One of those morning..

If you run or do anything physical you'll know what I mean.  Today was THE morning... the morning I had log legs.  Yup .. went for my run this morning with my running group - and I felt like my legs were two heavy weights.. and that I was running backwards for goodness sake!

I really really hated that!  Very disappointing for me!  I was soo looking forward to my run... and viola - crappy!  Oh well.. I am bound to have those type of days.. there... I had one.. DONE.. ok... now I hope I don't have one for a LONG WHILE!  Disappointing beyond words!  blah!

OK.. now onto the rest of my day!

On a more positive note.. I am actually running with 30lbs LESS on ME!  Yay!  Soo very happy!  22lbs more to go! 

Get out there and get physical.. even when you feel like you are pulling a huge weight behind you!

me and bread

...MUST... FIGHT... this COLD weather.. and my body's NATURAL urge to EAT MORE bread.. and WINTRIER type foods.

I am hoping that is winter isn't as hard as I imagine it would be.. hard for me to maintain and continue to walk my weight loss walk.

Here's hoping! ☺

why Blog?

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself that question?  I know I have.  Is it because you feel "published".  Or do you use it to keep in contact with family and friends?  Why not keep in touch the old fashioned way; a handwritten letter, phone call or a visit?  Does it make you feel popular?  Is it a popularity contest to you?  I know I must be failing miserably in that area if I am measured by the number of followers I have.  But it is funny in retrospect.. because I didn't care a lick if I had a ton of friends in high school either!  My friends were my dear friends whether I had 2, 10 or 20.  Do you use is to tell the world what a wonderfully perfect parent you are?  Or to profess how imperfect of a parent you are?  Show off your family and what you can accomplish in a day?  Is it your on-line diary... for the whole world to read?  Is your blog strictly to share your favorite recipes, crafts or a special gift that you poses?  Is your blog a glorified facebook?

I have questioned my motives many times as to why I have this blog.  I don't know what the answer is yet.  But what I do know is that I am not valued because of what I do or say or how popular I am but more so who I belong to.

I hope I have not offended anyone with this post..  just my thoughts.  Blessings.

my time

I am really enjoying running in this cooler fall weather!  I started out running in May of this year.. and it got hot - FAST!  I most definitely enjoy running in 10 °c then feeling like 40 ° with the humidity!  I am excited to experience winter running!

Yesterday was my training day with the group I run with.  As I am a beginner runner I am finding the group most helpful, informational and encouraging.  The support that I get from the group is so valuable.  No matter what age you are.. you always want to hear encouraging words.

I ran tonight.. this is my time to unwind, think about my day, pray and just burn off some energy.  I ran for 35 minutes.  It felt good... no actually it felt awesome.  Why did I stop?  It gets soo darn dark soo fast and I run alone... so I decided to end the run.  I am going to continue to run for 40 minutes for the next two weeks then increase my time to 45 minutes.

Looking forward to my next me time this week. ☺

Me + Cleanse = Valuable Lesson Learned

OK... so I am going to sheepishly admit that I *tired* a home based cleansed/detox.  So first things first.. I KNOW NOTHING ~ ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about cleanses or detoxing.  I have been reading a few articles that I found on line.. most of it scared the heck out of me.  I didn't want to do damage to my body.  I didn't want to gain all this weight back.  But I went forward with a very simple one.  Fresh fruits and veggies, lots and lots of water.. and two hand full of nuts per day - that's it.  THAT'S IT! (I thought to myself!). 

The results I was looking for were... feeling 'flushed' (yeah.. we are gonna go there!☺), loose a couple of pounds (but not my main goal), and just over all feel DETOXIFIED.  I wanted to see how my body would react.. would I get the shakes?  Would I experience headaches, sweats and all the other possible side affects?

I guess I'll never know... because I only lasted 4 hours!!! Ha ha!  I am such a sucker!  But on the serious side of things... I kinda felt myself going crazy!  No really!  All my focus was on food.  What I COULDN'T eat... and for me that is not good.  I don't have an eating disorder.  I am not anorexic (ha ha - far from it).  I don't binge and purge.  But I was over weight because I love food too much!  Love the taste of it.  The smell of it.  It made me feel content and *full*.  I was gluttonous.. at least in my opinion.

The funny thing is... I've lost 26.5 lbs by NOT FOCUSING on what I eat.  I eat what I want (in moderation).  I enjoy desert.  I enjoy coffee (limited amounts).  I enjoy a cookie.  I ENJOY food... because I am not FOCUSING on it. 

OK.. so for now I am going to pass on the detoxes and cleanses.  Not for me thank you.  I am loosing weight and feeling good without them. 

I will continue to run (because I enjoy it) and eat sensibility.

Lesson Learned.

Set. Aim. Achieve.

Ran 40 minutes today!  So excited!  I set a goal for myself.  I aimed for it.  I achieved it.  I have to admit.  As the 25 minute mark approached.. I thought to myself 'almost there'.. almost there if I was running 30 minutes!  Then I passed 30 minutes and I thought 'OK every minute after this is just gravy'... then I just became determined to achieve my 40 minute goal.  This is a big goal for me as I have been trying to run my time and add some to that.

I did it!  Now I have to do it again.. and again .. and again! 

Love it!

full of thankfulness..

My thankfulness..

..for the roads I have been down that have made me who I am today.. and for the roads that I will walk in the future..

Happy Anniversary to US!

Yeah!  Happy Anniversary to US!  9 years today we got married!  It's been quite the journey over the last 9 years.  Buying our first home together, having four beautiful children, watching my mom get sick with cancer and then later pass away, surgeries, grandparents passing away, loosing jobs and being unemployed, going back to school full time, living apart for 4 months and soo many other experiences.  All of which I wouldn't trade in for a wonderfully nice perfect life.  Because our life is wonderful - not perfect.. but WONDERFUL.  And it has shaped us to who we are today.

Love you Jay!  You are my rock!  Happy Anniversary!  Looking forward to many many more crazy years with YOU! ☺☺ xoxoxoo