Oh HELL No!

Really Mother Nature? Is it even POSSIBLE to be up 8 pounds in one week? Three days off from exercising, a couple of binges and a visit from Aunt Flo and this is what stares back at me:

Frick Me!

Sickening! And all I keep thinking about is how I want to be under 140. Can't possibly get there with what I've been up to.

My 100th Post!

Can NOT believe I've had enough to say to fill 100 entries. What's even more surprising is that there have been people that actually READ them! I appreciate everyone that takes the time to read my drivel and leaves me little nuggets of encouragement or tiny insights into their own lives. It's been a lot of fun getting to know the people I read about and have become friends with. I look forward to reading the blogs I follow. I hope I can do the same for you!


So, it FINALLY came today! My husband gave me the go-ahead to buy Insanity if I really liked it... don't have to tell me twice! (And before anyone gets upset with me getting "permission" to purchase something (like if my mother read this!): 1). It was $145 for another exercise thingy, (I have a basement graveyard full of exercise thingies), 2). we're trying to tighten the belt buckle since we have two weddings this year AND Ragnar Key West in January AND 3). I do PLENTY of unauthorized shopping. This time I don't have to hide anything!)

Can you believe I paid $25 s/h and they had the post office deliver it?

I had plenty of time today to crack her open and do it, but I ran on the treadmill this morning and my hip/ass muscle feels all wonky now. I just did intervals of .25 miles at either 6.5 and 7.0 mph, nothing out of the ordinary. Don't know why it feels like this. Maybe being away from the treadmill for more than a week did me in? This is not just an excuse. When I get in the car and sit on my right hip, it hurts! I hope to God it's temporary!

The little book thing has the 12 DVDs in it. Tiny little box that fit into my mailbox...$25. Grrrr!

Since When?

Um, since when do you pay $24.95 to have frickin' DVDs shipped? AND since when does Fed-Ex ship your package to the local post office for delivery? Well, I guess the answer would be now! Tracking my package and the e-mail told me it was in my town! WOO HOO! And then the next time I looked it was delivered to my local post office and should take one or two days more for delivery! What kind of bs is that?!? Hmmmph...no fair!

Change...

Who else hates change? Anyone else annoyed that Blogger had to change their format? I could barely navigate the old one. Just like good ole' Facebook. I'm still not on the new Timeline format and I hope it never changes! Timeline reminds me of a dang collage, where everything is all over the place. Why? I might have no choice in the matter, but I'll go along kicking and screaming! For now I just clicked on "Old Format" and it brought me right back to the pretty old "interface." Let's see how long I can keep it that way!

Anyway, yesterday was a rough day since my dad had to have surgery to get a defibrillator implanted. He has a bad arrhythmia that couldn't be fixed with the cardiac ablation he had a few months ago, so in case that ever causes him to go into cardiac arrest, he may be shocked back to life. The procedure was quick (he was at the hospital for 8 am and we saw him in recovery at 10:15am!) and he looked great. He wasn't happy with staying overnight, but if it were up to me I'd make him live there so I wouldn't worry as much! While in recovery we saw his "cardiac electrophysiologist," (the doctor that specializes in the heart's electrical system), and he explained that the defibrillator will give him another chance at life, but "he won't live forever. None of us will." Is this something you say to a patient and his family RIGHT after surgery? Jackass. Can't ever imagine life without them.

Mom and Dad, parents of 7, grandparents of 14 (with 1 on the way!)!!

So, with being at the hospital most of the day, then coming home and returning phone calls and getting stuff done around the house, I didn't workout. A change in my routine throws me for a loop. See? Creature of habit. My nephew was here this morning, so I think I'm going to the gym for a run this afternoon since it's supposed to get up to 66* today. I haven't run at the gym all week! That's different! Right now, I swear I don't feel like doing anything!!

Look What I can Do!!

(Said in my best Stuart from MadTv voice...)

Anyhow, I decided to go for an outdoor run today, IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD! That's a huge deal. If I run outside, it's usually at the track, but that's pretty boring. (That's why I actually prefer the treadmill: music + television + people = distraction.) Since it was overcast and cool I thought it's basically now or never. I popped one earbud in, put my Garmin on and headed out. I didn't plot my course, but I have my favorite streets I like to go down, certain houses I like to see (for inspiration) and puppies that always say hello when I'm on a walk with the little ones. I was a bit slower than at the track, but that's not surprising seeing I had some hills AND it was garbage day.

 

Not bad, considering I haven't run that far outside since my 10k in September! I'm turning over a new leaf and attempting to do at least ONE outdoor run a week.



What a Weigh-In Wednesday!

Well, the hard work and jaw-wiring has paid off. Just kidding, although some days I think I might need to do just that! Anyhow, my routine is back to normal since the kids are back in school and I've been REALLY conscious of what and when I'm eating. Damn it, that witching hour(s)! You know, the time when you're sitting on the couch after all the chores of the day are done (or ignored) and your favorite show is on television, and you just want to eat? I think it's because I associate tv WITH eating. Maybe it's "Triple D" and "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" and "No Reservations" and "Man vs. Food" that makes me associate tv with eating? DUH. Between 8pm and 10pm are the hardest for me. Then there's also the middle-of-the-night bathroom trips where I find myself grabbing a Pop Tart or granola bar to eat before I fall back to sleep. I know ALL OF THE ABOVE is hindering my progress, and I even say all the things you're SUPPOSED to say to yourself when you're reaching for the pretzels or Doritos and you know you're not hungry, I just overrule all of it.

However, since Friday I have been binge-free. Now, I haven't been able to binge like I used to, when I was nearly 230 pounds, but I still managed to do major damage with the Easter holiday and all of the treats associated with it. The scale read 161 one day. Are you frickin' kidding me?!? Not one bite of the Oreo brownie (VERY dry), Cadbury Cream Eggs (SO much smaller than they used to be!), cream cheese frosting (not the same unless on carrot cake!), onion dip (soup mix and sour cream, so NOT special!), kettle chips or any of the other crap I ingested (the word "ate" would suggest I even TASTED the food) was worth it. So, basically I proved to myself that "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." I just have to force myself to believe that when I'm in the snack cabinet.

So, with eating and hydrating properly and running and Insanity and the Arc trainer, the scale has moved, in the RIGHT direction:

Note to self: PEDICURE!



(God, I have Fred Flintstone feet! My grandma tried to tell us it was from walking around barefoot. Do any of you have a clue why people have flat feet?)

I am going to try and run outside more often. I get even more anxious before an outdoor run than a treadmill run. I think it's because I put so much pressure on myself to improve with EVERY stinking run, either by increasing distance, doing faster intervals or achieving a new PR. Yesterday I hit the track and ran 3 miles in 28:26, but I took a water break at miles 1 and 2, stopping my Garmin. What sucked about the run (and played with my head) was that one side of the track was stifling hot because of the full sun (and 65* temp) and the other side I was running straight into the wind. So, I didn't want to run fast on the hot side because I felt like I would die and I just COULDN'T run fast on the windy side. I DEFINITELY need to log more miles outdoors!

The Ball is Rolling!

Last night was our Ragnar team's first conference call! It was my first chance to connect a voice to all of the pictures that I've seen on blogs and Facebook... When I was dialing the number, my hands were shaking and my heart was pounding out of my chest (it didn't help that I had just finished Insanity's Plyometric Cardio Circuit just 10 minutes prior). And then Rik, the team captain, asked us to introduce ourselves and give a little insight into why we were doing the relay. Now I had to talk on TOP of those nerves?!? Thankfully he didn't get to me for a while so I had a chance to write something down and be semi-prepared. I think I probably STILL sounded like an ass.

My first run- 3.5 miles.

So in that 2 hour and 9 minute call, we covered A LOT of ground. We discussed mandatory gear, (per the Ragnar Race Bible), as well as items that would be necessary just to make the experience more enjoyable, like a sleep sack (note to self: Google that!). Other topics of discussion were hotel accommodations, pre-race team dinner arrangements and a post-race team farewell brunch on Sunday. One of the most anticipated highlights of the call? LEG ASSIGNMENTS! I was tentatively Leg #6, which was an 8.7 miler, 7.8 miler and a 4.1 miler. Although I know I could handle any one of those legs on any given day, having to do all THREE of them within a 36 hour period was possibly setting myself up for failure. I also felt that our captain, being a seasoned runner and Ragnarian, should have the challenge. Rik was graciously allowing everyone else to choose their legs and was about to leave himself with only a choice between easy runs. He seemed happy to finally be in Van #1, which includes runners 1-6.

My 2nd run- 6.2 miles.

Unfortunately, the 12 runner positions are categorized by mileage/elevation. There are 6 hard/very hard (most mileage), 3 moderate and 3 easy positions (the least mileage). So, seeing there are more hard positions than the others and as of yet I have not done a half-marathon and don't have the experience like some of the others, I chose Runner #8. That consists of a 3.5 mile run, 6.2 mile run and a 2.1 mile run, totalling 11.8 miles. Much more doable. I'm in van #2, with Meredith, Jen S., Allison, Ada and John. I think we'll have a great time.

My final run- 2 miles.

I'm still having to pinch myself to wake up from this dream! I can't believe it's really happening. Oh, did I mention that our teammate Jen R. is an owner of a television and film production company? Did I mention she's trying to put together a documentary based on our weight-loss journeys and the huge part that running has played in our successes, with the culmination of the film being the 200 mile Relay? Unfrickin' believable!!! No WAY this can be happening!

(On a sad note: there's a hold on Insanity and it's due back at the library today. I'll try and get one more workout in today before I have to part with Shaun T. Cue sad music...)

M.I.A.

Well, that would imply that there was actually some action going on, which there really wasn't. I'm behind on Insanity and I have only walked a bit the last few days. I also overate just about every day this week. Scary how quickly we can ease back into bad habits, and yet it takes so long to create good ones. I wasn't surprised when I saw that the scale reflected that. I think I got it all out of my system. I went and ran at the gym and managed 6 miles in 59:09 and then I walked a mile in 16:30 on a 5.0 incline. My right quad is angry at me, but I still plan to get my Fit Test in and see how much speed and strength has improved over the last few weeks. Ooh, which reminds me- I need to try and renew Insanity from the library for another 3 weeks!

I know Biggest Loser is the season of "No excuses" and they've really driven that point home, but I'm thinking I may be stressing a bit because I'm realizing that the Ragnar Relay really is happening! I guess I'm still doubting myself as a runner. Thankfully, we have 8 1/2 months to train and prepare. We have our first team "meeting" (conference call) tomorrow night at 5pm. I can't wait to get to know everyone.

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted...

Unexpected day off yesterday. I hit the gym early so I'd get in a workout before the little ones came for the day. With the craziness of Easter, I'm behind on my Insanity workouts. They basically just cycle through the same ones until you reach Month Two, so I don't have to bore you with daily updates. They are really tough, but exhilarating workouts. Tomorrow will be my end of week two, so it's time for a  Fit Test recheck. I had to write down how many of each exercise I could do. I can't wait to see the improvement. I have to say, I can actually do REAL push-ups now! That in and of itself is a major accomplishment!


Ok, just finished Cardio Power, and the few days I took off seemed to make the workout harder! Major indigestion! I'm thinking I should do these workouts first thing in the morning and save the gym for the afternoon. Blech!

Weigh-in tomorrow won't be pretty. One reason:

Happy Easter Everyone!

So, this was the first year that the "Easter Bunny" did not hide chocolate eggs and leave a note for the kids as to how many and what color eggs they should find. (Charlie would always find the obvious ones so quickly and we would have to stop him so he didn't find them ALL!) I think at 15 and 13, it's about time. Charlie said we should just find different hiding spots, but then we'd need a master list of WHERE we hid them so we find them all and Molly doesn't!

I always get my husband some candy. He can use the extra calories! Dark chocolate dipped Peeps! I hope someone is willing to share with me!

I've already eaten a Snickers Peanut Butter egg and a few Reese's mini cups. They were ok, nothing spectacular. I still have to make my deviled eggs and the pizza pinwheels to bring to my parents house this afternoon. The spinach dip and Nana's Applecake were made yesterday. I should have bought a veggie platter! DUH! Maybe my dad made some (fingers crossed).

After an 8 mile run and bloody nips, I still pulled it together and did my Insanity workout at 5 pm yesterday. Walking is a bit harder today and my back is a bit stiff. I don't plan on doing the workout before I go to my parents, depends on how busy I am. Will I come home from my parents' house tonight and do it? It's a nice thought...

It Actually Happened To Me!!! (WARNING!! stomach-turning content)

I APOLOGIZE FOR WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ!

Yesterday was a horribly busy day. I babysat the 2 little ones all day and I hosted my family's egg coloring get-together, so I couldn't get to the gym for my regular elliptical/arc trainer workout. Everybody who could make it came around 1:30 pm and didn't leave until almost 6 pm, so then it was time to make dinner (last meatless Friday of Lent!) and feed my family.

One of my 25 year old niece's contributions...she did an entire Angry Bird scene!

Guess what? After dinner I didn't feel like working out, so my husband and I got to watch my other lovuh, Justin Timberlake, in 'Friends With Benefits.' Let's just say that that is as good a movie as the book '50 Shades of Grey' supposedly is. (*wink, wink*). Anyway, no Insanity workout! I feel so guilty leaving Shaun high and dry! Oh, well. My husband gets home from work early today. Maybe I can finally convince him to try it with me. Not holding my breath for it.

Anyway, so that brings us to today. I didn't have my nephew this morning so I could get to the gym early for my long run. Aerobically, I feel like I could handle a marathon, no problem. But the legs grow heavy and weary. I have to cut my long run in 2 sections because the damn treadmill has a one hour timer on it. So, I ran 5 miles in 50:37, then I ran 3 miles in 30:27. That's just a little over a 10 minute mile. Awesome. I walk a slow 1/2 a mile to cool down, go get wipes to clean off the treadmill and head to the locker room to stretch. Imagine my surprise when I saw this staring back at me from the mirror:

HOLY SH#T! I walked through half the gym with bloody nips! (It was actually worse at the gym, but since my shirt is soaked through with sweat, the blood kind of got diluted a bit.) This is totally MORTIFYING!!!! I have never had that happen before! I definitely have experienced chafing, but not to the point of bleeding! All I can think of is the video 'Marathon Thoughts' that I posted a while back. "Who will feed my babies...?" The strange thing is, you'd think my boobies would look horrifically ugly, but they don't.

What the hell am I supposed to do about this (other than wear a dark tech t-shirt from now on)? My sports bra seems to hold the girls in place really well, so they're not bouncing in my face... they're too deflated to do that now, anyway. Anybody else have this happen? Any suggestions? 

At least I didn't "pants my poop," yet.

Late Start

It was the first day of vacation yesterday. My frickin' husband woke me up at 6am (from a nice little daydream,  I might add) to ask if my son had school. Well, the school calendar is on the side of the fridge, and every day that they are off is highlighted in purple. (ASIDE: Do you do that? Get the school calendar in the mail a couple of weeks before school starts and highlight the sh*t out of it? Well, I have two kids in two different schools right now, so they each have their own color for events and important notices pertaining to each of them.) NOT TO MENTION I kept telling him how many days they had until they were off. It's really my own fault for talking to the side of his head on a continual basis while he plays MLB The Show on the PS3.

So, I decided to not go to the gym early and "hang out" until he went to work at 10:30am. We just sit in the living room and watch Live With Kelly while eating breakfast- NOTHING spectacular. I managed to run on two of my regular running days this week (T and TH)! AND I had a great run, to boot yesterday. 5 miles in 45:27! Just over a 9 minute mile! So maybe I'm not dropping a ton of weight, but Insanity might just be helping with my speed. I'll take that.


Pure Cardio was on the agenda. Every DVD starts out with a 12 minute "warm-up," followed by a 5 minute stretch, then the "max interval training," and ending with another 5 minute stretch. As you're bent over, at the end, stretching your hip-flexors and what have you, (praising God Almighty that you survived another round), the sweat is just pouring off your body. I am SO not afraid of sweating. There's no better feeling. I KNOW I did what I had to do when I'm dripping like that.

See the difference at the bottom of my shirt? Look at my sweaty knees, for Godsakes!



Do y'all like to sweat, too?

Insanity Link

Ahhh...the first day of Easter vacation. The sun is shining. The birds are singing. And I will be torturing myself with a run and another Insanity workout. If you're interested in finding out more about Insanity, you can just Google "Insanity Workout," but here's the main link: Insanity DVDs

Want to see what you're in for?

There's my lovuh! Yum.

They're not cheap. 3 payments of $40 and $25 shipping and handling! Now THAT'S insanity! I've found it for less in other online stores, so I'm thinking about it. I absolutely remember QVC having it sometime last year, but not anymore. (I LOVE QVC for their easy-pay plan!)



The New Love Of My Life

**SIGH** But is that a frickin' wedding ring on his finger? That totally DESTROYS the fantasy y'all! So after I Googled images of "Shaun Thompson" I then had to find out if, in fact, he's married. One "article" says he's gay. Now, I can work my fantasy around him being married, but I'll NEVER be able to turn his head if he's gay. I can still appreciate and admire this fine specimen, though.


Shaun and I still had a date with Cardio Power today. I'm going to try my damnedest not to stand him up! This is after spending 45 minutes on the elliptical and 45 minutes on the ARC trainer at the gym this morning, mind you. I probably should have waited a smidge longer after eating a piece of toast with a scrambled egg and a vat o'coffee. I can still feel it up near my throat. So, more power jumps, globe jumps, belt kicks, hurdles, tricep dips, etc. Sweat was flying everywhere. I'll just blame the wet spots on the dog. The librarian is going to have to pry this system away from my death grip in order for me to return it. I just don't know if I can swing purchasing it for $145 right now. What will I do if I can't get my Shaun T. abs fix?

----NEWS FLASH----- The scale read 155.4 this morning. Batteries were dead in the camera. I'm pretty sure you all know what my scale looks like saying "155.4" anyway. It's what I weighed back on 2/22/12. Bummer.

Power Squats, Push-up Jacks and Suicides...Oh My

Day 5...Plyometric Cardio. Felt the stomach contents rising on one occasion. Took a break. Pushed through. "Dug deeper," as the hottie Shaun would say. I do think, even in one short week, that I'm improving. Let's see if all of this really can make me a faster runner. Speaking of running, I'm running today. My last run was Wednesday. NOT a good thing. Won't be a speed demon anytime soon.

Best news of all? A BREAK FROM THE INSANITY TODAY!! Then it's back to the torture tomorrow...

My "inspiration!" *yum*

"This Sh*t Is Bananas..."

says Shaun T. after our Pure Cardio workout, while laying on the gymnasium floor, dripping with sweat (still looking mighty fine, I tell you). Yesterday was Day 4 of Insanity and I'm actually looking forward to the workouts! Might sound crazy, but I feel stronger already! Let's see how I feel after Plyometric Cardio today.

And it's always two steps forward, three steps back. This time Miss Little Debbie got the best of me last night, even after I said to myself that if I REALLY wanted them I could have them in the morning...

Damn you and your sugary, vegetable shortening CRAPPY goodness! 

$5 Down the Drain (Mega Millions Mania)

Well, I didn't wake up $640,000,000+ richer this morning... (still sobbing), but we DID go see 'The Hunger Games' today. I will only say this: I was disappointed. I'm hoping the rumor I heard about the next two books being made into two movies each is true. They need to take more time and not rush things! I enjoyed the movie, but I think this may be the first movie I've ever seen where I did read the book first, so I can join others in saying "the book was better." The best part of the movie to me?

Gale (Liam Hemsworth)...he's SO dreamy!

And he wasn't in the film NEARLY enough! *sigh...*

I am onto Day 3 of Insanity and I can not believe I am still walking upright! The workouts are intense and Shaun (Yes, we're on a first-name basis. I mean, I DID see him with his shirt off, you know.) encourages you to "dig deeper," but to take water breaks if you need them. So, I'm working really hard, but trying to stay conscious at the same time. I just had to laugh yesterday because after finishing the 12 minute WARM-UP in the 'Cardio Power & Resistance' dvd, one of the girls walked off to the side and hocked a loogie! I have managed to keep all of my bodily fluids to myself! If THAT was part of the fit-test I would've passed with flying colors!

Unfortunately, I haven't ran since Wednesday. My routine is all screwed up. Thankfully I did do a long run this week, but I'm going to try and get back on track with my Tuesday/Thursday runs. Hopefully, the odds will ever be in my favor and the scale will reflect the torture I've inflicted upon myself.

Day One... They Call It "Insanity" For A Reason...

To quote Kathy Griffin- "Holy shitballs!" I really don't think, in my 40 years on this earth, that I have ever done a more difficult workout. Hand to God, honestly. And you know what? There's NINE other mother effin' workouts that I HAVEN'T done yet! Today was "Plyometric Cardio Circuit," otherwise known as jump around until you can't jump no mo', doing jump squats and suicides and basketball drills and ski jumps, then get on your hands and throw your feet around doing burpees and mountain climbers and push-ups... Three minute high-intensity intervals with 30 seconds rest in between. Just enough time to grab some water and promptly puke it up. You want to know the funny thing? TMI: I thought I could do this workout without a bra on! 30 seconds into the warm-up, I had to hit the pause button to get on my super-duper reinforced sports bra. There might be a lot less there, but they can still flap around! I just don't look as good as Mr. Shaun without my shirt on. Sorry to disappoint.

What made me happiest (other than when the shirt came off) was watching all of the fit super-humans dropping like flies during the workout!

Insanity!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my public library? They have adult reading programs with prizes, computers and printers (for me to use THEIR ink when printing out countless coupons!), a teen section that my daughter likes to hang in with her friends... But the BEST part is that if you want to read something or watch a movie or TEST OUT THE NEWEST EXERCISE FAD, you can request that the library PURCHASE it!!!  So, I got the phone call yesterday that it was in!!

I did the fit test. Hello REALITY CHECK!!! I'm pretty aerobically fit, but when it comes to my strength... weakling! Push-up jacks? Can't do those on your knees! Just one "regular" push-up and my arms were quivering. Some of the exercises I couldn't even do one with perfect form, and I'm supposed to count how many I did to compare to the NEXT fitness test? Gee, should be major improvement there! And today I'm supposed to go stay with my brother who just had hip-replacement surgery so my s-i-l can go to jury duty. I'll be the one needing the walker!!!

Day1- I can't believe I'm posting this horrific picture.

Big Breakfast Sundays

My son started this tradition when my husband left his job working nights and started the job he has now where he is off Sundays only. I can't figure out how Charlie started this seeing as I'm the one that does the cooking, but he put in the request and it has stuck, some six years later. So, BBS consists of me making a nice breakfast (read: NOT POP-TARTS) and us sitting around the dining room table and get this, TALKING! You see, since the kids are older and our schedules are more hectic, it's hard to get us all around the dining room table. Big Charlie closes Tuesdays and Thursdays, so that kind of leaves me to just do a quick dinner of whatever the kids happen to want, be it pizza rolls or an apple and yogurt... Then there's Mondays dance class, Tuesdays dance and jazz band, Thursdays and Fridays karate, Saturdays BC works a bit later and has a company-purchased big lunch so his dinner appetite is just not there... That doesn't leave us much of an opportunity to just relax at the table and enjoy our meal and each other's company (without sitting around the tv in the living room, that is).

Some homemade cinnamon rolls for BBS...

So, on today's menu, there was hot Belgium waffles with a little low-fat dark chocolate ice cream on top (I didn't have any Cool Whip!) and the discussion of my son's "visit" with his 3 friends and the one kid's 18 year old blind and deaf "Zombie" cat. (Mike says the cat doesn't know he's dead yet!) We have the best conversations around that table. Sometimes there's arguments on whether you say "I got an 100 on my Italian test" or "I got a 100..." We all know it's the latter, but my kids will argue with me until they're blue in the face that it's not. (We've decided not to talk about it anymore.) But most times, we're just laughing about the anecdotes everyone shares about their day. I'm realizing now that these times are too few and far between, and also that they're numbered. Charlie's going to be a junior and Chelsea's going to be a freshman next year. We don't have much more time with them. Sad, but true. I'll have to cherish the time we do have. I look forward to a time when we're sitting around my table with their kids sharing these moments. Maybe they'll come back "home" for BBS, like my siblings and I go to our parents house on Sundays after church. I hope.

Pity Party

So, I decided to turn that frown upside down and go for a run at the track yesterday morning. It was the strangest thing. We've been having pea-soup fog hear in the Northeast. Visibility was down to 1/8th of a mile or less in some towns. So when I turned the corner to the track, you could only see one half. EERY! But it was great running weather. There was even a little mist. I set up my Garmin and I was off for MY BEST RUN EVER!

The Garmin was actually "dead-on balls accurate" with the distance!

I might be able to hit that sub-30 5k come June, you think? Wish I took a picture of my forearms- the mist landed on each individual hair and they were all standing on end. Hey, it's the little things...

In other news, my brother had his hip replacement surgery today and so far, everything is good. He'll be moved to a room when he can feel his toes. I guess he had a really good epidural.

Sick To My Stomach

Literally and figuratively. Had a good weigh-in last week, right? Well my Saturday weigh-in was even better. So what do I do? I eat. And eat. And eat. I ate to where I can't even fathom the idea of my ritual morning cup of coffee at the computer while reading everyone's posts right now. What did I eat? What didn't I eat? The half bag of Reese's peanut butter chips that have been calling my name since I used them to make HEALTHY oatmeal banana muffins... Half a chocolate chip muffin the size of a planet slathered in whipped milk chocolate frosting... Whipped milk chocolate frosting... Cookies... Some chips thrown in to counter all of the sweet...

This started Monday night with the pb chips. I had a pretty good day, too. Yesterday I threw in the towel really early. I couldn't keep myself out of the kitchen. I had even gone to the gym AND went for a 2 mile walk with the little one. Why do I do this to myself? Even after losing all the weight, my mind loves to play with me. I can make excuses, like it's the week before my cycle or how about stress? My brother has his other hip replacement surgery tomorrow, so I've been thinking about that. Or how about the news I got from my dad on Monday that the cardiac ablation he had for his arrhythmia helped, but his heart is still working severely lower than maximum capacity and he now needs an internal defibrillator put in, IN CASE he goes into cardiac arrest. That's happening within the next month. My parents have been through so much with my mom's battle with cancer last year, you think they'd catch a break. But does that make any sense? My father has to have surgery, so I should disregard my health and eat myself into oblivion? Well, it doesn't. And there's no excuse. I can't change what I did. Today's a new day and I am thankful to have it.

BIG, I MEAN, HUGE NEWS!

I know many of you guys found me through Katie's blog, Runs For Cookies, so you may have heard back in February that she's running another Ragnar Relay. She thought it would be a great idea to form a team of people who have lost a lot of weight and discovered the love of running along their journey. Would you believe she thought of me? When I opened up that e-mail inviting me to join a Ragnar team back in January, I was giddy! I couldn't pass up the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

(Katie's brother is in this video at 1:01. He did this Relay this past January!)

Then I started contemplating all that's involved in a trip of this magnitude. Childcare. (I know my kids will be 16 and 14 by then, but they can't stay home alone.) Dog sitter. Travel costs. Race-related costs. Time off. It was overwhelming. Finally, this past Sunday my husband and I sat down and hashed it out. We haven't been on vacation since we went to FL in July of '09. We haven't been away without the kids since we went to the Poconos in July of '05. We are due for this "break," to say the least. Charlie said we would just make it work.

I know it would be so much cheaper for me to go alone, but my husband wouldn't let me travel by myself. It's not some Village People macho-man thing, he just worries about me since I've never travelled alone. And again, we'll have a night in Miami and a couple of nights in Key West to enjoy together (wink, wink).

The Southernmost Hotel in Key West

Katie and Rik, a man that follows Katie's blog, have been working on all of the logistics that go into creating a team. A regular RR team has 12 members, each member running 3 legs of an almost 200 mile course, from Miami to Key West! I always told my husband we could use running as an excellent excuse to travel! Unfortunately, my husband is a skinny-minnie and never needed to lose a pound in his life, so he won't be participating. But he'll be there to congratulate us at the finish line.

I am beyond excited for this adventure. I didn't mention anything until now (I haven't even told my family yet!) because I hadn't actually committed to anything, but as of Sunday, 3/11, we have our two nights booked in Key West, and on 3/14, I mailed out my portion of the registration fee to Rik. (He finally received it today!) So, I'm definitely DOING THIS!!!

We have an outstanding group of people running on our team:

Rik (our team captain), Katie (Runs For Cookies), Jen (From Fat to Finish Line), Mary (A Small Loss), Lealah (Lealah On A Mission), Jen S. (Miles, Muscles and Mommyhood), John (Project One Five), Allison, Andrea and Ada Wong, Season 10 finalist on 'Biggest Loser!'

Keep checking in for further developments on any exciting announcements and our team's progress. Oh, and if you didn't keep count, our team only has 11 members so far. That means there's an opportunity for one of you out there to become our 12th team member! Check out Katie's post "An Amazing Opportunity" from March 17, 2012 for details!!!

Lightning Speed

NOT ME! Are you kidding? I'm talking about the male and female winners of the NYC Half-Marathon! I totally forgot it was on this morning, so I caught it on-line. I am completely in awe of these people! The male winner, Kenya's Peter Kirui, crossed the finish line at 59:39 and the female winner, Firehiwot Dado from Ethiopia, crossed at 1:08:35. That's about a 4.5 minute mile for Kirui and a 5.5 minute mile for Dado. I'm barely doing HALF A MILE in 4.5 minutes! I am just amazed by what the human body can do. Congratulations to them and the other 15,334 finishers!

Kenya's Peter Kirui

Winner Dado, center, Kim Smith (right) from New Zealand, 2nd place and Kara Goucher, USA came in 3rd!

It's that day of the week again- TGIF!!!

Anyway, time to BYOC! (BTW Drazil, your tutorial on button-copying worked, I just had to make it smaller.) This is where you get to answer some questions so we can learn more about you and you don't have to think about a sparkling blog post on your own!

1). How do you feel about college? If you have kids or siblings, will you encourage or require them to go? If you went, how long did you go and what for?
      I am one of seven siblings and all but two went to college. The other 4 that went to college first went to community college for 2 years and then transferred to a 4 year school. I was all gung-ho and went right to a 4 year school, Hamilton College in upstate NY. I was going pre-med. And then I got there, and it was tough! High school was nothing like this! I did poorly my 1st year and decided that all of this calculus and science really wasn't for me. I am a people-watcher and I became fascinated with Sociology. I got to take classes like 'The Sociology of Addiction' and 'Psychosexual Diversity.' Once I did that my grades soared. But, in my 2nd semester of my sophomore year, I started dating my now husband. I had asked him to my sister's wedding (he is a friend of my b-i-l's) and we kept in touch long-distance. Well, things got serious that summer and when I went away again my junior year, I missed him terribly. I only had classes on Tues. and Thurs. so I could take the long weekends to come home and visit him. (I still managed to make Dean's List that semester!) I decided to transfer back onto LI. Only I never did. I went 5 semesters and I have no degree to show for it. Now that my kids are older, I want to go back to school, but I have no clue as to what I want to study.
     I will encourage my kids to go to college. Although my husband didn't go and makes enough money for us to live on, he doesn't make a lot, and he works 55 hrs., 6 days/week. He wants the kids to go to school so they rely on their minds and not their bodies (NOT like that!) to make a living. At 45, all of the physical labor he has done has taken a toll on him. Thank God, both of my kids are doing really well in school and enjoy learning. I can't wait to see what they make of themselves.

2). Pink or purple? Coke or Pepsi? Pen or pencil? Cursive or printing? Ketchup or mustard?
     Neither pink nor purple, but if there's a gun to my head I would have to say pink. yuck. Pepsi (though I rarely drink soda). Pen. Printing because I'm a perfectionist and I'm not happy with my cursive right now. And if we're talking hot dogs, I'm into ketchup now. Mustard on ham and in egg salad- YUM!

3). If you could live in any generation, which would it be?
     I grew up in the 80's, so I don't know any better! I had what my brother likes to call a "Flock of Seagulls" haircut. I actually shaved the back and the sides! I loved Tears For Fears, The Cure, R.E.M., Crowded House... good times. I know my son would choose the 40's because he's so into WWII and the Big Band Era (he plays trombone in jazz band). I think I'd choose the 50's, when there wasn't such a stigma on being a stay-at-home mother. Then I could wear the adorable dresses and pearls while fixing my family dinner. Ooh, and ignorance was bliss! I could smoke and drink and be none the wiser! (I don't do either of those anymore.)

Guess which one is me!

4). What do you sleep in?
      Depends. Sometimes I just take off my jeans and go to bed in the shirt I wore all day. I know, some of you are recoiling in disgust. Guess what? I don't wash my face either! *GASP!* Most times I put on a nightgown, all because I really just want to take my bra off. If I had my way and there were no children in the house, I might just sleep naked.

5). Repeat- Summarize your week.
     Well, got the new car last Thursday and was rear-ended (with only a paint scratch) on Sunday on the way home from church. Wednesday weigh-in says I lost 2 pounds. Hope I don't find them. And now that it's noon, I'm back from the gym having run 8 miles in 1:20, plus a quarter mile cool-down, walked a mile back and forth to the gym and did 20 minutes on the arc trainer so I could talk to my gf. That's a grand total of 10.33 miles today.
*UPDATE: As of 7am those kids still aren't here. FML.

**UPDATE: They showed up at 7:15am, right as the older one needed to get to the bus stop with my daughter.

WOO HOO! Wednesday

---(Hooted and hollered like Vicki Gunvelson (whom I can't stand) from RHOOC)---

I apologize for the crappy picture and pedicure!

My hard work is finally reflecting on the scale (this week anyhow!)! I had to weigh-in quickly since it was almost 6am and the little brats cherubs from across the street were getting dropped off. I didn't even remove my nightgown! So, I probably lost 4 pounds, not 2, right?!?

Anyhow, I've been changing up my workouts. I've been cutting back a bit on the arc trainer and adding hill hikes on the treadmill which have been kicking my butt, along with a more intense interval run and some strength training sessions. I've also been trying to keep so much food from passing my lips! Thank God the nice weather is coming and the appetite will naturally decrease with the heat. I'm looking forward to eating a lot more salads for lunch and dinner as well as enjoying more daylight to be walking or running outside. Today I decided to walk to the gym instead of taking the car. That was a 1 mile walk in 18 minutes. After coming home and taking a shower, I went back out and walked to the post office which was another 1.4 mile walk in 22 minutes. That's on top of the work I did in the gym. Can NOT complain about a 65* day in the middle of March! I should be dragging out the rakes soon and hitting those workouts! Major calorie burn!!

Of All The Rotten Luck!

Would you believe I was hit from behind while stopped at a traffic light on my way to my parents' house after church? I've had this car for only 3 days! And I've NEVER been hit or been in an accident, EVER!! We were all backed up at the light (which always happens after mass ends) and I looked in my rearview mirror, saw the side of the guy's head, and thought "He's not going to stop," and he didn't! So, I pull over and brace myself for what I'm about to see. Thankfully it was just some chipped paint on the bumper. I called my husband and he freaked, but I talked him down off that ledge.

The scrape on the left was already there.

The guy finally gets out of his car after rummaging through his glove box (probably looking for his non-existent insurance card) and says really slowly "You ok?" English is definitely not his first language. Myself and the two kids are fine, thank God! Good thing we were coming out of church, huh? Although, this will give my son another reason why we SHOULDN'T go to church! Twice in mass he mouthed to me "THIS SUCKS!" Anyway, we assessed the damage (he had none) and I decided to just go. Later on, Charlie tells me that while I was outside the car he cursed! (Mind you he's 15 but I don't allow him to curse. He SAYS he doesn't and that he thinks the "F-word" is disgusting.) He asked his sister if he should tell me he cursed and Chelsea told him no, that I would be mad! He tells everyone at my parents' house that he said "WHAT A D-HEAD!" Of course he used the actual word. Well, he was right. Can't fault him on that!

A Fantastic Idea!

I was just reading Holly's blog over at 300 Pounds Down and she had a really cute story that ended with her daughter drawing an adorable picture of a mouse. That reminded me of a segment on the Today Show with Hoda and Kathie Lee, where a woman makes "softies" out of your children's drawings! That would make a fantastic birthday or holiday gift, right? I have no clue how much they cost, though, and she told the journalist reporting the story that she's swamped and 600 orders behind, but if you're curious, check her out. She's at www.childsown.com. She does refer other softie makers as well.

This drawing becomes...

...this softie! How adorable!! 

Bring Your Own Crazy

I SO don't know what I'm doing here when someone says to steal her "button," so I saved it as a picture. Anyway, Drazil (check her out at It's Just Me, Drazil & Sheniqua..., she's hysterical!!) does this thing every Friday called "Bring Your Own Crazy," a fun question and answer segment to give yourself a blogging break and help get to know one another. You can do the same!

1). When you're sick, what comforts you?
      Knock on frickin' wood, I haven't been sick in a while, but what I love is laying in bed with my favorite movie characters to keep me company, like Kathleen Kelly from 'You've Got Mail,'  Loretta Castorini from 'Moonstruck or Jane Adler from 'It's Complicated.'

2). How attached to your cell phone are you?
     NOT AT ALL. I have it solely for emergency purposes. I got it free for doing an online survey and it's a 'pay-as-you-go' phone. I can access the web and text, but , get this, I DON'T KNOW HOW!!! I'm just happy knowing that I have a way to get in touch with my husband and cry in his ear when I get stuck at the intersection of two major highways in town or receive a phone call from my son begging me to pick him up because he has a migraine. THAT'S ALL I NEED IT FOR. Bonus: No outrageous bill. Without using it, it costs just $10/month. Pretty affordable for peace of mind.

3). What brand, color and kind of sneaker do you own to work out in? Why? Do you get a custom fit or just pick one off the shelf?
      Right now I'm running in Nikes. I'm not sure what they are. I bought them at Kohl's right off the shelf and I love them because they were pristine white with just a bright orange/melon colored Nike symbol. I should get thyself to a running store and get properly fitted, one day.

4). Do you ever wish you had picked a different name for your blog and why?
     I like the name for now, and I guess it could work in the future because 40 was when I decided I was fabulous (said with jazz hands).

5). Repeat question: Summarize your week in real life and in blog land.
     Aren't they one in the same? Well, I GOT A NEW CAR!! My day-to-day real life has become wonderful now that I don't have to worry if I'll make it from Point A to Point B in one piece! I can listen to the radio without it cutting out on me, (when I could hear it over my rally car exhaust!), I can put my groceries in the trunk without them getting rained on and my window's aren't taped shut! Plus, it's pretty!

In "Blog Land," I love waking up in the morning, making my vat o'coffee and sitting at the computer reading everyone's entries. I love to see what my friend Katie at Runs For Cookies is up to or what mad crazy workouts Fit Mom at A New Beginning... has endured. Everyone inspires me to do better and push myself harder, and then I eat my muffin.

Out With the Old and In With the New!!

So, we did a lot of searching for cars on our cable company's auto channel, and I fell in love. My husband's always liked this particular car, but it wasn't until I started looking, knowing that this was going to be MY car, that I realized, "Hey, that car is frickin' cute!!!" Yesterday afternoon we set out with my jalopy to test drive it and WE BOUGHT IT! BONUS: they accepted my car as a trade-in so we wound up getting $600 off this car. That doesn't sound like a lot, but we were just going to junk it, so we would've gotten maybe $50 for it! AND the dang car won't be sitting in the driveway for God only knows how long! When all was said and done, the new car cost $8,200.

This morning we had my daughter's honor roll/perfect attendance award ceremony and after that we stopped at the bank to take out the money to pick up the car this afternoon.

What all that money looks like...

While I was counting it, I asked my husband, jokingly, if it turned him on, and he said "Looking at that much money makes something else withdraw, too!" He won't cry seeing the car go, but he'll shed a tear saying goodbye to all of that money!

So.... we just got back and here she is...

2008 PT Cruiser

Isn't she pretty??!!?? My favorite part is portions of the dashboard are that same color!!

WAAAHHHH!! Wednesday

Aunt Flo visited and left with me with an extra pound, the bitch! And I had a good week so I even painted my toe nails to prettify my weigh-in, thinking it was going to be a good one. My belly feels especially flabby and not bloated, so I was thinking this was it! Oh well...

On a happier note, my husband told me on Saturday that we are actually shopping for a car for me! Usually I get his hand-me-down and he gets the new vehicle, but he doesn't want me driving around in his jallopy, so this is my first "new" (we only buy "pre-owned" but it'll be new to me!) car since I bought my Cougar in 1994!!! Before that I bought my sister's Mazda 323 for a steal. After the Cougar I drove two Oldsmobile 89s, two Lincoln Continentals and now my Hyundai. We're going this afternoon to shop some more. I REALLY have my eye on this one car and I'm hoping and praying we get it today!!


                                                          MY LIFE IN VEHICLES:

Mine was gold and totalled in front of my house when an idiot rammed into the back pulling away from my neighbor's.  Paid my sister $800, got $1,700 when it was totalled! (1993)

This was a hot car (at the time)! (1994)

Our first 89 was red and our second was white. Good family vehicles- Charlie came home from the hospital in this car and Chelsea came home in the white one! (1996)

Our first Lincoln was grey, the second was gold with the nice sun roof. The air suspension went on the gold one and you felt like you were in one of those low-rider cars with the bouncing hydraulics! HORRIBLE! (2000-2006)

I've been driving this since 2006! Time for something new!

I hope I can write a post about the new car VERY SOON!!!

I Freakin' Did It!

I ran my first double digit run! 10 miles in 1:45:07!!! That's a 10:30 pace. I had to split the run up into two parts since the treadmill I was on had a 60 minute limit. (Some of the treadmills countdown from 96 minutes, but that still wouldn't have been enough time.) So, to play a mind game with myself, I figured I'd run more in the first half, so the second half wouldn't seem so bad. Hey, whatever I have to do to get it done! I set the speed at 5.7 mph figuring slow and steady wins the race.

1st leg

2nd leg

I felt pretty good through most of the run. My hips got a bit tight towards the end, and my ass really did feel like it slid down to the backs of my knees, but my breathing was nice and easy and there were no cramps or stitches at all. My new music towards the end of the run REALLY helped push me through it, like The Wanted's 'I'm Glad you Came' and Nicki Minaj's 'Superbass.'

So, there's still just over seven months until my half-marathon. I think I got this.

Happy 2nd Runnaversary To Me!

Well, nobody else would remember. I started running in March 2010. I'm thinking it was more towards the middle or end of the month, but I didn't write it down, or if I did write it down (probably on the school calendar, the bible to a house with any school-aged kids!) I don't know where it is. ANYWAY, I started running after losing about 40 pounds, and the notion of running in a race, possibly a marathon (thanks to the bug my husband stuck in my ear), gave me the determination to continue to run, even though that first lap felt like it nearly killed me.


Ugh, I look horrible. I didn't even have any running clothes yet! I ran/walked with denim shorts!


This was my first 5k, the Long Island Macarthur Airport 5k For Veterans, on 6/5/10. A 5k on the taxi ways and tarmacs of an airport- how cool is that? Yep, that's me, trailing the old guy. I think he was in his 80's! I tried so hard to get past him, but my attempts were in vain. He was slow, but steady and I think he finished 4 spots ahead of me. My time for that 5k was 42:42. I couldn't run the entire thing. I picked up the Couch to 5k program around week 4 after that and the next 5k on 9/10/10 (right in my town!) I finished in 34:40. I ran the entire race. Slowly, but surely I've improved my time and increased my distance over the last 2 years. I'll do the LIMA 5k again as well as my library's Family Literacy 5k in September. I plan on coming in under 30:00 for both of them! Then it's my half-marathon in October! Butterflies!

A Sad, Sad Day

Well, it's official. We need to put my car to sleep. My 1999 metallic pea-green Hyundai Sonata can't take much more. It was supposed to get inspected this month, but when I brought it in I knew the news wasn't going to be good. The check engine light was on because of the evap sensor in the exhaust, (which I knew about forever), and even after getting it fixed, you need to drive the car for at least 100 miles before the inspection computer will allow the car to pass, IF that was the only thing wrong with it. That was not all she had going on. With labor (I think it's around $80/hr. here) we were looking at a $1,600 bill. She just isn't worth sinking that kind of money into with 113,000 miles on her. (That's not bad for a 13 year old car, probably because I only drive on average 5 miles a day!)


Like the tape on the window?

 We were planning on replacing my husband's car, but since his car was just inspected and possibly can make it another year, I'll drive that and he'll get another car, since he's the one that makes ALL the money! We were supposed to do that last year, but figured we'd hold on as long as we could. So, with our tax return money, we'll be buying another used car. We just can't afford a car payment, not with me stuck watching the kids 3 days/week for a measly $70/week. Come September, when both kids are in school full-time, I'll have to find a better part-time job. Even if I made $150/week that would be great.

Anyway, enough of the pissing and moaning... I did a great "treadmill hill hike" workout I found on Pinterest yesterday. It had you walking between 3.5 and 4.5 mph with an incline from 4-10. It was really tough! 4.5 mph at a 10 incline and I was jogging. I managed 3 miles in 45 minutes with a vertical distance of 1,078. My shins feel it today! Today I ran at 6.6 and 6.7 mph and finished 3.25 miles in 30 minutes. Saturday I'm attempting 10 miles. It would be my first double-digit run EVER.