Improvisational Dance

On weekends when Damon works a lot and afternoon thunderstorms mean we're stuck inside, we watch a lot of music videos and sing and dance.  And it's amazing how much energy and stamina little kids have!  Emberly can dance non-stop to Beyonce songs, one after another, and I finally whipped out the camera.  She insisted on making her top "one shoulder" for her performance.  I hope she never loses her willingness to be silly and dance like she means it!

Twenty-six of Fifty-two

The Weekend

Someone ditched the training wheels.

Torture

So everyone goes on and on about losing the "baby weight."  I did, right here on this blog after Bauer was born 2.5yrs ago.  And I did; eating less, moving more I'd shed it all well before his first birthday.
And then... I gained it all back.  I lost small chunks of it before my trips to the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, but I kept gaining it back and then some.  And I was baffled.  I exercise.  A lot.  You might remember how I trained for a half marathon without losing weight.  I eat healthy food.  Green food!  But I was also supplementing my healthy food with embarrassing amounts of sugar.  I like to bake and candy-make!  I like to eat it all even more!  And then live in complete denial of how many unneeded calories I was consuming when I made brownies and cookies and pecan toffee every day (after all, I deserve it!).
And then I stepped on the scale and realized I was mere pounds away from what I weighed right before I gave birth (the fact that more and more of my clothes don't fit wasn't enough; but that number did it for me).
Time to get real.
I started food journaling to keep myself accountable (oh, how I didn't want to be accountable!).  But I now was cutting out healthy stuff in favor of my delectable sweets to keep in the right caloric range.  And binging on them weekends.  I also felt tired and scattered all the time.
Time to get real... er.
I committed to kick this sugar monkey off my back.  Nothing but veggies, beans, nuts and (preferably lean) meat, for two weeks before reintroducing fruits and whole grains in appropriate amounts.  And of course I picked *the best* "time of the month" to do this.  The first day was fine (anyone can do anything for a day).  Then I got headaches, felt incredibly fatigued and beyond irritable.  Pretty sure my family wanted to chain me up out in the garage.
And here's the thing; I wasn't hungry.  I would be stuffed, but I just did. not. feel. satisfied.  I wanted brownies and a grilled cheese sandwich.  Huge slices of sourdough, slathered with butter and so much extra sharp cheddar that it overflowed the sides and browned to a crisp in the pan (can you tell I thought about it a lot!?).
And that lasted for 4 days.  Today and yesterday, the intense cravings are finally gone.  I can think about other things!  I don't need a nap!  I don't feel like it's insane and I'm going to die if keep going for another week to thoroughly kick the habit.  I only lost 2lbs in these 7 days, which is a healthy rate, but feels disappointing considering how tortured I felt those 4 days I struggled to stick with it.  Also, I know I over-ate at a few meals in that time in futile attempts to fill that sucking hole of sugar withdrawal.
I hope the rest of the weight is gone by the time I turn 30.
Congratulations and thank you if you made it this far! :)

Done!

So as I've subtly chronically complained about on here for a few weeks now, I've been training for a half marathon.  And now I completed my 3rd half marathon and attained my personal best time by over 10 minutes on a more difficult course!
There was limited parking after the race and so I didn't bother with having Damon take a picture of me sweaty and worn out so you get to see me holding my bib and wearing my medal all freshened up the next day :D

And for once, I'm actually looking forward to running more!

The Weekend

I tested all my gear on my long run this weekend.  Ready for race day!

Pep Talk

I stopped using my gym time to read and started running. I've improved a lot.  I think I have a chance of meeting my goal of finishing a half marathon under 2:30.  So I'm trying to focus on that and not on the fact that I've had my hair in various forms of braided and bunned ponytails for nearly 2mos while killing myself on the hilly terrain around my neighborhood but somehow managed to not lose a single pound or inch.  I'm not going to focus on that.
But at least you know now why my hair is *always* pulled back.

top, bag, shorts: Target
necklace, bracelets: NY&Co
bracelet, sunnies: H&M
sandal: DV via Nordstrom (pretty old now...)

Unblissful Ignorance

I finally stopped ignoring my constant sinus headache and made an appointment with an allergist.  I originally had to wait until November for my appointment, but a cancellation allowed me to be seen a couple weeks ago.  Although an asthmatic episode earlier this summer was what prompted me to action, I felt my asthma was well controlled (maybe even cured!) and that I generally didn't have trouble breathing.  A breathing test proved that I must have just been deteriorating too slowly to realize that I wasn't really taking deep breaths.  A skin test showed that I'm allergic to most of the trees in southern Nevada and all the grasses and most of the molds.  So, I've been prescribed all my old medications and may even be looking at another round of allergy shots (I got them for years as a child, but I live somewhere new now, with new allergens).  So I'm not cured. *sigh* But, I am excited about the disappearance my sinus headache and thankful that I did get in when I did so that I can train for my race with fully functioning lungs (pushing through chest discomfort and coughing weren't my best ideas?!  I guess subconsciously thought that as long as I didn't have an asthma attack, I was fine.).
I leave you with this lovely picture of my allergic reactions during the skin test.  While not painful, it was less than pleasant!

Shoulders

The cut of this tank dress accentuates one's shoulders.  However, looking at the pictures, you'll have to take my word that the presentation is more effective in person ;)

{braided pony: signature half-marathon training hairstyle ;)}

Dress: ASOS
Bracelets: H&M, NY&Co
Shoes: DV via Nordstrom]

On the Road Again

too tuckered for lunch

Emberly and the grad, her God-mommy

bff & me at The Room after margaritas at Casa Sanchez

Niece in Copa Cabana Beach Soccer Tourney

husband, sister-in-law, father-in-law

Mellow

We had a laid back weekend.  Park time, a bit of shopping and some knitting.  The funniest part was putting Bauer on the toilet.  He was obviously trying to poo as he walked around at one point so I thought I'd stick him up there and see what he did.  He played with toilet paper, kicked his legs, talked to me.  But no poop LOL  Emberly was disappointed and told me that when he's two he really has to do it.  Hmmm, I wonder if I can let her potty train him?
The highlight for me though was when our whole family went out early Saturday morning.  Damon put Emberly in the child seat of his bike and I threw Bauer in my new jogging stroller and we wound our way through the neighborhood and worked up a sweat.  Then rewarded ourselves with a great breakfast out.

PS I also made Emberly's Halloween costume; more about that tomorrow...

Ole

I always feel kind of like a flamenco dancer when I put on this bright ruffled top:

Top: NY&Co
Vest: Rubbish via Nordstrom
Short: AE
Shoes: Aldo
Necklace & Bracelet: Express
Bracelet: H&M

PS: Remember when the surgeon general said hairstyles might impede exercise efforts for women, especially black women?  Kind of ridiculous, but I really do hesitate to work out when I've just had my hair professionally pressed because my roots curl right up and I lose the super flat sleekness (the close up pic just happened to be framed to keep my part [where puffy roots are most obvious] out ;) ).  And touching up with my own flat iron just doesn't look the same.

The Weekend

As you can imagine, it was spent mostly in swimsuits, poolside.

{i started using an umbrella to walk to the pool so that I wasn't sweaty and sunburnt before I even got there}


Bauer's floater is a lot like an ornate hat, no?

My nephew likes to make a photoshoot out of every trip to the pool

But I did get a good regular smile out of him!


I really don't think they could be cuter. I don't.

Not totally ripped, yet, but that's not for a lack of trying on Jillian Michael's part, for sure.




Some goofiness on the walk home

Disgustingly sweaty and flushed from an evening run. I'm trying to convince myself that it's not too hot to train and that I could maybe do a race in the fall. Since I managed to still be goofy afterward, I imagine it's not too much of a stretch!

Rough Week

I haven't posted anything all week.
Boo.
Last weekend I was out of town, celebrating a friend's 30th birthday party and taking the kids to Magic Mountain. Balls of fun.
We got back on Monday, but it's been a rough week for me. Bauer has not slept well (ergo, I have not slept well). The thing with my babies and their "late" teething is that they tend to get a ton of teeth at once. I'm sure it hurts, so I try not to take it personal when they're whiny and refusing to sleep more than 2hrs at a time.
And then there's Jillian Michaels. She has been kicking my butt with week 3 of her ripped series. I actually really like the workout and feel my best right after doing it, but I'm tired.
I'm a tired, headache-y mess by the end of the day.
And I went to upload photos yesterday, to attempt to put something up to my blog, and even though I can see the photos on the memory stick when I explore on my computer, the photosharing websites keep telling me no files match my search.
And I don't have the brainpower right now to go searching and reading through my camera's troubleshooting.
So, blah.
Rather than complain, all week long, I think one weekend post wraps it up pretty succinctly. No?
Here's to next week being a bit more well rested and productive.

Eating Clean

A follower recently confided that her eating habits are sabotaging her fitness goals and asked me what my daily diet looks like.
First of all, thank you for even thinking I might have the "secret" to getting out of our own ways. But I do not. I've blogged before about how I can go on junk-food benders despite the fact that I do indulge when eating well to avoid feelings of deprivation and doing just that. I don't know why, it's a compulsion of mine. If tasty naughty treats are in the home, I will eat it until it's gone. It's short-sighted really. I know eating well makes me feel better in the long run, but sometimes that immediate gratification of demolishing a batch of rich tasting cookies wins. Some things that help though:
a) keeping junk food out of the house and plenty of "clean" things to snack on (I love low-fat string cheese now that I can have dairy again!)
b) planning meals and snacks so that unhealthy impulse snacking is minimal
c) having something green and a protein at every meal
d) checking labels for sugar content; processed foods are notoriously loaded with sugar. Really, the fewer processed foods you eat, the safer you probably are in general

When I'm good, I'm an angel. When I fall of the wagon, I get a concussion and amnesia and it can take weeks for me to get back into good habits. I really rely on working out to keep gain slow during those times.

The Family That Sweats Together

I've been asking Damon to do the Shred with me forever. He resisted because a)he's not really into traditional workouts (he prefers to play sports rather than train) and b)it's for chicks.
But yesterday he did it with me! And of course that meant Emberly had to. She usually does it with me if she's around, but "needs" lots of breaks when it's just us. She did the whole thing with her daddy participating too. So Bauer then had no choice but to join us. He got on top of us during the ab sections. He pulled him self up by our sweaty skin when we were in plank position.
The workout wasn't any easier with everyone doing it with me, but it was sure a lot of fun!
I'm moving on to the "Ripped" series this week!

Seriously

Level 3 of The 30 Day Shred is freaking killing me. I can do all of the moves easily, but the endurance/stamina to get through entire sets at the pace they're doing it... holy sh!t. I think I'll be doing it for at least 2wks before I get through it without the "I'm dying" sensation.

Poolside

I don't know if the warmer weather is really here to stay, but I've gotten in a pool the last couple days! Today I took the kids and it was a lot of fun! Last year, Bauer was too little and when I let his tiny tootsies touch the pool water he immediately started to cry. Today, he splashed around giddily before crawling around on the conveniently large 6" deep step at our community pool.
Fantastic.


And, check out my 50's styled swim suit! I love it! It's still a bikini without the whole stretchmarks-hanging-out self-consciousness :D

oh. em. gee.

My toe is still kinda swollen and tender, but in general doesn't really hurt. So I tried putting on my sneaker. Felt fine. So I then decided to run. Yippee! I could feel it, in there, threatening to hurt really bad if I stepped wrong. But 6+ weeks sans running has been more than enough.
Especially when you consider how I ate while I was in Dallas.
My favorite: Babes. I don't know why it's called "Babes," but I'm going to go ahead and say it's after the pig, in the movie "Babe," cuz I ate like a little piggy there.

{my hungry little man, always thinking he's about to be fed}

{idk why they had a creepy dummy in the lobby, but I convinced my little scaredy-cat to take a picture "next" to him}

Since messing my toe up, I've been doing the 30 Day Shred level 1 workout that is free onDemand. I've been using 10lb dumbbells to keep it challenging, and I lost something like 6-7lbs just doing that in the absence of running. And being that I haven't ran in 6+wks, I could really FEEL the difference. My running tank did not ride up, as I have no little gut that I'm stretching it over. My legs seemed to glide as my thighs hardly touch each other anymore. I'm light and free. Yay running.

Go Moms!

The husband and I went out delightfully late with my best friend and her husband (and another couple) last night. We haven't been to a club together in forever! As such, I really had a hard time picking out something to wear. I bit the bullet and exposed my midriff. And I actually felt comfortable in it! The bff has also been busting her butt to lose baby weight and then some and she looked pretty fabulous!