Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Back on the horse

****Posted by Kyle

Okay, so we had a set back. We got busy, distracted, whatever you want to call it- we got lazy. We fell back into some of the old habits that got us in the bad place we were before. This time, we recognized it early, though. Nicole will start taking the stairs at work again (make sure you ask her how she's doing with that). I will stop eating meals out at accounts, and get back into serious workouts (don't forget to ask me how I'm doing with this). Together, we will get back into the routine of planning our meals on Sunday, and shopping then. Most of all, we will get back into praying for further success, and thanking God for the wonderful amount of success we have had to this point.

Off to the Ninja Dojo!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Happy Anniversary Love!

****Posted by Nicole

As of today Kyle and I have been married for a total of seven years. Kyle has been my rock, my heart, and my best friend for what seems like a short while, but has been for many years now. He makes me laugh until it hurts and holds me when I cry. I am always in awe of his kindness for others and devotion to God. We’ve had our share of bumps and bruises but it’s only made us stronger as husband and wife. My heart swells with pride when I think of him having the courage to make his dream into a reality and I smile every time I think of what God has in store for us.

It’s been a fun and exciting ride so far love, can’t wait to see what’s next.
I love you sweetheart and happy anniversary.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Apathy

I have heard it said before that Success breeds Laziness. I'm starting to believe that. I'm sure that our wonderful followers have noticed the decline in the number of posts, both from me and from Nicole. We are at a funny spot in Ninja Fingers. We have both lost weight, and we both feel good about ourselves. Truth be told, however, the newness of it all has worn off. The honeymoon with the Ninja is over, and we have both sort of hit a wall. Nicole stopped taking the stairs at work for a while, and I stopped watching what I ate as much. We just need a second wind. We need a breath of fresh air into this deal.

Monday, May 17, 2010

My New Favorite Salad!

****Posted by Nicole

Last week Kyle and I got to enjoy our first herb from our garden. I do have to say that nothing beats fresh basil from your back yard. We decided to add it to our avocado, red onion, and farmer’s cheese salad. The dressing consisted of red wine vinaigrette and olive oil just sprinkled on top. It was light, fresh, and very good. I highly recommend it!!!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

This Ninja Needs a Tailor

***Posted by Kyle

Last week, I had an event for Sip of Knowledge, my wine consulting company, that required me to wear a suit. This was fine, since I had purchased two brand new suits last summer, one is dark blue and one is brown. However, when I purchased them, I was in my pre-ninja, rounder shape. My belly was also 7 inches bigger. Add this to the fact that I bought the suits just a bit large for comfort and they just simply don't fit anymore. Tonight, I will have Nicole take a picture of me in one- it's almost comical how big the pants are. I feel like a little kid putting on his dad's suit and playing office.
Normally, in the past, I would just donate the suit to charity, and go suck it up and buy a new one. However since I resigned from my position at my job on Friday (another story, you will read more about that soon), I spent $700 on the suit last summer- and have only worn it once, and will need a summer suit for a couple of upcoming events, I need to get this thing to fit. I have called a tailor that evidently does amazing work out of her home, and will meet with her tomorrow. Stay tuned for more details!

Friday, May 7, 2010

May Weigh in results, and pics

***Posted by Kyle

We did our May weigh in, and pics. I'm not as happy with this month's results, but that's okay- I need to keep reminding myself that this is a marathon, and that the weight loss would taper off. At any rate, this morning, I weighed 314, which means I have unofficially lost over 40 lbs, and officially lost 37. My waist, around my belly button, is 55 inches, which means I have lost 7 inches off my waist. Not bad, if you look at it that way.

First picture:






This morning:

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Hyenas are cooler than Hernias

***Posted by Kyle

So, the results are in. The lump in my abdomen is actually a small hernia. The doc wants me to consider surgery, however, he also wants me to continue losing weight. I'm going to keep shedding pounds, so that the surgery will go easier (as my dad said, "less stuff to dig through"). I have an appointment to go back in November, and we will make a decision at that time. Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers!

In other news, Nicole and I had an early "cheat day" last night. I had done a sommelier gig, and she had gotten her hair done, so we met up for a late night drink and nosh at one of our favorite restaurants- Five. The kitchen was closing down, but the chef still sent out a killer charcuterie plate with different meats, pate, and cheeses. After that snack, we were both still hungry, and walked up to a place called Guido's that we had never been in. We got a goat cheese app, and a small thin crust sausage, garlic, and bell pepper pizza that were pretty dang good. Needless to say, we will be skipping our normal "cheat day" on saturday.

Weigh-in and measurements, complete with pics tomorrow!

Enjoy this beautiful day folks!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Where's the Beef?

**Posted by Kyle

...It's in our freezer, that's where it is! I need help from some of you all. Basically, I need good, healthy recipes that are low-cal, and use beef. You see, several foodie friends of mine and I all went in together and bought 2 cows. Yep, we bought 2 entire cows and had them processed. Yesterday, we went and picked it up. I now have a deep freezer full of lots of bovine. I have ground beef, sirloin, ribsteak, porterhouses, marrow bones, liver, heart, oxtails, and soup bones. So, I'm putting the call out to you healthy cooks- Whatcha got?

Oh, in other sports news, I also need money. I agreed to do this fundraiser for a ministry I used to work with called Summit Adventure in Bass Lake, CA. Esentially, I'm supposed to go on a shower strike until I raise my $$. I only have $250 left to go. So, for Nicole's sake, please email me at kyleharsha@yahoo.com on instructions on how to donate.

Thanks, and have a wonderful day.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Apologies…

****Posted by Nicole

Just recently my position at work had a bit of a shift. One of my teammates got moved to another account. We did get a replacement, however, I have not only been training him, but also doing my work and the work that my teammate was doing. This plus busy season and I have been a crazy working lady. My poor husband has been picking up the slack at home and on the blog, so I do apologize for not blogging lately.

I have learned that when working late it has been impossible for me to make my workout classes. I miss working with weights and need the flexibility Pilates offer. Thank goodness we have a treadmill in our basement or I wouldn’t have had any kind of workout the past two weeks. So, I have asked our friend Donna, who is a trainer and Pilates instructor, to make me a workout with weights so that I can still use my gym membership. I enjoy running so I would really like to keep it up. Last week I finally ran up to 2 and half miles!!! I did push myself a little too hard though. The next day my calf muscle killed and I had to ice it after I ran again. I’ve been resting it the last couple days just so I don’t injure it more.

Staying on top of eating healthy has been a bit of a struggle. I find that I am starved at around 3:00 and usually I can make it home before I get too hungry, but there were a couple of nights I didn’t make it home until 8:00. The vending machine at work doesn’t exactly offer apples to snack on, so I found that having some hummus and peanuts at work helped tremendously. I have stopped taking the stairs, mainly because I’m just to dang tired in the morning.

I do want to make a special shout out to my sweet husband who had dinner on the table every night when I would get home. Seeing how I can get kind of weepy at the drop of a hat when I’m tired, he was very understanding and wonderful during my stressful times. Thanks love!