Crazy Busy Day!!!

That's about the only way to describe it! Crazy. Busy. And now, it's done. Work was crazy, we had a new piece of equipment arrive, so there was installation and training. We had two sales reps come in (at the same time as the training) so we had to give them some attention. We had plenty of patients to keep us busy and other work that we do everyday. Crazy.

But what was crazier for me personally was the evening! I sing in the choir that we have for Easter (and Thanksgiving, but of course that's in November!) and generally we practice the three weeks before the big day and then the service. Usually those practices are on Thursday which works out so great for me with that being my day off. Tuesday's I usually don't get out until 5:30, then I generally come home and check in with the kids and have supper, then hit the gym and get home in time for Biggest Loser! This routine has been working and I was in no mind to change it, but this week the choir practice got moved to Tuesday. Mix it up! So, after work I ran. I had 4 miles planned and managed the whole thing!!! I live in a great city that is very friendly to runners. I was able to run in town since I had to be up at church and didn't have time to go home. I finished my four miles, stopped in to the gas station for a protein bar and bottle of water (forgot mine!) and walked the few blocks back to church.

Yes, I stunk up the place, but it was all good! The music we're doing is fun and meaningful and I'm sure will be a hit! Nothing quite caps off a busy day like an hour of singing for me. Oh, and I'm singing this week in band, and next week for special music, and the week after that at a different church. Not to mention last weekend when I sang and played guitar for my friend's church.. I guess I'm in demand!! LOL! Seriously, I'm so happy to be able to do this, it makes my heart happy!!!! Plus I feel like I'm finally using my talents and that's awesome!!!

Tomorrow is our final evening of Bible study for the year. Always bittersweet for me. I love those ladies, love studying with them and learning from them, but it's a lot of work and I like the break as well. At least I still have all my music stuff going on!!!!!

TTFN.....

Back In The Saddle....

Yup, my back is better!! YEAH!!!! This is such a relief. I was able to run my full seven miles this morning, then proceeded to go shopping for a couple hours where I was able to not only fit in some size mediums, but I LOVED them!!!! Can't believe I used to be an XL, and I plan to get rid of those as soon as I can. I really need to clean out the closet again and donate several bags of clothes, but I may have to wait for summer so I can have a couple days to do it.

On another note... I have a friend who had her first baby this week and I was finally able to go meet Mara today! She's the perfect little angel baby! Perfect face, perfect skin, perfect lips... just the sweetest little thing!!! I was so happy to hold her and get my baby fix.. I needed that! I have another friend due the day before my birthday, so I should be able to get another fix in about three weeks!!!! YEAH!

Catching up on some tv tonight, enjoyed some time with my husband as well. I love that he gets a lot of weekends off with this job, makes it worth it for him to be gone during the week. Plus he does like what he's doing, so that also makes it worth it!

My older son is supposed to take driver's training soon but we have a deal about his grades. He's finally getting where he should be. This means I am going to have to pay for the lessons. Great. Braces and driver's ed all in one year!!! This kid is expensive!!!! And I love him so much...

The Ups and Downs....

So the back is better... not completely better, but it's better. It was better enough this morning to go for a run. It was extremely bitter cold this morning and had been damp so there was ice on some of the sidewalks and so because of that and a couple other reasons I went to the gym. I jumped on the treadmill and started jogging. It wasn't bad, so after a mile I went up to a quicker pace. My plan for today was six miles. I made it three. I consider that a small victory, considering how I felt the past three days! Still, I am disappointed that I am just not going to get the miles in this week that I was supposed to for my training. I don't know what this means in the end, I mean I know I'll finish the race, I was just hoping to make a decent time. I suppose if this means I don't hit my goal time I will survive, but I may just surprise myself!

My boys both have birthdays this week. One was yesterday, the other today. I love that they are so close together, I never have to worry if I forget what I did for the other.. very easy to keep things even! Tonight my hubby was even home from his run and didn't have to leave until tomorrow morning so we went to Applebee's for supper! Yum! Of course, that means my sodium is way over for the day and that's alright. The boys were adamant that we not tell the server that it was they're birthday. I really wanted them to be sung to, but they wouldn't have any part of it!! Even after I told them they could have the free ice cream! Crazy boys...

This afternoon I had a quick hour between some things and stopped quick at Old Navy and Gap Outlet... tried on some pants and actually found that a size 10 fits nicely on my new shape!!! That was a great big surprise and yet it shouldn't be... I'm still getting used to the new me!!! The other surprise was when I tried on some tops, I can now wear a medium!!! That's just amazing!!! I'm loving all this hard work.. it's truly paying off!

This was a hodgepodge post, but it's all good... now if I can get in my seven miles on Saturday I'll be super happy!!! Oh, and I also need to get a baby fix this weekend since my co-worker had her baby on Tuesday night!!! Welcome to the world little Mara!!!!

So Yup, That Stinks...

This back/hip pain is NOT fun. I didn't run tonight. Totally had to pass on my 5k. I've been icing and resting and I think it's going to be fine, but I hate having to be sidelined like this! Really hope that this doesn't mess up my 10k training, but I think if I can get back on track later in the week I'll be ok. I sure hope so!!!!

Besides that, nothing is going on... oh yeah... except I have two birthday boys in my house this week!!!!

Happy 15th Birthday Tom (tomorrow)
and Happy 12th Birthday David (Thursday)!!!

Yes, they actually had the same due date... I'm nothing if not consistent!!!!

Ouch....

Yup. I hurt my lower back. It really hurts. I'm not sure if I'll be able to run tomorrow. That really makes me mad. Damn exercise. Crappy weather. I'm not happy today at ALL!!!!

That's it.. I'm sorry there just isn't any more. Ouch.

The Holy Alphabet

I did not write this, but stole it off of someone and thought it was beautiful. Whoever came up with this one must have had some Divine guidance!


Although things are not perfect

Because of trial or pain

Continue in thanksgiving

Do not begin to blame

Even when the times are hard

Fierce winds are bound to blow

God is forever able

Hold on to what you know

Imagine life without His love

Joy would cease to be

Keep thanking Him for all the things

Love imparts to thee

Move out of "Camp Complaining"

No weapon that is known

On earth can yield the power

Praise can do alone

Quit looking at the future

Redeem the time at hand

Start every day with worship

To "thank" is a command

Until we see Him coming

Victorious in the sky

We'll run the race with gratitude

Xalting God most high

Yes, there'll be good times and yes some will be bad, but...

Zion waits in glory...where none are ever sad!


"I AM Too blessed to be stressed!" The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor.

The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything. Love and peace be with you forever, Amen.


~Author Unknown~

Just a Quickie...

No, not that kind... get your mind out of the gutter!!!!

I'm home from work, we've already had dinner, dropping off the little man at a middle school dance and then hitting the gym tonight! Not bad for a Friday? The best part, hubby's home for the weekend so we all ate dinner at the table together which we rarely get to do, and we did it in our own house instead of a restaurant like we do too often!

Realized something yesterday... I weigh in on Thursday's, mostly because since I have the day off I tend to work out in the morning so I hit the gym and weigh in right away. Their scale works, mine is not accurate at all. Yesterday was a gorgeous spring day and I was going to run 5 miles, so instead of going to the gym I decided to head out and hit the sidewalks! Well, I still wanted to weigh in, so I jogged up to the gym, weighed in, and continued on my way! The hard part was, I weighed exactly the same as last week. Not even a .1 difference! Now, at certain times in my life this would have left me feeling defeated or like a complete and total failure, I'd have packed it up and drowned my sorrows in a bag of Hershey miniatures or something... seriously. But then I remembered that two weeks ago I did the same thing. Then last week I'd lost three pounds! So maybe my body is just like that... lose nothing one week, and a couple pounds the next? It's certainly possible.. and I'm going to do everything I need to do to make sure that's what happens! So instead of swallowing my sorrows... I finished the fastest 5 mile run I've done yet!!! I felt great! I ate within my calories for the day, even skipping the Shamrock Shake I desparately wanted and had lime flavored Greek yogurt with granola instead! I made good decisions, I made healthy decisions... and you know what? I'm doing it again today! I will not let this get me down, I will continue to eat right, watch every bite, workout and wait until next Thursday. Hopefully then I'll see at least one pound lost. If not... I'll do it again another week! Because I am not a number on the scale. I am a healthy and fun woman who is now fitter than she's ever been and loves it! I'm running my first seven miler this weekend. I'm confident that not only will I finish, I'll finish strong!

Then tomorrow night I'm playing laser tag with my family... I will kick some BUTT!!!!!!

Inspiration or Insanity????

You be the judge!!! So everyone knows I'm training for my first 10k, right? Well, it's going great, I'm following my training plan to a T and feeling really good. Love my new shoes and my new supportive garments and the girls and the feet are happy. So tonight I'm at the gym, I was on schedule to do an "easy" two miles which I rocked out on the treadmill and then lifted weights for a half hour since I'd been sick and hadn't lifted since last week. On my way out I notices a stack of fliers for several different races and one I hadn't noticed before was for a 5k for next week Tuesday here in my town. So I got home and looked it up online and said what the heck! Signed up for it!!! It's after work, and I'm scheduled to do another 2 miles that night anyway, so why not go for a 5k (which is 3.2 miles just in case you didn't know that)!!!! Hope it doesn't throw me off, I don't think it will, but I just needed to feel that rush of a bunch of runners racing together! It's labeled as a run/walk, so it's probably not all that competitive, which is fine with me. I just hope I run as fast or close to as fast as I ran the one last fall. We shall see!!!

Anyway, the weather's looking up! Supposed to be sunny and 60 on Thursday (my day off) and if at all possible I'm doing my 5 miles OUTSIDE!!!! I did my Sunday runs outside the past two weeks and it was great, so I'm really looking forward to that feeling of fresh air and wind in my face again!

So call me inspired, or call me crazy... I'm racing next Tuesday! It's all for a good cause anyway.. it's raising money for an organization called SoleAid which sends shoes to people in need, and that's a great thing!

Utterly Craptastic...

Yup, that's how I'm going to put the last three days. Last Tuesday my throat started feeling scratchy and my voice was a little raw, but like the trooper I am I powered through. Wednesday, more of the same if not a little worse... same for Thursday, a little worse. By Friday morning, I had no voice, felt like I'd been run over by a truck and just wanted to curl into a ball and sleep for three days. I went to work, because that's how I am, and ended up coming home after two hours. Just felt awful. Spent the day in bed, forced myself to get up in the evening and actually eat something even though nothing sounded good and drank as much water as I could.

So Saturday, more of the same. A teeny tiny voice and scratch throat and feeling pooey. Again, forced myself to eat and drink enough to not be completely zonked out and watched movies and slept all day. By the evening I was starting to turn the corner, though, and was hopeful for today.

So Sunday morning.. I actually feel pretty good! I can tell I spent the past two days in bed, I'm tired and stiff, but overall the voice is stronger and the scratchiness is gone. So I get up and head to church where the little man realizes he has a fever and we end up leaving early. Get him home on the couch with some meds and he's doing fine now, but what a craptastic weekend! Since I was feeling better today I did end up doing my workout. Wasn't sure I would make the whole run, since my training plan called for six miles today, but I did it! I was pretty wiped out when I got home, but I was really glad that I had made myself eat so I wasn't completely without fuel. Made a huge difference I think!

Looking forward to a week with no sickness.. from me or my kids! I truly hope that happens because I hate it when I'm sick and of course as a Mom I hate when my kids are sick too!!! My 10k training has me running a total of 14 miles this week... let's hope I can complete that! I'm feeling really good about finishing the race at this point (I've completed the distance or very close twice now) but I'd like to see a certain time and if I hit that I'm going to be incredibly happy and proud!!! Of course, just finishing is the true goal, but now that I know I can, I really want to be under a certain time!!! It's a runner thing... I still can't believe I'm a runner!

On the good note, Thursday when I weighed in before my workout I was down another 1.8 pounds! This keeping track of my calories in and out is really working! Anyone who needs help with their weight or just wants to get more fit should really check out myfitnesspal.com... highly recommend it!

TTFN!

The Mark Of The Cross.

So today is Ash Wednesday. Growing up I didn't get to church a lot, even though we started out that way, but that's another story for another day, but needless to say, I never really "got" what Ash Wednesday was really about. The church I go to now is wonderful and very Scripture based, which is important, and even though I don't know where "Ash Wednesday" is in scripture (I don't think it's in there at all) I learned some important reasons we remember that day.

Of course, it marks the beginning of Lent, which is the 40 days leading up to the Crucifixion, but what exactly does Lent mean? I always thought it meant just that we should give up something to symbolize Jesus' 40 days in the desert, or that since He sacrificed Himself for us that we should sacrifice something for His sake. Well, not that those things are wrong, but my pastor tonight pointed something out that I hadn't ever thought of. When we give up chocolate (or dessert, or french fries) our focus is put on NOT having those things, therefore we focus on the thing, and not on Jesus. The point of this sacrifice is NOT supposed to take our focus off of Jesus, but it does! Clueless... we simple humans are just clueless, I tell ya!

So tonight instead of giving up something (which of course I'm doing because I'm now tracking every bite of food that goes in my mouth anyway) my focus is going to be daily time with God. Reading, journaling (some of that might be here), songwriting (if the Spirit moves me), and prayer will be something I deliberately put on my schedule every day. Bringing me closer to God instead of focusing on what I might be denying myself. That never goes well for me, if it works for you that's great, but I'm not good at it!

So anyway, I just wanted to share my little revelation tonight. It felt really good to spend tonight with my church family and learn a little more about this day. What a great God we have!!!

On a completely different note... I had SO many people today tell me how skinny I'm getting... and that felt amazing! I think I've learned to take a compliment! It's ok to say "thanks" when someone tells you that you look good, instead of saying how much you still have to lose!!! It's hard, but I'm learning!!!! My pants were practically falling off me all day... more shopping is in my near future. I love that!!!!

TTFN!

Wow, Crazy Weekend!!!

Well, my husband had a crazy end to his week with his brand new truck breaking down... twice! And got home much later than expected, then had to turn around and leave again today. Just crazy! At least we got to have a nice meal together before he had to leave... until next weekend!

So Saturday my sister and I went to Novi to the Twelve Oaks mall, which we love for many reasons, to shop for new clothes and of course some makeup! Ok, clothes first... we are both on a journey to new healthy lives and as we've both lost a significant amount of weight since last summer, nothing fits!! This is a good problem, but it gets expensive! So little by little we are replacing our wardrobes and had a great time spending lots of time in dressing rooms all over the mall on Saturday! The best part about shopping with my sister is that we are very similar in size, but slightly different in builds. So if she picked up something cute, but it didn't quite work on her, it might fit me.. and vice versa! How fun! We both scored some cute stuff... and spent too much I'm sure!

The second thing we love about this mall is the store called Lush. Now, I think I've talked about Lush before, but I have an obsession with their products that borderlines on the insane!!! My skin looks and feels amazing and I needed a few things that I was either out of or wanted to try.. and a few for good measure!!! Wish it wasn't so far away, but at least then I don't go as often as I would if it were closer!!!!

We also met up with a friend of mine from my days at WMU!!! It was so good to see her again.. we haven't spent any time together in 16+ years, and I just love her to death!! Next time we go I'll have to get even more people together, what a great time!!!!

Today was my running day, since I didn't run yesterday with all the mall walking we did. My plan was for an "easy" 6 miles.. and I ROCKED it out!! Even went a little faster than planned, but it felt amazing so I'm not worried!!! I'm a little stiff now a couple hours later, but nothing a good night's sleep won't cure! Now if I could just figure out how to go more than 4 miles without a potty break! I'm serious! It sucks!!!!

Anyway, before I get into TMI, I'll sign off. It was a crazy beautiful weekend with some crazy beautiful people... and I loved it!!

TTFN!

Awesome Amazing Outstanding Day!!!

Yup, that's exactly what this was!!!!

Ok, so here's the story.... First, I got to sleep in (after walking up the kid for school) which I ALWAYS love. Amazing to be able to sleep until my body says it's had enough and it's time to get up. Nothing quite like it!

Second, I went to the gym and actually lost three pounds since two weeks ago (last week I stayed the same) so that was awesome! Even did a little dance when I got off the scale, which is wierd in public, but I really didn't care!!!!

Third, I ran five miles! Today's training run (I'm using an app called Runner's World Smartcoach that gives detailed training guides for you based on your current level and what race you want to run and how long you have to train) was one warm up mile (piece of cake) then three miles at a quicker pace (was a little worried, but no problem) then a cool down mile. You know what??? I ROCKED it!!!! The only thing I haven't figured out is why after about 3-4 miles I have to use the bathroom!!! I hope I can figure that out before my race!!! I'd hate to have to drop out to use the potty or find a tree or something, very embarrassin!!!!!

Fourth, lunch on my own at Panera. I heart Panera. Seriously, I crave the Greek salad like there's no tomorrow! It's an obsession, and one I give in to regularly. Love. The. Panera.

Ok, so then I went to Aldi for a few quick things which was fine, but then the FIFTH thing was maybe the best thing all day... TOM MADE THE HONOR ROLL!!!! My son, who is in the ninth grade, has always struggled in school. He's very smart, but has very little self-motivation and I think his self-esteem must be low too because he rarely speaks up for himself or whatever. Well, he started this year in a special alternative school and it was totally the right place for him. He's still been struggling, but I've seen some maturity coming to him that I'm just so impressed with. He's growing up and I'm super proud of him. The kid has never had good grades, EVER, so today when I saw that I got all teary!!! I'm hoping he keeps it going, and I already told him he gets whatever treat he wants this weekend!!! Yeah Tom!!!

The last thing was band practice. This is something I look forward to so much, not only because I LOVE to sing and play, but because the people are awesome! So I got to get my praise on tonight and it just sits so well in my soul! God is good. He's been super good to me today and I just thank him for everything that happened today!!!

I'm one blessed and happy mama...

Ok, Can I Just Say....

I had a sort of mini-revelation today. I know, not a big build up, but that's what it feels like. I've been saying that my new health centered lifestyle is because I want to live long (and proper? LOL!) but my mini-revelation today was... I'm worth it! Yes, I'm doing this for my husband and kids and future grandkids... but I'm worth it, RIGHT NOW!!!! I'm doing this so I can be a spunky 80 year old who straps on the running shoes and hits the beach in the morning and evening and runs 5k's all over the freaking world.. and so I can play catch with my grandkids.. and so I can dance at my granddaughter's wedding!!!! Yes, that's all important and are good reasons in themselves, but you know what???? I'm WORTH it NOW!! I want to be healthy and fit and fun and full of energy and damn it.. I want to be HOT!!!! Why the heck not! I'm freaking WORTH it!!!!

Ok.. enough of that for the night. I just had to get it out there... thanks for playing!

Had a great "easy 2 miles" tonight on the treadmill. Amazing that I could do an easy anything a year ago! There's a harder run planned for Thursday and again for Saturday, but I'm ready! Bring it on! I love that I have more energy now, that I've been told I have a sparkle that I never had before. What a compliment that is!!! Who knew I could wake up in the morning and sparkle??? For someone who's not a morning person, that's amazing. Truly amazing!

Got to get another quick bite to eat before my day is done... TTFN!