Drum Roll Please...

     This is about ten minutes after all of us crossed the finish line!!  I know its not the most flattering picture... but I just don't care, I'm so proud of all of us!  From left, Me, Sparkles, Momma, and Jimmy.  Yea, they are all nicknames, but you get the idea of who I will be talking about.  I received the 3rd place medal in my run for my age group and Sparkles got 4th place.  Momma received the 2nd place medal for her age group as well.  My time was 37 minutes, Sparkles was 38, Mommas wasn't far behind, and Jimmy was in the walking group.

    Not only did we all finished but we all exceedded our goals and expectations, as a matter of fact we have already found another race in July.  Do you see what having a goal and reaching it can do for you?  I not only have surpassed all my resolutions, but I have made more and plan on flying right above those as well.  I have lost 3 more pounds putting me at 127 pounds and I'm loving every minute of it.  Its a lifelong battle that I am willing to win.

     Next up for me is incorporating P90X back into my routine and staying on track with my healthy new choices.  Wish me luck!  Not that luck will have anything to do with it, because I ROCK!

5k...

    Note to self:  Do not watch professional women runners running an 800 meter race before you run your first 5k.  Self, you have really messed up your Self confidence!  Oh yes... and Self, that cookie you ate to make your SELF feel better didn't work either.

     So yesterday morning I was so excited that I wanted to watch and take notes.  These powerful beautiful women were running half a mile in under 2 minutes.  Their legs were like cement slabs, the song "Brick House," kept ringing in my ears.  I thought my 5 minute half mile was pretty good.  Turns out I truly am just a beginner, and I think i might have made peace with that after that chocolate chip cookie, or four.

     I have to get up at 6:15 am, and I might not sleep because of my nerves.  I keep telling myself it is just for fun, and its only my first time, but I have worked so hard to get here that I am determined to run the whole thing.

   I tried to eat my oatmeal today and couldn't.  I hope that this in not a sign.  Sparkles found two four leaf clovers yesterday so I am hoping that one of those was meant for me; smile.  Although, Sparkles isn't feeling herself today either, so maybe this is the storm... before the kick butt!
     Wish me luck!  Ill let you know tomorrow evening how it goes, hopefully I can run this thing in 35 minutes, here's hoping.

Even SuperMoms Have Their Days

     You have all met Gage?  He is my four year old, and he can be a handful!  I have been working on my consistency skills with Gage, meaning when I say NO I mean NO.  Well today I had said no quite a lot, and I had to do time outs almost all morning and afternoon long and I was at my wits end.  I don't like spanking.  I am not against a swat on the bum, but I prefer to use time outs because spanking does not work for my children. 

     You see Gage wanted a glass of water after he chugged the glass of juice I handed him.  I said "No, you just had some juice, now wait a bit and Ill get you a glass of water."  He preceded to try to take the glass of water I was drinking out of my hand saying, "Give me your water, NOW!"  What I did next was emotional, it wasn't exactly right, but I had a good giggle and I think he learnt his lesson.

     I took that glass of water in my hand and splashed the water right in his direction, soaking him in the water he screamingly demanded that I give him.

     So I gave it to him all right!

    No, this is not a tip of the day.  I just felt like baring my faults at the moment, so that you can see that we are all human, and sometimes our emotions get the better of us.  I think next time Ill take a deep breath and ignore the nasty screaming, but today I had my moment.  I'm ready to move on.

     On a brighter note, I've just started trying out all the new Greek Yogurts available and my consensus is... they are all disgusting!  So in order to get past the taste and receive the benefits I have been making smoothies with vanilla Greek yogurt.  I add Naked juice and whole fruits to the yogurt and put it all in a blender, SOOO good and always fat free!  Not to mention my favorite Naked brand juice is Blue Machine and it has 7 grams of fiber per serving and great benefits like 100% of the daily value of B vitamins.  Yes, and by the way, always buy the vanilla flavored Greek yogurt or its like putting thick sour cream in your smoothie... eeewww!  The calories in Dannons Greek Yogurt is 110 and no fat.  Let me know if you try it, I always down one after my morning or afternoon workouts.

Brand New Day!

     O what a week.  We all had a little dose of the sickies, but this morning I woke up at 8 a.m., made breakfast, went running, 25 minutes straight and walked 10.  My little Raine's rash went away finally, but their behaviour has been out of control this last week.  I decided that from now on I will keep to the whole foods diet and keep the caffeine and high fructose corn syrup out, and continue to cut way back on the gluten.  It definitely seemed to work, but last week we fell off the wagon due to how cheap and easy the alternative was.
     I spent 80 dollars on an entire 12 meals of healthy whole foods with my savvy self.  I did the math too.  At over 20 dollars a meal eating out, we have saved over 160 dollars in 4 days!  Keep that up and it is over 1200 dollars a month!  I know that I didn't eat out 3 meals a day, but even once a day is too much on any salary.
     The 5k is this Saturday!  All week long I am hydrating and eating all the right foods, like berries, nuts, Greek yogurt, peanut butter, healthy carbs, and lots of water, lean protein, and vegetables.  Sparkles, the nickname of my bestie, is running with me and gave me this great link to take a look at.  It helped me figure out some great meal ideas for this week just for my runs.  http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-300--13352-0,00.html
     One huge tip, it is great to have a partner when you have a fitness goal.  Sparkles and I check in with each other each time we run to see where we are, and its not a competition, but a motivation for us.  I'm not sure how I would get out of bed to run if I didn't have a friend relying on me!  Good luck!