a husband or kids for me.  But when I take a step back and realize everything else that I do have, wowza! am I ever blessed!!

So it's December 31, 2011.  A year ago I promised myself I would lose weight and get fit.  Now, I am 32Lbs less and able to lift more weight than I ever imagined.  Physically this year has been amazing.  And actually, this year has been pretty amazing in every aspect of my life.  Emotionally, financially, spiritually, etc....  It all kind of goes hand in hand when you decide to work on it.

So what are my goals for 2012?  And yes, I said goals.  I think the word "goal" sounds so much better than a "resolution".  I actually created a very detailed spreadsheet that hits almost every point of one's life, but I will give you my fitness/health goals:

• Run (not walk, RUN) the Harrigan's 5K on St. Patty's Day
• Hand stand push-ups, double unders, and kipping pull-ups... you will be mine by this time next year!
• 20Lbs less by May.... hello swimsuit season
• Continue to eat Paleo
• Of course, continue losing weight and gaining muscle with my Centerville Crossfit family.... they ROCK!

2011 Before and After

It's a new day

The Paleo Challenge officially ended last week.  I lost a total of 8 inches overall.  Eight.  Eight inches.  When you really think about it, that's a lot in just 50 days!  I am extremely happy with the results and am continuing with my paleo lifestyle.

Now, with that said, I did find some pure joy in this past weekend's eating.  It all started with Thanksgiving.  I actually stuck to Paleo until the apple pie came out.  Even then, it was just a sliver.  Oh but a delicious sliver it was.  The real kicker this past weekend was the homemade Chex mix.  My mom and I have been making this together for years.  The secret ingredient to our mix:  bacon fat.  Yes, it consists of 1 full cup of not only butter, but also bacon lard.  You literally take a bite and it's like a party in your mouth.  My friends also call it crack and it is requested by them every year.  Let's just say I ate enough to last me until next year.  BLAH!  Horrible feeling afterward.

So, thus begins the rest of my life.  Just the thought of eating cereal, milk, or candy bars almost makes me gag. Bring on the veggies!

Paleo Update - Day 44

Let me just say, you are about to see two U-G-L-Y pictures of me.  Both were taken after workouts.  I promise to take better ones on the next challenge.  And for the heck of it, next week I will wear the same outfit as my "before" pic just so you can see the difference.  Wait, I can't wear those pants... THEY'RE TOO BIG!

It's Day 44.  Unbelievable how quickly this has gone by.  I will get measured next week and will definitely post my losses at that time.  I can tell you a size 10 now fits way comfortably.  It's very odd to me.  I have always been between a 12-16.  Occasionally (when I need to do laundry) I will walk into the other closet and think to myself - Oh, I'll just put these (size 12's) on and all will be good.  And then, crap!  Literally, they will look like I just crapped my pants because they are so baggy.  Yes, yes, this is a good problem to have.  I just need someone to finance me a new wardrobe.....

This year as a whole I have lost 27Lbs.  Since I started eating Paleo I have lost 21Lbs.  What's that tell ya?  It tells me that the discipline with Paleo is what I needed to really get the weight loss process started.  Notice I said started because this journey is not over.  I plan to continue on.  Why?  People!  How many times do I have to tell you this?!  I FEEL AH-MAZING!  My skin is healthy, my sleep is good, I have energy, and my desire to kill people has reduced dramatically. (Kidding on the killings)

My next goal:  20 pounds gone by the end of March.  Just in time for lake season.  :0)