A Little Woo

Feels Like an Eternity

2009-10-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

I feel like I've been on my own for a month when in reality it's only been since last Friday. My husband along with his mother flew to see his grandpa, her dad this week. He turned 87 on Monday and they wanted to spend the day with him. That was wonderful and I'm glad they had the time together! Mean while, back home I'm sad and lonely with a cold bed to sleep in each night!

It doesn't matter that my house is full of kids, dogs, and cats I still felt as if I had been left alone. At night the clock would slow down and crawl, sleep eluded me many times. It has made me question my dependence on this wonderful husband of mine.

We've been married for 21 years. He really is part of me, more than part of me, he completes me in many ways. I know that sounds so corny but it has some truth in it. Why have I allowed this dependence to develop to this point? Why did I not realize the complete need I had for him?

As I am pondering these thoughtful questions I received an e-mail from hubby at 3:15am. Apparently I am not the only one with dependency issues. Whew, that makes me feel much better! Now I can stop over thinking the need I have to have this man in my life! I told him he can't leave me again. I just don't sleep. Nothing gets done around the house because he isn't there to do it! And I hate doing dishes! So no, he cannot have another vacation without me!

He was supposed to be home at 7:15 this evening. I was to pick him up at the airport. Northwest Airlines will not get our business again. It has been a roller coaster all day today! His flight was delayed, the connecting flight was cancelled, he was told he would have to stay the night in Minneapolis, now he thinks he will be on a 6:30 flight this evening and may be in by 10pm. It's all a waiting game. Will I see him tonight? Will it be sometime tomorrow? Will I have another sleepless night? Only time will tell.

This may give me some time to actually clean the house though. It would suck to come home to a house that has been messed up by four kids between the ages of 15 and 20. Not that I do any messing up of anything mind you. I'm never messy.

If you believe that then you don't know me very well. :)

Becoming Involved

2009-10-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

I was listening to a great presentation on getting involved. Involved in what you may ask? LIFE! That's what I'm talking about!

We get caught up in the day to day, go to work, come home, clean, cook, check kids homework, fall into bed exhausted. Do it all again the next day.

I am breaking this cycle. I am getting out and meeting people! I'm excited about Beachbody and I want to share the news! I've been involved with Beachbody since 2003. I have had great success with them and I am excited now to have the opportunity to coach others to be successful with Beachbody products! It's time we all start getting involved in our own lives! Get healthy, get fit and enjoy!

I am surrounding myself with those who are interested in doing the same! There is so much more energy surrounding you when you surround yourself with upbeat, outgoing, healthy people! Oh yeah!

Wise Words from Tony...

2009-08-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

If you look to the left of my blog you will see that I follow Tony Horton's blog along with many other health related blogs.

I have been in a funk as of late and I have been trying to reclaim some of the old excitement I had towards working out and being fit. I visited Tony's thread today for the first time in a long while and the first three posts on this page hit home hard. All three were wonderful but I am going to copy of them here to share. If you want to see the rest just click the link and visit. He enjoys the company! ;)

Holding On And Letting Go
Look at your life and ask why you're holding on to things that don't make your life better. Now ask yourself if you have the strength to let go of these things. I see in my own life how I keep things around that no longer serve me. Even simple things like the clutter of paper and old useless junk in drawers, closets and on shelves. It's hard to abandon safe, old, familiar objects, philosophies and people in our lives. This would require letting go of the things that make up who you are; even if who you are isn't who you want to be. Most of us are two people at once. The person living in this moment and the person planning, rehearsing and preparing for the future. The person that was, is dead. No need for discussion about that person here. You have right now and the days, weeks, months and years (if you're lucky) in front of you. The person you are right now often becomes unhappy when the plan for the future doesn't come to fruition. Quite often our hopes and dreams are dashed because we couldn't let go of the things that are holding us back. There are two things that make change hard. Letting go of familiar and safe behaviors (that don't work) and adapting (sticking with) new unfamiliar more difficult activities to create change and a better life. You can't hold on and let go at the same time. You can't do P90X and eat junk food. You can't workout in the morning and get drunk after work. Tip-toeing your way to dramatic change can work for some people but my belief is that sometimes you need to clean house completely to prepare yourself for life altering, long term change. This doesn't mean you still can't take small steps when it comes to letting go. I'm not promoting that a 350 lbs person with no fitness background jump into P90X. I am saying that a person like that needs to STOP doing nothing and start finding fit people to hang out with and talk to. If you went around your house right now and threw out and gave away all the crap that's been sitting in your house for years, you'd feel phenomenal.Letting go of the junk you've been holding on to requires finding a more powerful replacement. In your heart you need to trust that the simple act of releasing tired old worthless behaviors is going to bring about a better life. Why is it that when 100 people all get the same life altering information, only a small percentage of those people run with it? It's because the majority of those people can't let go of the people and belief systems that keep them right where they are. Life is frightfully short and I'd hate to see anyone miss out on the incredible opportunities available to all of us. We're all capable. We're all deserving. After reading this write down all the things in your life that aren't working. Then make a list of the things you plan on doing to make your life better. Is it a letter, an e-mail, a phone call or another TO-DO list? Be proactive not inactive! Let go and get going.

And that my friends is what kicked my butt this morning. What will you find that kicks your butt? It's out there. Just go looking for it!

2009-05-21T08:54:00.003-07:00

Time to find your why!

2009-05-21T08:54:00.001-07:00

Why's are all around us!

2009-05-21T08:53:00.003-07:00

Do you have a why yet?

2009-05-21T08:53:00.001-07:00

Really quite an inspiration.

A New Slim in 6? Can it be?

2009-05-07T15:48:00.001-07:00

YES! They are revamping the old Si6 Workout! I can't wait to try it in August!

Fitness Facts

2009-05-06T17:01:00.001-07:00

This is a great quick video that gives you great reasons to exercise every day! It's all up to you!

Are you ready for a little INSANITY?

2009-05-06T16:52:00.001-07:00

Are you ready to test yourself? Push the limit? This could be for you!

2009-05-06T16:49:00.001-07:00

A little HHA anyone?

2009-05-04T16:28:00.001-07:00

Down 4.5lbs!

2009-05-04T16:22:00.000-07:00

YUP! That's right! And I have not worked out in almost three weeks thanks to this dang tooth ache. The only change is that I have been drinking a Shakeology drink every morning for the last 10 days. I lost 4.5 lbs in 10 days just by drinking the drink! I can't wait to see what happens when I get my grove on!

I'm hoping to get my pain down enough for a workout tonight. Tooth pain really sucks. I have not had to deal with this kind of pain very often in my life, thank goodness I have good teeth for the most part. But OUCH! hurts! lol.

Tonight I'm going to do a little HHA and for those not in the know it's Hip Hop Abs with Shaun T! :)

This is why I love Shakeology!

2009-05-02T16:56:00.001-07:00

This is the most amazing supplement I have ever tried!

What is your why?

2009-05-01T20:41:00.001-07:00

Something for Everyone!

2009-05-01T10:46:00.001-07:00

With Beachbody products you will find something that works for you! Check it out! If you want to know more let me know!

Shakeology...

2009-04-27T16:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, you heard me right. Shakeology. You may not know what this amazing phenomena is. If you haven't tried it you will be in for a delight.

Imagine finding the most nutritious drink that actually tastes good! One that all of your family will drink! AMAZING. Now I hemmed and hawed before purchasing because I kept seeing the price. The more I thought about it the more I realized that the price wasn't as expensive as I thought. Roughly $4 a glass. Seriously? Come on, how many people spend that every day on their coffee? Shouldn't I be happy to spend this on my family every day? Every day know that I am sending my kids to school and my husband to work with all their vitamins, minerals, probiotics and superfoods they need? Yes. I. Should.

So I broke down and bought two bags of it. Chocolate and Green Berry. I got the packages on Friday. I immediately opened the Green Berry and tried my first shake. YUMMM. Saturday was the Chocolate...a word of advise, don't mix it with chocolate milk...it kind of defeats the purpose and makes it way too chocolaty! Even for my chocoholic hubby! :) So on Sunday it was the chocolate with some raspberries thrown in. Now that was absolutely wonderful! My 15 year old loved it too. This morning it was the Green Berry with blueberries and Orange Juice. Talk about tasty!

Carl blogged about it on his blog, Chalene did the same on hers! Check them out! If you want to know more drop me a line.

90 Day Challenge!

2009-04-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

I was just over at one of my favorite blogs...The Straight Dope. Steve Edwards has issued a 90 day challenge. It could be anything. But mine is to be the healthies I've ever been!

I turn 40 at the end of June. I started my own 90 day challenge at the end of March and I am excited to hop onto his 90 day challenge and get some more people behind me and have others to be accountable for!

You can challenge yourself to do anything! Learn an instrument, get healthy, get out, get active, enjoy life, take a class, create something! Learn something! Better yourself!

Anyone else in?

I'll post my own updates through the challenge. This is going to be great!

The next chapter...

2009-03-31T08:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I lost a lot of weight and got really healthy with Beachbody products. It was amazing. I got it off and kept it off for over a year actually. I was focused. I just couldn't seem to loose that last 10lbs. I got frustrated. I started trying fad diets, things like, no carbs in the morning, meal replacements that weren't healthy. Diets based on your blood type. Diets based on your body shape. So many diets. My body must have freaked out! but I digress.

Ok, going back. It was December of 2004. I had a major surgery to reduce the size of my breasts. It turned out that losing weight did not make my boobs smaller. UGH. So here I was a size 10 and 145lbs with a DD chest. I had them take me down to a C. Much better. :)

I maintained my weight loss through the surgery and recovery. I was focused on not being one of those people who gain their weight back. Even though I was not able to workout during my recovery I didn't gain. I am sure I really did gain but didn't know it. I know I lost muscle because I wasn't able to work the muscles. So that set me up for some weight gain. :) I just wasn't realizing it at the time.

After I got the go ahead to workout I couldn't seem to find my groove. I worked on it. I tried. I was frustrated I guess. I was feeling out of shape again even though I was still a size 10. I felt huge. Then I started getting pains in my left hand. I thought it was just arthritis bugging me since it was in the knuckle. I tried to ignore it. It would come and go. It would throb and then be sharp stabbing pains and then throb again.

Finally, one night my hubby and I were out and my hand was really hurting. I actually got some ice to put on it. It was swelling on me too. I went into the immediate care facility the next morning and they took X Rays. The doctor showed me a small piece of my bone that had chipped off and was floating, that was causing the pain and swelling. But he wasn't concerned about that. What he was really concerned about was the growth that was inside the knuckle causing it to be a hollow bone and allowing for the break. WHAT? I had never heard of such a thing.

I was sent to an orthopedic specialist who after looking at the X Rays said he wouldn't touch it. I had to go to a hand specialist due to the location. I guess there are just too many things that can go wrong in that area. I made an appointment and had to wait about three weeks. With a piece of bone floating in my hand. I couldn't workout, I was stressed and frustrated. I think I did start to eat comfort food about that time. It was in June of 2005. I went to the specialist and he set up the surgery. It started out he was going to take bone marrow from my hip to put into my hand to fill the hole. Then he decided to take donor bone marrow. I am so glad he did because I found out later how painful it is to have it removed. OUCH. They scraped the inside of the knuckle and took out all of the growth and sent it in for testing. It was benign so that was a relief. I still had six months of physical therapy and healing before I could start my workouts again. Instead of thinking of what I could do, things like walking, squats, lunges. I was thinking about all the things I couldn't do! I couldn't let my heart rate go to high. I'm not sure why, but I think it might have had something to do with the donor bone marrow taking in my hand. I don't' know, he just told me I couldn't elevate my heart rate. I couldn't grip anything like weights so no lifting, of course no push ups, nothing that I had been doing anyways.

I let myself get into a funk. I gained about 10lbs. I didn't think it was too bad considering I had had two surgeries in about six months time. Summer turned into fall and I was getting closer to that magical date when I would be released to do my workouts again! YEAH! It was early December 2005. I was driving into Portland for a diversity conference for work. It was POURING! The water was heavy on the road and it took me over an hour to go 15 miles! Crazy! I am almost to my destination. At the last stop light before I will turn into the parking garage! Thank goodness. My light turns green, I go, so does the delivery truck next to me. I was to the fourth lane of traffic when a car came out of no where and hit me. Pushed me into the delivery truck. I don't know if I will ever get that sound or the scene out of my head. Metal being pushed in on be from both sides. Trying to hold the steering wheel steady. Getting to the side of the road and taking stock. I hit my head on my driver side window. Air bags did not deploy since it was a side hit. I was thankful I was in my big SUV instead of my little pick up truck. My husband had insisted I drive it that day. It was raining too hard and he was afraid my little truck would hydroplane. I didn't have any broken bones. The young man who hit me wasn't so lucky. He did walk away. Amazingly enough. The car he hit me with was a little two door thing. Totaled. I had him get into my car with me while we waited for police and ambulances to come. He was beat up and bleeding, had a broken hand. I still think it was amazing he survived.

I was in physical therapy for that accident for the next three months. My ribs were dislocated. Can you really do that? I gave up. Before six months went by I had gained 30lbs.

So fast forward to now. Four years later. It took me four years to figure out why I stopped and what my issues were. I'm really focusing on balance in my life. Being healthy and active is part of that balance. Sharing my story and Beachbody with people and helping them become healthy and active is another part of being balanced.

I have realized once again the wonderful gift I have been given and I am excited to be able to share a little of myself with others. Thanks for listening! And as always, if you want more info go to www.beachbodycoach.com/leannwoo.

This is a picture of me taken in December 2005, a year after my breast reduction and right before my weight gain!

To be continued...

2009-03-30T21:36:00.001-07:00

Of course this is not the end of my story. I have a few more chapters. Life could never be that easy right? So tomorrow I will give you another chapter. If any are interested.

A little background

2009-03-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

I discovered Beachbody in December of 2002. I went online and joined the online community prior to purchasing any program. After talking with people online and seeing the wonderful support that was offered I purchased my first program. Power 90. I started on February 3, 2003.

Now Tony Horton is a total goofball. He made the workouts fun. And the fact that the workouts were only about 35 minutes long. You can do anything for 35 minutes right? OYE. lol. When I first started it was hard. I was fat and out of shape. But I was determined to do something for myself for a change. You see, I got married young, had three children before I was 25. So my body had taken a beating. I hadn't lost weight prior to getting pregnant again. I was focusing so much on raising my three small children that I was totally neglecting myself. So for 35 minutes every night I shut out my family, went into my garage and pressed play on my VCR. Yes, I had it was that long ago. lol.

After a couple weeks I noticed it was getting easier to do some of the moves. Don't get me wrong, I was still modifying plenty. I still wasn't doing a regular jumping jack or a regular push up. Everything was modified. I loved that though. I could modify the moves and keep moving. It felt good to be given the ok to modify. I knew I was doing something good for my body.

After 30 days I posted pictures of myself to this wonderful online community. I was a little down because I had expected HUGE changes. I was feeling like I had accomplished something amazing! Why didn't the pictures show that? It turns out that we are our own worst critic. I had great encouragement from everyone who posted. They pointed out the small things I didn't see. Like the shape of my arm or the fact that one of my chins had gone away! :) I felt rejuvenated. I continued on my journey.

I got to day 45 in my 90 day Power 90 journey. I hit a wall. Why wasn't I losing weight like everyone else? (Why do we compare ourselves to others?) Now that should have been the question I was asking. But no, I was comparing. Then in the next 10 days I lost almost three inches off my waist. Imagine my surprise! I was pumped. :)

I again, shared my 60 day photos and was amazed at the response. By now I should not have been amazed but it was so new to me. To be supported by strangers. To be encouraged to stay on my journey by complete strangers. Actually, there were a few that become really close friends. They were no longer strangers. True, I had never met them in "real life", but we shared a lot together. You can't underestimate that kind of friendship.

Back to my story. I can remember people asking me what I was doing. I proudly told them Power 90! They looked at me strange because that was an infomercial. What? Does that really work? You bet it does! All you have to do is "press play"! Do the work. I kept going. I remember thinking that I didn't want to miss a single day. I was going to do the whole 90 days, 6 days a week and not miss a single day! Yeah. right. Life happens. You get sick, your kids get sick, even your dog gets sick. You lose your inspiration. What ever the reason, most people I find will get off track. Luckily for me I was determined. I missed a day here or there. Some workouts were done at 70% because I wasn't feeling well. But I stayed with it. Just because you miss a day or two or you get sick does not mean you need to start over. That is a very important lesson I learned from my new online community of friends. Don't start over "tomorrow" or "next week". We all do that don't we? We miss a workout or have a HUGE dinner and say, there goes my diet, or there goes my workout. And then we start making excuses. I can't start again until Monday because my day off is Sunday. Why can't you start now? You can still take Sunday as your day off...you don't have to do six straight days before your day off...it just doesn't make sense. Yet we do it. We make excuses.

Ok, I'm rambling. Back to my adventure. It was an adventure. One that changed my life.

I can remember doing my day 90 workout with Tony. I was in tears by the end. Half with relief because I had accomplished something that I thought was pretty amazing. Half with sadness because I didn't know what came next. This is only a 90 day program after all. Or is it?

I began to realize that this was 90 days for a reason. 90 days to help us wrap our heads around the idea of eating healthy and working out. 90 days to get us hooked on the feeling of being fit. 90 days is nothing. You can do anything for 90 days right? But after that 90 days you don't want to stop. You may be really of tired of listening to Tony's jokes...but there are many more workouts, heck there are many more things you can do just outside your door! You become an active person! You engage with those around you. You realize that those 90 days have completely changed your life, and you've never been happier!

I thank Beachbody every day for giving me the courage to step away from my old self and embrace the new me.

If you are interested in making this change contact me! Or go to my website Coach LeAnn to find out more about Beachbody! They have grown since 2003! It is amazing to see what is offered now! There is something for everyone!

Day 1 Weight, 172
Day 30 Weight, 165
Day 60 Weight, 162
Day 90 Weight, 160
Day 130 Weight, 155
I lost 17 lbs
Chest (upper)
-6”
Chest
-4.5”
Chest (lower)
-2.5”
Waist line
-6”
Waist (under belly button) Largest part!
-8”
Hips
-3.5
Right Arm
-1”
Left Arm
-1”
Right Thigh
-3”
Left Thigh
-2”
Total Loss
17 lbs & 37.5 inches!

I'm a Fitness Coach!

2009-03-23T17:23:00.000-07:00

I am doing something really great for myself and for other people. I'm focused on getting my body fit and healthy and I'm helping people around me do the same!
I've started my own business as a Beachbody Coach. You can check out my web site Team Beachbody Coach LeAnn. Let me know if you'd be interested in fitness programs that will change your life, or if you know someone who wants to get in the best shape of their life and make money doing it!

Just a little something to think about...

2009-03-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

I received this in an e-mail from a co-worker. It really made me stop and think about how blessed I am. I hope you are equally blessed.

Reflection:

If the world were a village of 100 people

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following:
There would be: 57 Asians; 21 Europeans; 14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south; 8 Africans
52 would be female; 48 would be male.
70 would be non-white; 30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian; 30 would be Christian.
87 would be heterosexual; 11 would be homosexua
l6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the United States.
80 would live in substandard housing;
70 would be unable to read.
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth.
1 (yes, only 1) would have a collage education;
1 would own a computer
When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for justice becomes glaringly apparent.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation . . . you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.
If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death . . .you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.
If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep . . . you are richer than 75 % of this world.
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace. . . you are among the top 8 % of the world's wealthy.
If your parents are still alive and still married . . you are very rare, even in the United States and Canada.
If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you, and furthermore, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.

A Box of AWESOMENESS!!!

2009-03-11T11:40:00.000-07:00

I have been MIA for well over a year now! Hard to believe! I am a lurker and lurk on several sites. I found this great site Decoursey Project where a box of awesomeness will be given away to one lucky person. All you have to do is post a comment on her blog and then let others know about it on your blog. :) Easy enough right?

Limit of five comments per person though, and cut off is this Sunday. Who wouldn't want a box of awesomeness delivered to their door? Cool huh?

Book Meme

2008-02-08T10:33:00.000-08:00

Mensch has tagged me for a book meme.

The rules as stated are:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

This is going to be strange. I'm at work, the closest book to me is a book on Early Childhood...Be prepared.

Giving It Some Thought
Cases for Early Childhood Practices

Alex started to undo his pants as Maggie and Imani looked at him uncomfortably. I could tell that even at 4 years, they knew something about this was not right.
"Alex, I need to talk to you..."

Ok, with that cheerful quote I find the need to find another book close to me...

The Motion Picture Prescription
200 Movies to help you heal life's problems

Made in Heaven is for those of you who are interested in the images and ideas about the afterlife. As in Defending Your Life and Flat Liners, in this movie we have an opportunity to see someone's notion of what happens if once we die we end up being recycled back to earth. Now, for those of you who think this is hogwash, this movie is nothing more than entertainment.

Now to tag five people. I only have a few I can tag..I think I'll borrow a couple from Green Tuna's blog as she has so many anyways. :)

Web
KellyC (although she hasn't blogged in quite some time...)
Tam

I have realized that I don't have that many blogging friends. :( I have a lot of thread friends but they are not the blogging sort.

Web, I'm tagging Jim! :)
Jim

Tuna, I couldn't resist tagging Crazy Aunt Pearl! :) So there is my fifth tag. Sorry I'm such a loner! I seriously need to make more internet friends. :)
Crazy Aunt Pearl