Damn Yoga Pants

I was just in Food Lion with my husband on a late night run to grab some items for his work potluck party tomorrow. I'm making some buffalo chicken dip that my friend Stacye introduced me to and Brian now loves, so he volunteered me to make some to take to work tomorrow.

Anyway, so we were at Food Lion, minding our own business...getting the items I didn't have on hand for the dip - cream cheese, crackers, and Fritos. Of course, while we're there, we stroll down the ice cream aisle and see that Breyer's ice cream is on sale Buy 1 Get 1 Free. Hard to turn down for this ice cream addict - specifically this kind:  

Breyer's Blasts! Waffle Cone ice cream is the shiiiiiit y'all. Seriously. I adore it. If given the opportunity, I would eat that or a McDonald's vanilla cone every day (and I will probably get that vanilla cone dipped in chocolate if it's available at that McDonald's)...it's serious. 

Anyway, I get a 1/2 gallon of that and a 1/2 gallon of Breyer's coffee ice cream (b/c it's delish) and Brian is on the other end of the ice cream aisle looking at Drumsticks and other novelties which were on sale 2 for $6. He got some Drumsticks and little dip cone things and we were headed to the check out. 

Our cart included: 

-The above mentioned frozen Breyer's Deliciousness

-The above mentioned frozen novelties of awesome

-Two bags of Fritos

-Two boxes of crackers

-A package of cream cheese

-Two gallons of sweet tea

-A gallon of skim milk

Basically, it looked like a cart of junk food - because it was. 

Brian steered our cart into the nearest checkout line and we were behind one of the most athletic, fit and healthy women I think I've ever seen in my life. She was wearing yoga pants - and not in an ironic way. I'm pretty sure these yoga pants had actually been to Yoga. I overheard her talking about getting produce at the farmers market.You could tell by her still sweaty hair that she had just recently finished a work out. On the belt in front of us were 6 packages of boneless/skinless chicken breasts and a 1/2 gallon of almond milk. 

This amazingly healthy looking woman wasn't going down the ice cream aisle. And I bet that if she had, she would have gotten a single serving 150 calorie ice cream cup that wouldn't be sitting in her freezer taunting her for an undetermined amount of time. She would have made the smart decision and given into a small craving, but kept the temptation out of her freezer so she could keep fitting into her teeny weeny yoga pants.  

I was literally ASHAMED of what was on the grocery belt in front of me. I'm still ashamed, to be honest. While the Fritos, crackers and cream cheese weren't for my consumption, the ice cream surely is. And we bought a LOT of ice cream. I wondered to myself "does this lady look at this food we're buying and say 'no wonder those two are fat.'?" Was she disgusted by the CRAP (yes, it's crap) that Brian and I were going to be putting into our bodies?

Not that it really matters what this woman thought of us, but I was ASHAMED to be buying this stuff in front of someone with such self control and who obviously cares about her health and maintaining her physique. 

I need to be that lady. I DON'T need to be the fat girl with the 4 ice cream items in her cart anymore. THIS HAS TO END. I'm making a new goal - it's this:

I want that hot chick in the yoga pant's body. I do NOT want the body I currently have. So there we go. Goals. Plans. Ice cream in the freezer. I haz them.

Oh....um...Hi August!

Whups. I totally failed at that whole "I'm going to start posting my pics and my progress starting August 1!!!" thing. My bad.

Moving is hard, y'all. I left a job I loved and so many of my friends to move to North Carolina with my husband and it's just kind of been difficult. I don't have a job yet, I don't have any friends to just call and hang out with yet, and Brian is starting to get sick of me being around all the time. I need a life! 

I'm still kind of training for the Half Marathon in San Francisco, but I'm worried I won't make my goal of $3,200 and I'm going to need to back down to the Raleigh City of Oaks Half Marathon instead. That's fine, of course, but the San Francisco marathon is devoted to helping the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society so the experience would be so much more rewarding! I just can't afford to pay 2k out of my pocket right now!

I think knowing that I don't have the fundraising for the San Francisco 1/2 and then generally being bummed because I don't have a job and friends in the area etc is really setting me back on this whole training/eating well/doing what I need to do to not be a fatty, thing. Happy me = Healthy me. I gotta get happy!

I'm back to where I started when I started this blog. Or pretty close. I'm at 215 again and I'm not happy.

Moving to North Carolina was stressful! We ate crap for 2 weeks before we moved and we've been eating crap ever since. I've been trying to bring us back to eating healthy food, but it's just not exactly working. I need to get my butt in gear.

 THIS ISN'T PRETTY. I don't suggest looking at these pictures. Seriously.

Is this thing on?

So, it's been almost 2 months since I've updated this here blog. I guess I'm a terrible blogger - oh well. I've got good news and some not so good news...

Good news:
- We don't live in Mississippi anymore! We've moved to the Triad area of North Carolina. This place is wonderful! If you've never been to NC - or stayed towards the beaches - come on down/up/over! The scenery is beautiful, there's tons of stuff to do and there are HILLS to practice my running in San Francisco on!

- I'm still signed up for the Nike Women's 1/2 Marathon in San Francisco with Team in Training benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society - my team here is AMAZING. I'm loving it!

- I'm a stay at home wife right now. I'm told this is good news, but I'm going crazy! However, it DOES give me time to plan healthy meals and do a little exercising and BLOGGING! But I am still dying to find a job!

Not so good news: 
- We don't live in Mississippi anymore. I loved that state. I loved those people. I loved that food. I miss it there. North Carolina is beautiful, but you can't get the same "yes ma'ams" "y'alls" and "fixin tos" that you can get in Mississippi.

- My training for the Nike Women's 1/2 Marathon has been rough. I'm enjoying my new TNT team (SO NICE!) but I can't seem to get my ass out of the house to run on days when there's not a group of people waiting on me. I did individual training once this past week and it was SO great, however, I was running on a trail with no bathrooms and had to go (sorry for the TMI) so I had to turn around. I'm not going to potty in the woods just yet. I'm not that hardcore.

- I'm back in some of my fat clothes. Moving is hard on a waistline. My darling husband packed up our kitchen FIRST instead of last so for the last week we were in Mississippi and the first week we were in NC, all we did was eat out - and it was rarely anywhere with decent food since I was with Brian and my father in law. I need to get back on the diet train.

Now that you're thoroughly bored, I've decided that on August 1 I need to go back to taking pictures and posting them here. I think those were keeping me on the right track - or at least keeping me honest. I'm hoping to do more core work since that will apparently really help my belly and running situation. So hopefully that flub you've seen won't be as flubby eventually.

So there's your update! Sorry I haven't been around, but like I said, I'm a stay at home wife for the moment, so who knows how much I might be around.

Want to help me the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society with funding for research, patient assistance and generally just knocking out blood cancers? CLICK THE BANNER BELOW!

*Note - I really do have some donations - my donated money hasn't transferred to my NC TNT account yet, I'm at $875 and I'm hoping to be at $1,600 by the end of July - 16 days away! YIKES. If you've got $5 to spare, I'd appreciate it greatly!

Monday Motivators: Jessica B.

This one has been a long time coming. We all have those friends who always make you laugh, will always make you realize you don't suck, and will always dance like a fool with you - my friend Jessica is one of those people. She's the reason I've started Team in Training for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society - and after my first run on Saturday, I can't thank her enough for getting me involved!

Jess and I met back in 2005 - we were both in sororities and I ended up hanging out with her sorority sisters a lot. They are good folks. Anyway, she's always been super active in all sort of activities and what not. I swear she started this TNT stuff because she had spare time or something and it just wasn't sitting well with her (Kidding, I have zero clue why she started Team in Training, but I'm super glad she did).

As evidenced by the picture to the left, we were recently both bridesmaids in our friend Leah's wedding. That's a pretty normal Jess face. Do you see why I love her so much?

Anyhoo, Jess is the reason I got involved in TNT - she chatted with me about the whole thing after she did her 1st half marathon with them and watching her update her FB on all of the training she has done and is doing has really just made me want to work harder. She's a mentor for Team in Training too and is pretty much all over it.

How's this for motivation? The other day, Jess went and drank a few beers and THEN went on her bike ride. I would never workout after drinking...but she's so much of a champ she did it. She's my hero.

I love my Be-Niggy-No. I can't thank her enough for getting me into TNT - after my first run, I can already tell I'm going to love it!  Even if she ditched me for San Francisco and is going to do the Metairie half marathon instead, I'll still be her friend, I guess.

Thanks for the motivation, help, and sanity phone calls. I love you, JB!

I AM A WARRIOR!

Fire Jumper!

I completed it! I did the Warrior Dash in Jackson, MS on April 21st and holy crap, it was so much fun. If you ever have the opportunity to do a Warrior Dash put on by Red Frog Events, you NEED to do it. I haven't had that much fun in a long time and I really felt like I had accomplished something!

I mean - seriously...I JUMPED OVER FIRE. The obstacles and the general muddiness of the whole experience made me feel like I was such a badass.

One of the greatest things about the Warrior Dash was running with my boss, Nicki. We are great friends, but of course, like every employee/employer situation, sometimes we get into it. Running this event with Nicki really made us work as a team and encourage each other. Nicki cheered me on when I had an issue with an obstacle (seriously, I had an issue with the "teetering traverse" which was just slanted planks - going down freaked me out) Nicki was right there, cheering me on and telling me that I'd survive if I just kept one foot in front of the other. When Nicki fell off of the "Vertical Limit" wall, I made her try again and grabbed her butt when she was almost to the top to help her up. When we both finished the hardest part of the course, "The Great Warrior Wall," we hugged each other. That was super difficult - BUT WE DID IT!

Me and Nicki

I can't give enough thanks to Cassie at Back To Her Roots. She made a post called "Tips for your warrior dash, mudathlon or mud run" that really gave us some great tips and I'm sure kept us from being completely uncomfortable all day. She also had some great ideas that others at the WD obviously didn't have, we looked so prepared and ready to enter battle! Cassie had some great tips, but, I wanted to add a few of my own and give a little bit more information for those of you who, like me before the race, don't have a flipping clue what you're getting into. 

Advice for your Warrior Dash/Muddy Run:

Clothing: Cassie mentions tight fitting clothing, swimwear, gloves and a second set of clothing and I couldn't agree more. Except for the gloves. It might be because my specific course didn't have many ropes, but they would have weighed me down a lot in the water and I probably would have ripped them off quickly. Also, the swimwear was a good idea, but Nicki wore a bikini bottom and ended up changing out of it anyway, so unless you want to stay in muddy underoos or are extremely modest (read: not even willing to wrap a towel around you and change your undies in a tent full of people of your same sex), then I don't see this as too important. 

Socks, yo.

The most important thing I can stress is TIGHT FITTING CLOTHING. I wore yoga type shorts that were a touch too small, they were falling off - yes, this means I was pulling them up - by the end. Wear something that's going to be tight or at the very least snug. My red tank top was a men's large and it was driving me crazy by the end because it kept getting stuck to the side. Wear snug things. You won't regret it. Trust me on this one, okay? I saw lots of hairy boy butt crack and it wasn't fun. 

I also recommend high socks - soccer style. I had so many cuts/scrapes and what nots on my legs in places that weren't covered by my socks or my shorts. To decrease your injuries, wear high socks. Plus, I mean, they look so festive. I also noticed that they helped my shoes not get as waterlogged. My socks didn't fall into my shoes and just collect water. High socks - definitely a good choice. 

Your second set of clothes - bring them in something that A) you're okay with getting muddy B) will keep the mud from getting on your clean clothes that are inside and C) will be comfortable enough to lug around with you after your race. The bag check will be muddy too, and lots of bags will end up on the ground. It would suck hardcore if your "clean clothes" ended up just as muddy as your race clothes. You'll still get mud on you after you race, so don't plan on looking "cute" afterwards. It's a mudfest. Enjoy it!

Shoe donation pile

Shoes: Just like Cassie says, you won't be bringing your running shoes back with you. I mean...you CAN, but I don't suggest it. Wear an old pair of kicks, we didn't have a whole lot of time to run anyway with all of the mud around. Warrior Dash supplies a shoe donation area where they collect muddy shoes, wash 'em up and donate them to the less fortunate. I suggest going that route. Make sure you bring flip flops or some other sandals that you don't care if you get super muddy and are easy to clean as your "change into after the run" pair.

Miscellaneous Things You'll be Happy You have:
I cannot thank Cassie from Back to Her Roots enough for this next suggestion - bring wet washcloths in a ziploc bag. Sure, we were sprayed off by a huge hose (SO COLD!) but hoses obviously can't rinse out the mud and gunk that gets all up in your clothes - specifically, your boobs. My boobs were extremely muddy, even after rinsing off and I don't know about you, but dirt rubbing up against those babies all day long wasn't going to work out well. Having those washcloths (I brought two, but I wish I had had more) was a lifesaver.

Bring a beach towel. One that you're comfortable with getting disgusting. I wish more people in the women's changing tent had thought of this one. I saw lots and lots and lots of T&A. And much of it was not cute. Not cute at all. Bringing a big beach towel that you can wrap around yourself well or your friend can hold up for you, will keep you from showing all of your muddy bits to the rest of the ladies in the tent. Trust me. When it's covered in mud, it doesn't really matter HOW toned you are, it ain't gonna be cute.

Toilet Paper. Okay, so gentlemen, you might not have to worry about this so much, but when I showed up at the run site at 10:30, there was no toilet paper left on site. None. Zilch. Nada. Become the most popular person ever and bring some TP with you - at least enough for you and your neighbor waiting in line for the porta potty. You'll thank me.

Cash/ID. You'll need both and the beer and food can get pretty pricey. I brought $30 with me and it lasted just enough to get me three beers and a hot dog with a bit of change left over.

Me and Trey! WARRIORS!

The most important thing to remember:
Have fun! This could potentially be something you'll never do again. Enjoy it. Realize how amazing it is that you're tackling obstacles and enjoy the camaraderie that comes along with helping others. You're going to get muddy. It's going to be a blast. 

A big thanks to my friend Trey! He's the one who told me about the Warrior Dash back in October and the one who made sure I got my butt signed up. Thank you, Trey! You're such a champ - keep up the good work! You're doing great things!

100 Reasons You Should Work Out Today

Oh, Pintrest, I love you. Someone pinned this and I think it's just what I needed on this rainy, gross day to motivate me to actually get a workout in today. We won't mention that my lunch was a bit heavy. Oof.

SparkPeople came up with some AMAZING Reasons to Work Out today.  You can find a few of my favorites below:

Because it makes you feel confident

Because you have goals you want to reach

Because it burns more calories than not working out

Because you want a great butt

Because it lifts your mood

Because it feels good

Because dieting only works so much

Because you take pride in your body

Because you are capable of more than you ever imagined

I like it, SparkPeople! Thanks for the idea! Can you think of any more good reasons to work out today? My good reason for the day is the chicken finger sandwich from Sonic I ate because I left my lunch at home (DOH!) - that's 450 calories I need back, please!

Team In Training

I'm doing it! I'm running another half marathon in October in SAN FRANCISCO - but this time, I'm going to train my butt off with Team in Training from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! I'm extremely excited and terrified all at the same time. I've got to raise $3,200 to be able to go to San Francisco - and I've got so much training to do!

The last time I did a half marathon, I finished in just over 3 hours (3:03) - this time, I'm going for about 2:50. I doubt it will happen (that's a lot of time to make up!), but it's always important for shoot for a goal and that's now mine.

I'm so excited to get my training started with Team in Training - and of course get a jump on my fundraising. It's tax season, you're probably wishing you'd donated more money in 2011, right? I thought so. Go ahead, get ready to get a deduction in 2012 and donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma society through this link and help me reach another goal!

Lifting weights like a boss...

I used to hate lifting weights. I dreaded it every time my personal trainers or coaches of the past would make me do it. I'm pretty accepting of the fact that I have zero upper body strength. Or I was.

See that ticker up there? It's for the Warrior Dash I'll be doing on April 21st with my boss, Nicki. If you click on that Warrior Dash link up there, you'll see that without upper body strength (and strength in general) you're SCREWED. I'm going to have to climb over walls, jump over fire, crawl around in mud and generally just question why I paid to do this crap for an hour or so. It's gonna be fun. 

To increase my strength, I've been following this book: The New Rules of Lifting for Women. I love the program. I haven't really paid enough attention to the diet plan, and I slacked off a bit in the lifting as of recently, BUT, when I was doing the lifting, I fell in love. 

When I used the squat rack for the first time, I was a bit miffed. In fact, a personal trainer at the Y came over and said "here, let me show you" - and thank God he came over, because I looked like a moron. I always thought squat racks were for men, but no more! Squats and deadlifts aren't fun by any means, but I love how empowered I feel when I do them. And my legs will start looking sexy soon!

The great thing about this book/program is that it literally lays it all out there for you. For 8 weeks, you do one phase with two different exercises that you rotate every other workout. It tells you exactly which ones to do for which workout, tells you when to add reps/weight and basically just makes it easy. You can run through a strength workout in about 20 minutes (possibly less) - and you get a good workout from it. You only have to work out 3 days a week and you really do see results. 

Today will be my first day back to NROL4W and I'm excited. I've got a Warrior Dash to prepare for!

Monday Motivators: Becky - She's got an electric smile.

This is Becky.

Yes, she always smiles like that.

I touched on Becky a bit when I did my Gate River Run post in March, but I honestly feel that Becky deserves her own Monday Motivators post. Here's why:

Becky Before:

Becky After:

Did your jaw drop? Did you say "Oh My God"? Did you say "SHE LOOKS AMAZING!"? Because that's what I did. Becky's lost over 150 lbs on Weight Watchers. 

Becky is a f*cking rockstar. 

I first met Becky back in 2003 when I was working for one of the most amazing radio stations to ever exist - WAPE in Jacksonville, FL. She was a board-op and I was a promotions assistant. She got to sit on her butt in a chilly studio and listen to Casey Kasem while I lugged around a tent and tables in the Florida heat. I won't lie, she was a big girl - but I wasn't skinny myself, so I never really thought anything of it, until I saw her this past March. She looked like a different person! She basically WAS a different person - except for her attitude. Still the perky, happy, positive Becky I've known and loved. 

She even smiles when she RUNS.

She's been running 5k's, now has a 10k and 15k under her belt and is still going strong. She's also a Zumba fanatic (She's a lover of all things Latin!) and is the most positive and enthusiastic person I've ever met. She's literally someone that brightens a room just by walking in, and now, when she walks in, she's strutting her stuff. 

I love you, Becky! Keep up the good work! You're an amazing person and an inspiration. I'm so proud to be able to call you a friend.

YOU ARE AWESOME.

This is for you:

I love food.

Yes, I'm one of those women who makes lunch for her husband. Judge me all you'd like, but if it keeps him from running to Popeyes or Wendy's on his lunch break and saves us a few bucks, I'll spare 2 extra minutes to make his lunch while I make mine.

Anyway, so while I make our lunches every day, I realize that I put WAY more into my bag that I put into Brian's bag. My lunch bag today consisted of this:

• 1/2 cup of pineapple tidbits
• roughly 3oz of Very Veggie Salad
• roughly 2 tbsp of Ken's Raspberry Pecan fat free dressing (effing delicious, by the way. You should try it)
• Dannon Oikos Blueberry yogurt
• PB and J sandwich
• 2 tbsp natural peanut butter
• 1 tbsp reduced sugar grape jelly
• 1 piece of whole wheat bread

It also included my breakfast and mid-morning snack:

• Jimmy Dean D-Light's english muffin with turkey sausage, egg whites and low fat cheese (I'm slightly addicted to these and they're SO cheap at Sam's!)
• Banana - as if you couldn't figure that one out.

That's a lot of stuff to put in a lunch bag, apparently! Brian always requests three things, never more, never less. When I give him 4 (even if it's small like string cheese), he says it was too much. He's weird. 

Do you eat big random lunches too?

Awesome pre/post workout infographic!

More Health and Fitness

I found this infographic today on Pinterest and I love how well it breaks down what to eat and what not to eat before and after workouts.

My favorite pre-cardio snack? Oikos vanilla yogurt with fresh blueberries. I've had the Oikos with blueberries in it and I just don't get the snap and crunch factor that I get with the fresh blueberries. It's so good!

Favorite Post-Cardio Snack? Pretty much any combination of natural peanut butter and bananas. *nom* I won't lie, this is also my go-to breakfast before races.

Obviously, I need to get some chocolate milk in after a workout too! I'll take any excuse to drink more chocolate milk! 

What are your favorite pre and post workout snacks? 

Gate River Run 2012: A learning experience

I did it. I finally ran the Gate River Run, one of, if not the premiere run in the Jacksonville, FL area. It's 15k around my hometown and I bombed it. Hard.

There were lots of things I did wrong in the weeks leading up the the race, the week of the race and the day of the race. It was just rough - but it was all entirely my fault, which bums me out to no end. I guess there's no better place to start than a few months ago when I decided to run my first River Run.

You know when you decide to do something, you have to prepare, right? Well, I started out thinking "Yes! I'm going to train for this thing! I'm going to kill it! I'm going to be amazing! Just call me the Gate River Run Champion!" and I asked my awesome friend Chrissy (Remember Chrissy? She ran the MS Blues Marathon in January when I did my half!) to come up with a training schedule for me and everything. I was ready. I was going to kick some Gate River Run booty!

Mom and Dad's house

Yeah, that didn't happen. I didn't train at all really. I went on a few runs, but life kept being allowed to get in the way, I was sick the week before the week of the race and basically, I just didn't do what I should have. No one to blame but myself, to be perfectly honest. Must do better next time.

Next, this was my first time traveling for a run so I guess I didn't really prepare for the toll that the flight and driving would take on me. I flew into Orlando where my dad picked me up and we drove almost two and a half hours home to Romeo (my parents live in a log cabin, how cool is that?). The next day, I drove 2 hours to Jacksonville and spent the night with my friend Becky (more on her in a minute). The next morning was time for the race! I think I squished myself a little too much with my travel plans. Next time, I'm getting into the town where the race will be held by Thursday!

Becky!

I mentioned my friend Becky up there; she's an inspiration. She's lost 150+ lbs on Weight Watchers and has taken up running. She's just an amazingly positive person. I'm so blessed to know her. We went to the Expo together on Friday then out to Mexican for dinner (*back to this in a moment*) and I spent the night at her house that night. Her bright, bubbly, personality was so sweet to wake up to the morning of the race. It was her first 15K - first anything over a 5k, actually - and it was definitely a killer one to start with. Becky is amazing. I'm so proud of her.

Let's get back to Mexican food and another thing I learned during this race. *TMI ALERT* Mexican, if you're not ready for it, is probably the worst choice EVER before a race. Don't do that. You'll stand in porta potty lines and screw up your time. Don't do it. LISTEN TO ME. *END TMI* I will never eat something that I don't have a proven track record of awesome with the night before a race. NEVER. AGAIN. I had to stop twice. I probably added 10+ minutes to my time. It was awful. I don't do porta potties. These porta potties were on the side of the freaking road. NEVER. AGAIN.

Moving on - socks. I got huge blisters during my half marathon in January, why I didn't think I'd get them again, I have no idea. But of course, I did. After the new round of blisters, I've invested in some running socks (finally). They're the best socks I've ever worn in my entire freaking life. They're DryMax Hot Weather socks and those stripes you see? They keep your feet cool and the blue keeps the moisture away so you don't get blisters! God's gift to my feet, I tell ya. I wore them for the St. Paddy's Day 5K in downtown Jackson and my feet felt amazing afterwards. DryMax? You're my hero.

Okay, back on track, the main thing I learned from this 15K was that training isn't optional. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this in every single post I've ever made about a race. I've got to train. I've put up a Craigslist ad looking for training buddies in the area (because none of my friends run) and I'm crossing my fingers that I get some nibbles soon. Hopefully I can get some people to train for another half marathon with me - and maybe I'll actually run most of the way!

All in all, the Gate River Run was not fun for me at all; but I learned a few good lessons that should move be forward with my running stuff, so that's good. I also have a pretty low bar set for next year's race, so I should be able to beat my time, no problem. Oh, and I got a spiffy medal.

I'm told you people like pictures, so here's a few randoms:

The Gate River Run is famous for the "Green Monster" Hart Bridge. The bridge is only available to run over for races and it was so cool to run over a bridge that I've literally crossed over thousands of times in my life. It's definitely tough to climb, but the views from the top are amazing.  

My Granny passed away a few years ago, but I remember that one of her favorite family restaurants was this place, Beach Road Chicken. It is a little piece of her right at the bottom of the Hart Bridge. When I got there, it was like she gave me a kick in the butt - exactly what she really would have done - and told me to suck it up and make it over the damn bridge. And I did. Thanks, Granny. I ran up on this place at the right time.

People who have run the River Run all 35 years are called "Streakers" - I found that out AFTER I saw this guy. I was worried he'd get naked.

It was a hubub of excitement before the race. Becky was glowing - but she always is. So excited!

Me, finishing up my first Gate River Run

*See the video here!*

Hot, right?

I'll see you again next year, Gate River Run! I'm coming at you with a plan to kick some butt! SEE YOU IN 2012!

It's been a while...but it's the beginning of March still, right?

Is that March-y enough for you? K. Good.

Hey, hey, hey! Yes, I realize I've been failing at this blogging thing recently. My bad. Please don't cane me - that looks painful. Thanks. I'll gladly take some swift kicks in the butt though, I've been completely unmotivated.

You see, I've had some "Blahs" recently that I figured y'all didn't really want to know about. Basically, the month of February was just kinda there. Not much going on one way or the other. I didn't work out as much as I'd like and I was sick for the last week or so. I'm going to compare it to "It's a Small World" at Disney World. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing too exciting and just a lot of the same.

Whatever, I'm over it and it's MARCH now! March! Can you believe it?! This weekend I'll be doing my first 15K - The Gate River Run in my hometown of Jacksonville, FL! I'm excited. My friend Jesse lives in Jacksonville, but she won't be running with me so I've been trying like crazy to find folks in Jacksonville to meet up with so I won't be drinking my post race beer alone.

That picture with the runners over there -->? That's people running in the River Run in the past (I have no idea what year, sorry) - but that blue thing? That's the Main Street Bridge in Jacksonville. Its one of my favorite things in the whole entire world. If I'm homesick, I look at pictures of the Main Street Bridge because it's so beautiful. I love it.

Anyway, the River Run is this weekend - and I haven't run in about a week and a half because I've been sick. Coughing up lots of delicious things, waking up with a super sore throat, sounding like a zombie mixed with a chain smoker and blowing my nose like a champ. Thankfully, I'm starting to feel a smidge better (FINALLY - and effing knock on wood, because good lord, I'm so sick of being sick). I'm hoping to get on the treadmill or out on the road tonight and tomorrow and just get some light running in so I won't be throwing my body into a 15k without any training at all.

I've also signed up for the St. Paddy's 5K here in Jackson which happens on St. Patrick's Day. Jackson has a HUGE St. Patrick's Day celebration/parade every year and this 5K is the one I initially told myself I wanted to run when I decided to be a runner! So YAY! I'm excited.

I guess I'll update more later. For now, check out this month's pics. They're not anything very special, just once again reminding me that I need to do SOMETHING to make next month's pics change.

Veggie ideas and motivation needed.

I'm about to get real with y'all: I haven't been motivated to do jack crap in the past few weeks.

Climbing Mt. Everest does not
seem "Fun" to me.

I'm not sure if it's the weather, my birthday, work, or just life in general throwing me off...but yeah - I'm not interested in doing physical right now. For some reason, telling me to go for a run these past few weeks has been tantamount to telling me to climb Mt. Everest.

No, seriously.

Even when I do go run, I feel sluggish because I'm not even eating the right foods recently. I feel like I just need a swift healthy living kick in the butt.

However, on the food side of things, I can tell my body is starting to get annoyed that I've stopped eating as many veggies. I used to try to eat a veggie with every meal, and recently for one reason or another, I've stopped. My body seems to like veggies, I need to get more of them in. Maybe I'll go get a yummy salad tomorrow to jump start my crispy crunchy lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers.

What are some of your favorite ways to eat more veggies? What's your favorite veggie? Do you bring veggies for lunch at work? I eat plenty of fruit, I think (CLEMENTINES ARE MY CRACK - ooh...insert Whitney Houston dying joke here? Too soon? Sorry...), but I seriously need help on the veggie thing. Eating better should also make a big difference when it comes to feeling better - which in turn should make me more motivated.

 

This afternoon, I was thinking about ways to motivate myself and ways to make myself go workout on a more regular basis, when I stumbled upon this blog post on Pinterest - I'm pretty sure she nailed it!

Her 7 Rituals For Running When You're Unmotivated are amazing - and you should totally do each and every one of them when you're just not feeling it. In fact, I plan on trying them this week. I can't imagine that I will suddenly be super motivated to start working out this week. But it's worth a shot. I plan to come up with my own list of ways to motivate myself, but I need to figure those out first, which means I need to get motivated!

It's Valentine's Day week and my husband will be turning 33, so I have a feeling that we won't exactly be sticking to our typical routine. However, I need to be doing SOMETHING - I have a race to run in less than a month! I seriously need to get my training in.

HELP ME GET MOTIVATED!

So, It's February - and I'm officially 27.

The best Funfetti birthday cake ever.

My birthday just passed and I'm officially 27. That makes me nostalgic. I'm in my late twenties. I was in second grade twenty years ago and I've been able to get into R rated movies without a parent or crossing my fingers that I don't get carded for a decade. Eff. I'm old, y'all. Like - really old. 

Okay - now that all of the over 27 readers hate me for saying I feel old, let me tell you this: JUST KIDDING. I feel great at 27. I feel empowered. I feel...wiser (?) than I did this time in my 26th year. I feel like 26 was a big learning year for me and I'm honestly excited to learn more this year. I want to learn more about food, exercise, healthy living and life in general. I'm excited.

My 27th birthday celebration, as you can see by this picture, was awesome. I had Funfetti cake with chocolate frosting and lots of sprinkles made with love by my friend Karen - she's been making and decorating cakes forever. I need to share some of her awesome creations one day. She's a super awesome artist and even owns her own invitations/cards company - Sprinkles & Ink. Yes - I'm pimping her out. She made me a Funfetti cake - this is what happens when you make me a Funfetti cake.

Anyhoo, our friends Karen and Billy made me birthday dinner consisting of two of my favorites: buffalo chicken strips and french fries. No - this was not a healthy meal. No - I didn't give a crap. It was delicious! AND THERE WAS FUNFETTI CAKE FOR DESERT - I hope we've covered how great Funfetti is by now. It was a great celebration and I really appreciated it. My birthday present from Billy and Karen? They're going to pay my entry fee for the Ridgeland Make a Difference 5k! Race fees are expensive and I love that they know me well enough to know this would be a great gift. (Thanks, y'all. I love you more than you know!)

I'd like to share something I noticed this week as I was looking at pictures on my desktop at work - it was February 2nd, and I noticed that I had taken a picture of what I was wearing to work on February 3rd in 2011. These pictures - taken almost exactly one year apart - made me realize (FINALLY) that I HAVE made a big change:

February 3, 2011

February 2nd, 2012

Pretty cool, right?! Yeah, I'm freaking stoked about it. I look hot! I mean, obviously, my modeling skills have improved, but c'mon! LOOK! That's at least a 20 lb difference (I can't remember how much I weighed at this point, but definitely around the 218-222 mark). LOOK HOW HOT I AM NOW. LOOK! Okay, stop staring..............go back to staring. I'M HOT.

Okay, moving on. I'm officially at 198 - again. I need to work on my food and exercise situations. This week was rough because of my birthday and people wanting to eat with me, cook for me, take me to meals, etc. (what's up with that, btw? Because I've aged, I'm supposed to gorge myself on deliciousness?). Plus, I had three appointments this week after work - so my time has been monopolized by other things this week. I need to get running again. 

Recently, I've also started sharing my blog on Pinterest and Facebook. I'm pretty freaked out about showing people that I haven't seen since high school (or some since elementary school, yikes!) my gut. But, I feel like it's one of those things, you know? Hold up to your end of the bargain and hope that you don't become fodder for jokes at the reunions to come. I take pictures of myself in a sports bra each month to show myself, and the world, the progress (or lack there of) I've made. It's not a pretty picture, but hey, that's the point, right? It's not pretty now, but, hopefully one day it will be. 

This picture is just proving to me that I seriously need to get some toning in. Cardio alone isn't cutting it anymore. 

I guess I've put off my topless pic of the month for long enough, eh? Click if you dare:

Monday Motivators: Jessica (Jesse...or as she'll always be to me, Jemsey)

Everything has a beginning. That seems like an obvious enough statement, eh? Well, when it comes to this whole weight loss, running, eating better, being a happier person thing - it started with one of my best friends, Jesse.

I like to put Jesse in headlocks.

Jesse and I have been friends since I was in 6th grade and she was in 7th. I won't go find any pictures from back then because seriously, we were (okay, ARE) big dorks and I doubt either of us want proof of that on the internet for the rest of our lives. But here - this should prove to you that we're actually friends - this was taken in 2006 in front of Mellow Mushroom in Jacksonville, FL. We're really friends. You can be jealous.

When I got married in 2010, I weighed approximately 220 pounds. I wasn't feeling fat, really, but I most definitely wasn't feeling "good." My friend Jesse was one of my bridesmaids, even though I hadn't seen her in over a year, she'd always been there for me so she had to be there for me when I decided to wear a big white dress and marry a boy who likes dragons.

Jesse - pre-WW

Nothing against Jesse, but she (and I) had always been chubby, but at 5'3 (or 5'4, whatever, she's effing short) it was just more obvious on her, of course I loved her anyway. We were the ones who dressed more like boys because girl clothes just didn't work on us as well as they did on other people. We bonded over some things that we have had to go through that others haven't - and of course boys. Jesse has always been my "therapist" when it comes to boys. She's always been my "Here, help me talk this out" person - this might be one of the reasons why she's always been such a big influence in my life.

<----Anyhoo, this is Jesse back before she joined Weight Watchers and starting being all super freaking awesome about her weight and food and working out. She's probably going to want to kick my butt for putting it on here, but she'll survive. Because I'm just about to show you how HOT Jesse looked when she came to New Orleans for my bachelorette party. But not just yet.

From the moment I saw her in New Orleans I knew that if Jesse could do it, so could I. She taught me tricks about eating out, taught me about spray butter (!) and most importantly, was there to cheer me on when I needed her. I'd call with food questions and she'd give me all of the information she could. She was my first big motivator.

Jesse in NOLA! HOT!

Jesse looks so amazing now and you can tell she feels great. She's always been beautiful of course, but she looks so healthy and confident that it really just gets the emotions flowing when I think about her and what she's been able to accomplish. She runs now and completed her first half marathon on the same day I did mine (hers was at Disney though). Jesse and our friend from high school, Jen have been super tight as long as I can remember.  Jesse got Jen started going to Weight Watchers and they've both lost a lot of weight - Good Housekeeping even did an article that featured them! Yes, the one with the flamingo leg is my wonderful friend Jesse. They made her stand like that. I still think she looks amazing -
I'm so damn proud of her. 


Thank you for everything you've been to me over the years, Jesse. Thank you for pushing me when I wanted to stop and for telling me that I really could do this whole thing. Thank you for doing it first, too. I wouldn't be able to do this without someone else blazing a trail. Thank you for always being a friend, even when I wasn't in touch like I should be or when I was a pain in the butt to be friends with (let's be honest, this happens a lot). Oh - and thanks for teaching me about spray butter, natural peanut butter and the joys of almond milk. I love you Jemsy!

Us all gussied up so I can get married

Us getting ready for my wedding