Orange You Lovely

First of all, I'm so glad I'm not the only person who is phone phobic!  I see so many people with phones pasted to their ears all day long that I sometimes do wonder if I'm a freak.  Maybe so, but at least I have good company!

So, the girls' first foray onto the catwalk was a success!  I say "first" like it's something they're going to do all the time now.  Yeah... no.  I'm not the stage mom type.

We got there early, so the girls could get their hair done.  Since I'm always at work when they go to school, they rarely have anything done to their hair.  They're lucky to get it brushed.  So this was a huge deal to them.

They never get curls.  I don't even own a curling iron.

I love her profile and her upturned nose.

I cracked up when I walked in and saw her on the stylist's phone with the stylist's purse on her lap.  Doesn't she look like some little diva?

My sister's friend, Jenn, has MS and she had a big hand in the fashion show.  She was the one who invited the girls to be in it.  She also made the girls' super cute fabric scrap tutus.  They were just so beautiful...

Extra photo of Olivia because I love this shot of her.

Unfortunately, my shots of them actually walking weren't very good.  I thought I had played with my settings enough to make it easy to just point and shoot, but apparently not.

I got another photo for Aleida's Challenge... I've actually taken 2 pictures with the girls this month!

The girls and their Aunt Crystal.  I think Olivia looks more like her child than mine =)

The girls and Jenn.  4 of the best models of the day!  I'm not biased.  ;)

I have to say, I'm really happy I got so many good shots of Olivia out of this.  She's been really difficult to photograph lately.

Phone Phobic

I detest talking on the phone.  Even when my parents call me, I look at the caller ID and wonder if it's important enough to answer.  I have trouble carrying on a conversation on the phone.  I get distracted very easily and find myself not even paying attention to what the other person is saying.  It's not intentional, I just can't make myself concentrate.

I didn't realize just how little I talked on the phone until last night, though.

Our phone bill was about $30 higher than normal this month, so I decided to investigate.  Turns out, when Mr. Bill was out of town a few weeks ago, he was using his phone for the internet and he never does that, so he doesn't have a data package.  A few days of checking facebook via his phone and he racked up $30 in data fees.  It's no big deal.... he doesn't go out of town often, never really, and he doesn't like using his phone for the internet.  It's basically a one time thing, so the $30 is fine with me.

As I was clicking the tabs to find that information, I came across the breakdown of minutes used.  Last month I used a grand total of 55 minutes!  Wow.  That's less than 2 minutes a day.

Then I got curious and wanted to see if that was normal, so I went through the past year.  55 minutes is actually higher than usual.  Most months were closer to 30 minutes.  One month was 16 minutes.  One month I turned into a blabber mouth and racked up 71 minutes.

I very rarely make a phone call.  I guarantee the majority of those minutes were calls made to me, and probably mostly by my parents.  =)  My Dad is really good at calling to check up on us once a week.  I get really anxious when I have to make a call.  I'll tell myself, "Self, you really need to call your parents."  And I'll sit there and stare at the phone for half an hour until I have to do something else instead.  We're talking about just chit-chatting with my parents, for Pete's sake!  If I have to call someone about something important... I'm usually pacing the floor with my heart pounding.  That's what I mean by phone phobic.  I never just sit back in the evenings and gab on the phone with my friends... it's probably a huge factor in why I really don't have anyone to sit back and gab with on the phone.  That 55 minutes of phone usage last month included a week where Mr. Bill was out of town.... we barely talked to each other while he was gone (granted, with our schedules, we barely talk to each other on a daily basis anyway).  

I guess it makes sense when you consider how socially awkward I am.  Outside of work, I don't talk to many people... my husband, my sister, my parents.  And at work, there are only a few that I can sit around and just talk to.  I can't make small talk.  I just can't.  I'm sure a lot of people at work think I'm a total fruitcake, and they're right, but I  just don't know how to have a conversation with someone I don't know really well.  And if they don't initiate a conversation, it's just not happening.  Sometimes I think I need to work on that.  But that's just who I am, and usually - when I'm not feeling lonely (it's not that often, really) - I'm perfectly fine with it.

Happiness after disappointment

Today was weigh-in day.... 

I was really, really hoping to hit the 30 lb mark today and weigh at or below 237 lbs. 

It was 237.2. 

Ugh!  So close!

I moved a clip anyway.  Take that, scale!

I have a 50 lb goal for this year, so there are 50 clips.  I started this year at 250 (actually, 251, but I just didn't start moving clips until 249) and hope to be at or below 200 by the end of the year.  I've lost (almost) 13 lbs this year.

I only lost .6 lbs this week, and .8 last week.  And yes, that's good, but I had a streak of almost 2lbs per week going.  I decided to stop counting calories to see how well I can manage it on my own.  I'm still losing, but slower.  I'm going to give it one more week, I think.  This week is PMS week and I haven't been as active as usual since the half-marathon, so I think one more week is fair.

We spent the afternoon getting prepared for the girls' fashion show tomorrow.  I took them to get their hair trimmed....

 

And we had to pick out some orange nail polish for their fingers and toes.

 

We ended up with the 2nd from the left, if you cared.  ;)

Then we went to the thrift store to see if I could find a decent orange shirt to wear tomorrow.  In case you didn't guess, the fashion show is orange-themed.  I'm not a fan of orange, so I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a shirt I might never wear again.  But I actually do like this shirt I picked out.  A lot.  Go figure.  While I was there, I thought, "Hey, why not pick up a pair of size 18 jeans for when the 20s get baggy."  I started out in 22s, and the idea of wearing 18s is really freaky to me.  I haven't been below 20s  in 10 years or so.  I found a decent looking pair of Levi's and grabbed them.  So I got home and tried on the shirt, and was pleasantly surprised.  I wasn't going to try on the jeans yet... my 20s are just now comfortable, there's no way I could get the 18s on.  But I did try.  And I did get them on.  I had to "suck it in" and it wasn't entirely comfortable or flattering, but they were on my body!  I'm so excited!  I'm definitely ready to get to where I would wear them out of the house and straight to go buy a pair of 16s!  That's like high school size there!

Excuse-proof plan?

Welcome to my new readers that found me from Runsforcookies.com!  I am just flattered by all the love.  =)

I'm feeling somewhat lost this week, even after registering for another half-marathon.  I'm still a little sore from Sunday, so I don't want to go too crazy with my workouts.  I might just yoga it all week, to be honest.  Half of me misses my Walk at Home videos that made up a huge part of my training, but the other half would rather not do another double side step for quite some time.

However, in addition to registering for my next half, I also have quite a few 5Ks lined up.  The Heart Walk and Tour de Cure (for diabetes) in April.  The MS Walk in May.  And Color Me Rad in June.  I think my husband would have a stroke if he actually knew how much I just paid in registration fees and donations.  =/  I don't plan on running any of those.  I might have my kids at all of them, but definitely Color Me Rad, which is probably the only one I'd be ready for.

Oh, and... side note... speaking of MS.... this coming Saturday, my babies are going to be in a fashion show!  Eek!  The MS Society is putting on a fashion show to benefit the MS Walk and Society and a friend asked if the girls would like to be in it. They are so excited.  Zoe's little sassy catwalk at home is hilarious, if she'll actually do it in public.  They're going to be so cute and I can't wait to show off the pictures.  (For those of you who don't know, my mom has MS, or Multiple Sclerosis)

So, anyway...

Since I'm going to try to run this next race, I have to change up my training.  I love Leslie Sansone, but she's not making any Run at Home videos that I'm aware of.  And I hate running in place.  So awkward.  

I wasn't going to start trying to learn to run until the fall, when I'd have some free time before the girls get home from school, but I need to start now if I hope to run in an October race.  My options are pretty limited... I can't leave the kids alone at home, obviously.  My first thought, I can take them to the track and hope they entertain themselves, but I see that getting a little old for them after a while.  Plus, there's the heat factor in a few months.  I'm a weenie once the temp starts crawling above 80.  

Then, today, I remembered that I'm getting a bonus this week.  It was kind of unexpected, so I didn't make any plans for it.  I'll have $400.  That opens up two other options.  I could get a treadmill, not a great one, but good enough to do the job, I'm sure.  The biggest issue with that is space.  We're crammed into this house as it is, but I could make it work if I had to.  Or.... I can spend $300 on a yearly family membership at the local rec center.  I would have the option of child care (it would run $6 per workout for me, as long as I kept my longer runs to Sundays when I could leave them home), plus access to fitness equipment, fitness classes, the pool and their track is inside so I won't have a heat stroke this summer.  I'll have somewhere to take the girls this summer to swim and Mr. Bill could even workout if so inclined.

The rec center seems like my best bet here.  Far less chance of me using the kids or the heat as a reason to not go run.  Unless they are sick, or I just can't somehow scrape up $6, I have no excuse.  It's a little more intimidating for me to think about learning to run there, but that's something I am going to have to get past.  It's just different thinking about running in circles around people using the gym equipment as opposed to passing people on a trail, you know?  

Mr. Bill approved of the idea.... which actually was his idea a few weeks ago when it was raining and I wasn't sure I could get out to walk, otherwise I probably would never have thought of it. So, Thursday, when I get paid, the girls and I will take a trip to the rec center and get signed up.  They'll be super excited.  I actually had a membership there a few years ago for a month and took them once.  They still ask me when we're going back.  

So, I guess it's just meant to be since things are falling into place so easily?  I'm still kinda scared, but what's that saying? 

Source: etsy.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Little Rock Half-Marathon 2013 (probably the longest post ever)

If you are reading this, I have officially survived!  

Before I get into all the details of the race itself, let's recap the past few months.

In October, I got this wild idea that I could walk a half-marathon.  I was inspired by  Katie, from Runs For Cookies.  She walked a half when she was starting out on her weight loss journey.  Now she's running full marathons and Ragnar relays.  On my list of fitness heroes, she's in the top 3.  

I really didn't think I'd do it, but when I looked at the training schedule and realized that I needed to start right then, I thought "why not just start the training and register later?"  So I did.  I honestly didn't expect myself to make it to the half-marathon... I never finish anything.  19 weeks of training?  Yeah, whatever.  I actually didn't register until late December, just barely squeaking in before they sold out.

I weighed 253 lbs when I started.  I had walked 5Ks, but nothing more.  It's not like I started this thing in any great shape, OK.  I just want that to be clear.

With my and my husband's schedule and our 3 kids, doing the weekday walks was going to be very difficult.  I didn't have an hour or so of free time until it got dark, and well, even then someone should be in the house while the kids sleep.  So, the majority of my weekday walks (which were 2-4 miles) were accomplished with Leslie Sansone Walk-at-Home videos.  I did spend January doing Turbo Jam, but when I went back to WAH videos in February, my pace definitely improved.  I did my long walks on Sundays, when my husband could be home with the kids.

My first 4 mile walk was no big deal.  My first 6 mile was HARD.  I remember being about 5 miles in and thinking "Am I really thinking of doing more than twice this distance?  I'm in misery!".  Then I did something to irritate my peroneal tendon and limped for 3 days.  I really thought I was done right then.

But I got back out there the next Sunday and 6 miles was easy.  And I learned how important stretching was.

My first 8 miler wasn't bad, but the second one.... wasn't 8 miles.  About 3 miles in, my peroneal tendon acted up again and I limped 3 miles back to the van.  I had skipped the previous week's long walk and most of my weekday workouts.  That's how I learned to stick with the plan.  And that's when I think it finally clicked that I was going to do this no matter what.  If I can limp 3 miles and still get back out there the next weekend, there wasn't going to be anything that would stop me.

I started out being so, so sore for a few days after my long walks, to not feeling the least bit sore after walking 12 miles a few weeks ago.  I had walks that left me sick as a dog afterwards because I didn't fuel properly and my blood sugar plummeted.  Every increase in mileage meant adjusting how I did things, not to mention breaking down this mental barrier that kept telling me I'd never be able to walk 10 miles, I'll never finish 12 miles.  I managed to break it down every time, though.  I never quit.

I always quit.  You have no idea how amazed at myself that I trudged through 19 weeks of training, overcoming issues that most people would easily accept as a good reason to quit, and yet - I never quit.

During the course of my training, I dropped about 15 lbs, but I'm still nowhere close to being a model of fitness (yet).  I'm saying that because I hear all the time "I would die if I walked a half-marathon!"  No.  No, you wouldn't.  You might wish for it, especially if you don't train, but you won't die.  If *I* can do it, there is no reason you can't do it.  I don't care if you're in a wheelchair.  There's an option for that when you register.  Not an excuse.  If you have no desire to, that's a valid excuse, but saying you can't is not.

So, let's get to the exciting part!

The butterflies in my belly went into full swing Friday morning when I woke up and realized it was the day to pick up my race packet.  It was cold outside and Zoe looked like someone beat her in the face because she has a sinus infection, but we trudged over there anyway.  Maybe taking Zoe was poor judgement, but she feels fine.  She just looks frightening, poor thing.

We had to navigate the Health Expo going on to get to the packet pick-up area.  My first heart attack occurred when looking up my bib number on the wall and not realizing I had moved over to the 10K list, couldn't find my name.  Dear Lord, don't tell me I did all that and wasn't actually registered!  Which wouldn't make sense considering I got my confirmation ticket to pick up my packet.  I finally realized that I was in the wrong spot, scooted over, and found my name.  Whew!  I got my tshirt, my bib, and my timing chip.  

Yeah.  A timing chip.  I'm feeling all like an athlete now.



We browsed around and I picked up a 13.1 sticker because, yes, I do intend to advertise.   I actually had to resist buying multiple stickers.  One for my van, one for the truck, one for my notebook, one to paste on my forehead....  I controlled myself, though.  I got a pair of socks, though, with 13.1 on the cuff.  I almost got this shirt:



But didn't think it would fit over my boobs.  Just to be honest.  Boobs will always be an issue for me, no matter how much I lose.  I had boobs in 3rd grade.  C'est la vie.

When I checked out, the guy said "Are you running the half?"  I told him that I was actually going to walk it.  He gave me a wink and said "No, you're not going to walk it, you're going to strut it."  Yeah, I will.  Until the final miles when I'll be resembling more of a zombie, but for most of it, I'm sure I will strut.

So... on to the big day!

I woke up at 5am (on a Sunday... ugh!), ate a big breakfast somehow, and got dressed.  Grabbed 3 Larabars, chapstick, and my phone and was off!

It was 25 degrees when I got there.  TWENTY FIVE.  The coldest it's ever been for race day here in Little Rock, and most likely the coldest morning of this winter, period.  How lucky for me.  I tried my best to stay warm, but by the time I got into the corral, I could barely feel my feet.  It took 20 minutes to actually get to the start line once the race started, but once we got moving, my feet thawed out pretty quickly.

I guess my Cardio Trainer on my phone is off or something, because it said I walked 14 miles to the finish.  It's a certified course, so I'm sure it must have been 13.1 like it should be.  I didn't really fuss with my phone too much.  I missed my music, but the rules said no earphones but I was one of the few who followed the rule.  There was water and Gatorade every 2 miles, along with bathrooms (which I managed to not have to use).  The Gatorade made my tummy feel icky, so I stuck with water most of the time.  I ate a Larabar about mile 6, and didn't feel the need for another until the Finish Line.  

I was really pleased with myself, no real aches or pains, no blisters, no mental struggle to get that last 1.1 mile in that I hadn't done in training.  No limping, no feeling like my legs were going to just fall off.  

I crossed the finish at 3 hours 28 minutes (unofficially, that's the time on my phone).

It's big.  And heavy.  =)  The full marathon medals were epic.  8 inches across, 8 lbs, and crystal studded.  Almost makes me want to eventually run a marathon.  Almost.

 

My sister and her husband met me as soon as I found my way out of the madness.  She had flowers for me =).  Then my kids tackled me and I got a kiss and a hug from my hubby.  My sister also had hummus for me.  I don't normally eat hummus, because I don't eat legumes or grain (in the pretzels), but I felt a treat was in order, for sure.

 

 And that's that.  I made my way back to the truck and went home to shower and try to nap.  My fitbit says I walked a total of 17 miles including walks to and from the truck and wandering around trying not to freeze before the race.  Not bad.  =)

Here's the crazy part... for most of my training, I said "I am never, ever, ever doing anything like this again!"  And then I started planning on learning to run so that I can run next year's half.  What's even crazier?  My next half marathon isn't next year.  I found another half.  In October.  And I am still going to try to run it.  I might not be able to run 13.1 miles without walking, but I am going to give it my best.  Because I finally know it's in there, and am loving getting it out.  So, hello C25K, let's get this started!

Hey, something different!

I know lately I don't have much to talk about other than walking and weight loss.  It's winter... there's really not much else going on, to be honest.  I haven't gotten even close to my sewing machine (although Easter creeping up makes me want to sew), and I honestly don't think I've made one bit of progress on anything crochet since I last mentioned it.  So really, that's about all that's going on.

But, luckily for all of us, today I have something else to talk about!

A few weeks ago, I got an email from a friend that I play Pokeno with (not that I play hardly ever, but still...).  Rhonda has a 10 year old step-daughter and said she'd like to get all the girls together for a play date.  She wants to get to know my kids better so she can babysit for me sometime.  I was seriously touched...  I haven't had anyone watch my kids other than my sister in years.  

We finally picked a weekend and she arranged it all.  Boy, can she arrange a play date!  It was all about Pizza, Puppies, and Ponies!

After eating pizza for lunch, we headed over to one of her friends' farm.  She takes in a lot of rescue animals.  They had rescued a chihuahua from a man living in his car doing drugs and he ended up getting busy with one of her dogs and, well, you know how it goes.  She had 5 two-week-old puppies.  My kids loooooove little dogs.  Isabelle and Zoe are terrified of anything bigger than can fit in their lap, though.  They were nervous around the chihuahua... he was a full-sized one, not one of those little tiny ones.  



My sister came along to check out the puppies.  My parents recently had to put down their 14 year old dog, and haven't decided yet if they want another dog.... but just in case, Rhonda thought we could check out the puppies and see if we thought my parents might like one.  Honestly, I don't think my parents are up for a puppy, but they certainly were sweet little things.



Heck, I wanted this one and I don't even want a dog.  Look at that face!



The puppies were definitely a hit.  =)

Then we headed off to see the horses!  They also take in a lot of rescue horses.  I have to admit, I'm not much of an animal person, but I would never in a million years hurt an animal and can't understand why some people do.  And horses are just so beautiful and gentle creatures....



They fed some of the horses treats before we headed off to the ones that were more used to being around kids. 



Of course, Isabelle was terrified.  I literally had to carry her into the barn.  They found her some toys to play with in the tack room, but we did eventually get her outside to see the horses.



This is Rolex.  I liked Rolex.  He was the least friendliest horse and would usually walk off if we got too close, but my sister and I both managed to make friends with him before the end of the day.  He'd been abused, so you just had to be really quiet and slow around him.  He stayed away from the kids altogether.  Can't blame him, they are never slow or quiet.



Jewel was very friendly.  She had the most noticeable winter coat, too, so she looked like a big teddy bear.  Olivia liked the horses... from the ground.  



Not so much from the saddle.  



Zoe absolutely loved riding, though.  Of course.... she's my fearless child.  You'd think Isabelle would be the fearless one, not little Dodo, but that child is not afraid to try anything.



We managed to get Isabelle on a horse, but only if the horse didn't move.

After all of that, the girls got to ride around in the golf cart and they built a fire to make s'mores.



Can't go wrong with s'mores!

It was just so much fun!  Everyone was so nice and the girls were completely worn out.  Me, too.  =)

Numbers

Twenty-five.

That's the number of pounds I've lost!  I am so excited about that.  It's actually 50 lbs from my absolute highest.  8 lbs towards my 50 lb goal for the year.

Twelve.

That's the number of miles I walked Sunday (consecutively... it was more than that for the whole day, obviously).  And I realized that this entire experience is just as much mental conditioning as physical conditioning.  My body will walk until I collapse, it won't stop until my brain tells it to stop.  Those last 2 miles Sunday were brutal - not so much physically, but mentally. 

The half-marathon is in less than 3 weeks!  I have an 8 mile walk this coming weekend, a 6 miler the next, and then it's the big day!  I cannot wait to get that medal in my hands.  =)  It's 4 inches...  not as big as the huge 8 inch marathon medal, but still!  The Little Rock Marathon is known for its medals.

Four.

That's the number of days next week that Mr. Bill is going to be out of town.  This is a dilemma of epic proportions.  He's the one who get the girls up and ready for school, and takes them to school.  I have to be at work at 5:30am.  They have to be at school at 7:30am and 8:30am.  How on earth am I going to make this work?  It wouldn't be so bad, except we're short-handed at work and if I'm not there, the other girl is all by herself.  The only thing I can think of at the moment is getting the girls up and taking them to work with me, and then taking them to school, but that's going to seriously screw up their sleep.  The other girl at work closes, so I can't really ask her to come in and open, too.  I just don't know what to do.  I'll figure it out... that's what I do...