10 Things I have been up to lately

I'm a bad blogger.  I have been so busy lately.  But I still don't want to give up on this little blog of mine.  So in lazy blogger form here is a bullet list of the top 10 things that I've been doing but haven't had time to blog about:

1. We had our yearly site kick-off event for work a few weeks ago.  This is like a pep rally for the year.  Usually we have a dinner at The Angus Barn and other fun team activities.  This year's was not as great as previous years.  But they did surprise us with a performance from Scotty McCreery!

2. Speaking of work, I got a mentor at work.  We are going to meet once a month and so far she has been great.  It's like she knew me from our first meeting.  She wants to help me build my confidence so she gave me an assignment to make a list of 10 things I am proud of accomplishing in my life.  This topic deserves a whole post later because I have done much pondering and researching on confidence in the last month.

3. One of my goals for 2013 was to pay off my car early...and I did last month!  A whole year earlier than schedule!

4. I am also in the process of switching my home and car insurance and refinancing my house.  All this was prompted by a notice that due to an increase in my homeowner's insurance  I had an escrow deficit and they are increasing my house payments by $50 a month.  I know $50 doesn't seem like a lot, but I have a very tight budget and need my bills to stay pretty stable.  Hopefully after all this my payments will be about the same as they are now or even less!

5. I am giving up TV at the end of this month.  This is in an effort to a) save money and b) not be so lazy.  I may supplement with Netflix, but I haven't decided yet.

6. With the money that I am saving from giving up TV, I got a maid.  They only come once a month, but y'all I am terrible at housekeeping and really needed some help!

7. On April 15, 2012 I ran my first half marathon.  On April 15, 2013 I started over with Week One, Day One of the Couch 2 5K program again.  Yes, that is how far you can fall in a year.  I am so out of shape, but at least I am taking steps to get back on the wagon.  (And yes the irony continues that the Boston Marathon Bombings were on that day as well!)

8. I'm going to the beach this weekend with my Bible Study girls and to Austin, TX at the beginning of May for work!  YAY for travel plans!!

9. I've spent a lot of time in downtown Raleigh over the last month and sometimes I think I wish I lived downtown.  It really has come a long way since I first moved here.  But traffic, parking, and one way streets stress me out way too much to make it my home.  I like the outskirts and being right between Raleigh and Durham just fine.

10. I got to get in a cash cube at work last week.  It was a disappointing experience and I only got $24.  I think this was mainly due to the fact that I went 7th and all the $100, $50, and $20 bills had been taken AND they dumped all the fake money the previous people had collected back in the cube right before my turn.  So unfair!  But I guess it's better than nothing.

Hopefully next time it won't be this long between posts! 

New Year, Same Goals?

Here are the resolutions I made a year ago:

1. Finish my 30 Before 30 list before my birthday in August. (2 years late but hey at least I will finish)  In order to complete it here's what is left:

• Get in the best shape of my life (working on it)
• kayak 
• catch a fish
• kiss in the rain
• read the Bible all the way through (almost finished with the OT)

2. Run a half marathon (hopefully in April)

3. Pay off my car early.  (I am supposed to be done with payments April 2013, but I would like to pay it off early if possible!)

So I did make some progress. 1.5 out of 3?  In my defense, I thought my car payments would be done in April 2013, but it is actually April of 2014.  Saving up 4 months worth or extra payments is a lot different from saving up 16 months of extra payments!  So that will stay on the list.

Here are my goals for 2013:

1. Finish my 30 Before 30 list.
Only 3 things left!  The hardest is #1- get in the best shape of my life, so I think I will concentrate on that.

2. Pay off my car early.

3. Make some upgrades to my house.
I want to re-paint the downstairs, switch out some light fixtures, re-do the counter tops in the kitchen, get a new kitchen sink and faucet, and possibly replace some appliances.

4. Be a better blogger.
This year I have sucked at blogging.  I haven't replied to comments.  I haven't even commented much on other blogs (although I have been reading!).  I haven't been consistent with my posts and most of them have lacked substance.  I want to get back to being a better blogger because it is something I really enjoy.

The past few years I have also committed to start, stop, and keep certain things in my life.

Here are mine from last year...

I would like to start eating healthy on a more consistent basis.  FAIL!

I would like to stop complaining so much.  FAIL!

I would like to keep running.  FAIL!

I did pretty good with those for the first half of the year, but the second half of the year they all fell by the wayside.  I would like to try to improve on those again in 2013 but also...

Start getting up earlier and going to bed earlier.

Stop eating so many sweets and processed foods.

Keep  volunteering with Summit Kids.

So it sounds like 2013 is going to be a year to concentrate on my health and finances.  I wouldn't LOVE to have some LOVE show up in 2013 for me, but I have all but given up on that.  I am not good at the whole love thing and am totally leaving that in God's hands where it belongs.  If 2013 is the year for it yippee, if not I will wait.

Pinterest Inspired Wednesday- Frozen Banana Treat

Source: under400.tumblr.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

I'm going to try to bring back my Pinterest Inspired Wednesday posts.  Seeing as how I have over 2,000 pins on Pinterest, I need something to motivate me to DO a lot of the stuff I am pinning and doing a weekly post was a good motivator for that.  So each Wednesday look for a new post about something I have tried, bought, made, cooked, or was otherwise Pinterest "inspired"!

This week I tried an easy one- these little frozen banana treats.  The original used almonds, but since I didn't have any almonds I used granola.  I didn't have a Popsicle stick to stick in them either, but they were just as tasty using a fork.

I also found this link to a neat little simulator where you can input your current weight and then your goal weight to see the difference in how you would look.  For me I couldn't see a huge difference in the front facing ones, but saw a big difference in the side and rear facing ones.  Pretty cool.

Source: api.modelmydiet.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

I'm linking up to the Vintage Apple's Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday where bloggers link to their posts about their favorite pins.



But I also want to know if you have actually tried something- how did it turn out??  If you have a Pinterest success or disaster please leave a link in the comments section so we can read your story too!

And as always  so you can see all the fun things I'm pinning and I can follow you and get more inspiration from your pins!

Sorry for being MIA

Hi remember me?  I feel like it has been so long!  I have been so busy.  What have I been up to?

I read some books (full reviews coming soon on the Bookshelf blog):

Fishbowl- 3.5 out of 5 stars

Love Lies- 2 out of 5 stars

Fifty Shades of Grey- 4 out of 5 stars

I have been busy trying to figure out what to do with all the veggies I have been getting in my CSA box each week.  It's only been two weeks but so far all the veggies have been things I would never buy at the grocery store.

Week one was kale, lettuce, turnips, and mizuna.  I made kale chips (will post about that tomorrow) and ate the turnips raw with some hummus or on a salad with the lettuce.  They were both yummy.  I ended up throwing away the mizuna.  It was supposed to be like arugula but it looked very wilted after about a week.

Week 2 I got beets, red leaf lettuce, scallions, and swiss chard.  I already threw away the red leaf lettuce because it wilted after just 3 days.  I have a recipe for the beets and scallions.  Look for that on an upcoming Pinterest Wednesday post.



So far I am not loving the CSA.  The way it works is you pay for the whole year (mid May-Oct).  It comes out to be about $11.75/week and you get a grocery bag full of random fruits/veggies delivered to my work each week.  It has forced me to eat more veggies and try things I would never buy, but can I get some regular old green beans or peas or something?  And a girl can only eat (and store) a certain amount of lettuce each week.  Enough with the greens!

I took a fitness test at work.  It was for National Employee Fitness week.  We had to run 1.5 miles, bike 1 mile, do as many sit-ups as you could in 1 minute, as many push-ups as you could do in 1 min, and a wall-sit for as long as you could stand it.  We were supposed to try to beat the president of our North America Group's times/numbers, but considering he is a super in-shape guy who did the 1.5 mile run in like 9 minutes and I still can't even run a mile in 9 minutes I didn't come close.  I did the 1.5 miles in about 15:20, the 1 mile bike in less than 4 min., the wall sit for 90 seconds, and about 25-30 of the sit-ups and push ups. 

I have made progress on The List.  It looks like I will hopefully be going on a kayak trip June 9, I only have 77 chapters left to read it the Bible, and I am on my way to the healthy weight range and beginning treadmill training to run a 9 minute mile so I can declare myself in the best shape of my life.  Now I just need to find a cute boy to take me fishing and kiss me in the rain.

I finished my sewing class and made a pair of PJ pants.

I still need to hem them because we ran out of time.  But due to a mix up and them only having 1 sewing machine for the whole class, we get to take another month long class in September for free!

I also went to see this for the second time and it was great even though they didn't do justice to my favorite song "I'm not the girl".

I've also been super busy at work.  I just got to create a Pinterest account for Lenovo US!  I love Pinterest and don't think twice about pinning things or setting up new boards on my personal account but for some reason I was so nervous setting one up for Lenovo!  Would people follow us?  What should I pin?  Please do me a HUGE favor and FOLLOW US!  I promise I will try to pin good stuff and not be annoying or overwhelming.  PLUS we will be having an awesome contest on there in a few weeks for Back to School and you could win a new computer with accessories or an Android tablet!!

I'm going to try to get back to a regular posting schedule.  Thanks so much for still following despite my silence lately.

9 miler and Franklin 5K

Soooo...on Friday I made my attempt at 9 miles.  I did 9 miles, but I most certainly did not run 9 miles and the only reason I didn't do less than 9 miles was because it was an out and back run, so I had to get back to my car somehow.

It was soooo freaking hot.  We ran at a little after 4 pm and the sun was blazing.  And I was not in a good place mentally as you guys know.  I was complaining by mile 3.  I had to walk for a bit before we even hit mile 4 (which is not normal). And I walked the last mile and a half almost entirely.  It was the worst run of my life.

I was freaking out because I had a 5K the next day and my legs were so sore I could barely walk before I even finished the run.  So I took an ice bath when I got home.  Yes, I actually dumped ice in my tub and sat in freezing cold water for 20 minutes.  It sucked.  But it worked!  I was a tad sore the next day, but I was expecting to not even be able to walk!

I ran the 5K Saturday morning.  I was slower than I'd like to be, but only a few seconds off my fastest 5K time.  I finished in 34:30.  I'm slow ya'll.  I don't think I will ever be a fast runner.  I've decided after this half, the only thing I want to train for is getting in under 30 minutes for a 5K.

The race was the ZTA Franklin 5K.  I was a ZTA in college at ECU and I was seriously impressed with the event the UNC Zeta's pulled off.  It was really organized, well attended, and the philanthropy (Susan G Komen breast cancer) was evident everywhere.

I even got to see one of my ECU Zeta sisters finish her very first 5K at this race!  I haven't seen her in years, but follow her blog so I feel like I know her better than some people I see on a daily basis.  She rocked it!  She was just ahead of me  for the whole last half of the race and I was so proud of her!  She is seriously superwoman.  She has 3 young kids and a  career and managed to train for this 5K and finish strong!  It was great to see her and meet her adorable kids at the race and see her accomplish a goal I know she's been working towards for a while.  She'll be rocking out a half marathon in no time I just know it!

One of my best friends and fellow Zeta Kristin ran the race with me too.  Being on a college campus and around all those Zeta's made us want to go back to our Zeta days.  We had never seen the ZTA house at UNC so we drove around to find it.  It was huge, but no where near as cute as our house at ECU.  We did love the Pi Beta Phi houses.  That's right we saw two super cute houses that said Pi Beta Phi!  As a former house manager and treasurer, I can't imagine having two houses!  They were both adorable though!  And the Tri-Sigma house had a sailboat etched on their front door which we thought was awesome.  Oh college days, how I miss you.

It was a fun race and cheaper than other 5Ks I've done.  And I didn't know this before we got there, but you can bring your dog!  I so want Cam to run a race with me!  I think I might do this one again next year.

I still can not let go of missing my 8 mile run.  I was going to try to do it on Sunday but I was too dang tired so I am going to try to do it tonight.  Plus, mentally I need a good long distance run after that disaster on Friday.  I was seriously going to try to get a refund on the half.  I was almost in tears at a couple points.  It was sooo discouraging.  But they don't do re-funds, so I have 4 weeks to get there.  I HAVE to do this.

This weekend I have my very first 10K.  I think the main motivating factor for this race is that there will be Chic-fil-a food at the end of it! I really don't want to think about time because I know I will just disappoint myself.  So maybe my goal will just be to do my best and feel good at the end of the race.

I was going to then try to fit in our 10 mile run next Sunday, but we shall see how I'm feeling after the race on Saturday.  I don't want to over-do it!

Oh why oh why did I get myself into this??

My first half marathon training

I'm trying not to let myself get stressed out about this.  I have to just not think about it too much.  I started off strong and had a plan, but now that it is down to crunch time I realize I am a little behind in my half marathon training and these next three weeks are basically going to be hell.

Here is what I have done so far and my plan for the remaining time left before the race:

I didn't stick to the plan I had and things got kind of all over the place.  And please note that when I say "run" it's more like slow jog.  Like 12-11 min/mile pace.  And there might be some walking in some of those "runs".

Now I am kind of freaking out.  Today I am going to try to run 9 miles with a friend.  I say "try" because I have never ran more than 7 miles.  The week after we did that 7 mile run is when it all started falling apart.  The next week we did 6 instead of 8 and then the next weekend we just skipped it all together and when I tried to go out to do 8 by myself I could only force myself to do a little over 4 miles.  

Tomorrow I am running a 5K in Chapel Hill and next Saturday I am running my first ever 10K in Raleigh.  I've already signed up for the half so no matter what I will be attempting to run 13.1 miles on April 15th.

I'm trying not to freak out about it.

And as a bonus, here is a really cool marathon infographic I came across a few weeks ago (click to go to the original source where it is much easier to read):

Have you ever done a half marathon?  Were you freaking out your first time?

#10poundchallenge update

Back in January I signed up for The 10 lb. Challenge.  The challenge is to lose 10 pounds in 12 weeks.  We are nearing the end of week 5 and we were supposed to do an update on our first four weeks sometime this week.

I almost didn't do this post.

You see I weighed myself on Monday after coming home from the ski trip and having my friendly monthly visitor show up the night before and I was SO disappointed with the number on the scale.  I had gained back almost everything I had lost since starting the challenge.  I was only down 3.5 lbs. before I left for the ski trip but to gain almost all that back (minus a measly 1/2 lb) was devastating.

I thought maybe the scale had made a mistake so I weighed myself again the next morning.  Same. exact. number.  BOO!

I was so mad I didn't weigh myself for the rest of the week and stuck to my counting calories and half marathon training plan.

This morning, after going back and forth about it for a few minutes, I reluctantly stepped on the scale.  As the digital display churned I was so nervous to see what would pop up.  But I am happy to say that as of this morning I am 4.5 lbs. down in this challenge!

It just goes to show you how finicky the scale can be.  I know I have lost weight because my clothes are looser and other people have even commented on it.  So why do I let that stupid little number devastate me like that?!


So far this year I have done a pretty good job of with sticking to my diet/training plan.  I have kept up with all of the runs in my half marathon training plan for almost 6 weeks now.  I have ran over 80 miles since Jan. 1 and will reach 100+ miles by the end of the month.  I have tracked my calories every day since January 1st except for the 5 days I was on the ski trip.  (I tried to do it then, but it was impossible to keep up with.)

I'm not going to lie and say it is easy.  It's not.  But it feels good.  I still hate running sometimes.  Especially when I first start my run, and even more thinking about the run I have to do.  But sometimes it feels really good to run!  In fact last night I was actually dancing while I was running.  I mean how can you not dance to this song?  It's freaking fabulous!



Hope you guys have a great weekend!  Mine just got kicked off with a fantastic start :)

List update- almost there!

Here is what is left on my list:
#1- get in the best shape of my life
#9- kayak
#10- catch a fish
#18- upgrade one room in my house (DONE post coming soon)
#26- kiss in the rain
#27- read the Bible all the way through (I finished the Old Testament and a lot of the New! Only 16 books left!)

Last year I had said in this post that order to mark #1 off my list I needed to run two laps around Lake Lynn without walking (aprox. 4.5 miles) and run a 9 minute mile.  Well I accomplished one of those this week!  I ran around Lake Lynn two times without walking.  I was so happy.  I am actually seeing progress with my running.  It is SLOW.  SLOW progress.  But it is progress.  And the feeling of doing something I had never done before was fantastic!!

I haven't tried the nine minute mile yet.  I am scared.  I'm still slow so I don't want to try yet and get disappointed if I'm not even close.  But I ran an easy mile as part of a fitness challenge at work and my time for that was 10:16, so maybe it isn't impossible.  I'm just not mentally ready to to try yet.

As I was running around the lake I decided I am adding something else to the criteria for crossing this one off my list.  I must be at a healthy weight according to this chart:

Source: tiptoebutterfly.blogspot.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

I tried not to make it about weight because I HATE how we girls become a slave to that number on the scale.  But I just can't declare myself "best shape of my life" if I am overweight.  So yeah.  All my life I have found it can be hard for me to fit what charts say is healthy because I am so short.  At my lowest, skinniest size 4 self in high school I was still at the upper-end of "healthy" according to the charts.  But this chart has a wider range than I have seen in the past and is totally do-able I think. 

What do you guys think?  I know I have asked this a million times, but how would you define "the best shape of your life?"

Disappointing upgrades

Have you ever become convinced that you absolutely MUST have something?  Like it is all you can think about and you just have to buy it.  But then you are a little disappointed with it?

Well that happened to me this month.

One problem I had been having was on days that I brought in clothes to go to the gym at lunch I was carrying 4 bags into the office.  My laptop bag, my purse, my lunch bag, and my gym bag.  And when you have a big coat on and have to walk about a mile to the building carrying 4 bags on your shoulder isn't easy.

At first I wanted to get a messenger bag for my laptop so I could put it across my body and not have it constantly falling off my shoulder.  But I was also annoyed at how small my gym bag was.  I could barely fit everything in it and wanted something with a little more room.  So when Katie blogged about how awesome her new gym bag was I wanted it.  I thought I could maybe even fit my lunch bag and my computer in it to consolidate everything to 2 bags!  And I had always wanted something from lululemon!  And it was on sale for $30 off!  But it was still $70 which is expensive fore a gym bag if you ask me.  I kept adding it to my shopping cart online and then talking myself out of it.  But then it got to the point that I just had to have it so I bought.

I was so excited about it and tracked it during it's week long journey to my house.  I was so excited to see the lululemon package on my doorstep!  But when I opened it I was a little disappointed.  It wasn't as big as I thought it would be.  My laptop couldn't fit in it.  In fact it was only a little bigger than my current gym bag and maybe not even as cute?

(My old bag is the blue one on the left and the new one is the purple on on the right)

I can fit my lunch bag in it and I do love that it has a longer strap and a separate compartment for my sweaty clothes.  But honestly I'd rather have my $70 back.  But it was on final sale so it is un-returnable.  Lesson learned.

Then this happened to my love- my old iPhone 3Gs:

I admit I had been jealous of Siri.  And Facetime.  I really wanted those things.  But I was going to wait for the next iPhone release.  Unfortunately my screen was shattered now so it made sense to upgrade.  I got the new white iPhone 4s.  And you know what?  It isn't that much better than my old one.  Siri is kind of mean and not as useful as I thought she'd be and I still have yet to use Facetime.  Also on my new phone it doesn't tell my what % battery power I have left.  It just shows an icon.  I don't like that.  I'd rather have my $200 back.

Maybe it is because January has completely blown my budget between HOA dues, car problems, taxes due, 2012 trip planning and everything else.  Oh well, it's just money and I'll have to find a way to make it work.  But now I know, sometimes it's better to just hold on to your cash than throw it away on something you think you just HAVE to have.

I love my bodybugg

I know some of you had wanted me to do a review of my bodybugg.  This isn't a full review, but I will tell you I love it.  I don't even notice I am wearing it anymore and I have learned SO much from it!

I do not use their "program" online.  I have the one that syncs to my iphone and I find it easier just to keep track of my calories in with my "lose it" app and only use the bodybugg to track my calories burned.  I had already set up a spreadsheet that I track all of my workouts in.  (I am obsessed with spreadsheets.  I even made one when I tried online dating to keep track of all the different guys I was talking to.)  So I just added a tab to that spreadsheet where I put in my calories burned (from the bodybugg), my calories consumed (from the Lose it app), and then have formulas to tell me my deficit and keeps a running total and also how much weight I should have lost if 3500 calories really does equal 1 lb and all my tracking is correct.  Here is what it looks like:

As you can see I came out strong on Jan. 1 and burned over 3,000 calories!  That has still been my best day yet.  I ran 6 miles and did tons of housework that day.  Since then I have ran 6 miles again but didn't combine it with all the housework and only burned about 2600 calories.  I have yet to break the 3,000 calorie mark again.  Here is what the online tool said about that best day:

As you can see the online tool doesn't match exactly what my iphone had told me which happens a lot.  I try to stick with what the iphone says.  I think it doesn't include the estimate for the time I am not wearing it (when showering). But I'd rather underestimate than overestimate.

You can also see I had stayed up late that Sat. night and burned some calories around the 1-2 am time frame which contributed to that 3,000+ calorie day.

I've also learned that just adding little activities to your day adds up a lot.  On the days I work from home I burn way less calories than days I go in to the office.

Work from home day: (total 2343)

Office day: (total 2518)

You can see the big spikes are when I worked out, but look at the spikes I had coming in to the office at 9, lunch at noon, and leaving the office at 7 on the office day.  I can't believe how much those little bursts of activity add up!  I also worked out harder on the work from home day so my activity spikes aren't as noticeable on that graph, but still.  I only ran 3.5 miles on the office day vs. 4 miles on the work from home day and I still ended up burning almost 200 more calories on that office day!

Also on days I don't work out at all I am LUCKY to even get to 2,000 calories burned.  All this time I thought 2,000 calories was my baseline, but that is not the case if you do nothing all day!

So far I have only lost 3 lbs. but that is exactly on track with what the numbers say I should have lost.  I had a bad week this week and actually had my first day where I had a calories surplus!  But at least now I am aware of how on track or off track I am! 

Another thing it tracks is steps per day.  You know how they say you should get 10,000 steps per day?  I never get that except on the days I do my long runs.  Never.  Not even close.

All this new information has made me take the stairs more, park further away, do more housework, and spend less time sitting.  Even the difference in calories burned sitting vs. standing is noticeable.

I'll keep you updated and probably do more posts about the bodybugg, but I wanted to let you guys know what I had learned so far from it!  I love numbers and analyzing things looking for patterns so this is perfect for me!!

Oh and if you are interested in getting a bodybugg, they do have a refer a friend program where you can get a discount if I refer you (and they give me a credit so maybe I can buy some extra armbands?).  Just go HERE and you are supposed to get an extra $20 off your bodybugg!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!

You know I love a challenge!

One of the blogs I have been reading for-evah (seriously since I started blogging back in '08) Heidi over at Life in Pink blogged today about this 10 lb. challenge she signed up for.  Well, sign me up too!  I had an awesome week with my bodybugg last week and always need more motivation to stay on track!  The goal is to lose 10 lbs. in 12 weeks.  And you can win prizes- Yippee!

If you want to sign up too, just go over HERE! 

Bring it!

New Year's Goals

Here are my goals for 2012:

1. Finish my 30 Before 30 list before my birthday in August. (2 years late but hey at least I will finish)  In order to complete it here's what is left:

• Get in the best shape of my life (working on it)
• kayak
• catch a fish
• kiss in the rain
• read the Bible all the way through (almost finished with the OT)

(I've already completed upgrade one room in my house. I need to write a post about it)

2. Run a half marathon (hopefully in April)

3. Pay off my car early.  (I am supposed to be done with payments April 2013, but I would like to pay it off early if possible!)

I also liked the idea from last year of something to start, something to stop, and something to keep.

I would like to start eating healthy on a more consistent basis.  No more cheat days that turn into cheat weeks that turn into taking the whole month off.

I would like to stop complaining so much.  I am sick of complaining.  Complaining is so unattractive.

I would like to keep running.  I took almost 3 weeks off during December from my 10K training plan and I was so afraid I was going to have to start all over.  But my body stayed in shape better than I thought it would.  I started off doing 2 miles walking/running at the lake last week.  Then I picked it back up yesterday and ran 5 miles and walked 1 for a total of 6 miles!  It wasn't super easy, but I did it.  And according to my bodybugg I burned over 3,000 calories yesterday!  I must keep running in my life to get those kind of numbers!

What are your goals for 2012?

Christmas Presents

I got a lot of great things for Christmas over the last few weeks!  Some of these are from my Black Friday shopping, some from the amazing Christmas sales (I couldn't help picking up a few things for myself since I was already there getting stuff for others!), and some of the gifts I received (or already bought with some Christmas cash I was given!)

New running shoes and some Bondibands!  I have either a huge or odd shaped head because regular headbands just pop off my head.  I am hoping these will work!

A bodybugg!  They wear these on the Biggest Loser.  I also heard Valerie Burtonelli talk about hers in her book Finding It.  And my boss has one and loves it.  All of that and some internet reseach convinced me to get one!  You wear it and it tracks how many calories you burn.  You input what you eat and that way you can see if you are on track calorie-wise for the day.  So far I have just used it to see how many calories I am burning on average, but starting Sunday I will be tracking everything!

Some much needed new nail polish. I haven't bought any in forever (or painted my nails).  But last week I decided to add "painting my nails" to my weekly to-do list.  I went through my nail polish bag and over half of them were no good (too goopy or separated too much).  So I got these to kick off my new collection.

My mom gave me the money to get this sewing machine on Black Friday.  It was only $50!  I already signed up to take beginning sewing classes in a few weeks at our local Art Center.  I am hoping to make a few things for around the house but most importantly I am hoping I will be able to hem my own pants!  Being a shorty this has always been an issue for me and I will be so happy if I can do it myself!

These awesome new shoes!  I REALLY needed new shoes.  I find a pair I love and wear them down to nothing.  I had never heard of this brand before (Levity).  Apparently it is exclusive to DSW.  They are so comfortable and so cute!

This might be my most favorite of all!  This was another Black Friday buy- only $69! It has been forever since I rode a bike, but as a kid it was one of my most favorite things to do.  I got my first bike when I was five (I think) and I barely had the training wheels on for an hour before I was riding every freaking day throughout the neighborhood.  And just like they say "it was just like riding a bike"- it came right back to me!  I have a grocery store right down the street (with a Redbox!) and even a Target about a mile or so up the road if I am feeling really adventurous. I plan on getting a little basket for the front.  I also take Cam out at night when there aren't many cars out.  I ride and he runs beside me.  He LOVES it because he can run so fast!  It makes me a little nervous that he is going to jerk away or stop suddenly and cause me to crash, but so far no accidents!

Oh and I used some of my Christmas cash to buy tickets to see this when it comes back to the DPAC in May!  So excited!

What was your favorite gift this year?

Defining Character- Self-Control

Self-Discipline- the act of disciplining or power to discipline one's own feelings, desires, etc., esp with the intention of improving oneself

Self-Control- the ability to exercise restraint or control over one's feelings, emotions, reactions, etc.

Last month I declared the month "Self Control September".  Looking at the definitions above I should have named it Self-Discipline September, but I think they are pretty interchangeable.  Of all the fruits of the Spirit, self-control was definitely my weakest.  In fact I have even blogged about trying to get better with self-control/self-discipline here, here, and here. And I just remember my pastor JD saying in one of his sermons that you are only as strong as your weakest spirit.  So I am continually trying to work on this area of my life.

So what did I do to focus on my self-control in September?

1. I gave up soda (diet and regular) for the month of September.  I didn't drink a lot of soda anyway, but I would usually have a diet Mt. Dew, diet Dr. Pepper, or diet Coke just about every day.  All those chemicals can't be good for you (even if they are calorie free).  I did pretty good.  I had a cherry limeade that I think had Sprite in it, but other than that, no sodas.  Since the month has ended, I have kind of limited myself to just one mini (7.5 oz) soda/day.  I do notice that I get more headaches, but I also feel less bloated when I am not drinking soda.  I hope to keep them to a minimum from now on!

2. I had a virtual fitness partner!  I don't know what I would have done without Amber this month!  Each week we would send each other a summary of how we did the previous week as far as eating and working out.  At first I wasn't tracking my calories, but Amber was and she inspired me to get back on the bandwagon with that.  I thought I was eating pretty well, but it is different when you are tracking everything you eat!  I would often think before eating or skipping a work-out how this would look on my weekly report to her and it kept me from making some bad decisions.  I took this week off from counting calories and my 10K training program because I needed a break, but I hope we can continue our weekly reports because they have really helped me stay on track!  P.S. Go check out her blog!  It is one of my faves!


3. I started a 10K training program similar to the couch 2 5K program.  I'm up to week 6 and it is tough.  I'm up to over 4 miles/run and try to get all 3 runs in each week.  I think this helped me a lot too because I didn't want to get behind on the training program, so I would force myself to run on days even when I didn't want to.  I took this week off, but I had my 5K on Saturday and finally came in under 35 min!  My previous PR was 36:58 and I ran this one in 34:47!  I know it is still so slow, but hey it is an improvement!  Maybe one day I will break that 30 min. mark!

4. I've been using this app called "Home Routines" to stay on top of things around the house.  I have a morning checklist and an evening checklist and then a weekly checklist.  Here they are:

Morning:
- Breakfast
- 15 minute focus/devotional
- Let dog out
- water animals
- get fresh and clean
- make bed

Evening:
- Feed cat and dog
- Collect dirty laundry
- put away clean laundry
- shine sink (put everything in dishwasher and clean out sink)
- wipe down kitchen
- sweep floor
- run
- 100 sit ups
- swish and swipe bathroom
- take out contacts
- brush teeth
- pray

Weekly:
- Vacuum
- Mop
- Clean bathrooms
- Dust
- Brush Cam
- Go through mail basket
- Switch out towels (in bathrooms and kitchen)
- clean make up brushes
- clean out litter box

I didn't always mark off everything everyday/every week, but I aimed to get 90% marked off. 

5. Re-do budget.  I switched jobs this month.  I am still doing the same job, but I am a permanent employee instead of a contractor.  I used to get paid weekly, now I get paid twice/month.  I used to pay for my own health insurance and had no 401K, but now I have benefits through them and a 401K, so I had to re-do my budget.  I got my first paycheck this weekend, and I had to adjust my estimates a little (taxes are freaking outrageous!) but now I have my budget nailed down.  I am still doing envelope budgeting and I love being able to see where all my money is going.  Expect a whole post about budgeting later this week!

So there you have it.  I think self-control September was a success!

Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday!

I know I have said it before and I'll say it again- I LOVE Pinterest!

This week I am linking up with The Vintage Apple for Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday!

And please follow me on Pinterest so I can follow you and see all the pretty things you are loving!

Follow Me!!  -  ncsuz on Pinterest

 

Source: prettystuff.tumblr.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

Source: blulabelbungalow.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

My bamboo floors are getting installed as we speak!! So excited! But I think I'm going to need some rugs now. I'm thinking about getting this one from West Elm for my living room. What do you think?

Source: fuckyeahtattoos.tumblr.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

I LOVE this tattoo! I want another tattoo. I want one on my wrist but I think this placement looks cool too. I'm just afraid my poor little feet are too sensitive for this. I can barely get a pedicure without jerking my foot out of the lady's hands because they are so ticklish!

Source: thehealthychange.tumblr.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

Of course I need some thinspiration! I totally fell off the diet/work-out wagon last week due to my busy schedule and traveling. In fact I went to the gym on Monday and I think it was the first time I put on my tennis shoes in 2 weeks! I stopped doing Jillian's Ripped in 30 workout (only got through weeks one and two). Life always seems to get in the way of my goals!  I wanted to run a 9 minute mile to mark #1- get in the best shape of my life off my list. I haven't ran in over 2 weeks and I tried at the gym this morning and got a mile in 10:05. I am most def. not in the best shape of my life right now.

Source: bakersroyale.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

These lemon drop jello shots look awesome! I love jello shots but they are so awkward to eat from a cup. These look adorable and they look like they'd be easy to eat too!

Source: myspace.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

Are you guys watching Bachelor Pad? I didn't watch the last one, but I had to watch this one because Graham is on it! Graham was my personal trainer a few years ago before he moved to New York and he was such a good personal trainer (and not just because he was nice to look at). He really is a nice guy. I am not happy to see him hooking up with crazy Michelle and teaming up with team Vienna, but I'm still rooting for him. But Graham- eat a cookie or something because you are looking way too skinny!

P.S.- I'm almost to 300 followers! If I get to 300 followers before midnight tomorrow, in honor of my birthday, I'm going to do an awesome giveaway for you guys!  So if you love my little old blog, please tell your friends and ask them to follow me!  310 would be even better becasue it would match up with turning 31, but I'll take an even 300!!  :)

Pinterest Love and Weight Loss

I am obsessed with Pinterest!  If you haven't discovered the awesomeness of Pinterest and need an invite just let me know and I can send you one.  But be forewarned- it is super addicting.

It is basically a virtual inspiration board.  Say you are browsing the internet or blogs and you see an image that gives you a great idea for your house or a recipe you want to try or even just something that makes you smile or inspires you.  All you do is click "Pin it" on your browser and you can save it to one of your "pin boards".

I don't have it completely figured out.  I think it is kind of hard to find people to follow.  I signed up through Twitter, so I only know how to follow my twitter friends.  So follow me on twitter (@ncsuz) and then I can find you on Pinterest too and we can inspire each other!

Here are some of my recent pins:

I have a board called "thinspiration" (which is apparently an anorexia term- who knew!).  It really has been inspiring but don't worry I am not anorexic even though I pin super skinny girls to inspire me to get my butt in shape!

I did finish week one of Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30 DVD and I lost 2.5 lbs!  Yay!  I am also running 10-15 miles/week and going to the gym- although the morning gym routines have been only 1-2x's per week lately.  And I'm still taking the stairs at work which might be the hardest of them all!  Five flights of stairs in heels carrying a semi-heavy laptop bag and purse is not easy.  And it doesn't help I have this huge fear of missing a step and tumbling down the concrete stairs!  Am I the only one with this irrational fear??  Do you take the stairs at work?

#1- Get in the Best Shape of my LIFE!

My birthday is quickly approaching and I want to finish my 30 Before 30 list by then.  The #1 thing is to get in the best shape of my life, and it is probably one of the hardest.  I'm having a hard time defining- "best shape of my life".

I certainly won't be at my lowest weight ever by then...in fact I am on the upper end of my weight spectrum now.  But I think I am in pretty good shape.  I never thought I could run a 5K and now I've done four!  I work out regularly and feel strong.  So what is the actual goal?

Well, I found this old spreadsheet where I tracked my weight loss and workouts from 2005-2007.  Back then I lost about 50 pounds and was feeling pretty good about my body.  I kept track of when I reach little fitness goals- like when I ran an 11 min. mile and when I ran a 10 min. mile and the first time I ran all the way around the lake without walking (2.25 miles).

So in order for me to feel confident about marking #1 off my list I will have to run a 9 min. mile and do 2 laps around the lake without walking (4.5 miles). 

If I do a 9 min. mile I think that will be the best I have ever done because when I played soccer in high school we ran the mile once a week and I sucked at it.  JV players had to do in in under 12 minutes and Varsity players under 10 minutes.  I HATED mile day.  I would much rather do circuits or drills or suicides or anything but the mile.  I always came in towards the back right under 10 minutes.  I doubt I ever did it in 9 minutes.  I'm telling you, I am a slow runner when it comes to distance!

Yesterday I took a baseline to see how far I have to go to get to the 9 min. mile goal.  On the treadmill a 6.7 will get you to a mile in just under 9 minutes.  I jogged at that pace for 5 minutes then I had to take a walking break (2 min., I probably could have just done 1 min. though and been fine).  Then I cranked it back up to 6.7.  But when I looked down I was already at .75 miles so I cranked it up to 7.2-7.4 and ran until I got a mile in.  I did it in 9:59.  So basically I have to cut a minute off that.

My friend and work out buddy says it is all mental.  She thinks I can do it physically but I just freak myself out and want to walk.  It's so frustrating.  But I WILL DO THIS.  I am determined. 

BTW...you gals that can run 15 miles at a 7 min/mile pace are freaking rockstars!  Your are like my idols...I don't think I will ever get to that point!

I also had to switch up my running routine.  I used to wait until 9-10pm at night and take Cam for a run around my neighborhood but the other night we got stalked by a bobcat.  Yes, a freaking bobcat.  Or maybe it could have been a fox now that I see them in pictures:

Fox

bobcat

It was dark so I can't be sure, but we've seen a fox before and it looked bigger than the fox, his ears weren't that big, and it had a cropped tail.  Whatever it was it scared the crap out of me and Cam.  It came out of the bushes a few yards in front of us and we stopped and I thought it would get scared and just dart back in the bushes or across the street.  Oh, no.  That sucker came right for us!  Cam just started running away and I tried yelling and growling at it, but that just slowed it down for a minute.  I ran across the road and up a hill to a grocery store and it followed us!  It stayed on the perimter of the parking lot and we hung out by the front door where it was well lit, staring each other down.  Then it disappeared.  When I thought it was gone we tried to make our way back to the house.  But then it popped back up behind us!  I yelled and screamed at it to go away and we ran for our lives all the way back to the house!  Now I am scared to go on anymore night time runs around the neighborhood!

This is also a problem:

That's right it was over 100 degrees out yesterday when I went to the gym at lunch!  And it doesn't get much better at night.  I went for a quick run on Monday night around 9:30 (not straying too far from the house and keeping an eye out for the bobcat) and when I got home and checked the temperature it was 89 degrees still!  So the heat is keeping me indoors mostly for now!

I also started this on Monday:

So far I am loving it!  I'll keep you updated on my progress!

How would you define "best shape of your life"?

Every little thing helps right?

For the next 2 1/2 weeks I am taking the stairs at work. I work on the 5th floor.  By the time I get to the 4th floor I have to slow down and trudge up the last flight and when I get to the 5th floor door I have to pause to catch my breath.  It ain't easy.

confession: ok I just slipped up and took the elevator a minute ago, but it was because I was carrying a big plate of food and a drink back up to my desk and didn't want to trip up the stairs and end up wearing my lunch!

I'm also doing this:

Every night.  In addition to my regular weight training (because this workout is seriously lacking arm stuff!) and extra running (I have to run at least 10 minutes, but usually do 20-40).

I hope it makes some kind of difference before my beach trip because I really miss wearing a bikini in public!

How do you prepare for a beach trip?

List progress

ohmygosh I am so glad Blogger is back up!  I was kind of worried I might lose my whole blog and have to start all over again.  That would have been tragic!  Don't scare me like that again Blogger or I may have to switch to that other blogging platform!  Now onto my slightly delayed post I wrote yesterday...

I haven’t marked anything off my list in a while. But I am slowly making progress with the remaining items:

#1- Get in the best shape of my life. Ok, so maybe I should have defined what “best shape of my life” means. My whole life I could barely run a mile. Even in high school when I played soccer I hated Mondays because that was the day we ran the mile. I have been steadily making progress with my running. I run 2-4 miles 3-5 times/week. I’ve ran three 5Ks in the last 6 months and even though I said I was done for the summer, I am running another one this weekend. But my body is nowhere near the “the best it has ever been”. I’m not the size 4 I was in high school. I can’t even fit in most of the clothes I wore just 4 summers ago. I’m working on that part of it. But does “best shape” mean what my body looks like or what it can do? Oh well, all I know is I’m not ready to mark this one off the list yet.

#9 kayak- It is the perfect kayaking weather right now. I’ve looked in to options around Raleigh and it looks like it will cost about $40-$50 if I do it around here. Last year I was going to sign up for a kayak excursion through the NC Aquarium while I was at the timeshare we have at Atlantic Beach. Well, it was sold out. They have that as an option again this year and it is only $20. I could do that, but I think the one in Raleigh would be better (way less hot if I do it now!). Hmmm…I can’t decide. What do you think?

#10 catch a fish- I keep telling my friend to let me know when her dad is taking her son fishing so I can tag along. Hopefully it will be soon.

#18 upgrade one room in my house- so I painted my Master Bath, hung some pictures, and installed a new faucet but I never touched up around where I got paint on the ceiling. I am working on re-doing my home office/gym/guest room. I also hung curtains in my living room. But the main thing I want is hardwood floors! I feel like I need to get the hardwood floors to mark this off my list. But I might not. Who knows. If the home office/gym/guest room turns out fabulous and I touch up the ceiling in the master bath maybe I will just consider it done and save that money for something like paying off my car early.

#26 Kiss in the rain- HA!! Yeah right! I think the only way this one will ever get marked off the list is if I die and heaven turns out to be one big long romantic comedy. There are no kissable boys even remotely on my radar. Let alone someone I could have my “movie love” moment with.

#27 Read the Bible all the way through- The Bible has 66 books. I have finished 12. I am getting closer to finishing Romans through a study my small group is doing and I am working my way through Luke with the sermon series my pastor is doing. I’ve done studies on Esther, Galatians, and Proverbs so those are covered. I gave up on the chronological plan I was using and instead just read in order they are written with the Bible app I have on my phone. I just finished 1 Samuel and it was actually a pretty good story- lots of action and adventure. I will say switching to The New Living Translation was a huge help! So thanks to you all that suggested that!

#29 Attempt Surfing- I am going to mark this one off at the beginning of August when I go to the beach. The NC Aquarium has a class for only $25!

So that’s it…just 7 things left. If you are just joining the blog I am already 30. I made my 30 Before 30 list a few weeks before my 28th birthday and apparently 2 years just wasn’t enough time to accomplish everything. So now my goal is to complete my list before I finish this year of being 30 on August 12, 2011. Fingers crossed!!

Movies, Motivation, and Mommies

I never go to the movies anymore. But I have been to see two great movies the past two Fridays in a row.

Loved it!

Liked it!

I had read both of those books a long time ago and loved them, but it had been so long since I read them that I wasn't constantly comparing the movie to the book and could really just enjoy the movies on their own.  I will say that the book is ALWAYS better than the movie.  ALWAYS.  But both of these movies were pretty darn good.

My BFF and I have weekly challenges going on.  We are both tracking our calories and we will set a goal like most # of days under your calorie goal or come in under your total calories for the week and there is a small prize each week.  The first week I won so she had to pay for my movie.  This week though we both lost so neither of us gets an iTunes gift card.  The prize for the winner this week is for the other one to pay for a Zumba class for both of us.  It keeps me from giving up on this whole calorie counting thing.

Yesterday was mother's day.  I celebrated with my mom last weekend by going up to have lunch and attend a fancy tea party with her.  I did give her a call last night (like I do almost every night of the world) to wish her a Happy Mother's day.

Mother's Day is starting to be a little different for me as I get older.  A lot of my friends have children and I feel like I am on the outside of this really exclusive club and honestly feel like I am not as good, strong, hardworking, loving of a person because I'm not a mom.  And I may never be a mom...I mean I may not have any good eggs left in there.  So Mother's Day kind of hurts.  Is that weird?  I know it is, but it does.

I had to help out in the nursery at church yesterday in the 1 year old's room.  First of all, one year old's are not easy.  They can run and throw things but can't fully communicate yet. This one little girl was by my side the entire time and I ended up sitting her on my lap and reading a couple books with her.  It was sweet. 

But when it got close to pick up time two of the kids saw their moms coming to get them through the window. It takes a little while for them to get around to the classroom.  During that time those kids had complete meltdowns.  Crying big fat tears and screaming for their mommy.  I managed to calm the boy down but the little girl screamed "I need mommy" the entire time and when her mom walked up and I said "Look who's that?" She screamed "Mommy!!" and cried even harder.  During class there was another little boy that would just randomly walk up to the door with a little worried look on his face and say "Mommy?"  I kept having to tell him "Mommy's not here yet."  He would wonder back over to the toys, but 10 minutes later it was "Mommy?" again.  He must have repeated this routine at least 4-5 times.  I definitely saw through those kids how important Mommies are.  They are the be all end all for those kids.  I can't help but wonder.  Will I ever get to be someone's mommy?

So to all you moms out there, I know it is hard, but treasure it.  It is a gift.