Lately...

So we are in week 2 of P90x and...we are surviving!  Other than the fact that I got a cold this past weekend, we have been keeping up with it.  I took Sunday off to rest and then Monday I walked on the treadmill instead of doing the workout.  Yesterday I got back to it but regretted it after.  Today is yoga and I'm hoping I can finish it.  Even though I haven't lost much weight yet I already feel stronger in my arms and core.  :)

I have also been researching about cooking vegetarian, or at least semi-vegetarian.  My mom now eats this way and has seen drastic improvements in her health and how she feels.  So far Mom, I have tried vegetarian options twice now when eating out and have not been disappointed yet.  Props to Cafe Brazil and Chipotle for their delicious tacos and burrito bowl!  I am looking forward to trying some recipes.  I did however get a craving for homemade chicken noodle soup while I've been sick.  Surely if I make it from scratch at home it can still be super healthy.  Oh man I can't wait to make some.

The other major thing we've been working on is planning our vacation activities for Hawaii.  So excited, it's all I can think about.  We've also been talking about other places we want to visit possibly before having children.  The only thing I don't like about travel (other than spending the money) is flying.  I wish I could switch my brain off when I'm up there and just relax.  We'll see how this next trip goes because it will be my longest flight yet.

Have a great Wednesday!  Looking forward to watching American Idol and the NBA playoffs!

An Extreme Lifestyle

Now that I've started couponing (somewhat extreme?), my husband and I decided we needed to add another extreme thing to our lives: P90x.  Doesn't working out hardcore 6 days a week for an hour plus each day sound exciting?

I have heard great things about the workout program and started looking into it.  Back in the day I played sports in high school, so I'm hoping my way out-of-shape body will remember at least a little bit.  (haha, "back in the day" - I thought that would be funny bc I'm still young, but then it has been 7 years!)  We started on Saturday and did a chest and back workout, plus abs.  This is basically a million push-ups and pull-ups.  I have a weak wrist so I'm hoping by doing some modifications it will get better.  Sunday (yes after our Easter family cookout) we did plyometrics, which is basically a whole lot of jumping for an hour.  This evening we will be doing arms and shoulders, along with abs again.  We are definitely sore, but it feels good in a crazy way.  It feels a lot like sports in high school, and the workouts mimic a lot of the drills we used to do (at least yesterday's did).  We will see how gung-ho I am after the newness wears off.  Anybody out there crazy like us and doing P90x?  Only 88 days to go...

April Showers Bring Grass Fires

We have been having some windy weather lately, which has lead to horrible grass fires and bad allergies.  I hope we get some rain to help out the firefighters and save everyone from more damage.  I just got back inside from taking Harley for a walk around the neighborhood before it storms.  It hit 93 today but we are expecting some bad weather this evening.  I cut our walk short when the lightening and thunder started increasing.  At least he got outside for a bit.
Speaking of fires, we had some fun last night.  Our smoke/carbon monoxide detectors went off for a second or two at 3:45am.  Why?!  My husband had already been up 'til 2 working on some research papers and I was not sleeping well to begin with.  I literally jumped up from sleep when it happened.  Does anyone know why it went off?  It wasn't the beep that warns you the batteries are low.  It was the actual alarm.  Almost like someone tested it for a second - creepy.  Which does not do anything but add to my nighttime paranoia.  Me: "Babe did you hear that?!"  Husband: "No..." or, "It's just someone next door."  Or he talks in his sleep and has no recollection of it in the morning.  Grreat.  To top it off, I have one mean guard dog.  If anyone in  an approachable distance even so much as mutters a pleasing word to the dog, they are his new best friend.  For life.

And on that note, I'm off to listen to the storm and go through my coupons for groceries tomorrow.  We are hosting our first family holiday this weekend: Easter.  Wish me luck. 

:) Val 

Semi-Extreme Couponing

Has anyone seen TLC's show "Extreme Couponing"?  It shows people buying groceries that retail for hundreds of dollars and they use coupons to end up paying only a few cents.  Crazy!  I used to help my Mom clip coupons when I was growing up and we would get to use our savings to do something fun, like get ice cream from the ice cream man or go swimming at the community pool.  Ah, good times.  Well I decided I would give it a try.  I mean, surely I can figure it out.  So after clipping newspaper coupons, online coupons, and researching articles online, I got out the store ads and started looking.  Some stores double and triple the value of particular coupons, so I thought I would start there.  I figured out meals for the week and looked at the ad to see if any of it was on sale.  Then I got out my coupons and matched them to the sale products.  Success!  The grocery store I went to also had a lot of "buy 1, get 1 free" deals, so I used coupons on those as well.  I ended up saving $25 in clipped coupons, and $100 total including store discounts!  Yea!  I'm so proud of myself for my first trip.  Hopefully I will get better and faster with practice.  Has anyone else joined the coupon craze?  Any advice for us newbies?

First Post Ever

So I've been reading several blogs lately about home decorating, crafts, and party planning.  I don't really know what I'm doing but I wanted to try one out.  Thanks for being patient with me. 

I'm not sure what I would like to blog about most.  Crafts?  Decorating (especially since my major in college was interior merchandising)?  My family?  My giant puppy? My hunt for a job?  I guess time will tell. 

Thanks for reading!
~Val