Four

My sister did this on her blog this week and I thought it was cute, so like any good sister, I'm copying her.  :)


Four jobs I have had in my life:

1. Worked in accounting at Ideal Carbide Die with my Mom
2. Assembly Hall at UofI as an usher
3. Waitress at Traverso's in Tinley Park
4. Senior Audit Manager at Grant Thornton


Four movies I would watch over and over:

1.  Planes, Trains & Automobiles
2.  Sixteen Candles
3.  Old School
4.  National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation


Four places I have lived:

1. Chicago, IL (where I was born until 7th grade and moved back to after college)
2. Lockport, IL (where I spent my teenage years)
3. Melbourne, Australia (where I spent 3 months in 2003)
4. Downers Grove, IL (where I live now with the hubby)


Four TV shows I love to watch:

1. The Amazing Race
2. Real Housewives OC, New York or New Jersey
3. The Office (although I miss Michael)
4. Grey's Anatomy

Four places I have been on vacation

1. Orlando, Florida
2. Kauai & Maui,  Hawaii
3. Europe (Paris, London, Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Prague, Madrid and Barcelona)
4. Australia

Four websites I visit daily:

1. Facebook
2. Google Reader
3. Babycenter
4. Goingconcern

Four of my favorite foods:

1. Sushi (and I can't have it right now)
2. Buffalo chicken
3. Fajitas
4. Mom's BBQ ribs


Four places I would like to be right now:

1.  The adult pool at the Four Seasons Resort in Maui
2.  Italy - I'm dying to go there
3.  Sitting on the back deck with the husband and a nice cold beer (no beer for me for a long while!)
4.  At the Kohler Spa

Snow Day?!

I don't believe it!  The weather forecast was right, it was snowmageddon last night.  I am so glad that I left work early yesterday before it got too crazy, but last night watching the storm was kind of like watching a snow globe being shook to death by a small child.  Wind was coming from every direction it seemed and you couldn't tell if the snow flying around was new snow or just snow being blown around.

Well, this morning it was clear that it was new snow.  Here are some pictures from my front and back door views.

My front porch is one big snow drift

I'm not sure where the front yard ends and the driveway and street begin

Also, see in the far distance in front of the brownish house a small yellow speck sticking out of the snow - that's the fire hydrant. 

The backyard is where most of the swirling snow was last night and that's evident by the crazy snow drifts.  There are snow drifts as high as our four foot tall pool.  Our pool filter is out there somewhere, do you see it?

Check out the snow drifts on my back neighbor's house.  I hope Jared and Marie don't need to use their back door any time soon.  Also, it looks like it continues up the roof.

And one final shot, of our shed with it's snow drift.  Part of me wanted to suit up and jump out there in that snow, and then I remembered that I probably will get plenty of snow action as I help clear the driveway...once we find it.

I hope everyone is home safe and can stay home today.  Even though I'll be working on my snow day, it's still kind of fun to be snowed in and working in front of my fireplace.  Stay warm everyone!

My Fitness Pal App

As I said in a recent post, I did set a new year's resolution of eat less, move more.  With focusing on getting to the gym three times per week I had the move more plan in place.  But I felt like I needed something to help with the eat less. 

So, looking at the health related free apps I found the My Fitness Pal app

 This app asks you for information on height, weight, any weight loss goals and how quickly you want to lose it and then calculates a net amount of calories for intake every day.  You can then record what you eat and your exercise to track your intake and burn every day.

This summary screen gives you a snapshot of where you are for the day

The greatest part is that the diary is so easy to use and find what you are eating, even at restaurants.  Many chains are even specifically in here, so you can find exactly what you're eating.  Plus you can create recipes for things you are cooking to see just how many calories it is.  The exercise database is just as extensive and allows you to adjust calories burned if you use a heart monitor or something else to track that when working out.

One of the other features I really liked is the nutrient info.  It's really made me aware of when I'm eating things high in sodium or sugar, or if I'm not getting enough iron or dietary fiber.

I've been doing this pretty religiously for two weeks now and it takes no time, and has really kept me focused and aware of what I've been eating so I can tackle the eat less part of my resolution.  It has made me very aware and helped me make better food choices.  I have been checking the calorie content before I pick what I'm planning to eat, so I am able to better allocate calories throughout the day.  I haven't been hungry once.  And it is working.  Week one I lost 5.5 lbs!

My Favorite App of the New Year

Like most people, I've fallen down the typical well of setting some new year's resolutions.  And also, like a lot of people, mine has to do with being healthier.  I have vowed to focus, not on weight loss, (although that would be a great by product) but on committing to being healthier.  I have both committed to get to the gym three days per week and to start counting calories.  I usually eat healthy foods, but I eat too large of portions.  So, I'm going with the simple plan of eat less, move more for 2011. 

It's week one, so its definitely early to start declaring any successes.  But I am off to a good start.  One thing I was looking for was a way to track work outs and calories, which I found and will post about another time, but I stumbled across this.

This is an app for your iPhone that Nike has put out for women that is like a trainer in your pocket.  And, even better it's free!

It has over 60 workouts that are 30 - 45 minutes long with audio guidance while your doing the exercises.  There are also 15 minute targeted workout if there is a specific area you want to really focus in on.  The app even lets you select music from your iPod to play while you're working out.  Each exercise has step by step instructions you can look at before you do it, and a video demo to help clarify.

There are four different categories of programs you can choose from  

And within each one of these categories there are three levels of experience:  beginner, intermediate and advanced.  Once you choose these you then select from about 6 or 7 different work outs.  It then tracks your progress and rewards based on how many minutes you have worked out cumulatively with special workout programs from famous athletes and trainers.

One of the greatest things about it is that you can workout anywhere.  For a lot of the programs you don't need any equipment.  For the ones that require equipment it is dumbbells, a medicine ball, or a jump rope.  So, while I've been doing these at the gym, I could get a workout in from the comfort of my home or from my hotel room when traveling.  

This week, I have done the beginner sweat + shape program twice, and it completely kicked my butt.  I was so sore after the first time on Monday, my second workout this week had to be something different.  I got on the elliptical for 30 minutes vs. the NTC program.  But this morning I did it for the second time.  It still kicked my butt - but I wasn't feeling as much muscle fatigue as I did on day one.  I think next week I'm going to try one of the programs that calls for weights. 

I like that I can mix this in with other workouts to keep things fresh.  That way I shouldn't get bored, and it is probably better for me to mix it up more anyway than live on the treadmill.  I'm hoping Nike continues to update it with new workouts.  What a great app! 

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year everyone! 

I started this blog one year ago, and over 70 postings later am still enjoying chronicling Teddy and my activities.  What started as something for us to just keep track of what the heck we are spending our time doing, has become a time capsule of our year.

I've also been surprised to find out that friends and family are also reading it to keep up with what we are up to.  The blog has evolved over the last year, and I'm sure will continue to in 2011.  While 2010 was an amazing year, I have no doubt that 2011 will be even more exciting.  So, I'll keep writing, and hope that you'll keep reading. 

Thanks for the good times 2010 and keep them coming 2011!