Crystal Madrilejos

You might have noticed a new navigation bar up there above the posts. It’s part of my grand scheme to expand this blog. Basically, it’s a way to highlight the different aspects of this blog. The new things being the “self” and “family” categories.

This post will actually sort of encompass both of those topics. I’m a small person. I have been my whole life. So during (and after) my pregnancy, I had a hard time handling my new body. I’m getting to the point in my life where my body is only has strong and fit as I make it. Unlike my younger self with my fast metabolism and boundless energy, being healthy as I get older is more of an effort. Which I’m sure is the case for lots of people.

A couple months ago I decided it was time to take my body back and stop feeling bad mentally and physically. That’s when I started my “other blog” about trying to keep track of this new phase in my life. I have since moved the few posts I had written on Tumblr, over to this site (you can find them under the “self” tab up above to get up to date. Keeping track of my progress has kept me motivated to a certain extent. Though I have to admit, it’s been really hard. Last week was a tough one for me. Currently, I am in week 9 of P90X (week 1 of phase 3) and have 5 more weeks to go until I’m done with this craziness.

Then I think I may give this running thing a try again. I hate running.

-c.

Today Q bit me harder than he (well anyone for that matter) has ever bit me. We were playing outside, enjoying today’s nice weather. He was playing in gravel and like most little kids, he puts a handful of small stones in his mouth. As I’m trying to swipe them out, he bites down on my index finger really hard, increasing pressure slightly with every second! He was unrelenting and I was actually sort of yelling to stop while Andrew, my sister, my brother and brother-in-law stood there in disbelief. I started to squeeze his cheeks hoping that it would distract him to stop, but he just kept biting harder. For a second, I was scared he was going to break the skin. Luckily, he let go and ended up leaving bruises and tiny, deep teeth indents. He’s been in this phase lately of biting and I know it’s normal at this age. But I can’t deny that it’s annoying as hell! And sort of scary at times.

Ugh, I hate that saying. So it’s fitting that it’s pretty much the motto of the whole P90X routine. Maybe…no I’m sure, it was created with a dude in mind. A dude that likes to Pump It Up! Not an artsy-fartsy, crafty, designer lady who loves reading Harry Potter and finds inspiration in the quiet of nature. Ah well.

Some of you may be familiar with P90X and it’s funny names for it’s various exercises. Superman Banana and Wacky Jacks readily come to mind. For those that do not know about such things, just visit this site and don’t be scared of the bulging muscles. Don’t worry, that’s not what I’m going for.

I listed the things I liked and disliked in one of my previous posts. I actually missed Monday of this week but that just means I will have to workout on Sunday (the usual day off). P90X is broken up into different phases in which the workouts differ slightly from one phase to the next. This is to promote “muscle confusion” as they call it. Basically, it means: Your body gets used to doing the same exercises over and over, thus the exercises fail to continue being effective. So change it up once in awhile.

Currently I am in Phase 2: Week 3. There are three phases total with each phase being four weeks, with the exception of Phase 3 that has 5 weeks. Soooo, I still have a little ways to go. I’m about half-way done. Ugh.

Tonight, I do “Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps” which is ding-dang impossible. This routine has me doing more push-ups in one workout than I’ve probably done total in my entire life. And not only push-ups, but freaking one arm push-ups that I’ve done a total of 0 in all my attempts. Maybe I’m just not “Bringing It” but no matter how I “Bring It” my arms just can’t seen to handle it.

Tomorrow, Yoga X! I go through phases of loving and hating this workout.

-c.

Ok, I’m a jerk. It’s been a million days since I last posted. I’m the worst blogger in the world. I’m terrible.

Anyway, so my last post wasn’t completely accurate. The title of the post implied that I started this fitness thing on the day that I posted. But in reality I started taking real action at the beginning of February. Feb. 2nd , I think.

So, I had already progressed some by the time I started actually trying to keep track of my eating/weight-loss/fitness stuff. You may be wondering what exactly I am tracking. Basically, I’m trying to stick to these two key points:

1. work out 6 days a week

2. cut out as many carbs and sugars as possible without going overboard and taking all the enjoyment out of eating

And what are my goals? I know that actual loss of poundage doesn’t really tell much about a persons fitness since muscle weighs more than fat, etc. etc. So my main goals are:

1. fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes

2. build up an endurance to run for longer than 12 minutes without feeling like I’m going to keel over. I’m not a runner. I actually hate running but for some crazy reason, I feel like I should enjoy it. Stupid, I know.

3. feel better, in general

You may also be asking how and what I am doing to attain these goals, thus going back to the question of “what am I tracking?” So this is basically it.

I started P90X on Feb. 2nd. It’s so not the type of thing I would normally gravitate towards BUT (I’m going to sound like an infomercial right now) I know real people who have real results to show for it. Ok, so I know one person. Namely, my husband. So I decided to give it a try.

The things I like about it are that I can do it from home, there is a different workout every day of the workout week to ward off boredom, and it doesn’t require a lot of equipment. The things I despise are the fact that it’s really hard, it’s 6 days a week, and the workouts are long. I know, those are dumb things to hate because those are basically all the things that make it work. But whatever. I’m not one of those people that “loves the burn”. I love laying on the couch and reading. I love fresh strawberries. I love watching The Lord of the Rings. These are things to love. Not huffing and puffing and feeling like a failure for wanting the pain to end! Sorry, I just don’t.

So I keep track of every day that I work out. And by keep track I mean, I put a little check mark in my planner. Not very gratifying, I know. But I do feel bad if I don’t check off my requisite 6 workouts a week. Luckily, it’s only been once that I’ve missed a workout.

I am also following the P90X diet, if somewhat loosely. I was using Daily Burn and Livestrong: My Plate to track my daily food intake but that has sort of died off because I eat the same. thing. every. day. It got too redundant. I just wish there was a button or something I could check for “Ate the same things as yesterday”. But there is no such magic. Alas, now I know, in general, how many calories I eat a day and that it suits what I am trying to achieve. I also use Daytum to track my weight because I like pretty graphs and charts. There is a weight tracker in both Daily Burn and Livestrong, and just for the fun of it, I track my weight on those as well. Now my progress is official in 3 places! Yes!

So far in 2011 I’ve lost about 10-11lbs and can fit into some of my pre-pregnancy clothes. When it gets warmer out, my husband and I can see how I’m fairing on goal #2. If there is anything I despise more than running, is running in cold weather. It’s painful, like, literally painful in the body type painful.

Until next time!

-c.

First day of my fitness/weight loss tracking. Wanted to start a record of the whole ordeal because I think it helps me to stay motivated. I also think it may be helpful to see how many calories I’m actually eating and how many I should be eating to lose as much weight as I want.

I don’t normally buy into to the whole notion of calorie-counting and such. It seems so unnatural to me. Normally, I like to think that just eating healthy and being active is enough. Which apparently, IS enough to keep one in shape if one is ALREADY in shape. But I’m not, sooooo here I am, counting calories and such. Well, I figured whatever it takes to get me motivated and keep me from thinking about being hungry has got to help.

I’m actually looking forward to working out tonight. Not for the actual workout part (which sucks! I hate you “Core Synergistics”) but so I can log what I did and see how many calories I burned and I can start tracking my progress. And there isn’t much more that I love at this point than progress.

According to my weight loss goal, right now I can only eat a little over 1,000 calories a day since I haven’t actually logged any fitness activities. There is no way I anyone can eat that little. I would pass out before I got to work.

Also, I realized that I consume many calories in the form of Olive Oil. Maybe I should start thinking about that.

On a positive note, I’m wearing my wedding rings and engagement ring for the first time in awhile. Today was the first day that they didn’t feel abnormally tight and my finger didn’t look like a sausage about to burst out of it’s casing. So, that’s a plus. Also, I’m wearing a pair of stretch pants that I haven’t worn in probably over a year. Awesome.

-c.

Can I just say I LOVE The Brick House?

Lately, this blog I found via notMartha has been consuming any free moment I have. It’s been my latest obsession and I’ve been not-so-secretly stalking this blog and reading all the archives. Not only is it complete eye-candy, but eye-candy delivered hilariously through the blog creator Morgan Satterfield.

In 2008, Morgan and her husband bought a mid-century brick home in Southern California with the intention of doing much of the renovation themselves. Morgan started the blog to document their renovation process but it has evolved into a full-fledged online shelter design resource. Not only that. She’s into thrifting. I mean, really into it. But the rub is, she can’t spend more than $100 on any one item. Though sometimes she does break this rule.

Renovations? Thrifting? Mid-century Danish design? Oh, let me count the ways… This is a girl after my own heart!

-c.

It’s been awhile, right? I don’t even know where to start. Where have we been these past 3 months, you ask? Just livin’ life I suppose.

I won’t try to remember everything that has happened since we last posted.

Christmas has come and gone. I have presents to post about. The gifts weren’t too elaborate this year. Since Q was born my productivity on the crafting front has dropped significantly. But I did manage a couple cute things. This was also the first year that our gift wrapping has been sub-par. Usually, I like to do the wrapping all fancy-like because I think it makes opening the gift even more exciting. But this year nothing fancy, just store-bought paper. Not even nicely wrapped, I have to admit. Christmas really snuck up on us this year.

I guess the biggest thing to happen was that I lost my job at the end of November. But, don’t worry I’ve found a new one.

Also, Q’s first birthday is fast approaching! So, lately I’ve been trying to plan his party. I’ve been torn between theme or no-theme and whether we should go all out and make it a big event or just keep it small and intimate. Decisions, decisions…

Here are a couple images that have been inspiring my birthday planning:

I wish I could remember where I found these photos, but I think I searched “lots of balloons and streamers” in google images. Pretty general, I know.

-c.

We’ve been making Q’s food at home because:
1.) We can rest assured knowing exactly goes into his food and
2.) It’s cheaper. One jar of baby food can cost upwards of $1.00 for one serving jar. You can get a week’s worth of sweet potatoes for the same amount if you make it yourself (or even less if you grow it yourself).

We were lucky to have gotten the Beaba BabyCook and a Beaba portion freezing container as gifts for our baby shower. It makes cooking convenient, but I can imagine that it would be just as easy to do without the fancy gear. All you would need is a steaming basket, a hand blender, and ice cube trays. It also makes feeding time prep easy since you can just heat up a couple cubes as you need them.

Here are green beans from the garden for Q.

Yum!
-c.

I’m super excited to share a new project! At work, I’ve been fortunate to collaborate on the redesign of EcoWatch Journal.

EcoWatch is an Ohio based non-profit organization that focuses on sustainable lifestyle, business practices and policies. EcoWatch Journal is published bi-monthly and distributed throughout Ohio.

Stefanie Penn-Spear is the Executive Director and has been handling the unbelievable task of directing and designing EcoWatch Journal in the past. With the fifth anniversary of EcoWatch on the horizon, Wise Group decided to help Stefanie out and give the Journal a new look. Here is fully redesigned cover:

Click here to read a digital version of the current issue or to see previous issues.

-c.

Corn!

The corn this year was deceiving and somewhat disappointing. All appeared well, but it wasn’t sweet and the texture wasn’t ideal. I think it just got too hot this year.

-c.