Week 1 of Help Hubby

Last week I told you all that I was going to start working out with Frenchie in order to motivate him. I'm SO glad I did. I have felt better over the last week than I have in a while. I have that need in my bones to workout more and more. It's a great feeling.

We've been alternating between the Jillian Michaels DVD's Ripped in 30 and Extreme Shed & Shred. My favorite so far is the RI30. I've had to downgrade myself to 2lb weights. It frustrates me but I know I have to start at the bottom and gain my strength back. It will be slow going, but I need my wrist to be ok so I can function. If I could rest it the day after a workout, I'd push myself harder, but for now, this will do. Every little bit helps right?
I won't update measurements until next week. A week isn't enough to see any changes. Just the change in energy levels and brighter outlook make me happy. It doesn't hurt to have muscle soreness either. As much as that feeling is painful, it's a good pain. It means I worked my butt off and will see results in the future.

I now have a standing workout date with my sister as well for Thursday nights. Our husbands go to ball hockey, so we figure we might as well workout too.

Helping Hubby

My husband wants to get in better shape. The only effective way I've found to motivate him is to workout together. (see where this is going?) We both love it, we get to spend more time together and it's healthy!

I got a few of the Jillian Michaels DVD's: Ripped in 30, 30 Day Shred and Extreme Shed & Shred. He's looking for cardio and will add his own weight workouts in. I have trouble lifting weights (because my wrist injury will never go away), so I figure the only ones I can do with him will be the DVD's and then modify a few of those exercises. I've been feeling squishy and want to tone for bikini season, so motivating him is also a little selfish.

Here's the general plan. He just started a new job Monday so we are figuring out a new work schedule so by the end of this week we'll have a better idea of how this is all going to flow week to week.

Him:
workout 2 - 3 times a week at his work gym lifting weights.
run with Beta 2 times a week for 30 minutes
ball hockey for 2+ hours once a week
DVD 2 - 3 times a week
Her:
Tap class once a week until the end of May
DVD 2 - 3 times a week
Bosu Ball ab work 2 times a week

Along with that, meal planning is going to be a big one. We are usually pretty good at meal planning already, but we'll make a better effort to choose meals that are lower in carbs and sugar. We'll make snacks that are easily transported to work and are healthy. Fruit, guacamole, salsa, homemade muffins.

On top of that, food tracking. We've both been off and on the My Fitness Pal tracking wagon. Yesterday I tracked my meals and had no excuse but to workout last night. I was over my goal calories. I'm not looking to lose weight, just looking to add/subtract inches here or there. The scale number rarely changes for me so a better indicator is measurements.

Here are my starting measurements.
Weight: 113 lbs
Chest: 32 in
Waist: 26.5 in
Arms: 9 in (bicep)
Hips: 35 in
Thighs: 19.5 in
Calves: 12.75 in

I could use all the motivation I can get. Where is my cheer team?

14/40: The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Giver by Lois Lowry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

From Goodreads: Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

This has got to be one of the more powerful books I've read in a long time. I can't describe the heart-ache, the joy that this book gave me. The overwhelming sense human kind is missing something is profound. I gave this one to my husband to read and he felt the same.

I know a lot of people who read this in grade school and hated it. I can see how they would. You're young and haven't seen much of the world. I think this is a book that can be appreciated when you are older. I'm not saying I'm old and wise, far from it, but I believe I have a better appreciation of what the message is than I would have if I read it as a teen.
There was a lot of back and forth reading for me with this one. I kept having to go back and made sure I read something right and for things to click. Like I wasn't really sure I was reading it correctly. Amazing. The way it was written was simple enough to fly through, but gave enough of a picture that you really got it.

Jonas was a great character. He was young, eager and once The Giver starting showing him memories he wanted more. Not just the good, but the bad as well. He wanted understanding.

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13/40: Fracture by Megan Miranda

Fracture by Megan Miranda
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

From Goodreads: Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?
I enjoyed this book. The characters were good, the relationships were believable. I also really appreciated that this is a stand alone book. Start, Middle, End. THANK YOU!! I'm so frustrated with series books. Tired of them more than anything. I just want to read one that starts and finishes.

I loved Delaney and Decker's relationship/friendship. Neighbours that grew up together and always had feelings but having such a strong friendship was more important. I liked their struggle to figure things out. I've been there, so it was a wicked trip down memory lane.

I also liked that there really wasn't a solid love triangle. Troy wasn't so much a love interest as he was an intrigue to Delaney. Meeting someone the same as her and being so different was a struggle. Their morals were different and that is something Delaney had issues with. Troy moved towards defeat, Delaney was still trying to help people.

The storyline was something I hadn't read before. Knowing that someone was going to die, but not how or when was a new one.  There isn't much to say about the Fracture. It was good. It was quick.
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April 2012 Book Recap

What I read and started in April 2012

Books read to date: 12/40
According to my book challenge on Goodreads I'm on track to hit my yearly goal!

Finished

Introvert Power: Why Your Inner Life Is Your Hidden Strength by Laurie Helgoe (review here)
The Next Always (Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy, #1) by Nora Roberts (review here)
Pandemonium (Delirium, #2) by Lauren Oliver (review here)
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (review here)
Happy Ever After (The Bride Quartet #4) by Nora Roberts (review here)

Started
Fracture by Megan Miranda
The Giver by Lois Lowry

Savings

Monthly savings: $46.72
Year-to-date savings: $103.84

I LOVE THE LIBRARY!!