I am keeping a food journal

I always feel more invested in things like this when I put it out there in the world...so here it is.  In 2008, I kept a food diary (on Calorie Count) and I lost more than 20 pounds.  I have had 2 kids since then and fluctuated way back up again and way back down again (with the help of the Whole30 diet...which I completed, though it was not easy and I'm very hesitant to try it again...one major reason is that I love alcohol and the thought of going 30 days without it again just seems ridiculous).

So with running (and training for) a marathon, I got into the habit of eating whatever I wanted.  And I may not have gained much weight through that (and ate A LOT), I definitely didn't lose any.  So now that I'm running less (only between 3 and 4.5 miles per run...but I've been running more often, almost daily)...I'm still eating a lot and feeling pretty down on myself.  I also drink too much...not for alcoholic type standards, but there are a lot of calories in wine, so having 2-3 glasses on any given night AND snacking regularly like I'm some kind of calorie burning queen is not a good combination for me, or my body.  I'm still at a healthy weight, but I suspect I'm at the high end of healthy...borderline overweight.

That's not who I identify as...and my clothes agree. So I started the food journal yesterday, this time with My Fitness Pal because I have a Garmin VivoActive HR and they play well together.  I ate over 2,500 calories (that's including the 2-3 glasses of wine) and then gave up tracking what I was eating.  But this morning, instead of feeling discouraged, I woke up feeling determined.  I've done this before.  I've done a million things harder than this.  Not to brag, but I've pumped (breastmilk) while driving...I've breastfed and pumped while at work for 2 full years of my life.  I've trained for and ran a half and full marathon.  I completed one Whole30 (which really felt as hard for me as my first two examples combined). I've written 2 full books, one during NaNoWriMo (not that I've been able to get either published, but still..).  I've definitely had a crapload of determination to accomplish goals that I've set my mind to...so I can absolutely watch what I eat, set a calorie deficit goal, and lose 5-10 pounds (15 would be ideal).  Right? Right??

Yea...so, I'm off to the base with my kids so I can run on a trail before getting some healthy food.  I'll try checking in again with my progress soon (of course, if you don't hear from me, that's probably not a good sign).

I Ran a Marathon

I'm still wincing as I go up and down the steps, but I did it!  I am slightly disappointed in myself, however, for not running the whole thing...miles 1-21 were freakin awesome..I felt amazing and felt like I could hit my goal of getting in under 5 hours (or hitting it exactly)...unfortunately my legs decided they didn't want to be pushed much further at that point and every time I'd start running, I'd have to stop and walk for a quarter mile, then run a quarter mile, then walk, and so on.

But the fact that I ran the first 20 at a steady good pace made me feel like I could do this again and for sure hit my goal of seeing a 4 in that first number.  Either way, I moved forward for 5:15 minutes and I completed 26.2 miles yesterday morning.  I ran a marathon.  I am so happy that is something I've done in my life now.  It doesn't matter whether I try it again or reach my goal or never run another mile in my life, I ran a marathon.

Now if only I could get a book published...my bucket list would be all red lines.

I'm feeling very full of happy endorphins now :)

Marathon is Tomorrow!

I am running a marathon tomorrow!!!  I'm trying to prepare myself in every regard....getting everything charged, making a list of everything I want to do to prepare for tomorrow morning.  I'm sitting outside and it's pretty darn warm out for 9:40 in the morning, and it might be even warmer tomorrow at this time...which is a bummer, but it is what it is and at least for the first couple of hours of running, it'll be cool.  When the wind blows, it's much cooler and more bearable and I'm just going to have to deal.  It'll still be cooler than the half marathon in Arizona was last year at this time.

If all goes well, I should be done between 11:30 and 12:30 (haha..12:30 if all doesn't go well but I still finish, 11:30 if I kick ass and do a steady good race...which is my ultimate goal...my secondary goal is to finish it, so that'd be the 12:30 time...and when you really think about it, isn't 6 hours of moving more grueling than 5...even if they are slower movements?).

Underneath it all I'm equally terrified and excited.  Maybe more excited than terrified, which is good.  Gotta go parent..taking the kids to the parks.


Update...7:45 PM

My girls are at our friends' house...they'll be keeping them over night and throughout the race tomorrow morning.  I really hope they're good and no incidents occur!

I'm all packed up and feeling as ready as I can be.  Rigatoni for dinner with some sourdough bread for a side...sourdough bread with peanut butter for breakfast and maybe a banana (I need to eat before long runs like this or I feel all shaky and energy depleted...I also bring mixed nuts on my long runs and eat them as I go...it has worked for my 3 longest runs and I'm excited to try it out tomorrow).

Packed in my handheld:
-Pepto bismol chewables (you never know...they've save me on several occasions)
-Some body glide in a baggy
-Mixed Nuts
-2 Bags Fruit Snacks
-3 nuun tablets
-Piece of gum
-Headphones in case the Bluetooth ones die
-Probably some other stuff...I'm the survivalist type.

Banana is for the car and I'll apply the body glide in the appropriate places when I get to the park.  IPod is gonna clip to the handheld strap.

Holy shit, this is happening in less than 12 hours.

Tonight was a really good night

I went out for a run yesterday, hoping to go 8 miles, but on Saturday evening I may have partaken of a few too many glasses of wine (if that is even close to being grammatically correct, I'm throwing myself a party).  So the run got cut down to 6 miles..with a bit of walking thrown in, which always bums me out.  So I planned to run tonight for 8 miles to make up for yesterday's run/walk.  Then tonight came and as I put the girls to bed, I looked outside and saw some really ominous storm clouds right in the path I planned to run.  I put on my running clothes anyway...screw rain, right? And possibly lightening and hail...but whatever, I'm a freakin runner.  So after getting all geared up I grabbed my ipod...but even though it had a full battery yesterday, the damn thing was bone dead tonight.  Could there be anymore reasons for me to skip the run?  So I did skip the idea of running 8 miles...and ran 5 instead...picking a route with less scary rain clouds.  And I did it with no podcasts, no audiobooks, and no music.  And it turned out great.  I ran my fasted 5K ever and my first 5K in under 30 minutes.  29:10.  WooHoo!  I even literally threw my hands in the air and whooped like I was at the finish line of my own imaginary race.  And though it was raining pretty big drops for most of my run, it never turned into a real downpour.  And my brain had a real chance to shut down for 45 minutes.  It was a really great run.

I got home and almost immediately had a sale in my jewelry shop.  Another thrilling moment because it was a ready to ship bangle I made last year.  It has been waiting to be worn ever since and I'm so glad it'll have a home soon:

I have been boosting up my jewelry and that was my third sale today.  Three totally different types of sales...one of the new bangles I'm launching:

One of my footprint keychains (it has been a huge Father's Day seller this year), and the bangle bracelet I sold after the run.  The last one was the sale I was proudest of...I'm always so much happier to have a piece of jewelry waiting in a drawer for someone to want it bad enough for the purchase.  And I happened to glance at that particular one last week and felt sad that it was still waiting to be worn.  

So that was my night...then I watched the season finale of The Detour with my husband (very good show!) and now I plan to head up to the living room with my book and a second cup of tea.

Really, really great evening.

Microsoft Band vs Fitbit Charge HR

I took my Microsoft Band 1 to the Microsoft Store today for a replacement..the band was breaking apart from the screen.  This is actually my second replacement...the first watch wouldn't charge (I may have written about that here...it was replaced the week before my Half Marathon).  They didn't have any in stock because they mainly only sell the new Microsoft Band 2 now so I have to wait up to a week for my new one.  With my running lately I almost can't stand the thought of not being able to track my runs with its GPS...I want to do 10 miles tomorrow so it's a bummer for sure...but my husband gave me his Fitbit Charge HR to use until I get my replacement (he doesn't actually find it useful and has been wanting to stop using it for a while now).  He's also letting me take his iPhone for the run, so I'm going to download Strava and login to track the GPS that way.  The Fitbit is really just to help me track everything else this week.  Steps, etc.  I usually don't care this much about all the calories burned or steps taken but 1.) my Microsoft Band is seemingly underestimating everything, which pisses me off and 2.) I've started using CalorieCount.com again to track my daily intake and I'm getting really into it so I want an accurate calorie expenditure to calculate the deficit.  

So I'm kind of excited about the idea of seeing a different number of daily burned calories.  I really think there'll be a large discrepancy between my Microsoft Band and this Fitbit.  I just can't imagine that I only burn 1580 on an inactive day when "inactive" for me still entails chasing the kids, picking up, running up and down steps, helping a toddler go potty, etc.  I do sit a lot, but I'm definitely not sedentary.  And on "active" days I run between 45 minutes and 1.5 hours..I also weight lift...shouldn't the combo of those two things make me burn more on an "inactive" day? 

These are all things I wrote about in the last post.  Just still super annoyed.

In other, more embarrassing news...yesterday I went for a run and had to walk around 1.5 miles from home bc of stomach cramps....I ran within 10 minutes of eating lunch, which is usually not an issue for me, but I think the cheesy/spicy/citrus of the velveeta cheesy skillet meal I reheated from dinner the night before (yea) began to scream in protest while it shook around in my stomach for 20 minutes straight.  I was ready to die when I finally made it home, then woke up ready to die again last night at 2 AM.  Then I couldn't fall back to sleep so I was up until 4:30.  I really hope all goes well tomorrow with the long run.  I'm not on a timeline or anything though so if it doesn't all go well, it's not like I can't take a few weeks to build it back up again, or even one week.

That's the news for now...I'll be back to report my opinion of the Fitbit Charge HR...I'd much rather use the Surge bc it also has GPS but they never came out with a color other than black...so I ended up with the Microsoft Band...and next will be the Garmin Vivoactiv HR...super excited for that to be released!

Exercise and the Microsoft Band (first version)

First off, let's recap the last post...I was feeling horribly lonesome.  Since that evening (where I definitely hit my mental capacity for rock bottom), I've been feeling a lot more positive.  Getting into facebook groups that relate to me and my interests has helped and I'm setting up a few meet and greets with others in this area so hopefully that works out (no matter how apprehensive I am about them!).

This post is going to be more about where I'm at physically, instead of emotionally, at this point in my life.  This past Sunday I ran 9 miles without needing to stop to walk...just to see if I could.  I've been pushing my distance further over the past several weeks, not needing to walk during a run for over a month (I think) except for once when I ran the day after a snowstorm and got stuck in an area where I could choose between mud and snow, so I chose to walk until I got back to sidewalk.

Then on Tuesday, I ran 3.7 miles, finishing off the run with hill repeats (for the first time in my life) at the end of the run.  Basically you run up a hill faster than normal, then walk or slowly jog back down, then run fast up.  I chose to walk down but I ran up that hill as fast as I could, three times in a row.

Today, even though I almost couldn't find time to fit it in, and it was cold and snowing out, and I forgot ear muffs or a hat even though I know my ears get really painful when I run in the cold...I still ran 2 miles on the track at the gym, which was my goal (didn't have much time before having to get the kids from daycare).  I was so proud of myself!

Unfortunately, it was too cold for my watch to get a reading on my heart rate (the underwhelming Microsoft Band...that'll be a post on its own, maybe combined with a post on the even more underwhelming Android phone I have)...GPS worked though and I did the 2 miles in just under 20 minutes.  9:55 mile avg pace...super exciting bc I'm usually between a 10:30 and 11 minute pace.

The reason I'm disgruntled with the watch: it has been underestimating my daily burn by a lot.  After this run, I'm certain of it, because even though it tracked my pace and the amount of steps I took for that run, it calculated that I only burned 100 calories.  I know it had to have at least been double that amount.  So this has to mean that it was wrong on all of those days where it said I burned 1500 total even after cleaning the house, bathing the children, running up and down the steps to my office all day...not to mention the fact that I weight lift and exercise regularly, which should help me burn more all the time, right? Muscle burns calories faster...or so I've read in every single fitness and nutrition magazine.

Another, more undeniable reason I know my watch has been significantly under-calculating my calorie burn is the fact that I've been tracking my intake since Sunday.  I've dropped a few pounds already which is probably not true weight-loss but I can feel/see a difference.  The deficit according to the watch was not significant but I think the true calorie burn this week was a lot higher.  For instance, on Sunday, even after running 9 miles and burning 1,000 calories...and spending 3 hours that morning cleaning my house...and bathing the kids...and taking the girls for a walk...my f**ing watch calculated 2,400 total for the whole day.  That's 1,400 if I didn't run 9 miles...so 1400 calories burned all day...for breathing and cleaning and walking and playing with the kids and basically being really active all day.  What the hell am I supposed to eat?  According to this watch I'd basically have to starve myself to lose weight.  Such bullshit.

Okay, so this post turned into an 'underwhelming watch' post after all.  Guess I'll change the title.  And I'll stop here and head to bed...after some Facebook scrolling and new watch browsing.

Running, Life, a Clean House, and Super-Bowl Sunday

I can't tell you how mentally at ease I am right now.  I'm actively trying to stop worrying about everything so much.  What's the point?  Nothing ever gets better from worrying.  So this morning I spent almost 4 hours cleaning the house and listening to my latest Nora Roberts book on my iPod (it's really the only way to clean, if you're not already doing this, you absolutely need to...pairing a book or a podcast with cleaning makes it almost relaxing and enjoyable...I use a bluetooth headset so I don't have to worry about cords getting caught on the vacuum or a basket full of clothes). Just to let you all know, my husband does ALL the cooking and dishes in this house.  And he gets up on weekends with the kids so I can sleep in...so we're pretty equal on our domestic responsibilities.

So anyways...I went for a run today with my dog...outside, because for the past few treadmill runs, I've been struggling to keep up any sort of pace for longer than 5 minutes.  The 40 degree mountain air really rejuvenated my pleasure in running.  Even when I had to walk through the unshoveled sidewalks, I still really loved the whole experience and I feel a lot better about these beers I've been drinking (it's the Super Bowl, people) and the wings my husband made in his brand new fryer (he was pretty excited about it...it was delivered yesterday).

So having a clean house, a good run under my belt (4 miles), and a relaxing and fun family evening watching the Super Bowl with my husband and kids (well, they're watching cartoons on their respective devices), it just makes me feel so satisfied with life.  I wouldn't ask for anything to be different right now (except, maybe, all of this plus a totally polished book, an agent and a book deal). Maybe some day.

Happy Super Bowl!

Catching up...

I've been so busy these past few months.  You know, no busier than I was back when I was actively writing, but still busy, so that'll be the excuse I'll go with for such a long break.  I guess I get discouraged, writing this blog to myself, essentially.  But maybe future me will get super ambitious about it and I'll want someplace to look back and reflect and say 'remember when no one read anything I wrote?'...I sure hope there's a day when people voluntarily read what it is I have to say.

Anyway...I've been training for my first half marathon and I may have run straight into a wall...there's something wrong with my left foot.  I got up from the couch the other night, about an hour or two after my first very long run (11 miles on the treadmill) and felt a sharp pain in the foot...could have happened right there but more likely was caused throughout the long run.  Now, after quite a bit of research, I think it might be some kind of cuboid issue.  Syndrome or stress fracture, all bad...all require rest.  So I'll rest tomorrow (ran today to test it out...still hurt afterward, worse).  If it doesn't feel any better by Thursday, I'll take off that day as well.  Then maybe I'll try easing back in this weekend or next week?  Then slowly building back up again before the half marathon in a few weeks?  Then just run it and get it under my belt?  Then take a few substantial weeks off doing cross training/etc.  Sound like a plan?  Good.

In other news...I've been totally dropping a million balls.  On the one hand, they have all been little...editing my book, listing new items in jewelry shop, writing in general, I'm sure there are more, but my brain is stopping there for now.  On the same token (is that how the phrase goes?) I'm still pretty disappointed in myself...which doesn't usually boost my motivation until I hit rock bottom.

I think the possible injury is what's making me the most bummed at the moment.  Please, please let me wake up pain free tomorrow morning!

Something I need to list in my jewelry shop soon...

 

The one side has your baby's real footprints stamped on there (I'll describe how this is possible some other time) and the other side of the charm is the birthday/birth time/weight/height at birth. 

So I've only tried a giveaway once before on an older blog and it didn't really work out too well but I'm willing to take another stab at it if anyone is actually reading these posts.  If a few (maybe like 10?) people comment on this post...I'll do a giveaway for this bracelet (it'll be the alex and ani style with this charm and also a baby girl or baby boy charm, name charm, and birthstone on the other part of the bangle). 

Comment below if you're reading along....maybe even share with a friend.  If 10 people comment, the next post will be the giveaway with better photos and more details.  If no one comments (which is more likely!) I'll just go about my anonymous blogging ways. 

Long weekends always go too fast

It's the worst, coming to the end of a long weekend.  This weekend was especially long and especially refreshing.  I'm just now starting to stress again about work and real life.  It's like we spent the past 3 and a half days in a family bubble.  No responsibilities other than exercising (which Steve and I are both into right now) and cleaning/making jewelry.  Plus, I got to spend real quality time with this new Macbook Air (I'm typing on it right now...it's wonderful).

I'm currently waiting for Steve to finish studying a chapter in his officer training book so that he can watch the girls while I go back to make 4 keychains and a bunch of necklaces.  The four year old is trying to cut a thick piece of cardboard with baby scissors and the 18 month old is trying to crawl up onto the table.  She's big into climbing now.  It sucks.

Friday I spent most of the day waiting around for the Macbook Air to get delivered.  Fedex didn't show up with it until almost 5:30 that evening so it was mostly a wasted day.  Saturday I took the girls to the gym then went to Barnes N Noble during naptime.  I wrote a lot that day, it was awesome.

Yesterday I went for a 7 mile run/walk and felt great afterward for pushing my limits so much.

Today I plan on finishing up this jewelry, then going to Barnes N Noble, then taking the kids to the gym with Steve and hopefully spending some time at the pool afterward.  For now, Steve's done with that chapter and is tagging in on parent duty.

Microsoft Band and Strava

I was planning to get a FitBit Surge (I can't remember if I've written about that here...it was something I wanted for Christmas, then my birthday, then I gave up on the idea because I didn't want the black one and they haven't yet made the other colors available).

I branched out and kept searching for another comparable device and landed on the Microsoft Band. It's also black, but it's thinner and more sleek looking in my opinion.  Plus the screen is colorful, which makes it more fun for me.  I've been wanting it for a combo Mother's Day/Anniversary present (which is obviously still a few weeks away...May 12th is our anniversary so it makes for some heavier weighted gifts this time of year).  I kept hinting to my husband that I wanted it sooner, since it just became available on Amazon a few weeks ago and kept selling out quickly...so as a nice surprise, he got it for me last week while my parents were visiting us here in Arizona (they drove all the way from Pennsylvania for a week-long visit...it was a great trip).

So I got the watch last Thursday evening...put a screen protector on that evening (it needed to set for 12 hours, untouched, which is a super big bummer for anyone who has been wanting a new gadget for a while...patience is not something I have in abundance).  Started wearing it Friday morning and went for a run that day around lunchtime.  I left my huge Note 4 at home and loaded up my tiny little iPod Nano with a book and a podcast.  Having less weight, even just that small amount, for my run was so freeing.  I haven't taken my phone on a run again since.

Then, on Saturday, I came down with a miserable stomach bug (a lingerer from a couple of days before)...I ended up in bed all afternoon and felt almost bad enough to go to the hospital.  I got to catch up on TV though and Steve watched the girls and kept my parents entertained, and I survived.

So then on Sunday I rested and took it easy...Monday I did my first 'Guided Workout', which was something I'd researched about this watch and looked forward to trying.  The workout downloads to the watch, then you start the activity and it counts down each exercise and gives you your time and heart rate and calorie expenditure....it was really great.  I burned almost 250 calories in 26 minutes and I don't doubt the accuracy of that.  It was a really hard workout that I felt really proud of afterward...and if it weren't for my wrist tracking my progress and effort level, I don't think I would have worked so hard.  I was also really sore for a few days (I'm still sort of sore, but I've also done a lot of running and another guided workout this week).

As if this watch couldn't get any better...my favorite running app (Strava, which I was sad to stop using when I started leaving my phone at home) is now one of the connected apps with the watch!  It was just announced a couple of days ago.  I just stumbled upon the news today so I haven't tried it out yet, but I immediately connected my band to their service and now I'm super tempted to go for a run tomorrow (even though I just went today and I am prone to shin splints when I overdo it).

Everything about the watch so far seems extremely accurate.  My heart rate on runs is always in the 150s, which feels right (I always feel close to death on a run...no big deal).  It's tracking my sleep more accurately than I think my Basis watch did (I always knew I wasn't sleeping as much or as well as my Basis told me I was).  Unfortunately, I feel like it gives me low numbers for calories burned, but it's probably accurate, and my pant size and eating habits definitely reflect it.  If only I could get my motivation for avoiding snacks and alcohol in check, I'd be at a perfect weight.  One thing at a time.

All in all, I'm quickly falling deeper and deeper in love with this watch.  It's perfect for anyone who is as obsessed with gadgets as I am and wants a way to better track their progress with fitness.

Work, work, and more work

Tomorrow is the first day of probably the busiest work week for me of all time.  Everyone at my job has been building up for it for months so I'm actually glad it's finally here, it means it's that much closer to being over.  Over the course of 3 days I think I'll be working over 35 hours.  The following Monday will supposedly only consist of unloading vehicles at the office and then us being able to go back home.  I plan to ask for the following Tuesday off as well.  I'm tired just thinking about next weekend.

Spending time doing things other than work, like running, reading my book, reading in general, and writing here are probably the only ways I'll be able to keep from getting overly stressed, even when it's hard to think about anything but work.  Unfortunately, even now on a Sunday evening with two full days of nothing but family and decompress time, I'm too exhausted to stay awake.  I feel like it should be closer to midnight rather than a little after 10.

One week from this moment and it'll be all over...good or bad, the event will have come and gone.  Just a week from now.  And hey, all the lifting and jumping up on a truck will be great exercise.  I need a good workout.

Time to stop trying to fight it, I need to go to bed.  Happy March (best month of the year!)

How I Loathe the End of a Weekend

There is so much going on at my job right now that even the shimmer of a glimpse of the workload has me holding my breath and feeling the panic rise.  Then I back away from the glimpse and remember to take it all one day at a time and I feel better.  Even writing those sentences was a little scary.  I'm losing sleep over it, which is annoying.

In the writing area of my life, I couldn't be happier.  If only I had more time, that is.  I've got a dozen writing goals and aspirations laid out in front of me and I'm thoroughly enjoying the idea of picking and choosing which of these enjoyable tasks I'd like to tackle each day and night.  I'm rereading the manuscript I finished for NaNoWriMo and tonight I got through an exceptionally well written chapter (obviously, this is my opinion, which could be complete crap along with the writing quality, but I've read a lot of books and I personally feel as though it has a lot of potential).  So my mood in the writing area of my life is very positive at the moment.

Unfortunately, my family life is on the verge of some kind of virus or bug.  My poor birthday girl (who turned one yesterday!  Can't get over the 'last year at this time' moments I've been having the past week) is sick.  She had a pretty yucky fever and was coughing a lot this evening, and I have a bad feeling that this is only the brink of the thing.  And who knows if the rest of us are doomed.  They say the flu vaccine is only 50% effective this year.  I sure hope that little girl feels better soon. It sucks to be a worrying mom...the shimmers of glimpses of worst case scenarios when my kids are sick or hurt give me shudders.

So I ran 4 miles today...I wanted to do more but my body wouldn't let me (I lie...it was really my brain convincing me that my body was the culprit).  Then tonight I did about 20 minutes worth of yoga.  Not much, but I feel much less achy, so it's a win.

Now on to some kind of writing?  Maybe not...I'm so exhausted.  If there is a bug in my system, brewing until its incubation period is all good and gone, I'm going to appreciate myself more if I got a good night sleep tonight.

So never mind, writing part of my day (I'm so sorry).  Good night.

Happy New Year! 2015 is going to be good.

I'm feeling all sorts of positive lately.  NaNoWriMo really has to get the credit.  I've always wanted to dedicate time to writing so for the three decades or so of my life that I wasn't writing consistently, I always had a vague regretful feeling on a day to day basis.  Like I was always neglecting some very necessary task.  But for the past two months, I've been able to sit back and relax, knowing that I've been diligently working on my second book and looking forward to all the possibilities that come with this new writing lifestyle.

So now every other task in my life is done with a more positive attitude.  Going for a 4 mile run today, playing with my daughters, watching a movie with my husband, online window shopping for a new tablet (that's sort of a disgusting obsession, but whatever), watching episodes endlessly on Netflix, cleaning, all done with a brighter smile on my face.  Because even if I suck, even if I'm writing things that will never be read by anyone other than me and the very sweet friends and family that offer (I should probably get them presents), at least it's fulfilling and it's something I feel passionately about.

So here's to the New Year and the possibilities that come along with it.  I plan to get started on my first short story sometime today.

I currently want the HP Stream 7...by the way...because it's only $99 and has full Windows.  It's a disgusting obsession that deserves that description twice in one blog post, but I can't get enough of these handy portable devices.

Oh, and I really want the Fitbit Surge.  That's something that will really happen, sometime soon, I hope.  It measures heart rate 24 hours, even during exercise, it has GPS, measures distance all day, comes from one of the best current fitness companies, even gives messages (I just reread that and thought I wrote 'massages', which would certainly make it the best-selling device of any kind of all time).

So in my defense, I didn't get much of anything for Christmas (a shower radio after the old one broke...okay, okay, so it's also a bluetooth speaker, but it was cheap).

Now that I've gotten everything off my mind, I'll go back to watching Gilmore Girls and deciding how to plan out my first story of the year.  Two more days off of work....this break sure is going fast.

I Have the Best Boss

We had our semi-annual staff retreat today and we accomplished a lot in a short amount of time, then we were all given gift cards and told to leave for the day, no more working.  So at noon, my carpooling buddy and I left and I took my gift card and just spent the past two hours splurging on boots and jeans.  I needed the jeans, I did not need the boots.  I love having money to burn...and that was part of the deal of the gift card, she told us we had to spend it on ourselves.  So now I'm at Barnes N Noble...my favorite place to be when I'm alone.  When I'm done here, I'm going back out shopping a little more, spending gift cards from my husband's family (thanks guys!).  So today is like my Christmas morning, since us adults typically don't have much going on as far as gifts under the tree.  They wouldn't fit next to Jane's and Abby's.  They were spoiled this year.

Also, I ran 5 miles last night, randomly.  I forced myself to go out for the run but didn't have a set amount of miles in mind, and for me, 5 miles is definitely a rare (and far) distance.  The furthest I've ever run is 6 miles, one time, there's a blog post about it in my history here but I'm too disorganized to go find it.  I don't think I've run over 4.5 miles more than a few times ever, like, in my life.  So I'm really impressed with the fact that I can just randomly decide while I'm running that I want to go further, and that I am capable of running for that long and that far without stopping to walk.  I never thought I'd be able to do that.  It's awesome.

Afterward (since the girls were already in bed and the husband was almost ready for bed), I curled up on the couch with tea and a new book.  It was a great night.

Now I'll finish up my lunch and head back out for more shopping :)

Damn, I love the holidays.

One of those nights

Not a bad one...a great one.  One of those nights where I accomplish some of the more unreachable goals I have a habit of setting for myself while also not feeling miserable in the process.  I ran for 4.5 miles, and even though my legs felt rebellious most of the run, I made it through and finished feeling great.  Watched an episode of Modern Family with my husband, then showered and now here I am, back on the couch with a cup of peppermint tea, wearing slippers and a sweater, fully prepared to come up with some good conflict in my book while my family sleeps.  Why the hell did it take me this long to start staying up later than everyone else?

Last night I was able to keep my eyes open until just before midnight.  I used that time to get roughly 13 chapters outlined (you know, two sentences per 'chapter' representing over 2,000 words each, so I'm expecting some deviation when I actually go to write the thing).  I then finished reading The Goldfinch.  I had a mini mental celebration afterward, then drifted off to sleep without even a hint of insomniacal (I'm sad that's not a real word) thought.

Chocolate chips cookies and peppermint tea go surprisingly well together.  Like a mild peppermint patty flavor.

Alright, I'm already tired...time to get something accomplished with the book idea.

Then on to reading Unbroken.  I don't think this staying up late thing is going to be difficult to turn into a habit.

So Sad it's Sunday Night

I hate this time of week more than any other (most weeks).  Tonight is no exception.  It was such a terrific two days.  A few hours ago I completed my fastest run ever.  Sub 10-minute mile 3 miles in a row.  Finished in 29:49.  I had the treadmill set at 6.2 mph for the first 2.5 miles, then turned it up to 6.3 to finish the last half.  I think the first minute or so really screwed up the finish time because I have to slowly work up to full speed or the thing starts slipping.

My husband and I spent about an hour today figuring out what we want to do about our cell phone situation...we think we're switching to Verizon, which makes no difference to me.  We've been on AT&T for forever.  Since back with they were the only ones that carried the iPhone.  God I'm old.  I think one of the things that makes me feel even older is that I feel like 10 years isn't that long (I was remembering something from when I was 21 and my first reaction to that thought was that it wasn't really that long ago).

Okay, I'm too tired tonight to write anymore.  I wrote today...two days in a row!  Working on a new new first chapter (third attempt at rewriting the beginning...adding a little meet-cute...hoping this one sticks).

Good night.

Such a long week...

Today felt productive, I was able to get a lot of work done that I've been working on in pieces over the past few weeks, so it felt nice to see the end of some projects.  Plus it's a Friday and this is always my favorite time of week...the evening kicking off two days of slightly less responsibility (if you count having to chase around two kids for 8 more hours per day as having 'less responsibility').  I'm still sans husband so I'm going to buy myself a bottle of wine for the weekend and possibly rent a movie on Apple TV.

Last night I took my girls in the jogging stroller for a short/easy run.  I ended up doing 2 miles then struggling to find a place to stop so I could let my 4 year old out to run sprints with me but I didn't get outside with them until it was already almost dark (I'm annoyed at how early the sun goes down now that it's finally nice weather here in Arizona).  We broke the rules and ran around in the park near our house, even though the signs clearly say it's closed after sunset.  We had fun and she burned some of her always well stocked energy.  And no one arrested us.

I searched for scorpions like a fixated treasure hunter...it makes me want to take the kids out of the house as much as possible, which I find funny because I told my husband we'd probably never go anywhere (it's exhausting getting them in and out of car seats).

THIS...

was right outside our sliding glass door...see how his gross tail is all limp?  It was my first clue that he was already dead (not to be sexist, but I feel like all scorpions should be 'he's).  I got something to use as a weapon just in case and confirmed the fact that this one was already a goner.  It renewed my faith in having pest control come and spray along the outside.  

I'll be searching again tonight, no doubt.  Getting less sleep than I'd like for a reason I'd really rather not have to deal with.

At least I'm not losing sleep over Ebola...yet...

Happy Friday!

Exercise

Well, I'm not writing tonight.  Probably mostly because of last night, but I'm going to say it's because today was jam-packed up until 9 pm.  Including the episode of Castle I didn't have the energy to watch last night, it was jam-packed until 9:40.  I got up at 6:30, did my hair (it's naturally curly but I straighten it when I'm feeling like I need to have a boost in confidence, and after last night's writing disaster, it felt like a good time for it).  Then got my daughters ready for daycare and dropped them off, went to work and had an uneventful busy day at the office, picked up my girls and got home at 5:35.  Started preparations for dinner, got my older daughter set up with some markers and paper and TV while I got my younger one in her pack n' play and changed into running clothes.  Got on the treadmill at around 5:50 and ran for ONE HOUR.  I got off around the 30 minute mark to move my baby from the pack n' play, where she was crying, to the high chair with a snack where she could see the TV her sister was watching (did I mention I've recently resigned from the running for mom of the year?).  Got the oven preheated and jumped back on the treadmill.  Went for about 10 minutes and got back off to get the chicken in the oven and then back on the treadmill for the final 20ish minutes bringing me to 1 full hour and 5.3 miles.

So I can see why runners give long winded recaps of their races...I looked forward to writing about my run all night.  I'm proud of myself for going so long but also for my exceptional multi-tasking skills.  After the run and dinner I gave my younger daughter a bath and got her to bed.  Then told the older one to go to bed (she's been doing really well with bedtime lately, knock on wood) and took a shower, then did the dishes, took out the recycling, did some work that I didn't have a chance to finish at the office earlier and finally sat down with a beer and my episode of Castle.  And here I am.  So fuck you writing...I'm not doing you tonight.  (That's really the second beer talking).

Did I mention yet that I lifted yesterday so it hurts when I stand up or sit down?  Like, a lot? To the point where I'm waiting to pee until I can't stand it, then I cringe when I sit on the toilet?  And I had this muscle soreness before my hour long run tonight.  I figure I'll survive.  I drank a lot of water...it'll go away soon enough.

So now that it's 10:15 and well past my bedtime, I'm going to close up and call it a night.

Maybe tomorrow night I'll figure out if I still want to be a writer?

Woohoo, feeling almost perfectly good again!

The tall glass of Sangria I had last night seemed to have done the trick (no, seriously).  I felt so much better this morning.  I was still awoken at 5 AM by my younger daughter but I was able to get another half hour of sleep after I nursed her.  Then my older daughter woke me up.  When are kids supposed to start sleeping in?  Can that start soon, please?

After getting her some milk and fruit snacks and turning on a cartoon, I laid back down for a pathetic attempt to get a little more sleep.  I ended up on Facebook on my phone, then spent some time texting with my husband and motivating myself to get my girls in the jogging stroller for a run.  Well, my first plan was to get them in the stroller to walk to the grocery store for donuts, but the 'don't be such an unhealthy piece of crap' side of my brain won over and I got on jogging capris and sneakers, nursed my younger one again, then got them outside and went for 3.2 miles.  I was VERY slow, (12 minute miles...whatever).  I'll blame the fact that pushing both girls in the stroller is tougher than it was when it was just one.  This was my first ever run with both kids...the weight in the stroller really does make it harder to push.

I'm going to cut this short so I can go make applesauce with my 4 year old.  We just saw them make it on Sid the Science Kid.  Looks like easy fun.

Rain and other things.

It's raining buckets in Phoenix today.  Hopefully the roads don't get as out of control as they did last week.  I'm working on my list of things to pack and do before our trip tomorrow and I'm not feeling as overwhelmed as I feared I would.  For one thing, I got to run before work today (3.3 miles!  Slow pace though...however I started my run on my Nike app and then stood around stretching for a minute or two so I can tell myself the speed must have been miscalculated...right?).  That leaves tonight wide open for getting this list done.  And then we leave first thing tomorrow morning :)  I'm pretty darn excited.

Tomorrow night we're staying in a hotel about a mile from the park, but it's the same place we stayed in last year for our trip, and it's just for the first night.  Friday we'll check-in to one of the hotels in Downtown Disney and then enjoy the amenities there.

For me...I'm looking forward to the break from the job/jewelry/house stuff I deal with everyday.  I've got big plans to take exercise outfits for at least two workouts, possibly three, and I want to see about going for a run in the morning in the Downtown Disney area on Saturday morning.  I'll try the hotel gym on Friday morning maybe.  Who am I kidding, I'll be lucky if I get out of the room for one workout..haha.  I really like believing that I'll exercise/run at least twice though (maybe three times).  The walking will definitely count and will likely be the way I talk myself out of exercise.

I've got my handy little Asus tablet (love that thing), which is stocked with magazines and episodes of Castle (I seriously love that thing).  I've got my kindle, where I'm currently 60% done with Goldfinch by Donna Tart (lovely book but it's taking me FOREVER to get through it).  Plus we're driving our huge minivan, so I don't feel bad about overpacking.

So I'm excited...and in a little over 12 hours, we'll be on our way :)

Time to start packing!