Week Two, the Week of the Ouch

I can not believe it!  Seriously, I am in shock!   What is so shocking is the fact that I have actually successfully completed two weeks of the 75 hard challenge!  I know, you would have thought that I would have been confident in my ability when I started it, but I have failed so many times that I was a bit skeptical.  But I am 2 weeks down and my confidence in myself grows each and every day!  

Week two was not without it's own brand of difficulties!  It was a week where I was hurting.  It was a week where I was quite concerned that my body was not going to allow me to finish.   It was a week of perseverance.  But, instead of describing my week in a few words, let me just share it!

Day 8

Sunday marked the first day of week two of the 75 Hard challenge, officially Day 8!   I started the day off right with heading into the family room and completing a 45 minute indoor workout.  For this workout I chose to follow one of the Biggest Loser Workout DVD's that I had in my collection from years ago.   I know the controversy over that show, but seriously, the workouts are pretty solid!  (Amazon link for the DVD Here.)

 It was after this early morning workout that I had my first inkling of a problem.   I took a load of laundry to the basement and my knees were hurting (of late this is normal) on the way back up the steps my knee just gave out.  This hasn't happened in quite a few years.  Luckily I caught myself and when I sat down and rested, the pain subsided.  However, I was concerned!  

I didn't let my knee derail me though.  I counted my calories.  I read my book.  I did what I needed to do and later that afternoon I headed out with Jason and the dog in tow and we completed a nice long walk!

Day 9

My memory must be rather short because I didn't take my knee into consideration when I chose my indoor workout.  In my infinite un-wisdom, I chose a step aerobic workout!   In my defense it was listed as 'basic' but when the instructor was introducing it she gave the disclaimer that while it was basic it was FAST.   She was right.  But I completed it anyway!  My legs were toast afterward!

For my outdoor workout I decided to take a nice long walk!  I was out over an hour!  The sky was a brilliant blue and I actually had to unzip my coat AND my hoodie because the weather wasn't frigid cold! (Although that could be relative considering it was in the single digits less than a week earlier!)

The rest of the day was easy peasy and I was able to complete everything with no issues.

Day 10

This is the day that the pain was real.  I knew it as soon as I got out of bed.  My calves.  My Shins.  My oh my, I ached!  It was 5AM and I was so tempted to not do that indoor workout at my normal time and instead wait until later in the day.  But I did that once in the first week and it was just something I dreaded all day long and that day I did it at the final hour.  I didn't want a repeat of that!   So I choose a lighter workout.  I stayed away from the step aerobic workouts and I also chose something that had fewer squats and lunges.  For the outdoor workout I walked the dog and played with the dog in the yard.   I luckily didn't feel TERRIBLE, but my legs certainly didn't feel good!

Day 11

My legs were still feeling quite icky, but I didn't let it stop me.   While Jason was in the shower at 5AM I was stomping and gyrating around in the family room to get my indoor workout done.    For my outdoor workout I worked in the yard.  We had a slight ice rink appear.  It was about 5 in diameter.   Apparently a slight dip in the ground accumulated the melting snow.  It would melt during the day and freeze solid at night.....It was treacherous and I didn't want myself or Jason to slip NOR do I want Zoey to get hurt (seriously, no vet bills please!) I vowed to try to take care of the issue. (temporarily at least)  So, my outdoor exercise was after the sun warmed it enough to melt it and I went out and bailed the water from that pond.   I would fill a 5 gallon of bucket of water (using a shovel or a dust pan one scoop at a time) and then I carted the bucket to the field to dump it.....over and over.   I estimate that I bailed about 75-100 gallons of water (I stopped counting/lost count of  how many buckets I filled  at around 13 or 14).  But it worked!   The yard is still muddy but I don't have an ice rink anymore!  I am calling it an outdoor workout because I was moving the whole time and my heart rate while not super high was elevated.  The thing to note about this outdoor workout is that it was SUPER windy!

 The first picture shows the ice rink...it doesn't look big but it had more water than I expected.  The second picture is when I was done bailing!

I was craving a grilled cheese for lunch on this day.   I pulled everything out to make it and luckily stopped myself before I started preparing it.  I actually stopped so that I could look at my calories.   I was able to fiddle with my calories.....it required me to forego the second piece of cheese on my sandwich, and I had to count my grapes carefully, but I was able to adjust a few things (a few less grapes, a smaller serving at dinner, etc) to work it into my food budget.  I was super proud of myself!

 This was the day of my official weigh in!  I lost 5.5 pounds!  It felt good to post a great weigh in!  I won't go into details about it because I wrote about it in a previous post. (You can read about it here.) 

Day 12

My legs were still feeling it this day, but I could see a bit of improvement.  I nailed my morning workout and I had felt so good physically and mentally after being productive outside work from the day before that I decided to again combine my outdoor exercise with some yard work again.   Zoey and I took a 15 minute walk and then I decided to clean up some large tree branches that had come down the previous day in the wind storm.  They were big enough that when Jason came home and saw them moved he was like "how did you move them yourself".  We were super lucky that these branches  didn't do damage to the house.  They were literally laying against the house in some places!  We also had a lot of smaller limbs down in the yard so I went around gathering them. 

The interesting thing to note from this outdoor workout was the fact that I had gone out with hair that was still damp from my shower.  This alone is not abnormal.  I frequently do this, and I just make sure that my hoodie is pulled up over my head and all is well.  But with dragging this branches I got hot!  So without thinking my hood got pushed off of my head.   A bit later I went to push my hair back behind my ears and met with a unique situation.  My hair was HARD!   Yes hard!  It only took me a few seconds of confusion before I realized that my hair had frozen!!!!

I went out to lunch with my in-laws.   I tried to choose very carefully and I did not eat the potato chips that came with the meal.  I felt good with my choices, however I still wasn't very hungry when it came time for dinner.  Dinner was 'breakfast at dinner'.  I lowered my food intake drastically...two slices of bacon, one egg and a slice of toast.   I was satisfied and proud of my choices!

Day 13

There are two things to note about this day.  This was the first day of the week that my legs were not screaming at me!  YAY!   It was also the day where I made two tactical errors!

 I got my indoor workout done early.... 45 minutes of Zumba.   I went out with the dog but I didn't stay out long in the morning and therefore my outdoor workout was not completed in the morning.    I skedaddled inside to do my job hunt and then headed out to run some errands and do my grocery shopping.  

The first tactical error was in that I left too late and I was in the middle of my errands and it was lunch and I was HUNGRY!  I did really good.  I WANTED high calories/high fat foods. And I even pulled into the parking lot of one restaurant...but I then decided to pick up a 6 inch turkey sub from Subway instead (280 calories).  THAT was a victory.  It was the drink that  was the tactical error.  I had originally planned on simply drinking from my water that I was carrying around with me.  But when I made the decision to go to Subway I decided to get a drink.   I had been to that Subway a few weeks prior and they had Vitamin Water 'on tap'.  Delicious and even better is that  I WILL count vitamin water toward my water consumption.  I was all cocky while walking in thinking that "with the vitamin water I have the water consumption in the bag for today".  I ordered the large drink and paid for my order and then went to fill up my cup.  Only to find that they no longer had Vitamin Water.   I literally stood there for a long second debating.  Throw out the cup or go ahead and get a diet soda.   I opted for the diet soda.  But it was a tactical error because that meant that the rest of my errands I drank NO water from my cup.......and that is how I found myself getting home at 2PM having only about 16 ounces of water under my belt!

I am however proud to say that I was able to get my water done for the day! I kept drinking (WATER) steadily all afternoon and I finished my required water at about 7:30PM!  Go me!  But yeah, that goes to show me that I CAN drink a lot more water/liquid than I think I am capable of!

The second tactical error?   Well, while I was out and about the rain rolled in!   Yes, if I would have just done the outdoor exercise while I was with the dog it would have been damp but no rain!  But no, in my infinite wisdom I decided to wait until after my errands and ended up having to go out in the rain in the afternoon.    For my workout, I chose another outdoor yard activity.  I took a hand saw up to the burn pit where I drug those trees (and where we had other stuff that we drug for 'processing' and burning) and I started to cut them down....by hand!  Sure I could have taken up power equipment, but a hand saw is more exercise!  My heart rate was elevated....so I'm counting it as exercise!  I have a lot more wood to cut up and stack so I foresee more days with a hand saw!

Day 14

How has it been 2 weeks already????    I have found that I struggle more with keeping up my exercise on the weekend.  Jason is home and our schedule is all over the place with no routine whatsoever. But, that is not a valid excuse!  So I was there knocking out my indoor exercise at 7AM (I did wait until Jason was awake so that I didn't interrupt his sleep!)  After a good 45 minutes of kickboxing, I cooled down and then headed to the shower.   We had some banking to do in the morning and I swung by my brothers house to drop off birthday cards for my niece and nephew who were celebrating. I got to wish my nephew (18)  happy birthday in person while I was there but had to text my niece (22) her greeting as she is finishing her last year of college and was not there.  (Dang, they make me feel old!)  In the afternoon we headed out to Ice Fest.....a yearly event in the town we live in.   And I am counting that as my exercise as we didn't want to fight the crowded streets to find parking close to the downtown event and just parked quite a ways away and walked there, and then of course all the walking around at the event!   

It was the day of forgetting things.   I literally forgot to eat breakfast.....and just had a quick snack for lunch.  See what happens when I get busy?     I almost forgot to read out of my non-fiction book.  I was steadily reading from my current fiction book and luckily remembered before it was too late.

So I had a strong finish to my second week of my 75 hard!  Go me!  It wasn't an easy week. But lets talk about what I learned and discovered this week!

* I was really hurting at the beginning of the week!  The arthritis in my knees was bad and the aches and pains (calves and shins) were the pits.  But I kept pushing.  I didn't give up.  I pushed through the pain and made it work and midway through the week I started to feel better!  

*I am capable of drinking a whole lot more than I give myself credit for.  I made that tactical error with my water consumption on day 13 but my motivation pushed me and I still managed all of my water on top of that large soda! (Which I drank half of in the store and then refilled and drank the whole thing throughout the rest of the day......a large sized to boot.)  I wasn't sloshing or running to the bathroom constantly.  It was actually easy!    

*Last fall I finally came clean and talked about "the elephant in the room", which was the fact that I was struggling to walk anything over 5K steps without feeling quite a bit of pain for the rest of the day amongst some other issues (you can read about it here).   It wasn't until I got home from the ice fest on Saturday, day 14 that I realized that I had walked a lot with absolutely no issue.   On a week that started with a bunch of pain, I ended with a high note.  I ended with the realization that I had been on my feet walking for hours and my legs didn't feel horrible while I was walking.  My back didn't ache so much that I just wanted to lean on something and/or have the need to press my palms into my back.  I didn't get home and sit on the couch while my legs throbbed in pain.   I felt......absolutely fine after a day with a ton of steps and a ton of movement!  After just two short weeks of 75 hard I can see a difference in my stamina!   

As I write this I have officially begun week three.   I am feeling pretty confident that I can actually do this!  It blows my mind that I might actually complete 75 Hard!   Two weeks down.  It seems like it is going fast!  But I know that I still have a long way to go!  But I am ready and raring to go.   Bring it on!

 

My life in pictures: 365 Pictures Days 87 to 96

 I am still taking a picture a day.  I admittedly missed one day of a PICTURE for this batch, however I did film a video so I grabbed a screen shot!  It is neat to look back at my days!  I haven't done anything exciting in terms of photography skills and that was one of my main purposes of doing a photo a day.   But I'm ok with that.  It will happen when the time is right.  But for now I still have a good depiction of my life in photos!  So here we go....day 87 to 96

 

Day 87 (1.23.25)  

Just a typical day in my life, outside playing with the dog!  I had to try to capture her little frozen drool!

Day 88 (1.24.25)

A dogs life is so difficult!  I was busy looking for a job and the dog was sleeping soundly!

Day 89 (1.25.25)
 It was Saturday, but Jason had to work.  It was just a basic day for me here at home.   I had a nice healthy lunch though. 

Day 90 (1.26.25)

Jason and I went out for a walk with the dog!  It was still a bit cold outside, but it was an enjoyable walk!

Day 91 (1.27.25)

I had enjoyed my walk so much the day before that I decided to do a repeat the next day.  Jason was back to work so I went out solo and took a nice long walk through some local neighborhoods.

Day 92 (1.28.25)

Ok, I admit that I took no pictures of myself!  HOWEVER, I did film a video, so I took a screenshot of me with a funny expression!  It was a ho hum day....job hunt, exercise, and a few errands.

Day 93 (1.29.25)

 We somehow developed a slight pond in our back yard from the snow that melted and then refroze!

Day 94 (1.30.25)

We had some high winds and a huge limb came down off the tree that is beside the house.  We were lucky in that it totally missed the house.  We had no damage other than some limb clean up!

Day 95 (1.31.25)

I tried a new recipe and it was super delicious.  It was a cheesy hamburger tater tot casserole!

Day 96 (2.1.25)

Our town holds and Ice Fest each winter.  The block off the roads, have ice sculptures, events and street vendors.   I have always wanted to go but we always forgot or have something else happening!   Not this year!  

Another post where I have so much catching up.  I am vowing to post my pictures on Sundays from here on out!  :-)

Hopeful Once again

Well I did it!    I weighed in and boy did the number on the scales shock me!    And of course I am here to share my shock with you!

I weigh myself every day, but I count my Wednesday weigh in as my 'official' weekly weigh in.  I have swapped out what day of the week I use as official throughout the years.   When I was most successful with weight watchers I was weighing in on the first day of my work week.  That worked great for me simply because it kept me on the straight and narrow throughout my weekend!   In more recent years I defaulted to Friday as my weigh in day.  I will say that a Friday weigh in day was pure vanity as my weight is typically the lowest on Fridays.   But being honest I would then go crazy on the weekend with a 'free day' and the that free day would turn into a free weekend, because in the back of my mind I would say "Well I have a week to eat healthy', I can eat what I want now!  I would pull it together when I went back to work but then spent most of my week trying to negate the damage done during the weekend of eating.   When 2025 started, it started on a Wednesday.  So I stepped on the scales that day for my starting weight for the year.  It only seemed natural to make my first official weigh in the following Wednesday!   and then the next Wednesday came and well, it made sense again!   By accident I have found that I like it thus!   Week days are typically easier for me to watch my weight as I'm in a routine, we are not eating out and it is a less 'festive' atmosphere.  So it's less likely that I throw up my hands and say 'kitchens open' and allow myself to go crazy on a free day eat-a-palooza. 

The first Wednesday after I started my 75 Hard I stepped on the scales.   I had three days of the 75 Hard under my belt and I was sure that my weigh in was going to be fantastic.  It was not.  I showed a maintain.  I was not disappointed though.  I knew that I had just jumped from virtually no exercise to exercising 1.5 hours a day.  I had also gone from next to no water consumption a day to well over 64 ounces.  Those things along could cause the scales to be a bit skewed.  So I held steady with my efforts in the 75 Hard.   And this past Wednesday I stepped on the scales and Holy Cow was I shocked!

I lost 5.5 pounds!   I haven't seen a loss like that in YEARS!  I was blown away!   I am tickled.  I don't expect losses like that each week, but this success has made me once again hopeful that I really can do this!

 

A picture a day: My Life

 I have continued on with with picture a day.  I still enjoy it and it's fun to look back and see what my days entailed....so here we have the next week.

Day 80

It spent some lazy time on the couch with the dog!

Day 81

I finally cleaned out my office.  You could tell Zoey was relieved and happy to be back to 'normal' with ;me in the office and her at the gate. 

 

Day 82

We had chili for dinner, love the plate of spices!

 Day 83

We got about 6-8 inches of snow! 

Day 84

Jason ended up not working because of the condition of the roads.  Zoey was tickled to have her 'daddy' home!

Day 85

This dog is so spoiled!

Day 86

It is so darn cold!  I still go out to tromp around and play with the dog...so I bundle up!

75 Hard: Week One

 This may be a record for me on recent challenges and attempts at a restart, but I actually made it through the first week of the 75 Hard Challenge!   I will take that as a win!   Seriously, how many times have I babbled on about a new plan and then failed to get past the first week!  So I'll take 1 week as a win!   You can read more about this on my recent post. 

The Challenge Rules

     1.  Follow a Diet Plan

    2. Exercise 2 times a day one of which HAS to be outside. The indoor workout HAS to be 45 minutes or more.  The outdoor one is preferably 45 minutes or more but I can be as short as 30 minutes.  (Altered from the original 75 hard which is two 45 minute sessions)

    3. Drink 64 ounces of water (altered from the original 75 hard which required 1 gallon of water)

    4. Read 10 pages of a non fiction book daily (I read digitally and have no pages....so I am aiming for 10 minutes a day)

    5.  Take a progress picture each day

But lets talk about the particulars of each day! 

Day 1of 75 Hard

I nailed this day. 100% slayed it!   For my indoor exercise I completed 45 minutes on the exercise bike.  I didn't ride like a bat out of hell, and my butt was so incredibly sore but I finished those 45 minutes like a champ!  My legs were a bit wobbly when it was done, but it was done with a smile.   It snowed all day and we ended up with about 6-8 inches.  It was still snowing toward evening, but I went outside and shoveled for my 45 minutes of exercise.  (Luckily we only got another half inch after I shoveled so I didn't have to redo much, just swept those areas.)  I felt like I was drowning but I managed to get my full gallon of water down my gullet and my calorie count was 1354!  For my reading, I started the book "The Diet Trap Solution: Train your Brain to Lose Weight and Keep it off for Good".  (Amazon Link)   It was a great start!

I started this on a whim and while I was determined, I was totally skeptical about the chances of my success due to my many failures!

Day 2 of 75 Hard

The snow had finally stopped and it was time to shovel ourselves out.  I manned the shovel, Jason used the snowblower. I went out two times and each time was just about an hour of shoveling (56 minutes and 51 minutes).  I am counting shoveling as my exercise.  I drank about 80 ounces of water, which is a win,  I continued reading the same non fiction book and I had 1446 calories.   For some reason I was just hungry. (Or maybe I imagined myself hungry, whichever the case may be.)  But even at the 1446, I was still under my goal of 1500!  So a win!

Day 3 of 75 Hard

This day took planning and thought.   I went into my mom's to work on painting the house with my brother.    I  didn't know what lunch would bring, so I tried to keep my breakfast lighter and spent some time looking at my dinner plans to see how much I could shave off of my dinner to create more calories if needed.  Therefore, when I did go out to eat for lunch with my brother, sister in law and two of their kids, I knew exactly how many calories I had available for lunch AND how many calories I could squeeze out of dinner.  (It was Taco Tuesday at our house and I swapped my meal from Tacos to a taco salad  which used less meat but more salad stuff.   Calories saved.  I also crunched up 2 taco shells instead of 3.  Calories saved.   And I also only ate 1/2 cup of the rice dish instead of 1 cup!)   I also intently looked at the menu when we arrived at the restaurant (thank heavens they had the calories listed on the board, it made it easier than pulling out my phone) and I chose wisely.  And honestly, was probably happier with my options than had I gotten the traditional burger and fries!  I ended the day with 1493 calories.  I did not finagle the numbers any more than making the above adjustments.   After I got home I went in and made the adjustments that I had planned and it came to 1493.   Squeezed that one out by the skin of my teeth!  I did drink a diet coke whilst out at lunch, but I pounded the water the rest of the day and got my required water done!

I also had to plan and think about my exercise and work to get it all done before I left the house at 9!   The planning of the exercise was the easy part.  It was the temps outside that made it yucky!  The outdoor temperatures took a nose dive and it was COLD.  I was dreading my 'outdoor' exercise!   I did it though.  I was out tramping around with the dog and my toes were frozen but I marked off 30 minutes outside!  I also got my indoor workout checked off by completing two different workouts back to back.  I did half with Body Groove and the other half with Zumba Sula.  I continued reading the same non fiction book and ended the day with a win!

Day 4 of 75 Hard

Day four was another day where I had to work on planning a bit more.  I had a lunch date with a friend and I wasn't sure where we would be going pretty much the last minute.  But knowing that, I did two things.  I had a simple banana for breakfast and for dinner I planned to make a meal that I do not eat but that Jason loves!  I knew that I could fill up on veggies and whatnot if I didn't have the calories for more. And if I did have the calories, I could make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (the ultimate sandwich) or a grilled cheese (second ultimate).    I also wanted to get my exercise completed early because my friend and I hadn't seen each other in ages and we expected to spend a few hours together catching up.    Therefore, by the time I headed out to meet her for lunch I had already completed 30 cold minutes outside with the dog and  45 minutes of cardio with the youtube channel, CDornerFitness.  I had taken my daily picture and read my 10 minutes of non-fiction.  The only thing I had left to worry about was drinking my water and eating within my calories. 

I ordered water with my lunch which helped me not get sidetracked from the water goal.  I  had them refill it three times.....so that on top of what I drank on the way to and from lunch and what I drank at home made getting my water to be a cinch!   The food.   I ordered a breakfast meal (we were at a diner) and carefully calculated and managed my calories the rest of the day. I ended the day at 1338 calories.   YAY!  Four days of success, can I really manage to do this?  It was at this point that I started to actually believe that I could do this!

Day 5 of 75 Hard

This was a day of just blah.  I was tired so I didn't do my indoor exercise at 5AM while Jason was in the shower.  I did get my 10 minutes of reading in during that time.  However, no exercise.  I told myself, that I had no plans the rest of the day so I had 'plenty' of time to get it done.   I settled in for the day and it would have been bad, but Zoey wanted to go out and play.  So I bundled up and out we went for our 30 minutes!  It was still earlier in the day so it was still cold!  (Although the temps are rising!)  Time kept passing the dog was sleeping so soundly and well, indoor exercise........................

Indoor exercise was done literally minutes before Jason got home from work at 6PM!    But I did it!  

I planned my food for the day and worked out my calories and I eat exactly what I had planned which equaled out to be 1354 calories.   Water was tough.  I was feeling super lazy all day.  So when I settled into the recliner and realized that I had forgotten my water in the kitchen I didn't feel like getting up......and I didn't get up for a few hours.  So I found myself at 1PM with having only drank 16 ounces.  But not to worry I may have been guzzling water at the last minute, but I finished it!  (I finished literally at the last minute, as in I was standing in the kitchen guzzling the rest and then went straight to bed!)

Day 6 of 75 Hard

One would think that I would learn my lesson with the water!   And I did, somewhat!  I remembered to take my water with me to where I was working.  I spent the morning on the computer doing some stuff that is required of my by the unemployment office, looking for jobs and whatnot.  It comes around to about 12:30 and I realized I had not taken a single sip of the water that I took with me.  That means that I only had drank the 16 ounces of water that I drank with my breakfast.....the one that I put my Trace Minerals into. (Amazon link here....seriously, this stuff is amazing!)

 I also learned the lesson and I got my indoor workout completed at 5AM.  I did my outdoor workout at about 8AM (with the dog of course) and I was doing great!   

There is nothing too exciting about the day.  I checked everything off the 75 hard list and rolled through my day like a champ.  I ended the day with 1379 calories.  So I was happy with that!

Day 7 of 75 Hard

It was Saturday, but Jason had to work so it felt like a week day.  That means that we were up at 5AM and I didn't let the fact that it was a Saturday derail me.  I got that 45 minutes of my first workout completed early!  By 6AM I was on the couch reading.  I read for a while on my non fiction book that I chose to start my 75 hard challenge.    I read that until Jason was leaving for work.   I got outside and got the dog walk and some time outside with me walking and moving to knock off another cold workout. (Dang it has warmed up but I was still cold!)

This day I actually sipped at my water all morning and therefore didn't hit the afternoon with very little water consumption under my belt!  I had a plan to get my water done early so that I could enjoy some diet soda in the evening, because I've been so behind the last few days that I haven't been able to enjoy that treat and I wanted it tonight!  I finished my water right before dinner so I was able to pour myself a glass of diet soda!  Woo hoo!  (And yes, I realize how lame it is to reward myself with a glass of diet soda, but them's the breaks!)

I kept my calories in check for the day and I feel like I had a fantastic day food wise!   My calorie count was 1297 so I was spot on where I wanted to be!  Go me!

Reflections on Week One of the 75 Hard

I was hopeful, but still skeptical at the beginning of the week.  But as the week progressed I started to feel a bit more confident that maybe, just maybe I could do it.  I started to think that maybe I could make it to day 75 and complete this!  In fact,   I actually feel a bit disgusted with myself for making the adjustments that I made.  I feel, well....  I feel guilty!  I feel guilty for lowering my goal from 1 gallon of water to the 64 ounces.  I also feel totally guilty about lowering that second workout to 30 minutes.  I feel like I am cheating!   However, I know that had I not made the changes, I probably would have missed the water by day three if not day two.   Furthermore, there is no way I would have made the 45 minutes outside in that un-heavenly cold!  So while I feel guilty, I know that I made the right decision in my alterations.  

I have been sleeping SO much more soundly. I have had next to no instances where I wake up at 2 in the morning wide awake and unable to get back to sleep.  I won't lie, I have woken up here and there but I'm right back to soundly sleeping in minutes if not seconds.   There was one day where I woke up and I honestly thought that I was going to be awake the rest of the night.  However, the next thing I knew the alarm was going off and I was waking up!   The issue?   Jason says that I have been snoring a lot more than normal this week.  He has tried to tell me that the dog kept coming to the bed to check on me and that the dog finally gave up and left the bedroom!  I have also been roused from sleep a few times while he is bumping me or whacking the bed to try to 'reset' me.   Is the snoring related to the 75 Hard?  Who knows!   We were talking about it this morning and I laughed and said this is the best I've slept in YEARS.  Maybe I'm just so sleep deprived from years of issues that I'm sleeping so deep that I'm snoring.   OK, I know that is not it!  But that is what I told him! 

I found myself wanting to dance a little, wiggle my butt a little and just move a bit more after my exercise.  Not every day, there were one or two days where I was just tired.  But most days it kinda rejuvenated me!  It kind of gave me a pep in my step!

So there you go....week one in the books.   Week two?   Ready.......Set....Go!

Revealing a Secret

 I have been keeping a secret!  I was going to say it's not a huge one...but you know, it has the potential to be huge!  Now I have to be honest, I've only been keeping this secret for a week!....or actually 5 days at this point.  Obviously I can't keep secrets, but it is what it is. 

I have hesitated about sharing this secret.  How many times have I come on here and had some grandiose plan or a wonderful challenge that I was gung-ho to start?   I don't have a number of how many times, and quite frankly I don't think I want to even KNOW the number.  Why?  Because if the number were ten  then I can pretty much guarantee that there would be at LEAST 9 corresponding failures. My success rate on these seemingly awesome plans is pretty much non existent!  (Just for the record, the number of grand ideas is MUCH higher than 10.)   So for me to come on and share my secret and spout off yet one more challenge that I am embarking upon is insanity at it's best.  Yet, here I am ready to embark upon another round with a new somewhat ludicrous idea for myself.

Years ago I had started to hear about the 75 Hard.  This is a challenge that lasts for 75 days (surprising right?) and involves some very specific actions that need to take place every day.  It's only five things, nothing to worry about right?   Hold onto your hat, until you see what the five things are!

    1.  Follow a Diet Plan

    2. Exercise 2 times a day (45 minutes each)...one of which HAS to be outside.

    3. Drink a gallon of water

    4. Read 10 pages of a non fiction book daily

    5.  Take a progress picture each day

The rules are that if you miss a day, you go back to day 1 and start over.  Yeah, a bit all or nothing!  There is no room to fail in this challenge!

Easy right?    Maybe for some, but for me this sounds huge!  I've actually written about it before (you can read it here) but even then,  I shied away from the 75 hard challenge.  Instead I tried a Project 50 Challenge.  The project 50 had similar rules but the guidelines were a bit more relaxed.   So I tried the project 50 Challenge.   And of course, I failed.  Seriously, I don't even think I made it two weeks!  

So this past Sunday morning when I was messing around my computer and stumbled upon someones post about their successful 75 Hard journey I started watching.   Inspired, I decided right then and there to start the 75 Hard challenge.   No, I didn't wait until the next day or the next week.  I immediately hopped onto my IPad and downloaded a non fiction book from the library and within minutes I was in the office and riding the exercise bike!  Talk about starting something on a whim?

Oh yeah, and I started a plan that requires outdoor exercise for 45 minutes a day in the middle of a snow storm and at the beginning of a week where the temps were forecasted to be in the single digits.  I can't help but think of the parallel to my running adventures of 2013 when I started to run with the couch to 5K program in January and ran through some really cold days in those first few weeks!  (You can read about that time here.)   That was one of my rare successes...I completed the Couchto5K program and actually ran regularly for a few years.   Maybe suffering through hellish torture in the cold is what spurred me  to continue on when I wanted to quit, since I was able to  say to myself, "nothing is as bad as running on those really cold days".   Hmmm...maybe my VERY COLD beginning to the 75 hard will be a good thing!

I completed the first day of 75 hard 100% as the challenge is written...water, exercise, reading, picture and food! Check check check check and check.  But after the dust settled on my impulse decision I was able to realize that I DID want to institute a few minor changes in my plan.  SOOOO the 75 hard-ish that I am following is thus:

    1.  Follow a Diet Plan  -  I did not change this, but only cemented the 'rules of engagement' in my head.   My rules are that I need to keep my calories under 1,500 a day.  Since I do not historically lose at 1,500 calories, I will NOT be eating the calories that I "earn" via exercise.  With one exception.  I will allow myself to eat my earned calories one day each week.  That goes along with the plans and ideas that I have adopted throughout the last few years.  And that is that 100% restriction does NOT work!

    2. Exercise 2 times a day (45 minutes each)...one of which HAS to be outside.  Here is where one of the two major changes in the plan takes place.  The indoor 45 minute exercise is remaining as that.  However, the outdoor segment of exercise only has to be more than 30 minutes.   Seriously, it's dang cold out there. I heard them say on the news to not leave your dog out for more than 20-30 minutes.   So I am giving myself the grace to stop at 30 minutes.   There was one day that even my Newfoundland....the quintessential winter dog was done and ready to go inside at the 30 minute mark!

    3. Drink a gallon of water.   I actually made it to one gallon on day one.  But I am also giving myself grace on this one.  However, I NEED to be over 64 ounces of water each day!  My hope is that throughout the 75 days that I can build up to the gallon.   But honestly, going from near nothing to a gallon is a HUGE jump!  So 64 ounces it is!

    4. Read 10 pages of a non fiction book daily.  Yeah, no problem!

    5.  Take a progress picture each day.   Easy, but just have to remember!

I am worried about one thing.....and that is when/if I get a job within this 75 Hard challenge.  Learning a new job will be exhausting enough...but to do so on top of trying to complete this challenge.  That might be hairy!   And part of me says "well if/when I get a job all bets are off".  But you know what, that is not HARD...and this challenges name is 75 HARD.  So Win...Lose...Draw, I'm going to attempt it!

So I am on day 5.    Stay tuned for an update on how my week one went!  

365 Pictueres Days 65-79

 The first two weeks of January have flown by and I am still taking pictures for my 365 pictures project!  And now it is time to share them!

Day 65   Nothing like a lone cheerio that falls out of your bowl in the morning!  Love the heart shaped cheerios!

Day 66  Zoey handled the first day of my unemployment well.

Day 67  Snow flurries!

Day 68   We had to run to the bank and Zoey LOVES to go to the bank (aka the cookie store)!

Day 69  Just a random Selfie!

Day 70  My favorite pasttime....reading!

Day 71 SNOW!

Day 72  Zoey thought we were going in so she flopped in the snow to tell me that she wasn't ready!

Day 73    Our old Honda hit 320,000 Miles!  And no worries, the Maintenance required light was accidentally not reset after our oil change the other day!

Day 74  A Grocery Trip!

Day 75  I was scanning pictures and came across this picture of my brother and I....I snapped a picture and sent it to him!

Day 76  Another selfie!

Day 77  She looks so serious!

Day 78 Banana for breakfast!

Day 79  Tomato Soup for lunch!

365 Pictures Day 41 through day 64

 In the midst of all of the craziness of the holidays and the turmoil in regards to the loss of my job, one may think that I have given up on the picture a day project.  But, in fact; I am still going strong.  I have taken the pictures, but I just hadn't saved them into the the proper file. And obviously, I had not uploaded them to here!  So here we go!   This may have to be in two or three different posts because, well......I am way behind in sharing!  But I give to you.....the end of December 2024 in picture.  (December 7th through the 31rst)  you can check out the first part of December in pictures here.

Day 41 

Yes, the dog will definitely be playing a large role as subject matter for my pictures. 

Day 42  Jason and I went to the Lincoln Cemetery.  The weather was nice (this was in December) and graveyards are great places to walk.  I also picked up a few pictures that I posted on Find a Grave. (People had asked for pictures of gravestones...so I volunteered to grab them).

Day 43   That single little wee droplet of water just caught my eye!

Day 44  My nephew and I went to visit Fort Duncan, the ruins of a Civil War Fort that was built to defend Maryland against attack. (Built in response to the Battle of Antietam.).    This is how I spent the morning of my birthday!

Day 45   I was off work and had one important errand to run.  I had to go to Hickory Farms to pick up a beef stick for our Christmas Eve snack tray. 

Day 46  I was messing around on Ancestry.Com and found this article where my grandfather had been charged with transporting and distributing liquor during the prohibition!

Day 47  Good old fashioned applesauce cake!  I made a sheet cake versus the tube cakes that my grandmother always made.  I also did NOT wrap it in a rum soaked towel!

Day 48   My traditional birthday cookies were delayed.  I had planed to make them on my actual birthday, but well......we know what happened that day.  (You can read about it here.)  But no fear, I did have my cookies!

Day 49   We had a wee bit of snow.  The dog enjoyed playing in it....but she didn't like her feet to get crusty with snow!

Day 50   There is just something gorgeous about a fir tree covered with snow!

Day 51 Outside with the dog.....every day.  And boy is it cold some days!

Day 52  This is one of my all time favorite meals, Baked Ziti, roasted broccoli and garlic bread!

Day 53  It as only December 19th, but I started to put gifts into the stockings!   I do it because I know it drives Jason nuts to know there are gifts in his stocking but he can't open them.  It is amusing to see him slyly squeeze and shake as curiosity gets the best of him!

Day 54   I had a pre-scheduled day off of work so I ran a few errands while Jason was at work!  We were blessed with some snow flurries.

Day 55  Jason loves chocolate covered cherries, but this year discovered chocolate covered blueberries which he has declared even better than the cherries.

Day 56  This dog is so lazy!  And yes, when she decides to lay on the couch she takes up pretty much the whole couch!

Day 57   Another pre-scheduled day off of work and Jason sent me to the store to get soap and beard wash while he was at work.

Day 58  Christmas Eve was finally here!  The dog loved her gifts, but she had the MOST fun ripping them open because yes, she does unwrap her own gifts!

Day 58  Jason had fun playing with his new accessory that he got for his drone.

Day 59   It might have been back to work for me (for a few more days) but it was all play for Zoey

Day 60  This is the handiwork of Zoey.  That is a huge pot of dirt that held some prickly pear cacti that I was rooting!            

                                           

Day 61  This dog was making me feel guilty about making her come inside!

Day 62 I failed to mindfully take a picture.  However, I somehow mindlessly snapped this selfie of my head while visiting my in laws.

Days 63 and 64 I totally failed to take pictures.  They were tough days.  They were emotional.  They were heart breaking.  They were scary as I navigated the last two days of employment.