P90X GRADUATES

Question: Did we survive a full 90 days of P90X?

Answer: YES!!! WITH FLYING COLORS!

Going in to this program I set some pretty high goals for myself. I'm pleased to say that I accomplished what I set out to do. I told myself that I wasn't going to miss a workout and....I DIDN'T. NOT ONE! Exercising 6 days a week was rough at times and there were days I wanted to skip it altogether but my DETERMINATION WON and I pushed myself to the MAX.

Now about the food, we followed the guidelines but we didn't follow it to a T. Having non-fat everything is rough and I wasn't willing to buy new condiments or products when we had several around the house that needed to be used. Although we did try several low-fat products. The only day that I allowed myself to cheat was on Thanksgiving. I threw all the rules out the window that day. I ate whatever I wanted and I enjoyed every bite!

Question: So were their benefits?

Answer: Yes. I learned a lot about myself the past 3 months. I certainly have more confidence in myself. There are things I still want to accomplish and I now know I can face any challenge and conquer any mountain I choose to climb. I know some of you are thinking "I could never do that," and to that response I say this: If you think you can't, YOU CAN'T, if you think you can, YOU CAN AND YOU WILL. ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!

Since starting this program there are things I couldn't do that now I can. There are also things I can't do well but plan on improving.

Another Benefit: We have learned the importance of eating clean (I loved the book by Tosca Reno entitled Eat Clean). We learned healthy ways to cook. We learned about healthier options when planning our menus. We eat more vegetables and are learning tasty ways to prepare them. We now have a better balance of all the food groups. We know what are body needs and fuel it with the best fuel possible. I now look at labels, notice ingredients in packages, and buy more produce and less prepackaged foods.

Question: Did our kids eat what we ate?

Answer: NO...BUT...they notice what we eat. They are conscious of what is healthy and what is not. They are more willing to have a vegetable of their choice each day. They have tried a few new things. Little by little we hope to teach them the importance of eating right and living a healthy lifestyle.

Question: What about our final results?

Answer: We kept track of our progress weekly. We took our weight and measurements on our waist, hips, chest, arms, and thighs. We noticed things shrinking, inches were lost in many areas. Here are a couple stats: I lost 8 lbs. and Rob lost 10 lbs. I lost 3.3% of my body fat and Rob lost 3.6%.

Question: What's next?

Answer: We are hoping to survive the holidays. It has been rough!! We will continue to workout but not as intense and cut back to about 4 days a week. We plan to continue to eat healthy but allowing ourselves to have treats occasionally. Maybe a 5k run will be in my future. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...I'm seriously thinking about it.

The Great Escape Lodge

The day after Ty's surgery (Presidents day weekend) we headed to Queensbury New York for some one on one time with Grandma and Grandpa Anderson.

Halloween 2009

2nd Surgery

Here we go again! This time around it was for tubes in his ears.



I am happy to say I held it together. That doesn't mean I'm ready to do it again. It's not a pleasant experience. We are hoping we are done with big hopsital expenses. We have already hit our deducible after a few short months.

Robert Moses State Park

We spent an afternoon at the Robert Moses State Park on Long Island. I have always wanted to check out the lighthouse located here but we missed out on the opportunity the last time we were here. I have always been fascinated with lighthouses. I think it may have something to do with my mission. It was our theme, "We are lights unto the world." I love what they can represent. Anyway, I was determined to make it happen this time around. It was quite a trek.



Some of us were not so happy about the idea.



Approaching the lighthouse








We made it! You can actually tour the lighthouse. We didn't take the time to check it out but we will venture out to Long Island once again and make it part of our day.



We caught up with some friends...



...enjoyed the waves...



...the sand...



...the seaweed...



What's not to love?



Definitely not this face!

Beaver Pond Campround in Harriman State Park

Anyone who goes camping knows you are bound to have an adventure. This was no exception. This trip started like any other. We started to set up but found out we were missing one of the hooks that anchors part of the tent. Luckily Rob is a boy scout and made due. He broke off a hook from a bungee cord and made it work. Problem solved.



Unfortunately, there was another problem. We started with an inflated air mattress and ended up on the rocks by morning. Hence the hotdog picture.



Even with the hiccups we managed to have a good time.





How awesome is this! A sink in the great outdoors.



We spent a lot of time playing baseball.



Ty was determined to hit the ball...



...along with Garrett.



Tasha the catcher



We spent some time at Lake Welch until...













...the weather took a turn for the worse. Rob headed back early to start dinner while I stayed with the kids at the beach. All of a sudden we see some dark clouds roll in. A lifeguard gets over the intercom announcing the beach is closed due to a storm headed this way. Everyone needs to exit the beach immediately. The kids start to panic. I'm trying to keep them calm while gathering our things. Within minutes you start to hear the thunder and it starts to pour. The kids are going ballistic at this point. We aren't too far from our campsite. We head to the board walk nearing the campground and the wind starts to blow. The kids are scared and crying. I'm trying to keep everyone calm and keep everyone moving but the sand is whipping us across our bodies as we are walking. We are nearing the end of the boardwalk and Rob calls me. Thankfully he brings the car down to take us back to our tent. (I think we scarred Garrett for life. To this day he gets nervous if it is cloudy or windy.) It rained hard the rest of the night. It was a long sleepless night for Rob and I but luckily the kids stayed asleep. We cut our trip short due to the weather but feel fortunate to have had some nice weather. You take the good with the bad. Even with the bad the kids want to go again.

The END is in sight!

So we have been doing P90X officially for 2 months now. Are we surviving? The answer is YES! We have had our challenges. For instance, Rob traveled 3 times during our first month. So he inevitably missed some workouts and eating was a challenge. He has also been faced with some late nights at work and back problems at times resulting in more missed workouts, but all in all he has brought it up a level or should I say 10 levels. I wasn't so sure he would take this seriously since our last competition proved to be unmotivating. He has proven me wrong.

In fact he had a birthday the end of September. I was willing to make him a cake, after-all it was his birthday. He decided against it. I must admit I was grateful only because that would be a huge temptation. If would be hard to have just one piece if we decided to cheat. It is supposed to be off-limits. Abstinence was key here. We avoided it all together. No birthday is complete without a cake so I had to put my creative side to work. This is what I came up with.

He found a little note in each piece of cake.



Who can say they ate a whole cake with 0 calories?

What challenges have I been faced with? I must admit the food was rough the first month. I feel like I am able to eat more foods I'm used to during the second phase. The third phase gets even better. Hurray!

I injured myself so that has been challenging. I have been trying to BRING IT without further injuring myself. This has meant modifying my movements in workouts or working out other parts of my body that wouldn't affect my injury and using a lot of ice. I'm hoping I'm on the mend now.

ROB I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!!!! I love having a workout buddy. Especially someone who can push me to the limit. You are awesome! Lets continue to BRING IT so we can finish strong!

Tasha turns 7

Tasha decided to celebrate her birthday with family. Once again we planned a "Wet n' Wild" Party. Making preparations were pretty simple until it was time to make the cake. Tasha informed me that cupcakes just wouldn't do this year. This year she wanted a Barbie cake. It was quite the project! After completing most of the dress I noticed that her butt was sticking out of the cake. Luckily my smart mother-in-law came up with a clever plan. We made a bustle out of marshmallows and covered it in frosting. Turns out it made the dress look incredible. Here are the pictures of the finished project.

Waiting for the fun to begin...Oh wait the fun begins when cousins arrive!

A game of "COLD POTATO."

In the end it came down to Tasha and Hayley.

Tasha doing the happy dance. She won!

The Relay Race

It started with 2 teams, 2 sponges and 2 buckets. The object was to fill the buckets with the water from the wet sponges that would be carried on their heads.





Next, it was time to put on an over sized pair of shorts and jump into a kiddie pool of water and then spin around using a bat...



...TRYING not to fall down...



...grabbing their water gun...



...hitting the bulls eye while trying NOT to loose their shorts...





...playing a game of water bomb basketball...



...ending strong with a home run into the water slide.





PAUSE! Who says you need to be in the relay to get cooled off!



On to more games...jump over the river or should I say stream?!







The Holey Bucket Brigade



Presents



Cake and ice cream







What does a girl who turned 7 decide she wants for her birthday? She wanted to get her ears pierced. So we headed to the mall.



She's not so sure she made the right decision.



There's no turning back now.



She survived!



I can't believe my baby is growing up! We love you Tasha!