redwinelover's Journal

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09 June 2011

Still feeling pretty positive, upbeat, happy! No longer ecstatic, maybe... but how long can one keep that up, anyway? lol

Just finished my workout - did the kettlebells today. Some of that is tough! But I guess that's what gives results. Yesterday I did the kickboxing workout and burned over 350 calories. Kept the burn going by cleaning our bedroom. Actually other than dusting, it was more of straightening the room and removing things that aren't conducive to either sleep... or uh... fun :D

I decided the other day that I wanted to paint the bedroom and do a cheap makeover. Money's a little tight at this time of the year - birthdays coming, Father's Day, anniversary, college tuition due in two months, kids graduating, etc. But a cheap makeover? We can swing that one. Decided to go for a Moroccan theme - you know... shiny fabrics, glass hanging lanterns in various colors with candles in them, pillows and MORE fabrics. So I've hit the thrift stores and have had amazing luck with just three thrift stores - most from the first two.

I found this gorgeous blue large glass hanging lantern - need to get some chain to hang it, but I'll get that when I get the paint. Still not positive on the paint color, but most of our house is painted in rusts and earth tones, so something that would go along with that. I'll probably take one of the pillow shams or something with me for inspiration. Anyway, the lantern started things rolling. I went on to find gorgeous curtain panels, pillow cases, pillow shams, pillows, a throw, a valance, more panels. Ooohhh... it's going to be fun to do and I hope the affect is warm, cozy, sultry... bordering on sizzling! lol

The colors run from silvers to purples to burgundies and browns, golds, russets, blues. I've decided to hang a curtain rod at the head of the bed and put this one panel with a built in valance with beads on it in the center and border it with two deep red, almost burgundy panels on either side and drape it behind the metal headboard.

I have other panels - maybe for the end of the bed, like a small coverlet, and we have this gun rack (!) in the bedroom that holds rifles. Well, it's made to hold rifles, we don't have any. It had a mirror on it but I took it off trying to figure out how the fireplace wall was put together (too long of a story!). Anyway, I have this small curved shelf with decorative iron on the bottom of it and am thinking to hang that above the opening and use one of the darker panels to hang down over the front of it to the floor, and put a light inside there - sort of add to the ambiance. I love lighting and love candles. And just put throw pillows all over the place - lots on the bed and some floor pillows and a couple on the chair... maybe drape more shiny sheer fabric over the top of the desk ... stuff like that.

Oh, and I bought a multicolored lantern at Ross the other day, too. So altogether now? I think I've spent $75 - $80. Once I find floor pillows and paint and supplies, I'm sure it'll still come in under $200. Not bad for a room OVERHAUL. This room has seriously been neglected all the years we've lived here. And the good part about this is if my husband doesn't LOVE it (I'm going to surprise him with it... well, he'll obviously know about painting it!) then I won't have wasted tons of money on it. And it may be a style we'll grow tired of quickly, but again, won't be out much money.

Biggest plus?? Calorie burner! lol... Klannoye and I were discussing this and she made the comment that everything she does now she seems to do in terms of "how many calories will I burn?" lol... funny? yeah. sad? a little!

(11 comments)

04 June 2011

Did the kettlebell workout yesterday and have a bit of soreness in my lats. The good kind of sore, though. :) Today I'll do the kickboxing dvd. I'm really enjoying this combination - makes me feel strong, and yet gives me good cardio, as well. Weight's up a bit again today, but I also didn't drink enough water yesterday. I'll concentrate on getting lots of water in - no less than 8 glasses, hopefully drink 10.

Too hot for hiking :( Today will be 97, tomorrow 99. The lows tonight will be 72 - and it probably won't hit the low until 3:00am. Warmer night tomorrow - 75. Which sounds nice... but it's not cool enough to get the house to cool way down so the a/c doesn't run all day. But I shouldn't complain as it's only going to get a lot hotter than this over the next three or four months. At least so far we've been able to sleep with windows opened up.

Feeling a little off today. Think I just need to wake up some more! MORE COFFEE! :D

(11 comments)

03 June 2011

Decided to record a "real" weight - day after eating following a two day fast. I think it's a more legit number than yesterday's. Ended up eating more yesterday than I'd planned, even if it was nearly all good foods. Again, just too much food. The fruit this time of year is getting so good! I made some fruit salad with dinner that had cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries, and cherries - delicious! Anyway, today is a new day and I'm not feeling like I'm starving as I felt yesterday! I should plan out dinner first and fill in the rest - that's the way I do best it seems. Hope everyone has a great day!

Weight:	Lost so far:	Still to go:	Diet followed:
57.8 kg	21.6 kg	1.1 kg	Reasonably Well

Add Comment Gaining 2.5 kg a Week

02 June 2011

Long time again between journal entries. Actually just did a two day fast, so my weight is probably not going to stay at this number. It's silly, but I don't want to record the numbers I see half the time so I wait to record my wait until I can bear to see the number again. Still trying to get back to that "magic" 125 lbs again and figure out how to stay there.

I must be eating more than I think I am, which means I need to start recording my food intake again. My Bodybugg shows that over the last 30 days I've averaged burning just over 2400 calories per day. To be fair, I've enjoyed a lot of the last 30 days, too! The great mini-vacation, wine time with the women, a few great hikes that ended with great beer! It's no wonder I haven't lost the weight! lol... But it's been worth it!

My husband and I took a really nice hike on Monday. We started out a good hour later than we'd liked to have and could tell it was going to be hot. But it was still a nice hike, about 10 miles. We started getting hungry and tired after about 6 miles and searched for shade. Luckily we found an awesome spot just off the trail on some rocks under some low lying trees in a shallow gully. Even had a nice breeze! Enjoyed a great lunch, passed up having a Black & Tan that my husband had lugged on his back all morning. Too hot with still 3 or 4 miles to go to want to drink a beer. :D We DID enjoy a couple of Newcastles in the parking area at the end of the hike, though.

I'm getting fairly consistent with the exercise again. Right now I'm really enjoying doing kickboxing one day and kettle bells the next. Today is a kettle bell workout and I'm looking forward to it. I always feel so strong when I've finished!

I've missed my buddies - hope you have been doing wonderfully.

Weight:	Lost so far:	Still to go:	Diet followed:
57.4 kg	22.0 kg	0.7 kg	Reasonably Well

(8 comments) Gaining 0.0 kg a Week

26 May 2011

Wow, hadn't realized it has been this long between journal entries.

My husband and I took an awesome mini vacation! We'd wanted to go camping, but between the winds and the fire restrictions, that just wasn't going to happen. So Wednesday evening we made reservations at a cheap motel in Flagstaff and I made plans for things to do.

We left Friday morning and did some fun wine tasting. First place we went to was Alcantara Vineyards and was the best - nice views, wine tasting on the deck under an umbrella, great service, nice wines. Bought a bottle there we both enjoyed and had a glass and relaxed. Reason this is so special? My husband doesn't particularly care for wine (gasp!), but he enjoyed this.

Went on to two other wineries up the road. The second one we went to would have been fine if the wine hadn't sucked. I'm (obviously) not much of a white wine drinker, but one I tasted at this place was pretty good. Their reds sucked, though :(. But we sat outside under the roof overhang and enjoyed the tastings, regardless. And a plate of three cheeses, some almonds grown on the property, and some biscuit type things. Oh, and some olives.

We skipped the one that was third on my itinerary only because I'd been there before with a couple of girlfriends and it's just a small room that you stand in at the "bar" for the tasting. No views, no place to sit and enjoy a glass or a bottle, and the wine was only so-so to begin with. So we went on to the last one on my list - Page Springs Cellars.

I'd gone to this place with my friends last year, too, and we really enjoyed this one. So I had high hopes this time. We decided to do our tastings on their beautiful deck that overlooks the creek and is treed and gorgeous and relaxing. BUT that turned out to be the mistake, I think. Because this place you had to go in for each tasting and rather than each of us going in for the glasses, one of us would go. So we basically just got a pour and a VERY brief description of the wine and no sense they gave a damn we were there. It probably would have been different had we done the wine tasting inside, ordered a glass or a bottle after and taken that out to the deck. We did have some amazing bruschetta there - three different types, yummy.

Our second day we went to Call 'O the Canyon - which is the West Fork of Oak Creek in Sedona. This is a 7 mile hike and absolutely beautiful! It's a perfect date hike. Not too much effort - not like the hikes we take here in the Superstition Mountains which are rocky, rugged and varied terrain. This one was often level and with a lot of creek crossings across rocks or logs that were fun. And tons of shade from all the Oak trees and Cottonwoods. Beautiful red rock walls surrounding the canyon, gorgeous views the entire hike. We SO enjoyed this hike and I cannot wait until Fall when the leaves change so we can do this hike then, as well.

As we finished the hike, we decided against going into town for a drink and opted instead to grab our ice chest and take that down a dirt side trail that lead to the creek away from the majority of people. We sat there and drank Black & Tans and had some snacks and just enjoyed the hell out of the scenery there along the creek. Even saw a snake in the water which surprised us both! Probably spent about two hours sitting there enjoying this. Perfect day, again!

The third day we drove the 80 miles from the motel to the Grand Canyon. It was such a beautiful day for this. Since we'd been a few times before, we didn't feel compelled to stop at every lookout or pullout. We stopped at a few and walked along the Rim trying to take it all in. It is such an awe-inspiring sight for any who've not seen it. Pictures cannot do it justice. It's immense and beautiful and a little scary when you realize if you fall, there's a good chance you won't survive! I've yet to go there without having visions of falling the night after visiting! lol After a few stops we found a pullout with picnic tables. Got out and found the trail that lead to the Rim, going past an archaeological Indian tee pee made of sticks of wood. Went on past that to the Rim, and then along the rim for a while off any trail to find a rock outcropping where we could take in the views completely alone. It was HEAVEN, let me tell you. Also had a picnic out there and a couple of Newcastles :D What a GREAT day we had - spent a couple of hours there, enjoying the view and each other's company. It seemed each day was perfect... amazing!

We were driving home on Monday and decided to stop in Sedona and do another hike we'd done previously that took us down to Oak Creek also. A fairly short hike, but steep. We found another spot for a picnic and enjoyed that, then walked along the creek for a while and found another gorgeous spot to sit and enjoy more beer. We each had a Newcastle and a Black & Tan. My husband is GOOD at making these! This one I'd forgotten to put a spoon in the cooler, so he used the neck of the Newcastle to pour the Guiness over! Turned out to be the best one ever, staying separated until the glass was empty. My MacGyver! lol

After a while we packed up our stuff and make the hike back up out of the canyon to the car and drove home. Another perfect day! So we ended up with four beautiful, perfect days - such a great mini vacation! And it only used two days of vacation and didn't spent a lot of money, either. Perfect.

So diet wise? Eh... not so good. But worth it?? ABSOLUTELY! My weight is up - 129.2 today. I'm not going to sweat it. I'd still love to find that 125 and figure out how to stay there without this constant gain and lose, gain and lose, but haven't found it just yet. In the meantime, I can deal with four pounds. I worked out yesterday doing the kick boxing dvd and really love it.

Oh, and I'm having my second Fraxel re:pair procedure done on June 28th. I'm nervous about it as I had SO much pain last time. But damn, it really helped my skin so much! My skin just looks healthier, more even toned, a lot tighter (which I could Fraxel my entire body! lol) and the wrinkles have been softened a lot. And since my dermatologist likes to do Botox first - gives the face a smoother plane to work on
( :D ). Sounds like the perfect excuse to have Botox to me! Ladies - I'd suggest you don't do that unless you know you can afford to keep it up. Why? Because it's ADDICTING! I had it three months ago prior to my first Fraxel procedure for that reason and man, when it wears all the way off, you realize how much it helped smooth out the wrinkles! So you just want to keep doing it. Ah... the price of vanity! lol So I can't wait for the next couple days to go by so it kicks in. You really should get it done before it's completely worn off - works better that way, too, to keep the muscles relaxed. But I didn't realize it would take 2 1/2 weeks to get in there and besides, the first time you have it done, sometimes it only lasts two months. After a while, you can often go 4 months between, some lucky people get six months between!

So that's been my life, for anyone that's been bored enough to read through this entire entry! Hope you're having a great day!

(10 comments)

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