A Good Day....

Today was a good day. My husband was home. He let me sleep in and took over kid duty this morning. I ran 6 miles. Had lunch with my husband. Had dinner with all three of my men. But the best part of today???? My weigh in day... and I lost 3.2 pounds! Holy moly!!!!

I also have another NSV (non-scale victory) to share... I haven't had a single Cadbury Creme Egg this year. Nope! Not a single one purchased or consumed by this self-confessed egg addict!!! I think that has to be one reason I've been pretty steadily losing instead of stalling or gaining since the beginning of the year. Whatever it is, it's working... so I'm going to keep on keeping on...

And my race is in 9 days!!!! I'm so ready.. and praying it doesn't rain that morning!!!!!

Happy Easter!!!

He is risen!!!! Alleluia!!!!! I already got my praise on during the two services this morning at church. I love singing and was able to take part in the choir this year again which is amazing! We even did a couple of hand clapping fun songs along with a couple of more "serious" choral pieces... just awesome!

Anyway, I wanted to say Happy Easter as well as brag a little bit... Yesterday I ran NINE miles!!! Yes, that's right, I said NINE!!!!! It wasn't easy, not all of it was even enjoyable (especially the first 2.5 into the wind and the last 2..) but I did it and I could not be prouder of myself. I am not a bragger most of the time, but I will brag about this because I FREAKING DID IT!!!! Yahoo!!!! My race is in two weeks and I'm so ready to rock that thing it's not even funny... I'm going to kill it!

So today I'm a little sore (not surprised there) but still need to get some exercise in, probably a little walk or bike ride and some weight lifting.. mainly because I want to eat some of this chocolate Easter bunny that's staring at me!!!! But also because I'm on a roll that I don't want to break.

On Valentine's Day I joined a fitness/weight loss challenge on My Fitness Pal with a group of ladies that are motivating and inspiring and just overall fun! Our challenges varied, but mainly they were walking/running 100 miles in 70 days which ends today. I am very proud to say that I not only went 100 miles, I ended up with 124.5!!!! I didn't count anything but running, so I could have been many more if I'd have counted all the elliptical and walking miles I did in the past 10 weeks. One of the challenges was to take a "before" and "after" pic. We didn't have to share, and I had no intention of sharing, but then I took the "after" one today... and I'm pretty shocked!!! I only lost 13 pounds (which is awesome) but on my short little self, it really shows!!! Let's see if this works...

Before (Feb 15, 2011)

and After (April 24, 2011)

Please excuse the mess in the back.. took these in my closet by my vanity which nobody ever sees... but whatever, the light was good and I had a mirror!!!! Anyway, I think you can tell I'm a little proud of myself, which isn't a bad thing when I've worked so hard!!! I'm not nearly done with this journey, I will be counting calories until I can't count anymore and exercising until they put me in home or something... it's just who I will need to be if I want to stay healthy and happy, and I'm ok with that!!! I have about 15 more pounds I'd like to lose, and I will get there, but by no means am I in a big hurry. This is life we're talking about, not a race! But I will race, because it's fun, and the training is so good for my body and my soul.

So goodbye chubby mama... look out world,.... Nikki's here to stay!!!!!

Happy Birthday To Me!!!!

Yes, that's right.. I had a birthday! It was a great weekend celebrating, and here's a little recap...

Thursday I had an hour massage which was wonderful and relaxing until a few hours later when I was so sore and stiff I could barely stand up and walk!!! Note to self.. next time ask for her not to dig so deep into my muscles that I can still feel like I'm bruised two days later... just sayin...

Friday was my actual birthday. I brought in a treat for work (yes we do that and no I don't have to pay for it) which was angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream... one of my favorite things!!! After work we went to Wendy's for a quick supper and over to the in-laws to see them for the first time since Christmas since they just got back from Florida and we missed them and Great-Grandma! Very nice day.

Saturday after a short shift at work, two of my best friends came up to see me and took me out for the evening. We went to Grand Haven where there was a city-wide blues festival going on! The weather was yucky, cold and rainy, but we had an absolute blast!!! Started at happy hour at the Kirby Grille, headed over to the new brewery for a pint, then to Portobello's for dinner (YUM). After that we walked over to The Grand and listened to some really good blues and had a few more cocktails... I lost count, but I'm thinking it was around 8-9 for myself... everyone else was controlling themselves, but hey, it's my birthday!!!! I had a blast, even got a lei from some other dude who was having a birthday!!!! I laughed so hard I felt like I had done a hundred sit-ups!! The best part was just hanging out and letting loose... I need to do that more often! Well, not the drinking, but the fun!

Sunday was kind of a waste, I think you can guess why!! Except Mom came to visit and since we don't see each other much that was super nice! Went back to work today in the snow... not something I enjoy any time of year, but especially the week after my birthday! It's alright, it's all gone now, but the thought of snow in April is truly depressing... not to mention turning 39!!!!!

So now I have another busy week ahead... the kids are behind on homework and I'm behind on housework... nothing new there!!!! Hopefully we'll all have clean underwear for the week and I'll get some workouts in... I totally spaced on the running this weekend which might come back to get me in the end, but there was no way I could do that with how I felt yesterday!!! Ouch!

Hope you all have a great week... and if you have a chance to celebrate with friends, always say yes!!!!! Always!!!! TTFN!

Who Am I And Where's the Chubby Chick????

Ok, just had to share this crazy thing from tonight.

First, I had a crazy busy day again... work all day, two mile run, home and showered, choir practice... yup, I think that was about it. So I had a couple hundred calories left to eat when I saw the stash of Girl Scout cookies that are still in the same place I left them (I stashed them so we didn't all eat them right away.. still have 2.5 boxes left out of 4, so pretty good so far). I thought to myself "well, you could eat a couple cookies tonight. The boys would like that." See, our deal is, I can hide them, but only if we all eat them when I eat them so I don't eat them all. Again.. so far, so good!

But then I thought to myself, "no, that's not really what I want... I think I'll make popcorn." And then laughed at myself! See, a few months ago, I would have grabbed the box of cookies and eaten the whole thing by myself. No sharing, no counting, just devouring the delicious cookies! But now that I am counting, and keeping track, and measuring... it actually matters what I put in my mouth! Crazy, I know! So even though I ran two miles tonight, and went to choir rehearsal, and ate a Lean Cuisine dinner and still had 250 calories to eat... I didn't eat cookies.

It's the little victories... seriously, I laughed at myself! Who am I??? And since when am I NOT the chubby chick??? I like this new person... she's pretty cool!

Spring Break Week....

Well, for me it was a pretty normal week, but the kids had spring break! With hubby being on the road and me working, it was no vacation for me at all, but that's ok. Little man went with Daddy in the big truck on Saturday until Monday. He's been wanting to do that for a while and the company was nice enough to give him just a quick two day run so he could have a guest. It was long enough to give the kid an idea of what Daddy does all the time, but short enough so they didn't drive each other crazy! Plus, then he got to spend the week playing with his friends and didn't miss all the fun parts of vacation!

This week for me was basically a boring, normal week. I didn't do anything special, worked out when I was supposed to, watched some movies when I had the time, worked my normal hours, called the kids a couple times a day to make sure they weren't getting into trouble! No biggie!

Thursday night we had band practice at church and I was excited to find out that my friend who is freshly back from a six month mission trip was going to join us!!! I haven't seen her or sang with her in six months so we had a BLAST! Can't wait to do it for real tomorrow morning... she's such a fun person and very talented and I really missed her smiling face! This was a highlight of my week!

Last night I was bored so I drove over to my sister's to check out her new hardwood floors... and they are gorgeous! Kinda jealous, but I know how long she saved for those, and she did a great job! Since I'm saving for braces for my kid, there will be no hardwood for me in any near future!!!!

This morning I hit another milestone in my training... I did an eight mile run! Yup, eight whole miles! Finished it strong, but still had to stop for the bathroom around mile six.... wonder if I'll ever stop having to do that????? It's annoying.. and this time I was actually in pain before I stopped. If I would have been racing I honestly don't know what I would have done, so I hope I can figure out a strategy to make it through the distance before the big day!

Tomorrow I have to sing in band, like I said. Then I'll probably work out and after that I have been asked to sing at an evening service for another church. I hope I make them happy!!! They want traditional hymns, so nothing too difficult, but should be pretty! They also have an accompanist for me, so I hope that goes well since we'll be kind of winging it on the fly!

I have a couple friends who have Dad's who are really sick right now and it's kind of got me down. I know they can pull through, and we're really hopeful for them both, but I don't want my friends to join the club I'm in with losing their fathers. It's not a club you'd want to join... I sure didn't. So if I sound a little down, that might be why... plus, I'm tired after such a long run today! Only a few more weeks until my big race!!!! I know I'll be ready....

100th Post!

I didn't realize it was my 100th post until I logged in! But hey, good title I suppose.

I didn't blog yesterday because I was a little depressed. It was my Dad's birthday. He would have been 66 years old. He's been gone a long time and I still miss him so much! It's so not fair that he's missing out on so much great stuff! Being a Grandpa for one thing... he's got four grandchildren that never got to meet him, and two son-in-law's that would love to have known him as well. Every year when his birthday and anniversary of his death roll around I get a little down and wallow in a little self pity because I wish I still had my Dad. So yesterday my sister said "Let's go to Ikea, and of course we'll stop at Twelve Oaks so we can pick up some stuff at Lush on the way back"... and I was like YES!!! Let's go... so we went! We literally left my house at 2pm and got back at 11!!!! Talk about a whirlwind day trip, it's a two and a half hour drive for sure. Anyway, we brought my niece and basically had a great day of girlie retail therapy! Even though I still thought about him a lot, it wasn't as hard having them with me. I love my sister. And my niece. I still miss my Dad.

Ok, moving on... my younger son has been asking my husband to go driving with him in his big truck (he drives truck for a living) and hasn't been able to until now. So hubby got permission and a short two-day run and took him with! He's having fun, but I think he's a little bored and ready to come home. I know it's important to spend a little time with his Daddy and get an idea how hard he works when he's away from us all week. I'm really glad he went! He'll be back tomorrow... hubby will be going back out for the rest of the week... life goes back to normal!

I liked my shorter training week this week.. it was almost relaxing only running three or four miles!!!! Next week kicks it back in high gear as it's only a month before my race!!! AAAHHHH!!!! I know I'll finish, but I'm really hoping I can do well and not embarrass myself. Today was not a running day so I went to the gym to lift and spent 30 minutes on the elliptical.. that thing about kills me! I needed to work out though, because I went out for lunch with the teenager and pretty much ate all my calories for the day! If I wanted dinner, I needed to earn it!!! So I did.. and I ate!

Hope this week of Spring Break goes well.. hubs will be on the road, I'll be at work and the kids will be pretty much on their own!!! Scary, but they are good kids.. and I think I can trust them.. for the most part! I'm sure I'll be checking in with them several times a day. Thanks to cell phones we can stay in touch pretty well!

100 posts... crazy!

Happy April Fool's Day!!!

I'm really not good at the whole practical joke thing... I am super gullable and not at all good at planning stuff on other people. Super sad situation, but it's who I am! So if you got pranked, I'm sorry, but it wasn't me! If you pranked someone else... good for you!

I had a pretty good, but crazy busy, week. I really just feel like I could sleep the whole weekend away, but I know that won't happen. Tomorrow is just a four mile run for me, this is what the call a "taper" week in my training plan. Three smaller runs. Next week kicks it in big time again and gets me all the way to my race five weeks! I know I'll be ready, I'm feeling really good.

On that note, I hit another milestone again yesterday at my weigh in. I made it to within 10 pounds of my first real goal. This was a goal I set for myself two years ago. It's the weight I was when I got married, and haven't managed to get back to since. Looking at all the resources and charts and tables that show what someone my height and build "should" weigh, I really should be five pounds less than what I was going for. I was going to wait and see once I got closer if it was possible for me to lose those extra five pounds, but after how I've been feeling and how my training is going, I figured... why not! So yesterday I changed my goal to that lower weight. I don't know if I'll really get there, or manage to stay there, but if it's possible I really want to try! The last time I was even close, I was 19. In two weeks, I'll be 39!!!! Wouldn't it be something to look better than I did 20 years ago???? Crazy.. but I wasn't the athlete back then than I am now, so I really say anything is possible!

For all of you out there struggling with your weight and fitness goals, I can honestly tell you that there is no magic pill or formula for looking and feeling great. It's all about hard work, tough decisions, and goal setting! Believing in yourself is something you have to learn and once you do you'll know that there is NOTHING you can't do! I'm starting to love myself more than I ever have before, and that's a side effect of my journey that I hadn't expected. Not to sound stuck up or anything.. but I freaking ROCK!!! I'm fun, I'm active, I'm outgoing and friendly, I'm competitive but not obnoxious, and I'm starting to actually think I'm cute!!! I've never really looked at myself that way before, but you know what? I like myself! Are there still things about myself I'd like to change, sure! The roadmap of silver highways on my stomach and upper thighs are not a thing of beauty, but I have a great smile and I'm starting to have one chin instead of two!!!! My upper arms are starting to giggle less and my legs are smokin! All this is to tell you that you are beautiful too!!! You are beautiful because you were created by a loving God who made you for a reason.. and loves you! Goodness, I wish I had known how this feels as a kid. Things could have been so much better back then. But then, those experiences made me who I am, so I'll take it all in stride and move on from here knowing that I'm awesome. God loves me. I love me. And I love SO many people!!! I love you for reading this, because it's got to be just about the most boring thing ever to read, but I love you for sticking with me.

On a lighter note, it's my birthday in two weeks. I'm hopeful I can have a couple friends to go out with for a girls night. Or at least a couple drinks with friends! Whatever, I need a night out!!!! If you're really my friend, and you're ready to celebrate with me, meet me on the 16th for a fun night out! Maybe even Karaoke if we can find it somewhere... who knows? I'd love to rock some socks off!!!!!

God bless!!!!