First day of marathon training

I was SO excited to discover that Blogger now has a "reply" option on blog comments, and the reply will post directly below the comment you're replying to. So this means I will probably be replying to many more comments. I always just feel like my replies will get lost in the shuffle, and I don't even know if the commenter will see my reply, so I rarely actually reply to comments. Anyway, hopefully this will be a much cleaner look for the comments section, and definitely more helpful.

Most blogs didn't have to DO anything to get the new comment system. But for some reason, Runs for Cookies had to be difficult. I had to mess with the html coding stuff (which I know absolutely NOTHING about). But I got it to work.

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I had too much wine last night. Jerry and I were playing cards, and the kids spent the night at my parents' house. One glass led to another, which led to another... and this morning I woke up feeling a little hung over. Which was just perfect, because my marathon training started today! ;)

I am following Hal Higdon's Novice program--only I am making my running days M-T-W-F instead of the way he has them listed. So today was a scheduled 3-mile run. I went to Jessica's house to meet up with her, Julia, and Johna. We ran the same route as before, so it was a 4.2 mile run.

Jessica lives super close to the State Park, so we just run to the park and do the trail there. The trail was mainly covered in snow with a little ice. I actually really like running on snow, because it makes a cushion. But the ice is scary.

I went to the running store a couple of days ago to possibly buy some running cleats--they are these rubber contraptions that you slide over your shoes and they have little spikes on them so that you can run on snow and ice. They were expensive and I wasn't too crazy about the couple of pairs that I tried on, so I held off on buying them. Yesterday, I researched some other options, and found one that looks promising--I'm going to try them out and then I'll post more about them once I know how I like them.

Anyway, we were running on the slow side because of the snow and ice, but it was a great run. I always say this, but running with other people makes it so much more enjoyable! The time went by fast, and finished our 4.2 miles.

When we were done, I wanted to get a picture of Jessica and me on our first day of marathon training (I promise I'll quit talking about "our first day of marathon training" now).

We didn't dress alike on purpose, but it definitely looks that way!  I love her Bondiband--it says "Run now. Wine later."

One run down, 70 more to go before the marathon.

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And since I started training today, I figured I couldn't put off registering any longer... so I did it!!

It was so strange to click the "marathon" option

And then $97.58 later... I got an e-mail.

I also booked my hotel. I figured that Jerry and the kids could come too, and we can make a weekend out of it. I like that the race is on Sunday, because then I can just get in the car and we'll go home right after. We'll have Friday and Saturday to do some fun stuff with the kids.

I just can't believe this is all happening...

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Fetch

Well, I lied. I ended up eating two pieces of Eli's cake yesterday instead of just one. But the rest went in the trash!  I wish I could say that I regretted the second piece, that it tasted terrible and I only ate it because it was there. But honestly, I truly enjoyed the second piece just as much as the first. I'll always be a die-hard sweets fan!

Speaking of which, someone asked me a question about my daily treat, and I've actually never been asked this before... She was wondering why I save my daily treat to eat at nighttime. A very good question! The reason I do this is because when I eat my treat, I want to really really enjoy it. If I had eat a piece of cake at Eli's party, I would have been distracted by conversation, kids yelling, music blaring, my tight jeans, etc, which would not have satisfied me at all. At home, in the evening, I'm comfy in my pajamas and the kids are in bed and I can sit and relax and TRULY enjoy my treat.  Also, it gives me something to look forward to during the day!

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The past couple of days I've been working on a batch of tea wallets to put for sale on my Gockets page. I've put them on there already, so I retitled the page "Shop" for lack of a better word. Anyway, they took soooo much more time and work than I thought they would, so that is the only batch I'll be making! But they are super cute and a great way to use up the fat quarters of fabric that I had.

I also was ironing the initials on a couple of Gockets, and Estelle was completely fascinated. She kept stealing the velcro strips from out of my bag of supplies. Then she just sat and watched me like a hawk. Apparently, she's taken on the job of quality control manager.

I've been trying to get a video of her playing fetch. I swear that she knows as soon as I turn on the camera and she walks away. But she plays fetch like a dog would! She has a drinking straw that she plays with, and she'll bring it to me or Jerry over and over over again to throw it. So we'll throw it, she chases it, and brings it right back.

Unfortunately, she likes to do it mostly in the middle of the night. She'll bring her straw onto the bed and then meow until we throw it for her. And repeat about 10-15 times. It used to be amusing, but it gets a little annoying after a while. She has us trained very well ;)  Does anyone else have a cat that plays fetch?

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Tomorrow starts marathon training!! I still haven't registered, but I hope to this week. My first week of training is pretty simple. It looks like this:

Monday- Run 3 miles easy.
Tuesday- Run 3 miles easy.
Wednesday- Run 3 miles easy.
Friday- Run 6 miles (long run)

Tomorrow, I'm actually going to be running 4 miles, because I'm meeting Jessica. I've only been running three times a week since surgery, so I'll have to add a fourth day. I'm going to try and stick to the schedule as much as possible so that I'm super prepared for the race. I'm still having issues with my knee (although not as bad as it was), and I'm just praying that it will get better on its own.

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Lifetime Movie Network just reminded me how pathetic I am... "You're watching 'KILLER MEN SUNDAY' on LMN."   LOL, how do I get sucked into these movies?!

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Rollerskating party

We got some serious snow last night! Not a whole lot accumulated, but while it was snowing really hard, the roads were very slippery. My parents were on the expressway and they saw a bunch of cars sliding off the road and into the median. Then someone rear-ended them on the expressway! Thankfully, they were completely unhurt. And even their car didn't have a scratch or dent on it. But the person who hit them totaled the front of their car.  The expressway was actually shut down after that because of all the accidents.

We went to the kids' Family Night for their school. It was at the local rec center, and they had free pizza and activities going on there. Jerry and I picked up my friend Andrea's son, because Andrea was sick. So we took the three boys and they had a blast.

This morning, the kids had their first swimming lesson. It was awful. Noah did just fine, but Eli was acting like a completely bratty two-year old. He didn't want to get in the water, didn't want to listen to the teacher, etc. I made him get in, and the teacher had to hold him in the water while he kicked and tried to claw his way out. He's not scared of the water at all--but he wants to use a life jacket, and I want him to learn to swim. Anyway, the teacher said that if he does it next week, she'll have someone else help teach the class (there are only 3 kids total) and she would work one-on-one with Eli.

Today was Eli's birthday party. He turned 6 last Saturday, but since Jerry was working, we had his party today. Since he loves roller skating now, we had his party at the roller rink. I wasn't planning on skating, but a lot of the parents were, so I changed my mind and got some skates on. I hadn't worn roller skates since I was about 7 years old!

Yes, the roller rink is just as retro as it looks :)  Skating was so much harder than I remembered! I had to hold on to Jerry most of the time, and I couldn't stop or turn, lol. It was fun though. My calves are going to feel that tomorrow for sure!

My mom and Jerry's mom both decided to try it out, too. I was worried about my mom falling, but Jerry helped her around the rink too ;)

Jerry's mom, Jerry, and my mom... his job was to hold them up, apparently ;)

Unfortunately, Jerry's mom went around by herself and fell pretty hard. She was complaining that her wrist hurt, and she ended up leaving the party early to go get it checked out that the ER. (When we got home, we learned that she actually broke it! They had to put it in a cast).

Eli had a cake from Sam's Club (the best cakes!!) with buttercream frosting, which you all know is my weakness. I didn't eat any cake while we were at the party, but I planned on having a corner piece (with lots of frosting) at home. So I insisted everyone take cake home for their families, and we only wound up with about 5 pieces left over.

 As soon as we got home, I had to have a piece--and it was SUPER rich with lots of frosting, which is just how I love it. But now I'm totally satisfied, so I'm hoping that Noah and Eli eat the rest today and tomorrow, and we'll be done with it.

There is a chance our friends Joe and Amber might come over tonight to play some board games, but I'm not sure if that's going to happen or not. I better get the house cleaned anyway! (It's kind of funny--when I was cleaning, Noah asked me if someone was coming over. When I asked him why, he said, "Because you're cleaning"  lol)

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A very wintery run

So I looked outside this morning and saw that the weather was perfect for a run:

It's actually snowing here, but you can't see it in the pic

BWAHAHA, I just wanted to curl up under my electric blanket (set to "high" of course) and read my book. But I got dressed in my running clothes, checked the weather (no idea why I torture myself) and headed out.

Feels like 12 degrees? Sure, I'll go for a run!

I was supposed to run with Julia today, but Noah threw up last night and I figured I'd have to keep him home from school today, so I canceled with Julia. Noah felt fine when he woke up, so he went to school and by that time, Julia had gone for a run with her husband.

I had to run carefully and slowly so that I didn't slip, but other than that, it was great! When running into the wind, I wished I'd had a mask for my face, but that was only for about half a mile. It started snowing pretty hard and the flakes were going right in my eyes, which was annoying, but I'm not sure how to get around that problem.

I did 5.2 miles (the farthest I've run since after surgery) and felt great when I was done!

After yesterday's post, some of you asked what I like to wear when I run outside in the winter... I wear my Under Armour Cold Gear compression fitted pants, an Under Armour Cold Gear long sleeve top, and a fleece jacket over it. Then I wear a headband/earwarmer thing, and gloves. And of course the given: socks, shoes, Garmin, sports bra. I always feel a little chilled when I step outside, but I'm totally comfortable once I start running.

I like the Cold Gear line by Under Armour, because it's very light weight and moisture wicking, but it keeps you very warm! It's meant for temps below 55 degrees. They also have a Heat Gear line, which I love to use in the summer. It's meant to keep you cool in hot temperatures. I don't normally like to spend a lot of money on clothes (you know I buy EVERYTHING from thrift stores!) but the Under Armour stuff is definitely worth the money.

Anyway, after my run, I took a shower and ate breakfast, and then Jerry and I went to get Eli's party decorations. We went to a store called Party City, and it was awesome!! It made me want to plan a party (for adults). I was glad Eli wasn't with us when I saw their huge candy area:

Yes, that is ALL candy. Crazy, right? I'm sure that is what Eli thinks Heaven is like :)

We got his decorations and then headed home. I had a piece of toast with my lunch, and when I was deciding which nut butter to spread on it, I decided to take a picture to show you how crazy I am about my nut butters:

All of those jars are currently in use--I like a variety! ;) 

Peanut Butter & Co. Cinnamon Raisin Swirl, White Chocolate Wonderful, and Dark Chocolate Dreams
Smucker's Natural creamy
JIF creamy
Krema natural creamy
PB2
Barney Butter creamy almond butter
Kettle creamy almond butter
Sunbutter sunflower seed butter
And homemade coconut butter and chocolate coconut butter
Oh, and not pictured is the cashew butter in the fridge ;)

Yep, I'm obsessed with my nut butters!  I like them all for different things. They can turn just about anything into something decadent.

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Well, I'm off to the kids' Family Night at school!

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How to get started as a runner

Let me just preface this post by saying that I am in no way qualified to give advice about running--I'm no running coach! (Update in 2013- I got my certification as a running coach. And I still stand by everything written here.) But a lot of people have been asking me lately about how to get started, so I'm happy to share with you what I've learned over the past couple of years as a runner. This is just based on my own experience.

When I was 253 pounds, I couldn't even imagine being a runner one day. And now I'm running at least three days a week, and training for my first full marathon... VOLUNTARILY.  I don't *love* running, like a lot of runners claim to; I just love the way it makes my body feel. I love that it's a very efficient form of exercise. I love that it makes me a nicer person in everyday life. I love that it helps me maintain my weight. I love how it's shaped my body.

But I hate actually DOING it. ;)  While I'm running, I'm always thinking "Five more miles" "Four more miles" "Three more miles" etc. Wishing I was done. And then when I finish, I think, "Wow, what a great run! I love running!"

Anyway, back to getting started...

I think the very first thing that one should do when thinking about becoming a runner is register for a 5k race. Say what?! Yes, register for a race. There is nothing that will motivate you to go out and run more than knowing you will HAVE TO run a race soon.

I registered for a 5k race that was many months away, thinking it would take me that long to be build up to running 3.1 miles. I don't think you'll need THAT long. If you're a beginner, I'd give it about three months. Once you register for your 5k race, pick a training schedule. My very favorite training schedules are those by Hal Higdon. He has a novice, intermediate, and advanced schedule for just about any distance race you can think of. I would try his Novice 5k schedule. (Lots of people use a program called Couch to 5k also--I attempted it numerous times, but it was just too difficult for me. But maybe you can give it a whirl with different results).

The shortest run on Hal Higdon's 5k schedule is 1.5 miles. When I first started running, I couldn't run even 1/10th of a mile, so there is no way I could start on that schedule. I had to build my way up. If that is the case for you, set the training schedule aside for a while. This is how I built up my mileage:  I went outside and ran as far as I could manage (about 1/10th of a mile) and then I walked until I reached 30 minutes total. Then two days later, I did it again, and managed to run a little farther before walking the rest of the way.

I continued to do this (three times per week), running a little farther each day. After I had done about a mile and half, I was frustrated that I felt like I would never get any farther. I mentioned it to my brother, and he told me that I was probably going too fast. He said slow waaaay down, even if I felt like I could walk faster than I was running, and see if I could go farther.

I took his advice and managed to run the 5k on my next time out! I was very very slow, but I didn't have to walk at all. Once I managed to run 5k, I tried to do it a little faster each time. I would set a goal before my run: "Today, I'm going to run 5k in 34:59 or less" or "Today, I'm going to run 5k in 32:30 or less" etc. Eventually, I reached a big goal of a sub-30:00 5k, which was very exciting for me.

You can build up your mileage that way, or you can follow the training schedule once you're able to run 1.5 miles. I LOVE training schedules, because you don't have to think about what you're going to do--the schedule just tells you what to do! However, you don't HAVE to follow the schedule right to the tee. I switched my days around as needed, and just checked off each run as I did them that week. If you're scheduled to run and it's pouring rain, there is no harm waiting until the next day to do it. Or if you're schedule to rest, but it's a gorgeous day, head out there and do the following day's run.

On getting faster...

I'm definitely not an expert here, either. I found what works best for ME is to add an interval workout once a week. Intervals are where you alternate slow running with fast running for short periods of time. For example, I might do the following:  Run 0.2 miles at a 10:00 min/mile pace; Run 0.2 miles at a 8:30 min/mile pace; repeat for the desired length of the workout. These workouts are easy to do on a treadmill, because you can set the pace with the touch of a button.

You all know how much I looove my treadmill (not), so I choose to do intervals outside whenever possible. My Garmin Forerunner 305 has an interval setting that beeps at the beginning of each interval. So when I hear a beep, I know to start running hard, and when it beeps again, I slow to a jog. Then later, I can look on the computer to see what my pace was for each interval. (You can set the intervals to be however frequent you want--either by distance OR time).

Another speed workout is called a tempo run. You run this at a "comfortably hard" pace. If your "comfortable" pace is 10:30/mi, then you might run the tempo at a 10:00/mi. It's faster than you're used to, but not so fast that you're sprinting.

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Once you're comfortable with running about three times per week, you can make your own ideal running schedule when you're not training for something. Ideally, I like to do three runs per week: one shorter, easy run (about 3-4 miles at an easy pace); one speed workout, either intervals or a tempo run; and one long run, usually 6-10 miles.

When you want to do a race, you can follow the corresponding training schedule for that race. I always use Hal Higdon's programs, because they are very "do-able" for someone like me.

In a nutshell:

1) Sign up for a race.
2) Start training (three times per week).
3) Build up mileage by running slowly--work on speed later.
4) Eventually, try to do an easy run, a speed workout, and a long run each week.
5) Stay consistent. Run three times per week to keep in shape--if you take weeks off, it will be that much harder to get started again. Staying consistent is probably THE most important advice I can give you! I made a promise to myself that I would run a minimum of three times per week, NO MATTER WHAT. And with the exception of my two surgeries, I've kept that promise every single week for almost 2 years now.

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A word on shoes... I HIGHLY recommend going to a running store and getting fitted for shoes. Not all running shoes are created equal, and you will benefit from having a professional fit you for the right shoe. You will probably pay a lot of money for a good pair of shoes--but it is WELL WORTH IT when you don't get blisters and tendonitis and stress fractures from wearing bad shoes.

I was super embarrassed to go to a running store when I was fat, because I felt like I didn't belong. But I got over it after I was in a walking cast for 3 weeks because of tendonitis. Now that I wear good shoes, I have no problems with my feet!

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I think that pretty much sums up the basics about getting started as a runner. Hope this answers some questions!

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30 is making me crazy

Okay, I haven't exactly turned 30 yet, but I did commit to something crazy today in the spirit of turning 30 in a couple of weeks. I'm going to be running my first full marathon in 18 weeks. Yes, that would be in May. Did I mention training starts this Monday?

You might remember a few days ago when I said that Jessica and I decided to wait until next spring to run our first 26.2. I was so relieved and content with that idea. And then this morning, I saw on Facebook that Jessica and Alicia threw around the idea of doing a full marathon this May. And of course I couldn't sit around while they were training and NOT do it myself. So I talked to Jessica, and she said we have to do it together--because neither of us wants to do our long training runs alone!

The marathon we'll be running is the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon in Cleveland, OH.  My only goal is to finish, without walking. It'd be nice to finish in under 5 hours, but I have no clue how I'm going to be feeling, so I don't have a time goal.

I haven't technically registered yet... it's expensive ($100) so I'm going to ask for that for my birthday :)  But I'm hoping that by announcing my intentions here, I'll actually follow through with the registration. A full marathon scares the shit out of me! I keep reminding myself that The Biggest Loser contestants do it, so I certainly can do it, considering I've been running much longer than them.

I went for a run this morning where it actually felt like winter instead of spring. I love running in the cold! If you dress for it, it shouldn't be uncomfortable at all. But check this out:

See what looks like white dust on my shoulders? Yep, that's my sweat. My sweat soaked through the fleece and FROZE to the surface of it--how cool is that?!  I only did three miles since I'm going to be running seven miles on Friday.

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So today is Wednesday, which means "Wednesday Weigh-in"... and I surprisingly weighed exactly the same as last week, even with the pizza I ate yesterday! The last of the Cookie Butter is gone, which is a good thing (even though it makes my spirit a little sad).

I still haven't binged since before surgery. As of today, it's been 58 days! Even though I haven't binged, I've been taking little bites here and there (namely of Cookie Butter), so my goal this week is to just eat my meals and snacks as usual, without the little nibbles and spoonfuls of stuff. As we learned yesterday, a spoonful of peanut butter is 225 ish calories--yikes!

Oh, and quite a few people have asked me if I've tried Better 'N Peanut Butter. I did try it, and unfortunately, I thought it was TERRIBLE. My sister and I each took one bite and threw the jar in the trash. I do love my PB2 in lots of things, but sometimes I just need "real" peanut butter. My favorite is Smuckers Natural!

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8-week post-op appointment

I've had a busy day today. It's Jerry's first day off work in 12 days (he works 12-hour shifts, so that's 144 hours of work in the last 12 consecutive days). I was missing him like crazy! I had my post-op appointment at 1:30 pm, so we decided to go to lunch in Dearborn before going to my appointment.

Normally, when I'm in Dearborn, I love to go to La Pita (a Middle Eastern restaurant). But Jerry doesn't like it much, so we decided to go to a place called Pizza Papalis, which has amazing Chicago-style deep dish pizza. Not the best choice for me to eat the day before my weigh in, but sometimes you just have to sacrifice that :)  I always gain about 2 pounds the day after eating pizza--it never fails!

When we got there, we noticed that there were parking meters, and luckily I had some change on me. We fed the meter enough for 1 hour and 20 minutes, which I was sure would be enough time. Since we ordered deep dish pizza, we had to wait a while for it to cook, but it was totally worth it. (You can clearly see why I'm not a food blogger by the quality of my food photos).

I ate two pieces of this baby, and saved enough room for dessert. A "deep dish" cookie with ice cream. It sounded so delicious, but I was VERY disappointed when I tasted it.

It was kind of burned on the edges, and very "cake like" in the middle, which I don't like. So we picked all the edges off and ate just the center--Jerry ate most of it. At that time, Jerry said, "We just hit the time to feed the parking meter" and I said, "I'm sure a few minutes won't matter--but you know what, knowing our luck, we'll get a ticket. So I'll go feed the meter and you can get the check."

I walked outside just in time to see a meter maid police officer writing a parking ticket for our Jeep! I said, "Excuse me! That's my car!" as I ran over there, and I tried to tell him that I was just coming out to feed it more change. He COMPLETELY ignored me. Like, he pretended I wasn't even there. Asshole! Of course he probably thought I was lying, because I'm sure he hears it all the time, but REALLY?!

It was $10 if we paid it within 3 days, so we got in the car and drove right to the stupid courthouse where I paid the ticket. The first parking ticket I've ever gotten in my life, and I watched the cop write it. Grr!

After that, we had about 30 minutes to kill before my appointment, so we went to the mall. I had a JCPenny giftcard for $25, and I decided to find something to use it on. I saw some really cute hats on sale:

I also found this shirt that I was SUPER psyched about finding:

The 3-0 is because I'm turning 30 in 15 days. Cheesy, yes. Awesome, also yes.

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After the mall, I finally went to my appointment. I only had one concern, and it was a little fold of skin where my drain tube was--a small pucker. Hard to describe. Dr. Tepper told me that she could revise that right in the office (a short, simple procedure with just a numbing shot); so I set that appointment for January 26 (the day after my birthday).

Other than that, she said I'm healing perfectly. She took my "after" photos in the ugly blue panties that they use for those pictures ;)  She noticed that I'd lost weight, and she was very insistent that I stay at this weight now. She said that losing OR gaining will have an effect on how my skin adheres back to my muscle wall. She said that my weight right now is perfect where it is, so I should do my best to maintain. WOO HOO!!

I asked her about the cost of surgery when paid for out-of-pocket (one of my FAQ's about surgery); she said it is 100% dependent on the person and what their body shape is when they come in. The cost is all about surgery time, and if someone needs more work, it's going to cost more.

She said that my case was the "ideal" case, where I was in great shape before surgery and it was simple. Someone who had a lot more contouring would have to pay more, because it takes more time in the OR. So she said the only way to know is to get a consult. I gave Dr. Tepper my blog address and told her that I wrote a review about her and the hospital--so she may be checking it out ;) 

So other than my short revision in a couple of weeks, I don't have to go back for six months. Now I'm off to spend some more quality time with my husband! :)

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And now, the results of the giveaway. I am completely SHOCKED that out of 166 comments, not a SINGLE PERSON guessed the right number of calories in the peanut butter!!  You guessed all around the correct number, but nobody guessed the exact number.

Ignore how dirty this scale is! haha

There was a total of 36 grams of peanut butter (this doesn't count the spoon).  The nutrition label said 200 calories for 32 grams, so that means there are 6.25 calories per gram. So 36 x 6.25 =...

225 calories!

Not a single person guessed 225. There was a guess for 224 and 226, however, so I will have to make another tea wallet to give away.

TriciaM guessed 224, so you're a winner! And Monica guessed 226, so you're a winner as well! Just e-mail me your shipping address, and I'll send you your tea wallet :)  (Oh, and Jen who guessed 226 as well, I'm sorry--but Monica guessed 226 first!)

Thanks everyone for playing, and let this be a lesson to us--peanut butter costs a LOT of frickin' calories! lol

I love the comment from jbu:  "I feel like I always scoop out that much peanut butter and try to tell myself that it's 1 tbsp...because I fit it onto 1 spoon--i'm afraid that knowing the answer to this might force me to stop doing that lol. My guess is 212 calories. Cute pattern!"

A lot of you mentioned that I should sell the tea wallets. I didn't feel right doing that because it's not my pattern, so I e-mailed the person who wrote the pattern, and asked if she might give my readers a discount in her Etsy store. She was SO KIND to offer you all a 10% discount on her Etsy items!! Here is a link to her shop; and she also has some adorable kids items as well, which can be found here.  All you have to do for a 10% discount is use the discount code "runsforcookies10".

On top of that, she also told me that I was welcome to make them and sell them as well! I think I will make a few, but I am not going to sell them as cheaply as she does--she charges just $9, which is a super bargain, in my opinion (it takes a lot of time to make something by hand). So feel free to check out her shop, but if you'd rather I make one for you, then I can certainly do that as well. I'll write more about it soon.

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A group run (and a giveaway)

Last night, Jessica sent me a text saying that she was going running at 8:30 this morning if I wanted to join them (her and a couple of friends). Since I was going to be running anyway, I said sure. After I put the kids on the bus, I scarfed down some breakfast and headed out.

There were four of us: Jessica, Julia, Johna, and me. Johna is running her first half-marathon in March. The run was so much fun and the time FLEW by--I love running with a group! When we were done, Julia and I decided to run together on Friday too. We're going to do 7 miles (the farthest I've gone since surgery has been 4) but I think I'll be fine since Julia likes to run a slower pace than me. So if I go slow, hopefully I'll do fine with 7 :) We ran 4.18 miles at a 10:22 pace.

After my run, I went to Wal-Mart for some fusible interfacing to make a super cute project that I found on Pinterest. It's a tea wallet to carry tea in your purse. Since I gave up coffee, I've been drinking tea a lot more lately. I love the idea of having some with me all the time so that I can make it at a friend's house, or my mom's, etc.

Anyway, it turned out super cute and I decided to make a SECOND one so that I could give it away to one of my readers!

Isn't it adorable?!  The pattern source (a tutorial) can be found here. If you know how to use a sewing machine, it's very straight-forward and simple. If not, and you would like to win this one, I thought of a fun little game that we could do to pick a winner. Because picking a random person isn't much fun! So you have to work your brain a little :)

In the picture below is a spoonful of my faaaavorite food--peanut butter!! All you have to do is tell me how many calories are in that spoonful. I'll even show you the nutrition label.

(I weighed out the peanut butter to the gram and calculated the calories that way). The only rule is you have to have an ORIGINAL guess--if someone before you guessed your number, then just pick a different number.

So here is the picture of the spoonful of peanut butter... remember, you're guessing how many calories are in this spoonful (the almond is there for size reference):

I'll give the contest until 5:00 pm (EST) tomorrow (Tuesday). I'll announce the correct answer and the winner of the tea wallet then  :)  Good luck!

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An expensive trip to Sam's Club

Yesterday was a fun day spent with Noah. Eli spent the night at my parents' house (it was his birthday) and he had a friend stay there with him. So I had some time alone with Noah, and we ended up playing the Wii Fit Plus. I hadn't played in a LONG time (when I weighed in, it said I am no longer "overweight" but "normal" now--so it's been very long!)  I forgot how much fun it is. I love doing the obstacle course, despite the frustration sometimes.  I gave Noah the camera to take a few pics for the blog, but instead of taking pictures of ME, he took pics of my character on the TV :)

I was getting frustrated that I couldn't beat my previous scores--and I was actually sweating from doing this game. Chandler was exhausted just watching us:

There was an important football game on last night, so Jerry asked Noah if he wanted to watch it with him. Noah was excited about it, and I took him to Kroger to pick out a snack for them to eat during the game. He picked Pringles--pizza flavored ones (yuck).

I was doing so well at not eating nut butter or Cookie Butter out of the jar this week--until yesterday. Ugh, I probably had 5 spoonfuls of Cookie Butter. Good news is it's almost gone. Bad news is, it's probably sitting on my hips right now.  I also had too much wine last night. I was browsing Pinterest and Jerry must have refilled my glass a couple of times ;)   I'm attempting to do doing a no-added-sugar day today, to hopefully detox from all the sugar in the Cookie Butter yesterday.

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I made a trip to Sam's Club this morning while the kids were at church. I love Sam's Club, I really do, but I can never leave there without spending a couple hundred dollars. We don't go very often (for that reason). I like to buy certain things there that are much cheaper to buy them in bulk: meat, frozen fruit/veggies, oats, batteries, etc. Today, I spent $187... nearly our entire grocery budget for the next two weeks. Yikes!

I'm still on a salad kick, so I decided to get some Spring Mix instead of using the Romaine I've been using. I've also been eating chicken lately (in the salad) which is totally unlike me. I used to hate chicken! I just think it's so gross. But after surgery, I was trying to get protein wherever I could, and maybe I just learned to like it? Maybe it's just a phase. Whatever--I bought five pounds of 5 oz. chicken breasts. And Havarti cheese <3

My kids are going to be thrilled when they see the American cheese and Slim Jims (things they love but I never buy). And Jerry will be thrilled that I bought coffee. I was kind of hoping that he'd quit drinking it along with me, and save us a small fortune--but he loves his coffee, so it's fine ;)

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Maybe it's the super nice weather we've been having lately, but I am in a "Spring cleaning" kind of mood. I want to go through closets and drawers and just pitch all kinds of stuff. Hopefully even sell a few things on E-bay. We don't have a lot of any storage space. We don't have an attic, or a garage, or a basement. So everything we own is either out in the open or packed into closets and drawers. My mom is going to have a garage sale in the Spring, so I think I'll just pack stuff up and store it in her attic until we can sell it at the garage sale. There is something so satisfying about clearing out clutter!

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Your pace, or mine?

This morning, as soon as I woke up, I thought, "Ugh, I'm going to put the kids on the bus and go back to sleep for a while." But of course that never happens! I was on my feet ALL DAY yesterday--I was completely exhausted and my back was killing me.

I spent all evening making Eli's cookies for school. They could only go in the oven eight at a time, so it took me a looong time to finish six batches.  He was happy with them though.

Isn't he the cutest almost-6 year old?!

There were two boxes. I threw away the extra cookies (except for two for the kids' lunches) so that I wouldn't binge on them.

I drove the boys to school so that I could bring the cookies in for Eli. On the way, he asked me what I brought for the kids to drink. Nothing. So we had to stop at Kroger before school, and I picked up a case of water. Drove to the school, and while I was gathering my stuff in the car, a woman in a minivan pulled in the spot right next to me--WAAAY too close. I couldn't squeeze out of my door, and I'm not even fat anymore!

I started walking with the kids toward the school (I was carrying a 24-pack of water and two boxes of cookies); and it was super windy. Halfway to the door, I realized that Eli forgot his book bag in the car. I sent Noah to the car to get it, but of course he couldn't get in because of the woman who parked so close to me. The other side of the car was locked. I had to put everything down, dig through my purse for my keys, and then go get the book bag. Don't you just hate mornings like that?!  ;)

Anyway, I dropped the snack off in Eli's classroom then came home to relax. But I got the itch to go for a run, so I did. Jessica and Renee (as well as a bunch of other people) are running a half-marathon in March. They were talking about it yesterday on the way to Whole Foods, and I was kind of jealous. They just started training this week. So I decided to follow the half-marathon training schedule for a few weeks and see if I feel good enough (post-op) to run a HM in March. Today was the first long run, and it was only 4 miles. I did it and felt fine. Which made me think, "Sure, I can run a half-marathon in 11 weeks"  ;)

Four miles is the farthest I've run after my surgery. I think I'm going to cut the HM training to just 3 days per week--two 3-mile runs and a long run. I'm not looking to PR at the race--just go nice and easy and finish. So I think it should work out. If I'm feeling good in a few weeks, I'll register.

Speaking of registering, Jessica and I are making a relay team for the Detroit Marathon in October. Each team is made up of 5 people, and each person takes a leg of the marathon. I don't have a passport, so I can't do the Canada legs. I decided to take the "glory" leg, which is the last 4.4 miles and across the finish line. It should be fun!  Our team name is "Your pace, or mine?"  ;)

Jessica and I also decided to postpone our full marathon until Spring. Neither one of us feels up to the challenge for Fall (my knee has been bothering me, and she has a hip injury), and we both have a lot going on. It'll be hard to train for Fall. So we need to find a good Spring marathon to do in April or May of 2013. I feel totally relieved about the decision.

My house is feeling totally neglected right now, so I need to start doing laundry and cleaning up!

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