Stomach Bug

  Em got sick again on Wednesday at daycare, so I left school early to go pick her up. I stayed with her at home Thursday just to make sure she was okay. I think she just had baby food too early after being sick this weekend, and that caused her to have an upset stomach. So yesterday was a lazy day for napping and snacking (ugh). I feel bad because I ate so much yesterday, but I will be able to run it off today (hopefully).

  The only problem is that Chris is sick now. We were planning on getting a puzzle and some wine and having a nice night at home, but it seems like that won't happen because he caught whatever Emersyn had. 


So far, my goal of losing 5 lbs a month is going pretty well (since this is the first month). I have lost my 5 lbs! Even though it was 6 until yesterday, when I snacked all. day. long. If I can keep this up, I will be able to hit my goal weight by August. I think I am doing better at losing weight this time because I set more attainable goals. Normally I try to really restrict myself and lose at least 2 lbs a week, but this time I'm taking it a little easier, and giving myself some wiggle room. Running helps because too because I focus get on my fitness progress more than the scale. 


I am down 20 lbs. ! Just 35 more to go!

The FitBit Flex.

     My aunt, my sister, and I have been doing the Workweek Challenge on our FitBit app. This is a great way to get motivated to take more steps in a day! I highly recommend the FitBit Flex.

I have the black one and Brooke, my sister, got the pink one, but the package comes with 2 bands, so we switched our extra bands and now we each have both the black and the pink band. 

I LOVE this thing. It helps me track my food; it motivates me to take the long way to where ever I am walking.

In the workweek challenge, it tracks the participants steps from Monday - Friday. My aunt kicks our butts every week, so this week we were trying really hard to beat her. I ran 3 miles both Monday and Tuesday (I normally skip a day between runs), I have been pacing my classroom during my planning period, and I have parked far away so I am forced to walk farther to my car.....alas, it seems that she is going to beat us again. Oh well... I still love the FitBit

On another note, yesterday's run felt terrible. By the first half mile I was telling myself that I would only run 2. When I got through 2 miles, I convinced myself to use all of my being to run the 3rd. I can say that at least a terrible run pace now is a lot better than a terrible run pace 3 months ago. So that is progress!

Also, this morning the scale said that I am down 22 pounds!!! This is probably because I didn't eat much last night due to the unfortunate burning of Chicken Spaghetti, but I'll take it! 

Unexpected Weekend & Runs For Cookies Virtual 5k

This weekend was definitely not what I expected it to be. I expected to run 4 miles on Friday,  visit Bethany and Nathan on Saturday, try out a new church Sunday morning, then run the RFC Virtual 5k Sunday afternoon. That did not happen.

Friday, I went to run, but it was freezing and raining. I couldn't go another day without running, so I just did one mile. The, normally busy, Friday track was EMPTY. Obviously, I am the only one dedicated enough to run in the freezing rain, or the only one without a treadmill or gym membership.... 

Saturday morning at about 5 AM, Em woke up gagging and threw up what seemed to be mucus. I figured she was okay and went ahead and gave her the morning bottle.....she threw that up too. So we waited and she tried to sleep some more, but she threw up a third time, so Chris called the doctor. 

We went to the pediatrician's office where there were tons of people waiting and only one doctor working since it was Saturday. Thankfully, Em was in a good mood and entertained the entire waiting room by laughing at everyone. She was in a great spirits to be throwing up so much. She got her finger pricked for the first time and didn't even cry! That girl is one tough cookie! 

The doctor said that a throat infection mixed with sinus drainage was causing her to throw up and he gave her a shot of antibiotic. The rest of the night we had to slowly introduce Pedialyte and breastmilk. She finally has her appetite back today.

So it goes without saying, we did not visit Bethany and Nathan on Saturday, and I did not run on Sunday since we were tending to a sick baby.

So only 2 miles all week...that is just sad.

Yesterday, I did do the virtual 5k. I didn't make my goal of a sub 40 time. Maybe it was because I hadn't run that far in a week or because the track was super crowded and I was dodging kids (didn't these people know I was in a race?!) , or maybe I should have picked it up more my last mile, but I was 34 seconds over my goal time. I still felt good about the run, though. I think I'll be able to do sub 40 during my next race.

I forgot to take a picture while running, so I just snapped a pic of my shoes.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Yesterday, I was so ready to run. I have only run once this week, and I only ran 1 mile. The forecast said rain, and during lunch it was sprinkling a little. I told myself that if it was sprinkling I would still run, but just a little less. Well, when I left school, dressed and ready, it was not sprinkling; it was raining. I was not about to run in the freezing rain; mostly because I don't want to get sick. Hopefully I'll have better luck today. If not, I may just go to the medical mall and walk a little. I am definitely going to have to run on Saturday and Sunday to make up for this pitiful week.



Also, I was doing so good food-wise. I had lost a pound this week because I had been really careful about what I was eating...until last night. My husband made chicken salad (YUM!) and brought home cookies. So I did some overeating and it was good, but so not worth it. 

I am still 18 pounds down....that is something to CELEBRATE!

1 mile...all week....ugggh. 

Feeling Good

1) I got my new blender! I've made a few smoothies in it, but I need to get better at the blending. It still takes me a few minutes (with a lot of stirring) to get everything smooth.

2) My runs have felt great lately! I did 5 miles on Sunday and felt really good about it. Still a 14+ minute pace, but much better than my 6 miles at 16+ minutes.

3) I've been paying more attention to what I eat and I can already see a difference on the scale. I have lost another pound!

4) I still lose the FitBit contest with my family during the workweek, but on the weekend I come pretty close to winning!

5) I need to work on organizing and cleaning my house. I cleaned out my closet yesterday and it felt good to get rid of all those clothes that I never wear. I did keep a few things that I hopefully will be able to wear again one day.

6) We are going to Bethany and Nathan's house again on Saturday. I love the idea of having couple friends!!! We invited ourselves this time, but only because their baby is mobile and our apartment is not very baby-proof.  I told them that I would bring dinner, though, so that should make up for our self-invitation.

Fooooood

So I have been stuck around the same weight for a few weeks now and it is getting frustrating. But really, I haven't been eating any different than I normally do, so how can I expect to lose weight? On biggest loser (yes, I'm quoting biggest loser) Bob always says "think. eat. exercise. In that order!" so I think I'm going to try to start eating healthy now.

• The first thing I want to do is get a blender. I told Chris I want one for our anniversary, but I might get one earlier. This way I can start making smoothies for breakfast and start my day off doing well. I always felt good when drinking my green spinach and fruit smoothie, so I may try that one again.
• I also want to buy pickles. They are super low-cal and are pretty good for you. If I could acquire a taste for them, that would be a great snack during the day. Runsforcookies just posted about making the perfect pickle sandwich and it's so pretty that I want to try it!



see how pretty!









• I've been looking up recipes on pinterest and someone posted this awesome looking cranberry salad that I want to make this weekend. It is made with brussel sprouts, which Chris hates, but maybe if they are chopped up like lettuce he will tolerate it. 



It is pretty tooo!

Chris and my 4th anniversary is coming up and we always do the traditional gifts (paper, cotton, etc.) and this year is fruit/flowers. This is a tough one, so I have been looking everywhere for a good spin on this gift. I would get him something from Apple Inc. (fruit), but there is nothing he really wants from there. I really need to brainstorm because it is coming up soon and I need ideas!!

Out Of The Woods

Sorry about the title of this one; I just can't get the song out of my head!....yes, it is a T. Swift song. Yesterday I noticed that I was really dreading going for a run, so I knew something was wrong. Well, I thought about it and my last two runs I was down about my pace, so I decided this time I wouldn't worry about pace as much, and just have a nice, easy run. It really paid off because I truly enjoyed my 3.5 miles. I did have to stop a little earlier than I wanted because I needed to go pick up Em from daycare (I refuse to let her stay until 5), but I really felt good about it, and I can't wait to get back out there again. 

All of this positive energy paid off because I woke up this morning a pound or two lighter! I'm pumped!

On the other hand, my brother, my aunt, and I all have fitbits and are all in a weekly competition. They are kicking my BUTT! I know Blake has to walk to and from school and runs a good bit, so I expected to get beat by him. But how in the world is my aunt beating me....maybe she is cheating...we will see.

A Quick Run

So yesterday was supposed to be my first day to be back on track. I was planning to run for 3 miles at the track near my work. Alas,  I found out that I left my headphones at home and that no one told daycare to expect me any later than normal, so I opted to just run one mile as fast as I could. I've been wanting to do this for a while just too see how far I've come. I ran my mile in just under 12 minutes.

 Part of me feels crappy that I still can't run a 10 min mile, but I have to remind myself that I started out at a 15 + min mile and that a few months ago, I could not see myself being able to finish a mile. I'm still really hopeful about getting a sub 40 time by this time next month. 

Oh, and I finally broke down and bought the Taylor Swift album this morning. 

I used to make fun of T. Swift, but all of these songs are so good. I guess I am  officially a fan of Taylor Swift (I never thought I would say that).

Getting Back On Track

This weekend was so much fun! 

Saturday we went to Renee's first birthday party and then went to Bethany and Nathan's to visit with them and have a play date. I cannot tell you how much we enjoyed visiting with them. It was nice to talk to adults that were not our family (not that we don't love our family). Plus, since they are new parents too, we could share stories of new-parent nightmares. Their sweet girl, Natalie, is super cute and has the sweetest little chubby cheeks that you ever did see. 

On Sunday we just stayed at home, but I had such a good time playing with Em. She can sit up pretty well now, so it is fun sitting in front of her playing clapping games or blocks.

The only thing is I definitely feel bad about the amount that I ran last week. I only went out twice! Now, since one of my runs was 6 miles, I did get 8 miles in, but like I said before, that 6 mile run was terrible. I am planning to run Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday of this week to get me back on track. These holiday weeks and getting back into a schedule make finding time tricky. 

I am planning to sign up for a 10k in March. I know I can do the distance, but I would like to do it in an acceptable time (about a 13ish min mile).

A Week of Bad Runs

This week has flown by! I did a 6 mile run on Monday in Kiroli park. The hills on those trail KILLED me. I ran at a 16+ min per mile. That is the slowest I have EVER run. I keep trying to make myself feel better by saying the pace doesn't matter, the distance does, but I still feel like those miles didn't really count since you could walk faster than I was running. 

On Wednesday I was going to do a 3 mile run and work on my speed a little. My first two miles were great; I was going about a minute faster than normal......then my phone (music, timer, mile mapper) died. I was pissed than I wouldn't have an official time of my run, so I stopped at mile 2. I do feel good about the time though.


Oh! I am super pumped that my 2015 runner's log came in!

I started filling out the days I ran for this year. It definitely makes me want to run even more just to fill up the pages!


This weekend should be great though, we have Renee's birthday party Saturday, and then we are going to Bethany's house for pizza and games. It has been exactly 6 months since I have seen Bethany (she came and saw me & Em at the hospital) so I am excited to actually see a friend that is not related to me! :) 

I don't know when I am going to fit in a run this weekend. Today seems like it isn't going to happen since I have errands to run. Saturday seems to jam packed unless I wake up early (doubtful). Maybe Sunday I can do a few miles. 

I think next week will be a little less hectic. 

2 Year Update

       Wow! It's been 2 years since I posted in this blog! I always feel embarrassed when I go back and read my old posts, but I guess I'm going to keep them posted just to have a sense of where I was back then. I'll just make them private, because I don't love the writing.

     The main things that I saw when I was reading those old posts is that I was SO baby-crazy and I told myself I would lose weight. Well, one of those two things turned out for the better. I did have my sweet little girl exactly 6 months ago. Trying to conceive and pregnancy has been such a looooooooooong journey. I still sometimes can't believe that I made it through. But I have my sweet little Emersyn and she is everything that I have ever wanted. 

     I have not, on the other hand, lost any weight since my last post. I've actually gained weight because of fertility medicine, pregnancy, and lack of will power. I was working out at a gym for a while, but having to drive 20 minutes for an hour workout was just not very convenient, so I ended up not going. 

    But about 8 weeks ago I decided that I wanted to start running. I had done the couch to 5k program, and I always failed around week 5 because it got too hard, but this time I found a plan on a blog that really worked for me. The blog is about a woman who was once 250+ pounds (which is about 50 pounds heavier than I was when started out) and lost 120+ pounds by running and dieting. The woman who writes the blog is super-inspiring, and her running plan worked! I sucessfully went from 0 to 5k in about a month. Now, I am super-slow, but I am focusing on distance first and speed later.

Runs For Cookies Blog  <---- my favorite blog!

      My sister and I have been running together (she is a skinny-mini and much faster than me), and we plan on doing  race every month. So far we have done 2 races, the Scout Strong 5k and the SamStrong 5k. I have lost about 10 pounds since I started running. I think I will be more successful when getting healthier this time, because I truly enjoy running and it is a lot more convenient/fun than going to the gym.

Scout Strong 5k

We got medals for being in the Top 15!

(there were only 17 racers)

December 5k (my 1st): 46:00

January 5k: 42:30