Happy Birthday to Shawn!

Today Shawn is in his mid-thirties. I, however, am still in my early thirties.

He is 34. I am 33.

For a few short weeks we are the same age, then May 31st rolls around and he is a year older than me again.

And that's how I like it.

When we were 17 and he turned 18, I had endless fun teasing him about dating a younger woman.

When he turned 21 and I was still 20, I joked about how he had to be the responsible one and I was still under age.

Now, he is in his mid-thirties and I am in my early thirties.

But the best part is that none of that matters at all. Because I am just happy to have him. He is the best Husband, Father, Friend, Brother, Son anyone could ask for and I get to spend every day of my life with him.

Even when he looks like this.

Because I know we will always be like this.

A happy little family having a lifetime of adventures together.

Love you Shawn. I know you don't like to make a big deal out of your birthday but you are kind of a big deal to us.

Fitness Journey - Week Ending May 30

This week started out with a really bad day.

A day so bad I got down on myself and called it a Fail.

I wrote about it.

I processed it.

I used all the positive comments I received from the comments section on the post, my facebook wall, and from people in person and I put them back into my next run.

Saturday we set out to run 3.1 miles at about 5 pm. We were about four blocks from the house when big fat rain drops started to fall on us.

Shawn turns to me and says "Maybe we should have checked the weather."

I begin to mentally prepare to cut it short and head home.

We keep running and when we hit the trail it seems to lighten. Or maybe we were just in a tree canopy.

We are nearing the end of the tree canopy when this huge crash of lightening with immediate thunder lights up the sky and shakes the trail I am running down. 

We get just past the one mile marker and it really starts to come down. Shawn is about half a block ahead of me and he turns to come back.

I duck under a shelter, waiting to hear him tell me it's time to pack it in. I want to hear him tell me we will cut up the park and down that road and be home in no time.

But that's not what happened. He said "What are you doing?! You drug me out here, we are going to finish this!" He turned on his heal and ran off in the direction that will take another two miles to get me back to my house.

I set out after him and we do it. We run 3.1 miles in the rain. And it felt good. Well, save the squishy shoes. I hate squishy shoes.

We made good time and when we got home Shawn says "Why is your back so wet?"

Um... Everything on me was wet! But, that's Shawn for ya. Always there with a crack to make me smile.

I had planned to finish that evening with an outdoor yoga class with my friend, Erin but when we got out there it was raining. I was done working out in the rain and Erin wasn't feeling it either so we hit up Unique Thrift Store for some jeans and summers clothes instead. 

Saturday ended with a 3013 Calorie Burn and 11,271 steps. It was a day to be proud of.

Sunday we talked about running but after spending an entire day working in the yard we had to rethink that plan. We were beyond exhausted and felt like sitting in a movie theater instead.

We met my parents for dinner and then went to see Dark Shadows.  It was okay. It really was one of those movies where the previews give away all the funny parts and the rest is just kind of filler.

I ended the day with a 2559 Calorie Burn and 7428 steps. But most of all I ended the day with a very, very sore body. Sunday reminded me once again that it is time to add weight training to my activities.

Monday we found ourselves kid free for the entire day so we slept in, which we never do. Then we ran a ton or errands and were not done until after 2 pm. We realized at that point why we never sleep in, our day was already gone!

We got in another run which was interesting since we were both still so very sore from Sunday but it was a good run. Another windy run but this time I didn't let it get to me.

I finished the day with a 3078 Calorie Burn and 12, 453 steps.

Tuesday was a "back to reality day" starting with a very early morning in the office, leaving about an hour later than I had planned, ending with our final Girl Scout meeting with our Daisy Troop. I didn't get in a workout but I did take three walks. I ended the day with a 2557 Calorie Burn and 9626 steps. Very, very good for a non-run day!

While I am very happy about my calorie burn and steps this week I did fall down on the eating side. We eat out a few times and I found myself snacking a bit too much. I didn't do a great job tracking my calories as the day went on since I had that long weekend and I forgot what I had eaten when it came time to log.

The only way to lose weight is to have a balance Calorie Burn and Calorie Intake so it is extremely important to know what you have taken in. This week I didn't pay attention to that and even though I hit or exceeded my calorie burn every single day, my food was off and I netted a big, fat 0 pound weight loss.

I still consider my week a success. I am running a 5k on Saturday and then will be spending the day walking around the zoo. I feel that I am ready for Saturday and that's what really matters to me this week.

I resolve to track every calorie I eat this week and to make a few smarter choices in the food department.

Have a great week everyone! 

This weeks Body Bugg Stats - Calorie Burned Daily Average vs Calories Consumed Daily.

My Daughter The Rock Star

One evening I came home from work to this...

Heidi's older cousin Makayla, who lives with us, made her into a rock star, complete with huge sunglasses.

Lots of flat iron.

Lots of hair spray.

Lots of time.

She looked so stinken cute! I mean, she looked so punk! Don't tell her I said she looked cute...

And she happened to have guitar lessons this evening. Her guitar teacher loved it!

My First Running Fail

I have been running for about 10 months now. It is not something I ever thought I would do but it really is the only cardio exercise that really does work for me.

Every time I run it's hard.

I do not know what Hitting Your Stride means as I have never found that. I have settled into a slow pace but when I catch myself doing that I have to make a mental effort to push through.

I do like that it makes me less stabby. After a bad day at work a run will help me calm my nerves and with a high pressure job like the one I have, that is an awful lot of days.

If I run when I am sad I find I am even more sad when I am done. I end up both emotionally and physically exhausted.

What it really comes down to is running is something I need to do but it's not really something I like to do. In the end it is something I am proud that I do and something I haven't failed at. Until Wednesday.

I went into Wednesday knowing Jess was coming over do to Yoga around 5:30 and I desperately needed to make up my run I missed on Tuesday night. When I left for work that morning I told Shawn we would need to get in that run before we did yoga. Normally I would have just let that run go but we are running a 5k on June 2nd and I am honestly not sure I could finish it right now. We have not been running outside much and my time on the treadmill has been very, very limited.

I did everything I could to get out of the office on time and get home so we would have time to run and by some miracle it worked. We quickly changed into our running gear and headed out into the 15 mile per hour winds. A storm was coming in so the wind was blowing from all directions and no matter which way we were running it was never at our back but always all around us. This made the run very difficult.

We made it 2.7 miles and I was done.

I am ashamed to admit that for the first time in my running career I actually quit.

I stopped.

I gave up.

I was about a block behind Shawn when this little dog came running out of a yard and started chasing him. I do not like strange little dogs at all. I think they are the most likely to bit you! I kept running but when I was within half a block and the owner had yet to collect the dog I put the breaks on. I started walking but I was unable to kick it back in gear. We were at a point where we could go straight and finish our 3.2 miles or we could turn and be home in 2 blocks.

We opted to go home.

I am not proud.

I let the dog, the wind, the exhaustion be an excuse and that's just not like me!

When we got home I was not feeling 100%. I needed water and I needed to sit down. I kicked off my shoes, which always drops my core temp quickly, drained the water cooler of what little water was left, and threw myself down on my yoga mat.

I was down on my self for giving up.

I was hot.

I was exhausted.

I needed more water!

After ten minutes of self pity and moping I asked Jess to get the DVD going. I was starting to worry that I would not be able to kick my butt back in gear to do the Yoga video.

I would be letting Jess down.

I would be letting me down. Again. Twice in one day.

That could not happen! I needed to get up and get going, no matter what.

I gave myself a pep talk. I told myself I needed to stretch anyway so why not just do the video to get my stretch and then it would all be over. Like I tell my daughter, the sooner you start the sooner you are done.

So, I got my butt up off the floor and I did that yoga DVD the very best I could.

And when I was done I was proud. I was proud of the effort I put in to the Yoga DVD and I was really proud of Jess since she was busting her A$$ next to me. I am so thankful she was there because I know if she wasn't I would have fell onto the couch not to get up until it was time to take Heidi to guitar lessons later that evening.

In the end, I am still bummed that I gave up but I have resolved to use that tomorrow when it is still hard. I have five runs scheduled before my 5k and I will finish that 5k in a good time.

So, I will kick myself in the rear and I will do this.

I will do this.

And then when I plugged in my bodybugg Thursday morning, this is what I saw:

In the end, I really didn't fail. And I guess that's what really matters.

Quick Craft: Fun Flip Flops

A few weeks back, when I was dropping Heidi off at gymnastics, our friend pointed out these flip flops sitting in the shoe area. They were super fun, cheap flip flops with balloons tied to them. I really am not sure if they purchased them this way or if they made them but I thought it would be a great way to cuten up a pair of cheap flip flops for the summer. (Did you know Cuten is not a word?!)

I picked these purple flip flops up at the dollar store and a bag of water balloons at Target for 50 balloons for $2. It took about 75 balloons to decorate both girls size 13 shoes and about 40 minutes of work.

The first flop I tied on the balloons in what ever order I pulled them out of the bag just trying not to put two of the same color next to each other.  The second one I sorted the balloons and circled through each color. I only did this to see if it made a difference.

I decided it did not make a difference. I can not tell which one was random and which was planned.

They turned out super cute so I made a few more for the some of my favorite girls.

Go ahead and give it a try for a special girl in your life or even for one of the billion birthday parties you are attending this summer.

Or check out my Etsy store and order some from me!

Fitness Journey - Week Ending May 23

This week was a very typical spring/summer week for my family meaning we were crazy busy and it was hard to find time to get anything more into a day.

Starting out with Wednesday - We reopened Kara's Yoga Studio in my living room! We cleared out a few small pieces of furniture, rolled back the rug, laid out a few yoga mats, and popped in a Jillian Michaels Yoga DVD.

My sisters-in-law and I worked, sweated, and cussed our way through the 30 minute level one video. When it was done they pealed off and I did about 15 minutes of the level two video and then a short ab workout on the floor.

It was hot and sweaty and I was sore for two full days. So over all I would say it was a great workout.

After working that hard and being that sore I have to remind myself that Yoga is not a calorie torcher and that I need to balance it with running.

Thursday was a busy day at work, Heidi had Gymnastics, and I had a meeting in the evening so I had to take it as a rest day. I worked hard to make sure I at least got all my steps in and was happy to find I was 500 steps over goal even with sitting in a chair from 7 to 9:30 pm.

Friday I went for a quick walk during my lunch and I was able to make it to they gym in my office after work. I ended up 300 calories over my goal burn and logged 13,076 steps - WOW! I suffered that night with shin cramps, a middle of the night reminder that I need to stretch not only after working out but before bed as well. I am sure the two glasses of wine with dinner played into the cramps as well!!

I spent Saturday cleaning my house and then we checked into a local waterpark Hotel for the weekend where the kids swam for hours and hours. I was not able to wear my body bug much while I was there since it is not something that can get wet so I am not sure how I fared over the weekend.

Sunday I woke up with a knot in my back the size of a fist and had very limited use of my right arm and shoulder. This limited my movement and in the afternoon it was so unbearable I ended up sitting on the couch watching TV for about 4 hours. This is not something I ever do but I figure it's my body's way of telling me to take a break.

My awesome Sister-in-law Jess worked the knot down to something manageable and I was feeling a bit better so Monday I was able to begin moving again. I got down to the gym at the end of the day and spent 15 minutes on a yoga flow. When I was done my shoulder was aching and the base of my head was starting to throb so I walked on the treadmill for 35 minutes instead of running. I was pleased to see my steps were at 9108 on Monday and I burn 798 more calories than I took in making Monday a huge success and helped make up for any damage done from the weekend!

Tuesday was full of good intentions. On days when we run I really watch what I eat so I am not weighed down by food and I stop drinking coffee by noon so I am not fighting dehydration cramps at the mile mark. While I was very successful in the food department I was not able to get away from my desk on time, add traffic from construction leaving downtown, and I didn't get home until it was too late for us to run and still make it to a commitment we had in the evening. Days like this bum me out!

This morning I set my baseline weight and body fat for my next set of goals. This is slow and steady, not a race so my goals are 12 pounds over 12 weeks. 

I am really excited and motivated to get this train going again!

Happy Birthday Dad!

I want to use today's post to wish a very happy birthday to my dad.

Dad -
Thank you for being strong when you should have been weak.
Thank you for loving me with your whole heart always, no matter what.
Thank you for being the best dad you could be.

I know it wasn't always easy.

I love you Dad!