I've got an exciting so exciting so so so exciting idea i'm brewing up. I will post about it soon!!  Stay tuned…….

FINALLY a day that was not as hard as all the rest.  Don't get me wrong, I was gasping for air the entire time, but it was a lot easier and shorter.  We ended up doing the planned sets and then added on 15 minutes of running at the end. I suck at running! It's true! I want to get better!  My back  did hurt afterwards, but I made sure to stretch real well and it didn't give me too many problems for the rest of the night!

Here's what we did:

12 Dead Lifts
Nat: 55lbs/ Dave:135

As many reps as we could do in 10 minutes
10 Squat Jumps
10 V-ups
10 Ball Slams
10 Mule Kicks
(I couldn't find a very good picture of these. The exercise has you lay on your stomach on a long bench with the lower half of your body hanging off at the end. You then take both legs and extend them all the way back (like a donkey kicking its legs) and then back in.)

(we did 4 reps of each)

Ran 15 minutes
Nat: 5.5 Dave: 6.5

Our goal with the running was to run 15 straight minutes without taking any walking breaks in between. After our Crossfit workout, it wasn't easy. I Started out running at 6.0 but I couldn't keep up the pace for 15 minutes so I dropped down to 5.5 and was able to maintain that for 10 minutes. At minute ten, I had to take a 1 minute walk break and then I finished out the remaining 4 minutes at 5.5.  I honestly didn't think it would be that hard to do 15 straight minutes, but it was!

Yesterday was member appreciation day at the gym, so after our workout we left with some yummy snacks:

The gym is only six minutes from our house, but yesterday there was major road construction and we were stuck in traffic for over 30 minutes!

At least I had something to snack on while we waited!!

We made it home 35 minutes later! All in all great workout! I'm not sure if we are going to take today (Wednesday) as a rest day or not. I really want to take Friday off, but Dave is leaning towards today.  I think I know what the outcome will be.

Hope you have a wonderful day!!!

Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the most fattest of them all?

FLASHBACK

About a year ago Dave and I decided to spend an afternoon at the mall. I needed a new pair of jeans so we headed to the jean place first. I wanted to find a cheap pair because I "was not planning on staying at that size for long".  We both entered the store with smiles on our faces, I was happy to get a new pair of jeans, and Dave was happy that I was happy.  There were so many options to chose from, I hoped I'd find what I was looking for.  I grabbed a few pairs and Dave grabbed a few pairs and we headed back to the dressing room.  He waited out side while I stood in front of the mirror and undressed. I immediately rolled my eyes at myself and thought something negative. I tried on the first pair….and it didn't fit. They were too tight. I came out with a frown on my face . Dave was on eggshells as he awaited my response (he had been through this before). He waited for me to comment and after my response he sat still with a smile on his face afraid to say the wrong thing. I went back into the dressing room with a little bit of hope. I still had quite a few pairs to try on so I wasn't out of luck…yet.  I tried them on one by one, and one by one, I found something about my body that looked bad in the jeans. My butt looks big, my waist is  fat, my thighs are too big…on and on. Each time I looked in the mirror I would get more frustrated and more upset with myself. The more I tried on, the more upset I got. The negative thoughts flowed abundantly. After I tried on my final pair I had had it. I closed the dressing room door and started crying,I was really upset. Upset with the mirror, mad at the person looking in it, annoyed at the jeans, disgusted with my body, and some how bugged by my husband. Why my husband?? I honestly don't , my best guess is I needed someone to take it out on? I wiped away my tears, and changed into my old jeans. Red eyed and empty handed, we left the store.

Dave tried to cheer me up and tell me it was alright. He laughed and joked and tried to make me feel better. I didn't work. The rest of the afternoon was ruined (by me of course).  I was too upset to have fun. I felt fat, ugly, disgusting..did i mention fat?? I repeated these thoughts over and over in my mind. I believed them.  I didn't want to shop. I didn't want to do anything. My attitude was no fun, not to mention no good. Not for me and not for Dave.  We went home and I honestly can't remember what happened after that.

FLASH FORWARD

Last weekend I wanted a new pair of jeans.  Friday night Dave and I headed to the mall.  I had forgotten all about the incident above until we walked into the same jean store.  We picked out several pairs just as we had done 10 months before and I headed back to the dressing room. When I walked into the dressing room I looked in the mirror and admired my cute outfit.  I even threw myself a mental compliment. I tried on the first pair and they were skin tight.  I came out of the dressing room and showed them off to Dave prancing around the back area of the store being a nerd.  We laughed and both agreed that they were way too tight. I didn't care. I went back into the dressing room and looked into the mirror and before changing out of those skin tight skinny jeans I threw myself another compliment… "my calf's look great in these" (ya they were that tight). I took them off and tried on the next pair.  The next pair fit better than the last but still did not fit quite right. I showed Dave and he pointed out the area that didn't look right and I agreed. It didn't bother me. I went back into the dressing room to take them off and while doing so I looked in the mirror again.  A big smile came across my face as I remembered that day ten short months ago. I remembered how I felt and now how I feel. I remembered how I acted and now how I act. I remembered mentally beating myself up and now how I intentionally build myself up.  I remembered how I focused on only the negative and now how I only focus on the positive. This time when I looked in the mirror I saw a different person looking back. I saw someone strong, confident and happy.  After buying a super cute pair of jeans, Dave and I with smiles on our both faces walked out of the store and enjoyed the rest of the evening.   

Yesterday you may have read the email I sent Catlin, it was my experience with my first Operation Beautiful note.  
Here it is:

"I started out on my journey to healthy living a little over 10 months ago.  When I started trying to change I didn’t believe in myself, didn’t think I could do it, and it was ALL ABOUT the ". When I decided to make a change in my life and kick everything negative and unhealthy, I really tried to focus on positive thinking and telling myself things that I didn’t at first think were true.  

As time went on some of those things started to become easier and easier to say. I found your blog through Angela’s and then I found Operation Beautiful. I thought Operation Beautiful was such a great idea, and I knew from what I had been doing the few months before, that this would only add to my progress and help me truly believe in myself. Women are so hard on themselves and do not give themselves the credit they deserve!  

After posting my first Operation Beautiful note, I felt amazing. I felt strong and I believed what it had said. I knew that I was beautiful and that I did deserve to believe it, and anyone who read what I had wrote should feel the same way about themselves. It was me and only me who had been holding myself back all this time. I was my own worst enemy and I didn’t even know it.  

After I finally believed in myself, my life changed in every single way.  Operation Beautiful was a stepping stone for me and something I’ll always remember!" 

Girlies….this is so true. I can personally testify to this. You have to believe in yourself to make positive life changes. We should all believe, love, and respect ourselves. Although my story may be extreme, when compared with yours, I know every woman can relate on some level.

It is up to you. It is up to me.  It is up to all of us. WE must take the initiative. WE must grab a hold of ourselves and decide to take control. It all starts with YOU. There are millions of women out there who don't believe in themselves. Millions of women who are way too hard on themselves and have a negative self image. I want more than anything to take these women by the hand and tell them how beautiful they are, tel them they are worth it.
YOU ARE WORTH IT.

I challenge YOU, whether you are a positive Polly, a negative Nelly or an iggy in-between …Take a moment to think about your inner dialogue.  What message are you sending yourself? Your inner dialogue truly effects you who you are and who you will become. 

At the risk of you all thinking I'm a  complete nerd….I want you to say the following with me as you read.  
"I am worth it".  Did you say it?  Try again, this time out loud….ready on 3??1, 2, 3……  
"I AM WORTH IT"! " I AM WORTH IT"!!
It's true. You are worth it!  

Mirror mirror on the wall who's the fairest of them all….YOU ARE and its about time you believe it!! xoxoxoxo

Leave a comment and tell me one thing you love about yourself!!

EEEKKKKK!!!! CrossFit day 5. Yesterdays work out was brutal! It was harder than any of the days by far! I know I keep saying this but its true, we were dying.

When we got home we both felt like we could curl up in bed and go to sleep forever. We were so tired! I felt like i'd worked out for hours on end.  I made us a protein packed dinner (Spaghetti with grillers meat and garlic toast over 40 grams protein) we ate it faster than you can imagine. It was like my body was a vacuum, I inhaled that pasta. My body must have really needed some nourishment!  We crashed and watched some TV and I fell asleep on the couch.  Ok, so here's what we cranked out:

• 25 Sumo Dead Lifts High Pulls
  (Nat: 35lbs set 1 20lbs 2 & 3 /Dave: 70lbs)
• 30 Second Sprint
  (Nat: 8.5/ Dave: 12)
• 25 Kettle Bell Swings
• 25 Fast Jump Ropes
• 25 Renegade Rows
  (Nat: 7.5 /Dave: 17.5)
• 25 Broad JumpsRepeat 3 times

Does that sound hard? I didn't sound like it was going to be too tough, but it surprised really me! Guess what? I know its only been six days since we started this Crossfit challenge, but I am already noticing a difference in my body. Seriously!? Its only been 6 days!

PS: I still have not gotten any good advice on how to strengthen my core for running. Can't anyone help?? PRETTY PLEASE!!

QA:
Are you hungry after a hard workout?
What is your go to fuel food?

 Ever heard of them? I'm sure anyone who reads health/fitness or food blogs has heard all about them.  5 months ago when I started really reading these types of blogs I had no idea what these disgusting looking drinks were all about.  One of my favorite blogs "oh she glows", introduced me to the "green monster".  She was always talking about these drinks and posting pictures. She actually started a blog dedicated to green monsters. It's called "the green monster movement" . After reading all about these babies and viewing hundreds of pictures, I decided it was time to try one. I decided to make my first green monster. I waited until a weekend when I had plenty of time to make it just right. I planned ahead and bought all the ingredients I needed and then I went to town. 

Nat's Fav GM Recipe (very basic)
2 cups organic spinach
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
1 scoop ESA vanilla protein powder
5 ice cubes
1/2 banana

Preparation

Finished Product

(this one is not as dark green as usual because I wanted to make sure I had enough spinach for this mornings GM)

Yum in my tum

What can I say? I LOVE THEM.  The first time I tried it, I was blown away by how delicious it was. I wouldn't believe me either if I hadn't tried one for myself, but its so true! Ever since the morning of my first green monster I have had a green monster almost every day since. Not only are they DELCIOUS but they are so good for you.  Even Dave the vegetable hater of America loves them.  I told my sister about the green monsters a few weekends ago and how Dave loves them and she said…I thought Dave doesn't eat spinach, to which my reply was…HE DOESN'T!! Unless it is in a green monster of course!  If you are looking for different recipes, check out The Green Monster Movement where Angela and her readers have posted a ton of great recipes! If you haven't already make your first Green Monster and let me know what you think, or if you are already a green monster fan, what is your favorite recipe?

Saturdays workout was the hardest by far. I felt like I was going to faint and throw up a couple times. After finishing each set, I almost had to hold on to something just to catch my breath…it was hard core. (for me!)  The workout took Dave 45 minutes and me 50 minutes. Dave started out on the same pace as me but then he picked up his running speed and passed me by an entire set!   Here's what we did:

Reps: 21-18-15-12-9-6-3

Those numbers are for the reps, the sets went as followed:

• Pushups
• Pushpress
  Nat: 35lbs for reps 21-15/45lbs for reps 12-3 Dave: 45lbs for reps 21-3 (his neck was bothering him so he didn't want to push it)
• Sprawls(this is just like a burpee without the push-up or jumping)
• .25 Mile run/45 lunges
  Nat: 6.0 Dave: 8.0

On the odd rep numbers you run .25 mile, and on the even rep numbers you do 45 lunges.

So you start out doing 21 of everything, then go to 18, then 15…and so on until you reach 3.  THIS IS KILLER!!!

I tried doing a pull up on my own after the workout was over and I didn't even pull up an inch…stupid idea to try after the workout and not before.  On Monday I'll give it a try when I'm fresh. I might not be as close as I thought I was, but we'll see. It has now been only 2 hours since we finished working out and I can already feel the workout creeping up on my body.  I am going to be  one sore girly tomorrow.

On the way home from the gym we stopped by Smoothy King and got a yummy protein filled smoothy.  Those things are super good. 45 grams of protein, 1 carb, less than 1 sugars, 180 calories (+the fruit). MMM MMM GOOD!! I got vanilla with strawberry and banana. It did my body good!

It was such a lovely day. (on our way home from the gym)

Dave went four-wheeling and I did some chores and then relaxed all day.

OH I almost forgot!!!

Friday night we went to the mall and went shopping… it was fabulous. I got  four new pairs of shoes and a pair of jeans! YIPPEE!  Check em out…

We ate at Dave's favorite restaurant afterwards, its called Dragon Hill. It was yum. I had chicken in a spicy garlic sauce and Dave had General Sao Chicken. There was so much food I have an entire meal left over! We ended the night watching conspiracy theory movies. Dave is really into them right now.  We were both so pooped that we fell asleep watching them.  I woke up at 1:00am and looked at the clock, I don't even remember falling asleep.  We are losers for falling asleep at 10:30pm on a Friday night. ha ha..oh well I guess we were tired!

ps…here are a few pics from Dave's four-wheeling SO BEAUTIFUL!! I didn't want to size these any smaller because they are too pretty!!

Bring it on.  Even though Fridays planned workout was super short, I had to work incredibly hard to even lift the weights  over my head and do the exercise.  We were finished with the workout in a little over 10 minutes.  We ran for a mile afterwards and then added on some sit-ups at the end.  We were there for about 35 minutes total.  The workout went as follows:

20 Dumbbell Snatches
Nat: 17.5lbs Dave: 35lbs
20 Push Ups
15 Dumbbell Snatches
Nat: 17.5lbs Dave: 30lbs
15 Push Ups
10 Dumbbell Snatches
Nat: 17.5lbs Dave: 35lbs
10 Push Ups
5 Dumbbell Snatches
Nat: 25lbs Dave: 40lbs
5 Push Ups

1 mile run @ 6.0-6.5 (10 minutes)

I love sweating. For some reason the more sweaty I am the better I feel. (only in regards to working out). I hate sweating any other time.

As we were streching I told Dave i'd really like to start running. I told him that i'd love doing some races to help us get stronger, faster, and in better overall shape. He has never been interested in doing any races, but this time he didn't object, so I continued. I asked him if he'd want to train to run a 1/2 marathon or something close to it…without hesitating he said yes.  YAY!!  This makes me really happy.  If my back can handle it, I would love to do this.

Good news, my back hasn't hurt that past two days we've ran. We have only ran a few miles though, but usually even a mile or two will cause it to act up.  I'm not really sure why my lower back hurts when I run but it does.  Someone recommended that I strengthen my core so I am going to really work on that and see if I see any improvements. I know a lot of you are runners, can you offer any advice?  I'd love to start training but I think I need to prepare my body to do this and figuring out how to make my lower back not hurt is KEY!  Please please please….any suggestions??

QA:
-What are some good core exercises for strengthening  your core for running?
-Did you or do you have lower back pain from running, and how did/do you solve it?
-Any other suggestions? ANY AT ALL??

Diet Coke and Poop.  Do they have anything in common??

Sorry to say the "P" word…but it's what this post is all about. Before I get started I have a short disclaimer: I realize that the amount of diet coke I'm about to tell you about is an awful, crazy, disgusting, absurd, ridiculous, crazy, stupid amount. Just for the record, I know.

I thought it was important to throw that out there before I tell you just how much I was drinking.

I have always had a hard time with my digestion…mostly the part where the food exits your body. I just couldn't go. It was pretty normal for me to go just once a week.  It's been that way since I can remember. (i've also drank diet coke since i can remember). I'd tried everything over the counter or prescription. I've eaten unheard of amounts my fiber, and enough berries that should make you sick. I'd upped my water in take… but still….nothing, nothing , and nothing.  

After complaining about my problem one day and going through list after list of all the things i'd tried with little to no results, my hubby suggested that I stop drinking diet soda.  He suggested that I just give it a try to see if it made a difference.  His theory was that the diet coke was going in my body and mixing with my food and turning into a hard tar that would stick to the inside of my stomach and take weeks to come out.  He's told me to do this a million times before but I never listened.  Since I had already been making a bunch of healthy changes (many of which he suggested)and seeing such great results, I thought it would be stupid to not try this one!

So..I decided I wouldn't drink any diet coke for two weeks and see what happened. 

Before I tell you how it all worked out, let me share with just you how much diet coke I WAS drinking on a daily, weekly and bi-weekly basis.

Here was a typical day:
9am: 12 oz diet coke
12pm: 12 oz diet coke after lunch
2pm: 12 oz diet coke
4:30pm: 12 0z diet coke when I got home
7:00pm: 12 0z diet coke with dinner

I did not always have the last two sodas, but I at least ALWAYS had three a day. I think its safe to say that I was drinking about four 12 oz cans of diet soda a day.  The weekends had to be much more than that.  Probably 7-9 12 0z cans a day. (when we go out to eat I can easily drink 3 or 4 diet cokes).

So lets do the math there…..

4 /12oz X  4 days a week= 16
7/ 12oz  X 3 days a week= 21
Weekly Total: 37 Minimum
Bi-Weekly Total: 74
Monthly: 148

74 diet cokes in two weeks minimum. 148 per month. WHAT!!! That's twelve twelve packs in a month, thats almost $50 a month on freaking diet coke. AHHH!!  I had never added it up before.  I actually didn't even add it up until I was done with the two week experiment. I went from drinking 74 diet cokes in two weeks to none. I couldn't believe the number I was drinking when I added it up. My jaw dropped. 

So….what was the result you ask?  POOP!  ha ha Sorry to say so but its true! After about day four without the soda I was able to go to the bathroom and not just once, but regularly.  NO JOKE. I couldn't believe it…actually I could believe it, but I was kinda surprised it worked.  Score: Dave 1 Natalie 0.  More like Dave 1 million Nat 0.  He always knows whats best! Why did I just now start listening?

Since then I have totally limited the amount of diet coke I drink. I now maybe drink 2 or 3 in a week, which I feel great about.  The thing is, I love diet coke. It is a treat to me.  So to limit it completely is not something I feel like I must do. Once and a while is A OKAY by me.  I feel so much better now that I know I am not poisoning my body.  I never realized how much damage it was doing to my insides, and to be honest I didn't really care.  Example: The other morning when we were getting on the plane to come back to Utah I saw a guy drinking a Diet Pepsi and I about gagged. (It was  4:30am).  As horrible as it was that he was putting that into his body, I hate to admit I used to do the exact same thing. It wasn't rare for me to drive to work early a.m. drinking a diet coke. If you looked next to my night stand what would you see?….diet coke. Hello!! I thought nothing of it.  Now I cringe when I see people "abusing" their bodies the way I used to. It's not until I started caring about my body from the inside out that I started to care what I put inside of it! 

Since I have stopped drinking diet coke like a crazy person, the outcome has been wonderful! My digestive problems have all but gone away and I feel great. I drink SO much more water and I believe it's also helped me not crave sweets as much.

So to answer my question from the beginning of this post….Yes Diet Coke and Poop have quite a bit in common.

QA:
Are you or were you addicted to something unhealthy?

Missed Day 1 Crossfit?

WEEEEEEEEW eee! Even more sore today than I was yesterday. I kinda like it though is that wierd? Yesterdays workout was harder than the day before. I'm feeling sore all over today, not sure why because we didn't do a full body workout. 

I was kinda having a blah day yesterday. I was SUPER tired, and had a head ache for most of the day.  When I got home I was not in the mood to go work out but I knew i'd feel better after.  Sure enough after the workout I felt awesome.  Sure I was sopping wet and my muscles began to tighten, but I felt awesome!  Here is what we did…

800M run (.50 miles)
Nat: Avrg speed 6.2 Dave Avg Speed: 6.9
25 KTE (Knees touch elbows)
15 Box jumps

Repeat 4 times!

Wow. This was not easy.  The runs weren't too bad the first time through but after the second and third we were both fighting for air.  The KTE's were killer.  It takes every muscle in your body to pull your knees up to touch your elbows, and when your done doing that, jumping up and down onto the box tops it all off!

We were sweating like crazy. We didn't finish with abs because the KTE's were enough for us.  We stretched and talked about the workout and let our heart rates recover a bit before heading home.

When we got in the car these were dave exact words.."I really like these workouts, they aren't too long and are super intense. I want to die while i'm doing it but I feel awesome after."

I'm so glad he likes it…because I love it. And I love doing it together.  When I was with my trainer I wasn't able to slack or take too much time to rest, and it feels the same with Dave. I want to keep up with him and finish in good time so I know i'm pushing myself harder than I would if I was on my own and I really like that!

Day 2 was great.  We are taking a rest day today and again on Sunday.  When we start back up on Monday I think we will take rest days on Fridays and Sundays. Dave's muscles are really sore and since he is usually in such great shape working out every day he isnt used to feeling sore. Me on the other hand, it seems like every time I met with my trainer I was in for some pain the next day.  I have so many muscles that aren't developed that its easier for me to get sore than him, but since he hadn't worked out in over a month, he is feeling it big time! I'm feeling it too, but I'm kinda used to it.    

We took our measurements yesterday. After we were finished dave looked at the numbers and said…"hey our measurements are about the same"…..some of yours are bigger.  I immediately looked at him and said…"uh why would you want to point that out……" he looked at me with a worried look on his face and said…"i dont know". ha ha ha it was funny. I laughed and told him I was kidding! I didn't care. Hello I am 5'5 and he is 6'4. Yes some of our measurements were similar, but i'm not going to even entertain the thought of letting that bother me. It doesn't make sense. (plus he is lean and has long lean legs so it's not like it's a bad thing).

The truth is though, in the past that might have made me feel bad and feel self concise or insecure. I might have gotten a little bugged at him for pointing that out.  I used to be so touchy and worried about anything he or anyone else would say about me and my body. I would ask him a question and if i didn't get what I thought was the right response I automatically made myself feel bad. I constantly thought he thought things about me that I now know are not true.  The truth is….. He thinks I'm beautiful.He thinks I skinny He loves me the way I am.  And he's thought it all along. I just never believed it until now.  Want to know why? Because I didn't think it about myself.  Until I started to focus on positive good uplifting thoughts and work on giving myself complements, I couldn't believe that he or anyone else may actually be telling the truth. 

Unfortunately as women I think we all do this to a certain extent! We are WAY to critical of ourself.  Our poor husbands or BF's end up having to walk around on egg shells because they are worried that they might not say the right thing.  Can they read our minds…NO! So why should we expect them to? Next time your husband boyfriend or whoever gives you a compliment or tells you something positive about yourself, instead or asking them if they mean it or analyzing how they said it to try and figure out what they really meant….just BELIEVE it. You are beautiful, and you deserve to believe it!

QA:
 Do you have a hard time believing compliments about yourself?

Finally an update from our weekend in Illinois.  I can't upload pictures at work and we have been super busy afterwards so it took until last night to get these babys uploaded. 

Weekend Recap:

We had a great weekend!  The travel was a bit rough however. We didn't get to bed the first night until nearly 3:00am and on the morning we left to come home we had to be up at 2:30am.  By the time we made it home yesterday we were pooped!

The weekend was filled with family, fun, relaxing, baby holding, food and lots of talking.  I got up first thing Friday morning and went on a run. It was so beautiful. Since I hadn't had a chance to exercise in two days I was more than excited to get some good sweating in.  The entire run was absolutely beautiful!  The air was cool and there was a slight breeze…it was perfect.  I was so excited to explore. I have never been to Illinois when it wasn't cold, so I have not had the chance to do any on foot exploration.

I didn't take the camera along on my run the first day, but the next morning Dave accompanied me on a LONG walk and we got some great pictures!

Before we started just off to the side of my brother in-laws drive way we ran in to this little guy

I have never seen a turtle that was not in a cage…isn't he cute?  He just sat there and let me take his picture. I'm not sure where he was going…but from the way things looked it was going to take him a while to get there.

We started off on this road..isn't it cute? Gravel road, big trees, corn field in the distance….it was beautiful

When we made it to the end of the road we were right in front of this beautiful corn field. I've never seen a corn field up close before….it was really pretty

Dave husked the corn to reveal the YELLOWEST corn i'd ever seen

He showed me something he used to do when he was younger (pop the hardened corn off the cob by twisting the cob back and forth)…it was really hard to do for my little fingers, but he popped away, it was cool to watch

After messing around with the corn we continued on our walk…only to be interrupted by A willy worm (I think). It was so cute. It is a fuzzy catapiller. He was cruising really fast across the road. (We ran into about 20 of these along the way) I couln't believe how fast they were! I'd never seen one before so I was fascinated.

There were so many new things that I had never seen before that It made it hard to keep a steady pace the entire time, and since I run much slower than dave, he lagged behind while I ran here and there to keep my heart rate up. (Isn't the scenery amazing?!)

We ended up at Rend Lake. Dave used to come here on his bike and four-wheeler as a kid.

He hadn't ever gone on foot to this spot and didn't realize how long it would take to get there and back.  We were gone over 2 hours.

On the way back we saw this….ha ha a beetle pushing a piece of poop four times its size, he was cooking it!…its was really funny

We made it back an hour and a half later than planned, but it was really fun!  We had a hoarse fly chase us, saw endless feilds of soy beans, huge worm webs and many other bugs that I'd never seen.  The walk ended with a huge finale.  The most disgusting, huge, unbelievable spider I have ever and will ever see.  This picture is disturbing.  The butt on this thing is the size of a LARGE grape. Or the tip of your thumb.  Its legs were thick and so long….the picture does not do it justice

I was creeped out the rest of the trip. I checked the sheets every night and dreamt of spiders when I closed my eyes.  I had constant goosebumps and was flat out disgusted!

Ok enough about that stupid spider. The rest of the weekend was really nice.  We took a nice drive to a near by city to eat  lunch with Dave's parents

Check out these beautiful tree's in front of the house

On Saturday after noon we had a bbq with the family and enjoyed the beautiful weather

And spent hours doing this (dave's first nephew on his side baby joel)

We did a lot of this too…(relaxing)

 Sorry for the picture over load, I had a lot of fun taking pictures, there were so many new things for me to discover! All in all we had great weekend! It was wonderful to see family, so fun to meet our newest nephew! It was also really fun getting out and exploring. The exercise we did flew by because we were having so much fun and seeing new things!  What a great way to work off those extra calories that we always seem to eat on vacation.  Dave and I always have good intentions of eating healthy and not over doing it when we go on vacation, but it always seems that we end up eating way too much. Being out of your normal routine, eating food your not used to eating, indulging in desert every night….it can really add up!!  Thank goodness for Crossfit!

Question:
Do you get off track with your eating  when you are on vacation?
Do you exercise on vacation?