Okay, that just won't do!

It's been over 2 weeks since I posted. Can you believe that? I certainly can't! And it dawned on me just now that I guess I am no longer eligible for the competition. Oh well, not like I was going to win money anyway.
So, now what? Well, getting my booty back in gear, that's what. I cannot afford to take any more time nursing wounds and getting lost in lifes shuffle. I have goals to meet, dammit. And that isn't going to happen by sitting around waiting for....what exactly? There is NO TIME like the present, and you know what, my head could use the endorphins anyway. And my body could use the detox, and the clean eating. No more of this nonsense. No more wasting time. After all, I'm not getting any younger am I? :oD

Lots of Whacking...

I sort of felt like the Sopranos this afternoon. I went out there and chopped the heck out of a huge stumpy hunk of wood, using the splitting axe to help unstick my axe and crack the wood too...LOTS OF WHACKING! I did only about 30 minutes total, but let me tell you, I felt a certain amount of pleasure out of conquering that hunk of wood.
Life can sometimes resemble a huge stumpy hunk of wood...spongey and the axe sticks...and you can whack and wail on that thing and not budge it an inch. Sometimes that's life. Sometimes you try your hardest and don't get a whole hellova lot out of it.
On the upside...keep whacking away, and eventually you can bend the wood to your will, or in this case, crack it and get the axe unstuck.

Don't Mess With An Axe Wheeling Momma!

How's THIS for a Primal Picture?

Another great day outdoors! Today I spent 2 hours splitting wood, and another 30 minutes wheeling huge hunks of wood that need to be split into 4's from the front of the house to the back where my pile is. Yes, I said "MY" pile because I took on that job as my own personal challenge/project. My hubby called me "He-woman" and I said "don'tcha mean 'She-ra!'" LOL. That was a huge job, wheeling that wood...I felt every muscle I had already worked by splitting the wood earlier. I wheeled over a dozen huge hunks which really works the whole body. Wheel barrows suck! Just sayin'.
Anyway, I am a whole different person this year than I was last year. I love the hard work, and am amazed at what my body can even accomplish. I've always been a hard worker, but right now, my body is keeping up with my brain...and that's a scary proposition. haha. I've always taken on more than I could chew which usually would end in my being put out of commission for a while...but not any more. I love being outside where the wind is reminding me how wonderful a nice little breeze can be after working up a huge sweat and using my whole body splitting wood. My little kids were out there piling wood, and loving it. We have spent the majority of the last 3 days outside, and we're all better for it.
This is exactly the push I needed, and I'm so happy I found it. April WILL see me losing 20 pounds bringing me to Onederland.

UGH! GUH!..."Primal Is Good"...

I say as I beat my chest in triumph! KIDDING...but seriously tho, I am loving this so much. The idea that I can DO real hard work instead of a typical 'workout' of some type is awesome. Sure I knew it was beneficial before, but now, I'm thinking more in terms of what actual 'benefit' I am getting, and that's largely due to the Primal Blueprint, by Mark Sisson which has inspired many other blogs especially one of my favorites run by my friend Jeff, called Primal Chat.
I love the whole back to basics premise of the Primal life...I believe in the evolution of man, in the sense of how much we have progressed as people, or evolved, and also in the 'devolution' of man, from how far we've fallen with regards to health and fitness. I totally agree with the logic of everything I've read thus far. It just makes plain sense. Logical!

What it's done for me, is it's made me more aware of my movements, of being purposeful with everything I do. The awareness is freeing. Yes, I have weight to lose, but right now I am actually enjoying myself. I can almost not believe it. It's such a far departure from last year, you have no idea. Today, I split wood. At first it was laughable. Seriously. I actually laughed at myself. It was soooo funny. I raised that ax and well, missed the wood. Then I nicked the wood. Pathetic. You know what it was? Fear. I have power, I am powerful and I was afraid of that power, of using my abilities, and also of looking stupid. Well, stupid looking I was. But I laughed at it, and then because I'm a competitive person, I had a challenge now before me. I was going to split that wood or die trying...not literally, since I was holding an ax, and as much as that was a real possibility if I didn't trust my power, I obviously mean I wasn't giving up. And I didn't. You know what? I got into the swing of things, and I split that wood. I got a real good rhythm going. I got a good swing. I used my power. At first I realised that I was holding my breath when the ax met the wood. And then it dawned on me...in working out, when you're strength training, you exhale on the exertion. So, as the ax met the wood, I exhaled, and I had more power. Now instead of taking a few whacks at one piece of wood, I was able to split the wood in one swing. Of course some wood pieces are spongey and require more attempts. But for the most part, this primal girl killed that wood. And I couldn't feel more proud. I even got a little foot trick going...kind of like hackey sack. Once the wood was split, I held it with one hand, tipped it up, put my foot under it, and tossed it with my foot to the pile. I am woman, baby, hear my primal roar!

AAAAAND...The Primal Blueprint talks about playing....I bounced on the trampoline today...even doing a couple flips (for which I was rewarded by giving myself rug burn on my elbows) It was so much fun. Ha!

I might pay for it tomorrow, my body might be sore, but I tell you, I had a great day today. And I felt so...back to nature, back to basics, simple enjoyment. Even the breeze gave me a thrill.

One happy girl tonight.
:o)

Can't Get More Primal Than This...

Today the weather is insanely gorgeous! All the windows are open, ceiling fans are on, kids are outside in shorts, and occasionally bare feet! My hubby and father-in-law just spent 2 hours chopping wood and loading it into the back of pickup trucks. Then they came here, and I hopped in the back and unloaded it with my hubby. The hunks of wood were between 25-40 lbs of poplar wood, which will be split this afternoon. Two birds with one stone. I get an awesome PRIMAL workout in, AND get some work done at the same time. Love the feeling of muscles (thankyou P90X) being pumped....but dirt down the cleavage, yeah, that I can do without. Ha! ;o)

Day 1 Re-rebooting.

Backing away from the bagel! I really want one. I know it's going to taste yummy. But you know what? I'm tired of my nose being stuffed, and I'm tired of my stomach aching, and I'm tired of my joints and back hurting. So, easy solution. Staying away from the gluten today! I called this day, DAY1 because while I made good choices for the most part yesterday, I DID have gluten. This is my new new beginning. I'm doing this to feel good. Losing weight will just be a side effect, one that I'm more than stoked to live with ;o)

Will this be easy? Nope, it never is when I go back on this. I've only been off my gluten-free/sugar-free for 3 weeks, but that's how quickly it grabs a hold of you. It's insidious, I tell you! Evil evil sugar, evil evil gluten!!

New beginning

Tomorrow is a new beginning and I'm totally stoked. I'm considering working towards converting our whole family over to The Primal Way of life. I know everyone would be a lot healthier. The only one I truly have issues or concerns with is Emily. She is a finicky eater. She doesn't like trying anything. But she's at that age now where her body is changing (13 ish) and she is so self conscious right now that I think she'll be more than willing to try things that will make her healthier and help with the transition from tween to teen.

Tomorrow starts with me doing all my morning health routines, drinking my water, P90X-ing, and working on the primal way of eating. I may not get it all worked out tomorrow, but I'm definitely working on implementing it very soon. Tomorrow is my new beginning and this time it WILL stick!