Try-outs

Yesterday was the toughest parenting moment I've had since I had my first child over 12 years ago.

Eli doesn't have very high self-esteem, so I'm always trying to encourage him to do things that he's good at. He's super creative, and very good at fishing and art, which don't get recognized very often. A few weeks ago, he asked if I thought he should try out for the Quiz Bowl team, and I said sure.

He went to tryouts for a couple of hours each week, and then on Thursday, he and three other kids were called to do a "practice". I asked him if that meant he made the team, and he wasn't sure. Yesterday, all the kids who tried out were given letters of acceptance or rejection. The letter was in an envelope, and there was a pack of Smarties taped to it. It said, "You're a smartie!"

When Eli saw me after school, he excitedly ran up to me, saying, "I made the Quiz Bowl team!" I got very excited and told him how proud I was, and then I realized he hadn't opened the letter yet. He saw the "You're a smartie!" stamp and assumed it meant that he made it. He opened the letter and started reading.

As soon as he got to the "I'm sorry, but..." part, his voice broke and he realized he actually didn't make it. He tried to shrug it off like it was no big deal, but he had tears in his eyes and his voice was thick when he talked. My heart felt like it just shattered into a million pieces. I felt absolutely terrible. I told him that I was so proud that he tried out, and I hoped it wouldn't stop him from trying out for other things in the future.

Thankfully, I had good news that I could tell him right away, to soften the blow. For cross country, we give a prize to the boy and girl who improve their times the most after each meet; and Eli desperately wanted to win. I had just calculated the numbers while he was at school, and Eli was the boy that improved the most! He ran the same course two weeks in a row, and shaved 1:24 off his time--that's a HUGE improvement. Normally, I would have waited to tell him with the rest of the cross country team, but I was desperate to make him feel better about Quiz Bowl.

I went in my bedroom and cried, because I just felt so bad and there was nothing I could do to make it better. It's not the fact that he's not on Quiz Bowl that is upsetting to me--but the fact that he decided to try out for something and then was told that he wasn't good enough. I tried out for things when I was a kid, and I was never chosen, so I know how it feels. After not being chosen several times, I just quit trying out for anything. I really don't want that to happen with Eli! He is truly one of the sweetest kids I've ever met (and I'm not being biased).

Today, we had another cross country meet bright and early. It was only 45 degrees! It was 80 degrees yesterday, and then today it's supposed to top out at 60. The whole team did great at the meet! I don't have their results yet, but I was really impressed when I saw how hard they were running. Eli (again) ran his fastest mile time to date--9:16! He was very proud of that :) My phone died as soon as I got to the meet, so I didn't get any pictures, unfortunately.

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Thanks for the suggestions on treadmills! As it turns out, I'm not going to be buying a treadmill for a very long time. The furnace estimate nearly gave me a heart attack, and we actually have to borrow money to pay for it. I just wrote a couple of sponsored blog posts and I was planning to use the money toward a treadmill, but now it's just going toward a boring old furnace.

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Today, after getting home from the meet, I could hear shotguns in the woods across from our house--nothing unusual, especially this time of year. There were a few REALLY loud blasts, and then I heard a spray of bb's hit the windows of our house! I was stunned. The windows didn't break, but the bb's definitely hit our house. The kids had been sitting on Noah's bed right next to the window when it happened. After making sure everyone was okay, I called the police.

The police came out here and basically said there's nothing they can do. He said there were about 30 hunters across the street at the time, and there was no way of knowing who shot the house. I called the DNR, and they said all their officers were at a goose hunting thing. I was just really frustrated, but there isn't anything anyone can do about the issue. We've lived here for 13 years, and this is the first time that's happened, so I'm hoping it'll never happen again.

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I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend! Things have been so busy lately. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

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What happened to my fitness?!

As I mentioned, I'm following my "Your Best 10K" plan to pace my friend Stephanie to a sub-60 race in November. When I told Steph that I'd like to pace her, I was thinking that training would be pretty easy for me, considering I ran a sub-50 10K in April. Well, today's training run was followed by a big slice of humble pie ;)

I am jumping into week six of the plan so that it coincides with the race Stephanie chose. In week six, there is a key workout that looks like this:

10 minutes easy

3 miles at race pace

10 minutes easy

For a sub-60 time goal, that would make the race pace miles at 9:39/mile. When I saw 9:39, I was relieved because compared to my training in the spring, it sounded pretty easy. Well, a 20-pound summer weight gain and very little training certainly caught up with me! haha

I headed out at around 10:30 this morning, and I immediately wished I'd gone earlier. It was 73 degrees with 70% humidity! That's not bad at all when you compare to it summer; but, for October in Michigan, that wasn't very comfortable running weather. I did the warm up at a nice, easy pace, and then as soon as I started the race pace miles, I knew I was in for a real workout.

It felt tough! I held a 9:30-ish pace, and even just half a mile in, I started thinking of excuses that I could use to stop early. Stephanie had just nailed this workout a couple of days ago, so I kept that in mind as I was running. I certainly don't want to let her down. It was just kind of amazing that six months ago, my race pace runs were at a 7:55 pace; and now, a 9:30 pace feels just as hard as that 7:55 did then.

It was hard, but I pushed myself to get in all three miles at 9:30. (I totally forgot about doing a cool down mile). 

Even though it was tough, it felt kind of nice to have a pace goal today. I've been running without purpose for about six months, and having a purpose to this workout was nice.

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Today, we have someone coming to look at our furnace. It needs to be replaced :(  I had NO idea just how expensive furnaces are! Ours was new with our house back in 2003, so it's now 13 years old. I'm sure it was a very cheap model (we have a manufactured home, and I didn't know better at the time to upgrade the appliances), and I'm actually surprised it lasted as long as it did.

Thankfully, my brother knows a guy who installs furnaces, so he will give us a good deal on the the labor; but the furnace itself is a necessary, yet really boring, expense. (By "boring", I just mean that it's not fun to buy. Spending money on a vacation or a new car or something is fun; a furnace just isn't exciting.) It seems like every time we finally start getting some money saved in an emergency fund, something goes wrong (like the water heater recently) and we have to spend it!

We've been having problems with the furnace for a few years now, so it will actually be nice to not have to worry about it. Rumor has it that we're going to have a very harsh, cold winter, so I would hate to have to deal with this a few months down the road! Better to get it done now.

Speaking of a harsh winter, I really need to starting thinking about a new treadmill. The timing is terrible, because of the furnace issue, but my treadmill is going to die any day. I haven't even used it in a long time because it's rickety and it's had issues with slowing the speed instantly while I'm running, which is scary. I've been looking online for one, but it's totally overwhelming! Do any of you have a treadmill that you absolutely love and recommend? I want one that is good quality and will last a long time. I don't need all the bells and whistles of TV screens, internet, etc. Just regular old speed and incline (and, preferably, a quiet motor). I appreciate any suggestions!

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Musical Hula Hoops (a fun running game for kids)

I think I am finally over my cold! My voice is pretty much back to normal, and I haven't had to blow my nose at all today, so that's good. My hearing is about 95% back to normal, too. Hopefully I'll go another three years or so before getting sick again!

On Monday at cross country practice, I wanted to play a new game with the kids. For our practices, we do a warm-up, then about 30 minutes of running laps around a park, and then we play a game for about 20 minutes. The games are fun ways of getting them to run more without really realizing it, or to sneak in hill work (the park that we practice at has a hill).

I went to the dollar store before practice, and bought eight hula hoops for a game. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do with them, but I figured I could use them for something! On the way to practice, I figured out a really fun idea--musical chairs, only with hula hoops instead of chairs.

We spread out the hula hoops in a huge circle in the field. This is a terrible diagram, but you get the idea...

We had 23 kids at practice, so we decided to allow two kids per hula hoop. When I blew the whistle, the kids began to run in a circle around the huge circle of hoops, while I turned my back. Then, when I blew the whistle a second time, the kids had to hurry up and get inside of a hula hoop (maximum two kids per hoop). If they didn't get in a hoop, they were out. Then, we took away one hoop and did it again, until there were just two kids left. 

It was really fun, and the kids loved it! One of the things I liked about it was that the fast kids didn't really have an advantage over the slower kids, because it just depended on where they were in regards to the hoops when I blew the whistle. In fact, the first round eliminated two of the fastest boys on the team! 

We had our third cross country meet yesterday, and I gave the kids an incentive to do their best. The course was the exact same as the second meet, so I told them that the boy and the girl who improved their time the most would get to pick a prize out of the prize bag at practice (I bought some little toys at the dollar store to use as prizes). I don't know about the other kids, but Eli loved that idea, and he gave his very best effort at the meet yesterday. His pace ended up being 9:22, which was his fastest ever! I'm still waiting for the official results to see who made the biggest improvement. 

After practice, I helped Renee load stuff into her car, and then Eli and I left. I got about halfway home when I realized that my phone wasn't in my pocket. I was wearing a hoodie, and the pockets were kind of shallow for a phone. I pulled over into a gas station, and frantically started digging through the car to find my phone. It was starting to get dark outside, so I turned around and went back to the park to look for it.

Eli ran into the field and up the hill to look, while I thoroughly combed the car. I was panicking; then I heard Eli yell that he found it! It must have fallen out of my pocket when I ran down the hill at practice. I was SO glad to have found it. I even let Eli choose a prize from the prize bag as a finder's fee ;)

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Yesterday, I had a doctor's appointment in the morning, and then on the way home I stopped at Sam's Club. When I left Sam's, I was about a quarter mile from the expressway when I noticed a cop sitting in his car to my right. As soon as I noticed him, our eyes locked and his lights went on. I knew he was pulling me over. 

I pulled into a gas station, and sure enough, he followed me. Ugh! I hadn't been pulled over since I was a TEENAGER. I guessed I was probably speeding, but I really didn't realize it because I was just driving with the flow of traffic (there were cars in front of me doing the same speed I was). When he walked up to my window, I said, "Hi there!" and he was very to-the-point, and didn't return the greeting: "License and registration." I figured it wasn't a good sign.

I gave him the papers, and he informed me that I was, in fact, speeding. The speed limit on that road was 35, and I was going 47 (in my defense, I actually thought the speed limit was 45). He went back to his car, and judging by the amount of time it took for him to come back, I just knew he was writing a ticket. He handed me the ticket, and said he was going to "do me a solid" and only write it for 40 mph in a 35 zone. 

I was super bummed! I know I was actually speeding, so I probably deserved a ticket; but, my driving record was perfect, and I hadn't even been pulled over in nearly two decades. He left, and I burst into tears, haha. I cried for a couple of minutes, and called Jerry. Then when I backed out to get back on the road, he had already pulled over someone else in the same spot and was writing a ticket!

On my way home, the more I thought about it, the less upset I was. It sucks that I got a ticket, but is it the end of the world? Not at all. The fine is $125 and it will put 2 points on my driver's license. I'm more bummed about the points than I am the fine, because it will raise my insurance cost. The ticket gave me the option to admit responsibility and mail in the fine; admit responsibility with explanation; or go to court to deny responsibility. I decided to try the second option, because I figured it wouldn't hurt. I wrote a letter to the magistrate, and asked if they might consider reducing my fine or removing the points from my license. Hopefully it'll help! I'm normally a really careful driver.

To add insult to injury, my ticket states my (incorrect) weight:

The DMV never changed my weight when I renewed my license, so it still says that I weigh 220 pounds--I haven't weighed that much in seven years! And honestly, I probably weighed 250 back then when I claimed to be 220 (not that anyone even cares!). I think I need to renew again next year, so I'm hoping they'll change it ;)

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My running buddy

This head cold is so frustrating. I've been getting a little better each day, but I still can't hear very well out of my right ear, and I'm still having to blow my nose frequently. I debated going to the doctor for an antibiotic, because I'm pretty sure I developed a sinus infection, but hopefully it'll go away on its own soon. Like I said, it's been getting better, but just so slowly!

It's finally feeling like fall here, and I'm loving it. I took Joey for a run today. I was feeling bad because I neglected our walks last week when my cold was at its worst, and Joey LOVES running with me. It's been easier since I got the hands-free leash, but it's not typically a very "relaxing" run when I go with him ;)

Where most dogs would probably take off after a squirrel, Joey does the exact opposite--when he sees as squirrel or rabbit, he just stops dead in his tracks, staring at it. Occasionally, he'll then take off full-speed after it, but as long as I get him out of his little trance immediately, I can avoid being dragged! Whenever I see a squirrel, I tell him to "leave it" before it even catches his attention.

Anyway, it was super nice running weather this morning--55 degrees and overcast. Like I wrote a couple of days ago, I am going to start following the 10K training plan I wrote, using the sub-60 pace goals as a target, so that I can pace Stephanie in November. I have to start on Week 6 to time it correctly.

The plan is written for time rather than distance, but I didn't take the time to set up my Garmin for today's workout, so I just translated it to distance. Three miles at easy pace, and one mile at tempo pace (which is 9:45-10:00). I couldn't remember what the tempo pace guidelines were for a sub-60 10K, so I just guessed it was around 9:40. Close enough.

I had originally planned to take Joey for three miles, then drop him off and run the last mile on my own, but Joey was doing so well that I changed up my route and let him come with me for the whole run. Even though I didn't feel very good physically (my head felt stuffed up), I absolutely loved my run today. The weather makes a world of difference in my attitude toward running! If I wasn't sick, I probably would have turned it into a long run today.

There was a lot of fog over the lake this morning, so I stopped to get a quick picture. Joey was focused on some geese ;)

I finished the run with splits of 11:05, 11:09, 11:08, and 9:36.

Speaking of Joey, October 1st was National Black Dog Day. I didn't know it until after we adopted him, but apparently, black dogs and cats aren't as desired as other colors, and they don't get adopted as frequently from shelters. That makes me feel so bad! I think black cats are gorgeous; and I honestly didn't care what color dog we got, as long as his personality was a good fit for my family. Eli requested a black dog, so he was happy ;)

Anyway, yesterday, Jerry was going through some old photos on his phone, and he came across a couple of pictures he took of Joey on our way home from the shelter the day we got him. We'd stopped at PetSmart so that I could run in and get the things we needed for him, and while I was in there, Jerry took a couple of pictures of Joey, who was lying in the back seat. I gasped out loud when I saw the picture--he looked terrible!

Winter 2015 (adoption day) vs Summer 2015

I had to add a comparison photo underneath, because it's amazing what a difference there is. (The yellow rope in the top picture was just a makeshift leash that the shelter gave us to get him home.) I hadn't realized it then, but his spirit wasn't as lively or happy when we first adopted him. Looking through pictures, you can see that he just got happier and healthier very quickly.

I'm looking forward to cross country tonight... the kids have been so used to running in heat and humidity, today will feel like a cake walk!

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Hello, October!

I'm finally starting to feel better! I rarely get sick, but when I do, it's always so rough. I spent the last couple of days with a horrible sinus headache, and it was gone when I woke up this morning, so I hope that is probably the last of it. I'm still a little congested, but it's definitely better than it was.

My eating has been thrown so off track since getting sick about 10 days ago. My head has been really congested, and I haven't been able to taste anything. Normally, you'd think that would mean that I wouldn't have an appetite, right? Well, because I can't taste anything, I never feel satisfied with my food! So, I just kept looking for satisfaction by eating more. I feel like I undid the progress I spent all month making.

Last night, I was starting to get my sense of taste back a little, so I wrote up a food plan for today and I am determined to stick with it!

For lunch, I made Quinoa Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing--it's flavorful and spicy, so I was hoping I'd be able to taste it. I still couldn't really make out the flavors, but I did get the spiciness, which was good.

I'm also making a spicy dinner (I love this Spicy Taco Gnocchi Skillet) so that it will hopefully have a strong enough flavor for me to be able to taste it.

I ran five miles today. I hadn't run in over a week because I've been coughing so much. Generally, if cold symptoms are above the neck (a head cold) then I'll still run; but once I feel it in my chest, running is really uncomfortable. Today, I really had the urge to go for a run, so I figured if I was really miserable, I could just quit early. I did an out and back, and I felt really good. I kept my heart rate low, so my pace was very slow, and that's probably why I felt so good.

Found the nickel on my run

Speaking of running, I actually have a mission for this fall! My friend Stephanie is hoping to run a sub-60 10K in November, and I offered to pace her. She's following my "Your Best 10K" training plan, so I am going to follow it as well. I think this will be a fun way to train right now--since I'll be training at a sub-60 goal pace, I won't have to train as hard as I did for my sub-50, but it will still give me a goal to focus on (I don't want to let Steph down). I'm not interested in training very hard right now, but I do like following some sort of plan, so this is perfect. And hopefully, I'll help Stephanie hit her goal!

Can you believe it's October?! This is my very favorite month. There is something about the weather during this time of year that just makes me feel so happy!

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Huge news!

You know how when someone tells you a secret, and then they say not to tell anyone, and it nearly kills you because you're dying to spill the beans? Yeah, that's how I've been feeling for two months now.

I have been SO SO SO excited to share this on my blog ever since I found out about it in July (on Noah's birthday, actually). I had to wait until I had permission to share it on my blog, and it's been killing me ;)

I'm going to be an AUNT!!

My older brother, Brian, and his wife, Becky, are expecting a baby in March. I never thought this day would come--with three siblings, I thought that I'd probably be an aunt one day, but I had kind of given up hope of it actually happening.

Brian and Becky have some crazy adventures together, and this one is the most exciting yet :) I'm so excited that they live in Michigan now, because I don't know if I could handle being an aunt and rarely seeing my niece or nephew.

One of their crazy adventures: climbing up a mountain to stay the night in a
little pod that is attached to the cliff, and then zip lining down the next day.

Speaking of niece or nephew, I'm not sure what I'm hoping for--of course I love boys, having two of my own; but having a little girl in the family would be fun, too.

In 2004, when I was pregnant with Noah, I would go to Babies R Us pretty often to get supplies for the new baby. One day when I was there, I saw a bib that said "Pilot Bear" and had a bear flying an airplane. Well, Brian is a pilot and loves airplanes, so I thought it would be perfect if he ever had a kid. I bought the bib, and tucked it away in my closet.

Fast forward 12 years to Noah's birthday. I was at Noah's baseball game, and Brian and Becky came to watch the game, too. Becky asked me how I would feel about being an aunt, and I totally flipped out with excitement. After the game, we went out for ice cream, where they told my parents and Noah and Eli. We went out to dinner for Noah's birthday a few days later, where Nathan and Kendall could join us. I brought the bib with me so that I could finally give it to Brian!

These days, the bib means nothing. You could use the internet to find all sorts of "pilot" themed baby stuff, I'm sure, and have it delivered the following day. And if not, then surely Pinterest has a bazillion ideas. But, back in 2004, online shopping wasn't even a thing. So, when I saw the Pilot Bear bib at the store, I just had to buy it.

Ironically, just after I learned about Brian and Becky expecting a baby, I was driving and saw this sign at a reception hall (there are wedding receptions held at the hall, so there is usually a "Congrats" to the bride and groom on the sign out front). I just had to pull into the parking lot to get a picture:

Anyway, I am so happy I get to finally share this news with everyone!

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One year without injury

Being sick is so frustrating! What started as a sore throat for a few days turned into some serious sinus congestion. Now, instead of a very hoarse voice, I just sound like I'm talking while plugging my nose. I've also been coughing quite a bit.

Poor Noah is still having symptoms from his virus, and stayed home from school today because he was coughing so much. When my kids were little, there was one year that they were both constantly sick with bronchitis. If it wasn't one of them, it was the other. Noah's even turned into walking pneumonia. I had to give them breathing treatments several times a day, and stock up on Mucinex.

I never realized how awful bronchitis was until I got it that same year (all three of us were sick at the same time). I would have coughing fits that were so violent I thought I would literally cough up a lung.

I remember going to the grocery store, completely exhausted and emotional from dealing with everyone being sick, and I saw my friend at the store. She said, "Hey, how are you?" like a normal greeting; and I just burst into tears in the middle of the store. Thankfully, we haven't had anything like that happen since ;)

I hate not being able to taste anything right now! I feel physically hungry, but absolutely nothing sounds good to me (not even ice cream!). And then when I do eat, it's totally unsatisfying because I can't even taste it. It would be very sad to permanently lose my sense of taste! Hopefully, I'll kick this cold soon, and then go another few years before getting sick again.

Anyways, enough about that! I just don't have anything to write about, because I haven't done much since being sick. I did realize that it was September 27 today--which may not mean anything to anyone else, but this was my final "rest day" last year due to my stress fracture. I took six weeks off of running to let it finally heal. I wasn't totally inactive during that time, though--I took walks, bike rides, and used a stair stepper to get some exercise.

Then, on September 28, I ran 2 miles. I was thrilled that my stress fracture had finally healed (after about 10 months, on and off!). I only ran 2-3 miles at a time all through October and November. In December, I started heart rate training, which made a world of difference in how I felt about running (I used to dread it, because I was doing my easy runs too fast; when I keep my heart rate in the correct zone, though, I actually really enjoy it!).

I trained all winter and spring for a 10K in April, hoping to PR with 49:22 or better. I trained differently than I ever had before--I was doing most of my runs VERY slowly, and then once or twice a week, I was running VERY hard for intervals or other speed work. I didn't do any middle-ground running. It was the hardest I'd ever trained, and when I ran my 10K, it all paid off! I crossed the finish line in 49:03, and I was thrilled that I actually accomplished that goal.

Anyway, as of today, I have been injury-free for a whole year! I haven't been running much the last couple of months (maybe 10-12 miles a week or so), and I'm okay with that. Summer running isn't much fun, because it's so hot! I had planned to do my whole Summer Running Checklist, but I admit, I didn't. I finished probably about half the items on the list.

However, I think that taking time off of running (or at least dialing back the mileage a lot) works well for me. It gets me fired up to start training hard for something. Right now, I'm working on dropping the summer weight that I picked up (hopefully, I'll be back at goal by Thanksgiving or so) and then I'll be ready to train like a beast for the Indy 500 Festival Mini Marathon starting in February.

For training, I think I'll probably do something similar to last year--just running 2-3 milers for a little while, and then this winter, build up the mileage. I'm going to create a "Your Best Half-Marathon" plan (soon) so that I can use that to train for Indy. It will be very similar to the 10K plan I wrote, just with higher mileage. I'm looking forward to it!

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Feeling sick

I honestly can't even remember the last time I was sick. It's been such a long time! However, when I woke up a couple of days ago, my throat was SO sore. When I tried to talk, my voice was really hoarse, and I was clearing my throat all day. My kids had the same symptoms a few days ago, starting with the sore throat and then progressing to major nasal congestion. I just hope whatever I have doesn't progress to that!

I had already planned on this weekend being a rest day weekend, because I had such a crazy busy week. It felt good to stay so busy, but at the same time, I really wanted just an hour to relax! I decided to start working on a project that I've been avoiding for a few years now... organizing my photos on my computer.

I've been using iPhoto for three years, and I love it! However, Apple discontinued using it, and now they want us to use Photos (a different program that basically does the same stuff). This would have been a very simple task if all of my photos were dated properly, but somehow, they got jumbled and I knew it would be a huge pain to organize them. Hence the procrastination.

First, I went to Wal-Mart to buy an external hard drive. I have over 20,000 photos on my computer, which takes up a lot of space, so I got a 2 TB hard drive to back everything up to. Since I've been sick, I have spent a couple of days working on the transfer. Eventually, once all my photos are in one spot, I'd like to go through and tag them all with Faces. That will take weeks or even months to do, but when it's done, I'll be SO happy to have all my photos super organized.

I still haven't made up my mind about starting a training plan or some sort of schedule. I really feel like I need a plan to follow, because I'm having a very hard time making myself work out. However, I don't really want to train hard--at least not for a few more months--and I don't want to do long distances. So, basically, I just need to make a plan to stay active, but not really train for anything in particular.

I've been having a hard time tracking my food on the weekends, which is odd--weekends have never really been a particular problem for me. The last two weekends, I had two high-calorie days in a row. My body does fine with just one high-calorie day, but having two in a row makes my weight stay the same for the week. To lose weight, I need to get back in the habit of one day per week. Most interesting to me, though, is the fact that I have consistently gotten right back to normal-calorie days in between. It would be easy to let two days turn into three, and then into four, etc.

Sorry, I really don't have anything else to write! I really hope I can kick this cold soon. Noah said something funny today, so I'll leave with this...

The kids have been interested in roller blading, and Noah's blades were too small when he put them on today. I dug my roller blades out of my closet, and said he could try those on.

Noah: Wow, those rollerblades look really old. When were they made?
Me: I got them when I was about 16.
Noah: Dang, so they were made in the 1900's!

(I haven't even taken any photos I could use for this post! Here is an oldie but goodie...)

Remember that time I wore my helmet backwards the entire 20-something miles of my ride? ;)

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Busy busy busy

I have been so, so busy lately! I've been looking for a chance to sit down a write a post, but things have been crazy around here. I have about an hour right now to write a quick post. (Not complaining--being busy feels good!)

I've been doing really well with the calorie counting. It still just astonishes me that it's so much easier  (for me, anyway) to eat well and exercise in September versus July. Since I started logging my food again (a couple of weeks ago, after we got home from vacation), I have felt much better, too. More energy, more awake in the mornings, sleeping better, etc.

All I've been doing is following the same things I did last year, when I started calorie counting. It worked so well then, that there was no reason to change it.

I have been listening to my appetite (for portion size), and eating on a schedule. I log my food, and aim to keep the calories at a decent level. I don't have a "cap" on calories, but I typically like to see between 1600 and 2000. I've been aiming for one high calorie day per week, although I had two high-calorie days in a row over the weekend. I don't feel like I'm in a huge rush to lose my summer weight, so I'll just adjust things if needed.

Today is actually the last day of summer--tomorrow marks the first day of fall! I really hope that the temps drop soon. We've had a few days that felt good, but for the most part, it's been in the 80's and humid all month.

Yesterday was my team's first cross country meet. About half of the kids were on the team last year, so they knew what to expect; but the other half were just running their first race yesterday, so that was exciting. It was very hot to run--82 and humid--but the kids all did great! Eli said it was the hardest race he's ever done, because of the heat and the hill (the race has one tough hill to run up). He finished the 1.3 miles in 12:22, which is about a 9:31 pace. All his training is paying off!

Eli charging up the hill!

I got quite the workout at the meet, too. I did the warm-up with the kids on the way to the starting line, and then as soon as they started, I had to run FAST to the top of the hill, so that I could be there to cheer and take photos. I was totally sweaty and out of breath once I got there, but I was just in time to see the first kids approaching the hill. I stayed there for a while, and got to see Eli. A minute after he passed through, I realized that if I wanted to see him cross the finish line, I'd better book it. I took off down the hill and ran as fast as I could to the finish line (not the same direction as the kids) and got there just in time to see Eli finish. I was exhausted.

I've been running in the mornings after I drop the kids off at school, and it feels good to get it done early, before breakfast. When I drop the kids off, I'm already halfway to the State Park, so yesterday, I just went right to the park to run. I'd been dreading running lately, and I realized that it's probably because I stopped heart rate training. I was doing my "easy" runs too hard, and they just weren't fun that way. I decided to get back to keeping a low heart rate during easy runs, and I was right. It was MUCH more enjoyable!

I felt really good the whole way. I had been planning on running three miles, but I ended up taking a detour so I could get in a little more distance, and it ended up being 3.5 total. My mile splits were 10:53, 10:51, and 11:03 at a 144 bpm heart rate--about what I expected.

This morning was kind of chaotic. I had been planning to run five miles or so before meeting Andrea to aqua jog, but then I remembered that today is my dad's birthday. Yesterday felt like a Monday for some reason, so I thought I had another day before his birthday. Anyway, I always make him a pecan pie for his birthday, so while I was getting the kids ready for school, I was also making a pecan pie. It baked while I took the kids to school, and then when I got home, I quickly ate breakfast and headed out to meet Andrea.

I only had enough time to get in a one mile run before the pool, but that was better than nothing. I was already in my running clothes, so it would have been a waste if I didn't run a little. Usually, Andrea and I aqua jog for an hour, but today we cut it short at 30 minutes, since I had to go all the way to Sam's Club. Andrea decided to come with me, and even though it was "just" Sam's Club, it was actually really fun!

We each fell in love with these faux leather jackets, and ended up buying one (different colors).

The color doesn't really show right in either pic (for some reason, it looks brown), but it's actually a grayish color. It was only $25, and it's the most comfortable jacket I've ever worn! Now, if only it would stop being 80 degrees, I can wear it :)

I also had to get photos developed for the "The Story of Me and My Grandpa" books my kids have been working on for my dad. I wrote about them before on Father's Day, when the kids filled out the books ("The Story of Me and My Dad") for Jerry. I liked them so much that I bought some for my mom and dad as well. They're basically fill-in-the-blank type journals with prompts for kids to write about their parent or grandparent. It's really fun to read them, because kids see things a little differently than adults do, and their responses are so funny! ;)  They'd been working on the book for my dad for several weeks, and all it needed was some pictures. I got the photos developed at Sam's, and the kids put them in the book just in time.

Now we're heading over to my parents' house to give my dad his pie and books. I have another busy day tomorrow; but, this weekend, I should be able to catch up on everything!

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Some current favorite things

I used to do periodic posts about thing things that I'm into lately, and it's been a long time since I've done one. I always like reading those posts by other bloggers, because I may think of something I haven't thought of before, or discover products I didn't know about. There's nothing super exciting on this list, but through the fall, I'm going to try and remember to take pictures of things that I enjoy so I can make a list of current favorites at the end of the season. Anyway, here are some current things I'm enjoying...

#1. Cold Oats! I've written about these a few times lately. It's been too hot for cooking breakfast, and I (finally) started to get tired of having Larabars. I hadn't eaten much oatmeal over the last year, and bringing back the cold oats has been handy!

#2. Outshine Fruit Bars (Creamy Coconut flavor). These are 120 calories, and SO good! They're kind of expensive, so I don't buy them very often, but if you ever see them on sale, they're definitely worth picking up. The texture is like a creamier version of a popsicle, and there are tiny shreds of coconut throughout.

#3. David's Banana Nut Bread tea + plain black tea. I don't really like herbal teas by themselves, so I generally mix them with black tea. This combination has become my favorite!

#4. Noah asked me to download an app called DrawSomething so that I could play it with him. It turned out to be a really fun game! It's kind of like Pictionary, where you are given a word and you have to draw it and then send it to the other player, who has to guess what it is. I'm a terrible artist, and I can't draw to save my soul, but Jerry and I have shared a lot of laughs over our terrible drawings ;)

#6. Mixed fruit. I've been really into melon this summer, but I love to mix melon with pineapple and grapes for a good combo!

#7. A day planner. I've never been one to use a day planner for the way it's really intended, but I found this one at Michaels for 40% off, and it looked like a good way to track my calories and activities on paper (I miss keeping a paper journal, instead of using apps only). I use the top section for things I have going on that day or appointments; the middle section for my food log; and the bottom section for an activity log. I've seen some really great bullet journals on Instagram, and I really wish I was artistic and creative enough to do that! But a regular old planner works just fine ;)

#8. True Lime flavor packets in Watermelon flavor. Ever since I was a kid, I've been obsessed with watermelon flavored things, and these packets are amazingly good! My stomach doesn't agree very well with Crystal Light anymore (the artificial sweetener causes stomachaches for me) but the True Lemon and True Lime products use stevia, and that doesn't bother my stomach at all. There are a few other flavors, but the Watermelon is, by far, my favorite. I typically mix one packet into a quart of water, so it's not as strong tasting--just very refreshing.

#9. Better Pop (Guilt-Free) Popcorn. I love Skinny Pop, but it's pretty expensive, and when I saw that this had the same ingredients (popcorn, oil, salt) but was $2 cheaper, I decided to try it. Jerry and I both agreed that we actually like it better than Skinny Pop, because it's "fresher". I keep this on hand if I'm having a day where all I want to do is snack. Even if you ate the entire bag, the caloric damage isn't TOO terrible.

#10. I finally ran out of the La Croix water I bought in bulk, and I just can't bring myself to pay $5 for 12 of them; so, I decided to try the Kroger brand, and it's not bad! I find it to be a little fizzier than La Croix, and if they were the same price, I would probably choose the La Croix; but, the Kroger brand is worth the switch. My favorite flavor is the Blackberry Citrus. These waters don't have any sweeteners in them--they're just seltzer water with some sort of flavor.

#11. Making lists. I've always been a list-maker, and I have notebooks that are filled with lists of all sorts. It's kind of an odd habit of mine. This summer, when I was going through a serious bout of depression, my friend suggested that we make lists of 100 things that make us happy. When I did it, I could only come up with 17. A couple of months later, I tried again, and I'm up to 75! My mindset is in a much better place, which allows me to see things more positively.

#12. Scream, the TV series (on Netflix). I am a slasher/horror movie junkie, but I'm kind of particular about the movies I like. I don't like anything supernatural, because I only get scared by things that could actually happen--so serial killer movies are my favorite. Scream is probably my all-time favorite of its genre. When I saw there was a Scream show on TV, I didn't have any interest, because I just thought it couldn't possible be very good--but I finally watched the first episode, and then I was hooked! It follows the same sort of theme for the movie, only with different characters and situations... and it's much longer! It's an entire season (and I believe season two comes out soon). It kind of reminds me of a more gruesome version of Pretty Little Liars in a way.

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Well, there you have it! Anyone else want to share something you've been enjoying lately?

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