What?!

One of the benefits of facebook is reconnecting with old friends.  Oh, and having those friends remind you that it was 14 years ago today that you graduated from high school.  Ouch. 

Take me out to the baallll gaaaame...

 It was a good night for some baseball.  My son is doing much better this year and is actually getting pretty good at batting.  He still has some work to do with paying attention in the outfield, but compared to how he played last year (he wasn't really interested) he's doing 100 times better this year already!  Here is a short video of him hitting tonight:


My younger daughter is playing softball again this year, too.  She expressed interest in pitching and has been working on it.  Tonight, she got to pitch in a game for the first time.  She did very well.  She struck out 2 players, and didn't walk anyone!  She also fielded a ball hit back to her to get the girl out at first.  Here are a couple of pics from her game tonight:


On Base

I wasn't able to get a clear picture of her pitching.  This was the best I could get:

Summer is almost here!

Last night was the last high school choir concert of the year for my oldest.  My younger daughter is on her way to 6th grade camp this morning, and tonight is the first baseball game of the season for my son.  The kids have 10 school days left this year, including today. 

In a way, I'm really bummed that I can't find a friggin' job to save my life, but on the other hand, I am glad to be able to stay home with my babies.  It comes in handy on days like today, when my daughter called to say she forgot her water bottle for camp, and I had to take it to her.  Even if I felt a little annoyed that I had to get dressed and leave my coffee...I'm glad I was available to take it to her. 

Race Day

Today was the Race for the Cure 5K.  The serious runners (with chips for timing) started first.  Once they were all on their way, they brought up the people running for fun (my group), then the walkers.  The official time started with the serious runners, so my time is based off my heart rate monitor, which I pressed start on as I crossed the starting line.  I ended up jogging the entire time.  I never expected to be able to do that!  Honestly, even this morning, I assumed I would be stopping to take at least a few short walk breaks.

My oldest daughter stayed with me for the first 15 minutes or so, then she walked for a few and I didn't see her again until the end. She came in about 5 minutes behind me.  My time on the "official" time clock was 40:17 as I crossed the finish line, however as I said, that clock started with the first group of runners.  My time, according to my HRM was 34:51.  What?!  That was not only my fastest 5K to date (AND outside, at that!) but my run keeper app on my phone said the distance I went was 3.4 miles.  So, something wasn't 100% accurate there, but close enough, I guess. 

All in all, I'm feeling really good about this race! :)

Screw it

I have attempted to blog numerous times this week without success.  Just tonight, I have spent the past 15 minutes attempting to formulate a complete thought.  My brain just does not seem to be working this week for some reason.  So, I'm giving up.  This is my post. Goodnight!

Dog stuff

I am in search of a new dog food.  Currently, I feed them the Taste of the Wild Sierra Mountain Formula.  Recently, however, they have both become seemingly very uninterested in eating it.  When it comes time for them to eat, they will just kind of stare at it, especially Bella.  For the past 3 days, she has only eaten a little bit of her food, even leaving it down all evening.  She will repeatedly go to her bowl like she is looking for food, sniff at it, then turn and walk away from it.  She eventually will eat it the next morning, probably because she's just so hungry.  (However, there is a fairly obvious reason I feed them in the evenings and not in the mornings. Food = poop, and I don't always have time to stick around long enough for them to go before I have to leave.)  I think maybe they're just getting tired of eating the same thing all the time??  I don't know.

So this, combined with the big Diamond recall (I have verified that the bag I have is not included in this), I think it may be time to search for something different.  I like the idea of  grain-free and not loaded with fillers for them.  Foods with fillers require them to eat more (and poop more - which they do enough of already).  It kind of saddens me, as it took me quite a while to decide on TOTW in the first place.  Now, it's back to researching dog foods. :(

I also decided that I really need something like this:


picture retrieved from: http://www.maxandzoey.com/all-products/nylon-hands-free-leash.html

I have seen people in my neighborhood using these and I really think it would be helpful to not have to hold on to her big retractable leash handle while jogging.  I just hope that it would not make it easier for her to pull me. :) 

Tired!

I am so not feeling being awake today.  I am dragging and I have a headache.  Today is my day to help out in my son's classroom and I have been there all morning.  I came home to grab some lunch and let the pups out for a bit.  I am getting ready to head back to the school for the afternoon then I need to hit the gym and/or walk/jog with Bella and work on my assignments for school that are due this weekend (one by tonight) that I've barely started on. Ugh...I'm not gonna lie, I am counting down the minutes until bed time tonight!

Down 60 and still going

I have been hanging out at around 60 lbs lost for a few weeks now.  I think I'm stuck.  It's frustrating because I still feel like I'm working like crazy to lose weight.  I'm working out in some form 5-6 times a week, still counting every calorie, and it absolutely drives me crazy when I hit a plateau.  Sometimes it makes me wonder why I'm still trying, but when I see a picture of what I looked like 60 lbs ago, I'm instantly reminded why I keep trying. 

This weekend, I tried on a pair of shorts that I wore last summer that were actually a bit snug on me then.  They literally fell right off!  That is also a fantastic motivator!  I decided to pull all the clothes out of my closet that no longer fit me.  As a result, my closet is looking rather bare, but I'm okay with it because all of those clothes are too big!



And me in my shorts from last summer:

(Please ignore my shiny face and limp hair.  This was taken post work out, pre-shower.)

I still have more weight to lose, and I have a lot of toning to do and it's easy to get caught up on how far I still have to go and to get frustrated when the number stops going down on the scale for longer than I'd like, but it's good to be able to look at how far I've come.  It keeps me going.

Zoo!

Today, I took my son, my younger daughter, and one of her friends to the zoo. We had a pretty good time.  Here are some of the pics I took:








Then, this evening, while my daughter was at softball practice, I walked/jogged 3 times with Bella around the 1 mile loop that surrounds the park she practices at.  Not a bad day!

Eight!

My baby turned 8 today!  He's growing up too fast! :(  He chose Buffalo Wild Wings for his birthday dinner, but was quite upset that they had remodeled. 

Me and my birthday boy!


Seems like he should still be about this size:

Happy Birthday, little man!

A few pics

Yesterday, I took Bella to the vet for a check up and some vaccines.  Here she is as we were checking out:


Then, I took Molly for a walk.  She always looks up at me when I walk her with what looks like a huge smile on her face.  It cracks me up!


Here's my baby girl on her way to a school dance tonight:


And here are my other two babies taken just a few minutes ago:

Awwwwww!

Getting there!

This long week is half over!  Tomorrow will be a pretty busy day.  I need to work on my paper, take Bella to the vet, my son to the dentist, and my daughter to her class at the YMCA.  Then, Friday, I'll be volunteering in my son's class all day. Of course, I have to take a kid to a birthday party on the other side of town on Saturday, but I'm hoping to maybe do some shopping while I'm out there and buy a new purse!  That always makes me feel better. ;-)

Today, I worked 3 hours this morning then came home and attempted to jog around my neighborhood with Bella.  I always do this and somehow think it'll be better each time.  Sometimes, it goes okay, but today I gave up on trying to make a good time after three, yes THREE, stops for Bella to poop (btw, she always just stops abruptly, too, leaving me to jerk my shoulder out of socket on the other end of the leash) and 2 stops to tie my shoes.  It is hard enough trying to jog with that dog as it is, let alone while also carrying multiple bags of dog crap.  She can't run in a straight line beside me for anything!  She will cut in front of me or bump into my leg.  I don't know how many times I've almost face planted!

I never seem to learn though.  I just feel too guilty to go out to walk or jog without taking her because I know she needs the exercise too.  And if she sees me getting ready, she goes to the front door all excited to go.  If nothing else, it gives the neighbors something to laugh at. :)

I did, however, jog the track at the gym yesterday as opposed to the treadmill.  I didn't have an exact time, but I came in somewhere between 38-39 minutes on my 5K.  Not great, but not terrible considering my fastest time on the treadmill to date is 37:41.  I can only get better, right?

Compliments

So, this older lady that I worked with yesterday couldn't believe that I have a teenager.  She said that I don't look more than about 22 myself.  (Ha!) Then, today, I ran into a guy I went to high school with who works at the company I was at.  He posted on my fb tonight that I "haven't changed a bit & still look fantastic". 

It's kind of crazy.  I'm not used to getting a lot of compliments, but it's nice to hear sometimes...even if they are a bit of a stretch!. ;)

Busy week

I have a few of events to work this week. (Yay, money!)  Today's event is from 11-6, so that will be decent, but tomorrow and Wednesday, they're just from 7:30-10:30 am.  It's ok though.  The problem comes with the fact that I will have to leave my house by 7 am and P will be out of town.   My oldest daughter leaves at 6:45 am, so that leaves my younger 2 to get themselves ready and on the bus 2 mornings in a row.  It always seems to work out this way when I have early events.  Fortunately, my 12 year old daughter is pretty responsible and is good at getting herself and her bother ready.  Good news is that the early events are at my "close" to home  location and bonus....they have their own Starbucks! :)

Then, on Wednesday evening, my son has his first baseball practice of the season.  Thursday evening, my younger daughter has her first iron teens class at the YMCA.  This is a 7 week class for kids 9+ to learn how to use all of the work out equipment in the gym.  After they've taken the classes, they are allowed to use the gym equipment with an accompanying adult.  She's looking forward to that.

I also need to get invitations out for my son's birthday party at the end of this month.  Better late than never, right?  Oh yeah, and I have to write a paper for school on how the ONC-Coordinated Federal Health Information Technology Strategic Plan is being implemented at my place of employment and include an analysis of my health care facility's plan, progress on this initiative in my health care facility, and my analysis of perceived challenges to patient confidentiality and patient self-determination.  Did I mention I don't work for a health care facility?  I do contract work on a per diem basis as a third party to insurance companies.  Soooo, I'm either going to have to make crap up, or hope that my teacher will alter the assignment for me.  Sigh. :/

Pity Party

I am SO very much hating my life right now.  I hate school.  I hate taking up a majority of my waking hours working on school.  I just found out today that it is going to take me longer than I'd originally anticipated to complete my bachelor's degree because I am going to have to repeat a few courses that did not transfer over from my ADN program.  I was originally thinking/hoping that I could get this done in a year, maybe 18 months max.  Now, I am looking at a minimum of 2 years.  So, it's 6 more months...big deal!  Right?  Well, right now I basically feel like I will never get this done.  I get to look forward to lots of BS dealing with financial aid for multiple schools, transferring credits from school to school, taking multiple classes at a time, and hating my life for the next 2+ years.  I just want to be done!

To top it off, I'm second guessing whether nursing is the right career for me after all.  However, at this point, I feel pretty much stuck with it.  After spending 3 years in school full time and accumulating tens of thousands of dollars in student loans, I don't have a choice now but to ride this out and finish what I started.  To find a job in a field that I might not have much interest in anymore, and deal with it for the next 30+ years until I can retire.  I basically cannot just give up now or all that time, money, sweat, and tears would be a complete waste! 

So yeah, I'm having a little pity party for myself. But it's my blog and I can do that here if I want. :P  Okay, enough of that.  Back to the books... :(

APA can KMA!

I hate writing.  HATE it!  I suck at it.  I really, really do.  Unfortunately, that is basically all this bachelor's completion program is.  Writing papers, writing threads on discussion boards, replying to other people's threads on discussion boards.  All of which have to include several references and be written in APA format, of course.  Ugggghh!  I hate this soooo much!  This might be easy for some people, but I have never been good at writing papers.  It literally makes me cry.  :'( 

On a brighter note, my 5K time today was 38:02.  I walked the first .09 miles then started in at 4.8 for  a few then bumped to 4.9 shortly then went to 5.0 and stayed there for the rest.  I hit 3.1 at that time, but then kept jogging to 3.19 just so I could say I jogged an entire 3.1. ;)  But, since I didn't notice what time it was when I started jogging, I just took the first 3.1 as my time.

I don't get it...

Yesterday at the gym, I jogged/walked a 5K in 39:09.  Not too bad of an improvement from 40:45 on my last attempt (on a treadmill).  What I can't understand is how drastically different it is, at least for me, to jog outside.  I understand that the treadmill is easier.  Obviously the "ground" is moving to help you along on a treadmill, plus there's the whole shock absorption thing they offer (and the nicer the treadmill, the easier it seems to be). 

For instance, my treadmill at home is not as high in quality as the gym treadmills, and jogging on it is quite a bit harder for me than at the gym.  Where I regularly jog 2 straight miles on a gym treadmill, I can barely make it a mile on my treadmill at home without feeling like I'm going to die.  And outside, well, I'm dying by the end of my street!  Seriously, I understand that it would be easier on a treadmill, but those are some major differences there!  I just don't get it. 

Getting my 5K on

I am by no means a runner.  However, as I've mentioned, I recently took up a little jogging.  It's not fast, though my speed is increasing verrry slowly.  I started out at a light jog between 4.3 and 4.5 mph.  Yes, that is a jog for me.  If that's a walk for you then shuttie, it's probably because you have longer legs than I do. :P

I have not been able to go to the gym 5-6 times a week, as I had been doing, due to starting back up with my schooling (sigh, that's a whole other story...I'm officially back to hating life).  I have made it to the gym more like 3 times a week.  So, not to make excuses, but that's why my progress is perhaps slower than it could be.  I try to walk on most of my non-gym days, but that doesn't really help my progress as far as jogging goes.

For the past week or two, I have been jogging at an average of 4.7 mph.  Yes, still slow, but an improvement, nonetheless.  My breakdown for today's jog is as follows (my stated distances are per the treadmill):

Walk at 3.8 mph until .05 miles to warm up
Jog at 4.7 mph for 2 miles
Walk at 3.8 mph for .2 miles
Jog at 4.7 for .25 miles  (blah)
Walk at 3.8 mph for .15 miles
Jog at 4.8 mph, and raising to 5.0 mph for .6 miles
Walk at 3.5 and slowly decreasing speed for .15 miles

So, I went a total distance of 3.4 miles in under 45 minutes.  My time at 3.1 miles (5K) was 40:45.  That is a totally sucky number for a 5K, especially on a treadmill.  But ya know what?  I'll take it.  For now.  Mainly because that is, by far, my best time. Not to mention that is something I would not have been able to do 57 lbs ago! Now I just need to work on improving that time, and perhaps more importantly, working on it on pavement so I have a shot at not making a complete fool of myself next month at the Race for the Cure!

Ah, new baby smell!

I took my kiddos over to visit with their cousins today and see the new baby.  We took over some pizza and just hung out for a few hours. 

Here are a few pics I got (btw, today is not a good hair day!) :






Cousins!

Birthdays

Yesterday would have been my mom's 54th birthday.  It's hard to believe she's been gone over 8 years now!  I still miss her every day. 

However, there was happiness yesterday because my new little niece came into the world!  After 3 boys, my bro and SIL got their little girl!  I got to see her in the nursery last night and watch her get her first bath. :)  Can't wait to take over some pizza on Sunday and get my hands on her and breathe in that new baby smell!!!!



Welcome to the world, baby girl!