Weekly Weigh-In #139

This was just a strange week ... didn't fit into the usual patterns. Friday started great, as I did an hour of Zumba on my own! It's hard to get the motivation without a gym of people. But then ... only 40min elliptical. There was a 5k on Saturday that I'd been considering ... but I wimped out and didn't go, but I loved that my kids did it! It inspired me to do a treadmill 5k on Sunday myself. Monday started good ... ended bad. While a Meniers attack (if you don't know that that is, I'll talk a bit about it in an upcoming post) certainly affects Hubby more, it does really impact me as well. Dragging on Tuesday, and then I'll admit I looked at the week, Spring Break, Easter festivities and said  "I'm just gonna let this week go" ...

NUMBERS: Up .7 for the official weekly weigh-in, average went down -.97 (163.07). Average intake was 2579 (how can she eat so much you ask? Empty calories!) Average daily burn was 2639. Crunching the numbers, that equaled an overage of 1157 for the week.   FITNESS: Step average was 19150, 723 active minutes, 105 min spent on strength training, and 69.45 miles. I got in my Zumba five days, got in my hour of elliptical most days, had some treadmill time this week, but NO bike. FOOD: Bad, bad, bad. Easter candy, ice cream ... I even bought donuts on Thursday. Bad! FAMILY: The 5k. Hubs had two derbies. Spring Break. Here's a quick look at the day to day ...

• Friday (0318):  Slept in, but did Zumba on my own today! Only 40min elliptical. Indulged in some pizza, but also sugary empty calories.
• Saturday (0319): Hubs and two of the boys ran a 5k. I should have, I wimped out. Just 40min on the elliptical. Overate on empty calories, and then out to dinner with Hubs.
• Sunday (0320): Lazy morning, but decided to get moving in the afternoon. Did a treadmill 5k, and 30min on the bike. Unfortunately still over on calories (Sunday breakfast and too many treats). 
• Monday (0321): Up early. Hour of elliptical, Zumba and WEIGHTS. A little Easter shopping too. Hubs had a Meniers attack in the evening which was a downer for the day.
• Tuesday (0322): Not up early, Hubs and #2 slept in as well. Got in an hour of elliptical and Zumba, but that was all. TV repairman came. Uber over on eating!
• Wednesday (0323): Up early again. Hour of elliptical and Zumba, plus some errands. Got in WEIGHTS again. Early out at the elementary. Hubs and #3 had a derby in the evening.
• Thursday (0324): Spring break for the kids, so some sleeping in, then off to Zumba. Still got in my hour of elliptical during the day. Hubs and #3 had another derby in the evening.

I don't really have any new pictures to share ... I took some, but already featured them in my recent posts (5k photos, and the boys in their new jackets), but here's a couple of the kids trying out Snapchat's faceswap app ... much laughter as these pictures were taken!

Cold Weather Wear

Spring has sprung according to the almanac, but we had quite the snow storm yesterday! Still plenty of chilly weather. Reflecting on this past winter, I realized that I'd added several new jackets to my wardrobe. Most all of the thin, fitness variety. Ones I take off at Zumba, and then tie around my waist. That's almost as important as it's regular use, right?

I'm always a little late with new fashion trends. The pullovers with the thumb-holes have been around for a while, but I only invested in them this year. I do like the look, and it does keep the sleeves in place, but it makes washing hands or looking at my Fitbit ChargeHR (on my wrist) a bit of a pain.

Do you like the sleeves with thumb-holes?

Do you prefer pullover or zip-up?
Do you want a jacket with or without a hoodie?

I'm never outside for long periods of time (no skiing or sledding, just the occasional snow shoveling duty, which warms you up pretty fast anyway) so I pretty much got away with just jackets this whole winter. I'm not sure if I ever put on a coat. The kids are worse than me! Just jackets! I was reading a newspaper article about schools trying to gather donations of coats, boots, hats and gloves for the poor kids that came to school without them. MY children have them ... they refuse to wear them! Then did finally consent to gloves during the coldest days.

I bought this DARLING hat for #4. I mean it matches his Terra Linda Tigers school jacket perfectly and it would keep his ears warm. Why won't he wear it? Why?  (I figured this would be hit or miss, although I did see plenty of kids wearing this type of animal hat at his school). I bought a couple bear ones too (the high school mascot is the Grizzly) but the bigger boys also turned their noses up at them.

I picked up these jackets recently for quite the steal (less than $6 each!). I don't know what the CB stands for exactly ... but it's the initials of both my little boys! They like them. The boys and I ... no coats, but several cute jackets!

#5 has at least been wearing long pants during the winter months. He likes joggers. He pretty much lives in compression shirts up top.  #4 ... he participated in a school Shakespeare play a while back. During the play, they had to wear tights or leggings as part of their costume. Thus were leggings discovered. Boys wear them quite a bit in basketball (an extra little layer of protection for the skin when they go down) ... but they can also be popular for everyday. My 12-year old wears them EVERY DAY now, making it possible to continue to wear his shorts all winter. Even as there have been warmer days, he's a little unsure about going back to "just shorts" ... he says he feels a bit naked.  We'll see what happens when it really warms up! Here's hoping!

What are your cold weather clothing trends?

My Little Man Ran (First 5k)

For the past several months, my 12-year old has been a step-crazy kid! Often with weeks averaging daily steps of 30,000 or more. When it's too cold to play outside, he started jogging on the treadmill to up his step count. He mentioned casually to me "I set it at 6 (6mph), so that's one mile in 10 minutes, and three miles in 30 minutes." Ummm ... I don't think I could do that (admittedly, I'm a wimp when it comes to running)! I haven't hit the treadmill lately, but back when I did, I was more at the 12-minute mile range. 5mph. I'm not even sure how long I could keep that up at this point, three miles would be pushing it!

I mentioned the statement to Hubs, and he looked up a local 5k this past weekend.  We wondered if running in a race might appeal (this is my anxiety child, who has dropped out of team sports because they are too stressful and competitive.) #4 seemed willing to give it a try, and #3 (the 15-year old) said he would too (even with a cast on his arm/broken wrist). If #5 (10 years old) had wanted to run too, I would have done it myself, but the little guy wanted to save his energy for his basketball game later in the day. So off Daddy and the two boys went. Maga met them at the race!

Ready to Race!

Daddy's original plan had been to start closer to the back of the pack, so the boys could pass some people and get that rush. The boys however didn't like the "back" idea and wound their way to the front. They were off and Hubs couldn't quite catch up! We were both a little afraid the boys might push too hard, and then need to stop, but they ran the whole thing. #4 came in just under 24 minutes (2nd in his age group, 19th overall) with #3 right behind him. 

 

I think it was an excellent experience for both boys. They had been with us years ago when we did our Family 5k, but #4 was in a stroller then, and #3 had been on a scooter. This was the first time running a 5k for both of them. I don't think it will be their last though ... 

WWI #138 - BAD Weekend, Okay Week

This last week ... it was a very bad weekend, but a decent week thereafter. For exercise anyway ... eating? Arrrggg! NUMBERS: Down .6 from last weigh-in (which is still up from the weeks before) but the average increased 1.51 to 164.04. Average Intake was a whopping 2693. Average Burn only 2580. So no deficit, over by 2899 for the week. FOOD: I was AWFUL over the weekend, and high all the other days. I just eat and eat! FITNESS: Bad Fri/Sat/Sun but good all the weekdays, getting in my hour of elliptical, Zumba, and bike plus two sessions of weights! FAMILY: Many movies over the weekend, a church activity and a school activity in the evenings. Here's a quick look at the past week:

• Friday (0311): Not sure what was wrong with me today, I was feeling OFF. Laid down much of the day. The elementary was out of school, and Hubs took the day off. Only 10minElliptical.  Eating was UBER over. We went out to dinner at Braza Grill with Hubs and my family.
• Saturday (0312): Feeling a bit better than yesterday. 30min on the elliptical. Again, uber over on eating (ice cream and cookies) ... and then popcorn and a movie(DVD) with Hubs. 
• Sunday (0313): Daylight Savings. Spring Forward. Just 10minElliptical, but at least I kept eating under control. Still over burn, as it wasn't an active day. Hubs made us a yummy steak dinner.
• Monday (0314): Back at it! Got up early even with the time change. An hour of elliptical, Zumba, bike and WEIGHTS. Pretty good day.
• Tuesday (0315): An hour of elliptical, Zumba and bike. Pinewood derby in the evening for #5.
• Wednesday (0316): Got in early elliptical (80min total for the day), Zumba, bike and WEIGHTS again! Also some shopping steps. Almost 30k day. Even with a great burn, eating was high.
• Thursday (0317): An hour of elliptical, Zumba and bike. Sophomore orientation over at the high school for #3.

Not a lot of pictures taken this week ... 

here's a video of the highlights from the Pinewood Derby though! 

(Hubs running it, #5 competing in it)

Throwback Thursday - Grandparent's Lunch

One of the traditions at the elementary here, is an "Invite Your Grandparents to Lunch" day. It's always the second week of March. This year, it was one week ago and as the next few days passed, I kept seeing the previous years pictures popping up in my Facebook memories. I thought I'd create a comparison post to look at the pictures from the past five years!

The picture above (my parents) and below (my MIL) with the three youngest boys.

 

It was 2012, and the boys were in 5th, 2rd and kindergarten (just a half day, so it was a treat for him to come eat lunch at the school too!) It was a luau theme. One of the most memorable things about it for me (as I go and take pictures and visit with the grandparents as well) was that #4, could hardly wait to get out to recess and didn't really want to stop and take the pictures. Now I know for most kids, that wouldn't be considered unusual, but for THIS kid ... we'd been struggling with a weather phobia and extreme anxiety. He rarely went to recess at all for months because he was too scared to go outside. I remember feeling so happy as he skipped off to play.

In 2013 ... the school did a circus theme. They had a cute photo booth with funny props; hats, wigs, glasses, etc. But ... the line for pictures was quite long, and once again, my boys were anxious to hit the playground. They didn't want to wait around for the official photos, so I just snapped this one in front of one of the other displays.

The boys were in 1st, 3rd and 6th grade this year. My MIL couldn't make it out, but my parents came. My boys generally bring a cold lunch from home. I prepped a "lunch" for my folks too. A note is sent home prior to the event, and grandparents are more than welcome to purchase a school lunch. Sometimes the visitors would grab something special on the way and bring it (a Little Ceasars lunch or McDonalds). 

The different grades have various lunch times, but the kids would be excused from classes to join siblings and grandparents to lunch together.

The following year, after much contemplation and consideration ... we switched elementary schools. The year-round schedule was difficult on #4 (every time we'd stop and start it would be like the beginning of school again) and I sure like a routine. With the older boys on a traditional schedule, we wanted all the kids with a full summer for family activities.

In 2014 ... 

the two youngest were in the 2nd and 4th grades.

I was a little surprised when March rolled around and there is was ... Invite Your Grandparents to Lunch day!  I thought it was just something our old school did. I guess not. My parents were planning on coming, but then had a medical situation pop up with my dad. Luckily, Maga (my MIL) was able to to get off work and come down. No theme or props this year, but of course I still get pictures!

#4 proudly wearing his new school t-shirt!

In 2015 the boys were in 5th and 3rd grade. My parents made it out this year.  The boy's lunches overlapped, so I didn't worry about checking one out to join the lunch party ... but then it was just taking TOO long, especially standing in line, as #5 was taking hot lunch. #4 was anxious to hit the playground. Too anxious to wait around for his brother and a group picture. Individual pictures with the grandparents it was.  Note our cute basketball lunchbox *Ü*

... and this year! Just last week, March 10, 2016.  The boy's lunches were very far apart this year. #5 (4th grade) had lunch starting at 11:10, and #4 (6th grade) didn't have lunch until 12:40.  Knowing there was NO WAY #5 would miss any of his lunch recess to eat with his brother, I told the grandparents the earlier time. #4 was excused from his class, and then got to go to recess after we ate, giving him an extra long time on the playground! Even with that, he ate quickly as was ready to get out and play (and get steps).  My MIL was sad she missed it, but she was out of state with other grandkids.

Take a look at the change in #4 from last year to this year! He's always had a round face, and been a bit more stocky than his brothers. He'd gotten a little heavy. I was having to purchase pants in the "husky" size and his shirts were about the same size I'd buy for his brother who was three years older. I'll have to do a complete post on #4's transformation. Through eating and exercise, all on his own, he lost almost 20 pounds and has been holding steady for a while now. I know that kids do change a lot at this age, and he has gained some height as well, helping with the slimming out, but still quite the change for a 12-year old kid!

Next year ... I'll only have ONE in elementary school!

TV Troubles - March Movies

Does your television turn on when you push the power button? Yes? Ours doesn't. It started happening several months ago. If the TV in the family room was turned off, we couldn't turn it back on. At least not easily. If I unlugged it for a bit, and tried again (sometimes again and again) I'd eventually get it to turn back on. So ... we never turned the television off. I mean, we didn't leave on a channel blaring sound and picture; we'd change the source to our Roku box, with a default "clock" screen saver.

But even if you remember to not accidentally push the "off" button (which happened), there were times the power would go out, and eventually, the TV just started turning itself off. I did a Google search and did find that "Samsung/TV won't turn on" did have several hits, a problem with a part that could be repaired. Often under warranty from the TV, or we had purchased a warranty from Best Buy (this not being our first time with TV troubles). 

Having the television not working actually wasn't as big a deal as I would have thought. I personally don't ever watch on the family room TV (my gym TV now, THAT would be a different story!). Hubs doesn't either. It's just the kids. But they didn't even complain much. We do have a couple other televisions, but the family room is the only one connected to the Comcast box, the only one you can watch "live" programming on (the others are limited to Netflix, Amazon, PlayOn and other apps). So ... Jazz games, and I'm really glad the television was working last week when #2 and the high school basketball team was playing in the state finals (broadcast on a local kjzz channel).

We had a repairman from BestBuy come check it out on Saturday. He's ordering a part and will come back next Tuesday. Hopefully we'll get a little "on" time between now and then. I think the family room television was off for three days straight last week (before one of the times it worked). I think everyone was in bed by 9:00 those night ... I remember Hubby remarking "is this because the TV is out?"

Let me tell you though, the boys and their indoor basketball ... that has taken TVs place.

And it's loud!

  How would your family react to a television not working?

We do have a television in the master, and while I can't remember the last time Hubs and I watched a movie together, this past week ... we watched FOUR of them. Not sure what prompted it. We only indulged in popcorn for one viewing. Quite the range of feature films ...

• The Imitation Game: Hubs had seen this on a plane during on of his travels. He wanted to watch it again, and thought I'd like it. I wasn't sold immediately, but it was good. We watched this via Amazon and our Showtime subscription.
• Kingsman: Another Hubs pick.  I was REALLY not sure about this one. It had a MIB feel ... both the experienced secret service man picking a young unknown to train, and the over-the-top silliness of stuff (the gal with the artificial legs that sliced a man in two). I ended up liking it ok. It is very deserving of the R rating, for violence, gore and language ... and a little sexual content there at the end. We watched this via HBOGo.
• The Intern: My pick. Heard a lot of good things about it, and it delivered. This was also the movie we indulged in Hubs yummy popcorn.  Redbox.
• Mission Impossible Rogue Nation: Other than the second MI, I like the Mission Impossible films. As we watched in bed, we joked that we SHOULD be watching together in the gym. Plenty of adrenaline pumping scenes, which is what I like to work out to. I can be lazy and watch in bed just fine too though. Redbox.

Hubs HAD been going to get SPY before changing his mind, and grabbing MI. I'm glad, as I just noticed that "Spy" is available on HBOGo.  Sometimes I forget to even check these other options for movies! I'm also VERY behind on movies. The only one I saw in theaters this past year, was the new Star Wars. I'm pretty content to wait until it hits DVD or a streaming service. I like watching in the comfort of home ... and I LOVE having captions! But I've tended toward television series while I workout, so movies only happen when Hubs and I settle in. Like we did this weekend. Movie marathon!

Motivated Monday - Family Style

 

Well ... coming off a not great week, and a not great weekend, it's time to get MOTIVATED this Monday. I was a little worried it might be hard to get up this morning. It was Daylight Savings this weekend too. Yesterday, we "lost" an hour. A 6:30 wake up would feel like 5:30....

But, this morning was great! Hubs got up and off around 5:30, and I got up then too! I usually stay in bed, although I rarely fall back asleep. Much better to get up and at it, right? What really nudged me out of bed, was prepping breakfast and lunch for the 17-year old. He has early morning seminary at 6:00, and he's generally pretty self-sufficient. But this past week, he told me he was trying to work on HIS food/fitness. He joined a gym (which is a little pricey, but I have to admit it was a little hard having him and his friends in MY gym last summer "Boys in my Gym") and said he was going to start bringing lunch from home to school (translated "please Mommy can you make me lunches"). He also mentioned I should hold off on buying him treats. I had just bought him a package of mini red-velvet cupcakes. We actually ended up throwing several away.

Anyway - I hadn't committed to to waking up early, so I made his lunch last night. But then this morning I packaged it all up, and made him a protein smoothie (Daddy and Brother recommended) and he was off. I stopped at the store on the way home from Zumba this morning and bought additional fixings for lunches. I'll need to jump back on Pinterest for some healthy ideas (he's not trying to lose weight or anything, just cut back on sugar and processed stuff, eating healthier). 

Speaking of Pinterest ... Hubs has joined! I've mentioned it a bit in my day to day doings ... he's also jumped back on the exercise/eating wagon. It's been a few weeks now. He IS trying to lose weight, and also be healthier (cholesterol and blood pressure and such). He's tried several smoothie recipes he's found, and shared some with the munchkins (I don't do smoothies myself). He's done his shopping and meal prep for all his lunches. It's pretty impressive!

I try to have some healthy dinner ideas/options (although evenings are still often crazy around here, and family dinner doesn't always happen).  It's also hard, being SUCH a picky eater myself! This past weekend, when I was a lazy slug, Hubs exercised every day. This morning, he popped up by me on my Fitbit friend list~

 That's usually NOT the case.

Having been on Fitbit for several years, I have a ton of "friends" ... most of whom I don't really know at all. It's always fun when I see someone I actually have a relationship list in the seven featured friends (those three above, three below). I've often been at the topish of my list (3,4,5), and generally no lower than 7,8,9. This weekend's non activity dropped me down to the twenties!

Here's a little later in the morning ... back on top, of Hubs anyway.

Working my way back up into the top10.

My family pretty much ONLY has family on their Fitbit friend list. I love to see how everyone stacks up week to week. I even have my missionary in Mexico send me his steps! He can't connect/sync, so I sent him with just an inexpensive pedometer, and I manually enter his steps into Fitbit every Monday (because that's the day he gets to email me). He's been gone for over a year now, and I've been impressed with him recording and sending me his steps each week. He does it for his Mommy!

The Family Top 10 this week ...

That's my 12-year old at the top of the list. He must have slowed down a little, because for several weeks in a row his average was over 30k! Mr. Missionary is in the #2 position, and my 10-year old is there in third. Fourth position is my 17-year old , then me and Hubs, and #3. Even with his broken wrist, #3 has been participating in gym, and even jogging on the treadmill downstairs. Extended family have Fitbits too. There in the family Top10 are my two brothers and my sister. My dad is very often competitive with everyone. My oldest brother has a Fitbit too (a Surge) ... but he won't be "friends" with any of us ;)

 

Back to this morning ... all the kids got up and at 'em easily. They are SUCH great kids!

I'm a little over on my eating today, 

and I have 10minutes left to get my hour of elliptical.

I did weights though! 

Hubs is down on the treadmill right now ... is he trying to get back on top?

 

WWI #137 - Uber Oops Up

Ummm ... not a great week. I mean the day to day stuff wasn't bad, but my eating and exercise were both off. I actually started good. Friday of last week I had a great day, especially for a Friday. Both for food and fitness. Then ... Sat/Sun were bad, which isn't exactly unusual. Mon was good for exercise, but not eating. Then food stayed high all week, not sure why I couldn't keep it in better control. Fitness slipped a bit too. Not a good week, and it showed on the scale and in the stats.

NUMBERS: Up 2.9 this week for the weekly weigh-in. The common weekend jump, but then I never got it back down. Blah. Average was up .6 to 162.53. Average intake was a whopping 2807. Bad eating! Average daily burn was 2615. I was over this week by 3516.  Here's a quick look at the week ...

 #5 and his team after winning the 4th grade championship game!

 

 #1 in Mexico, meeting Elder Oaks at a conference.

I dropped my stuff on the bed after Zumba and my phone caught a photo!

Me and the munchkin at school Parent/Teacher conferences.

Invite your grandparents to lunch day at school.

• Friday (0304): Got in my hour of elliptical, made it to a Zumba class and even did some resistance training (upstairs, as I couldn't catch the basketball game in the downstairs gym). Kept calories in check too! Good day, especially for a Friday!
• Saturday (0305): Our house was crazy in the morning, as multiple dads/boys came over to work on Pinewood Derby cars (Hubs hosts an open house ... err, garage every year before the race). #5 and I escaped and went to his championship game. They won! He had a birthday party later in the day, then we watched the state highschool playoffs. Our boys came in second. I only got in 30min elliptical, and eating was UBER over (bad day, and then out to dinner in the evening).
• Sunday (0306): 15min on the elliptical ... and a nap. Our big Sunday Circles in the morning, and a family gathering in the evening. Over-eating again!
• Monday (0307): Good activity day! Got in 80min on the elliptical, Zumba, bike and weights! But eating was over.
• Tuesday (0308): Not sure if I was dragging from weights yesterday, or that I didn't start the day right with early elliptical, but it was a down day. Did get in Zumba, but just 40min elliptical. Can't stop eating. Errands to Vasa and haircuts.
• Wednesday (0309): Pretty much the same as yesterday, 40minElliptical, Zumba. Slightly higher step count with some shopping and such. High eating again. Errands: dentist and PT conferences.
• Thursday (0310): Zumba and 40min elliptical. Without the early start, I haven't been getting my full hour in. Had a stop in at the elementary during the day for Grandparent's lunch. Eating ... over.

Eating was SO bad this week.  Girl Scout Cookies had been delivered on Saturday. Tagalongs ... my favorite. I can eat an entire box easily. Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream has been another craving. I'd grabbed some "movie size" candy boxes and those are evil ... if I open it, I eat it all. I KNOW ... just DO NOT buy the stuff and have it in the house to temp. I know ... I just don't do. Ironically, Hubs has been eating better for a few weeks now. Doing food prep on Sundays to plan meals for the week. Exercising too. He's been doing great. #2 also told me not to buy him treats, as he (and friends) are trying to eat better and get in exercise (on their own now that basketball season has ended). #4 has continued his food/fitness push ... I just looked at pictures of him now, compared with pictures of him from several months ago, and he's changed SO much! Why can't I crave a change in eating habits? Healthy has NO appeal to me ...

I also did go through all the clips from the three final championship games for #5 ...

I thought the highlight video turned out cute (my #5 IS #5 ... he chose that number for me) *Ü*

Recent Reads - Multiple Books ... In Space

When I was a little girl ... I loved to read. My mother would sometimes take my book away and tell me to go outside and play. Generally, I had more than one book going. Several stashed various places in my room. If Mom took one away, I'd just pick up another.

Now, I'm a middle-aged woman ... and I still love to read. But unlike my childhood self, I do prefer to start ONE book and finish that book before beginning another. Unfortunately, that doesn't always work out. Why not you ask?  A few years ago, I converted to digital, and it opened new worlds (and libraries) to me. I always have to have a book on my Iphone, I have it with me all the time (not true for a big, bulky physical book).  As an Amazon Prime member, I can borrow a book each month, but said book can only be read on the Kindle itself (not on my Iphone app). Just a month or so ago, I finally adapted to audio, which adds extra "reading" possibilities; while driving, cleaning the house, etc. Having these different devices, various ways to read, has made it so that I often have more than one book going at a time.

Today, I finished two books.  Both were the final books in their series. Both took place in space (one in a completely different star system, one on Earth's moon). Both series had a different "power couple" for each book, with everyone coming together in the end. I really enjoyed both series.

I started The Lunar Chronicles back in August of 2013 (thanks Good Reads for keeping track of my books) and read Scarlet right after. Then I had to wait ... as Cress hadn't come out yet. I read it May 2014 and then had to wait (until now) for Winter. It's the first time in my life I've ever said "I'm looking forward to Winter". I'm not a fan of fairy tales, so I wasn't sure this series would be one I'd enjoy. Just another "Cinderella" story ... well this wasn't. I wasn't very happy when I realized book 2 was shifting focus, rather than continuing on with the Cinder story. But while new characters were introduced (Scarlet and Wolf ... a Red Riding Hood theme), Cinder was still very present, as was her storyline. Cress, if you can't tell from the cover, introduces a "Rapunzel" based character, and Winter ... is the Snow White tale. All of this is in a distant future with androids and cyborgs and life on the moon, mystical mental abilities and more. Very entertaining, and the series is complete, so you can read all the books back to back. There are several novellas to give additional insight and background as well. Two thumbs up!

Winter was my "iphone" book ... and even at 800+ pages, it felt like a quick read!

I feel like I stumbled upon the "Starbound" series. It came across one of my "free/cheap" digital booklist emails, offering the first book in the series "These Broken Stars" for 99¢. That is a good price for a book (one that retails for $10 physical, $4.50 for Kindle) and I even had some Amazon credit (for taking no rush shipping instead of the 2-day prime). I hadn't heard of it, none of my friends had read it ... but it had good reviews. I bought it, read it, loved it. LOVED it.  It had been a while since I'd had a story consume me. One where I connected with the characters and was sad when the book ended. I rated this one 5 stars. My library had the next two books in audio format ... but audio? Uggg.  I went ahead and purchased the second book (for the full $10 price too!). Although the characters from the first book made brief appearances in book 2, it wasn't a continuation of their story. I still liked it, but not as much. I was attempting audio at this point, so instead of purchasing the final book in the trilogy, I put it on hold at the library. I actually enjoyed it as audio. The readers (especially the guy) really added personality in their voice. Again, it wasn't quite the same magic as the first book. There were times in book 2 and 3 I felt like I was pushing through a bit. A touch confused at some things. But in the end ... it was a very complete and satisfying ending. Ahhhh again.

I still have a book on my Kindle that I'm close to finishing. I'll be adding another audiobook, and of course one on my Kindle app on my Iphone. I'm not reading a physical book right now, but that would be another format, it's own style with it's own reading requirements.

Sometimes, it's a little hard to keep all my stories straight in my head.

Check back next month for more Recent Reads. *Ü*

WWI #136 - Down a Pound

Well look at that ... there was a shift in the scale. I'm actually a little surprised. Crunching the numbers, it really wasn't a great week, but I'll take it. Just a bit more and hopefully I can bid these 160s goodbye. NUMBERS: Weight went down 1 pound for the official weekly weigh-in, but the average was actually up a touch (to 161.93). Average Daily Intake was up to 2357, Average Daily Burn about the same as the past few weeks, at 2650. That did result in a deficit, albeit a super small one ... -339. 

FITNESS: I got in my hour of elliptical and hour of Zumba in everyday except Sat/Sun. I started the week strong, getting in a couple sessions on the bike, and I did do weights three times this week (30min full body).  Sunday was my rest day. Very low steps.  FOOD: Mint chocolate chip ice cream has been a downfall. One really bad day (Sunday), several high days, only one day under 2000. Not great. FAMILY: Busy with a couple appointments and basketball. Here's a quick recap of the week:

• Friday (0226): Pretty good day for a Friday. #3 was out of school, so I was able to hit a Zumba class. Also got in my hour of elliptical and weights. In the evening, #5 had a double header. It was downtown so I had to catch a ride. Both games were easy wins for our boys.
• Saturday (0227): Just 40min on the elliptical, catching up on Grey's Anatomy. #5 had a game at 1:00, and another at 3:00 if they won the first. It was SUCH a close game, we lost by one. The boys were so sad. I dropped #5 off at a friend's house to help distract from the disappointment.
• Sunday (0228): Hubs stayed super busy today, while I was a completely lazy loafer! Not even 3500 steps! And of course it was a horrible eating day too, uberly over.
• Monday (0229): Back to routine. Hour of elliptical and Zumba, plus bike and weights. Good day. Still too high on the eating, but I was hungry. Took #3 to the doctor for his cast.
• Tuesday (0301): Got in Zumba, an hour of elliptical and bike. Busy morning making eggs and taking them to the high school (breakfast before the basketball team headed out) and then in the afternoon taking #3 to the dentist. Nothing much in the evening though. Ahhhh...
• Wednesday (0302): An hour of elliptical and Zumba for my activity today. I also did weights. In the evening #5 had a game downtown. It was close, but they won and move onto the semi-finals.
• Thursday (0303): Zumba and hour of elliptical ... and that was all. I should have gotten something else in, but at least I kept calories in check today. In the evening, the high school was playing in the state quarter-finals. #2, #3 and Hubs went to that. I went with #5, who had two games (in different locations). They lost the first, won the second.

 Pictures from the Week ...

#3 and his new cast. I ask for a picture and I get this pose ...

Kinda Twins at Zumba - Matchy Pants

... and a video

Silly kitten! I was attempting to listen to my audiobook while working in the kitchen, but Joy wouldn't leave my phone alone! I even put it in my purse pocket to keep it from her, but she just attacked again!

A video posted by JenB (@jenblackham) on Mar 1, 2016 at 7:42pm PST