Hello. Hello. Can you hear me?

Are you alive?

Hey there my posse`! How are we all doing? Is it time to restart our blogging accountability? Where are we all at?

Should we try and restart? Or let the blog die for good? I'm ready to restart!!!!!

So I don't know that I posted it earlier, but I was out of commition for a while. I was pregnant, and had such little energy I just didn't have it in me to workout on top of the bare necessities that needed to be done. So now that my little T3 (first girl!) is here, and I'm starting to feel back to my normal self.

So TODAY was my first workout since T3 was born. (Born on June 16th, so almost 2 months old.) I did the 30 day shred, level one. My boys wanted to workout with me too. Which was really cute, and I figured it wouldn't hurt, because I knew Jillian was going to my butt. However I was pleasantly surprised at how well I kept up with her! I think I'll be moving onto level two sooner than I first expected. Yay for me!
I can't wait to hear what the rest of you have been up to and what your thoughts are on getting this going again.
~Nikki

Needing some Input

All right girls, it's time to figure out what's going on with this blog (thanks for bringing it up Marisa!). It seems like most of us are done with our 30 days, so I'm wondering who wants to start again. This little blog has been pretty neglected lately...I know life is super busy...so I'm just wondering if anyone wants to keep up with it. I loved it in the beginning when we were all checking in and keeping tabs on each other, but if nobody wants to keep doing it, I may just delete the blog. Hopefully, blog or no blog, everybody keeps challenging themselves and staying active. I love having the extra accountability and the friendships on this blog so I hope we can keep it up.

Having said all that...I am taking the next month off. You see, I found out at the end of the 1st week of this challenge that I am pregnant. I am so excited, but it really put this challenge on the back burner for me since I don't do much more than eat and sleep these days. Hopefully in the next month I'll have some of my energy back (I'm 8 weeks) and I can get moving again...not with Jillian, of course, but I'm hoping to find a good prenatal workout or do the Leslie Sansone dvd's since it's looking like our rainy season has come already.

So, if we keep the blog up, I will keep checking in this next month, and then start up again after that. Please leave a comment letting me know what you'd like to do. Also, if you know anyone else who wants to join I am happy to add them.

I hope everyone had a successful 30 days...would love to hear how it went for everyone!

Marisa- shoes quit on me

Hey all,

About a week and half (or two?) ago, the fabric on the back inside of my shoes gave way after 5 years of service and there was something under the fabric that was sharp and pokey, so I haven't been running since. We are going to get me fitted for new shoes tomorrow and I'll be back at it!
Since most are done with their 30 day challenge, what is the plan with the blog? Are we done and go our separate ways?

CORRECTION TO RECIPE - needs 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs!

I'm sorry - somehow when I copied the recipe, the graham crackers lost part of the measurement. It takes 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs.

The Recipe! Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

This made A LOT of crust - next time I would make a little less crust, but it's so much better than oreo cookies crust! I put a few more chocolate chips in the batter also. I also baked it in a water bath (set it in a large deep cookie sheet of water). This is supposed to help cheesecakes cook the way they're supposed to (not cooking the outside too quickly). Also, have the cream cheese at room temperature before you start. Had never heard of using sweetened condensed milk in a cheesecake before, but this was very rich and just like the ones at the expensive restaurants! Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake:

1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup butter, melted
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter and cocoa. Press onto bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Set crust aside.
2. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add sweetened condensed milk; beat well. Add vanilla and eggs, and beat on medium speed until smooth. Toss 1/3 of the miniature chocolate chips with the 1 teaspoon flour to coat (this keeps them from sinking to the bottom of the cake). Mix into cheese mixture. Pour into prepared crust. Sprinkle top with remaining chocolate chips.
3. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 1 hour. Turn off oven (do not open oven door) and leave the cake in the oven to cool in the oven for another hour. Remove from oven and cool completely. Refrigerate before removing sides of pan. Keep cake refrigerated until time to serve.

Milllbrae- another week since I've blogged! Really!?

So I can't believe that it's been a week already since I posted last. I didn't workout over the weekend. Monday didn't get a workout either... unless you count wrestling with both boys, by myself, at the pumpkin patch in Half Moon Bay. They wanted to ride the train, the ponies, jump in the jumping houses, feed the goats, pet the goats, on and on! It was all fun, but just really exhausting for me. The morning started out cold down there, and I felt so bad for my boys, whom I dressed in shorts and short sleeve shirts, because it was suppose to get HOT! Well, in the end I was glad I dressed them like that, because it only took about a half hour,  maybe an hour tops before it was HOT!

Anyway, I got side-tracked. I didn't workout Monday, besides chasing the boys, and helping them out for a couple hours or so on Monday.

(T2, Goofy, T1- Halloween Time Oct. 2009)

Tuesday- I did Jillian, Level 3! I'm now using my 5lb weights for this level!!! And their's one strength part that I use one 5lb, and one 3lb weight, to put 8lbs on that arm. It feels GREAT! I just wish I could see some definition coming to my arms already.

Wednesday- no workout. But did get the pleasure of having Sarah and her kids over for the day! We had some fun.

(T2, Mickey, T1- Oct. 2009

These are all in honor of us going to Disneyland's

Halloween Time next week!!!)

Thursday (today)- last night I had the entire house cleaned! Toys put away, dishes done, etc. So before I went to bed, I thought, I'll get everything ready for my workout! I got my weights out, my towels out, workout clothes out, everything but my water (cuz I wanted it cold in the morning) was out and ready.

I got woken up at 4:50 to my youngest crying because he'd kicked his covers off, and wanted me to cover him. Well, I just should've stayed up. Because I ended up sleeping through my alarms until it was ready to get up and get T1 ready for school. So I didn't end up getting a workout done today. Bummer.

But I made home-made mac-&-cheese today for lunch... broke away from the sandwiches again!!! I used whole wheat penne pasta, and it still turned out okay. The boys and I ate it anyway. (Home-made mac-&-cheese is the only kind of mac-&-cheese my oldest boy will eat. And even then he wont eat much, so we don't make it much... which is a good thing, all in all.)

Question:
When you cook rice or brown rice, have  you ever added chicken broth to it? I'm just curious as to what the chicken broth/water ratio is. 50/50? 60/40? 70/30? Any suggestions? Anyone ever tried it?

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake and a companion

Well, so much for eating healthy! I made chocolate chip cheesecake from scratch for Becky's birthday (my daughter-in-law). So yummy, but very rich. Ate too much of it and got heartburn!

But Caitlin (my darling daughter) had stayed the night last night, and this morning she did a Jillian shred workout with me! She's going to buy the DVD, so I hope she joins our blog!