San Fran

I love San Francisco! I always look forward to coming here. It is a city rich in history, yet always improving and changing. I am always in awe at the rich and vast diversity that can be seen here. That lady has on Louboutin shoes while the grey haired homeless twins sitting on the curb with their shopping cart filled with their worldly possessions are wearing nameless boat shoes. It perplexes me and saddens me to see another homeless person squatting in the corner of a doorway taking care of business.

Brian has a business trip to San Fran and we decided to make a quick childless, dogless trip out of it. Yes!!

Sooo yesterday we packed up the dogs and the kids and all of their stuff and dropped everything off at their respective care takers and headed off to the airport. Once we got to the airport long term parking we noticed the signs posted that you can check your bags way out at the long term parking lot and not have to schlep them on the tram to the terminal. Excellent. It was quick and since it is a new service there was absolutely no line at all. We parked the car and got on the new shuttle. It is a computerized and high tech vehicle with no driver that runs on a track. As you enter, it welcomes you to the "friendliest airport in America" ha.

Things are going smoothly but will soon get better. Once we are in the terminal we go to Paradise Bakery to get some breakfast. Then we head to our gate. Once we are able to find a seat at our busy gate we hear an announcement that there are first class seats available for $100. mmmm I look over at Brian and smile. We had already been tempted with an email a couple of days earlier that we could upgrade to first class for $150/person but declined. Good thing, cuz I would have been peeved if I paid the $150 ahead of time and then got there to see that others were paying $100. snort. So my wonderful husband dutifully got up and went to inquire about the said first class seats. Next thing you know, we are one of the first to board the aircraft and sitting in first class. Lots of leg room. Our own pillow and blanket that we don't have to fight for. Drinks before we depart. Snacks and more snacks. More drinks once we are air born. Very friendly service. You get the picture. Happy Mother's Day to me. :)

Fast forward. We arrive, get our bag, get a taxi to the hotel and arrive at the hotel. We are greeted at the Palace hotel by a very friendly check in employee. I'm sure they get paid to be friendly, but it is nice when one gets the feeling that they are genuinely friendly. Our room is ready early and we can proceed to drop our stuff off and come up with a plan.

We decide we need lunch and want dim sum. Off to the concierge to find out how far Chinatown is. Concierge-man says that there is no need to go all the way to Chinatown and that there is a fantastic dim sum place called Yank Sing 1.5 blocks away. He calls them to let them know that we are on our way and could they please have a table ready for us. We walk straight ahead "90 degrees"(?? inside joke) to the dim sum restaurant and they are ready for us. We get seated and begin one of the best dim sum dinners that we have ever had. The food was good...REALLY good!! Yay Yank Sing!!



Clockwise, starting on the far left. Pork soup potstickers with the red wine vinegar and ginger sauce to put over the top. These potstickers had a little ball of pork filling and broth inside each pouch. Next, at 12'oclock, is the sea bass. I will be dreaming of this sea bass for the rest of my life. It was perfectly cooked, buttery, supple, melt in your mouth goodness. Shrimp egg rolls are crispy and delightful. Potstickers, always a must.



We ordered hot tea and were brought a beautiful clear teapot with jasmine tea inside. Flowery and delicious. I love this tea pot because we could sit and watch as the tea leaves were steeping and the spout was perfectly designed to pour the tea without a drip. One little secret of mine, I can never end a dim sum meal until I have had my egg custard tarts. These were still warm and delicious.



Here is a picture of our to go bag and the chocolate fortune cookies that had a happy Mother's Day wish inside.

I'm full and want a nap, but we decide to walk off our meal and go shopping. If you know me, you know I'm not really a shopper unless it has something to do with kitchen gadgetry. But it's just me and my man and he's offering to shop, so what can I say. We went into the 7 floor Macys, the William Sonoma, a ton of clothing stores with $2000 jackets. I did find a fabulous turqoise wrap around bracelet at Lucky Brand and it became even more fabulous when I was checking out and it rang up at 30% off.



We walked around Union Square Park, up and down Geary, Powell and Market streets until my sore foot could handle no more. I'm not sure what I was thinking, or not thinking when I chose to wear my cute polkadot shoes over my functional Nikes, but it was bad and I was hobbling and my leg was cramping.

So we took a little break in our room to rest my foot and eat a banana.

After resting and Face-timing with my children we were ready to head out and hit the town again.

Shopping trip part deux brought us to the large and amazing Gap store where I found one of those long striped skirts. I have been pining for one of these maxi skirts for a while now. I don't like that they are called Maxi skirts, its weird and reminds me of Maxi Pads. huh But I got it anyways along with a darling polkadot tank top that I couldn't resist. I cannot resist anything with polkadots.



After shopping we decided to have a late dinner at a steak place called John's Grill. Brian had fish with a great butter sauce and I had a steak. The place has been there forever and is filled with famous movie star pictures. It was good, but not great and when I'm in San Fran, I'm looking for great!

We decided to stop at Ghirardelli Ice Cream for dessert on the way back to the hotel which made me feel like I wanted to explode.

The first afternoon in San Francisco was a huge success. We were met by lovely, friendly people and had a lot of good luck come our way. I just hope we didn't use up all our good luck on the first day.

Viking women love to run around San Francisco.


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Wednesday--Date Night with Hannah

I just realized that it is Wednesday. I love Wednesdays because it is my split shift day and I get the whole afternoon off to myself, but more importantly because it is my date night with my cute and fun team and friend, Hannah.

Sometimes we just go out for a drink, sometimes we just hang out and chat. Since I am a lover of food, I like when we go out for dinner. Last week we had Mexican. I love Mexican food with all it's spicy delicious cheesy goodness. Mmmmm

I wonder what we will choose for tonight?

Getting together with friends is good for you. It's good for your soul. It's good to be able to vent and laugh with each other. If you haven't been out with a friend in a while, you should make it a priority to make a date soon.


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Secret Slob

Shhhhh..... Don't tell anyone, but I am a secret slob. Actually, who am I kidding? Many of you may already know this about me and are snorting and saying "who is she kidding!?" My personality is an "all or nothing" type of OCD. If I can't have it perfect, I don't want it at all. Yep, that sums it up.

I decided that it was time...I needed to clean my counter off. I knew there was money and Starbucks cards hiding beneath the pile of junk, so that added to the tiny pinch of motivation mixed with a huge tablespoon of repulsion and a dash of fear that someone might actually see this mess that I call home encouraged me to get the shovel out. Here is the before picture.



Yes, like I said, I am a closet slob.

A lot of that pile was trash. Some of the things had actual homes. "A place for everything, and everything in it's place" is my cleaning mantra.

Doesn't it feel good to organize and clean something? Maybe that's why I let things get so bad. I love that excellent feeling if accomplishment that one gets after making something that is SO wrong right again.

Here is my clean, sparkling sense of accomplishment.



Yep, there really is a counter under there along with a Baggie full of change and three, count em, three Starbucks cards. Score!!


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Football Funday

Today is Superbowl Sunday, Football Funday.

I don't really watch football. In fact, if football is on tv it has the effect of lulling me to sleep better than a Tylenol PM/NyQuil cocktail.

But today is different. I love going to our annual party and noshing on all the delicious treats everyone has prepared for the big game. I love how everyone dresses up in their football best. I love watching the commercials, AND, I will even muster some enthusiasm for the game itself.

This year the party will take on a New Orleans theme. I wanted to bring shrimp toasts, but I have never made them before and they seem to be a little to labor intensive after a long weekend of dog shows. So, I have decided to stick with the shrimp and put them on sticks. Ha. I'm gonna make BBQ'd Cajun shrimp on skewers with a remoulade dipping sauce. Sounds scrumptious? Just take a look at these babies!!




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Location:E Mead Pl,Chandler,United States

Running at dog shows

Today is the first of 4 days of dog shows.

I told myself I would not become a crazy dog lady.

I lied.

I have two beautiful Hungarian Vizslas that I think are the best.

Soooo

I take classes to learn to "run" with my dogs. The down and back. The around. Being able to look at where you are going, your dog and the judge at the same time is tricky business. That's why I take lessons.

I hear tips like: you are going to slow, you are going too fast, you are weaving, dance with your dog, look at the judge, smile, look at your dog, look where you are going, your dog is pacing, get your bait out, put your bait away, smile...

At the same time we are supposed to be having fun. It is fun...I guess. I am a competitive person and even though I tell myself that this is good practice and its good experience and its ok if we don't win, I really want to win. It would be f'ing awesome to win.

Yep, I run in the ring.


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Christmas is in the air

Today is my last day off by myself before my kids are off with me. The sun is out and it is another beautiful day. I think I have everything done that I need to accomplish before they are off with me messing up my house and eating all the food. Oh, that does remind me, I need to hide some cookies and oreo balls so that we will have some for our Gregory Christmas up in Showlow later next week. If I don't, the kids, husband and possibly dogs will eat up all my hard work.

Speaking of dogs, my dogs ate my special Godiva dark chocolate candy bar that I had started eating and put down just for a nano second last night. I am upset and worried that one or both of my hounds will have chocolate poisoning, but I am more upset that my special treat was inhaled before I even knew what was going on. C'mon!! It was Godiva. They were probably exacting revenge on me for forcing them to wear the reindeer antlers for a recent photo shoot. In fact, I think if you look into Dayzee's eyes, you can almost hear her thinking "I will get you back when you least expect it."

Yesterday we made a big double batch of these awesomely thin and crisp Heath bit sugar cookies. These are definitely the easiest cookie to make and everyone loves them. Brian took a bunch into work and I will give some to our neighbors and we will have a few left for Christmas. Today we will do more baking, but first I need to make a dreaded trip to the grocery store. I have a love hate relationship with the grocery store. I'm fine when I'm there but I hate going and checking out and schlepping everything to my car. Enough said. It is a necessary evil.

Another necessary evil this time of year is wrapping gifts... ugh... double ughh... I do not care for that job at all. In a previous life, I was a professional gift wrapper at Mervyn's. I can wrap me a mean gift, but that doesn't mean I have to like doing it.

Joy to the world. Happy Holidays. Merry Christmas. Enjoy your family traditions and have a great time  remembering the reason for the season.

Here we are waiting to start the Hot Chocolate 5k. It was cold, but not unbearable. We found the location and were parked in no time at all. Very smooth considering there were about 7,000 of us.

I am super proud of my 12 year old daughter, Cassi, who ran her first 5k. She did great and came in 108th in her age group.

My friends Debbie and Cherame rocked the race and both ran the whole way!

Kristi, her daughter Madi, Hannah and I took the walk/run or run/walk approach. I came in 404th out of 470 in my age group. Nothing to brag about, but I'm happy that I was able to run part of it, didn't stop and give up when I really wanted to AND I wasn't last, which is my biggest fear.

I have to say that the little training that I did do for the Disneyland 5k really helped because I did absolutely no training this time and I could tell. It felt harder. I think part of this feeling was mental, I mean, who wouldn't want to run through Disneyland? In September I knew my way around. I knew when I was about 1/2 way done. I knew when I was close to the end. For this 5k I had no idea where I was going or where I had been and I haven't developed an internal clock to gauge the distance.

Luckily my friend Hannah was with me. She had a fancy watch on and could tell how we were doing. She was also super sweet and supportive and told me what a great job I did after each run segment. This sweetness I will accept, because it helped offset all the negative self talk that streams through my brain.

The best part about this race? Three things immediately come to mind: good friends, no blisters and chocolate and dancing at the finish line. :)

Do Viking women run? Sometimes...




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Will Run for Chocolate

Bright and early tomorrow morning when it won't be bright because it will be so early that it will still be dark Cassi and I will do the Hot Chocolate 5k with a bunch of friends. It will be awesome. Cold, but awesome. We need to keep our eyes on the prize. The mouth wateringly delicious chocolate that awaits us at the finish line. I'm excited. I haven't trained at all, but it will be fine because I know I can walk/run it.

Good luck to everyone going out tomorrow. I hope there's enough parking for all 10,000 of us.

Now if you will excuse me. I need to go look at the map one more time. Get my outfit out and ready. Make sure I have everything I need and crash.





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Another weekend bites

The dust, that is.

What happened to my weekend!?! Seriously? It's gone and I didn't get anything done.

No shopping (except for our photo shoot), no cookies, no Christmas decorations, no Christmas tree. :(

Don't get me wrong. I had a good weekend but had been feeling anxious and in need of a break. Friday night we had a tamale fund raiser at Cassi's school. Saturday we had our interior designer come over for a consult on getting our master bedroom started. Then we shopped for clothes for our photo shoot on Sunday, Brian and Cami went to the circ de soleil matinee, then we went out for dinner/drinks/dancing for my neighbors birthday. Sunday we got up and ready for our photo shoot. We went do beautiful downtown chandler for that. I am so happy with a service trade I did with a friend who is a photographer. I made a cake for her daughters birthday and she did some family photographs for us. Then we got Bosa donuts (one of my fav things) and went home and worked on a big school project for Calvin. Dog training, dinner and ready for bed. Sounds glamorous, right? Not. In out of breath just thinking about it.

Yep, that's what happened this weekend.

I am happy to report that I am feeling much more relaxed this week.


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Ebates.com is Awesome

Why didn't I know about this earlier? I seriously have "earned" almost $50 and all I did was shop online at stores I normally shop from but go through the ebates web site. It tracks what you purchase and calculates the rebates that you earn. Follow this link and join Ebates. I will get a bonus for you joining and you will get a bonus gift card of your choice once you make your first purchase! Fun!

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=haArV7bf%2FsCNU3fWiDiozg%3D%3D

Winner winner chicken dinner

The power ball lottery jackpot is high. Obscenely high. Close to 1/2 billion dollars which is something like 500,000,000 dollars. Crazy. I don't normally buy lottery tickets, but I had to. If I win, I will only be left with $250,000,000 after taxes, snort. That's all!?!!!

What would I do with all that money? Even though the chances of winning are astronomically low, it's still fun to dream. Dreams of being debt free, dreams of my family and friends being debt free. Dreams of buying some property and building a compound of homes for us and our friends to live. Complete with basement homes and a central rec area and a fabulous pool, outdoor kitchen, large grassy area and guest house for our extended families. (Why yes, i have been thinking about this quite a lot) Dreams of trips and traveling the world. An Amazing Race all our own. Educating our children through travel. Learning about different cultures and people, their history...how great would that be?

Donating my time and money. Who and where would I decide to give to? Needy families? School districts in need? Homeless animals? Children that need to be adopted? Frustrating. Not enough time or money even if I were rich.

Who will win? I think it's always interesting to see who the lucky winner will be. I have a plan to skip town until I find myself a great accountant/lawyer to help me out with the fine details. Would we need to disappear or could we just continue with life as if nothing out of the ordinary happened? WOULD we want to continue our lives?

So many things to think of if I were a winner winner chicken dinner.


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Baby's Got a New Pair of Shoes

This time of the year is busy, very busy. School, work, projects, shopping, cooking, cleaning, guests... Wow! Luckily I had time today to shop for some new shoes for myself. My next 5k will be here before we know it and I hope my shoes will arrive even before that. I got another pair of Nikes. Nikes are my favorites because they fit my arch the best. The ones I decided on are black and purple running shoes. snort. (since I will be "running").

I got Cassi and my "unique registration confirmation code" by email yesterday. It is a cool scanny thingy that we can show on my phone or print out and bring. I guess they will scan it and give us our numbers and jackets.

Getting excited to see all the people and eat some chocolate. yum

"Will Run for Chocolate!"

Test Post

I know, I just posted, but I got an app for my phone and wanted to make sure that it works so that I can better update my blog "on the run" ;)

I also wanted to post a motivating picture for my next 5k.




And one more for good measure.




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Ok Ok. How I feel about it.

My friend Julann said that I forgot to write about the most important parts of my first 5k.

I was extremely worried that I would get "swept". Disney posts all over the place about how you must maintain a 15 minute mile. Yeah, I didn't know if I could do that even though I am able to walk. ha Well, I am happy to report that I did not get swept and I figured out that I finished the 5k in about 40 minutes. I didn't look at the time clock when I actually walked accross the start line to know my time once I crossed the finish line, but it was pretty close to 40 minutes. I walked and ran. There were times that I knew I would walk, like going up hills. There were times when we were forced to walk,  like the bottle neck through the castle. I followed my friend Hannah's advice and paced myself with a couple people around me. I would pass them and then they would pass me and then I would pass them. It was cool. I really enjoyed myself. I am very proud of myself. I am doing another 5k in a couple of weeks and best part is that they will give me chocolate at the end. Cool, huh?

I Did It! (long)

I haven't been keeping up with my blog. I'm sorry. I will try harder. I love to blog but have been so crazy busy since the 5k that I haven't even had the time to update on what happened.

I brought my daughter Cassi with me to watch the Disneyland 5k. I think she had fun. I rode over with my two nieces, Kendra and Kara, who ran the 1/2 the following they. They ROCK!

It was a nice relaxing ride, as I didn't need to do anything but sit in the back seat and buy gas.

Once we arrived to the hotel and got settled in, Julann and Sky joined us. We walked over to the Disneyland Hotel to pick up our bibs. I was very excited and was very happy to see my name printed on my bib. I got my pin and we went up to the expo to see all the cool running stuff that they have available. We all got hairbands and some free stuff to fill our bags. It was fun.

We then went and had dinner in downtown Disney. The weather was so beautiful that we were able to eat outside. Something we aren't able to enjoy very often in Arizona. As we were walking back to our hotel for the evening we watched the fireworks light up the night sky. I love Disneyland and am so happy that I chose this venue for my first 5k experience.

Once we got back to our hotel, we got everything pinned and prepped for the next morning (which came way to early). It was time for bed. I was excited and nervous and hoped that I drank enough water. Luckily I fell straight to sleep.

Once we were dressed and ready to go, my nerves really started to set in. What if I was so slow that they "swept" me? What if I were the last one to cross the finish line? What if I couldn't do it and wasn't able to cross the finish line? These were all thoughts running through my head. Julann kept me grounded and kept telling me it would be a breeze. She said it would be fine even if I needed to walk the entire race. She said "look at that old lady and that little kid...surely you can beat them". She built up my confidence. I love her. Kendra and Kara came to support us and watch over Cassi while we were running. That was awesome since I didn't register Cassi in time and the race was full before I could do it. (there is always next year)

We got in line like a giant group of heifers and waited for the starting gun. There were A LOT OF PEOPLE! The first group of racers were allowed to start. We were held back to give them time to spread out. Finally it was time for us to start!! I could see Mickey and Minnie urging us on at the Start line. THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE! We crossed the starting line....but we were still walking...THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE! Finally, the crowd loosened up a little and we were able to start jogging. I was a little frustrated by the walkers and trying to dodge my way around them. I tried to focus and be present in the moment. I was running my first 5k, this was supposed to be fun. I followed my friend Hannah's advice and paced myself with the people in front of me. There was a group of us that kept pace with each other. We took turns passing the crowd and falling behind. I know Disneyland like the back of my aging hand and knew the areas that I would need to walk, aka the hills. So I walked and jogged and walked and jogged and saw Julann and saw Cassi and Kendra and Kara. We ran through Disneyland and California Adventure. The end was near. I rounded the corner into Cars Land and could see the Finish Line. YES! The finish line. People were lined up and cheering us on. I jogged down the street and crossed the finish line. My time wasn't very fast but it wasn't bad. 43 minutes. THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE. I collected my "medal" which was not made of metal but was cute none-the-less. I got my snack pack and I watched as the other runners crossed the finish line.

I took pictures and had a huge smile on my face. We went out for a celebratory breakfast complete with Mimosas.

Do Viking Woman Run? I don't know if all Viking Women Run, but this one will keep trying.

30 Days!

30 Days...there are 30 days until the 5k. Wow. Time has sure flown by. I need to get my ass in gear. SERIOUSLY!

I downloaded the final instructions and printed off the waiver and made my hotel reservations and am working on transportation. I got a lot done today. I will go three miles tonight to see how long it takes me. I will work all month to get ready for the 5k. I can do it!!

Holy crap! It's 30 days away.

Trying Does Not Equal Giving Up

Wow! Two weeks. Two weeks really fly by when you are having fun and not running. What can I say? Life happens in-between the plans that you have so carefully made. I'm not gonna beat myself up. I'm just gonna look forward and keep going.

The kids have been on spring break for the past two weeks. The first week we went to Las Vegas and Disneyland. Both places involved a lot of walking, but no running. Last week I was back at work and took some sub jobs since I have been extremely stressed about my students dropping this semester. So I worked during my "me" time. Our weekends are always crazy busy and to top that off I tweaked something in my hip, so I have been experiencing hip/butt/lower back pain.

But this is a new week and today is a new day and I am proud to say that even though I felt close to zero motivation to get up and run today, I did it anyways.

It is starting to warm up here in the sunny state of AZ. That means I have an excuse to complain more and work out less.... Wait, that was my old way of thinking. My new self needs to solve this problem. The heat sucks, yes? I do not even really like being out in the sun. So today I woke up early. I know, I know, I tell myself I am not a morning person and hit the snooze button repeatedly every morning just so that I can enjoy a few extra seconds in my nice warm bed. But today I opened my eyes, got out of bed, put on my clothes and walked out the door. It is a beautiful day. I was able to enjoy the sunrise and definitely felt much better when I was done. The best part is that I got it out of the way and had the rest of the morning to focus on ME!! I was able to catch up on some club work and I worked in my garden and I ate breakfast and helped the kids get ready for school. These things are all important to me and make me a better me. This needs to be my new plan from now on until it starts cooling off again in November.

I simply need to drag my sorry ass out of bed and do what I promised myself I would do. Just try. Take it one day at a time, one step at a time. I'm worth it and my family and friends are worth it too.

Ummm, Yeah

Viking Women apparently don't run when they are stressed, overworked, busy and getting ready for vacation...especially when this is all happening at the same time. Fortunately, I am not going to kick myself over this. It is what it is. In Vegas and Disneyland we will be doing plenty of walking. I may even check out the gym at the hotel. Pat on the back, I brought workout clothes. :)

Nothing much else to report other than I do actually feel like I want to run. How weird is that??

One More Day

Hey there. I made it through one more day. Today was a busy day with doctors appointments, kids to school, eyebrow wax, work, community service at Feed My Starving Children, work and work. I am happy to say that even with all that business I was able to get in a workout today. My shins were hurting me and didn't want to run again today, so instead we decided it would be a wonderful day for a bike ride. So my sore shins, Black Betty and I went out for a ride. A 5 mile ride in 30 minutes thank you very much. It was awesome! I didn't burn as many calories, but I had a great workout out in the beautiful March weather. I'm so glad that I took a ride on the wild side and did something different.

Oh. My. Hell. (on so many levels)

Ran/walked today. Didn't like it.

That's really all I have to say... but I really should explain myself.

I knew that I would be running today. I guess my biggest problem is that I don't see myself the way I really look. It's like reverse anorexia or something. I know I'm fat, but I don't really internalize my fatness kinda like super skeletal anorexic people don't think that they are thin enough. So I knew today would start a new leg of the c25k program. A VERY SCARY new leg. The "short" run is 3 minutes which was the "long" run just last week. The "long" run is 5 minutes. Holy Hell!! Yes, that's right. But my brain was telling myself that I looked super cute in my new running pants that I got. Let's take a little detour. My new grey pants with little slits on the cuff with pockets for my iPhone that are made by Danskin. The little tag that was on the pants give the following inspiring tips:

DANSKIN NOW

Move closer to you goals

Create the world you want

Inspire those you love

Live your life in motion

Then, I look on the back of the tag. I love that they only cost $9.00. But then I notice the name of the item... DN PORKCHOP JUDO. What the hell? Porkchop!?!? PORKCHOP? Very funny Danskin, very funny. Touche. I get your humor.

So anyways, I was thinking how cute I looked and not that I am still fat and that I need to psyche myself up to run 5 minutes. So just to let you know, I can not in fact run 5 minutes. Yet. I was able to do both of the three minute runs which is really amazing since it wasn't that long ago that I couldn't even run one damn minute without stopping early. So I know if I keep working I will get there. One foot in front of the other, one day at a time.

Here's another interesting fact. I took the dog with me today which I can say with 100% confidence I DO NOT LIKE. But, every time I start getting on my workout clothes and putting on my Nikes she gets very excited and starts running around looking for her leash. Then she starts crying because she if very afraid I will leave before she finds her leash. Then she starts looking me straight in the eye like "you better not leave before I can find the damn leash!" So I break down and take her, even though I don't want to. Today, my middle child wanted to come along too. WTF? Yeah, I need some little kid dancing in circles around me while I am trying to "run". Luckily she only lasted 1/2 the time before she got bored and headed for home.

Today I went 2.22 miles!! Yeah for me.

YES!

I have so much to talk about today. First of all, I ran my entire third leg of the program without stopping early on any of the runs. That's two 3 minute runs and two 1 1/2 minute runs. My right calf was a little tight and my knee is hurting a little but nothing that a little ibuprofen won't fix up. I also ordered some "joint health" medicine from Melaleuca that I have used before and I know will help. Yes!! I am so happy that I pushed through the pain.

I focused on my parents today. They were both great people and died tragically young. That is one of my biggest fears. I don't want to die young and leave my children and never meet my grand children. This is another reason that I am running. To be a good example to them and to be around FOR them.

Next, I would like to celebrate obtaining my first mini goal. I use an app called "Loose It" and it tracks the food that I eat, my exercise and my weight. I decided that having a huge weight loss goal is not in my best interest. Little goals along the way that will eventually add up to an overall big weight loss is my plan. So I'm going to focus on 10 lbs at a time. 10 little pounds. Ten nasty little pounds. Yeah, right!! Ten pounds is a big deal. The first 6 of my 10 pounds came off relatively easy....but those last couple of pounds were a struggle. BUT, I did it!! At first I wasn't going to post a picture of the screen shot that I took, but then I decided that I am heavy and it's not a secret. There's no hiding my large ass and hammies. So it is better to own it. So I have decided not to be embarrassed about how much I weigh, but to be proud of those 10 little pounds that I have lost. Yes, that is a better plan. So here it is....my first 10 pounds gone. :)

My starting weight. OMFG! That is the heaviest I have ever been.

10 pounds gone!

I have set a new goal for 10 more pounds. I'll

let you know when I hit that goal.

I don't know why it says this. I do not plan to maintain this current weight.

The next thing I would like to discuss is the tragic loss of my pink skull head phones.

As I was running my iPhone fell out of my pocket and dropped to the ground. Thankfully, my phone was fine, but my head phones are jacked. (taps playing) Goodbye to my comfortable earbuds. You served me well and may have saved the life of my precious iPhone. Thank you.

I know that this post is getting long, but I just have so much to talk about today. The last thing that I would like to say is that I really am enjoying looking at nature while I am out and about walk/running. I noticed today that all the trees are budding out and the tiny green leaves have burst overnight. It is so beautiful to see that Spring has sprung. Here is a picture of our flowering plumb tree in our front yard. I LOVE it.

DAMN, That Was Close!!

Hell!! That was a little too close for comfort. You know what I mean. I've heard the stories from others, and now I can say I have experienced that for myself...the extreme need to use the bathroom while out on a walk/run. Oh sure, it starts out as a little tease. A little stomach gurgle. Is that gas or a sign of things to come? No worries, just keep running. Then they come like the contractions of a woman about to give birth, regularly and closer and closer together. I turn around to head for home. Am I too far? How will I possibly make it? I try to monitor if my faster running is making the cramps come faster or if I can time it to make it home before disaster strikes. Wonder if those neighbors would mind my taking a dump in their bushes. Gross, right? Seriously!! Keep running. Please don't let me see anyone I know, as I'm pretty sure that my form (with my ass sticking out and my legs squeezed together) will give away my serious predicament. Keep focused! Stay determined. I develop tunnel vision and start saying some prayers. "Please dear baby Jesus, please let me make it home before I crap myself! PLEASE!!" The painters are at my house and have blocked the front door, so I have to go all the way around an in through the back patio door. Crap! I didn't account for that delay. By the time I enter the house my legs are literally crossed and I'm hobbling through the house. But, Praise God! I made it just in the nick of time. Shaking and exhausted I'm so glad I have my bodybugg on because I'm positive that I burned twice as many calories on todays run. Lord help me, I hope they have port-a-potties set up about every 10 feet at Disneyland's 5K.

New Toy

Look what I got for myself as a reward for working out for four weeks. It is the BodyMedia Fit CORE Armband. It is supposed to keep track of how many calories I burn each day. I enter in the food that I eat and it should keep me on track for my new healthy lifestyle goal. A couple of years ago I looked into getting the BodyBugg but it was pretty expensive. This was $150 on Amazon and then I pay a monthly membership fee to have access to their program. I like it because it is so small and doesn't bother me too much to wear it. I also like that it is able to show me literally minute by minute how active I am. It even show sleep patterns and how often you wake up during the night.

I did another 3 minute run today. It felt pretty good. I still couldn't do the second 3 minute run and had to stop early, but that's ok. I know I will get there and I am really trying to enjoy this journey. This was the perfect time of year to start because our weather is so damn beautiful. I am a little worried about a couple of things. What will I do when we go on vacations? What will I do when it starts getting hot? I know that I would like to eventually add in some swimming because I am a good swimmer and I love swimming but thats not running.... I need a plan for the vacation concern because I leave for spring break in 15 days. Yippee. I guess if I need to, I can always use the hotel tread mill. I will need to remember to pack work out clothes. :)

Another day down. I'm feeling really good mentally and am happy to feel myself getting stronger physically.

A New Outfit for a New Day

OMG! Today was hard. First off, I forgot my damn sunglasses again! What is up with that? Second, I couldn't breathe. Breathing is important for running and walking and living. When I can't breathe I feel like I am in outer space; I'm not really aware of my surroundings. I'm sure this is a phenomenon that happens when there is no oxygen in your brain. The reason this occurred today is because I ran three 1 1/2 minute runs and one 3 minute run!! Yes, I ran 3 whole minutes without stopping. I rock!!

I knew today was going to be a huge challenge so I thought it would be appropriate to wear a new outfit. I think I looked pretty cute in my light pink hoodie and new black pants from the Walmart. whoot woo.

I Kept My Power!

I would also like to report that I kept my power this weekend even though I shared my plan with my spouse. I told my wonderful husband that I had been keeping a deep, dark, secret from him. That I have been walk/running AND that I had been doing it for three whole weeks AND that I started a blog to keep track of my progress AND that I had signed up for a Disneyland 5K!!!!! He said he is proud of me, that he knew something was up, but didn't know what and that he wished I had asked him to join me. I explained that I would have liked to have asked him to join me, but that I was afraid he would "steal my power" and that this was about ME, not us or him. It is about me taking control. About me stepping up to a challenge. About me wanting to feel better about myself. About me setting boundaries for myself and others. He understood. He is good that way. He said he would like to start using the app and I told him I would be happy to help him with that whenever he is ready. I still haven't shared this with very many people. Just the ones I am close to and the ones that I think will support me.

So, that's what's up with me. I am still trying and still taking one step at a time because I am worth it.

Strongest Day Yet

I did not hesitate at all to go out and do my runs. I'm not sure if I'm getting stronger, building my lung capacity, just getting used to the pain or all of it. Probably a little of each. I am more than a little happy to report that today was my strongest day yet. I ran the entire minute and a half of 5 of my 6 runs and went a hair over two miles today which is my longest yet. Sounds pitiful to say it out loud...oooh, I ran 1 1/2 whole minutes without stopping. Haha but it really is amazing when just three weeks ago I couldn't even run one crappy minute without stopping. Wow. I can't wait to see how this journey progresses. Yay for me.