Holiday Vox Box

In November, I signed up for a website called Influenster. I initially found out about it from a Youtube video that I saw. I love free stuff so that was enough for me to try to get into Influenster. I assumed that Influenster would be like the other free stuff websites where you had to earn your way up the ladder to get the samples. I was completely surprised when I got an e-mail saying that I had been chosen for a Holiday Vox Box! Yay!

The little box of goodies arrived at my house right around Christmas (maybe 1 or 2 days before). Here's what I found inside...

Inside was a $25 off your first purchase from Sole Society,  NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine, a sample of Quaker's Real Medley Oatmeal+, Kiss Nail Dress, EBOOST, and a Goody QuikStyle Brush.

Check back... for individual product reviews. I'm so excited to try everything out!

P.S. Let me know if you want an Influenster invite. :) I can hook you up.

Bad run becomes reflective walk

I'm supposed to be running.

I'm actually walking.

At a God-awefully slow pace.

My legs were tired after one mile.

My back ached at mile two.

My thighs were chafed after three.

I threw in the damn towel before I made it to four.

I was supposed to do five. :(

I complained via Twitter about a quarter mile ago (follow me there if you don't already). What the hell is my problem?

I think I've got it figured out.

I ate terrible food from Friday to last night's dinner. My body has 0 fuel right now. Seriously bad. Like Strawberry Coolatta, wine, filet mignon, loaded baked potato, bacon, home fries, chocolate chip pancakes. I could go on all day...

While I'm sort of pissed at myself, I'm choosing to chalk this up as a learning experience.

Moral of the story:
You get out exactly what you out in! :)


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31st blog post

While looking at my blog yesterday, I realized I have blogged 30 times.

I thought to myself, really? 30 times.

That seems like a lot to me...I've never stuck with any other blog I've tried to write for this long. :)

I think I'll have a glass of wine to celebrate.

Happy Monday!

Face lift

So here's what I'm wondering...

For all two people (ok maybe more than 2 but not much more) that read my blog, would it be more welcoming if you actually knew more about me? A picture of me? My real name?

I'd like to encourage more readers to come back should they stumble upon me and I think seeing a person behind the blog might be helpful. I've been avoiding this because I'm a teacher

Any thoughts? Bueller? :)

Vibram Five Fingers

I've worn my Vibrams a few times since I've gotten them. Really the only thing that has kept me from wearing them every time was that a screaming infant wanted his mama and I didn't want to take the extra time teasing him while I wrestled my Vibrams on.

What I love about my Vibrams:
1. My shin pain is gone. Completely.
2. My knees feel good when I wear them. Four miles in regular sneakers and I could feel the swelling in my knees. No problem at all in my Vibrams.
3. After I workout, I love the feeling of sore muscles. I know I've worked and my body is getting stronger. I have that feeling more in my Vibrams.
4. Its like running barefoot. Very liberating. I feel like a little kid again!
5. My feet feel tons lighter in my Five Fingers.
6. Moosejaw.com (that's where I bought them) has some pretty funny packaging, sort of worth buying from them to just to read their inserts. :)

What I hate about my Vibrams:
- I can't think of anything...other than that my sister makes fun of me every time she sees me in them. She'll get over it though!

Why I'm loving running...

One year ago I weighed about 35 lbs more than I weigh today and was about 8 months pregnant.

Today I ran 4 miles and felt great. It was hot. It was humid. I got tired. But I enjoyed it. Now that it's done I have so much energy to tackle life's little tasks.

Running just makes me healthier and happier! :) Enjoy the rest of your Sunday everyone!


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I've been MIA

So my last post was in May 9th... Seems like forever in blog time :)

What have I been up to since then?

- Its getting close to the end of the school year, lots of testing and grading, conferences with parents who can't understand why their child is failing...

- The weather has been crud so it makes for less than inspiring ideas for posts.

- I've been working hard on getting a plan together for finishing grad school. Looks like things are finally coming together but it may put a BIG speed bump in the marathon training.

- Hubs took a 4 day fishing trip to Canada. Solo parenting makes me not a good blogger.

- Little Man popped another tooth through. It's not the one I expected to come through so it was sort of a surprise.

- I've been running in my vibrams... more posts on that to come.


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Negative self-talk...

One thing I've learned as an athlete and as a mommy is that negative self-talk gets you nowhere fast! I think we all suffer from it just a little bit but the key to reaching your potential and seeing yourself as a success is silencing that nagging little voice with nothing good to say.

My dad was always the first to tell my sisters (there's 3 of us girls in the family) that "if you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all!"

I think these words apply to being a mommy and a runner. It's so easy to get down on yourself about things, I could go right to town starting with all the bad feelings I have about letting someone else watch my baby so I can have a career. Then I can round it out with feelings of inadequacy about my less than adequate house-keeping skills and to top it all off - I have a bad habit of letting myself walk when there's no running buddy along with me.

But what does this get me?

Nothing but feeling bad about myself.

I've found that the best thing I can do for myself is focus on the good I do - I work to provide a good life for my child, I will teach him a great work ethic, my house-keeping may suck (and it really does) but my baby has more attention than he knows what to do with (and I happen to think that's a good thing!) and I might walk a little but I'm out there putting in the miles. I try damn hard to be better than I was yesterday.

You know, I actually used that line in a job interview once and I meant it! The interviewer asked "What sets you apart from the other canidates we are interviewing?" My response was this, "What you get today is not as good as what you will have tomorrow! I am always trying to better myself."

So if you walked on your run today, walk a little less tomorrow.

And don't forget to tell yourself about all of the good things you do!

Becoming a runner

This all happened sort of accidentally for me. To be quite honest I hated running for the majority of my life so far.

I was athletic in high school - played soccer and volleyball and was generally in good shape all the time. I remember back in those days looking at the cross country runners and thinking how completely crazy they were! Sports were one thing, I saw the objective and knew what I had to do to score. But running? For the fun of it?!

Flash forward to September of last year. I was coming up on the big 6 week check-up post giving birth appointment and no feeling so hot in my new mommy bod. Lets add into that equation the exhaustion from caring for an infant, breastfeeding around the clock, adjusting to what life as a mommy and wife means, and preparing to return to work. It's a crazy time!

I guess I figured I would try to gain control of my life again somehow. I had to go back to work, the baby needs to eat, and I couldn't make him go to sleep. ;) The flab, however, seemed manageable. Exercise was on the menu.

A workout video? Nah, too easy to drop and no one would notice. (I'm not very good at holding myself accountable)
A volleyball league? I'm not sure they even exist in my area.
Gym membership? Ha!

The only thing that seemed to make sense was running. I talked my mom into training for a 5k using the Couch to 5k plan. Her ultimate goal was to run a 15k and isn't a great self motivator either so the plan worked out well for us both.

We tried our hardest to make something we knew we would hate a little bit more fun. We took a trip to the city for lunch and a real fitting for sneaks and sports bras. The day I got medical clearance at my 6 week appointment was our first run.

We walked 90 seconds and ran 60 seconds over and over. My mom tried to blame herself for holding me back that day and for nearly every run after that but my new mom body isn't very tough. I was glad for a running partner to take my mind off the struggle.

We got stronger and I felt better after we ran but I still hated the act of running. About 4 weeks into our 9 week program a co-worker recommended Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. This book changed so much for me.

I learned that my body was born to run and that running was perfect opportunity to worry about nothing more than putting one foot in front of the other. I recommend this book to everyone - even if you don't want to become a runner.

I started to like running. Kinda.

After 7 weeks of C25k we ran a Turkey Trot. It was tons of fun and though we finished in last place, I started to feel like the athlete I once was.

That's what running is for me now. Something I do for myself - to help me remain a reasonable human being and to feel like an athlete. For some reason that title "athlete" means a lot to me.

Doom and gloom rainy day

Things that bug me today:
1. Messy house
2. Piles of laundry
3. Whining
4. Nasty takeout - I didn't even enjoy it!
5. Pumping
6. My book just out of arms reach when Little Man is sleeping on me.
7. People that get in my baby's face, talk in obnoxious voices then wonder why he doesn't want to go to them.
8. Today is a rest day. I want to run.

I realize that I'm being a brat and none of this is really worth complaining about but oh well!


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5 things I should be doing right now...

1.) Finishing up work my grad class.
2.) Planting my vegetables outside in the beautiful weather!
3.) Laundry
4.) Grading papers (projects and tests - what was I thinking?)
5.) Laundry (I get to use that twice because of the obscene amount that has piled up!)

What do you have to do but haven't found the time to?

Teething

Yup, you read that post title...Teething.

Whenever I talk to other parents, one of the first questions they throw out is "Does your little one have teeth yet?" So far he has two bottom teeth and I've been saying for months that there are more on their way very shortly.

I feel a little silly having said that for the past few months. It totally seemed like they were just around the corner at any point. He's drooling like a puppy and chopping on everything he can get his hands on. So I keep saying - those top teeth will be here soon and then soon comes and goes... oh well.

I'm fairly confident that they will truly be here soon.

At least I hope so!

This week I'm on Spring Break like most area schools but haven't had much of a break yet. Finishing out grad class projects isn't the easiest when you have an 8 1/2 month old has a runny nose, a little fever and just wants to nurse and cuddle with his mommy. Last night I sat down at the computer, Hubs was ready to give keeping my Little Man entertained everything he had.

Little Man had other plans. He wanted his mommy in a bad way. I needed to get work down. The mommy guilt settled in. And needless to say, Little Man got his mama and the homework went on hold.

What am I really trying to say here? Am I complaining about not getting work done? Maybe about not getting my run in?

Not this time - All I'm trying to say is that my baby will only be a baby once. He'll only teeth once. And someday he won't need his mama quite so badly. I'm taking it while I can! If that means this once-upon-a-time Magna Cum Laude student's grades don't look like they used to, I'm ok with it. The  honors I look forward to these days are a scrunched up little smile and a silly little voice shouting "Ma-ma!"

And the winner is...

Random.org selected comment #6, which means that...

Becky Anderson is the winner of the $5 Starbucks card. Congratulations Becky!

Thanks to everyone that participated! :)

Contest Time - $5 Starbucks gift card

Yay - my first ever give-a-way! 

Gain 1 entry for each of the following actions:
1.) Follow me on Twitter
2.) Like me on Facebook

Make sure when you've liked/followed me that you come back here and leave a comment telling me what you did!

Gain bonus entries for recommending us to friends:
For example, you tell your friend Suzie Cool about our Facebook page. Suzie "likes" our Facebook page. Suzie comments on the wall and says "My friend Katie told me to like you!"

Does this sound like a lame attempt to gain readership and followers? :)

Well if it does, you're right! But I'm willing to give anything a try.

I'll use Random.org to chose a winner, entries must be submitted by Sunday, April 17th at noon EST.

If I forgot any rules or you have any questions, please let me know (this is my first contest after all)!

Free Stuff

I love free stuff! One of my favorite websites lately is crowdtap.com. By completing surveys, polls, and other tasks you earn points and the chance to preview products. I was selected for 4 Old Navy coupons. I just got back from picking up my dress - we took a girls day shopping trip. The dresses were up to a $39.95 value and we got them free with my coupons! I was a little nervous about finding something for this new mommy bod that that I have. It's amazing how much your body can change from having a baby. Trying on dresses that used to look great on me can be frustrating but luckily there were many different styles to choose from!

Here's what I ended up with - don't mind my vampire white winter legs!

See what I've sown

Our little seeds are popping up!

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Spring... at least in my mind

Spring has not sprung. Its a frigid 29 degrees right now. I have been a baby and not been running like I should because I want the warm weather to show up. The big problem with this is that I'm planning on running a 5K on Saturday. Oh well...

In an effort to think Spring we made an impulse purchase today at the store. You see, this will be our third summer in our house. Last year I had planned on planting a cute little vegetable garden but was gigantic at 6 and 7 months pregnant. I had no ambition to grow anything (well...other than a baby). So today at the store I declared that this would be the year.

We picked out our seeds...


Prepared the starter trays...


Sowed the seeds and labeled the trays...


Walked outside to show you the beds where the seedlings will eventually end up...


Avoided the winter pile up of dog poop...


Patted myself for a job well-done...

And then I realized I maybe shouldn't have started all of those seeds already. Only the tomatoes and peppers said they needed to be started on the instructions.

Oh well. We'll see what happens.

Meal-times = Pathetic

Meal-times in our house are usually fast - as in fast food or take-out. I would say that we eat out (on average) 3 or 4 times a week. Oh I'm ashamed to admit that. I want to be better about meals, I truly do. I like to use working full-time as my excuse and my 35 minute long commute factors into it too - I also like to pretend that I can't cook because I need to work out or get ahead on stuff for grad-school.

Honestly though, I just need to stop making excuses and start cooking more. I'm a fan of Dave Ramsey so I signed up for the program he supports E-mealz. I signed up probably a month ago and printed out the plan (recipes and shopping list) but then never went to the grocery store.

This weekend we printed out our weekly plan and ate our first E-meal on Saturday. It was Chicken Salad with grapes and pecans. I left out the pecans (I'm not a fan of nuts), needless to say my Hubby was not excited about the grapes.

I wouldn't call Meal #1 a total strikeout but we probably won't be eating it again. Tonight we're trying Skillet Hamburgers (sounds like sloppy joes to me) and it sounds like it will be good except the suggested sides are uncooked broccoli and celery sticks (I'll never get Hubby to go for that).

So the moral of this story is that I need to be more organized and hopefully E-mealz will help with that. We'll see...

Spring has sprung!

I took my first run in a skirt today and the verdict is that I loved it! The weather was a lovely 55 degrees and everything was going great...

Until Little Man decided he'd had enough of our jogging stroller - total meltdown. It wasn't pretty, tears and boogers everywhere! The end result was Mr Hubs coming to rescue us with the truck.

Do you take your little one with you when running? What do you do when a meltdown presents itself? Run through with a screaming kid or give it up?


-Here's some crocuses from our flower bed. Happy Spring and Happy St. Patty's Day!



11m41s today :/
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Confessions #2

If you read my post yesterday, you'll know that we're having a hard time adjusting to becoming a family of three. Running helps me keep my cool, it gives me the quiet alone time that I need so badly. Running clears my head.

Needless to say, I haven't run on a regular basis yet.

Last Saturday (after a terrible week - one death in the family and one death of a friend so close they should be family, heartbreaking layoffs at work and a teething 7 month old) I lost my $h!t. I was late for the funeral ceremony, couldn't find my black heels, and nervous about the funeral.

While I was rushing out the door I shouted to my Main Man, "The (breast)milk is thawing in the sink but you'll have to wash a bottle." To which I'm almost certain he replied, "I'm not washing any TRucking bottles." (except he didn't say trucking!) He claims that's not at all what he said but regardless of the situation...I flipped.

Let's just say my flip flops quickly left my feet, the keys ended up under the couch and my iPhone landed on the couch! I ended up sobbing because I was so mad at my Hubbie and so frustrated with myself and that I lost my cool.

What's the moral of my story?  

#1 - I need to run more.
#2 - I need to get my poop in a group. My online friend, Michelle, has her poop in a group - she's very zen! Check her blog out - seemommywork.wordpress.com/