I'm making a new commitment to fitness! I want to exercise for an entire year on a weekly basis.
I've been good at sticking to a rock solid routine for 1, 2 or even 3 months. 3 months was the longest when I did the full P90X routine. It always ends the same. I take a week or two break, or something comes up and I miss a few workouts. That week or two, or couple workouts turns into months with little to no exercise. That absolutely WILL NOT do!
I've been through this many times before and motivated myself to start working out and have stuck to it for awhile, but ultimately fizzle out and quit again. This time I want it to be different. This time instead of trying to kill it for 2-3 months, I want to set a realistic goal and stick to it for a year. I figure if I can set a goal of a year and actually meet that goal, working out should have long become a habit by the time a year rolls around.
You may be wondering how this all came about. Well, it's been brewing for awhile. I saw some pictures of myself not too long ago of when our boys were born and it actually disgusted me. I thought, "Do I really look that scrawny and weak?" I guess my mental image of myself was better than what the reality was. Good for self esteem I guess, but seeing the reality of how scrawny I look in pictures brought that way down! This past weekend, two things really brought all this to the forefront.
We had our annual work picnic on Saturday. It was a lot of fun! Monica was working so I solo parented the trip with the boys. Everybody loved them! They were so good and smiled at everyone! They got passed around the entire time I was there. I held Jace for a little while, but most of the time I only took them out of their car seats and put them back in a few hours later to leave, lol. We played volleyball, threw a Frisbee around, ate hot dogs and burgers. It was a blast! While me and a buddy were throwing the Frisbee around, I realized just how out of shape I am. The small amount of running I did had me breathing heavy and gassed. I actually had to quit because I was breathing heavy and ran out of steam. This never happens to me! I'll get worn out and breath heavy sure, but never do I have to quit playing around because of it. No bueno! That was number one.
Number two happened Sunday. The release of the long anticipated Living Extreme: Beyond Cystic Fibrosis documentary! It's an awesome video!! I strongly encourage everyone to follow the link and watch it, especially if you are a fellow CFer! When I first heard of the video I honestly thought "Oh I should submit myself and see if I could be on it. I'd probably make the cut." After watching the trailer I knew right away.... I'm lame. Haha!! I'm not extreme! The folks in the video (in my opinion) are the epitome of extreme! There's a brother/sister duo that are crazy good snowboarders. I'm talking travel the world competing snowboarders! A doctor in her 50's who works out like crazy, and a lady who golfs 18 holes on a regular basis, carrying her clubs and walking the coarse, as well as swimming laps several times a week! These folks are extreme!!! The most extreme of all was a guy named Brooks. His PFT's got down in the 40's. He started running and now runs ultra-marathons. That's 100 miles!!! I have yet to do more than a 5K and he's running 100 miles. This was number two.
So what's my goal??? Here it is...
To run 2 days a week and lift 2 days a week.
If I do more, I do more. I wanted to make it 5 days a week. Thought about 3 days a week. Maybe 4 is a little ambitious, but it shouldn't be. Wednesdays are tough for us. Sundays are tough. My schedule on Wednesdays goes as such, leaving me with literally one hour or less of down time.
5:00am - wake up, get dressed, grab meds out of fridge
5:05am - start treatments
5:40am - end treatments, grab bite to eat to go
5:45am - leave for work
work 8 hours
4:00pm - get home from work, play with boys, spend time with wife
4:15pm - start treatments
5:15pm - end treatments, maybe eat dinner
6:00pm - leave for church (I teach youth on Wednesday nights at our church)
9:00pm - arrive home, start putting boys to sleep
9:45pm - usually by now boys are both down for the night, grab a snack, shower, get ready for bed
10:30pm - hopefully I am snoozing by now so I can get 6.5 hours of sleep before getting back up at 5am again.
This leaves me with Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday to workout.
I figured 4 days should be good to start because something will always come up. A birthday party for one of the families, a church outing, something will inevitably eat up an entire evening on one of the weeknights I'm supposed to workout. So with leaving 1 of the 5 days I have available open, I should be able to compensate for such events.
Ideally I want to run a third time. For right now I'll stick to two.
I thought about holding off on posting this until I got closer and had more time to think about this. A post I read by a fellow cyster (female CFer) encouraged me to do it now! Here's her post, click here. I need to be held accountable and now I will be :)
I have to make exercise a priority and get into a routine. It has to become a normal part of life. After all, my life depends on it. The stories of those in the video are living proof that exercise is key to survival with CF.
My start date is October 1st.
I hope to look back on this post on October 1st, 2014 with an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and not be overwhelmed with shame.
As one of my favorite reality TV stars Christopher "Big Black" Boykins would say "DO WORK!"
Monday, September 16, 2013
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Twin Update & Pics
It's been awhile since we've posted some pics of the boys and given an update on all their current developmental progress. So, I thought I'd update you all!
The boys are 2 days shy of being 5 months old! It's hard to believe it's been that long. I was holding my niece today who is about 1 month old. She is so tiny! She was born a little shy of 8 lbs. It's hard to believe our boys were 2 lbs less than that. At one point, little Jeriah was 4 lbs 12 oz after he lost some weight in the hospital. It's hard to remember them being that small. They are growing and developing so fast!
They learn something new almost everyday. We have two stand up jumper/bouncer things that they play in all the time. They love it! They like to be big boys and stand up. They are so smart!!! They see a toy and grab it. They know how to make the spinning toys spin, and move all the other toys. On one of them there is a see-saw toy with a turtle on one side and a duck on the other side. Jace loves to play with it and teeter it back and forth. It makes a sound when you move it too. If we're in the other room, or walking through the house, we can hear it going "crick, crick" every time he moves it! As I'm typing this, he's next to me playing with the see-saw! :)
He has also recently discovered how to be loud. He likes to hear his voice. He will take a deep breath in and let 'er rip! He opens his mouth real wide, and wiggles his tongue around inside his mouth while he's "yelling."
They're hair is getting so long, especially Jeriah's! It hangs down onto his forehead now. It's adorable! While Monica was video taping the boys the other night, Jeriah said "momma" for the first time! Of course he was just making noise, but he had his lips curled over his gums and was saying "mumma, mumma" over and over. It was priceless! Today when Monica got home from work, he said it again when he saw her. Almost seemed like he knew what he was doing, lol!
They both roll over all the time and have found ways to "scoot" around. We started giving them bananas a couple days ago. Jeriah loves em! Funny too because I call him my little monkey boy. He's like a little monkey. Pulling his feet to his mouth, grabbing at everything. He hardly ever holds still. Jace didn't seem to care for eating too much.
I'll stop rambling on about them and put up some current pictures! Plus Jace is ready for a nap. Can't type and hold a baby :)
The boys are 2 days shy of being 5 months old! It's hard to believe it's been that long. I was holding my niece today who is about 1 month old. She is so tiny! She was born a little shy of 8 lbs. It's hard to believe our boys were 2 lbs less than that. At one point, little Jeriah was 4 lbs 12 oz after he lost some weight in the hospital. It's hard to remember them being that small. They are growing and developing so fast!
They learn something new almost everyday. We have two stand up jumper/bouncer things that they play in all the time. They love it! They like to be big boys and stand up. They are so smart!!! They see a toy and grab it. They know how to make the spinning toys spin, and move all the other toys. On one of them there is a see-saw toy with a turtle on one side and a duck on the other side. Jace loves to play with it and teeter it back and forth. It makes a sound when you move it too. If we're in the other room, or walking through the house, we can hear it going "crick, crick" every time he moves it! As I'm typing this, he's next to me playing with the see-saw! :)
He has also recently discovered how to be loud. He likes to hear his voice. He will take a deep breath in and let 'er rip! He opens his mouth real wide, and wiggles his tongue around inside his mouth while he's "yelling."
They're hair is getting so long, especially Jeriah's! It hangs down onto his forehead now. It's adorable! While Monica was video taping the boys the other night, Jeriah said "momma" for the first time! Of course he was just making noise, but he had his lips curled over his gums and was saying "mumma, mumma" over and over. It was priceless! Today when Monica got home from work, he said it again when he saw her. Almost seemed like he knew what he was doing, lol!
They both roll over all the time and have found ways to "scoot" around. We started giving them bananas a couple days ago. Jeriah loves em! Funny too because I call him my little monkey boy. He's like a little monkey. Pulling his feet to his mouth, grabbing at everything. He hardly ever holds still. Jace didn't seem to care for eating too much.
I'll stop rambling on about them and put up some current pictures! Plus Jace is ready for a nap. Can't type and hold a baby :)
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| A friend's wedding. Notice their Converse! |
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| Their shirts match the color of their eyes :) |
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| In his walker at grandma and grandpa's house |
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| drooly face |
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| somebody just woke up |
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| I didn't do it |
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| not quite tall enough yet |
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| I don't know how he did this... |
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| Cruisin |
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| Monkey face |
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| Passed out at the breakfast table with his great uncle |
Friday, September 6, 2013
Thankful Thursday: Time with the boys, Handyman & ....
It's Thankful Thursday everybody!!!! Seems like the weeks fly by. I'll be sitting at the computer and think, "Oh snap, is it Thursday already? I gotta do a Thankful Thursday post!" Then I'm always ridden with guilt over the fact that another week has gone by and I haven't posted on a daily basis like I want to. Oh well, this week is gone and there's nothing I can do about it now. It's time to write out a few things we're thankful for! I think it's good to take a step back, observe your life from a distance and notice all the blessings we so easily overlook. So on to this week's Thankful Thursday lists!
Monica's List:
To be added.... (she went back to work and has been working full time hours the past two weeks) The boys still wake up twice throughout the night. Needless to say, she's been pretty whooped.
Jeremy's List:
I'm thankful for time with my boys. I work 8 hour shifts at work, which means I work 5 days a week. Lately, my days off have been used for study visits, speaking engagements, youth group outings or other obligations. I have yet to have a real day off with absolutely nothing to do (aside from housework and running normal, day-to-day errands). Today I finally had one of those days! I was able to wake up with my boys, feed them, play with them and enjoy them for the day! I absolutely love these days! Thankfully they usually wake up one at a time, so it's easy to give one their reflux medicine, feed them, burp them, get them changed, etc. before the other wakes up. Then it's play time! They're a week shy of being 5 months old and they get more and more active and vocal every day! Jeriah has recently started growling. He growls at his blankets or anything else he's trying to chew on, and will growl for no reason. His growl is so funny! It almost sounds evil. It's a very low, almost sinister growl, but it's cute and hilarious! Jace has been getting so vocal! He will make all kinds of sounds. Quite often he will let out a squeal or yell as loud as he can and hold it out until he runs out of breath, lol! Anywho, I'm thankful for time with my boys!
I'm thankful for a handyman of a father! A couple weeks ago our bathroom faucet handle blew up and sent water spraying to the ceiling while I was at work and Monica was at home with the boys by herself. It was a pretty funny phone call to get (after I made sure everything was ok). To hear Monica describe the "Old Faithful" type geyser that was coming from our bathroom sink was comical to say the least. Thankfully there was no water damage and no one got hurt. Today my dad installed our new faucet! We took forever to go get a new one and finally got one bought and put in. It's really spiffy and I like it! I always get really excited when we add anything new to our home, even if it's just a bathroom faucet!
So what are you thankful for this week?!
Monica's List:
To be added.... (she went back to work and has been working full time hours the past two weeks) The boys still wake up twice throughout the night. Needless to say, she's been pretty whooped.
Jeremy's List:
I'm thankful for time with my boys. I work 8 hour shifts at work, which means I work 5 days a week. Lately, my days off have been used for study visits, speaking engagements, youth group outings or other obligations. I have yet to have a real day off with absolutely nothing to do (aside from housework and running normal, day-to-day errands). Today I finally had one of those days! I was able to wake up with my boys, feed them, play with them and enjoy them for the day! I absolutely love these days! Thankfully they usually wake up one at a time, so it's easy to give one their reflux medicine, feed them, burp them, get them changed, etc. before the other wakes up. Then it's play time! They're a week shy of being 5 months old and they get more and more active and vocal every day! Jeriah has recently started growling. He growls at his blankets or anything else he's trying to chew on, and will growl for no reason. His growl is so funny! It almost sounds evil. It's a very low, almost sinister growl, but it's cute and hilarious! Jace has been getting so vocal! He will make all kinds of sounds. Quite often he will let out a squeal or yell as loud as he can and hold it out until he runs out of breath, lol! Anywho, I'm thankful for time with my boys!
I'm thankful for a handyman of a father! A couple weeks ago our bathroom faucet handle blew up and sent water spraying to the ceiling while I was at work and Monica was at home with the boys by herself. It was a pretty funny phone call to get (after I made sure everything was ok). To hear Monica describe the "Old Faithful" type geyser that was coming from our bathroom sink was comical to say the least. Thankfully there was no water damage and no one got hurt. Today my dad installed our new faucet! We took forever to go get a new one and finally got one bought and put in. It's really spiffy and I like it! I always get really excited when we add anything new to our home, even if it's just a bathroom faucet!
So what are you thankful for this week?!
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Thankful Thursday: Growing Boys, Giggles & Amish bread
What up everyone?! It's Thankful Thursday again! Another week down, recorded in the history books. Monica like to take the time each week to say a few things we're thankful for! There's always something to be thankful for! This is something I remind myself of often and am reminded daily at work (I work in a hospital). Life is a beautiful gift! Something to be overtly thankful for in and of itself! So let's get to it! Here's our lists!
Monica's List:
I'm thankful for healthy boys! So many of us take our own health and the health of our children for granted. I know for me personally, it never used to cross my mind that I could be anything other than perfectly healthy. The boys had their 4 month check up today and everything is just perfect! The doctor said they look great and very healthy. I'm so very thankful for their health... and my own at that.
I'm thankful for giggles. The boys are really starting to giggle and they are just the most adorable little things I've ever heard! I'm thankful for happy boys!
I'm thankful for Amish starter bread. I completely forgot about this stuff and how delish it is! I just got some starter two days ago and had some of the bread my aunt made with it.. Oh my, so good!! Too bad it's only day 2 because I am so excited to make mine and try out some new recipes with it! Thanks for the starter Amy! Who wants some when I go to divide mine?! :)
Jeremy's List:
I'm thankful for healthy, growing boys too! This is the first doctor visit I haven't been able to go to :( But I was happy to see the text from Monica with their current weights and heights!
"Wittle" Jace, as I call him, weighed in at a whopping 15 lbs 8 oz! He is 25.5 inches long. That's over 2 feet tall! He was in the 50th percentile for his weight and height! Good job Jace!!
Jeriah weighed in at 13 lbs 9 oz and is 25.75 inches long! He passed his brother by 1/4 of an inch! It's hard to believe they're over 2 feet long/tall. That seems so big, lol! Jeriah was in the 50th percentile for his height and 10th for his weight. He's my "skinny mister."
Being a dad is by far the best thing ever! I haven't hardly seen either of my boys the past two days. Monica has been back to work and so her mom or my mom have them when we both work. The last two days her parents had them. Wednesdays are very busy days to begin with. I only saw them yesterday for maybe 30 minutes when we put them to bed. They were both passed out the entire time. Today when I came home I couldn't wait to see my boys! Jace was and still is asleep but Jeriah was up and giggled the entire time I was holding him and talking to him! He smiles, laughs, giggles and gets so excited he'll let out a squeal! He seemed happy to see me, which is an amazing feeling!
They both are rolling from their back to their tummy's now. Jeriah is a pro at it! Jace is still figuring it out. Jace can roll from his tummy to his back, something Jeriah has yet to figure out, lol. The doctor said we can start introducing fruits and veggies now! I'm excited to get to feed them and see the funny faces they make! Plus it's exciting that they're moving up to real food! I'm excited for them! They get to experience food! It really is the little things in life, lol!
Here's some pics to leave you with!
So what are you thankful for this week?!?!
Monica's List:
I'm thankful for healthy boys! So many of us take our own health and the health of our children for granted. I know for me personally, it never used to cross my mind that I could be anything other than perfectly healthy. The boys had their 4 month check up today and everything is just perfect! The doctor said they look great and very healthy. I'm so very thankful for their health... and my own at that.
I'm thankful for giggles. The boys are really starting to giggle and they are just the most adorable little things I've ever heard! I'm thankful for happy boys!
I'm thankful for Amish starter bread. I completely forgot about this stuff and how delish it is! I just got some starter two days ago and had some of the bread my aunt made with it.. Oh my, so good!! Too bad it's only day 2 because I am so excited to make mine and try out some new recipes with it! Thanks for the starter Amy! Who wants some when I go to divide mine?! :)
Jeremy's List:
I'm thankful for healthy, growing boys too! This is the first doctor visit I haven't been able to go to :( But I was happy to see the text from Monica with their current weights and heights!
"Wittle" Jace, as I call him, weighed in at a whopping 15 lbs 8 oz! He is 25.5 inches long. That's over 2 feet tall! He was in the 50th percentile for his weight and height! Good job Jace!!
Jeriah weighed in at 13 lbs 9 oz and is 25.75 inches long! He passed his brother by 1/4 of an inch! It's hard to believe they're over 2 feet long/tall. That seems so big, lol! Jeriah was in the 50th percentile for his height and 10th for his weight. He's my "skinny mister."
Being a dad is by far the best thing ever! I haven't hardly seen either of my boys the past two days. Monica has been back to work and so her mom or my mom have them when we both work. The last two days her parents had them. Wednesdays are very busy days to begin with. I only saw them yesterday for maybe 30 minutes when we put them to bed. They were both passed out the entire time. Today when I came home I couldn't wait to see my boys! Jace was and still is asleep but Jeriah was up and giggled the entire time I was holding him and talking to him! He smiles, laughs, giggles and gets so excited he'll let out a squeal! He seemed happy to see me, which is an amazing feeling!
They both are rolling from their back to their tummy's now. Jeriah is a pro at it! Jace is still figuring it out. Jace can roll from his tummy to his back, something Jeriah has yet to figure out, lol. The doctor said we can start introducing fruits and veggies now! I'm excited to get to feed them and see the funny faces they make! Plus it's exciting that they're moving up to real food! I'm excited for them! They get to experience food! It really is the little things in life, lol!
Here's some pics to leave you with!
So what are you thankful for this week?!?!
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| Somehow got his foot through the toy and stuck |
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Thankful Thursday: Participation & Music
It's Thankful Thursday ya'all! Get excited, get pumped! We all have had another week alive on this beautiful planet, Earth! I haven't been blogging quite as much lately for several reasons (excuses). I have had a crazy work schedule, caught a cold in the midst of trying to participate in a study for which I could not be sick, and just being slightly busier than usual. All excuses, non valid, so for that I apologize! I intend to get back on the blogging band-wagon. I know that makes all 7 of you that read my blog so incredibly happy! Lol! Anywho, here's our Thankful Thursday lists!
Monica's List:
Monica had just way to much to say for it all to fit, so we'll just say she's very thankful for the life God has given her! Especially her amazing husband! :)
Jeremy's List:
I'm thankful for being able to participate in a "genotype specific clinical trial." That is all I can say about it. :) I may or may not have already said too much in a previous blog, but I was recently informed that I'm not supposed to say anymore than what I stated above, lol. I was really worried I wouldn't make the cut. You cannot be having an exacerbation upon entering the study. I caught a cold 2 weeks before my scheduled start date and it was/is still lingering. However, my PFT's were either close enough/at/or above my baseline. They can't tell me what my specific numbers are. But, I'm in!!!! I took my first dose of study medication yesterday and am beyond words to express how excited I am to be in this study!!! This medication could make a considerable difference in the lives of A LOT of CF patients. As a friend of mine said it's not a "game-changer" kind of medication, but it's definitely heading that way! And that my friends is EXCITING!!! Almost brings tears to the eyes....... The younger CF generation stands to be greatly impacted. That is worth so much more than seeing my own PFT's rise.
I'm thankful for newly found music! I discovered an online Christian radio station based out of Texas. It's called NGEN radio and is found at ngenradio.com. They play a good variety of current Christian music ranging from hip-hop to worship to rock. They pretty much cover it all! It's so awesome to have good Christian music to listen to. It's funny that I was going to post this as I just read my buddy Ronnie's blog and he said he's thankful for new Christian rap. The old stuff had terrible beats (they had no money) and the lyrics were often very cheesy and corny. It didn't have anything on secular rap. I've always been into rap, and like Ronnie quit listening to secular rap because of the explicit lyrics and the content talked mostly about things the Bible teaches against. Not good for the soul. There are artists now like, Thousand Foot Krutch, Family Force 5, Tedashii, Lecrae, Disciple, Pillar, RED, Manafest, KJ52 the list goes on and on. Their music is awesome and most of all glorifies God! Suuuweeeet!!!
Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
What are you thankful for today?!?!?!
P.S. I'm a little on the hyper side if you couldn't tell.... I have no explanation for why. That is all.
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA
Monica's List:
Monica had just way to much to say for it all to fit, so we'll just say she's very thankful for the life God has given her! Especially her amazing husband! :)
Jeremy's List:
I'm thankful for being able to participate in a "genotype specific clinical trial." That is all I can say about it. :) I may or may not have already said too much in a previous blog, but I was recently informed that I'm not supposed to say anymore than what I stated above, lol. I was really worried I wouldn't make the cut. You cannot be having an exacerbation upon entering the study. I caught a cold 2 weeks before my scheduled start date and it was/is still lingering. However, my PFT's were either close enough/at/or above my baseline. They can't tell me what my specific numbers are. But, I'm in!!!! I took my first dose of study medication yesterday and am beyond words to express how excited I am to be in this study!!! This medication could make a considerable difference in the lives of A LOT of CF patients. As a friend of mine said it's not a "game-changer" kind of medication, but it's definitely heading that way! And that my friends is EXCITING!!! Almost brings tears to the eyes....... The younger CF generation stands to be greatly impacted. That is worth so much more than seeing my own PFT's rise.
I'm thankful for newly found music! I discovered an online Christian radio station based out of Texas. It's called NGEN radio and is found at ngenradio.com. They play a good variety of current Christian music ranging from hip-hop to worship to rock. They pretty much cover it all! It's so awesome to have good Christian music to listen to. It's funny that I was going to post this as I just read my buddy Ronnie's blog and he said he's thankful for new Christian rap. The old stuff had terrible beats (they had no money) and the lyrics were often very cheesy and corny. It didn't have anything on secular rap. I've always been into rap, and like Ronnie quit listening to secular rap because of the explicit lyrics and the content talked mostly about things the Bible teaches against. Not good for the soul. There are artists now like, Thousand Foot Krutch, Family Force 5, Tedashii, Lecrae, Disciple, Pillar, RED, Manafest, KJ52 the list goes on and on. Their music is awesome and most of all glorifies God! Suuuweeeet!!!
Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
What are you thankful for today?!?!?!
P.S. I'm a little on the hyper side if you couldn't tell.... I have no explanation for why. That is all.
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA
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