Checking In

Just a few updates -

I won $21.65 on my diet bet. So I got my money back and a little more. It didn't change my mind about the experience, but maybe I will buy a fun running shirt with my winnings.

I have been wearing my new running shoes. I just noticed that the stitching is coming apart on both shoes - boo! I need to call the store tomorrow, but it is going to be a busy day.

Today was crazy - I had work, came home at lunch to meet a contractor about my shower, was the chess mom at a CRAZY end of session party, baked 4 cakes (I only needed 2, but forgot the baking powder in the first two I made and made chocolate lego bricks. A number of other things I am sure, but whew and I tired! (I did get up for boot camp this morning, so that always makes me tired by this time of day.

Wine is in hand, and I am ready to wind down for the day. Tomorrow is my son's birthday party and a full day of regular kid activities.

Have a great weekend!

The End of January

So my mission to wrap up January and leave it behind continued. (So much so, I didn't get to post last night)

I signed my kids up for 2 weeks of camp. I have a whole master plan with weeks blocked off for scout camp, rec center camp, TKD camp. All the registration dates are all over the next month or so and this particular camp is getting competitive to get into. (Notice a trend - NoVA is ruthless to a type A personality, I tell you!)

So Wednesday morning after boot camp, I got it done. Boot camp itself was a little bit of a surprise. When I got up to get dressed my phone was tweeting that I had a text. We were meeting outside. That means a run, not strength like I had planned for. I was up and decided to head out anyways. We started a little late to make sure we had everyone that was coming due to the location change and then headed out. There was a full moon, so the sky was lighter then normal. Between that and the warm, humid weather, I almost felt like it was summer! I ran with a new buddy today and we kept up a nice conversation while getting 3 miles in.

I was able to work from home the rest of the day and spent a little bit of time prepping for our last webelo meeting as leaders. My son has picked out his new scout troop and we are winding down the activities. We focused on communication and I had the boys all email their parents. I couldn't ask for a better kid!

We have made some awesome friends at Pack 1524 and I am going to be so sad to leave. I am a little concerned I am going to be a blubbering mess at the Blue and Gold Dinner. I don't do so well with events where it is so clear how fast the boys (or girls) are growing up.

Today, I was able to pick up the car - good as new. In fact it has a new headlight, which looks so shiny and new compared to the other one! Whew, another task done. I had planned to do strength today, but work, driving kids around and an after school assembly filled my day. Its ok and I am glad I slept in this morning!

I ended January with 69 miles, I held a plank for a minute, got the kids shower fixed and I worked on summer planning. Not too shabby.

I would have had our summer vacation planned, but the owners of the beach house we want haven't picked their weeks yet, so we are on hold until that happens. We know where we are going and what where we want to stay - so that is more then half the battle!

Off to try and wrap up one more work thing so I can really got into February with a clean slate!

Working on the Loose Ends

You all have been so patient with me through lice, car accidents, general stories about my kids and oftentimes boring runs. :) I am trying to have the same patience. I decided that this week would be the week to pull myself together from the mess that was the beginning of January and start February out fresh. It's not easy to recover from some things, they require phone calls, coordination and often time off of work. But forged ahead I did. I was feeling badly about the dying poinsettias and the wreath still on my door until I saw this.

(not her, the reindeer)  :)

The car I knocked a good ding into is in the shop and hopefully will be done tomorrow. Today I called in reinforcements and had the lice lady come and treat my daughter and me. I have a contractor coming on Friday to look at a longstanding leak in the shower. I got back to boot camp today and have been keeping up with my running.

I won't dwell on the lice lady (as she called herself), but it was so nice to finally have someone to share the load. I have been the only one pulling and tugging and trying to get my daughter rid of all the little buggers. After having a breakdown on Sunday when I found more bugs, I decided to take the leap and open my wallet for some piece of mind. She gave me a prescription I am taking advantage of right now.

Today was a gorgeous day in VA. I missed it. :( Until the last hour when I managed to get out of the house.

I was glad we took some time, but bummed I missed the warmth of this rare winter day.  I did get in a short run in my new Athleta Swagger skirt. I received a gift card for Christmas and had ordered a skirt online. The cut and color weren't what I expected and I really wanted to have another skirt. I headed over to Tysons to exchange it and see what they had in the store. I have to say I was kind of underwhelmed. I think I am so used to picking up workout clothes at Target or Ross. Anyways, I finally settled on the Swagger skirt. I wore it today for the first time and liked how it felt.

I can't explain my she held the camera crooked, but there you go.

So bugs out, new clothes in and a sunny day. One step in front of the other.

#dietbet

It indeed was icy-ish this morning and boot camp was cancelled. Bummer. But I did 30 day shred, level 2 with my son. I was proud to say I got through most of it without stopping and used my 5 lb weights!

So I think I mentioned that I had joined a dietbet. This website was clearly doing a social media blitz because there were many sites/bloggers offering bets. Essentially what you do is bet on yourself. You have 28 days to lose 4% of your weight. You take a picture of yourself and the scale on day one.

I was full of Christmas (ok- multiple holidays) bloat, so I was feeling pretty confident I would be able to get 4%. You get a word of the day to go with your weight.

Yikes, that 154.5 was tough to see. I was fully dressed and it was the afternoon, but still. I had gotten to the point where I was only seeing 14x on a daily basis, even in the evenings before bed.

During the 28 days you have a forum where folks can share thoughts, activities, encouragement, despair. Whatever suits your fancy. They even have "quick updates" such as "I just ate something bad." or "I just finished a workout." Folks were a little wrapped up in the game at the beginning. Especially when some folks were starting to weigh in with 100% of their weight loss achieved. You could submit "unofficial" weigh-ins throughout the game. Eventually that went away and the folks encouraged by social interaction stayed around.

I have to admit that my only goal was to not lose my $10. Not that it was so much money, but I should have been able to get back to my pre-holiday weight in a month. I am working out 5-6 days a week and more importantly have settled back into the food cycles I had before the treat truck came along.

Today was the last day of the bet and I knew it was going to be close. My son had his black belt pre-quals on Friday night and we went out to Italian afterwards. I had already done several meals out and was just ready to dive into some pasta. I should have special ordered what I wanted, but didn't and ended up with a heavy cream sauce. Ugh, pair that with a large glass of wine, and the pound I gained was no surprise. When I keep to my eating after a night like that, those pounds gained usually come off about half a pound day. That is what happened this time and I sneaked in with a 148. My scale only measures half pounds, so we will have to call that good. I had to take pictures again with the word of the day and they verified my weight loss.

I had to use my kids to take my pictures. I don't know why but I am a little private about my online activities with my hubby. He isn't on Facebook or Twitter and doesn't read blogs, so I feel like he isn't quite as on board with the friendships and motivation you can find online.

So would I do dietbet again? No way. My mind was on the weight more then ever before, which is saying something for someone who weighs in twice a day and writes down her morning weight and workout each day. I was happy to lose 6 pounds last year and if I was able to get to the same place (getting down to 142ish) and have those splurge days and hard workouts in between I will have won. While I was much better about my eating this weekend, Friday excepted, it wasn't joyful. Interestingly enough, I didn't totally splurge today like I expected. Who knows what the scale will say tomorrow?

What are some of your motivations? Would money change how you approach being healthy or losing weight?

Weekend in Review

Friday was cold, very cold and snow was coming. Not so much snow that this California driver was scared, but the schools still closed 2 hours early.

I managed a quick trip to my local running store to try on and walk out with my new running shoes.

It must have been fate - they were green! Just the perfect shade to match my Tiana outfit for Disney. I totally don't buy shoes for the color, but it was nice they had a little spunk to them. My very first pair of running shoes were Saucony Progrid Omnis. I bought a second pair and when those wore out, I ended up with Brooks Addictions. They are a much heavier pair of shoes and I eventually got used to them. I bought them mostly because the store didn't have Omnis in stock when I was there and the online reviews said the new models were very different. Any rate, I am back with the Omnis now and hope they work out.

With our found time on Friday we popped up some corns. Made with Olive Oil, it is one of my favorite treats.

Saturday I decided to do the 30 day shred and ran two miles on the treadmill. I was feeling guilty about blowing off bootcamp on Friday. :)

Sunday morning was a treat. I met up with a mom that I connected with on Moms Run This Town. We met at my neighborhood park and took in 4 miles on the trail. After that I worked on my Tiana outfit.

But then I was distracted by daughter. She wanted to make a quilt, so we did.

Ice is scheduled for tomorrow. Ugh. My plan is to go to bootcamp and to drop the car off at the shop to finally be fixed. Then the cub scouts are coming to my work to see the TV studio. Let's hope it all pans out as I plan.

Guest Blog Post

This evening I had the chance to blog for Vienna Mothers Run This Town. This is a group that is very active on facebook and also on the trail.

Hope you enjoy - http://momsrunthistown.com/viennava/the-runners-four-letter-word/

Warrior Mother Runner

The kids woke up on their own this morning. You know something is up in my house when the kids wake up on their own.

Sure enough it had snowed and we had a two hour delay. I had a dentist appt so I took my chances on the hill by our house and headed out. It was a little touch and go there for a bit, but I made it! After I finished my appointment I was informed of a "situation" at school that required me to head back home and then to school. By the time I got to work I was tired of driving on snow covered roads! And we only got an inch.

Today I managed to get in all 4 miles without stopping to take someone someplace!

So I ran my first (and only to date) half marathon in October. I was the proud owner of three black toes by the time my training was over. From what I could gather from the web (yes, I self diagnose on the Internet) once they turn black, they always fall off. My race was the first weekend in October, so it has been quite awhile. Today my first toenail fell off.

The good thing is it took so long, that there was a full baby nail underneath. Well, maybe not a baby nail, those suckers are sharp. This nail is flimsy and paper thin. But let's face it, I have seen worse and I think this is just another sign I am becoming a bad ass mother runner!

What makes you feel like a warrior runner?