Fat Ticker Friday (HFH)~Weeks 10 & 11

Due to the craziness of Thanksgiving and my parents' visit, I didn't get a chance to post about last week's notsogreatness. So I'm going to share now before I report about this week. Well, thanks to both hormones, if you know what I mean, and Thanksgiving goodies (aka Mom's famous chocolate chip cookies), I gained 2 pounds. YIKES! And the sad part about it was that I was fully expecting it. I didn't make it to the gym one day. Nope, not one day. There were too many things that needed to be accomplished before my parents' visit and heading the gym was the last thing on my "to-do" list.

Now onto this week's details. As the saying goes, "All good things must come to an end". Sadly, the 12 week Hot for the Holidays challenge ends today. But because I didn't find out/start the challenge with the rest of the group, I still have 2 more weeks left, which is plenty of time to accomplish my weight loss goal of 15 pounds. ;-)

While I wasn't any better about getting my butt to the gym this week, I was a lot better about tracking what I put in my mouth and took the kids out for walks around the neighborhood each night to enjoy all of the Christmas lights (I just LOVE it). I'm also experiencing patellofemoral pain syndrome in one of my knees, which is making it extremely hard to complete my runs. Simply, this means that the muscles around my knees (quads) need some strengthening to support the stress of running. UGH! I hate strength training, but my body is clearly telling me that it NEEDS it.

Thankfully, I was able to lose the 2 pounds gained last week. So now I'm back down to having lost 12 pounds. I am kind of bummed because I was really hoping to have lost those pesky 2 plus 1 more. Oh well...at least I'm still a loser. ;-)

HFH Hostess, Christie, asked us to post a pre- and post-challenge picture of ourselves. Sadly, there aren't many pics of me. Instead, I'm the picture-taker, which I'm loving BTW as I'm figuring out how to really use our camera. So I don't have any to share. Sorry. But just know that I'm now wearing some pre-maternity pants and my XL shirts (that I bought to accomodate the nursing boobies) are looking more like drapes. :-)

I can't express just how much I'm going to miss the Hot for the Holidays challenge. It has been a wonderful accountability tool, I've lost some serious poundage (10 lbs is serious in my book), and I've made a couple of new friends along the way. Christie says she has something else up her sleeve as a way to keep the accountibility going, and I can't wait to see what it is. Thanks, Christie, for hosting such a wonderful bloggy event. ((HUGS)).

I enjoyed posting about my weight loss/training progress (and regression) so much that I'm going to continue with it. I know that many of you will bother ask me about it if I miss a week. Thank you in advance for doing so. Bother Ask away. ;-)

Fat Ticker Friday (HFH)~Week 9

Wow, what a week! Since making the decision to bump up the date of my race (February instead of April), I had to bump up the intensity of my work outs, starting this week (ie. a lot of interval training).

And since a bloggy friend and I decided to become training progress buddies (she is training for her first Half at the end of Feb), I'm using this post to outline what I did each week...as a way to stay accountable (to both myself and my bloggy friend).

So, the nitty gritty of my week looked like this:

Friday--off
Saturday--5 miles (average 10:45 pace)
Sunday--6 miles (average 10:58 pace)
Monday--3 miles (average 10:30 pace)
Tuesday--3 mile tempo run (average 10:04 pace)
Wednesday--off (I was so tired at the end of my day that I decided to take a 2 hour nap instead)
Thursday--3 miles (6 x 400 intervals, average 10:08 pace)

I'm definitely starting to notice an improvement in my cardiovascular endurance/strength, which is such an encouragement for me. I started out barely able to keep up with 12:00 m/m pace, and now that seems like a slightly-faster-than-walking pace. I LOVE seeing that my average pace during my long runs is below 11:00 m/m and 10:15 m/m during my interval runs.

But that is not even the best news.....my scale told me this morning that I'm 3 pounds lighter since last week. Woohoo!!!!! This weight loss is quite monumental.....

• 3 more pounds means that my overall weight loss has now hit the double digits.
• 3 more pounds means that I'm saying "HELLO" to another decade of numbers.
• 3 more pounds means that I'm only 3 pounds away from my pre-Josiah weight (unfortunately, I'm still another 13 pounds away from my pre-Alayna weight).
• And 3 more pounds means that I have reached a weight where I can finally wear my engagement ring again.

Our "Hot for the Holidays" host, Christie, asked us what our "Aha!" moment was that influenced our decision to get up off the couch and do something about the way we looked. I think mine was the day that I decided to graduate from maternity clothes to "real" clothes (about 3 months after Josiah was born)....when I had to buy a size 18 pant and an XL shirt. It took me another couple of months after this day to buy a new pair of running shoes and find my way to the Huckleberry Trail (I wanted to wait until I was done nursing Josiah), but I REFUSED to stay that size. I also REFUSED to lose all but 10 pounds of the baby weight (I had read once to expect to keep 10 pounds from each pregnancy--sorry, that's not going to be me). Fortunately for me, my sister was running half and full marathons during this time. She was my inspiration for setting a goal to complete a half marathon. So there begins my running journey/obsession....until I stepped foot onto the "Huck", I wouldn't have considered myself of a runner. Yes, I ran track in HS (I was 400 and Hurdles gal), but I always died when it came time to do the 1 Mile Run. I never thought I'd be able to "kick out" 12-13 miles in a single run....and now I have and am more than ANXIOUS to try it again. Not only am I excited to see what my body can do but to lose ALL of the baby fat that came along with my latest pregnancy). :-)

Fat Ticker Friday (HFH)~Week 8

Another week has come and gone...and if I may brag, so has 1 MORE POUND! I really wanted to lose 2 lbs this week so that I hit the 10 pound mark, but who am I to complain? A loss is a loss, right?

This week was pretty low-key thereby allowing me to get in 4 runs.

Friday--off
Saturday--off
Sunday--off
Monday--5 miles
Tuesday--off
Wednesday--3 miles AND 3.25 miles (I had to make up for not getting a run in on Tuesday night because Randy got home so late, so I decided to do a "twice-a-day" workout).
Thursday--4 miles

I also scratched my initial plan of running in the Dallas Half Marathon in April because of Randy's work schedule that month. It will be nearly impossible for us to travel, as a family, up to Dallas (12 hour drive) the weekend of the race. Soooo, I decided to find something closer to home, the Austin Half Marathon, which is in February. I'm pretty excited about it. Now if I could just find enough courage to actually register. ;-) My goal for this race is to complete it in 2 hours....so my training from here on out will be focused on strength and faster runs. I'm so excited to see what my body can actually do.

We only have 96.9 pounds left to lose as a group until we reach 500 pounds lost. The Hot for the Holidays gals have been losing an average of 24-25 pounds each week....and we need to keep up that average loss for the 3 weeks in order to reach our goal. So, Christie's assignment for this week was to answer: "What will you do for yourself and the group? What are your vows?"

Here is what I promise to do over the next 3 weeks:

• I will run four days/week, introducing interval training to increase my speed.
• I will introduce strength training to my routine 2 days/week.
• I will make healthy meals and surround myself with healthy choices, including Thanksgiving.
• Above all, I will not comfort and/or reward myself in food. (No saying things like, "I deserve this." Because what I deserve is a healthythinnerhappier me. That stuff can wait.) We never did make it to Mimi's Cafe last week because I just couldn't sabotage my weight loss thus far--9 pounds. Maybe once we get closer to Christmas...I'm just doing too well.

Because I started the challenge two weeks behind the rest of the group, I still have another 5 weeks (til Christmas) to lose another 6 pounds. Not sure if I'll make it, especially if I'm only losing 1 pound/week, but I'm going to really strive for it. I'm more than ready to be back in my pre-preggo body...well, weight-wise anyway...the body is never the same after birthin' babies. :-)

Happy Friday!

Fat Ticker Friday~Week 7

This week was pretty quiet and uneventful (if you don't count the election). So I'll "cut to the chase"....

I LOST 2 lbs. this week!! WooHoo! I'm now just 2 pounds shy of losing 10 pounds and saying "hello" to another decade of numbers. Just 6 more pounds till I reach my 15 pound Christmas weight loss goal and 17 more pounds before reaching my pre-preggo weight.

My week looked like this:

Friday--off
Saturday--walked around outlet mall for 4 hrs
Sunday--off
Monday--4.75 M run
Tuesday--off
Wednesday--4 M run
Thursday--4 M run with BOB

I'm not entirely sure why I lost as much as I did when I'm hardly impressed by my work outs for the week. However, I'm really watching what I'm eating....including NO Halloween candy! Randy told me that if I lost 2 pounds this week that he'd treat me to Mimi's Cafe. I *heart* their pumpkin spice muffins, which they only make during this time of year (unless they've changed the menu). YUM! Oh, how I've missed you during the last 4 years.

My goal this week is to increase my runs to 5 miles each work out so that I can reach 6 M by next weekend, which is distance I'll sit at until January. It's time to start to improving my pace.

Christie's project of the week was to fill in the blank:

My life would be better if I had more ________.

Wow, where do I start? There are so many things that I could use to fill in the blank. Putting all of the tangible, material things aside, I would answer....

My life would be better if I had more FAITH.

Simply, more faith would result in less anxiety and less worry. As a new SAHM, I worry if I'm contributing to my children's learning experience as well as Josiah's old child care providers did. I worry if Laney, at 6 months, is behind in reaching her developmental milestones since she's not showing many signs of wanting to be mobile. I worry that Laney will be sick more frequently and/or have allergies if I can't keep up with breastfeeding. I worry that Randy will have a hard time earning a living for his family in 3 years after Senator Obama takes Office in a few months. I worry that I'll never have the ability/energy/time to keep a clean and organized home. I worry that some folks won't like what I buy them for Christmas. Oh, how the list goes on and on. Just reflecting on it....makes me..well, worry. It also makes me tired.

More faith in God's plan would make me realize that worrying gets me nowhere...and fast! More faith would calm me down and make me realize that I'm where I'm supposed to be right now! More faith would assure me that He has equipped me to care for my children the way that He desires for me to. And more faith would comfort me to know that He will provide our every need, despite the possibility that our health care system will receive a major facelift. He is in control, and I simply need to have more FAITH in His plan.

How would YOU fill in the blank?

Fat Ticker Friday "Treat Edition"-Week 6

I can't believe that I've been immersed in this challenge now for 6 weeks (2 weeks behind my fellow comrades). Many Researchers focused on Behavior Modification will tell you that it takes approximately 6 weeks to form a new habit. I'm really hoping that my efforts to change my behavior stick. After all, I've got a half marathon, in April, to continue training for.

I'll be the first to admit that these past 6 weeks have definitely had their fair share of "bumps in the road". But the important thing to reflect on is that I pushed my way through...through late evening runs, through illness, through tired/sore knees, through weight losses AND gains, and through temptations to break down and eat an entire batch of Baked Oatmeal with blueberries. YUM! Sadly, I've just had to refrain from baking, which is really hard for me during this time of year. I LOVE anything pumpkin, and I've run across some really yummy looking recipes that I'm just dying to try. But I know that as soon as I finish baking my product, I won't just stop at one serving. So it's best just not to put that temptation out there. I digress.

So last Thursday I woke up feeling just terrible and continued to feel bad through Monday. I was so nauseous that I hardly ate....definitely not the best method for losing weight. When Tuesday morning rolled around, I felt A LOT better. And since then, I feel like I've been playing "catch up" (note to self: you cannot catch up on lost calories or sleep), eating whatever I can find. Thankfully, I don't keep a whole lot in our pantry...and I am low on sugar so I can't bake anything. Needless to say, my not feeling well for 5 days really killed my calorie burning progress. What is it that they say, "One step forward, two steps back"? Don't worry, though, I'll push through this, too.

So my sorry looking week looked like this:

Friday--off

Saturday--5K race (completed in 33:16 at 10:42/M pace)

Sunday--off

Monday--off

Tuesday--4 M

Wednesday--off

Thursday--5 M

It didn't help either that Randy was on-call and didn't come home Monday evening and didn't get home until 10:30PM Wednesday evening so that he could watch the kiddos while I enjoyed a nice run. I know, that's no excuse since I have BOB, the most awesome jogging stroller ever, but I feel better when I can blame my work out deficiencies on something other than "I don't wanna".

Okay, enough....what did the scale say this morning? NO CHANGE.

After the week I had, I'm pleased to see that I didn't gain. I'm giving myself another 3 weeks to finally reach the monumental 10 pound loss (and grab another shiny badge). Then I've got another 15 to lose to get back to pre-preggo weight, which I hope to achieve (and be trimmer) by April's race.

Christie didn't have a question of the week. Instead we were instructed to have fun....posting pictures of our kids, pets, pumpkins, etc. in their Halloween getup. While I grew up having my mom make our costumes and then having my dad drive us into town to trick-or-treat, Randy didn't. Therefore, our family doesn't either. We will attend our church's Fall Festival, but there will be no costumes involved or candy accrued (Josiah doesn't I don't need it). But just because we don't "do" costumes, doesn't mean we don't carve pumpkins (and roast the seeds). I decided to carve a small pumpkin this year, thinking it would be less work. As it turned out, it took more work to scrape the inside of the small pumpkin than it does a larger one. I usually carve a Christian symbol instead of the traditional jack-o-lantern face (last year it was THE cross and two years ago it was THE fish), but when I asked Josiah if he wanted a "J" for Josiah and Jesus or a face, he chose a face. Josiah got so excited after I cut out each part. He was so proud of it...he couldn't wait to show Daddy when he got home.

And to go along with Josiah's pumpkin, I thought I would dig out the same onesie that Josiah wore for his first Halloween-two years ago-for Laney to wear. The onesie barely fit her, but I was determined to get pics of her in it, too.

Josiah--2.5 months old (2006)

Laney--6 months old

So back to weight loss....how did you do this week?

Fat Ticker Friday (HFH)-Week 5

This week started and ended not-so-good. While my body has finally figured out what I'm trying to do, and as inspired as I am to keep up the downward direction of the scale readout, I'm tired. I'm tired of waiting until 9PM to go out for a run (after the kids go to bed), I'm tired of eating cardboard as afternoon snacks, I'm tired of sore knees (Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome), and I'm tired of not seeing my husband. So when the weekend finally gets here, I want to spend time with my huband--as a family--not hittin' the gym. That's my excuse for the not-so-good start. And the not-so-good ending can thank the nausea, headache, vertigo, and cramps of the last two days. Sounds fun, huh? On bright side, however, I was able to get in two really good runs (and one walk) in the middle of the week. Here is how the week panned out:

Friday--off
Saturday--off
Sunday--3 miles with BOB
Monday--1.5 mile walk with BOB
Tuesday--5 miles
Wednesday--off
Thursday--off

I'm pleased to report that even though my week was less than jaw-dropping, I still lost 2 pounds. Making my total weight loss 6 pounds since starting this challenge 5 weeks ago!

And I'll take this badge....thank you very much!!!!

Christie's question this week was "what are some of your favorite things necessary for your success in this weight loss challenge?" My list is fairly short, but what I've listed is important for me to reach my goal.

• #1 "thing" that is necessary for me to keep going is the support of my husband. If he wasn't willing to care for the kids or give up an hour of time together, I wouldn't be 6 pounds down. Thank you, Randy.
• iPod with a couple of rockin' playlists
• I have to have a good running shoe. If my feet aren't comfortable, it throws the rest of my body "off". I've been a lover of Asics for a long time. It used to be the Kayano but now I'm a faithful 2100 Series woman.
• Running capris (I'm not much of a short wearer until Race Day)
• Healthy recipes and fun snacks

One of my favorite dinners is Bourbon Chicken. I enjoy it so much that I include it on my meal plan at least once every other week. And one of my favorite waist-friendly desserts is Spice Pumpkin Muffins (I use 1/4 c. applesauce instead of the 1 c. water that this recipe calls for, but everything else is the same). And much as I would LOVE one of these (the Apple Pie is my favorite), I've found that I can satiate my sweet tooth by drizzling 1 T. fat free caramel topping over 1/2 a Gala apple. Why only 1/2 an apple? Well, that way it's only 1/2 the calories for me and then I'm ensured that my son gets a healthy snack, too. ;-)

What would you include on your list of necessary things to help you achieve your weight loss goal?

Fat Ticker Friday (HFH)-Week 4

Thankfully, this week went much more smoothly for me. I don't think I could have endured another week of craziness without having been prescribed a psyche consult....by my own husband.

Since taking BOB out last Friday, I've been a lot more inclined to take the kids out on Monday evening when Randy spends his nights at the hospital. I guess I just needed to "break him in" to get the "wheels" rollin'. And as hard as it is to push 50+ in a jogging stroller, I'm enjoying it. It's a win-win for all involved. I get to exercise, the kids are contained, and we're all getting some much needed fresh air.

Here is what my week looked like:

Friday--3 M with BOB
Saturday--off
Sunday--4 M
Monday--off (although I did take the kids out for a 1 M walk around the neighborhood)
Tuesday--4 M
Wednesday--3 M with BOB
Thursday--off

All of my hard work paid off as I LOST 2 lbs this week, a pound more than my goal! I'm so close to grabbing this badge, I can smell it! When I weighed in earlier this week yesterday (because I was just curious), I had lost 3 lbs, but because I chose to go out and play Bunco with my MOPS chicas last night, I didn't get a "last minute workout" in.

Christie's question(s) du jour is "which part of your body do you want to "refine" during this process?" and "which part is your favorite?" The point is to become aware and proactive about specific changes you want to make about your body, rather than just "losing weight", while still appreciating the perfectness you have in other areas.

These were hard questions to answer as I would like to "refine" every body part. But since I've been instructed to only focus on one, I think I would choose my arms. Back in my competitive swimming days, I had great arms and a strong back. Sadly, I didn't appreciate them "back then" as I had the most difficult time finding shirts that would fit...it was so frustrating. I would give anything to have those arms back. I'm soooo over the jiggly jello mold that has replaced my tricep. On the flip side, if I had to choose a part of my body that I love hate less, I would choose my back. While my triceps definitely morphed into something else, my back has remained somewhat flabby-free. I'm not saying that it doesn't need some work, but it's just not as needy as my quads, hammies, glutes, abs, etc. Plus, it's the only body part that seems to tan well. :-) I *heart* a good tan, I just don't *heart* skin cancer or wrinkles.

If you had to answer these questions, which part of your body would you select as "needing the most refinement" and "closer to perfect"?

Fat Ticker Friday (HFH)-Week 3

I'm so frustrated that I'm not sure whether to scream or cry. This week was a very busy week for Randy, keeping him at the hospital until late most nights of the week. Therefore, I was only able to make it to the gym 3 of 7 days. I had fully prepared myself for the possibility reality that Hubs wouldn't make it home many nights before the gym closed, but what I wasn't prepared for was the emotional rollercoaster that I found myself riding on earlier in the week.

I'm still learning how to be at home with Josiah and Laney. And lately, I truely believe that it has been Josiah's mission to drive me absolutely crazy! I know deep down in my heart that his defiance, strong will to do things "myself", and just plain ol' running around non-stop (and loudly) is just part of being 2 years old. But there is only so much that I can take! I'm also still nursing Laney. And she must have sensed my stress because she wanted nothing to do with nursing. Unfortunately for her, I'm far from ready to give up and just give her formula. So I tried and tried and tried, resulting in feeling more stressed (anyone who knows me, knows about my love-hate relationship with breastfeeding--but it's very important to me, so I keep going), but we did get it. Sooo, if it weren't for the fact that I'm losing my hair due to my hormones "normalizing" after having had a baby, I would have definitely pulled some hair out earlier this week.

But what's unfortunate is that I've always been an emotional eater. So when my best friend (AKA Randy) was not around much earlier in the week to deflect the craziness of caring for two small children, I turned to another, quite familiar, friend....food. And honestly, my food choices were not that bad. There was only one night where I splurged a little....a couple servings of Reduced Fat Nilla Wafers and a couple of WW Twinkies. Whoa, I know, heavy stuff, right? I have purposefully banished any and all really good bad foods from the house, leaving behind whole wheat mini bagels with whipped strawberry yogurt spread, rice cakes with PB, Special K cereal with strawberries and vanilla soy milk.

So as a result of feeling guilty for eating more than one WW twinkie and a serving of RF Nilla Wafers on Saturday night, I kicked my own @#% during my "dates" with the treadmill, burning approx. 400-500 calories each workout. My week looked like this:

Friday--none
Saturday--none
Sunday--3M
Monday--none
Tuesday--4M
Wednesday-3M
Thursday--none

While I was not able to meet my goal of "checking in" at the gym for 4/7 days, I was able to meet my goal and kick out 3M runs this week with a "push it" day where I completed 4M, at a slightly faster pace. Forgetting briefly about my food drunkeness on Saturday, I was proud of myself.

Okay, you've heard enough of my whining....my HFH Fat Ticker Friday Report = 1lb. GAIN.

I'm only 50% sure why the flux in the "wrong" direction. This is what's odd....during my first week of the challenge, when I only made it to the gym 1 day and only ran 2M, I had NO change. And this week, I make it to the gym 3 days, run 3-4M each day, and I GAIN a pound? Not sure where the fairness is. Maybe I gained a little bit of muscle since I've started running further? Maybe I'm getting closer to TOM? Maybe I ate more than I realized (the most reasonable explanation, of course)?

No doubt that I'm feeling a little less than motivated/inspired to keep going.....but no worries fellow HFH comrades, this fat lady is not ready to "sing" quite yet. My inspiration to keep it up is knowing that there will be weeks where the weight loss/gain makes NO sense, that I've done this before--lost all of the weight gained from my previous pregnancy (plus 10 pounds) and completed a 13.1 M race, that I will be expected to stand up (wearing a cute dress) for my little sister when she gets married next summer, and that I will wear a cuuuute bathing suit during our beach vacation when Randy finishes Residency in 3 years (everyone needs a long-term goal, right? But I'll need 3 years to work off the weight gained by another pregnancy).

So there's my report....how did you do this week?

Fat Ticker Friday (HFH)-Week 2

So after last week's failure to get to the gym to run but 1 measly day, I made a conscientious effort to hear the checking-in "beep" of my gym ID card at least 5 days this week. As I reported on Friday, I did manage to get in 2 miles on the treadmill; however, that was after I had already weighed in. Here's how the rest of my week unfolded:

Friday: 2M
Saturday: 2M
Sunday: off
Monday: 2M
Tuesday: 2M
Wednesday: off
Thursday: 3M

I'm very pleased with how things have been going. Granted, my pace is no where near what I would like for it to be, but I just started the process.....so, I'm cutting myself some slack.

Without further adu, here is my Fat Ticker Friday report for Week 2....A LOSS of 3 lbs.!

I'm so very excited to see such a HUGE number. I think this the first time I've ever seen the scale move so drastically in one week. My goal for this challenge is to lose only 1 lb/week. I tripled my goal loss!!! Woohoo! Not sure if it's due to the nursing (burning an extra 500 or so calories a day) or the fact that I'm now regulating what and how much I'm eating. I've enjoyed two new snacks this week: lightly salted rice cakes with PB and mini cinnamon bagels with strawberry yogurt spread. Plus, I'm drinking tons of water and my new found love, Raspberry Green Tea Crystal Light. And the one thing (breastmilk production) that I've been most worried about since starting the challenge hasn't shown to be much of an issue (YAY!)....as long as I keep up my fluid intake.

The HFH Hostess, Christie, asked us to share our "push it" moment from the week. I think I would have to say that it was my 3M run last night. I wanted to see if I could complete 3M and at a faster pace...and I did both! And boy, did I feel great afterwards. :-)

This week's goal is still to lose only 1 lb. and to make it to the treadmill at least 4 of the next 7 days (Randy started Inpatient Service on Wednesday and has been home very little to watch the kiddos) and run 3M each workout, except for Thursday, when I'll try to bump it up to 4M.

Click here to see how others are doing and how much weight we've lost collectively as a group.

HFH: Fat Ticker Friday--Week #1

I finally decided that I am tired of looking 4 months pregnant (when I'm not)...it's time to do something about it! So, I've joined a gym, found a race, and dusted off my running shoes. Ready or not, here I go!

Since I had to leave my accountability/running partner in VA (I miss you, Donna), I found a blogosphere weight loss challenge, Hot For The Holidays (HFH), that I thought could help me stay on track. As soon as I saw the logo, I was "in". It's exactly what I needed to get going. Part of the "commitment" is to publish a Fat Ticker Friday post each week so that Christie, our awesome hostess, can track how many pounds have been shed collectively as a group....a goal of 500 lbs. to NEVER come back again!

So here is my first Fat Ticker Friday report: no change

*GASP* I really shouldn't be surprised since I was only able to make it to the gym 1 day this week (before I weighed in this morning). And that wasn't because I didn't want to, we just had a lot of stuff going on. Allow me to recap: Tuesday I did manage to complete 10 minutes on the stair climber and 12 minutes on the bike (definitely not my first choice, but there was not a single treadmill available) before heading to dinner with a 4th year medical student interested in our program. Randy was on-call on Wednesday and didn't make it home until 10PM and therefore, no one was available to watch the kiddos. And last night, we attended a fundraising banquet for a local organization (I want to write more about this organization and the banquet we attended, but I will save it for another post). But tonight, folks, I pushed myself to run 2 miles (consecutively) on the treadmill. I realize that this might not sound all that impressive, but considering that it has been 13 months since I'd done any running, I'm pretty excited and proud of myself. I really thought that I'd be starting back at "square one" again, barely able to run a full mile. I'm so excited to think that I'll be more than ready to compete participate in the South Texas Sizzler 5K on October 25.

And here are my answers to this week's photo essay....just something for fun.

1. Someone or something that inspires you--my wonderful husband and precious children.

(Definitely not the best picture taken of us...but, sadly, we don't have many to choose from)

2. Something that you love to do--cake decorating.

3. Something that makes you crazy--junk mail (in both my mailbox and email inbox)

4. Something healthy in your life--my BOB Duallie Ironman Jogging Stroller (sorry no real picture)

(I've gotten the kids out in it a couple of times since our move. I can't wait to use it more once it starts cooling off and the mosquitos fly South for the winter.)