They're all small steps and I would like to implement all of them by the end of August!

1. Drink 80 ounces of water each day. This really helps me cut back on diet soda, and water’s really good for you overall. I have been able to drink 80 ounces all week, so I think I can keep it up!
2. Exercise for a minimum of 20 minutes six times a week. I know it’s not a large number, but it should be obtainable.
3. Within the 20 minutes of exercise, I would like to target my arms and legs, as well as a total body strength workout for three of the six days. I think doing more than just cardio will help keep it interesting.
4. Walk the dogs each day. This is in addition to the 20 minutes of exercise (#2). Ideally I would like to walk them in the morning once or twice a week with my husband, but unfortunately I am not much of a morning person. So I will walk them right after work, before starting dinner.
5. Take the stairs at work. I work on the 6th floor and almost always take the elevator. In fact, I think it’s been a few months since I have taken the stairs. By the end of August I would like to take them 100% of the time.
6. Eat small, nutritious meals consisting throughout the day instead of one or two large once. This will help with portion control and satisfaction.
7. No fast food. I guess I don’t eat much now (maybe once or twice a month) so this shouldn’t be a huge deal.
8. Less going out to eat. When I do go out, I will choose a place where I am familiar with the menu so that I can make a wise choice that I will enjoy.
9. Bring lunch and fruit to work everyday. This will help minimize unhealthy snacking or eating the random food that people bring in.
10. Limited ice cream consumption, where limited equals less than once a week. This is a necessity.
11. Eat a minimum of two different vegetables a day.
12. Eat a minimum of two different fruits a day. Right now I love plums – so delicious! And apple season starts in about a month – I can’t wait to go picking.
13. Plan out meals each week. This should help with eating healthy as well as time management. I am sure I waste time making an extra trip to the store because I am missing one ingredient, etc. It will also help with not going out to eat as much.

Do you see any resemblence? ;)

So far, I have been good with working out! Even if I am only two days in... :) I feel great.  My arms are a little sore from my upper body workout on Monday night, and then I think the cardio last night really amplified that.  I wasn't sore until during the cardio, but it's definitely welcome soreness!!  My muscles are actually working - awesome.  Plus I need my arms and shoulders to look good for the strapless dress that I will be donning for Jamie's wedding that's less than three months away.

For the upper body workout I followed a DVD that I borrowed from the library. I went at lunch on Monday to get a cookbook, and right next to that section was a variety of workout DVDs and books so I figure I could give it a shot.  It's quite good, I was surprised.  The one I borrowed is hosted by Karen Voight and parts of it are cheesy.  But she takes you through a variety of arm moves (using 3-10 pound weights).  I liked the guidance.  I used my ~5 pound weights on Monday and hopefully within the next few weeks I can work my way up to ten pounds.  I know that sounds very wimpy, but I'll get stronger!  And the moves aren't all the typical free weight moves, so that makes a big difference. 

For the cardio I just browsed through Comcast On Demand and did a aerobic-style video.  It was alright.  I have not done aerobics for a good year, so some of the moves were a little tricky, but all in all it was good.  The 26 minute video was hosted by three different women who each took a turn leading with their own style and focus, so that was nice.  Variety while working out is always good.  I would have power walked/run outside but it is so HUMID here!  It stormed last night and this morning it was even worse.  I took the dogs for a walk and couldn't believe the moisture in the air.  I got in my car and it was only 73 degrees - the humidity made it feel much warmer.

In addition to exercising a bit I am drinking at least 80 ounces of water a day which means I have to pee all off the time.  That's quite annoying, but the 80 ounces isn't too much of a struggle at all.  I thought it would be much worse, but I haven't had any problems yet.  I am already 32 ounces in today and it's only 9 a.m.

That's it for now.  Tonight I will be working my lower body and giving my upper body a break.

I guess I have been pretty busy these last few days!  Nothing too crazy so there hasn't been much to post about. :)

Friday night Bryan and I went out and got a new, much larger crate for the puppies.  They outgrew their old one and definitely are enjoying this one much more!  It's about 42"x36", almost double the size of their first one.  They shouldn't outgrow this crate, as long as Graham's not Clifford as my dad seems to believe.

I spent Saturday with Katie.  We visited a few consignment shops without any luck and then a few garage sales.  Katie had luck at one of the garage sales - she found a decent bookshelf style piece of furniture for $7.50.  She's coming over tomorrow night to paint it, in preparation to her big move this weekend.  She starts law school in a few weeks and is moving into her new apartment with plenty of time to get settled.  I am very excited for her!

We also visited with Laura and Todd on Saturday and they have a lot of furniture that they're giving to her - a matching sofa and love seat, entertainment unit, nightstand, and head & foot board.  It is very nice of them.  They recently redid their family room so Todd is very happy to be getting rid of this stuff; Laura is a little more sentimental.

Saturday night I don't think we did too much other than go out to eat at a nasty, smoke filled diner.  I won't be going back there.

Sunday I cleaned and organized until about 3:00 when my parents stopped by for a visit.  The three of us went to Cook's Farm Dairy up in Ortonville, MI (about 15 minutes away from our house).  They have fresh-made ice cream that is quite good.  You can watch the cows as you enjoy it.  My dad got Cow Pie, this double-chocolate delicious combination.  I will be trying that on my next trip out there, for sure. :) 

We're having Jamie & Ryan and Elaine & Ryan (two couples, both with a Ryan) over for a BBQ on Friday night, so now all of the sudden there are tons of new things I want to do around the house.  Naturally I did not do anything in the two months since our house party...

What I would like to do includes  displaying the pictures and nick-knacks I have yet to put out, touching up our master bathroom, and painting the downstairs half-bath.  We were going to wallpaper the downstairs bathroom but now that seems like a pain, not to mention that wallpaper isn't really in style right now...  So I really want to do a pretty, pure blue.  We shall see.  I also still need to organize the upstairs linen closet.

In the future I would like to spruce up the guest bedroom and make myself a craft room.  We were keeping the fourth bedroom empty and figured that we'd just do it once we have kids, but since neither of us are really ready for that at this point I would like to paint it and make it a pretty little haven.  :)  And right now the guest bedroom is too loud.  I want something really soothing.  I think I am going to give the duvet cover to Katie for her new apartment - it's more her style.  I want calming blue for the guest bedroom, which I realized about three days after going to Ikea.  Oops...

Here's what's currently in there:

It's just a little blah, especially with the white walls.  I think if I were to paint to match the duvet the color would be too funky.

Oh well, hopefully some of this will get done! I am also really focusing on a healthier lifestyle, and that takes time, especially at first.  One good thing, though, is that every Friday in August is a half day!  I am going to take a full day off on August 15 and 29 to really maximize a few weekends. 

Thirteen pictures from my vacation to Mackinac Island and Traverse City!

1. The Mackinac Bridge. This was taken on the ferry from Mackinaw City to the island.
   


2. Lighthouse. This was also taken on the ferry over to the island.
   


3. Our Hotel. It had some crazy Victorian decorations and wallpaper, but our bed was very comfy! The Inn was a decent hotel and I would stay there again.
   


4. The shoreline. I took this picture on our bike ride around the island (8.3 miles). It was a cloudy morning but we did not mind - it was cooler that way. :)
   


5. Arch Rock. We hiked up a lot of stairs to see this up close. It's pretty cool.
   


6. Fort Mackinac. This historic fort fires off guns and cannons throughout the day. I love the pretty yellow umbrellas on the patio.
   


7. Downtown Mackinac Island. It's very quaint. Motorized vehicles are not allowed on the island so there are lots of horses, carriages, and bikes.
   


8. Fudge. Also in the downtown are tons of fudge shops. It's so good! They make it fresh right in front of you. :)
   


9. Island View. A view of the island with our hotel in the middle. The Inn was a few minute walk outside of the downtown. It's so quiet, too, without cars.
   


10. Sunset. After two nights on Mackinac Island we headed down to Traverse City. We saw a pretty sunset over the Grand Traverse Bay.
    


11. Old Mission. We drove up the Old Mission Peninsula to see a lighthouse. It's on the 45th Parallel, so we were halfway to the North Pole.
    


12. Winery. We did a winery tour, stopping at five in the Old Mission Peninsula. While they each had a variety of reds and whites, each seemed to specialize in Riesling, perhaps because of the climate, which was great! We love light whites. :)
    


13. Sunset dinner. On our last night of vacation we had dinner on the 16th floor of our hotel, the Grand Traverse. We enjoyed some good food and wine while watching the sun set.
    

Bryan and I are leaving this afternoon to go up to Mackinac Island, and then Traverse City.  I am very excited! :) Unlike Chicago we've decided that we really want to take it easy.  I don't think that will be very difficult.

My Aunt Becky is watching the puppies while we're going, so I hope that they do well with her.  She has three kids of her own (7, ~12, and ~14) and is has kids of her sisters and their friends over so that should help.  I am hoping that all the kids really tire the puppies out.  Katie is back-up in case anything goes awry.

What am I excited for?  I am excited for two days off of work. For Mackinac Island fudge (Yum!). For biking around the island. For going to the beach. For laying by the pool at the Grand Traverse. For spending quality time with my husband. And for lots more...

Have a good weekend! 

After posting last week about different summer books I thought I would follow up after finishing one of the books.

I finished reading Love the One You're With earlier this week.  I was happy with reading it.  The book's main character Ellen was very interesting and I could definitely understand what she was going through.  Also - for a while in the second half of the book you don't know how she's going to end it, but I was very pleased with the last chapter.  I would recommend Love the One You're With book as a good light summer read.  It's easy to get into and quick to read. :)

For our long weekend away I will be reading The Beach House by Jane Green.  I am looking forward to a very relaxing weekend and this book needs to be good!

13 things that I really like (and often can't resist)

1. Diet Pepsi. It’s a sad addiction that I need to stop.
2. Shopping. I could never have too many shoes, despite what my mom and Bryan say.
3. Hugging my husband. He’s like a teddy bear and is very huggable.
4. Puppies. Who can resist such cute little things?
5. Beds with lots of blankets. I like naps, what can I say.
6. The beach. So pristine.
7. Lazy Fall naps. There’s something so great about sleeping with the window open to a delicious Fall breeze with blankets to keep you warm and cozy.
8. Papercrafting and scrapbooking. Unfortunately I don’t do this one enough.
9. Taking pictures. I used to be much worse, before Bryan, but I have tamed my picture taking obsession. I would love to take a photography class so I actually know what I am doing.
10. Traveling. There’s something so exciting about visiting a new city.
11. My family. I couldn’t live without them.
12. Books. They keep me calm.
13. Bubble baths at 106°. I like it hot.

The puppies have an endless amount of energy.  Unfortunately I do not have quite so much, and neither does Bryan!  At least he can get up early.  I have a very difficult time waking up early.  Today he had to go to Toledo for work so I got up at 6:00 a.m. with the puppies.  It was hard getting out of bed but as soon as I saw their cute little faces and jumping bodies so excited to see me I was okay.  They make me smile all of the time! :)

They are definitely growing up into Beagles, though, especially Thatcher!  They're sniffing like crazy.  Thatcher was on a scent for almost the entire walk.  Any time a bird or rabbit was near both the pups tried to run like mad.  My arms got a work out just from restraining them!  Jamie asked me the other day what I did for my arms before my wedding (I laughed because I was a total slacker bride when it came to working out), but right now I would suggest getting a couple of crazy puppies.  They'll keep you active!

And just because I think they're cute:

Excuse my husband's legs with his shorts pushed up.  They decided to take a nap on him. :)

Thatcher chilling with Sadie, his parents' dog, over the Fourth of July weekend.  So cute.

I had a very nice weekend! Although I did not do everything on my Thursday Thirteen list I did manage to do a lot of it! The main things I did not do are the inside chores, such as numbers 6 through 9. It was a beautiful day on Sunday and I did not want to spend time inside!

• I saw lots of friends! Thursday night I hung out with Katie. We made chicken quesadillas for dinner then hung out and talked for most of the night, playing with the puppies a bit as well. We also took the puppies for a walk and got some ice cream at Maggie Moo's. Friday night I went to dinner at Mr. B's with Jamie, then we went to Bed Bath and Beyond and Target together. Her and her fiance Ryan were registering on Saturday and she was just getting her ideas together. It was a lot of fun - I hope they had a good time on Saturday! Saturday night Bryan and I went to Jessica and Kara's house warming party out in Washington Twp. It was also a good time!
• I took the puppies to the Orion Oaks Bark Park Sunday afternoon. It was great! The park was very busy since it was such a beautiful day. There were probably at least 30 other dogs there - good thing it's 14 fenced acres!
• We went out to eat a lot. I went out on Friday for lunch with Bryan and then dinner with Jamie. Sunday Bryan and I went out to lunch and dinner, too.
• We went to St. Stephen Lutheran Church Sunday morning. It was very nice; the pastor is laid back and the sermon kept our attention. I would still like to check out a few other churches in the area but this one is still in the running.
• We installed a garage door opener on Saturday afternoon. Well, technically Bryan installed it and I played with the puppies and talked to a few neighbors who stopped by (Tom, Sarah, their kid, and Mike and his kids).
• We returned the mirror. Bryan was very happy about that!! :)
• I finished weeding my flower beds - now we have decided to shovel up/remove all of the wood chips, so I put those in piles and we just have to cart them to be disposed.
• I did a little relaxing. I was able to sleep in a bit on Saturday so that helped. Maybe this weekend we'll have more time to relax on vacation.

Unfortunately I did not organize anything or clean the house much. I think we'll be cleaning tonight - it needs it BAD! I also have not helped my Hydrangea. I still have to look into doing that... All in all, though, it was a nice (albeit busy) weekend at home.