The Trouble with Blogging...

Where did October go? And most of November for that matter?! Now that I've officially been called out by my own mother for being a terrible blogger recently (love you Mom!), I figured an update was needed.

At least for me, I'm realizing that it is much easier to blog frequently than I just do it once in awhile. The problem is, now that it's been so long I don't feel like I can just stop in for a quick update - there's so much left to be written about! But oh we'll, I guess I can take it one small piece at a time. :)

Long story short is that running is going great, weight maintenance is going okay, my other 4Q goals are either going terrible or bit going at all (oops!) and I'm looking forward to the holidays of course!

Here's some pictures from the past few months as a teaser:



Trip to Austin

Yummy Corn & Potato Chowder rcipe - yay Fall!

Another puppy came to visit...

More updates to come soon!!

Quick Check In...

Hi all! So I am working on an official 'before & after' post since I hit my 130lb goal.... but it's not ready yet. I am so not photogenic haha. But I figured I'd check in in the meantime.

This weekend was another lazy one - Friday Sam & I went out to dinner at Chili's and watched 'We Bought a Zoo' - very cute! Saturday it was super rainy here so we mostly stayed in and did stuff around the house, watched football, etc. Sam got a new iPhone 5 so he spent most of the day downloading 50 million apps....

Proud iPhone 5 Owner...

Saturday night we went out dancing with some friends (texas two stepping actually, and yes, we actually do that here - although Sam & I don't do it particularly well...) and had a lot of fun, but stayed out way too late! We did manage to drag ourselves up for a 7 mile run Sunday though (which was the only productive thing we did all day) before watching the NFL for the entire rest of the day :)

I tested out Sam's hydration belt, which didn't bother me nearly as much as I thought it might. I need to be able to carry water/food with me once I get into longer runs, so I figured I better get used to it sometime or other. Last year I did all of my long runs at the hike & bike trail, so I was would pass my water bottle every 2 miles. But since I'm trying out new routes that aren't repetitive loops, I need to be able to carry stuff with me!

First run with hydration belt....

I wore the belt on the front for about 30 seconds before I realized it was much less annoying if I twisted everything around to the back. The 7 miles went pretty well, although I was definitely worn out for the rest of the day. Today I have a 6 miler on the schedule, which seems cruel only two days later! But oh well, the weather is awesome here today so I guess I can't complain.

Stay tuned for before & after photos coming soon!!

Dude, Get on that Already: The List (Part 1)

When I first started this blog, I challenged myself to complete a small task weekly - wrapping up some loose end or doing a quick project I'd been meaning to do forever. Inspired by Sherry over at Young House Love, I called it my "Dude, Get on that Already" challenge. But, it was all easier said that done! So like I mentioned yesterday, my new goals is to accomplish at least one item on the list per month - one each week was probably a bit ambitious!!

And since I have no shame, I figured I'd share the list with all of you. Hopefully you can relate and won't judge me for my inability to finish projects haha. So without further ado, here is the current list (in no particular order):


1) Paint bathroom trim in Sam's bathroom. Earlier this year I painted the walls, but not the trim. I went on a painting spree for one weekend earlier this year and ran out of time to finish all the details (this carries on to items 2 & 3 too, eek!). It's hard to tell from the picture, but the trim is a very lame off-white color, and I'll be painting it a brighter white color to give the walls a bit more pop and make it look cleaner/fresher overall.

And yes, you read right, Sam & I basically do not share a bathroom. One of the our many secrets to avoiding conflict when moving in together after only dating three months (maybe we should write a book? haha).

Beige walls + off-white trim = a bit dingy, needs some white!

2. Paint the hallway doors. I seriously HATE painting doors. Hence why it didn't get done during the same weekend painting spree mentioned above. I did manage to paint the trim in the hallway, but the doors are still that same off-white color. And there's FOUR doors, not cool. But it must be done! I'm used to it by now but I'm sure people who come to my house think I am crazy.

Yes, it actually is this terrible in real life.

3. Finish painting the trim in the entryway and master bathroom. Sadly, these areas are the epitome of unfinished. I painted all the trim in the master bathroom except the baseboards, because I was too lazy to wipe them down after a whole two days of painting. And now it has stayed that way. In the entryway, all the trim is painted except for the crown molding, and I think that was just because I honestly forgot. But have I done anything about it? Of course not!

4. Hang a window treatment in the master bath. First of all, can we just say how hard it is to take a picture of a window? The lighting is crazytown. But anyway, I bought a bamboo shade to hang over this window and test out how I liked it so I could potentially do the same in the kitchen. Haven't hung it yet... it's been at least 6 months.

Poor little naked window...

5. Hang window treatments in the kitchen. See the little valence rods I bought and put up over the windows at least 2 years ago? Yep, never used them because I could never find curtains that I liked. So I'm thinking bamboo shades here too, we'll see how it looks in the bathroom first.  

More naked windows, poor things.

I'm thinking something like this, except with the shade hung outside/over the window rather that inside since my windows aren't framed with trim. 

(Image from here)

6. Add shoe molding to the kitchen, laundry room & master bathroom. This never got done when the tile was laid a few years ago, and it's a simple enough fix if I get a nail gun. Might wait and have this done as a part of the kitchen remodel though?

See how tile awkwardly meets baseboard and you can see some extra
caulk, etc.  ... there's also a crack there you can't see in the picture. 

Should look like this - nice pretty shoe molding
in the living room polishes everything off :)

I need to get to cooking dinner & running, so no more time for the rest.... but I'll post them soon. There's at least 6 more projects, and the more I think about it the more I come up with!! I guess that can keep me busy for a whole year if I only do one each month. It's funny how you can get totally used to things (like those crazy off color doors in the hallway) when you see them every day, and only when you think about it do you realize how ridiculous it is!

New Goals for Oct-Dec

I can't believe September is almost over! This month has really disappeared. So, after missing the third quarter of this year, it's time to set some concrete goals for the last three months of 2012!

To recap, here were my New Year's resolutions for 2012, which I've broken up into more maneageable pieces throughout the year, and added to as I've gone along:

Concrete Goals:

1. Lose 40 pounds (complete as of today!!!)
2. Complete a half marathon (complete - 3/11)
3. "Year of the Yard" - front yard landscaping (complete), improve general upkeep (in progress...)

Habits to Build:

1. Keep the car clean - part of my 2Q goals, I am doing so-so at keeping this up
2. Floss more - also part of 2Q goals, definitely not doing good at keeping this up as of now
3. Get to work earlier - not much progress here, but not really needed in my new job, so that's okay

Basically, I have completed my goals for the year, although some of those habits need a little help to keep on track! So for 4th quarter, I can kind of start from scratch and here's what I am thinking:

1. Maintain my weight loss: I'm still determining exactly what this looks like - my current 'panic weight' is 135lbs, I might lower that a bit to make sure I can kick into action when needed. Depends on what my normal weight fluctuation looks like. But I definitely want to stay below 135, at 130 if possible. And, like I mentioned below, today's weigh-in was my first below 130!!! Finally!

Terrible quality picture - but it's official!!

2. Run a half marathon in under 2 hours: December 9th in Dallas is the plan! Just need to keep up the training and hopefully stay injury free!

3. Consider refinancing my mortgage: I don't usually blog about financial stuff, but interest rates are so low, I figure it's a least worth a look!

4. Plan the kitchen remodel: I have been talking about redoing my kitchen ever since I bought this house 3 years ago. Even though I am pretty sure what I want the end product to look like, most of the steps to getting there are up in the air, and several things I probably need to consult a professional on (relocating appliance, etc.) to even have an idea of what is feasible and how much it will cost. And speaking of cost, I need to determine how much I want to do myself vs. hiring out. Although I really enjoy home improvement projects, I've also been saving for this for awhile and I value my free time a lot! And of course it will probably be a better quality job if someone else does the work! So anyway, I just want to plan out what that process will look like so hopefully I can get it going at the beginning of next year!

Can't wait to get rid of that light, and the ugly cabinet color,
old appliances and the countertops... the list goes on!

5. Complete at least one "Dude, Get on that Already" project per month: There are SO MANY loose ends in my house. I think I'll do a whole separate post on this one because it really is hilarious how many little projects I have started but not finished.

6. Try to make those habits listed above stick (namely flossing, keeping the car clean). I think that's pretty self explanatory. Maybe I'll go back to keeping score on the bathroom mirror again :)

7. Remember birthdays. This is not my strong suit. I would love to be a person that sends thoughtful, on time cards. At least my immediate family is starting to get them before, not after, their birthdays (or maybe only one day after... haha), but I know I always love getting mail, and I'm sure my extended family and friends would appreciate it too! First I need to compile a list, and then I have a cute craft in mind to keep track of them all...

Image from Here

Okay well, more details to come. It seems like a long list, especially with the holidays just around the corner but I'm optimistic I guess! Anybody else setting goals to help motivate yourself?

Monday Weigh-In + Weekend Recap

Good news on the Monday weigh-in! Back down to 130.6 today. So I guess it was a false alarm? Although I definitely ate much better last week. I started tracking my calories again to discourage me from sneaking extra snacks at work and a home, and I planned out all of my snacks like I talked about last week, which helped keep my occupied and away from the candy jars!

This weekend I was soooo lazy, which is definitely nice every once in awhile. I did manage to get in a bike ride with Sam on Saturday and a 6 mile run yesterday morning (set a new best time for 10k distance!), but other than that I basically sat in my bed and watched football or napped. Not even on the couch haha, straight up in the bed. Sam was catching up on work for most of the weekend and then left yesterday to go to Baton Rouge for a few days for work, so I guess that just made me feel extra lazy!!

Saturday afternoon I did go to a baby shower for my friends Jeff & Sara, so that was fun! I'm very excited for them - it is their first baby, due at the end of October. Of course I slacked off and didn't take any pictures, but here's a few I stole from facebook:

Beautiful Mom-to-be - all smiles!
...and me messing with my hair in the background not
realizing I would be in every single one of these pictures...

Amazing cake that Sara's friend made & decorated!!

Despite all the laziness, my Sunday run was really good, maybe because I was so well rested! I tried something new with my route - typically I either run in my neighborhood or go to the hike & bike trail. The problem is that my neighborhood is tiny, so there is really only a 0.4mi loop I can run without having to get out on a main road with no shoulder/sidewalks. I have run 6 miles on the loop before (15 laps!) but every time you come around again, its just another chance to quit early. And it gets a little boring. The hike & bike is a 2mi loop, but there is no shade at all, and nothing to really look at so it can definitely be boring too. So yesterday I drove to a different (larger) neighborhood, that also connects to other neighborhoods by just crossing semi-busy streets. I parked at an elementary school and the 6 miles seemed a lot shorter when it was one big route rather than repeating a loop! I mapped out courses up to 8 miles, so that might be my new spot for weekend runs. Plus it connects to the one of the only main streets in Beaumont with legitimate bike lanes and sidewalks, so I can hop on to that too when I get to even longer runs...

Okay enough about that, but I'm excited to be trying new things with my running - next weekend I'm testing out Sam's heart rate monitor strap thing. Now if only I could get something done around the house rather than just exercising and sleeping all weekend :)

Low-Cal Recipes: Sesame Soy Meatballs

It's been forever since I've shared a recipe, so here's one I made Sunday night. Overall, it was pretty tasty - the meatballs were flavorful but a bit dry, so I'd recommend making a bit of extra sauce to put on top at the end.

Couscous gets bright when mixed with curry paste - yum!

Sesame Soy Meatballs

Recipe via Cooking Light

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp brown sugar

3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp chili paste (I actually used curry paste)

1/4 tsp salt

6 garlic cloves (minced)

1 lb lean ground beef

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl, mix well. Add beef, mix  gently to combine. (I'd advise making a little extra sauce and set some aside for later). Shape beef mixture into 1 1/2" meatballs (mine made about 20).

Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat (to be honest you could just use a frying pan probably... I used the case iron skillet and it created a lot of smoke, so depends how good your vent hood is!). Add half of the meatballs to the pan, cook 4 minutes, turning to brown all sides. Repeat with remaining meatballs. Arrange browned meatballs into a single layer on a pan coated with cooking spray (preferrably something with sides higher than a cookie sheet so that the grease doesn't overflow - I was surprised how much grease came out of mine even though I bought 96/4 ground beef. And actually, if you have one of those meatloaf pans that automatically drains/collects the grease, use that!). Bake the meatballs for 7 minutes or until done.

Serve over rice or couscous and top with the extra sauce to keep it from being too dry. I used couscous and mixed in a tbsp of curry paste & tiny bit of sriracha sauce to spice it up and also served with sugar snap peas (bought frozen).

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 6-7 meatballs, 1c peas, ~1c couscous (1/4c uncooked)
Calories: 550
Carbs: 45g
Fat: 23g
Protein: 18g
Sugar: 5g
Sodium: 500mg

This is slightly higher calorie than the other recipes I've posted, but not too bad. And now that I look at it, thats a lot of fat! Most of it comes from the sesame oil so I suppose it is "good fat" but you could always cut back on the oil if you wanted to reduce the fat & calories a bit.

Hope you enjoy this recipe, it was fun to try something different, and also gave me the idea to add some flavoring to couscous my mixing in a bit of sauce to spice up an otherwise boring side. And it is much easier than making a whole couscous or quinoa salad with multiple ingredients. Would work for rice too!

Running Update: 5K Time Trial

So like I mentioned in my last running post, I'm in the middle of an 8-week 10k training plan. So this past weekend my long run was a 5k (3.1 miles), and was supposed to be a "race pace" aka as fast as possible. My goal for the run was to beat my current best 5k time (24:15) and also break 24 minutes.

Sam came with me out to the "Hike & Bike Trail" which is about 5 minutes from our house. I don't normally run here since it's more convenient to just leave from the house, but it's nice for a change of pace every once in awhile. Since I was banking on a successful attempt, and I figured I needed more pictures on this blog, I made him take a picture of me before we started. Notice my sweet new shoes with neon green laces! And the gigantic watch haha :)

I didn't want to go too fast at the beginning, so I tried to keep near my target pace (7:44) for the first two miles, and then pick it up at the end if I had any energy left. I was so excited when I was able to finish in 23:34! It's nice to see the hard work paying off (and the slightly cooler weather didn't hurt either).

Now my mileage starts to ramp up a bit, 6, then 7, then 8 miles on my long runs over the next few weeks before the 10k time trail on Week 8. I've run 6 miles several times over the past few months, but nothing longer than that so we'll see how it goes.

Sweaty but satisfied :)

Sam ran the rest of the way home from the Hike & Bike, making me look like a wimp, but whatever. Hope you guys are also enjoying the (somewhat) cooler weather by getting outside a bit!

Monday Weigh In: Heading the Wrong Direction

Hi all! I had such good intentions of writing up several blog posts over the weekend so I'd have plenty to share this week and of course I didn't. I think the fall allergy season is upon us because I spent most of yesterday feeling pretty groggy! So we'll see how it goes with blogging this week :)

Anyway, the main subject of this post is the Monday weigh-in, which I am not thrilled about. My weight this morning was 134.6 - thats 4lbs heavier than my lowest! In my mind I had kind of established 135 as my "panic weight" since of course there are normal fluctuations during the week, but this time its been persisting up near 134 so I guess it is real.

Although disappointing, I'm not really surprised because I haven't been eating well recently at all. It's kind of funny, I've always heard people say that once you stop eating sweets (or just reduce them by a lot), you don't really crave them anymore, and I've always said that definitely wasn't true for me. Turns out I think it was, and I just didn't realize it. I mean, I never got to the point where I didn't crave sweets at all, but now that I've been eating them more again recently, I crave them allllll the time. I didn't know how good I had it! So this week's focus will be on making sure I have healthy low cal snacks available. Recently I've been planning my meals but not my snacks, which I am now realizing was a big part of my success earlier this year! We're going grocery shopping tonight so hopefully I can get things back on track this week...

85 Days In - Running Update

So first things first, I really want to start shopping for new fall clothes. Unfortunately the weather forecast is still showing high 80s for the next 7 days... at least the evenings are cooling off a bit and today is the only day above 90F. And the humidity has been lower.... so I guess I can't really complain. But definitely not fall weather anytime soon...

Anyway, way back in June I mentioned some new running goals for the year, starting on my birthday. My ultimate goal was to run 1200 miles in a year, which comes out to 100 miles/month. So far, I'm almost 3 full months in - officially Day 85, and I have run 198 miles. So all in all, I'm a little behind:

Day 85 = 23% of the year finished
Mile 198 = 17% of miles complete

But, that has been by design, so I'm not really to worried. My mileage will pick up when I start training for the longer races in the winter. My short term goal for the summer has been to work on my speed at short distances.

I used Hal Higdon's Intermediate 5k Training Plan for the first 10 weeks (his plan is 8 weeks, but I think I repeated Week 1 three times to get started), and right now I just finished Week 3 of the 8-week Intermediate 10k Plan.

I didn't really keep track of my times before I started these training plans, but I do know that I typically ran 10 minute mile or slower (hence my previous goal of finally running 3 miles at a 9:00 pace - took me forever to get there!). So for all intensive purposes, we can assume my starting times were ~32 mins (5k) and ~62 mins (10k). So far, I've taken off almost 8 mins on the 5k time and almost 10 mins on the 10k time, so I'm really pleased. Here's what the Garmin Connect website says are my current "personal records" thanks to my hand new GPS watch:

I uploaded the half-marathon manually since I didn't have the watch back then. Overall, I'm really pleased with my progress. I think most of it was a mental battle to break out of my 10 min/mile rut, but I also know that being almost 40lbs lighter was a huge advantage! These times aren't official races, just training runs, but I think my watch is pretty accurate and either way it shows improvement!

My next goals are to break 24mins on my 5k time at the end of Week 4 (next weekend) and then to break 51 mins on my 10k time by the end of the 8 week schedule (Oct 14th). After that, the half marathon training starts in prep for Dallas on Dec 9th. Per the McMillan Running Calculator, if I can hit the times above, I should be able to go under 1:55 for my half marathon time, which would take 25 minutes off my time from last March. Who knows how accurate that thing is, but a lot of this is a mental battle so if I can convince myself 1:55 is achievable then that will definitely help!!

Also, in terms on training plans, I really recommend using one. But I also really recommend modifying whatever plan you choose to better fit your life. If the plan has 4 runs/week and you only have time for 3, either drop one or look for another plan online that meets you schedule - there are plenty out there. I usually take a training plan from online and then type it into a spreadsheet so I can easily keep track of what I've completed and change anything I want to from the base training plan. I originally used this half marathon training plan from Running In the Family, which comes in an excel template. I still use that template by just typing in a new training plan from online, like the Hal Higdon ones I mentioned above.

I know a lot of people are fans of the Couch to 5k plan for beginners. I have never used it specifically, but it it basically the same as what I did when I first started running - rather than trying to run until you drop, it breaks it down into manageable intervals alternating running/jogging and walking. That way you can gradually build up the distance you can run without totally burning out in the process.

Sorry for all the running chatter, but I am pretty excited about it recently! Weight is still around 132 - it came up a bit after Sam and I were out of town for Labor Day but those extra pounds came off through the week. As much as I really want to get below 130, I have also been eating like crap recently so I can't really blame anyone but myself for not meeting that goal yet. I'm finally settling into my job and I don't have too much travel coming up in the next few weeks, so hopefully we can get out of our bad eating slump. Case and point, yesterday I had three doughnut holes at work, even though I had already had breakfast. And probably about 20 tootsie rolls from Lori's candy jar. Last night we went out to eat and we were totally stuffed, so naturally, we went by Dairy Queen for blizzards afterwards. Why are sweets so addicting?!? Here's to eating a little cleaner next week....

2Q Goals Update - Better Late Than Never?

Okay so somehow I missed publishing goals for the third quarter... and recap-ing what happened with my goals from the second. So here's a long overdue update! For my original goal setting post and one month update, see here and here.

1) Reach Goal Weight of 130lbs by May 12 -  Got pretty close, but no cigar. I'm currently hanging out around 132, so hopefully I can cross this one off soon (if I could stop going out of town maybe?).

2) Learn to Love the Treadmill & Run 3 miles at a 9 min pace - Definite success on the second part - I finally ran 3 miles in 27 minutes on June 27th - right at the end of my three-month time period! That was so satisfying and since then I've gotten even faster!

3) Floss & Take a Vitamin Daily - I did great with this one through April/May/June. But I think I kind of missed the point because I have not done well with it in July/August! So much for building lasting habits. It takes such a short time (like a week of vacation? that was me) to break a habit and so long to build it back.

4) Keep the Car Clean -  I think I did decent with this one - I got the car washed once a month (haven't done it since though!) and overall I'm doing better with keeping it clean. So although I wouldn't say I made a complete turnaround from my car cluttering ways, the slight improvement seems like it is going to stick! I also took this one a step further and had some proactive car maintenance done before our road trip to NC, so hopefully the Civic will serve me well for many years to come!

5) Buy a Paint Sprayer & Test it Out-  Didn't do this, oh well. I think the kitchen remodel is getting pushed back until the beginning of next year - I am always so productive around the house for the first three months of the year, and without fail things get busy and the house projects start dragging in the summer and fall. I have been thinking about the kitchen remodel a lot though - hopefully will start getting quotes and figure out what I want to DIY versus have a professional do.... we shall see!

How are you guys doing on your goals? It definitely helps me to keep a list and break it down into manageable pieces. But I also try not to beat myself up too much if I don't succeed on all of them - I know I had a busy summer and I feel good about what I've accomplished. And I also feel good about all the time I've spent being lazy and relaxing rather than working on my goals. It's all about balance haha :)

Since I've already missed July/August, I think I'll just set one set of goals for the next 4 months rather than trying to make some just for September... stay tuned!

New Running Toy!

First, a quick weight loss update. The last few days I've been around 131-132 after eating a lot of treats this weekend (there was actually ice cream in our house!), but last week I got down to 130.6 - my lowest ever!! Looking forward to seeing sub-130 soon!!

I can't remember if I mentioned this yet or not, but I decided to buy a GPS watch for running! I originally thought I didn't want one, but now that I'm keeping closer track of my pace & trying to work on speed, it's going to be handy for a data lover like me. And during my trips this summer, I've realized how convenient it would be to have a watch that tracks my distance rather than having to plan my routes in advance (when I run at home I always run the same few routes, so I know the distance).

So I took the Garmin (Forerunner 410) out for its first run today, and I was pleased. At first I thought it was a bit bulky on my wrist, but it didn't bother me at all while I was running.

Watch I normally wear running...

New Garmin - huge!

And the best part is the data!! The watch automatically uploads to me computer, and then all the data can be stored online. For example, here's my pace chart on my run today (I had no idea I was so inconsistent, but maybe some of that is due to the watch?):

Not sure what those random spikes to zero are... but whatever :)

My average pace was 8:55/mile - I'm excited that my speed has definitely improved this summer. I'm hoping I'll be even faster once its not so stinking hot!! But my favorite part was the elevation chart.... gotta love Southeast TX! I probably should find a way to do some hill training at some point?

I'm pretty excited about it, especially since I'll be in Houston quite a bit for work over the next week and a half, so this will make it much easier to get my runs in there without just having to use the hotel treadmill.

Cottage Weekend in Wisconsin

Our trip to Wisconsin two weeks ago was really fun! About 25-30 of Sam's family members gathered for their annual "cottage weekend" and we were excited we were able to go. The weather was awesome, and we did lots of boating, swimming, and eating of course. Here's some pictures from the weekend:

The set-up - great weather the whole time!!

Cake for the five July birthdays - Sam & Maddy (photo-bombed by Theo)

Dinner time!

Sam boxing his cousin Kyle... I think Kyle has the advantage
with real boxing gloves vs. Sam's washcloths + Scotch tape?

With Sam's cousin Mitch - ready for a cruise on the pontoon!

Unfortunately the pontoon, at times, had to be towed haha

Everyone out swimming in the deeper water

Tubing with Sam's sister Kelly (left) and cousin Bri (right) -
we look crazy! Eventually this ended painfully haha.

A (slightly) calmer tubing expedition with Sam's cousin Cathi

Sam wakeboarding

I was so glad to get to meet more of Sam's family (and glad they took all of these pictures and put them online since we took NONE! haha) and hopefully we'll be back there next year!

4th of July in NC

For 4th of July, we had a great visit in NC with my family. I basically have no pictures but I guess thats just because we were having too much fun to take them?

We spent a lot of time at the beach & being lazy around the house, but Sam also got to meet most of my family on my Dad's side which was nice. We celebrated by Granddaddy's birthday on the 4th and saw some great fireworks just a few blocks from the beach house. Sam was totally up for anything (including winning the family poker game at my Nenaw's house) and my Dad & brother even got him surfing! Here's the few decent pictures I do have from our time in NC:

Sam & I on the front porch of the beach house

Sam (center) getting up on the surf board!

Babson family tradition - singing hymns at my Granddaddy's house

Siblings with my Granddaddy

Sadly I have no pictures from the visit at my Nenaw's house, because we got to see a good amount of family and there were some funny moments when my cousin Paige's 2 year old foster (soon to be adopted!) daughter Jackie basically fell in love with Sam.

We had a great time and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again at Thanksgiving! I'll actually be back in Cary in a couple of weeks for a wedding and then at some point again in the fall for one of Taylor's band competitions, so there will be a lot of family time this fall!

Monday Weigh-In

Time for an overdue weigh-in:

Today's Weight:     131.8 lbs (lowest yet!)
Total Weight Lost:   38.2 lbs

I'm excited to finally see some actual progress! Over the last month, I've been averaging around 133, with some upticks to 136-137 following the NC/WI vacations. In between the two, I got back down to 133, only to be back up at 136 a week ago. The next few weeks should be more normal, so I'll hopefully be seeing the 130 soon!!

Since the beginning of July, I've actually stopped counting calories, which is a pretty big deal after 6 months of counting every single one. I decided it was a good time to test out my ability to maintain my weight just by making healthy choices, picking healthy recipes, etc. and so far, so good! That's not to say I wouldn't be at 130 by now if I was still religiously sticking to 1200 cal/day, but I'm happy with my current situation. It definitely saves a lot of time to not have to add up the calories for every recipe, every night. I really wanted the changes I made to be a lifestyle change - not just a diet - but I definitely didn't want to be counting every calorie forever! I definitely credit the calorie counting/meal planning as the main factor in my weight loss success, so I'm not at all trying to say it's not helpful - I was just a little burnt out and okay with slowing down progress a bit! So we'll see how it goes over the next few months.

Yesterday was my longest run since the half marathon - 8 miles! It was pretty hot here, and I didn't get out early enough, so I took a water break every 2 miles, but I was still thrilled to do 8 miles total. That will be my longest run before my 5k "time trial" on Aug 20th, but afterwards I'll starting adding more mileage when half marathon training kicks off. I can still remember not being able to run 1 mile, so I am definitely excited/thankful that I can even be talking about 8!! For those of you just getting starting, be encouraged that if you stay consistent, you will make progress (even though it might be slower than you'd like - it was for me!).

Hope you are all doing well and thanks for reading :)

July Recap & Running Update

So I've definitely been a terrible blogger the past few months.... things have been a bit busy but I'm hoping to get back into the blogging groove here shortly! So what have I been up to?

Well first of all, this is a crazy time of year at work, and I'm transitioning to another new position & been out on vacation a bit - so that's been a bit hectic. Things have already slowed down some, but the next few months will still be a little harder than normal as I learn my new job.

Other than that, we've vacationed in NC & WI. More on that later this week, but we got to spend some quality time with family and had a lot of fun and the beach & lake.

The other thing that's been consuming a good amount of time has been running! Since I kicked off my 26th year training plan on my birthday, I've done pretty well with sticking to the plan! (It has definitely been a challenge at times with the longer work hours) and I've taken about 45 seconds/mile off of my typical pace. I was stuck at 10 min/mile for soooooo long - whether I was running 3 miles or 10 miles it was always the same pace. My goal for the summer was to work on speed to prep for a half marathon this winter, and so far it looks like the training plan is working!

Also, Sam & I are registered now for races in Dallas on Dec 9th and Austin on Feb 17th! My goal is to run the half marathon on Dec 9th in less than 2 hours. For now, my near term goal is to complete a 5k in 25 mins by Aug 19th (probably not an actual race, but just timing myself). Definitely aggressive since my current best time is 25:44, but it's always good to have a challenge! I used the calculator at www.mcmillanrunning.com to pick my goals times for 5k and 10k distances while I train. It's a pretty handy tool that can tell you the equivalent race paces for any distance based on one time (i.e. just because you can run one 8 minute mile doesn't mean you can run 13 that fast... so it compensates for that).  It's been really hot here, so I'm confident that even if I don't exactly meet me 5k goal, I'll still be on track for the half marathon since it should be cooler in December!

As far as weight goes, I'm still right around 133, which I think is pretty good considering the vacations recently! More on that sometimes later this week too.

Also, I totally need to do an update on my goals from Apr/May/June and post my goals for Jul/Aug/Sep! Obviously I've already missed July, so 3Q might be a little light :)

Okay I guess that's it for now, but I'm going to try to get back to more blogging in real time this week, stay tuned!

Way Overdue Weigh-In

Hi all! So I'm very overdue for a blog post... so I thought I drop in for a quick weigh-in:

(Somewhat) Weekly Weigh-In
Last Weigh-In: 137.6 (June 11)
Today's Weigh-In: 133.2
Pounds Lost: 4.4 (in 2.5 weeks)
Total Lost: 36.8


Yay! I can't tell you how excited I am to finally be making progress again!! And, as an additional milestone, I wore Size 4 pants today (what?!) - that's crazy talk. I don't know when the last time was that I could wear a 4, but it was sometime in early (or before?) high school.


I have to run off to a work dinner, but I'll be back today or tomorrow to post on my 2Q goals and how I've done! I promise I've done better at my goal-keeping than my blogging. There are only so many hours in the day, and right now work is consuming 1-2 more than usual (sigh). Hopefully it should slow down soon!

Monday Weigh-In & New Exercise Goals

Hope you guys enjoyed the cruise recap. Thanks for all of your sweet comments! It's time for the Monday weigh-in:

Monday Weigh-In
Last Week: 138.4
This Week: 137.6
Pounds Lost: 0.8
Total Lost: 32.4


Earlier in the week I had gotten down to 136.2 (which is equal my lowest Monday weigh-in so far) but I splurged a bit over the weekend, so I wasn't too disappointed to see 137.6 today. I'm glad that the cruise weight seems to be coming off quickly!

So I thought I'd post an update on my exercise goals and thoughts on staying motivated to stay active! Obviously exercise plays into my weight loss, and I've talked about staying motivated towards that goal before, but it is also about more than that. I know that my exercising has helped a lot with the weight loss, but in reality it was changing my eating that made the difference. I had exercised a lot before without ever seeing significant weight loss. But I do know that exercise will make a big difference in how I look and feel at a given weight. Being 130 pounds and fit will be much more satisfying than being 130 pounds and weak!

So that's one part of it, but exercise also gives its own rewards in terms of setting and achieving goals. Around two years ago, I signed up for an Olympic distance triathlon with 5 months to train. Up to that point I had not really been exercising much, and definitely not consistently since high school (or really since ever?). Knowing that you are committed to a race will definitely put you into gear. And telling a lot of people about it helps keep you honest too! But in reality, I totally was not sure that I could do it. I think I've mentioned this before, but I had never considered myself to be the type person who exercised. So I even surprised myself when I trained for and completed the triathlon (with a lot of walking during the run, might I add!). I was constantly telling people that if I could do it, anyone could do it - and at 5'2" and 170 pounds, that was probably true! Finishing the triathlon was definitely a huge confidence builder that contributed a lot to my success in losing weight this year.

Houston Triathlon - September 2010

Remember: you are so much stronger than you think!

I know that seems cheesy, but it is so true. Your body wants to be fit (even if your mind wants to eat Cheetos) and even though you will be sore or tired sometimes, it is so rewarding to achieve a goal - whether it be to finish a race, or just to run a mile without stopping (this was a major milestone for me!). I still remember the day I ran 4 miles without stopping in my neighborhood - it wasn't a race, and no one was there to document it, and I have no idea how long it took - but I do know that it felt awesome to do something I thought I never would do. And your body will be so much healthier for it!

Gusher Half Marathon - March 2012

So all of that being said, I've been trying to figure out what I want to do next. I thought it would be a easier to keep up exercising after the half marathon than it has been. I have been fairly consistent (when my life has been on a normal schedule) - but it doesn't feel nearly as satisfying as reaching a milestone in a training plan. I don't necessarily need an upcoming race to keep me motivated, but I do need to feel like I am accomplishing a goal! So I've decided that I'd like to run another half marathon in the fall, and this time under 2 hours (about a 9 minute mile pace). I haven't picked a race yet or a date, and it's a bit early to take on a half marathon training plan, but what I definitely need to work on this summer is speed! So I've picked out a 5k and 10k training plan to cover the next 10-12 weeks that hopefully will help me train a bit faster at those shorter distances. (Right now I'm constantly stuck at 10 minute miles... for a 2 mile run or a 12 mile run haha, makes no sense!) This also fits right in with one of my second quarter goals - to run 3 miles at a 9 min pace on the treadmill.

My 26th birthday this Friday, so I figured I'll be cheesy and symbolic and kickoff my training then I've also decided to make a long term goal for the year - I want to run 1200 miles. Sounds like a huge number - it's 100 miles/month - but I think I can do it! And since you all know how I love a good excel spreadsheet, you can rest assured that the run tracker spreadsheet is ready for action starting Friday :)

Anybody else setting fitness goals? Summer is a miserable time to be outside here in TX, but other places I'm sure the weather is great for exercising! I'm so encouraged when I see some of you posting about your races and other fitness/weight loss accomplishments on facebook and your blogs - let's keep motivating each other!!

Cruise Recap!

Hi all! Man, this week seemed to fly by and drag on at the same time! I've never been away from work for 2 straight weeks before, so it was definitely an adjustment coming back. In addition to just getting back into the swing of things, I found out I'll be temporarily moving to a new position because someone resigned while I was out - which is both exciting and daunting! I was expecting to be moved to something new this summer, but I won't be moved to my new permanent role for a few months - so I get the pleasure/pain of learning two new jobs in a short period of time haha. I'm grateful for the experience I'll get but it was a bit overwhelming for the first day back.

Anyway, I promised a cruise recap, so here's the highlights! We were on a 7 day cruise with 3 stops, which basically meant 3 full days on the boat and 3 days in port (and two half days on the boat). We left from Galveston on Sunday afternoon, and then Monday and Tuesday were "sea days". Mostly we enjoyed laying out in the sun and a lot of eating, but here's some highlights from the Carnival Magic. I now realize I really didn't take many pictures of the boat, which was huge and super impressive. But if you google image search "Carnival Magic" you can see pics of the waterslides and pools and such...

"Cruise Formal Night" - Monday (scored this dress for $40, btw!)

The large pool area on the top deck.

Lounging!

"Cruise Formal Night" #2 - I think Thursday? In the "Magic Lobby"

We also tried to channel our inner towel animal whenever possible...

We both really enjoyed being on the boat - always live music in multiple locations at night. Lots of food of course (and I really didn't hold back, its a miracle I didn't gain more weight!) and we saw some good comedy, a magic show, and of course some good and bad kareoke. The people watching was pretty entertaining too.

Our three stops were in Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Jamaica was on Wednesday and we signed up for the "Tranopy Adventure" which consisted of a "sky explorer" chairlift ride over the jungle, then a ride on a 'Jamaica Bobsled", lunch and then zip-lining through the jungle back down to the start. My hair was looking pretty rough that day, but here's the acceptable pictures :)

View from the chair lift- the water is so clear even from way up here!

Sam ready to ride the bobsled

In our harnesses ready to zip-line!

Zip-lining! Very fun.

Gigantic tree!! We took a lot of pics here.

Our second day was at Grand Cayman Island, and we took a trip on a catamaran out to "Stingray City" to swim with the stingrays. At first I was kind of creeped out (Sam was fearless haha) but they were quite friendly (and domesticated by all the tourists) and surprisingly cute and soft! I kept saying to Sam for the rest of the trip "can you believe how soft the stingrays were?!?"

"Stingray City" - both stingrays and tourists everywhere haha

Sam holding a ray- they like to cuddle!

The boat on the left is ours - huge!

The third port was Cozumel, Mexico - although the excursion we went on was actually near Playa del Carmen. We took a 45 minute ferry ride to the mainland, and the went on a tour called the "Amazing Secret River" - a cave that is partially full of water.. so we did some walking and some swimming to make our way through. This was definitely our favorite excursion. Our guide was awesome and you could tell that everyone working there loved what they were doing really cared about both preserving and showing off the cave. We couldn't take our cameras in, but we did buy this picture at the end (pretty amazing, right!):

Not like we needed anymore food after everything we ate on the boat, but the lunch they gave us was especially tasty. And then we had a bit of time to hang out in some hammocks before heading back to the ship.

We got back into Galveston early Sunday and spent a few hours there before we headed home. The puppies were super happy to see us when we picked them up, and of course we were thrilled to see  them too :) All in all, it was a great trip! I don't know that I'll become a every year cruise enthusiast, but it was definitely a good experience. Beware though, if you've never been - you may go in with good intentions at the beginning, but by the end you'll be just like everyone else - ordering 3 appetizers and 2 entrees in the dining room, just for yourself haha!