So, I've totally forgot to talk about Biggest Loser! It started again last week & that means date night with my best friend! I head to her house to watch. We visit, we laugh & we cry. Though lately we find ourselves laughing more.

One of the girls has a scar on her tummy. The conversation went like this......

Me: I wonder what that's from? Do you think she had gastric bypass surgery?

Steph: Maybe she was stabbed. (in a very matter of fact voice)

Hahaha! Okay, sounds awful but sometimes we are just that blunt!

As we watched last night, I got to thinking about how I feel desensitized to this show anymore. I no longer feel the motivation that I used to or even inspired by the contestants. Why? No idea though my heart did BREAK for the little girl who stopped eating & drinking because she didn't want to be fat like her Mom :( I can NEVER allow that to be me. Never.

As for me, I'm doing pretty well. I had a meltdown last week (thanks in part to PMS moodiness) & ranted to a friend who gave me a fabulous reality check. She told me to stop telling her what I was doing right & tell her what I can do to make things different (or better if you will.) Just what I needed to hear even in my whiny state of mind! Then it happened...the scale drop that has eluded me for almost a full month. I maintained but wanted more.

What did I do? I made the changes she suggested & realized that I was morphing back into a mindset that I've been working hard to escape. Whew. Close call but I think I'm better (not totally but getting there...)

And with that, continued scale drop since Saturday. I'll take it.


(picture from Universal Studios Orlando)

4 weeks to vacation (this has NOTHING to do with the scale but needed to just remind you all that FEAR awaits me....mwahahahaha!)

Hope you are all well!

Hungry?

Check these out. Apprehensive to try but finally caved & am in love with Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas!!!

Stop making faces...I did that too & could NOT believe how yummy these are!

Enjoy!

Happy Fall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE fall so much. It's my favorite time of the year! Perfect temperatures, beautiful colors, yummy treats, pumpkin, halloween, football.

Candy Corn ;) (always to be eaten with peanuts!!!!)

Fabulous colors that are sometimes just breathtaking!

And Halloween is just fun! Can't wait to celebrate this year's Halloween at Universal Orlando!

Do you love fall as much as I do? What is your favorite season?

Quickie?

Sure, why not. I'm flipping between the Bears/Cowboys game & The Perfect Storm while I stalk Ebay for our bid on Disney tickets. There's 5 hours left in the auction (currently winning) & am just hoping it doesn't turn into a battle in the end.

It turned out that I wasn't getting sick & just was really hit hard by allergies this week. Gosh they just suck SO bad & only a couple frosts will relieve me of them. That's not happening anytime soon so I just take benadryl at bedtime to ensure a night's sleep.

I updated my progress this week & dropped the half pound I found last week. And a reality check from a friend reminded me that it's not worth worrying about. Fluctuations happen & if I stay on course the results of my hard work will show. So there ;)

Last night we had dinner at a local steakhouse & headed to see Devil. I was expecting more of a supernatural, horror movie but it was in fact about the devil himself. Not awful & it had a subtle-ish religious undertone with the point being we should not worry about the devil because if he in fact does exist then so does God. Well, duh ;)

Not much else happening today. Just chillin. Spent the whole day cleaning yesterday (only stopping for my run) so I'm doing nothing today.

Making BLT's for dinner & apple crisp for dessert. Yep, life is good!!!

Oy.

How does one successfully stay healthy 95% of the year but get whammied during the worst of allergy season????? Ragweed & goldenrod are not my friend but I really thought that was all it was. Allergies. They are brutal this year.

Last night, I curled up in the big chair & my joints were achy. I thought it was arthritis (I sound like I'm falling apart, eh?) from the rain coming, cooler temps, etc. No biggie.

Until this morning, as I left the house it hit me, I think I'm really getting sick. Achy joints? Fever? Yep, probably getting sick.

At least it's after the race & we have nothing going on until vacation now. Well, unless we go to the city for the marathon, Great America for Fright Fest, etc. Nothing major.

So I sit here at my desk, eyes burning, tummy gassy/nauseous & just want to be in my bed.

At least the week is half over, right?

Success!

Well, on most fronts. It was a FABULOUS weekend! Let's do a good old update, shall we?

20 year reunion mixer
On Friday night, I dragged Kevin to my mixer. He had fun for the first hour (lol) but a couple friends were great about making sure he was entertained! It was SO fun visiting with everyone & seeing folks that I grew up with. Funny part was that they didn't recognize me & a couple of them I didn't recognize either. Two of them said to my friend "who's that" & when she told them they laughed & said "well, she's changed a bit." lol Here's a couple pics from the night.
My friend Tricia & I. We grew up together.
My lifetime friend, Tammy & our friend Mike (the creeper) in the back. lol

Not sure why the pics are so small but that's a couple from the night. We left about 930pm & I apparently missed A LOT of folks that came later. Bummer but we still had fun! My cheerleading coach even crashed the party! hahaha

Popcorn Panic 5 mile race
What can I say here? Kevin & I totally rocked this race. Our goal was to finish under 50 minutes. I'd done that before & knew it was totally doable for us. Well, we in fact finished in under 47 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!! I about died (literally almost barfed) & kept looking at my watch thinking it was wrong! So awesome & a major thanks to my friend Troy who came & found us in the last .5 miles to push us home. It felt great & we were totally feeling like rockstars. We ran SO hard! It was raining & cool so that helped tons too! Due to the rain, we didn't stay for the parade but instead went to see a movie later then headed back to the festival after that.

Progress
I've been keeping my progress/daily journal on the "Eat & Move" tab (though I might be the only one reading it..lol) but if you do, you'll see that I was up .5 pounds this week. I hold water very easily & did so after our long run last Sunday so I'm not even worried about it. It's only half pound & if it was more then I'd be doing some analyzing. I'm also not very "regular" lately due to prenatals so that has an impact too. I guess my point is, I'm not freaking out about 8 ounces BUT you also need to be aware of your body & it's fluctuations. It's important to progress to know those things & keep it in check if the scale continually shifts in the wrong direction. I'm also close to dropping into the next 10 pound range & my body tends to play games when that happens.

I think that's it. It was a great weekend. We saw Takers which was decent but seemed a little slow. Lots of man-candy though so I didn't mind. Nothing much on tap for this week which is completely fine!

I'm going to keep on keeping on & owning my life. It feels so great when you are in control & making things happen. Find that feeling. I promise you won't regret it!!!!!

Class of 1990

In honor of my 20 year reunion, I thought I'd share my senior picture. It's pretty bad...you know..the hair & the fact that I look like I swallowed a puffer fish. Not to mention the mock turtlenecks.

Tonight, I'm dragging Kevin to the reunion mixer since we opted out of the actual reunion. I'm looking forward to revisiting old classmates & just catching up on 20 years. There are no surprises about how people look now thanks to Facebook but there's always the wonder "what happened to them." I'm happily strutting my stuff as the girl that got skinny!!!! Take that MHS!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Race anxiety.

2006 Valpo Mini Marathon
(picture taken by Mom..the last race she saw me run)


2006 Chicago Marathon
(run in Mom's honor)

Sorry those pics are so tiny. Not sure why. But those are two of the last races that I actually did. 2006. 4 years ago & it seems like forever ago but I guess it kinda was. I've started training for a couple races since then (half marathons) but had to back out due to injury.

On Saturday, Kevin & I will run our first race together...ever. The 5 mile Popcorn Panic. He's always had to work. It'll be my first race since 2006 & his first since well, a very long time ;) I'm excited but somewhat nervous. When I first started running, this was the race the team that I ran with trained for though it was not my first race. My first was a 5K a month prior. This is a long standing race with the long-standing Popcorn Festival.

My best pace with this race is just under 50 minutes...would you believe it was actually 49:49!!! Dad saw me coming up the hill (there are a couple doozies) & told Mom to have the camera ready but she said "no way, it's only blah blah time." He said she's right there...sure enough..here I came. Running hard like I was being chased & I finished with a rocking time (for me...a fluffy, non-runner.) That was in 2004. The year I ran my first marathon. Amazing, huh?

Well, Kevin & I are ready to run (did a 9 min pace this morning for 2 miles) hard & run steady. We will be pushing beyond our comfort zone & in fact starting with a friend who will maintain 9's for the full race. Once we need to, we'll back off & he'll carry on but with that we still intend to push. Do you know that feeling? The one that you still feel comfortable but can still press on? It was tough this morning because I do NOT like listening to my breathing. Some do, but not me, I'd rather have some music distracting me. I have my race tunes ready.

I'm excited, nervous & ready to take on this route! Picking up our packets tonight. It's been a while & 4 years later am ready to own it.

What are you going to own? This week? Next month? I'm curious what your plans are to conquer your beast.

I might blow away!

This is what trees look like in the Region today. It's CRAZY windy & I think I might blow away. Why? Because I feel thin & that's what happens to thin people! hahaha

Speaking of thin, did anyone watch Thintervention? It's Jackie Warner's new show. It wasn't awful. Most of the folks need to drop at most 50 pounds & one of the participants is Jeanna from OC Housewives. Another is a 22 year old young woman who's bodyfat is at 50%. I almost cried for her. Mine is oddly enough in a healthy range for women even when I still need to lose 17 pounds to be at my goal. Thank you Daddy for a muscular build!

Anyway. We had a nice holiday weekend, dinner with the parents (his, my Dad & his girlfriend), gambled just a bit (only $10), did a run on Sunday (just under 7 miles), worked out yesterday & just spent the rest of the weekend being lazy, wandering or just watching movies in the basement (home theater room.)

Big plans for this week are my high school reunion mixer on Friday (not doing the reunion), Saturday morning doing a 5 mile race during the Popcorn Festival & then catching the parade, eating naughty goodies (hoping the boy scouts have the kettle corn again) & then just wandering the downtown area until they re-open the streets.

Why Popcorn Festival? Well, Orville Redenbacher just so happens to be from Valparaiso & started his popcorn empire here. Even more interesting, he started it with our friend's grandfather who recently passed away. So that's your Valparaiso history! Popcorn anyone????

Who's ready to own this week?????

A taste of fall!!!!

So fall is by far my favorite season. I love the crisp air, running in these temps is the BEST, leaves changing to such rich colors, football, pumpkins, halloween & CANDY CORN!!!!!! lol Yes, if you've been around long enough, you know my love of the sugary, honey goodness of candy corn. It's best eaten with peanuts, fyi! (HAHAHAHA)

I saw this today on Cupcakes Take the Cake. You should check that site out if you love cupcakes...such fun ones they find! Anyway...back to the fun one for today!

A mix of my faves...cupcakes, sprinkles & candy corn! So cute!

This morning it's 60 degrees outside & it FEELS like fall! I am excited about my long run tomorrow since it'll be much cooler overnight tonight!

Are you ready for fall? Is it your favorite season? I can't wait!!!!!

Can I rant?

Thanks for the blog love ladies! I read a lot of blogs & some really push this or that. My blog is not about that. I don't care if I get sent free products to try out, I don't care if I get sponsored for what I might or might not promote, I don't care if I get "x" amount of followers & I don't care if I zero comments in a day. I'm not promoting my blog by commenting on other blogs saying "come check me out" or being all sunshine & rainbows. Life is 90% fabulous but there are days that just suck. I'm not going to blog pictures of every morsel I eat (unless it's uber fabulous & has to be shared) or post a zillion pics of my life (vacations excluded.) lol

The sole purpose of my blog is to share my antics. I have friends that I interact with locally who follow, friends from high school that read, internet friends I may never have the honor of meeting who follow & some who just find me randomly. I'm good with that. I don't hide much really but certain things will never get blogged about. I'm pretty open but some things are just private.

I suppose that's a bit of a tangent but sometimes that's how my head works! haha Something just struck a nerve yesterday when I was reading comments on a blog that I like & it was a "wow, that's great. I'm this or that & you should come check out my blog." Literally.

As for my progress, I want to make it clear that I am NOT dieting. I'm eating well, small portions of what I want (mostly healthy choices...because that's what I want) & enjoying dessert with my husband sometimes. I'm eating like a "normal" person. You can see what I'm eating daily on the "Eat & Move" page over there ----------------------->

I move my body daily. 3 days a week we train (Savage workouts) & then 20 minutes of balls to the wall cardio. 3 days a week we run 3-5 miles each run for now. My goal is to do a longer run each weekend especially with fall coming!!!! That 7th day a week, I do something....even if it's just a short walk around the subdivision, Insanity cardio abs (about 15 minutes) or a 20 min run...something!!!!

So there you have it.....some might have wondered. No chicken & green beans here!!!