FAIL

I'm gonna admit, I completely failed last week. Didn't even finish writing the one letter I said I'd start with.

I'm gonna be honest, I have 2 challenges on the table from friends right now, and I'm going to go with the 'easier' one, and finish my challenge from last week.

I think with the busy week I had 2 weeks ago, I lost my focus and put this "challenge thing" in the back of my brain...

So, new challenge:

"Pick 2 evenings this week and get your bum out of the house, only you, and you've got to do something that doesn't involve buying baby clothes or even running errands, even if it's just for an hour."

AND I shall complete last week's challenge:

"Write 5 letters to friends you have not been in contact with for a long time."

Challenges Accepted.

And this time for real...

Wish me luck for I believe I shall need it.

New Challenge

To say I've been busy (and sick) the last 5 days would be an understatement... Hence the lack of posts...

But I'm back, and with a new challenge.

I was working in order of who sent me challenges first, but this week is insanely busy for me, and the 2 challenges I have from friends are impossible for me to complete this week. I have been forced to make up a challenge for myself for this week.

So, without further ado:

"Write 5 letters to friends you have not been in contact with for a long time."

Challenge Accepted!

I will pick up a pen and start writing.

First on my list - finish a letter I started 4 months ago!!

If you have a challenge you wish to send me, please do so by commenting below, sending me an email (challengemama@gmail.com), or send me a private facebook message.

Day 7

I am cheating and back dated this post for archival purposes.

While taking photos of my neighbourhood, I didn't think I would be able to put together any sort of theme, but while going through them when I got home I was surprised to see that I had some similarities going on.

I felt quite awkward walking around with a camera, but I sucked it up and took photos anyway.

Day 6

Broken:



Watch Your Step



Hope It Wasn't Important



Snow Castle Remains



Unloved



National Pride?



Crack

Day 5

Enjoyed in just a few months:

Day 4

Fences:




Art Project



Quick Fix



Be Kind



Won't Hide the Mess



Toy



Bronze

Day 2 and 3

I didn't take any pictures yesterday...

...But today I went for a walk with Evan



And Moses



Poor guy looked like this when we got home





Here are a couple of pictures from our walk:

First Sign of Spring.



Frozen Waters(?)



Private

Day 1

Didn't have time for a walk today.

Picture taken from our bedroom window. (I probably looked like a creeper! lol)


Snowy Night.

Challenge #4

"I challenge you to get outside and take some pictures of your neighbourhood--focusing on different shapes, colors, etc."

Challenge accepted.

Maybe I'll try to post a picture every day. Doesn't mean I'll go out every day ;-) but to keep my daily posts interesting I'll add a pic.

*disclaimer*
I'm no photographer. ;)

I've got just one other challenge in cue (Mikey!). I would love to get some more from you. Leave a comment on this blog, facebook me, email me... I'll add links to to the side of my blog for you.

Day 7

On the menu:

Breakfast
Strawberry yogurt with berries
Coffee

Lunch
Veggie soup
English muffin with cheese
Carrots/Grapes

Dinner
12" ham sub from subway

Snack
Plum

Cravings: not much. Maybe a little candy

So, I got through the week, and Gregg made a comment last night about how I'm looking lik I've lost some weight these past couple of weeks. Cool! :)

I also have been feeling better - though hungry at times, it's better than feeling FULL, and I also feel like I've got more energy during the day.

Day 6

On the menu:

Breakfast
Smoothie with raspberries, banana, OJ, and oats
Coffee

Lunch
Butternut squash soup

Snack
Piece of toast and boiled egg
Grapes

Dinner
Fajita with ground beef, tones of sauted veg, and guacamole.
Glass of wine

Cravings: none.

Day 5

On the menu:

Breakfast
Honeynut cheerios
Banana
Coffee

Lunch
Chicken soup
Salad with a hard boiled egg

Snack
Nuts

Dinner
Steak
Mashed potatoes
Carrots

Cravings: none really. I hardly had time to eat as it was.

Day 4

On the menu:

Breakfast
Oatmeal with bananas (was pretty gross but I can never bring myself to throw away food. lol)

Lunch
Homemade chicken noodle soup

Snacks
Boiled egg and piece of toast
Plum
Glass of wine

Dinner
Meatloaf
Rice
Salad

Cravings: a glass of wine. ;)
I was HUNGRY today. I could have eaten everything in the house.

*update*
after I posted this, I had an awful craving for a dairy queen or wendy's burger

Day 3

On the menu:

Brunch (Gregg let me sleep in!)
Omlette with tons of veg
2 pieces of toast

Snacks
Mixed nuts
Grapes
Celery
Baked lays

Dinner
6" chicken teriyaki sub from subway.

Cravings: Pizza!! It was a holiday today so the 3 of us all bummed around in our jammies all day, and any lazy day like that calls for pizza.

Day 2

On the menu:

Breakfast
Smoothie with banana, raspberries, orange juice, (water), oats
Black coffee (2)

Lunch
Chicken wrap with half a breast and tons of veggies

Snack(s)
Grapes
Small handful of mixed nuts

Dinner
Lasagna
Salad

Cravings: Again, can't say I had any. Went to my in-law's for dinner though and was sad to pass up garlic bread with lotsa cheese (though I had a bite of gregg's) and brownies for dessert. I coulda had a second piece of lasagna too - yum!!

Day 1

On the menu:

Breakfast
Smoothie with mixed berries, orange juice, (water), and oats
Black coffee (we had no milk and I think I'm happy with it black now, surprisingly)

Lunch
Tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread with a *little* mayo, pickles, tomato, and spinach
Cellery sticks

Snack
An apple

Dinner
Homemade veggie lasagna ("low fat")
Salad

Cravings: none really, but it sucks knowing there are Doritos in the house.

Challenge #3

"I challenge you to make nutritious snacks and meals for one week!"

Challenge Accepted!

Back to a difficult challenge. ha!
I've been gearing up for this one. Getting my mind ready to tackle this.

I gotta get a little shopping done for this - pick up some more fruits and veggies.

This is the last challenge suggested by friends so far. I have 1 other challenge a friend emailed to me that is pending, but I gotta do a little research to make sure it's possible.

Please throw some more challenges my way! I can come up with my own challenges, but it's not as fun that way. :P

Days 5, 6, and 7

Sorry I didn't post the last couple of days. I've been incredibly busy.

I have successfully completed this challenge though. I wore NO track pants or pajama pants all week and was dressed first thing in the morning, along with Ev-meister.

It was a much easier challenge than last week.

Did I learn anything this week? Not really. I learned that Evan looks SUPER cute in some of his clothes. ;)

Day 4

Dressed good to go.
I even got out of the house today! ;)

Evan went through 3 pairs of pants. Haha!

Day 3

Done and done.
:)

Day 2

T'was an easy day for this challenge. Sunday mornings we go to church so I was dressed an ready to go. Oh how I wanna bum around the house in trackpants though. Haha

Day 1

Both of us dressed and ready to go.

Challenge #2

"I challenge you to get yourself and even Evan dressed every morning before - or maybe right after - breakfast."

Challenge Accepted!

And to make it a little more challenging, no track pants or pajama bottoms at all for me this week. Not even for a minute (unless I'm working out or sleeping). And once Evan is up for the day, he will be put into pants and a shirt.

This will be good. It will probably help me eat a little healthier because I won't be wearing comfy/stretchy pants, and it'll be fun to dress Evan in clothes he's seldom worn.

Little miss Fran, shall we make this a challenge for you too? ;)

Please keep your challenges coming.

Day 7

I must thank you all for your encouragement this week. Between the comments on this blog, emails, and personal messages, I was encouraged to keep trucking and not give up even for one day.

For my last day of this challenge, I strapped on 15 lbs of baby and went for a 30 minute inclined walk.

It was a good way to end my week. We listened to "worship" music as 'we' walked and I sang to Evan and told him I did this every day while he slept, and to prove he understood, he fell asleep in his baby carrier.

So, what have I learned from this week?

I learned that if I put my mind to it, I CAN in fact accomplish anything I set out for myself. I just need a good kick in the butt. Daily visits with our treadmill is a real challenge for me, and to know that even if Evan only naps for half an hour at a time, I can still take that time to do something productive - even if it's something I REALLY don't want to do.

I also learned that if I exercise in the evening, I crave food like nobody's business, BUT if I exercise during the day, I eat a lighter lunch in anticipation of my run/walk, and I go on with my normal daily meals. Ha!

This week has hopefully kick started an exercise bug in me. Though I much prefer to do things I enjoy like rollerblading, swimming, or walking/biking to a specific destination, I HOPE to get 30 minutes of exercise in (either treadmill or a Jillian Michaels dvd) at least 3 times a week (till the nice weather finally comes back). I *do* need to get rid of this muffin top. :P

Day 6

I did it.
Totally wasn't feeling it today though.
Just one more day.

Day 5

Done.

I'm starting to think that running first thing in the morning would be most convenient, but I don't think I could actually run at that time.

Day 4

Just finished my 30 minute "run". It felt like a LONG 30 minutes.
I went easy on myself and walked for 20 minutes (on an incline).
I'm glad I don't have to think about the treadmill again until tomorrow.

Day 3

It's 8:00pm and I just finished running. Evan wasn't what you would call an angel today. He was just really tired but wouldn't sleep for very long, so he went down for many short naps which didn't let me get onto the treadmill during the day... Oh, and one of my besties came to visit this afternoon. ;)

Anyway, time to hit the shower and hope I don't wake the babe.

Day 2

I knew the weekends would be hardest which is why I made the decision to start new challenges on Saturdays.

Today was as hard as I expected it to be to follow through with my challenge. We went to church in the morning, and I only had 2.5 hours to spend at home to eat, and get dressed up to go out to Stage West with my parents. I didn't want to spent half an hour on the treadmill.

But I did. And I feel good about it.

Day 1

Success.
And I have Michael Jackson to thank.

I'm NOT a runner. Never was. But I put on one of MJ's DVD's and spent the next 30 minutes trying to forget what I was doing and engross myself in all of his awesomeness.

I didn't do too bad either. I ran for nearly 20 minutes of the 30. Not very fast mind you, but still ran.

I'm ready to face tomorrow now...

P.S. Keep these challenges coming. I will get to each and every one you suggest. For now I can only handle 1 challenge per week. :P

Challenge #1

"I challenge you to run a half hour each day during Evan's naptime"

Challenge Accepted!

Gosh that's a tough first challenge! I was hoping to get started with something a little easier, but here we go!

Starting tomorrow until Friday, I will run every day for 30 mins (I may do a little walking in there cause I KNOW I'm super outta shape :P)

Yikes!

Wish me luck! haha!

Next Friday I will post a new challenge for me to do. Feel free to comment with another challenge any time during the week... and please be easier on me than my husband! lol! ;-)

Lazy Days

I find I have become very... what's the word? Lazy(?) Passive(?) Too comfortable(?) with life, especially since becoming a mom and spending most of my days in my PJ's at home.

I feel like I have had a productive day when I shower and load/unload the dishwasher.

I spend so much of my time caring for Evan that I find myself just grabbing junk food to eat when I'm hungry and I drink way too much coffee and not nearly enough water. I used to get exercise in my day when I would bounce Evan to sleep for easily 1-2 hours each day, but now that we've taught him to fall asleep on his own I get little to no exercise, and my only time with God during the average week is at church.

Now that I feel like I have this parenting thing under control, I want all that to change and I want to feel like I have been productive or done something good for myself each week. So I have come up with this blog where I will make known a challenge I wish to accomplish each week (Saturday to Saturday) and you will all hold me accountable.

Challenges may sound small, but be HUGE for me. Challenges may be simple, or may be difficult. I am open to suggestions, and will TRY to write every day with whether I succeeded or not.

Challenges may be about food, exercise, spiritual growth, cleaning, or even just to put "real" clothes on every day... anything really.

So, this Saturday will be the beginning of this project.

Any ideas for my first challenge? I will not accept challenges that require me to go outside during this dreaded weather. :P I can only change "so" much.

... Who knows ... I may learn something through all this.