Thursday, October 31, 2013

2013 Austin Haunted Home

Chris and his crazy Halloween Decor! This year, he added a nice little creepy cemetary with ghouls and I have no idea what the heck that thing is coming out of the ground! Looks totally creepy and gross to me. You would have to pay me to go to our door. But, we have some BIG candy bars (plus about 60 granola bars and a few small candy bars as fillers just in case). Looking forward to a frightful and maybe even a little cold night.

Happy Halloween from the Scary Austin Family!

Vala's 2013


It is a tradition that we visit Vala's Pumpkin Patch this time of year. It was more complicated to get there this year with all the kids in school and Chris working a new job and unable to break away during the week. I snagged a 4 pack from a KETV deal and forked out the big bucks for an extra entry with only the $1 off coupon on website and we were off.

There should be a warning at Vala's: Visit here on weekends on your own risk.

Enough said.

We arrived at 9:30 on a Saturday morning a couple weeks ago and knew it was going to be bad. Police lined the parking lots and cars lined up behind us to get in. Really? This is crazy. The kids ran from fun thing to fun thing, the jumping pillows, the tractors, haunted houses, the new BIG slides. Before long, the crowd was almost too much. Okay, it was too much. We caught up with our friend Jill (so nice to see you!) and our friends Michael and Michelle. I do believe everyone we knew was there, but who would no it?! It was beyond crazy. There was a line at the jumping pillows and then the kids were limited in time how long they could jump. For real? And, we paid extra to come on a weekend?!

Going between all the people in the crowd got old. We ate our picnic that Chris ran to the car and got for us. It was nice to find a somewhat quiet spot and sit.

We left the wild place called Vala's just before 4. The line to get into the place was from the entrance all the way onto 370. Beyond nuts. We were tired, dirty, but had mostly fun getting that way.

We will go back next year (although Chris says he has had enough for his lifetime). But, we will not be going on a weekend!

PS There Kettle Corn is so good and worth the Paleo cheat. But, we will not be going through the upstairs of the Vala's store next year because Addison just can not take it. Enough said. :)



Friday, October 11, 2013

Picture Day 2013


Yesterday was picture day. This is a fun day to see personalities shine.

Alivia: "I want my hair curled today and I want to wear THESE earrings."
Addison: "Can I wear the new shift from Von Maur with my hair braided and I can put the braid over my shoulder?" Addison just happened to select the same shirt as Alivia. Alivia was not pleased but kept quiet about it to my surprise.
Asher: "Spike my hair this way." I asked, "What shirt do you want to wear?" His response, "What do you want me to wear?" Awwww....always a Mommy pleaser.

The results...



Work Out Like a Girl!


Getting my abs after 3 kids!
We are keeping up with the Paleo Life now, but I am also trying to keep my workouts fun, fresh and effective. So, what am I up to?

When I work, I am doing beachbody's T25. It is only 25 minutes and is a mix of strength and cardio. I may be really, really tired after working and barely sleeping, but I can do 25 minutes, right? Most days I try to pull it off. I like it as something added to my workout bag, but I would not be able to do just T25 I don't think. It is about the mix for me.

Next up, Hasfit.com. This is FREE! Yes, entirely free!!! Coach Kozak has 2 workouts that I like among many to chose from, his 90 day High Intensity or his 90 day warrior. The warrior was the first one I did, and he just added the high intensity one. The warrior workout plan is strength and cardio and high intensity interval training in one. They are short workouts for the most part with a 30 minute one thrown in there occasionally. The Intensity one I have not done in its entirety. I started and got side tracked (it has only been available a short time). I have done many of the workouts included in the plan already, though. The workouts may be longer as some days it is suggested to put in 60 minutes of cardio. With that said, I do 60 minutes total of whatever I am doing every day with the exception of my rest days and days where I worked and am too wiped out (which become my rest days).

And then there is Bodyrock.tv. I have been following them for a while. I go in spurts, doing their workouts for a while or through a challenge, then going back to Hasfit for strength. They are different but I find many of their moves are similar. Bodyrock does seem to need more equipment, but I get by with my weights and equalizer (well worth the investment I may add, although I got mine on Amazon.). They are now doing a 30 day challenge and I am loving it. The workouts are longer, but she jump ropes. I love jump roping. It is such a great workout! I worked out so hard last weekend I broke my beloved jump rope, so I am shopping for a speed rope so I can do double unders some day. :)

I also throw in Beachbody's Turbo Fire, but I do more of this during the winter.  This is more cardio for me.

My cardio rounds include any of the above (bodyrock jump ropes between workouts, so that's great cardio!), running (my route is almost 5 miles and I run 2-3 times a week, usually 2 now adays), biking (Chris got me into speed biking. I like biking, do it and get it done. I use different muscles for good cross training)), and jump roping. I often times bike or run, come home and jump rope until I crash (maybe a song!). I really love jump roping if you can not tell. Addison now wants a speed rope so she can jump fast with me. :)

As I mentioned, we are still mostly eating Paleo. I had not heard through my ongoing research that once you cut out sugar, you suffer horrible headaches when you do eat it. I made cookies, eating dough of course, and had to go to bed afterwards (it was 9 at night anyway, but still) because of the headache. I also had my beloved tea which is artificially sweetened and had a headache unlike any other AND my lips and the area around my lips became all swollen! I will no longer drink the tea, which makes Addison happy as she will drink the rest of my supply. Chris has had similar response to the sugar. We have both had dairy and have been okay. OMG, cheese never tastes so good! Now...back to moderation and mostly eating Paleo.

There you have it, work it 60 minutes 6 days a week, rest one (but keep it an active rest with a family activity that day at least), and eat clean. We have never felt better.

What do you to work it?
Got Abs there somewhere!