HOLY WORKOUT EPIPHANY

Working out I've always only known one speed. ALL OUT/LEAVE IT ALL ON THE FLOOR...that worked fine when I was 17 going all out all the time. Not so much after 2 babies and not a serious workout in over a decade.

Picking up working out again has been really hard for me. Exercises that I used to be able to breeze through, I am barely surviving for minutes much less, the entire workout. I just attributed this to my being about 30lbs heavier than my body is used to...and not mention my fitness level is like...rock bottom. So my husband, who is a personal trainer, told me about this little thing called a TARGET HEART RATE. For more detailed info...go here I was like psh...you dont know my body, i know my body. If I don't do it all out I'm just being lazy...I just need to push through! I mean, so what if i'm nauseous and dizzy...working out sucks! its nothing new...I mean, come on...when I think of measuring my heart rate, I get and image of 50 year olds power walking and stopping to check their wrist. He says its FACTS and it will help.

Alright fine, this guy thinks he knows everything about working out...ill prove him wrong! So I humored him...only to prove him wrong, like i said. So I found my resting heart rate, and calculated my target heart rate (140-170), bought myself a cute pink watch that measures my heart rate, and gave it a try.

I noticed RIGHT AWAY that I was working way too hard. Everytime my heart rate spiked, I stopped and let it come down a little. I've been doing INSANITY for a week now...and I literally LOATHE workout time everyday. Like, I dread it alllll day long...all throughout the workout...and as soon as it's over I dread the coming workout tomorrow. I hardly ever finish the whole workout...I end up getting my mandatory 20 minutes and end up turning it off. I figure I'm fat, this isn't meant for fat people. WRONG. I guess my mind isnt in the same place as my body...so i set unrealistic standards for myself.

Anyway back to the workout...so I'm warming up and my heart rate is like, 180...so I gotta slow down. I don't stop but I go a little less HARDCORE...and pace myself. okay, I'm thinking Okay, this isnt even a real workout...manase is SOOOOO wrong. Ha!

After my 45 minutes...I feel INCREDIBLE. For the 1st time since starting this regimen i FINISHED the workout! I'm sweating like a PIG...but I don't feel like hurtling myself off a cliff! As a matter of fact...I'm on a high! So this is what an adrenaline high feels like. I can't wait for the workout tomorrow. Me! I can now understand, a little bit, people who are addicted to working out. After my 10 minute cool down/stretch..i check my HR and its STILL at 150. Like, WHAT? come on...this doesn't even make sense, but its true!!

Here's the Epiphany. PACE YOURSELF. I know, super old concept, like DUH right? But I never really did it. I would sprint and go as hard as i can and literally last 5 minutes, and take an additional 5 minutes to convince myself to get back into it. But with this THR thing..I take a couple seconds to calm down, and I'm back in it. I last SOO much longer, and after the workout I feel like I worked my butt off but still feel great! AH-MAZE-ING.

Now, some of you are probably laughing at me thinking, this is old news. But I always saw people who stopped for breath as WEAK. That's how it is in sports. You do the drill, and you're not allowed to stop. You just push through it. Now, working out to lose weight...it's a whole different ball game people. This is amazing. As I sit here...typing...my body is STILL burning fat calories..like, this is crazy.

fine....manase was right....for once. ;)

Anyway, just thought I'd share my excitement...

Bragging time: I started this journey at 190 with my goal weight 150(how much I weighed when I found out I was pregnant with misi) by December. I am now at 164...14 lbs away! So I've decided to reset my new goal to 140 by the time my baby bro gets back on Dec 21. Then we're trying for another one and I'm so excited. :)

Here's to a healthier, happier, SKINNY AND PREGNANT(soon hopefully) me!

If you're in need of a laugh...

What the MIA??

Missing In Action...ha...its true! IM NOT DEAD! We're alive...in Oakland...and still trying to figure out how we feel about it...well, at least I am. I'm still trying to decide if I even want to bother going over the last several months. Lets just start with the big ones which I will write blog entries for later. For now, lets just cover the bullet versions! ha

*Training camp came and went. We attended our very first NFL game on August 28th against the San Francisco 49ers...we lost :( but it was fun to watch my love live his dream...even if it was on the wrong die of the ball and the wrong team..lol

*Manase made the Raiders practice squad. I was over the moon....so proud of him!

*My Leila bugg turned 1! and we had a big ol' birthday bash combined with her cousin Micah who turns one in October.

*After way too much time apart, the kids and I finally moved to Oakland to join Daddy...

And now here we are...living in a hotel room...in the middle of Oakland. A foreign city, where I know like 3 people...at least that I know well enough to call...and no friends. Thankfully I have my family, Manase's family is also up here...so I'm getting an opportunity to get to know them a little better. I do enjoy that we are together as a family for the 1st time since May. I also LOVE the city of San Francisco. Growing up Orange County, which is known as the suburbs of LA, I've never been this close to a real life city. SanFran is just a short drive over the bay bridge and I love going there, it makes me feel like I'm in a movie or something. lol I LOVE seeing the ocean everyday, I LOVE the early 20th century architecture that is EVERYWHERE. I never really appreciated the bay area for all the beauty there is to be seen up here.

I'm not going to even talk about all the things i MISS because that will just make me cry and get me all depressed. but those people know who they are. :)

I prefer pics over words...they do say a thousand words so here we go.

Leila Lata 'i Lomoloma Tonga turns 1

My babygirl is already a year old and I can't believe it!

*doesn't walk yet but she can stand on her own
*she has 4 teeth, two on top, two on bottom
*crawls like a pro...and is probably faster than Semisi runs
*weighs 25lbs...although she doesnt look it!
*is mommy's little independent baby. she does her own thing and doesnt want to be bothered by anyone especially her brother. She sleeps by herself and even puts herself to sleep.
*has an odd obsession with anything soft. she holds it up to her mouth and nose to where its barely touching and her mouth looks like its sucking on an invisible binkie..and she zones out...its the WEIRDEST thing to watch and i have no clue where she got it from! but she has to do it to fall asleep. lol

For her birthday we did a combined party with my nephew Micah who turns 1 in October. It was a prince/princess theme (of course) but it turned out way cuter than i even imagined! We made EVERYTHING for this party. From the personalized invitations, to the birthday banner, to the tissue ball decorations and Castle centerpieces. *even the CONFETTI!* It was definitely a labour of love and I haven't a clue how we're going to ever top this one! haha

did that just happen??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cOb52tJP78&feature=related

Raiders Family Day in Napa Valley

The Raiders had a "family day" on Sunday at their training camp in Napa so I figured it would be a great excuse for us to see Manase, especially since its been nearly a month since we've seen him. So we packed up the car on Friday and drove 7 hours up to Napa Valley.

It was such a beautiful day and we were so excited to see him in action. It was so nice to see him fulfilling his dream, I couldn't be more proud of everything he's done. The kids so ECSTATIC to see him. I think it's harder on them than anyone else. It always breaks my heart seeing Semisi break down every time he has to leave his Dad. He already recognizes that his Dad is gone a lot...so when we do see him, Semisi is so stuck to him because he's afraid of Manase leaving again. It's hard, but we know that these small sacrifices are necessary right now so our lives can be a little easier in the long run. Hopefully we'll be able to move up and join Manase in Oakland soon.

Anyway, it was a fun day! We watched practice and there was a BBQ for all the guests afterwards. His schedule was open for the rest of the night until bed check at 11 so we spent every possible second together.

The hardest part is over, as far as being apart. The Raiders first preseason game was last week against the Dallas Cowboys. Manase played a little bit in the 2nd quarter and the entire 3rd quarter. He had some really solid blocks and I was so excited to see him play in his first NFL game. It was a great game! The Raiders pulled out the win 17-9 which was exciting!

He plays in Chicago on Saturday, then they finally come home to Oakland to play the 49ers. We'll be there for sure to cheer him on in person. GO #41!

Perfect

So this post was sparked by a friend of mine who decided to put me on blast for referring to her adorable little family as "perfect".

It makes me think...what makes a marriage or a family PERFECT..or at least appear to be. Well, my first response would be that there's no such thing. Just like we are all human, and cannot be perfect without the Savior who atoned for our sins that we might achieve perfection...I guess imperfect people couldnt possibly have a perfect marriage...or could they?

Now we're getting deep here. This questions begs an even broader one. Stay with me here people...my mind tends to wander ALOT. The Savior was once referred to as the "Bridegroom" and the church the "bride", one without the other would have no purpose, right? So more literally...a bride and a groom, like Manase and I...should be the same right?

Anyway, we all know them. THE PERFECT FAMILY in church. While you're sitting in the back row in sacrament with candy, cheerios, baby spit up all making up the colors on your black blouse. Your hair hasn't been properly brushed for who knows how long...you haven't worn makeup...well, since you had them...which by this time means you dont even know what the word makeup means anymore! You insist on wearing slippers because you REFUSE to break your ankle running after an overly rambunctious 2 year old (who seems to believe that his mission in life is to make yours a living hell) in 6 inch heels. Your baby wont seem to stop crying for anything and you swear it seems like they want to cry just because they KNOW they're not supposed to. Meanwhile your husband is dozing off, not even noticing your frustration. Just as you're questioning your sanity...wondering why did I get married and do this to myself? I used to be so cute and dolled up for church...in walks "The Smiths" as we'll call them. Their four kids are perfectly groomed from their starched shirts and ties to the girls perfectly curled hair. The file in quietly, sit in the front row, and you never hear a peep from the kids, not even the 10 month old. Even he's folding his arms!! haha All the kids know their scriptures and can proudly recite all 13 articles of faith their mom made them memorize. Even the mom has perfect hair...often I find myself staring and wondering when does this lady find time to all this?? After sacrament you have to listen to her go on and on about what a perfect life they have. They're children never misbehave and her husband is Prince charming straight outta the fairytales. *gag*

Maybe I'm the only one who's dealt with a family like this...but it brings to mind something my dad always told me. "The only people who are normal, are the people you don't know" to which I could make my own change for the sake of relevancy that "The only people who are PERFECT are the people you don't know" or at least that you don't know well enough to know their imperfections. No one's perfect once you get to know them. We all have fights, and tantrums, and I'm sure that at one time or another we've all googled what it would take to get a divorce, whether serious or not. (or maybe thats just me haha)

I like to think that although our marriage may not be perfect...the sum of us is MUCH better than the parts. I am far from perfect...and my husband has his imperfections too...oh lets be honest...he's about as far from it as i am. hahaha But what I love about us is that together, we make up for what the other lacks. He fills in my blank spots and I fill in his. Sure, we fight..alot. but that just means we makeup just as much! And with every fight I learn something new about him and also about myself. We learn what makes the other angry or what makes them sad, so we can hopefully adjust to avoid that argument in the future. With every mistake, with every disagreement, we grow. we're like a jigsaw puzzle...apart we just look like jagged pieces of nothing...but TOGETHER...well, put together we could be a work of art...and a perfect one at that. So yes...I think we're perfect...even if it's just imperfectly perfect. We, together, make the perfect picture. And once you add our family, it just makes the picture that much more beautiful.

We're all working together, striving for perfection and eternity...not one of us could do it alone. And its PERFECT. So say what you will about us...okay we fight, I may not dress up like I used to, I've gained alot of weight, my babies are free spirits and don't listen to a word i say, my house is a mess, my husband doesn't buy me flowers, he ignores me alot...but in all our imperfections...we are a perfect family. And I wouldn't have it any other way. :)