Merry-thon Complete!

I finished my Merry-thon miles last night! Thanks to everyone who joined me on this fun little challenge. Be sure to let me know if you finished! :)

Happy New Year everyone!

I can't wait for the WWW!

Three Things Thursday

1. I have missed you guys!!! It has been almost two weeks since I have been on a computer. I did stop in for about two minutes on Christmas Eve to update my miles, but I haven't read any blogs in weeks! I am ready to get caught back up with you guys.

2.  I have two more miles to go to complete my Merry-thon! I am so glad that I had this challenge to keep me moving during my vacation from work. I know that I would not have put forth the effort to go to the gym if it weren't for the challenge and knowing you guys were working to get your miles finished too!

3. I ATE WAY TOO MUCH! Of course, a few years ago, this would have been my normal, but still it was too much. There were several cookies too many , along with many dinners out with friends and evening that included cocktails in the past two weeks! But that was then, and this is now. The holidays are coming to an end, and my regular diet routine has already started back...and I am ready for that normal routine.

Three Things Thursday

1. Well, I am officially behind on my Merry-thon miles, but I know I can get caught up. Yesterday, we had a mini ice storm that kept me in the house all day. It was nice to have an unexpected day off from work, and even though I got behind on my mileage, I got ahead on other things...and FINISHED my Christmas cards! Yay! I was soo behind on cards this year, but mine are going out Today!

2. When I got to work this morning, we were SHOCKED to find out that the library had been burglarized. They broke out a Window in my children's section. It was a huge mess and glass was everywhere. They only managed to get away with $30 and some changes that was in our donations box. We had to cancel the field trip that was coming to the library this morning, but I will still have my family night event this evening. What a day!

3. Tomorrow is my last day to work for over a week! I am so ready for this off time! I am looking forward to friends, family, and getting more miles complete :)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry-thon Update!

I am a little over halfway finished with the Merry-thon miles. The next half will be harder because of my work schedule the rest of the week, and being at home (45 mins away) from the gym next week. But I WILL complete my Merry-thon miles, and I know you guys will too!
I am trying to make a game plan for finishing the last 13 miles. I am hoping to get in at least 6 more miles this week...then next week I will try to come to town Tuesday to hit the gym and maybe get some last minute gifts bought, and run outside Wednesday. Monday I will be out of town most of the day and doubt I could get any miles in, but if I leave my house early, I could stop at the gym before heading out. It will come together. I am commited! I can do this! Even in the craziness of December!

How many miles have you completed?

Three Things Thursday

1.  I am at 10.6 miles completed so far for the Merry-thon and plan to hit the gym again tonight. Tomorrow will be a night off from the gym and then I plan to run outside one day this weekend, if the weather isn't too bad. Yesterday our high was only 34!!! In Alabama that is COLD! And they are predicting snow for the weekend.

2. I think I have my Winter Wonderland Warriors Goals figured out...but still may tweak a few...Here they are...

1. 150 miles on foot (A combo of walking, jogging, and running)
2. 150 miles on Bike  (This will be at the gym)
3. 2 miles in 24 minutes ( I was hoping to get this done by the end of the year, but think I will still be working on it when the challenge starts)
4. Participate in an official 5k ( I haven't done one in a while.)
5. Do 100 minutes of Wii Fitness a week. ( I read about others using there Wii all the time, but usually only use it when I can't get to the gym...I want this to be an extra component.)
6. Save $100 per month.  (This will be tough, but I think I can do it.)
7.  Strength Train 2 days per week. (Maybe if I add this as a challenge goal I will be more consistent.)
8. Eat 7 fruit/Veggies per day. (In general I think I do this...but it will be more planned now.)
9. Drink at least 64oz of water per day. (This is usually no problem during the week, but I need to work on my weekend water consumption.)
10. Do something FUN once a week. (This could be a movie at home with Tommy, a Girl's Night, or taking Humphrey for a hike...just something fun...sometimes I get in a funk during the blah winter months.)

What do y'all think of those goals??

3.  For the last couple of weeks, my calories have been up...not really with fat heavy foods, but I have just wanted MORE of what I usually eat. Have any of you been experiencing this?

Twitter

I wish this was a Three Things Thursday post, because I am already ready for the weekend :) Just wanted to let you guys know that I joined Twitter today. Several of the blogs I read also have twitter accounts so I thought I would embrace twitter, too :) My name is MrsHillRuns so follow me :)

How are your Merry-thon miles going?  After tonight's run I should have 9 miles :) Woohoo

Winter Wonderland Warriors

The Drop Dead Gorgeous Challenge that Jess hosted will be coming to an end soon, so I am so excited that Amy has announced a new challenge that will run through the winter months, The Winder Wonderland Warriors. This challenge consists of setting 10 goals to complete during the Challenge and posting once a week, as well as some survey questions to answer...Sounds like fun to me!  Head over to Amy's blog and read all about it!

Drop Dead Gorgeous by December -Weekly Report 16

1. A picture of you holding up a positive sign for yourself.

"Tis the Season to be Drop Dead Gorgeous!"

2. Your current week’s weight as well as your challenge start weight. *optional

December Weight: 190.5

3. Your goal(s) from now, or whenever you decide to join, until December.

Goal 1: 200 tracked workout miles...(treadmill, street runs,biking,elliptical,swimming,etc) Woohoo Goal completed!
Goal 2: 5k in under 40 mins... Completed 10/30/10 PinkDressRun 38:39
Goal 3: Journal food 5days a week.  Not too bad ;)

Goal 4: Do something for myself to make me feel gorgeous. I got hit on my a college Frat boy on my way into a restaurant....Hahaha!  It made me feel gorgeous and glad that I was going in to meet my wonderful husband.

4. ONE thing that you are proud of for the week.

Picking my mileage back up :) And so many Merry-thon participants :)

5. ONE thing that you can improve upon for the following week.   
         Keep up the great gym routine.

To those of you doing this challenge, is this our last week?

Fancy Nancy

I mentioned the Fancy Nancy Party in my Three Things Thursday post yesterday...so I thought I would share some photos! We had a great time, but I am exhausted!

Ready to Greet my Little Fancies :)

Hannah loves a Fancy Party!

All the girls loved the Fancy table settings.

Juice and cookies! I had two cookies...

I just love this picture.

All of my Winter Staff being Fancy.

The book that inspired the party.

A few of the girls posing after the party!

I Love Mrs. Helen...she is a great team member and even better friend! Plus she looks awesome!

This was a registration event and all 25 little girls showed up along with the Mommies, Daddies, and Grandmas that go with them. The party was a blast! Tonight Santa is coming for Story Time! And then the weekend...Woohoo!

Three Things Thursday

1. I am so excited that so many people have joined the "Merry-thon!" And I am excited to have some new blogs to read and friends to make :) Let's Get Running!

2. I had a great 2.25mi run last night, but overslept this morning and didn't get to the gym. I usually take Fridays off from the gym, but I will replace today's run tomorrow afternoon.

3. Tonight we are having a Fancy Nancy Christmas Party at the library...those of you with young girls probably know all about Fancy Nancy. It should be alot of fun! Maybe there will be pictures later :)

Ready for the "Merry-thon!"

I am so excited that several of you have decided to join me for the "Merry-thon!" Yesterday was my first day back at the gym in a week and WOAH could I feel it. A mile into my run I felt like I was going to puke and walked the next mile, but tonight I plan to add on another quarter mile until I have worked my mileage back up. I know having this challenge and knowing you guys are keeping up your mileage up is going to help to keep me motivated as we head into the holiday season. Thursday I will have to hit the gym at 5AM UGH...because I have a monster of a day at work and probably won't get home until about 10 that night! It wears me out just thinking about it :)

What are you guys looking forward to the most this month?  I love our town's Christmas Parade. I have been in the parade the last couple of years, but this year I decided with all that was going on at the library, we just didn't have time to put a float together. I am so excited about being a spectator! I also enjoy our town's tree lighting that will be this weekend...the weather is supposed to be gloomy and wet, so I am not sure I can talk T into going, but sometimes he surprises me! And I must leave you with a sweet picture of Humphrey sleeping under the tree :)

A Merry-thon Challenge!

I don't know about you, but Challenges really help to keep me focused in keeping up my mileage. Confession Time...I didn't run at all last week. I wasn't trying to complete a challenge, and since I was away from my gym and the outside conditions weren't great, I didn't push myself to keep up my running.  I did quite a bit of walking and even did a DVD one day, but I didn't get a good run in all week. ( I am also really behind in reading about you guys! I have only had access to the internet for about an hour in the past week!)  Today I am back to my regular routine and I am really looking forward to gaining some miles tonight.  As the Christmas Holidays approach, and all the extras that go with it, I need a new challenge to focus on. I will be working late more this month, and I need a good reason to hit the gym late (or early that morning) instead of just shrugging it off and heading home to PJs and my warm blanket. I need to commit to hitting the gym before or after that holiday party. I don't want to set myself up for failure by making the mileage too high, but I want there to me enough that I have to get to the gym several times a week for a couple of miles.

I am challenging myself to get in 26.1 miles of running during the month of December. I will be running tonight, but this challenge will officially begin December 1. Will you join me? ~ Jess

Drop Dead Gorgeous by December -Weekly Report 15

1. A picture of you holding up a positive sign for yourself.

"Ho Ho Ho! You better keep up your mileage! Santa is watching!

2. Your current week’s weight as well as your challenge start weight. *optional

November Weight: 190.5

3. Your goal(s) from now, or whenever you decide to join, until December.

Goal 1: 200 tracked workout miles...(treadmill, street runs,biking,elliptical,swimming,etc) Woohoo Goal completed!
Goal 2: 5k in under 40 mins... Completed 10/30/10 PinkDressRun 38:39
Goal 3: Journal food 5days a week.  Too much food this holiday week.

Goal 4: Do something for myself to make me feel gorgeous. Eyebrows waxed :)

4. ONE thing that you are proud of for the week.

Enjoying my vacation time. I used one day to clean the house and get up my decorations. The rest of the week was just relaxing and enjoying the holiday and time off.

5. ONE thing that you can improve upon for the following week.   
         I must get back into my normal routine.

Drop Dead Gorgeous by December -Weekly Report 14

1. A picture of you holding up a positive sign for yourself.

Tommy made this week's signed and snapped the picture :) I loved it!

2. Your current week’s weight as well as your challenge start weight. *optional

November Weight: 190.5

3. Your goal(s) from now, or whenever you decide to join, until December.

Goal 1: 200 tracked workout miles...(treadmill, street runs,biking,elliptical,swimming,etc) Woohoo Goal completed!
Goal 2: 5k in under 40 mins... Completed 10/30/10 PinkDressRun 38:39
Goal 3: Journal food 5days a week.  Food has been all over the place...good days and bad days. Not enough journaling.

Goal 4: Do something for myself to make me feel gorgeous. Hubby gave me some extra kisses and I felt gorgeous :) Hee hee ;)

4. ONE thing that you are proud of for the week.

Getting my Snow Village set up...hope to get the rest of the decorating done this week.

5. ONE thing that you can improve upon for the following week.   
         Log more miles..this was a laxed week at the gym.

Three Things Thursday (a little late)- Thankful Edition 3

1. I am thankful for our house and home. Even though there are many little projects I would like to get done (and can't afford), and the fact that I can never keep it clean, I am so thankful to have a house that I can sleep in each night. I am also for the love inside our house that makes it a home.

2. I am thankful for my Mother-In-Law. I think all MILs can drive you crazy, but I am so thankful for mine. I think it took a couple of years for us to fully adjust to each other, but she is absolutely golden.  I hope never to take her for granted. She is wonderful to cook dinner occasionally when I have had a long week. She let's me vent when it is much needed. And she helps us out without being overbearing.

3.  I am thankful for memories. "When people you love become a memory, those memories become a treasure."

Honesty and Questions (with Tags)

Thank you to Mary for giving me this "Honest Scrap Blog Award." The rules of this award are simple...list 10 honest things about yourself and then pass it on to 4 people who have shown their honesty through their blogs.
1. I truly love my job. Most of your know that I am a children's librarian in a public library. Each week I have over 400 children participate in the different programs I do at the library and during the summer that number sometimes triples. I do programming for infants - age 15 and my days are never the same. There are people of every economic level that use my library. I have seen children crawl for the first time and read their first book. I have spoken to young teens about what they hope their future holds. I am thirty years old and have worked at the library is some capacity for 15 years. I started as a volunteer and worked my way up to the Director of Youth Services. A few years after I graduated, my favorite University professor ran into me and asked what I was doing. When I told him I had chosen to stay at the library he said, "what a waste." It devastated me. A year or so later, I  confided this to a lady that brings her children to the library. She took my hand and said, "then he has no idea what you mean to the children of this community." And I knew my decision to stay was the right choice.

2. I have struggled to lose weight after I had my gall bladder removed in 2007. This makes me proud of every single pound I lose. 

3.I worry about my husband dying young. Most of this fear is completely irrational and stems from the fact that my mother's father died when he was 56 and then my Dad died when he was 56. My best friend's husband died in his 40s. Some of the most important men in my life have died too early.

4. I am having a hard time with my Mother dating. In my head, I want her to be happy, but in my heart it hurts to see her with another man.

5. I love to just relax in front of the TV and watch mindless television.   Sometimes I am not even really watching, I am just not thinking about anything else.

6. I love planning a trip almost as much as actually going on the trip. However, I am very flexible with my travel plans. I like to read about everything that is available to do, but I am usually not disappointed if we do none of the things I have researched and follow a completely different itinerary.

7. I work with the public everyday, but I am incredibly shy is social situations. I would much rather be at home with Tommy than at a party. And I hate to mingle. It makes me very uncomfortable. I don't even care for group situations with my family.

8. I worry what my body will look like when I reach my goal weight.  I used to never think about this, but recently I have noticed how my skin is sagging. I read that if you lose slow that your body usually has time to tighten up, but mine has not done this at all. I want to lose weight in order to have a healthy body and to improve my fitness level, but it would also be nice to have a bathing suit body, but I don't think that will ever happen...especially when I look at my thighs!

9.  For that last few years, I haven't looked forward to holidays. I have always LOVED the holidays, but after Dad died...it just became very hard to get into the holiday spirit. This year, I have been so excited about the holidays...but I am worried that I will wake up any day and that excitement will be gone again. I think that is part of the reason I want to get my decorations up early this year.

10.  I am so thankful to this blog community. You guys just don't know how much your sweet comments mean to me. (Or maybe you do...since this is your community too!)

I want to pass this on to Jennifer, Girly Girl, Lori, and Karen!

I was also tagged in a question game by Moving Mertle at Diets and Sweat. These are the questions she asked:

1. What is your favorite mantra/motivational words/quote?
"RUN when you can, WALK when you have to, CRAWL if you must, Just NEVER GIVE UP!"- Dean Karnazes

2. What was your favorite book as a child?  I loved the book, A Panda Cake by Rosalie Seidler! I had the weekly reader version. The first year Tommy and I were together, he found the book on ebay and gave it to me as a Christmas gift. It is one of my favorite gifts.

3. What is your favorite recipe or cook book? This is an easy one. When Tommy and I got married an elderly lady gave me a notebook filled with her families favorite recipes and helpful hints around the kitchen. I treasure this gift.

4. What do you want for Christmas? I would love a Nike+ sports band.

I want to tag Rae, Brittany, Tish, and J with the following questions.

1. What is your favorite Christmas memory?

2. What is your go-to meal?

3. How would you spend a day if you could do anything...from morning to night.

4. How do you plan to motivate yourself to keep up diet and exercise during the holidays?

Oops :)

Sorry about the sign yesterday...I didn't realise you couldn't read it when I posted it :) It says, " Believe and you can do it!"   :)

I really started to get into the holiday mood last week! Because we are going out of town for Thanksgiving this year, I have decided to put up my Christmas tree next Monday. ( I am taking off the week of Thanksgiving.) One of my favorite things to do during the holiday season is read wonderful holiday stories. Last week I read, Finding Noel by Richard Paul Evans and then I read A Cedar Cove Christmas by Debbie Macomber this weekend. I really enjoyed both books in different ways. Finding Noel wasn't your typical holiday book, but I think it was perfect for starting off the "Season's Readings."  I adored A Cedar Cove Christmas. Very Cute! I haven't  read any of the Cedar Cove series, but think I might give them a shot after the holidays.  Last night I started another Debbie Macomber book, The Perfect Christmas. Do any of you enjoy reading holiday books, if so, what are some you have enjoyed in the past? Every year, I mean to keep a list of the books I read during the holidays but never do. This year I plan to keep a list on my sidebar. If you are interested in any of the books, or want to know more about them let me know! :)

I am very behind in my blog reading! Hope I can get caught back up with you guys in the next few days :)

Drop Dead Gorgeous by December -Weekly Report 13

1. A picture of you holding up a positive sign for yourself.

2. Your current week’s weight as well as your challenge start weight. *optional

November Weight: 190.5

3. Your goal(s) from now, or whenever you decide to join, until December.

Goal 1: 200 tracked workout miles...(treadmill, street runs,biking,elliptical,swimming,etc) Woohoo Goal completed!
Goal 2: 5k in under 40 mins... Completed 10/30/10 PinkDressRun 38:39
Goal 3: Journal food 5days a week.  Food was fine the first part of the week, but got a bit snacky during my days off. Dinners were consistently light and helped to balance out the calories. Saturday all I wanted was a Milk Shake! It is all I could think about! I decided to give into it so that I could move on...I got a small peanut butter milk shake and it was wonderful!

Goal 4: Do something for myself to make me feel gorgeous. Friday was a complete "ME" day. I even took a mid-day nap!

4. ONE thing that you are proud of for the week.

Finishing out my mileage goals!

5. ONE thing that you can improve upon for the following week.   
         Gotta get back to my six meal/snacks schedule!

Three Things Thursday

* I am continuing my Thankful series for Three Things Thursday during the month of November.

1.  I am thankful for good friends.I have several friends in my life that truly mean the world to me. I believe that people come in and out of our lives for a reason. I am thankful for old friends and new ones. I am thankful for friends that call for no reason,and friends that show back up in my life after a brief hiatus. I am thankful for the friends that sat and held my hand when I was scared and Dad was sick. The ones that cried with me when he passed away. And then celebrated mine and Tommy's love on our wedding day. I am thankful for "Girl's Nights" and "Evenings with the Boys." I am thankful for true friendships.

2. I am thankful for my little pup, Humphrey. I had no idea what joy this little guy would bring me when he first showed up at our house needing a home. Tommy bought me a cute little magnet that says, "Who saved who?" and I believe that is so true. He is always so excited to see me when I get home at night, and I love our "weekend adventures."

3. I am thankful for vacation days. Last week I said I was thankful for my job, and that is very true. I love it, but I also love a few days off occasionally. I am using three days of vacation time this week, and it has been wonderful! Yesterday, Tommy and I went to the zoo and had a blast. Today I ran errands and had a great time just browsing through some stores. Very nice!

Drop Dead Gorgeous by December -Weekly Report 12

1. A picture of you holding up a positive sign for yourself.

2. Your current week’s weight as well as your challenge start weight. *optional

November Weight: 190.5

3. Your goal(s) from now, or whenever you decide to join, until December.

Goal 1: 200 tracked workout miles...(treadmill, street runs,biking,elliptical,swimming,etc) I am currently at 196/200.  ( I should finish this today!
Goal 2: 5k in under 40 mins... Completed 10/30/10 PinkDressRun 38:39
Goal 3: Journal food 5days a week.  Food was great this week. I paper journaled and tried to do 6 meals/snacks each day. Calories ranged 1400-1650.

Goal 4: Do something for myself to make me feel gorgeous. Saturday night I got dressed up for a wedding. It was fun!

4. ONE thing that you are proud of for the week.

Great workouts, great food, and cleaned out my pantry :)

5. ONE thing that you can improve upon for the following week.   
         Keep working on November goals!

Three Things Thursday- The Thankful Edition

During the Month of November I will be using my Three Things Thursday to list things I am thankful for...

1. I am so thankful for my sweet husband Tommy. I can't imagine life without him. He is my rock, my cheerleader, and an amazing friend. He is the love of my life. I wish that I could give him the world, but he is content with just having me.

2. I am thankful for plenty of food to eat. I think so many of us worry so often about what food we are going to eat , the calories and fat it contains, and how much/little we are going to eat of it  that we forget to be thankful for it. There are so many people that don't have enough food to eat. It breaks my heart when children come to the library and ask if we have any food, especially during the summer. During the school year, I know that hopefully they have eaten at school, but during the summer, I can't help but wonder if the small snack I serve at some of our library programs is the only food that child will get during the day. It really puts things into perspective.

3. I am thankful for my job. I am a children's librarian and absolutely love working at the library. I meet so many wonderful families and feel like I can really make a difference in some of these children's lives...I know they make a difference in mine!

Time to THROWDOWN! :)

I am very excited about participating in a November Throw Down with J from For Real, This Time! We have emailed a few times and got our goals set.

My goals for November are:

*Weigh 187 or lower by Dec. 1 
Those of you that read my blog on a regular basis know that I lose Very Very slow. This will only be a 3lb loss for the month, but for me that would be huge...I am usually excited with a 1lb loss. I will be trying to accomplish this by tweeking my diet. I will be upping my calorie intake from 1250-1400 to 1400-1650 and will be spreading my calories out between 6 meals/snacks. This is my third day of doing this and so far so good. This is my schedule
6:30  Breakfast
9:30 First Snack
12:30 Lunch
4:30 Second Snack (Pre-workout)
6:30-7:30 Dinner *Dinner may be later on some night due to work.
8:00 Final snack
Because I am eating so many times through the day, I have been able to control dinner portion sizes much better! I will continue this schedule through November and then reevaluate.

Exercise 5 days per week w/ 3 days of strength training 
I usually get in 5 days of workouts already, so the strength training with be the true challenge. I bought a Stregth training DVD and so far I really like it!
Run 2 miles in 24 minutes :)
I made this a goal earlier, but I had given myself through the New Year to achieve it. I think if I really work hard I can get there by Dec 1.
 
If you aren't already a follower of J you should check out her blog and show her your support!
*I want to say a very special Thank You! to Rae for starting this challenge and pairing me with J :)

Drop Dead Gorgeous by December -Weekly Report 11

1. A picture of you holding up a positive sign for yourself.

2. Your current week’s weight as well as your challenge start weight. *optional

N/A

3. Your goal(s) from now, or whenever you decide to join, until December.

Goal 1: 200 tracked workout miles...(treadmill, street runs,biking,elliptical,swimming,etc) I am currently at 172/200.
Goal 2: 5k in under 40 mins...  I DID IT :)  I finished a 5k treadmill run in 38:39 (Pink Dress Virtual Run); I would still love a chance to do this in a road run!
Goal 3: Journal food 5days a week.  Food has been terrible this week. It started Monday with a work dinner, and I never got back on track for my evening meals. Every night I was soo hungry! This week I am mixing things up the more mini meals during the day and journaling progress on Spark; hopefully this will help with evening hunger.
Goal 4: Do something for myself to make me feel gorgeous. I bought new eye shadow. :)

4. ONE thing that you are proud of for the week.

Beating my 5k PR and completing one of my DDGbD goals :)

5. ONE thing that you can improve upon for the following week.   
         MUST do better with evening eating!! Would LOVE to finish my 200 miles goal this week!

Pink Dress Run & New 5k PR

I have been really excited about Fran's Pink Dress Run all week. I knew this would be my first attempt to break my 5k PR which is one of my Drop Dead Gorgeous Goals.
I decided last night that I would treat this run just like an official run and set a starting time of 8AM. Last night, I decided that it would be fun to make an official Pink Dress Run Bib!

I got up at 6 and ate a small breakfast, 1 cup of dark chocolate almost milk and 1/2 an ounce of raw almonds. I then got dressed kissed my sweet sleeping husband goodbye and headed to the gym to jump on the treadmill.

I was just as excited and nervous driving to this "run" as I have been for all of my Road Races. I wondered if I would be able to beat my previous 5k time of 40:28. 

When I got the gym, it was FULL! There was one treadmill open, so I hopped on and set off. There is a 5k setting on the gym treadmills, but I have only used it once. I thought it would be fun to count down the kilometers rather than miles,so I typed it in and I was off. I kept a 5mph pace the first 3 km, then dropped down to a fast walk for 2 minutes to bring my HR down and take a sip of water. Then I brought the speed back up. As I started the 4k I started to get a bit of a side stitch and had to slow back down. I was able to finish the last 4 minutes at my quickest pace of 5.5 mph and finished at 38:39!  Woohoo! I had broken my previous time!!! It took me a few minutes to cool down, then I called Tommy to let him know. And texted my friend Crystal. She was excited for me! I stopped at the grocery to pick up some items to make Egg White and veggie scrambles for my post run breakfast, and then headed home.

I want to THANK Fran for hosting this run and Syl for introducing me to Fran's blog. I had a great time today knowing that I was running "with" all of you wonderful bloggers!

Have a great weekend everybody!!

Pink Dress Run

I am excited about doing this in the morning :)

Three Things Thursday: The Question Edition

1. What do you guys like to eat for breakfast. I usually eat the same things for about 4 months and then switch it up. I have been eating bran flakes, flax seed, whipped PB, almond milk, and a banana for over 4 months, so I am ready for a change. I like quick and easy :) I usually use about 350 cals, but I am flexible :)

2. Do you guys set a workout schedule for yourself, or do you decide daily what you are going to do? I usually know how many miles I want to get in for the week, and a plan to attack those miles, but then switch things up depending on my day at work. I think with the holiday season coming, and all the evening events that entails, I need to make a calendar of what I want to get done each day. Then I will adjust my schedule accordingly so that I can get in that day's workout.

3.  What is your favorite winter meal? I love soups...and can't wait to start making them on a weekly basis :)

Running Towards New Goals!

I broke another record yesterday!!! I finished my 2 miles in 25:08!  I would really like to get to 2 miles in 24 minutes before the new year! So I will be working toward that goal!!

I am still very slow and I know I won't be winning any races, but I just love working hard and beating my own times. I can really see my  improvement!

Drop Dead Gorgeous by December -Weekly Report 10

1. A picture of you holding up a positive sign for yourself.

2. Your current week’s weight as well as your challenge start weight. *optional

N/A

3. Your goal(s) from now, or whenever you decide to join, until December.

Goal 1: 200 tracked workout miles...(treadmill, street runs,biking,elliptical,swimming,etc) I am currently at 155/200.
Goal 2: 5k in under 40 mins  Making Progress! Broke my 1 mile PR! :)
Goal 3: Journal food 5days a week.  No tracking this week. But a good food week.
Goal 4: Do something for myself to make me feel gorgeous. Girl's Night

4. ONE thing that you are proud of for the week.

Beating my 1mile PR

5. ONE thing that you can improve upon for the following week.   
         Beating my 2mile PR

Three Things Thursday: Zucchini Ribbons, Pedometer, and Time Goals

1. Last night I made Zucchini Ribbons for dinner. Have any of you tried these? Basically, you just cut off the ends of your Zucchini, and use a mandolin to cut long ribbons. (You could do this with a sharp knife, too.) Then I sauteed them with a bit of olive oil and Italian Seasoning. Super Yummy and Quick! This will definitely be added to the rotation :)

2. Some of you made have read on my sidebar that I lost my pedometer last week. We had Family Night at the library, and with such a wild night, it fell off at some point without me noticing.We wore costumes, and when I changed into my costume, I noticed that I had already hit 10,000 steps with all the prep work for the event. I probably should have just taken it off then, but I didn't.  I am sure a child thought it was a toy (we were giving out many small prizes during the event) and took it home. I was using my husband's pokewalker, and it really did look like a toy. I put up signs around the library, but so far nothing. I plan to order a replacement this afternoon, and when it comes in I will continue my Power of 10.

3. Last night, I beat a PR for my one mile and finished in 11:43. I was really excited. I had not paid much attention to my 1mile times in a while, but after finishing Saturday with a better time than I had expected, I decided to do an official time. New goal will be to finish in 11:30 or better :)

Power of Pink Race with Annalee

Saturday, I participated in a local race called the Power of Pink with my six-year-old niece Annalee. She is actually my cousin's daughter, but I have always considered her a niece and I am her "Aunt Jess" :)

The week before, her mother participated in the Race for the Cure with me. Annalee wanted to have a friend stay the night the weekend we were out of town for Race for the Cure, but her Mom explained that she couldn't have company that weekend because we would be out of town doing a race for Aunt Rosie. Annalee asked why Kacy was racing for Aunt Rosie, and she explained that we were doing the race to help raise money so that the doctors could learn new ways to help sick people like Aunt Rosie feel better. Annalee then told her Mom that she wanted to race for Aunt Rosie.

When Kacy told me about the whole conversation, I told her than I knew there would be a local race the next week that included a 1mile fun run, and that I could run it with her. Annalee was very excited. When I picked her up bright and early Saturday morning, she answered the door with a huge hug and told her little brother she was going with Aunt Jess to do something very important. On the car ride to the race, we went over some rules about sticking together. We actually arrived before the 5k event started in order to get parking...she was anxious as we waited for our turn to race.

We had a great run, though we had to stop twice to tie her shoes. LOL She was full speed about until we had less than a quarter mile left to go, the she said she was tired and wanted her Momma. I pointed ahead in the distance to the finish line and told her we could make it just a little longer. We finished in 12:08! (I thought that was really good considering two shoe tying breaks!)

When we finished the race she was starving! She had not eaten breakfast that morning, but I didn't know until minutes before the race was to begin. She ate three granola bars and a full bottle of water. We were so excited during the awards ceremony when she won 3rd place for her age group (0-9).

We had an AMAZING day together, and I am so happy that I could pass on this healthy hobby to her! As we were saying our good-byes she asked when we would race again! :)



Get Set...GO!

 

Annalee running with Aunt Jess!



She was starving! And they were out of bananas from the 5k!

Third Place!

Drop Dead Gorgeous by December -Weekly Report 9

1. A picture of you holding up a positive sign for yourself.

2. Your current week’s weight as well as your challenge start weight. *optional

N/A

3. Your goal(s) from now, or whenever you decide to join, until December.

Goal 1: 200 tracked workout miles...(treadmill, street runs,biking,elliptical,swimming,etc) I am currently at 144/200.
Goal 2: 5k in under 40 mins  Making Progress!
Goal 3: Journal food 5days a week.  No tracking this week, but not too bad until Saturday night.
Goal 4: Do something for myself to make me feel gorgeous. Wore makeup to work EVERYDAY! :)

4. ONE thing that you are proud of for the week.

I participated in a 1 mile fun run with my 6-year-old niece. I think it is important to share these healthy activities with her. She came in third place in her age group. More on this later in the week :)

5. ONE thing that you can improve upon for the following week.   
          A better routine! Things have been crazy!  (Try this again!)

Three Things Thursday

1. A couple of weeks ago, Tommy found a pair of toning shoes on sale. They were 40% percent off, and we had a coupon for an additional 30% off. In all, we got the shoes for $20. I had not really thought much about purchasing the toning shoes until we got such a good deal on them, but I am glad we bought them. When I first wore them, it almost felt like huge pieces of gum were stuck to the bottom of the shoes, but now I am becoming more familiar. Do any of y'all  have the toning walking shoes?

2. This weekend, I am doing another breast cancer race. This one is local and I will be running with my 6-year-old niece. We will be doing the 1 mile fun run together and she is really excited.  She really wanted to do the event last week, but since it was out of town and something new for us, we weren't sure if children would be allowed. She told her Mom that she wanted to do something to help Aunt Rosie too, so I found this little local race. I am looking forward to doing this with her, and hope it is a memory that will last with her a long time.

3. The Power of 10 challenge has been going well for me. So far, I have reached or exceeded 10,000 steps every day except the day we traveled for the "Race for the Cure." I worked half a day, and then spent quite a bit of time in the car...and at the end of the day I only a a little over 7,000 steps. But that's okay...I exceeded 10,000 the next day. There have  been a couple of  nights when I was 1000 or so short and just wanted to call it a night, but made myself  hit the driveway until my 10,000 were complete. This has been a great challenge, and I hope to continue with it even after October.

Amazing! Race for the Cure!

In June, I received an email from a local running group that listed races across the state. When I saw that the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure would be in Birmingham I immediately knew I wanted to participate. Then, I decided instead of running myself, it would be a great opportunity to get my family involved in an awesome cause in honor of my Aunt Rosie that is currently battling breast cancer. 

Me and Aunt Rosie before the walk.


I didn't know how many family members would want to participate, so I sent out an email to a few cousins with the idea. The response was AMAZING! Everyone seemed game and excited! We named our team, "Rosie...Our Favorite Shade of Pink." I called my Aunt Rosie to make sure she was okay with us participating in this event in her honor. I told her who all had agreed to participate, and she said "Well...that's so sweet, but I just hate that y'all will have to walk that far." I told her, that I was used to it and that we had plenty of time to get everyone ready. During the next few months, I tried to organize our trip and plan a fundraiser for our team. A friend of mine owns the cafe inside the library and he agreed to sell "Cupcakes for a Cure" the week prior to the event, and that a dollar of each cupcake would be donated. We sold over 60 cupcakes in 2 days! It was amazing, but they ran out of cupcakes! It total we made $76 for the team from cupcakes, and then we each collected money as well totaling over $500 turned in from our team. My mom hasn't exercised much for years, and didn't think she would be able to complete the walk, but I helped her train a bit and she was able to make the 3 mile walk along with my Aunt Cathy that has had both knees replaced in the last couple of years (she was also the one that fell a few weeks back.) During the event, my Mom wanted to quit after mile one...but I stuck with them, and they were so excited when they crossed the finish line. It took them an hour and twenty minutes, but they did it!

Mom and Aunt Cathy! I was so proud of them!

The day of the event was awesome. Birmingham is a little over 2 hours from home, and our team packets had to be picked up on Friday afternoon. When we picked up the packets, a volunteer encouraged us to be at the park no later than 7:30. The walk was to begin at 10:00. We spent the rest of the day shopping a bit, checking into our hotel, and just having fun. That night, we had a late dinner and met up with the rest of the family to hand out the race packets. That night everyone was so excited, but we had no idea of how amazing the next day would be.
 
The morning of the event was AWESOME! There were people everywhere! Over 17,000 people would be participating in the event, and over 20,000 people were at the park. The fountain in the middle of the park, was full of pink water and it was gorgeous. There were vendors everywhere with all types of "pink" items. Our group was able to get a picture taken before the walk started.

I can't even begin to describe to you all how uplifting the event was for everyone. Most teams had on matching shirts, and the survivors were given pink survivor shirts to wear. Seeing so many survivors and the people that loved them and were there to show support was inspiring. My cousin commented that she didn't realize how many young woman would be wearing survivor shirts. Before the race, there was a survivor parade. There were signs for how long each group had been a survivor from one year to 30+ years. After the survivor parade, it was time to get started...the runners went first of course, and one of my Aunts asked if I wished I were running the event, and I said no. I was so proud to be there experiencing this with my family. It took over 30 minutes before we ever reaching the starting line...with so many people, we quickly lost each other, but were able to stay in smaller groups of 2 and 3.

Molly and Amber

 This race is one I will never forget. We all agreed that we want to go back next year and do it again. I could not have imagined how much fun we would have together. If there is a "Race for the Cure" event near you I encourage you to go! And to participate!

Aunt Connie

One of my favorite pictures. Mom "running"!

Drop Dead Gorgeous by December -Weekly Report 8

1. A picture of you holding up a positive sign for yourself.

2. Your current week’s weight as well as your challenge start weight. *optional

N/A

3. Your goal(s) from now, or whenever you decide to join, until December.

Goal 1: 200 tracked workout miles...(treadmill, street runs,biking,elliptical,swimming,etc) I am currently at 132/200.
Goal 2: 5k in under 40 mins  Working on W5D2
Goal 3: Journal food 5days a week  I haven't journaled much this week, but I feel my eating had been okay.
Goal 4: Do something for myself to make me feel gorgeous.Toenails are painted ;)

4. ONE thing that you are proud of for the week.

Encouraging 10 family members to participate in a 5k. For most, it was there first :) They loved it!

5. ONE thing that you can improve upon for the following week.   
          A better routine! Things have been crazy!

Three Things Thursday

1. Spaghetti Squash is rocking my world! Last night I baked it, and served it with marinara and turkey meatballs yum! I made noodle for T, but I didn't want any the squash was so good :)

2. Yesterday after work, the treadmills at the gym were full ( they are doing some kind of incentive program right now, and the gym is crazy...I am glad people are trying to live more healthy lives, but I miss being able to jump on the treadmill whenever I want...). It was a nice night, so I decided to do the "Road Kill Run." at home. As I ran, a heard of dogs started following me. I am sure it was hilarious for anyone driving by to see an overweight woman running on a country road with 5 dogs following behind. One dog actually ran all the way home with me, so I had to try to remember where he joined me and walk him back to his house. Then he followed me home again! Tommy thought it was hilarious and called me a dog thief, but I felt really guilty. After he followed me home again, we closed the shades and turned off all the light hoping he would head back to his house, and eventually he did....poor Humphrey (my pup) was having a complete fit in the house! Oh what a night! Two dogs barking, the fire alarm beeping (decided it needed new batteries during the chaos) and Tommy cracking up!

3.  Still having a good time with the Power of 10 challenge. Yesterday, I put the pedometer in my pocket instead of clipping it on...big mistake because at the end of my work day I only had about 2000 steps (and I had walked a mile on my lunch break). When I realized that it wasn't counting all my steps, I clipped it on for the rest of the night. Good thing I did the 5k walk/jog followed by walking the other pup back to his house, or I would have had a hard time getting in those 10,000 steps. I can't imagine what kind of number I would have seen had it been really tracking my steps all day! :)

A Picture is worth a 1000 words

An friend posted some old pictures on facebook yesterday. This is one of them...

There are days when I feel like I am not making much progress, but seeing an old pic can really help.

The old me

The new me

My body has changed over the past several years, but more importantly my mindset has changed. 



The Power of 10!

When I decided to join Mary's "The Power of 10" Challenge, I didn't think it would be that difficult. Sure, I thought I would need to park further away in parking lots occasionally or use the restroom upstairs instead of the one near my department at work. But, I had no idea how much of a challenge this would be, or how much I would enjoy finding ways to get in my steps. On my regular running days, getting my 10,000 steps in shouldn't be much of an issue. But on days when I am cycling, doing a DVD at home, or have a scheduled "off" day this becomes a true CHALLENGE!

Saturday consisted of going to my University's Homecoming Parade, and walking to the parade route, a bit of shopping, lots of window shopping, and chores around the house. At 7 PM when I took a look at my pedometer, I just knew I would have completed my 10,000 steps and could enjoy the rest of the night watching football, but instead I was  walking up and down my driveway in order to get in my last 3000 steps(and thinking about Valerie and her lawn walking).

I am loving this challenge! I love finding new ways to get in my steps at work. Today I cut my lunch break shorts and walking three times around the library ( +1000 steps). When I was doing my afternoon shelving, I would purposely only take half loads so that I would have to make extra trips back to my shelving cart. It is really fun trying to earn more steps. At 4:00 at have 5,500 steps taken...glad I will be hitting the gym after work for a nice run :)

If you have never looked at how many steps you take in a day, I think you should! Then try to think of ways to add more steps to your day!

Drop Dead Gorgeous by December -Weekly Report 7

1. A picture of you holding up a positive sign for yourself.

Everyday is a new day to Succeed!

2. Your current week’s weight as well as your challenge start weight. *optional

Challenge Start Weight : 193.5
October 1 Weight : 192

* Working so hard and not seeing a scale change is really tough for me. Prior to this challenge, I only weighed once or twice a month. Since the weigh-in is optional,I think I will only post my weight once a month through the rest of the challenge.

3. Your goal(s) from now, or whenever you decide to join, until December.

Goal 1: 200 tracked workout miles...(treadmill, street runs,biking,elliptical,swimming,etc) I am currently at 118/200.
Goal 2: 5k in under 40 mins  Completed W5 D1 Three times...will move on to W5D2
Goal 3: Journal food 5days a week  Food was great this week.

Goal 4: Do something for myself to make me feel gorgeous. Bought a new fall denim skirt (size 12)  and top. My clothes are starting to get big again. I can usually just "shop" in my closet for things to fit, but it was nice to buy something new. Entire outfit cost $13.63 WOOHOO :)  I love a good deal :)

4. ONE thing that you are proud of for the week.

This has been a great week. Motivation has been good, workouts have been good, food choices have been good!

5. ONE thing that you can improve upon for the following week.   
          Hope to have another week like this!