Friday, August 31, 2012

Our New Compassion Child!

If you knew me, you'd know that patience is not one of my strengths. You would also know that if you tell me approximately two weeks, I get antsy and anxious if it's a couple of days before that and I haven't heard anything. Even worse, is if it's later than what you said.

Ever since I called to be a correspondent sponsor, I have been checking my Compassion account every.single.day to see if our new child has been added. Every day I would check and every day no new child to look at. So what did I do? I prayed. I prayed for the child that God has for us. I prayed for this new child to know what we already love him or her. I prayed that we would be able to write a letter to them soon.

I was frustrated that we hadn't heard anything so yesterday, I decided that I was going to not stress out and just take a break for the day from checking for our child. 

I logged on today and low and behold there was another name added to our sponsorships.

Meet Larissa.

Larissa is 15 years old and lives in Brazil. Both her parents are working and are still married. Her birthday is coming up in December and she'll turn 16. Isn't she beautiful?!

I can't wait to get the official packet in the mail. I'm already thinking about what to write our precious girl and my heart is already exploding with so much love.

Fit Fridays {Week 13)

I am so happy to report that this week's results were much better than last week's! I figured out that the slight increase was mostly due to water retention and saw a difference when I upped my water intake.

I worked out only a couple of days this week, but have kept up with the Ab Challenge (with a two day break for being sick).

Tuesday
 I did 40 minutes of cardio and some weights for my arms.

Wednesday
I did 25 minutes of cardio.

Today I'm meeting up with a friend to go to the gym at 10:30am so we'll be doing some cardio as well.

I've kept in my calorie range as well and here are the results...



Starting Weight: 224
Last Week: 209.4
Current Weight: 205.6
Down  -3.8 pounds this week!

Total Weight Lost: 18.4 pounds!

Dont Quote The Raven

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Ab Challenge Week 2 Results {Husband Edition}

Phil is doing a fantastic job with the 30 Day/300 Ab Challenge and is halfway done!

The pictures from left to right are Day 1, Day 7, and Day 15.

Whether or not you can see the difference in pictures I definitely see a difference in person. I can actually feel abs now and can see him bulking up from Day 1. 

Have you tried the Ab Challenge yet? My husband {and I} have encouraged a few people and even my mom is doing it now!

Keeping it Real

I've mentioned briefly that my husband and I have been trying to find a family since March. Obviously, it hasn't been too successful yet and I've been working with my doctor to try to figure out what we can do to change this.
source
I hate to admit, but I was super naive when we started this process. Sure, I had done my research and knew all about charting, ovulation, cervical mucus, and cycles. I had a basal body thermometer, ovulation test strips, pregnancy test, the fertility friend app, and was ready to go. I thought, hey, it might take a couple of months for my cycle to regulate, but it will all work out.

Until it didn't.

My doctor told me to call him if I hadn't had a cycle within 90 days after my last birth control pill. Over 100 days went by and I finally decided to call. I mean, what if it came on it's own and was a little later than 90 days? Girl, please. I reluctantly called my doctor to make an appointment. He confirmed that I had not ovulated {what?!} and tried me out on a low dose of clomid.

Again, I was super excited and thought that "this could be the month"! Ya, no. I did not respond to the medication and was so upset. That's when my husband and I decided to stop the clomid and I would work on getting healthy before we thought about it again. That was in June. My doctor and I said we would see how the summer went, and I would see him in August for my yearly visit.

Yesterday, I had my appointment. I went in super excited to tell him that I had lost 17 pounds and had a cycle on my own! It took 5 1/2 months, but it happened nevertheless.

The appointment was definitely not what I had expected. He was so happy that I lost weight and had a spontaneous cycle, but he was still concerned with my history of horribly irregular cycles. He told me that I have not yet ovulated {again} and to call him if I had not had a cycle within 4-6 weeks and we would do a higher dose of clomid. This was also not the first time he's mentioned the possibility that I might need to see an infertility specialist.

I left the office, got in my car, called my husband and burst into tears. I was so hopeful that losing weight would be it and it was so hard to hear that losing weight might not be enough. 

I knew that my irregular cycles could get in the way of having a baby someday, but never thought it would actually happen. Yes, I'm super naive when it comes to these things.

With this news from the doctor, my husband and I decided that if there's a good chance that I'll need to see a specialist, I might as well see them sooner rather than later.

I have my first appointment in three weeks and couldn't be happier with our decision. Our insurance covers diagnosis and treatment of infertility issues, but not artificial insemination of any kind (IVF, IUI, etc.). That's ok with us. We just want to know if there's something legitimately wrong or is it something we just need to be patient with.




Wednesday, August 29, 2012

My Sister is Coming to Town!!!

Tonight I just got the best news ever from my mom. She told me to book my sister's trip to come visit me this December! It's something my sister and I had been talking about on and off for about a year now, but with college finals in December, she really wasn't sure when she could come out.

I haven't seen my sister since March 2011, so I'm definitely looking forward to it. She lives in California where I grew up so the East Coast is definitely a different experience for her. The last time she was here we took her to Washington D.C. and she had a blast!




Isn't she so cute?!

This year we're picking her up a couple of hours away in Philadelphia so she'll get to see a little bit of Pennsylvania too! She has also made the request that we go to New York if possible. We'll have to see on that one, but I would LOVE to make that happen. It would be my first time going there as well.

I'm also thinking that I might take her to Virginia {even if it's just to the outlets} since I know she really likes visiting new states. Of course, it will be pretty cold by then and our plans will definitely depend on the weather! 

I can't wait for December to get here {after fall, of course!} to be able to spend some time with her!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Sometimes and Always



Sometimes... I wish we lived in a house with more room and tons of natural sunlight.
Always... I know that time will come and we are so blessed with the apartment we have.

Sometimes... I miss shopping a lot and want to shop till I drop!
Always... I know that doing that would not be good for our finances and me staying home is the best thing for our family.

Sometimes... I get a bit overwhelmed and worried with the different sewing projects I take on.
Always... God gives me the ability to get it done and they come out looking better than expected,
Crib skirt and comforter I made for a friend's nursery!

Sometimes... I want to sponsor all of the children through Compassion International.
Always... I know that we can not afford it, but we are still making a difference and that's what matters most.


Monday, August 27, 2012

Changing the Life of a Child is Easy

I wrote a couple of weeks ago on how you can sponsor a child for free through Compassion International. If my post wasn't convincing enough, I have a friend that I met through nannying a few years back who decided to make the call to become a correspondent sponsor.

The time-frame can vary on how soon you get a child, but for Anonymous Nanny at Nanonymously Yours it only took two weeks! She just got her packet in the mail today and saw the most precious little girl from India! In fact, when she logged in to her account, she realized that she was assigned two girls from India! What a fantastic surprise!

If you want to see pictures and read more about her girls, go check out her blog post. She will be updating us when she gets her first letter back!

Friday, August 24, 2012

Fit Fridays {Week 12)

Let's be honest, this week I really didn't want to write this post. I weighed in at 209.4. That's +0.4 pounds from last week's weigh in. 

Now, let's take a look at the facts:
  1. I maintained my eating habits and ate between 1,200-1,500 calories per day.
  2. I worked out Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday with cardio.
  3. I started the 30 Day/300 Ab Challenge about six days ago and have done all of the exercises every night.
  4. I'm still drinking water and rarely something else. I get in a good amount, but it could be better.
  5. My fat intake is under my goal as well.

So, what happened to cause this gain? No clue. I'm thinking that either my body is retaining water or I've hit my plateau. I'm making sure to still stay in my calorie limit and keep going no matter what, but it's still a bit disheartening. I am hoping that next week will be better.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Getting Fit- 30 Day Ab Challenge {Husband Edition}

Since I've been working on getting fit and healthy, my husband has been working on it too! It's so great to have such a wonderful support system at home and to know that he's in it with me and I'm not alone.

My husband and I each have our own different goals for getting fit. Mine is to lose weight and tone up and his is to take his super lean body and add muscle. I focus on more cardio and he's focusing on muscle-building exercises. Since I know more about fitness, he's enlisted my help to get him started. 

I've read that a few bloggers have had great results with the 30 Day/300 Ab Challenge so that's what I wanted him to start with first. I don't know about you, but I think that a man with toned abs is hot! So, with lots of guidance, my slightly uncoordinated husband got through the first workout. 

Every night since the first day, he's been religiously doing the Ab Challenge. I am so proud of him and he's already completed the first week!

Here are his results so far...

The picture on the left is Day 1 and the one on the right is Day 7.

As you can see, he's super lean. I'm not sure if you can tell in the pictures, but we can already see a difference! He's definitely getting more toned already and I'm so happy to start to see his abs coming through.

In addition to the Ab Challenge, he's now incorporating push-ups and squats alternating days to get more definition overall. 

My husband has inspired me to do the Ab Challenge and I have completed four days so far! Unfortunately, I have a little more fluff than my husband so my pictures won't show as much of a difference. 


A Mommas Desires And Pacifiers

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

So What Wednesday



This week, I'm saying So What if...
  • I didn't go to the gym a lot last week. I worked out a few times and kept my calories at bay and still had a loss.
  • I watched the Hunger Games movie almost three times in two days. I love that movie!
  • Because of my love for the movie, my husband actually let me buy it. This is a rare occasion in our household!
  •  I'm planning on watching the Hunger Games again later when I sew!
  •  I made encouraged my husband to do the 30 Day/300 Ab Challenge. He's super lean and I wanted him to focus on doing something to get fit.
  • I watched him for three days telling and showing him how to do all of the moves. I was super supportive and made sure he did them right to avoid injury and maximize his workout.
  • After watching him do it, I decided to pick it up and join him. I didn't want it to be all...Do as I say, not as I do. 
  • I'm on Day 4 of 30 and really can't wait until they get a little easier. I was super sore 2-3 days in so I'm hoping it will even out soon.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Fit Fridays {A Day Late}

I'm very adamant about weighing in every Friday. It makes it more accurate from week to week. I did weigh myself yesterday, but my husband took the day off and we headed out for the day which didn't leave me much time for blogging.

Here is this week's results...
 
Starting Weight: 224
Last Week: 210.6
This Week: 209
-1.6 pounds this week!

Total lost: -15 pounds!

I'm incredibly happy with the continuing results. My first "mini goal" is 30 pounds by the end of the year and I'm halfway there!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

What Motivated Me to Lose Weight

*Disclaimer: In this post I will be talking about my personal struggle and some may find it to be a little TMI for some people*

I don't know about you, but I didn't know that I was getting fat until one day I looked in the mirror and saw it...all 226 pounds of it. I had just lost my job and had been trying, without success, to eat better and give up my beloved Big Mac.

My husband and I had decided that we wanted to start trying for a family. We went in for a preconceptual consultation and asked my doctor what we should do and expect when I got off the pill. The advice was simple. Use a back up method for a month, take folic acid, and have fun. We talked about my irregular cycles before going on the pill and what that could entail. I was asked to call him if I had not had a cycle 90 days after I ended the pill and we would discuss our options.

Over 110 days went by and I had no cycle. I was getting nervous and finally decided to call the doctor. I wanted to start our family, like yesterday. He verified that I had not yet ovulated and that he wanted to try me on a low dose of clomid to see if we could induce ovulation. My husband and I decided to try it out and hope for the best. I had two follow-up appointments, both confirmed that the clomid did not work, and the doctor wanted to up my dose and try again.

My husband and I had prayed about it and discussed it in length prior to my last follow-up. We didn't feel that taking a pill to help me get pregnant was the right thing to do at the time. I was heavy and the risks associated with getting pregnant at such a heavy weight were not ideal.

When I went back to the doctor and he suggested a higher dose, I told him that I wanted to hold off and see if I could get my body to do what it was supposed to do on my own. I told him that I just joined a gym and wanted to get healthy now so that when I do get pregnant, I can continue to be healthy for myself and our baby. The doctor accepted what I said and reminded me that I need to make sure that I do go to the gym and really work hard.

I went to the gym right after that appointment. I was determined to try and get fit and healthy before accepting medical intervention again.

What I found was that the more times I went to the gym and watched what I ate, the less obsessed I got about getting pregnant. I still want to have a baby, but if it takes a little while and I get healthier in the mean time, then that's ok. I want to be a healthy person and make healthy decisions. I want to show my family that it's important to be active and eat right.

I started doing this for myself and my future family.

I have a doctor's appointment next week and can't wait to show him that I've lost almost 15 pounds so far! I still have a ways to go, but I know that I can do this.

What's your motivation?

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Sometimes and Always



Sometimes... I procrastinate when it comes to sewing.
Always... it ends up working out. I get the job done and it looks great.

Sometimes... I go to the gym in the morning and hang out on the couch the rest of the day.
Always... I'm glad I got a workout in and that's what matters, right?!

Sometimes... I feel anti-social.
Always... I snap back to my normal, social self and love being a part of things.

Sometimes... I miss teaching.
Always... I know what happened is for the best and I'm now able to focus on my health.

Sometimes... I think about getting a job and working again.
Always... I know that it's best for me (and my husband) for me to stay at home right now.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Sponsoring a Child for Free {Compassion International}

I have always had a heart for children. I was a nanny for five years and taught for a year and a half. I aspire to be a stay at home mom and be able to raise our children with love and confidence.

I have wanted to sponsor a child for as long as I could remember. In high school, I considered it, but didn't have a steady income to allow me to do so. In fact, it took several years to be able to afford the $38 every month that it would take to sponsor a child.

When I met my husband and I started going to his church with him, I would see the board with pictures of children that the members of the church had sponsored. I wanted to have a child and have their picture up there. When we got engaged, one of the gifts that I said that I wanted for Christmas was to sponsor a child through Compassion International.

We prayed about it a lot and I would go to the Compassion table and look at all of the pictures praying that God would show me which child to choose.

In December 2010, we decided to sponsor our first child.
Tuyisingize

Tuyisingize lives in Rwanda and was only six years old when we started sponsoring her. The love I felt for this child the moment I held her packet was overwhelming. I have enjoyed sponsoring her, writing letters, and sending her birthday and Christmas gifts. She is so adorable and I am so excited to receive each and every letter that she sends.

About a year later, my husband and I discussed and prayerfully considered sponsoring another child. He was blessed with receiving a raise at work and felt that he wanted to use some of it to give back in a meaninful way. In November 2011, I decided upon a child to try to sponsor. None of the children made me feel the same way that Tuyisingize did, but I knew that God had a plan. We filled out the paperwork, sent it in, and was notified a couple of weeks afterwards that the child had already been sponsored. I was confused and upset until they told me that they had assigned me another child from the same country. She was the same age and gender as the other child and that I could log in to my account and see if I wanted to sponsor that child.

When I logged in and saw this girl, my heart melted.

Anisetha

I knew that this was the child that God wanted us to sponsor.

Anisetha is from Tanzania and is turning thirteen next month! I love writing to her and getting the letters she writes telling me that she is praying for me and getting her report cards from school.

Being a sponsor to these girls have meant so much to me. I am so excited to get letters from them and my husband loves coming in with the mail when he sees those letters.

Of course, I really want to sponsor more children, but financially, that is not an option right now. That's when I was looking online and found another blogger who is a Compassion Advocate and was explaining that you can sponsor a child for FREE!!!

I found out that you can be a correspondent sponsor for a child who already has a financial sponsor. For whatever reason, that sponsor can not write to their child and they are looking for sponsors to take on that role.

After talking to my husband about it, we decided that I would go ahead and call Compassion to be able to be a correspondent sponsor for a child! I called them today and they were so helpful, kind, and knowledgeable and said that they would send me a child! In fact, you can have up to three children to be a correspondent sponsor to and you are able to give financial gifts for birthdays, Christmas, or special occasions if you would like!

If you are interested in sponsoring a child by being a correspondent sponsor, please call Compassion at 800-336-7676.

Your letters could mean the world to a child who is desperately needing to feel loved.

Please let me know if you have any questions and I would love to talk to you about sponsoring a child through Compassion!

Fit Fridays- Week 10

This week I was definitely ready to be home and back in the gym.

Saturday
We were in the car all day travelling.

Sunday
We spent the day unpacking and cleaning up.

Monday
25 minutes on the elliptical + 20 minutes on the arc trainer. It was such a good workout that I was literally dripping in sweat!

Tuesday
15 minutes on the stationary bike + 25 minutes of walking with an incline on the treadmill.

Wednesday
Rest Day.

Thursday
20 minutes of walking with an incline on the treadmill + 15 minutes of circuit training.

Friday1.
Rest Day

-Diet 
I stayed under my calorie goal and did well even when we went to dinner at Don Pablo's!

Starting Weight: 224
Last Week: 212.4
Current Weight: 210.6
- 1.8 pounds for the week!

Don't forget to check out the progress of these other ladies...

Mrs. V @ Getting that Glow


A Mommas Desires And Pacifiers

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

So What Wednesday

This week I'm saying SO WHAT if...
 
  • I weigh myself on the regular {like almost daily} just to see how it fluctuates, but I only update my weight weekly.
  • I had my husband and friends rearrange our furniture in the living room last night. I like change in the house and he always said no because the tv was too heavy {over 100 lbs.}. Since we were getting rid of the tv, I opted for a new living room set up!
Photo: New setup in the living room! http://instagr.am/p/ODE9legD9z/
Our living room is really small so we have to be creative!
 
  • I'm happy to be home from vacation. A week with your in-laws {or almost anyone} in a travel trailer can be fun, but a little much at the same time.
  • I'm thinking that today will be a rest day. I'm tired and did a lot at the gym and rearranging yesterday so I'm beat!
  • I have no idea what we're going to do for dinner again tonight. Leftovers, anyone?
  • I really love watching the Insanity infomercials and can't wait to do it when I weigh less and my knee and back are less sore.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Blog Star: Hi, I'm Kate!

Mrs. Monologues
 
Hi, I'm Kate! 
To get to know me a little bit here are some fun facts: 
  •  I'm a newlywed who lives on the East Coast.
  • My favorite colors are pink and aqua (which were my wedding colors).
  • I love to sew and have my own Etsy shop.
  • I'm on a weight loss journey and this is week 10!
  • I hope to have two kids someday.
  • I love to cook and make some awesome food.
  • I am the oldest child and have five younger siblings.
  • I'm still looking for a home church since leaving the last one.
  • I love reality tv, but we don't have Netflix or cable.
  • I love saving money and figuring out new ways to do so!
What's something that I didn't know about you?

Sometimes and Always


Sometimes... I get annoyed with people and feel like I have to justify why I feel that way so people don't think I'm a terrible person.
Always... I know that my feelings are validated and my husband makes me feel better.

Sometimes... I go to the gym when I'm not really feeling it.
Always... I rock it out! I feel so much better when the sweat starts to hit me and it's on.

Sometimes... My husband and I want to move to be closer to his work.
Always... It's a hard decision and we pray long and hard about it.

Sometimes... Being an adult is hard and expensive.
Always... God provides and it all works out.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Tyra Banks Show- Nanny Pack Plan

If you missed the first post on how we got on the show, you can catch up here.

You all saw that we were picked to have Jillian Michaels as our celebrity diet expert.

We met Jillian at a restaurant in Los Angeles to discuss the plan. She gave us her book to read and told us that it was going to be a lot of hard work.

 The plan was simple enough...calories in vs. calories out. In order to lose weight, we had to create a deficit. She told us to eat between 1,200-1,500 calories per day and that we would be working out 5x/week. Now, I don't know about you, but it's kind of hard to go from 0 to 60 all at once when you're not used to working out or eating right. She suggested that we get a book called The Calorie King to help track our calories and get a notebook so we could keep track of it all.

We worked out with Jillian one time and she sent us home with instructions to send her our food diaries weekly and she would send us what she wanted to do work out wise for the week.

I stuck to my calorie intake and made sure to measure everything. I made some slight changes like substituting turkey bacon for regular, light hot dogs for regular, Ezekiel bread, low fat everything, and light versions of many foods. She said that we could use 300 calories per day to "treat" ourselves so we didn't feel obligated to cheat or binge. I still ate pizza and some of my favorite foods, but I made sure to count the calories and always stuck to my calorie range.

I emailed Jillian with my food diary religiously and sometimes I wouldn't hear back for a week or even maybe two weeks. I felt lost and unsure of what to do so I called the producer of the show and she told me that Jillian must be busy, so I just needed to be patient.

Jillian would email us when she got around to it and would tell us what to do to work out. She suggested taking a spin class so that's exactly what we did. I remember that we went into the hour long class and tried so hard to make it through to the end. It was so painful and I thought I had bruised my butt! I thought that she was trying to kill us! We were definitely not ready for that.

Working out proved to be a challenge. She would tell us to do 45 minutes of cardio and do strength training. She was very specific about which cardio machines to use (StairMaster was one of her favorites) and for how long. At one point, she emailed me telling me that it was time to start running on the treadmill. I let her know that I really didn't think my body was ready for it and she told me that I needed to do it anyways. I tried to run on the treadmill and ended up hurting my knee. I went to the doctor and they told me that I wasn't ready to be running and to wear a brace full-time for a few weeks and to take it easy. Yep, that sucked.

During this time, my sister ended up temporarily quitting the show. She had a personal issue come up and wasn't focused. We ended up getting her back on track, but it was a struggle. I did continue to email my food journal/workouts even though she wasn't communicating with Jillian and fell off the bandwagon.

With the injury, my school schedule, and my work schedule (moving to full-time hours) I didn't get to work out as much as I should have. Jillian wasn't happy with my slow, steady weight loss and wanted to have me take weight loss supplements and only eat lean chicken or fish with broccoli for lunches and dinners. Of course, this was not what her "plan" was supposed to be about and I didn't feel comfortable taking a weight loss drug to lose weight.

As you can imagine, the second show {the results show} was definitely interesting. I will have another post with another video clip to wrap up the experience!


Sunday, August 5, 2012

Sunday Social {All About Fall}

Sunday Social

Since I saw that this week's questions were about Fall and it's my favorite season, I decided to join in!

This weeks questions:

  1. What is your favorite fall activity?
I love going to a good pumpkin patch. Hayrides, pumpkins, the smell in the air...all worth it!

At a pumpkin patch in Fall 2008

2. Do you follow a football team? If so, which one and why?
Shockingly, we are not big football fans. I know, I know! My husband isn't really into sports much and I love to play sports and go to live games, but not watch them on tv. Although, I have to admit that I'm a huge Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader fan!

3. What is something fun about Fall in your area?
Leaves changing color and Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. I grew up in Southern California and the fall season is nothing compared to out here. It's so beautiful.

4. Fall fave outfit staples?
Considering I'm not big on fashion I would have to say hoodies and boots. I love the comfort of wearing a hoodie and my Ugg boots.

5. Things you are looking forward to most this coming Fall season?
Cooler weather for sure! Watching the leaves change color, being outside more, and pumpkin spice lattes. I love anything pumpkin!

6. Favorite Fall holiday? Traditions?
I guess I would have to say Thanksgiving. I'm not too big into Halloween, it's fun, but we just don't get too into it. On Thanksgiving, we always spend the day with family.







Week 9 Weigh In!

As promised, I am here to update my weight.

Last Week: 213.6
This week: 212.4

I lost 1.2 pounds on vacation!

And, yes, that's super awesome since we all know how vacations go, but I went in with a plan and stuck to it.

How did your weight loss go this past week?

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Sittin' in the Sun Summer Package Exchange Link Up

Summer Blog Exchange Button 1

I am so happy that I was part of this exchange. It was a lot of fun and I was paired up with the lovely Kassi from Truly Lovely.

It was great getting to know Kassi and so fun to learn that we have the same favorite colors {pink and aqua} and that our wedding colors were the same! Kassi made a beautiful bride and the picture she sent me was incredible.







 was incredible.

Pink dresses and aqua flowers = love!

She really did a great job with the exchange. Look what she sent me...


I just LOVE the necklace and earrings in my favorite color and the Scentsy circle is going in my car ASAP. I also got some cute ties that can be used for either hair or a bracelet.

Don't forget to check out Kassi's blog to see what I gave her!

Friday, August 3, 2012

Fit Fridays- Week 9

**I want to preface this by saying that I am on vacation and honestly have no clue what my weight is. With that being said, I'll more than likely do a post on Sunday or Monday with the weight/inches lost for this week.**

This week, we've been on vacation! My in-laws have a travel trailer and we get to pick a place for them to take us to every other year. This year, we picked Boston and my mother-in-law threw in Connecticut for a couple of days so we've been out and about a lot. Since we stay in a travel trailer, we have access to a refrigerator, freezer, stove, oven, and microwave to cook almost all of our meals. Knowing that I'm watching what I eat, my mother-in-law and I came up with a meal plan for the week that I was comfortable with. Of course, this meant that I've been doing most of the cooking, but that's A-Ok with me!

At the first campground {near Boston} it said that they had a fitness room. Of course, when I read that, I was stoked and packed up all of my workout gear to take with me. Unfortunately, it consisted of some broken down stationary bikes and a ghetto treadmill. Clearly, we did not use those machines. It was a safety violation and honestly, a little creepy.

Here's what we did...

Saturday
 We were in the car for 10-11 hours. It was a long day driving and I considered it my rest day.

Sunday
We attempted to go to the fitness room and realized that it was awful. So, we set out to walk around the little town we were staying in and ended up walking around three miles! Unfortunately, my knee hurt a lot so we took it easy for the rest of the day.

Monday
We all went into the city and attempted to walk the Freedom Trail and to see the Cheer's Bar. It was a lot of walking on uneven brick sidewalks and tons of hills. I was dying and it didn't help that my knee and back were aching. My husband and I rested while my in-laws went further, then we took the train to Fenway Park and saw a Red Sox Game!



Tuesday
Rest Day. My knee was hurting so much the day before that I was icing it like crazy at the game.

Wednesday
We went back into Boston and took a walking tour of Fenway Park. Lots of stairs and walking = a great exercise!
After the tour, we took the train to a different part of the city and did a 90 minute Duck Tour! It was so fun!


Another day with lots of walking and stairs to get my workout done for the day!

Thursday
We headed down to Connecticut on the short 1 1/2 hour drive. We were there by lunch time so my husband and I headed out to the Mystic River to go kayaking! I loved it and it was a fantastic arm workout. After dinner, we also decided to go swimming, which is one of our favorite things to do.

Friday
We haven't decided officially what we're doing today, but it will either be riding bikes around Mystic or walking around Mystic depending on the weather. Either way, we'll be out and about this afternoon being active and we'll hopefully go swimming tonight.

Diet
Even though we're on vacation, I've managed to stay within my calorie range each and every day! It was a lot of planning, but something that I'm 100% committed to so I'm glad that I did it.

I'm linking up today with...
All In My Twenties