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April 2009
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Shredding and sore!

This morning, I started Jillian Michael’s 30-Day Shred. It’s 20 minutes of circuit training every day for 30 days. They claim you can lose 20 pounds! I don’t necessarily need to lose 20 pounds, but I’d love to firm up some areas on my body!

Well, I’m figuring I’m going to have a hard time lifting my arms up tomorrow morning. I’m actually already starting to feel sore. It started with a squat/press combo. I was using 5 pound weights. I couldn’t do the whole exercise! I’m not used to being challenged like that! I’m realizing I haven’t been challenging myself enough. Well, Jillian is doing that for me!

There are jumping jacks, which are a little retro for me, but kind of fun. The girls in the back are fit, but not annoyingly so. And Jillian was fairly pleasant. I’m sure if I were to join the Biggest Loser I’d be the first to cry on campus! But on the DVD, she’s nice to listen to. And it’s only 20 minutes (22 with the warm-up and cool-down) so it’s definitely doable. I like the change of pace.

I’m supposed to take “before” pictures. I’ll try to get to that in the next couple of days. But I’m sure as hell not going to put them on my blog! Kudos to all of those who do, but I just can’t do it. I’m self-conscious in a fitted t-shirt! I’m not about to advertise what’s under my clothes! Maybe at the end, if I suddenly have a flat stomach (right!) and non-jiggly thighs (I’ll keep dreaming!) I’ll show some before pictures. We’ll see.

And I’m thrilled my SIL, Catheroo, is shredding too! It’s nice to have a partner in crime!

I’ll keep you all posted on my soreness progress!

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Speaking of Catheroo, I came home from work today, checked my mail, and was thrilled to find a package in my mailbox. At first glance, it looked like my own handwriting! I had to look at it for a while, wondering if I had sent something to someone that got sent back to me, or if I had filled out an envelope at some time that would be mailed back with some test results or something. And then I saw it was from San Jose. I was still a little confused. I then realized it was a book, and I thought Catheroo sent me a book from her hugely long list of books she’s been madly reading lately. Cool!

I got inside, barely got the kids out of the car before I was tearing open the package. There was a note on the front saying they didn’t want the package to get damaged by wet snow (which was predicted but thankfully didn’t arrive), but my brother went a little overboard with the plastic wrap. About 5 yards of plastic wrap later, I saw what it was.

The book!

I love reading Dooce’s blog. I was so jealous when Catheroo got to meet her at a book signing last week. Little did I know my wonderful SIL was getting me an inscribed copy of Heather’s book! AWESOME!

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Okay, one last thing. I made a chicken salad tonight that is sooooo delish! I had it a couple of weeks ago at a friend’s house during a playdate. Instead of subjecting us adults to mac and cheese, Angie made this salad and I immediately fell in love with it. Even better is the fact that my kids ate it! Here’s the recipe:

Chicken, Rice, and Black Bean Salad
1 c. brown rice, cooked according to directions
1 cooked chicken (~2.5 pounds) shredded (~4 cups)
1 can (15.5 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
6 plum tomatoes, sliced (I used 4 and I diced them)
4 scallions, thinly sliced (I used 3)
1 jalapeno chili, minced (I used about half and it wasn’t very spicy at all-just good flavor)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3 T olive oil
1/2 t ground cumin
salt & pepper

Just mix it all together and serve.

We had tortilla chips with the salad which was tasty to use to scoop it up. I also served some quacamole, and Noah learned he likes guac! He is my son!

The other fun thing for me was dissecting the rotisserie chicken I used. I’ve never carved a turkey (always my dad’s job) or used a rotisserie chicken before (totally going to do that more!) so I’ve never had the fun of checking out the anatomy of fowl. Okay, before your mind goes there, what I’m talking about is how, when I pulled the legs off the chicken, I found the femoral head (hip joint) of the chicken’s leg! We have those! And when I pulled the drumstick off completely, I found a knee joint very similar to a human! I was really enjoying myself! Cheap (and lame) PT thrills!

I’m really looking forward to lunch tomorrow at work!

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I lied-I have one more “last thing.” My dear friend Jamie had her baby tonight!!! Owen Christopher was born at 9:20 tonight, weighing in at a whopping 7 lbs, 10 oz and 21 inches long! Jamie was due 4 days ago, so she was anxious to meet him!

He joins big sisters Ella and Abby. I’m so thrilled Owen has arrived! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

2 comments to Shredding and sore!

  • I would totally use the 3 pounds weights tomorrow, if you can lift your arms. I struggled with that one too and laughed out loud when she said to bring the weights to eye level! I was going good to get them past my waist toward the end! HA!

    I took before pictures, too, and will only post them if I look like Jillian Michael’s when I’m done with this challenge.

    I’m so glad your SIL is joining us for the challenge! How awesome she sent you an autographed copy of Dooce’s book!

    Your recipe sounds good too! Okay, my arms are shaking from typing too much. Must rest now 🙂

  • I am sore today but am looking forward to dropping 20 lbs!!!! You look great and the recipe sounds yummy!!! Good Luck on Day 2!!!