Forty Plus One

Yesterday was my birthday.  I was given two things, a chocolate cake just for me (okay, I shared with the kiddos when they got home from school), and a new appliance, so I can make more cake.

Mike said that he thought if he gave me something for the kitchen that I would divorce him, but I've actually really wanted one of these babies for a long time.  There comes a time in a person's life where gifts such as a new washing machine generates as much excitement as a pair of earrings.

We are getting a ton of snow right now, but had a warm, windy Wednesday (that would be a perfect title for a blog post) so I took Frank for a run. It started to rain about a mile in, but he's been smelling like corn chips again, so I figured the shower would do him some good.  It was a quick three miles, I made sure the wind was at my back to use it to our advantage.

Frank keeping watch in the backyard.

My mileage for January was decent, one of my New Years Resolutions was to not get hung up hitting a certain number of miles, unless I'm training for a race.  My goal right now is to do something six days a week, and mix it up between running outside and doing either speed work on the treadmill, or a slower pace, paired with a very high incline.  My plank a days are more like plank every other day, but I'm up to two minutes which is great.

FYI, 60 seconds on a stop watch is much slower than counting to 60 in your head.


Since I'm no Martha Stewart, I get my holiday decor from places like Target.....or more likely, the Dollar Store.  To spruce things up for Valentine's Day, I bought some glittery hearts for the front door, but I don't know, they kind of look more like mittens to me.

Sunday means the Super Bowl, which means chili in the crock pot, and beer instead of wine. Since neither the Giants or Jets are in it I'm not too excited, but I've been assured it should be a good game.

Happy Running, and Happy Weekend!

Wordless Wednesday: that pretty much sums it up!

There is still just enougth time for a Five For Friday

1.Do you wear a hat?

Sometimes for vanity's sake I go without, unless I'm going for a run, or walking the dog. I will forever be a girl from Long Island, and can't bear to put something on my head that may squash the fullness, but when the cold really hits, I need to cover up.  All I need are two hats to get me through my snowy days, Mike isn't a fan of this one, but I am.

Yup, once again here is a shot of me in my bathroom.

2. I registered for three races this week, the Tipperary Hill Shamrock Run, The Empire State Half in October, and The Boilermaker 15k in July, which I'll run for the sixth time.  My wallet took a hit, but this is the time of year when races in Syracuse open, and close rather quickly, so I didn't want to miss out.  I don't have a half marathon on my spring calendar yet.  Now that my foot is finally feeling better, I am going to force myself to take care of myself.

Which means listening to my body.

3. I've gone down this road so many times.  I just want to run Every Single Day, but I know I can't.  I've run several times this week, up to five miles per run. I'm all gung ho and ready to go, but I forced myself to do yoga on Tuesday, and today I did a Jillian Michaels "Last Chance Workout." I didn't get the same feeling as a sweaty run would give, but my plank a day's are kicking my rear.

Stronger Body, Stronger Run, right?

4. Let's talk briefly about Lance.

I always believed in his ability, his drive, his love for his sport. Yes, it is disgraceful that he cheated and mislead all the people that he inspired, but.......

I hope they are still inspired.

I didn't watch the first half of the interview with Oprah, because I really didn't want to watch him throw his spin on his lies, but tonight I was folding laundry, and decided to look for something on TV to pass the time.  I couldn't find it at first, Mike didn't think we had the OWN channel, but after a quick search, lo and behold I discovered we did.

Well, I watched and was disgusted, which wasn't a surprise.  I must say though, that when he started talking about when his son asked him if the rumors were true, and he lied to his son, I was completely done.

I try to make my children happy, safe, and proud.

I would never lie to my children.  

5. I decided what my goal will be when I drop these extra, extra pounds.  I've wanted to try Cross Fit for a while now, and I decided that once I get to my goal weight, I'll go and do Foundations classes.  I would love some feedback from anyone who has tackled this.  I do feel somewhat intimidated, but I'm sure I'd be ready to kick it once I got into the groove.

Any advice?

These are a few of my favorite things

It's time for another installment of "What I'm Really Liking Right Now."

I love knee high socks.

My BFF Jennifer gave me a Central Park pair from Little Miss Matched, she pointed out the runners along the side and I was completely sold.

Plus they're cute, comfy and obviously, warm.

Speaking of warm, another gift I received was from Mike on Christmas Day, a lovely fleece robe.

A nice, thick fleece robe. Can you see the softness? I'm sure all the kids on Luke and Eliza's school bus could see the softness when I ran outside the other morning when the dog got out, and wanted to get on the bus with them.

I love my morning coffee, but in the afternoon I stay away from caffeine, otherwise I'm up all night.  However in the winter months, I like a cup of tea around three o'clock, and this is the newest addition to my collection:

It's no substitute for a Junior Mint, but those are off limits for now.


And finally, Mario Badescu Hand Cream.

I'm not a fan of scented lotions, and I became a MB fan after Luke was born.  My postpartum skin was a nightmare, and they cleared me right up.  If you are ever in NYC I highly suggest you go for a facial, they are fabulous.

Well, this is the hand cream that sits on my nightstand, if I put it in the kitchen it would be gone in a week especially since Eliza is already showing product junkie tendencies and wants to use everything I own.  The cream smells clean and simple, and feels so nice.

Plus Mike says it doesn't make me smell like his Grandmother.

Tell me....what are you loving lately?

*Note: I like all these items and own them.  And that's it. 

Rainy Days and Sundays Don't Always Get Me Down

There are two things I'm going to tell you about this photo:

1. It was taken two hours after I used my brand spanking new straightening iron.  I don't know why I bothered, obviously my natural wave runs the show.

2. I colored my hair last night, going from dark, dark brown, to a lighter brown, I think I did a decent job, aside from a couple of random streaks. I like to mix it up, just six months ago it was a blondish hue.  And to top it off, I haven't had it cut since October.


It was so nice out today weather wise.  I took Frank for a five mile run, we headed out and it was a balmy 52 degrees.  It felt great, although the poor guy kept looking for water to lap up, and had to settle on biting the melting snow.

We haven't run together in a few weeks, so he's enjoying his recovery.

 Eliza is now an official Daisy, which means she is currently selling Girl Scout Cookies.

And I'm the official Cookie Mom.

Yikes.


My Mom was visiting us this past week, and we went to see Les Miserables the other day.  We saw it on Broadway together waaaaay back in 1995, so it was nice to see the movie together.  Although I almost lost my mind at one point.  I take going to the movies seriously, I don't talk during the show, I turn off my cellphone, I quietly unwrap my pieces of chocolate so as not to disturb others.  Well, there was a couple sitting directly behind us, and two different times during the movie, their cellphones rang, loudly....and they answered them! And were all set to have a conversation with whoever it was on the other line, until I turned around and whispered "seriously??????"  

They left not long after that.

Oooo, the Golden Globes are starting......I hope Hugh Jackman wins.

: )

The Plan Is In Effect

Wow, this month is well underway.

For me, January is usually a time for detoxing and getting back on track, resolving to do this thing or that.  This year I didn't make any specific resolutions, just to be a better version of myself.  Over the course of 2012, I put on a bunch of weight.  I stayed active all year, but I still managed to add about seventeen pounds, in the form of stress eating.

I know that the key to weight loss is to be very aware of what you put into your mouth, I don't know how many times I've started a food log, I usually do okay for three days, then forget to fill in my dinners, and then I give up all together.  For Christmas Mike gave me a new iPod Touch, and the cool thing about it is that I can download apps, specifically MyFitnessPal. I've been using it since New Year's Day to log in everything I eat, as well as what kind of exercise I did that day. It gives me the total number of calories I should stick to in order to lose the weight, and I've also been tracking my mileage. It's basically my new BFF.

Along with keeping track of my food, I promised myself to do the following:

*getting on the floor to do a plank a day, as well as other strength work
*no junk (a.k.a. my beloved chocolate), but I can have a bit on Sunday
*hopping on the treadmill six days a week (and hit the pavement with Frank if it isn't icy.  If there is ice, it's a guarantee that I will fall)
*continue to eat real, yummy food

Like this:

Tuna mixed with low-fat mayo, tossed with greens, and a slice of this:

I've been a fan of Ezekiel 4:9 Bread for a while now, my favorite is the sesame seed variety.  I had the change to try their new Sprouted Flax Bread, which is made from sprouted grains (wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, spelt, and flax), not flour.  Each slice of contains 90mg of Omega 3, 5g of protein, 4g of dietary fiber and 18 amino acids from vegetable sources. It's guilt free bread because it's low in carbs and calories.

  

I like to toast it, because you have to keep it in the freezer, I don't eat it plain, it needs a bit of moisture, such as a bit of earth balance buttery spread or almond butter.

You can find Ezekiel in the freezer section of your market, and if giving up carbs was one of your resolutions, I suggest you give it a try!


*Note: I was sent samples of the bread for the purpose of this review, my thoughts on the product are my own.

Rewind It, 2012.

I talked to my brother the other day, and he said he spent six hours on Christmas Eve night putting together a toy kitchen for my nieces.  He watched A Christmas Story over and over, and at one point he started talking back to Ralphie so that he wouldn't lose his mind.  Which made me feel better about the Air Swimmer that Santa brought my kids.  Thank Goodness for YouTube, and the video that helped me to not lose my mind while I put this sucker together. 

When I was finished, Luke played with it for ten minutes, said "Thanks Mom!" then went upstairs and read a book. 

Yeah, that relaxing two days I was looking forward to didn't go exactly as I planned. I did get to spend a whole day in bed, but it was because of a stomach bug, and not laziness.  Luckily everyone was okay by Christmas Eve, and we could fully enjoy our time together.  

Christmas Eve feast with the kiddos and my Mom-in-law:

Post Christmas Morning Melee, the kids, their favorite gifts, and Daddy:

It's been a relaxing, lovely, snowy vacation, but reality is knocking on the door. 

Time to look back on 2012.  

I think there must be some law of averages in that a good year is followed by a not so great year.  Mine could have been better, we dealt with several lousy things, but we were still so fortunate.  

Time with family:

Disney:

Lots of time spent in the Adirondacks:

40th Birthday Celebrations:

Running wise I stuck to my plan of not having a plan.  I took races as they came, and the underlying theme among each one was that I had a great time running with my friends:

More/Fitness Half:

The Boilermaker 15k:

I'm the type of person who likes to literally turn a page to a fresh start, and I can't wait to hang up my 2013 calendar, with a fresh new year for me to tackle.   I said to Mike the other night that I finally feel like ME again, and I am going to do everything I can to be proud of myself again. To be the best Mother, Wife, Sister, Daughter and Friend that I can possibly be. 

I wish you a Happy New Year! 

May 2013 bring you much happiness, peace, and love.