Productive

Why does it feel like the time is just flying by every day? I constantly feel like I'm a step behind everyone else, and I'm always trying to catch up--but the time goes by so fast! Just when I feel like I can take a quick breather, I have "just one more thing" to get done. It's actually been nice to be so busy, because it helps with my depression; but on the other hand, I am not used to being so fast-paced.

Speaking of depression, Jerry wanted to do something nice for me a couple days ago to cheer me up--since I'm not a big fan of flowers, he got me this enormous teddy bear. It's three feet tall! I named him Gunther, and he is super soft and cuddly. This is one of my favorite things Jerry's ever given me--and the timing was perfect. I love it!

I cannot believe it's Thursday already. When I woke the kids up this morning, it felt like just a minute ago I was waking them up and telling them it was Friday, so they had just one more day of school before the weekend. Anyway, I did do my Wednesday Weigh-in yesterday, I just didn't have time to post it.

I had another good week:

I was at 144.6, so that is down 1.6 pounds from last week. The weight loss has been a touch slower than the very consistent 2 pounds per week I was losing in 2015, but I've also been much more relaxed as far as calorie counting goes. I'm still trying to see how I do without logging food, and just paying attention instead to the approximate number of calories it has. I'm still eating three meals and a treat each day, keeping my portions moderate. 

I've only had alcohol twice in the last six weeks or so, and I think that has helped a lot with preventing binge eating. I think the alcohol (even just one or two drinks) would lower my inhibitions enough to make me not care much about what or how much I was eating, and I was probably getting in a lot of extra calories that way. 

Now that my weight is under 145, I really don't mind if I stop losing at this point. Maintenance is always tricky for me, so I'm not going to make a bold statement about maintaining, either--I'm just going to eat comfortably, exercise moderately, and see where my weight happens to fall. My biggest goal as far as my weight goes right now is to find a "happy place" that is fairly easy to maintain, even if it's a little heavier than I would prefer. 

I'm being cautious with weight goals anyway, because I'm guessing once I see the psychiatrist next month, he'll have me try a new medication, which may affect my weight. So, I'm happy to see the scale going down, but I'm still being cautious.

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I don't know what has come over me lately, but I've been in a serious spring cleaning mode. The new bedroom carpet is going to be installed on Tuesday, so I've been going through stuff in my bedroom and organizing. Yesterday, I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a bunch of decorative storage boxes to put stuff in instead of the plastic bags, shoe boxes, Tupperware containers, etc., that our stuff has been in. 

I went through all my clothes and packed up four huge bags to donate. I still feel like I should get rid of more, but I usually regret it when I force myself to choose more, so I'll just stick with this for now. Thankfully, most of my clothing comes from the Salvation Army, so I don't mind getting rid of things. It would be hard to get rid of clothes that I'd bought brand new and hadn't worn much!

It feels so nice and productive to get everything organized in my bedroom. It wasn't total chaos before, but I did have stuff stashed in so many places that it was overwhelming when I was looking for something. Getting the carpet replaced will be the finishing touch, and it'll feel like a brand new bedroom--I'm excited! 

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I have some fun stuff planned this weekend. Tomorrow, we are going to babysit Lucas for a little while so that Brian and Becky can go to the Tigers opening day. If it's anything like the first time Jerry and I went out without Noah when he was a newborn, then they probably won't be gone very long ;)  (It was funny--we were excited to go out for a date night, but once we dropped Noah off at my sister's house, he was all we talked about. And then we rushed through dinner and skipped the movie so that we could go pick him up. Haha!)

I organized a From Fat to Finish Line meet-up on Saturday morning, where we'll go for a walk or run at the State Park and then go out to brunch. We were supposed to do it a few weeks ago, but the weather was terrible and we had to reschedule. It's supposed to be very nice outside on Saturday, so I hope that the forecast is correct! Then on Saturday afternoon, I'm meeting up with Emily, one of my blog readers. I met her for drinks back in August, which was fun; and she's going to be in town again this weekend. 

If I don't write tomorrow, have a great weekend everyone! 

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Teaming up with Monica

I am so tired of driving! I never used to mind driving very much; probably because I don't have a regular commute or anything, so I don't spend long amounts of time in the car very often. But the last three months, I feel like all I've been doing is driving! And it's "driving" me crazy ;)

I've already put nearly 5,000 miles on my car this year, which is much more than ever before. The average American female of my age would have driven about 2,866 miles at this point (yes, I looked it up, because I was curious). We've just had so many appointments for various things this year, and I've been driving to Detroit, Toledo, and Ann Arbor quite a bit. With all of the construction going on in Detroit and Toledo, I'm spending a lot of time driving.

Anyway, yesterday I had a therapy appointment, and it was a very productive one. We worked on a self-esteem issue I've been having for years, and I felt like a huge weight was lifted when I left the office.

Without getting too specific or personal on here, I had basically been focusing on all of the things I wasn't doing in one particular area of my life, instead of looking at all the things I am doing. My therapist helped me to flip that mentality, and I feel much better about it!

I also talked with her about something I'd been thinking about for a long time, but only recently started researching--getting Monica and I registered as a Pet Partners team.

When we fostered Monica last June, I knew there was a good chance we'd end up adopting her. We fell in love with her because she is such a loving cat! She ADORES being petted and held, and it's almost annoying in a way--when you stop petting her, she taps her paw against your arm or hand until you pet her some more. She just loves it!

She's also not "touchy" in the way a lot of cats are when they are done being held or petted--when Estelle has had enough, for example, she gives a few warning signs to back off. If you don't, then she may bite your hand (not enough to draw blood, but as a way to say, "Hey! Stop petting me!"). Monica is never really "done" being petted--she would sit there all day long if you continued to stroke her, haha. But, at worst, she would just turn and walk away if she was done.

This got me thinking about how she would make a great therapy cat. Pet Partners is a non-profit that registers handlers and pets as therapy teams who can then interact with all sorts of people in settings such as nursing homes and group homes. When Mark was alive, he would frequently talk about taking care of the animals at his group home--they had some farm animals there, and it was the mens' job to care for them. Mark took a lot of pride in that.

Anyway, as I learned from attending Purina's Better With Pets summit for the last few years, pets and people can do great things together. And pets are fantastic therapy for people with PTSD, Alzheimer's, intellectual disabilities like the men in Mark's group home, people approaching end of life, etc.

Going by myself to a nursing home to visit with strangers would be very hard for me, because of my shyness--but if I had Monica with me, I would feel more comfortable because she is a nice ice breaker. So, I think it would be a win for everybody--me, for stepping out of my comfort zone and helping others; Monica, because she will get lots of attention; and the people we visit, because Monica will love all over them :)

The registration process may take a while, especially with everything else I have going on right now, but I think it's worth doing. I just have to take an online course, have Monica approved by the vet, and have an evaluation. I think Monica is perfect for the program, so I'm kind of looking forward to it!

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Tonight, we're going (along with my parents and Nathan) to Brian and Becky's for dinner and to visit with Luke! I knew I would love being an aunt, but I never realized just how much--it's so nice to get a "baby fix" every time I see him.

Nathan just finished remodeling his bathroom (he and Brian did the work themselves) and it looks fantastic! I don't have a final photo of his bathroom yet, but this is a picture from a few weeks ago, when he was almost done with it (obviously, the toilet is not in the shower, haha).

My mom had the idea to give Nathan a "shower"--to buy him some bathroom accessories for the finishing touches. My mom, Jeanie, Becky, and I pitched in, and my mom and I went shopping last night. We put together a nice basket of stuff for him. (He doesn't know about it, so I hope he likes it!)

Art, rugs, towels, waste basket, valance, etc. We're going to give it to him at Brian's house tonight. It should be a fun evening!

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My big SkyMiles score!

April is off to a great start! The sun has been out, drying up the water from the rain we got over the last few days, and even though it's still a bit cold, it at least looks like spring. What a gorgeous day today!

I've been trying to plan a trip to Portland (which has basically become an annual thing) for the end of May, and I've been watching the airline tickets for a couple of months, waiting for a good deal to come along. But they've been crazy expensive!

Normally, a ticket would be about $400--but the ones for the dates that I want were $550+, and even those ones in the $500's had odd flight times. It was starting to look like the only way to get a ticket would be to spend over $600, which I was not willing to do. I started thinking about using a buddy pass, but there are other problems that arise when using a pass, so I wasn't sure if it'd be worth it.

Jerry and I each have SkyMiles accounts, and as of this morning, my balance was 29,727. Jerry's balance was 23,708. To purchase the ticket with SkyMiles would have cost about 50,000-ish miles. I could get the ticket with some SkyMiles plus cash, but the minimum miles needed in order to do that was 30,000--and I'm just shy of that number.

So, I wanted to ask Delta if I could merge Jerry's and my miles. Since we are married, I assumed it wouldn't be a big deal. Well, Delta doesn't allow transfers of SkyMiles without a big penalty fee--even between spouses--and it would have cost $250 to transfer Jerry's miles to ME, his wife. I thought that was ridiculous, and I was not about to agree to that.

I had a very unpleasant experience with the SkyMiles customer service, and got nowhere. The woman acted like I was an idiot for even asking if I could merge our miles into one account.

Then, I called American Express to see if they could do anything, since it's a Delta SkyMiles Amex. The service rep was super nice, but said they don't have authority to do much with the SkyMiles plan--Amex and SkyMiles are two separate accounts. She was able to offer me 12,500 miles for being a good-standing customer, but said the miles wouldn't show up in my account on time for this ticket. It was really cool of her to help how she could! But I still wasn't sure what to do about my ticket.

I started trying to think of an alternative/creative way to use our miles, and I decided that maybe I could get two one-way tickets instead of a round trip ticket--pay for one with my miles, and for the other with Jerry's miles. Perfect!

So, I checked the flights, and there was pretty much NOTHING for less than 30,000 miles. (To get my miles balance up to 30,000, I would only have to spend $273 on my American Express card--but the miles wouldn't appear in my account on time to buy the ticket.)

If I decided to do the one-way tickets, then I would have to pick a crappy flight time in order to have enough miles for it, and arrive in Portland at midnight. Just as I decided fine, I'll do that, I noticed a flight that had no availability for coach, but it had a first class ticket available... for 25,000 miles. Say what?! I was shocked. I never even look at first class, because it's way too expensive.

I thought it had to be a glitch (or April Fools joke?), but I quickly started the process to buy the ticket. The departure and arrival times were fantastic, and it was first class with one short layover. I couldn't believe how lucky I'd gotten! And then when I'd filled in ALL my info, I clicked "purchase"--and the screen said that the ticket at that price was no longer available.

I almost cried I was so frustrated. I tried again a few more times, with the same result, so I called Delta again. The woman who I spoke with was amazing, and she said someone else must have purchased it right out from under me while I was filling in my info. Because of the inconvenience, she allowed me to choose a different flight, first class, at the same cost--25,000 SkyMiles + $5.60. So, I bought a first class ticket with flight times I was happy with, and I was able to get the whole thing with my SkyMiles! I was thrilled.

The only flight that I had enough SkyMiles to buy to get home from Portland (using Jerry's miles) was a redeye, but I actually like redeye flights... so it was my top choice anyway, and it was only 15,500 SkyMiles + $5.60.

I can't even tell you how stoked I am that I was able to get both tickets for a combined total of 40,500 SkyMiles and $11.20... and I'll be in first class on the way there! I had almost given up even trying to go on this trip because I just wasn't sure how I was going to be able to pay for the ticket. As frustrating as it was earlier, everything worked out perfectly!

(If you are interested in getting a Delta SkyMiles card, I would be so thrilled if you would use this referral link--I'll get bonus miles for it. I absolutely LOVE my SkyMiles card, and I get to travel for free fairly frequently because of it! I believe you get bonus Delta SkyMiles for using my link as well.)

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Have any of you started watching 13 Reasons Why on Netflix? I read the book a couple of times several years ago, and I loved it--I was really excited when I saw that it was going to be a series on Netflix! I started watching it yesterday; and already, I like it a lot. It's been a while since I read the book, so I can't really remember everything that happens.

Anyway, I was just excited about the plane ticket story, so I wanted to share :) Happy Saturday!

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March

What's that saying about March weather? "In like a lion, out like a lamb"?

Ha! Usually, it's February weather that makes me wonder why on earth I choose to live in Michigan; but this year, February was gorgeous. Sunny, and even very warm on some days--73 degrees--and pleasant. I was totally in the mood for spring when I was sitting outside without a coat on mid-February ;)

Then March happened. The weather this month has been unbelievable! Yesterday and today, it's been raining all. day. long.

This is how hard it was raining all day!

Yesterday, Eli had an appointment to pick up his orthotics, so we spent the day together playing hooky from school.

The appointment was in Detroit, which is normally about a 35 minute drive. However, there is a huge construction project going on, so we left with plenty of time to spare (well over an hour).

Driving in the rain is never fun, but yesterday it was awful! We had to take an alternate route, so it was going to take longer anyway, but with the rain coming down so hard, I was a little nervous at times. Semi trucks were spraying water all over the place, and there were sheets of water pouring down. At some points, traffic was going about 25 mph on the expressway.

The last three times I've gone to a hospital we've had a storm: 1) When Lucas was born, and I drove to the hospital in Toledo, we had a crazy windstorm that was so bad it caused several semi trucks to literally tip over on their sides; 2) When I took Noah to Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor a couple of weeks ago, we had that huge snow storm and counted about a dozen car accidents on the way up to the ER; and 3) The drive through the rain storm yesterday to Detroit Medical Center Children's Hospital was actually just as bad as the snow storm!

Thankfully, Eli's appointments at DMC are done now (at least until his feet outgrow the orthotics). And Noah's foot is healing well, so we don't need to go back to U of M anytime soon.

Anyway, it took us an hour and fifteen minutes to get to DMC yesterday, but once we got there, everything was fine. Eli's orthotics fit well, and he was (surprisingly) excited about wearing them. He's supposed to wear them for a couple of hours a day to start, and gradually increase the time he wears them until he wears them all the time.

He's been doing really well with physical therapy, too, and his range of motion in his ankles has improved quite a bit. I really like his physical therapist! He really knows his stuff, and Eli is comfortable with him.

After we were done at the hospital, I told Eli he could choose wherever he wanted to go for lunch, and he chose La Pita. Obviously, that sounded good to me! ;) It was fun spending time with just Eli, and he gave me the scoop about what's going on at school and with his friends. I felt the same way when I took Noah to Ann Arbor, and we spent the whole day together just the two of us. Spending time with both kids is great, but one-on-one time is special.

Thankfully, the ride home was a little better than the ride there. I picked up Noah from school, and then we had to go to Eli's physical therapy appointment. On the way home from that, it was pouring again, and there were several traffic lights without power. There was SO much flooding from the rain, too--the ditches that are usually empty are completely filled to the top with rain water.

When we got home, we got cozy in our pajamas and watched an episode of Flashpoint (one of our family favorites). The rain stopped toward the end of the show, and I started thinking about how maybe I should go for a run. I was SO comfy, and really didn't want to move; but, I had been chatting with Colin (who I ran with in San Diego) the day before, and he all-but dared me to train to try to get back in shape enough to run (or even run/walk) the Indy Mini instead of walking the whole thing. There is nothing wrong with walking it, of course, but he was encouraging me to think a little bigger.

I didn't want to think that far ahead (and still don't), but I figured it wouldn't hurt to go do a short run and see how I felt. I put on some water resistant running clothes and a hat, and hoped that the rain would stay at a stop while I ran a mile or two. Once I started running, I felt better than the day before--still out of breath, but the "normal" kind, and not the kind I described in my previous post. My heart rate was high, but I expected that after not having run for a while.

I had only planned to run a mile or two, just to say that I did, but I felt good enough that I did a lollipop route that was about 3.4 miles. I managed a 10:45/mi pace, which was a whole minute faster than Wednesday's 11:45 pace at the same heart rate. Afterward, I was SO glad that I did it! I came inside just as it started down pouring again, and took a hot shower.

I miss feeling good like that after a run! I can't even remember the last time I felt that way after a run--probably when I was 10K training a year ago. I felt very accomplished, even though it was "just an easy three-miler". It boosted my confidence a little.

We had more thunderstorms last night, and it's still raining today (although nothing as hard as yesterday). Driving the kids to school this morning, I saw so many yards that were flooded with rain water. Some people's yards even look like they have huge ponds in them! It's supposed to be in the 50's this week, so I'm glad it will be warming up, but it's still supposed to be very rainy. I'm just hoping that the "April showers bring May flowers" saying holds true ;)

Since today is the last day of March, I have my 1 Second Everyday video ready to share. This was a big month--wind storm, snow storm, and rain storm; my nephew was born!; my parents came home from a two-month trip; Noah had the mother of all splinters in his foot; Eli has been going to physical therapy; and I have probably driven more miles on my car this month than the last six months combined (going to Detroit, Toledo, and Ann Arbor several times over).

I'm hoping for nicer weather and less hospital visits for April ;)  Have a great weekend!

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Maybe new weight goals?

On Monday, I was texting John, and we were talking about lack of motivation to run. I told him how I hadn't run in nearly five weeks since I decided I needed a break from training (I had planned to continue to run a couple of times a week, but so many factors have come into play where that goes--I'll explain more below--but basically, it just didn't happen.) John said that he was going to try to run after work on Monday, so I made him a deal. I said that if he went for a run on Monday evening, then I would run on Tuesday morning.

Anyway, I started my new medication (for depression) only a few days before my last run about five weeks ago. I remember having a terrible run--feeling tired, lethargic, and very out of breath. I hoped it was just a coincidence, but each time I've tried to run over the last five weeks, I feel the same way. I've also experienced a HUGE lack of motivation, which is the last thing I want. I don't know if this is from the medication or not, but it seems to have gotten much worse since starting the medication.

Yesterday, I headed out for my run with high hopes. I really wanted to have a good run and not feel like a lazy bum! Again, I just felt awful. At around mile 1.7, I took a walk break, and then ended up walking the rest of the way home. Because of this, I started feeling bad about myself and talking down to myself (which I know is of no help). I was just disappointed that I wasn't able to get in the three miles I'd hoped.

So, I made another appointment with my doctor to see what he thinks about this as a possible side effect. I also called to check on the waiting list to see a psychiatrist, and they were able to get me in on May 1st--much sooner than September! Hopefully, the psychiatrist will be able to help me find a good treatment with minimal side effects. Meanwhile, it's frustrating not being able to "just fix it" already.

Anyway, I have still been doing well with eating and staying binge-free. Today's weigh-in:

I was at 146.2, which is down 1.6 pounds from 147.8 last week--I'll take it! Like last week, I didn't count calories; instead, I just tried to eat as if I was counting calories.

I've been thinking more and more about maybe trying to maintain a higher goal weight--something like 140 or 145, instead of trying to get down to 133 again. The truth is, I'm caring less and less about the numbers and more about consistency and doing what makes me happy.

My weight has always gone up and down, so it's hard to say what my "ideal" weight is. To me, I believe my ideal weight will come through not binge eating, staying consistent with eating patterns, eating what I truly enjoy, and not eating too much or too little.

I think I'm mostly afraid of rebound weight gain, like what happened last year when I became very depressed; and perhaps by maintaining a higher weight on a daily basis, I won't have that rebound effect. This is total speculation, so I have no idea if what I'm thinking is accurate--but it can't cause any harm. Would I like to weigh in the 120's again? Of course! But not if it just means I'm going to gain 30 pounds the next time I have a rough patch with depression. I think I look okay at this size, too, so I wouldn't mind choosing a higher goal. I'll think about it some more and see what happens!

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I just have to share this picture, because I think it's cute. Eli was doing his homework on the couch, and Joey clearly couldn't stand that Eli's homework was getting more attention than he was, so he made himself comfortable by sprawling right across Eli's back :)

Also, I took this picture of Estelle yesterday. She sits in this basket which is perfectly cat-sized, and I turned on a YouTube video for her to watch (birds and squirrels). She was mesmerized! hahaha

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It's been three years...

Well, that was a fun weekend!

I really didn't have many plans, but Jerry and I hosted a party on Saturday night, so we stayed very busy getting ready for that, and then recovering all day yesterday ;)

On Friday, we spent the whole day cleaning the house--so fun, right? BUT, it felt sooo good going to bed on Friday knowing that my house was crazy clean. There is nothing more motivating to clean than expecting company--I really ought to plan a get-together once a month, if only so that my house is clean!

Saturday was nice, because we actually got to have a pretty relaxing day. Since we got the cleaning done the day before, we just prepped food and drinks for later, and then hung out and had a relaxing afternoon. The whole point of having people over was to have a "game night" and play fun board games--I adore board games, but don't play them nearly often enough. So, I was looking forward to it very much!

We arranged two big folding tables in our living room so that we could fit 16 people around, and it surprisingly worked out really well. I'd never played games like Cards Against Humanity with that many people before, so I wasn't sure how it would go. I think a better number would be about 8-10 people, but we still had a blast and shared a lot of laughs. We also played Guesstures, which has been a family-favorite for years.

I am only a tiny bit sad that I don't have any pictures from the evening. I had the idea to have people put their cell phones in a basket at the door, so that we could all interact face-to-face without phones being a distraction. I even made it very enticing with this little prize basket ;)  Anyone who kept their phone in the basket was entered to win this very cool prize:

Why do airplane shots seem so much more fun then regular sized bottles?

It worked out very well! As a result, we have no photos--but sometimes that's a good thing, right? I would hate to be in high school or college right now, where everybody takes pictures and videos of EVERYTHING and posts them on the internet. I think everybody does stupid stuff in their teens and 20's. The difference between then and now is just that now, someone is always filming and posting it on social media. I try to drill it into my kids that when they are in public, they should behave as if the entire internet is watching them ;)

Anyway, the whole evening went by SO quickly. Before I knew it, I was in bed at nearly 2:00 in the morning. I woke up at around 7:00, when my mom called and told me that Noah was sick. I picked him up and took him right to Urgent Care. They said he has a sinus infection and he's starting to develop bronchitis. When Noah gets bronchitis it's BAD. I hope that we can stop it by acting early. 

When Noah and I got home from Urgent Care, the whole family decided that it would be a lazy Sunday. We put on pajamas and watched the entire Divergent trilogy together! It was the perfect day for being lazy, too--overcast and drizzly/rainy all day.

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It wasn't until I was going to bed last night that it hit me--it was the anniversary of Mark's death. I simply cannot believe that it's been three years since he died. I still think about him all the time. It hasn't really gotten any easier to talk about him, either.

Jerry and I recently drove someplace that was near where Mark's nursing home was (where we made MANY trips to visit in 2014); and when I realized how close we were to it, I noticed the McDonald's that I would buy his strawberry shakes from and the Long John Silver's where I bought his hush puppies. And "fancy" coffee at Starbucks :) (I will never be able to see those things without thinking of Mark)

I've thought several times (and I even brought it up to my therapist) that maybe I could go to Mark's group home where he spent most of his life, and befriend someone there who doesn't have family or friends. Someone that I could do fun things for, like my family did for Mark. I love the idea of doing this, but it's so far out of my comfort zone that I just haven't brought myself to do it yet. And I'm not sure how I would feel going back there. I've been there a couple of times to drop off treats for the men on Halloween (Mark's birthday), but I haven't stayed. It's hard. 

When Mark was dying, I felt like I had true purpose--I was so determined to make him feel loved and happy when he died! I liked doing something with meaning, even if it didn't have meaning to anyone but him. But, I know that our visits with Mark had a big impact on my kids in a positive way. It taught them compassion and selflessness in a way that I couldn't have taught them otherwise. And I'm pretty sure that Mark knew how we felt about him when he went "home home" three years ago. We all miss him dearly!

This was the last photo I took of Mark and me

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A Thursday weigh-in and a new job

This month, I have developed a whole new respect for working mothers. Jerry's been working day shift, so he's gone when the kids and I wake up in the morning and he doesn't get home until evening. On a normal day, I pick up the kids from school, come home and help them get their homework done, cook dinner, and we eat at around 4:00.

With all the appointments we've had lately, we just haven't had any "normal" days lately. Eli has art club after school once a week, and he has physical therapy twice a week immediately after school. Noah had baseball tryouts after school this week for three days. And then with Noah's monster splinter, and Eli's orthopedic appointments, we've had things going on every single day.

We've eaten out way more than I'd care to admit. If we were permanently going to be this busy, I'd probably figure out a plan to eat later in the day and make good use of my crock pot; but I think in about a week, things should go back to normal. Anyway, even though I technically have a job (stay at home mom and blogger), I still have the benefit of being home to cook dinner. If I had to drive to an office every day, I would have such a hard time getting dinner on the table! I'm in awe of the working moms who do that. But I guess it's just something that we adjust to when we have to.

But, speaking of jobs, I accepted a job working for From Fat to Finish Line (the company that is based on the movie). I am going to be their "Senior Writer" as well as lead a training program for the Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon in Vegas for this November. The program will be six months long, so it's a big commitment. I'll write more about that later, but I'm pretty excited about this opportunity! I'll be writing several blog posts for FFTFL each month (on the FFTFL blog; not here, obviously). This job will keep me very busy, but I love that I will still have the flexibility to do all the work at home.

Yesterday was Wednesday Weigh-in, but I felt SO bloated that I didn't even want to post--I knew that the number wasn't my "true" weight, so I just figured I'd wait until today to do my weigh-in. That said, the scale read 149.8 yesterday morning! That was after having eaten Mexican food with Jerry the day before, and feeling very bloated. This morning, sure enough, my weight was back down.

It isn't a huge drop from last week (I was at 148.2 last Wednesday); but again, I'm happy as long as I'm not gaining. And like last week, I chose not to count calories again and just eat AS IF I was counting calories. I even weigh out my portions of some foods (like breakfast cereal) so I don't get heavy handed, but I don't log my food. If I could make this work forever, I'd be thrilled! I will definitely take the slower weight loss if I can manage to do it without having to log my food; but, even if I have to log my food to keep the weight off, I'm certainly willing to. I'll just see how it goes on a week-to-week basis.

I'm currently on Day 29 of being binge-free (the longest streak in a while). I think it's been very helpful that I've been so busy with the kids--it's hard to find time for regular meals, let alone a binge!

I am REALLY looking forward to this weekend. On Saturday, we have friends coming over to play board games (there will be about 16 people coming, so it's going to be fun)! I've been cleaning like crazy, because a few people will be staying the night, so I need to get the kids' bedrooms ready for guests (if you have tween boys, then you know how big a project that is, haha).

At least the rooms will be pretty easy to clear out once our new carpet arrives, though. Lowe's said they'd call us in a couple of weeks (when the carpet comes in) to set up an installation date. Over spring break, I want to get the house SUPER clean. I feel like I'm always in a great mood when my house is clean. Besides, I actually really like spring cleaning--I put on some loud music and dance while I sing along and clean :)  The weather is supposed to be in the 50's and 60's starting tomorrow--I'm so excited about that!

If I don't write tomorrow, enjoy the weekend!

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Motivational Monday #140

Happy Motivational Monday, Friends! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. My weekend went by crazy fast--I'm just not feeling ready for the busy week ahead ;)

Anyway, I have a couple of fun stories to share with you for Motivational Monday. Hope you enjoy!

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I'm always happy when I hear from a male reader, because I don't seem to have very many of them ;) This is Dave. He completed his very first half-marathon yesterday--on his 56th birthday! He works crazy hours, and considering the weather and the fact that this was his first half-marathon, he is thrilled with his finish time of 2:04:42. To round off his exciting week of "firsts", on Friday, Dave is actually going to be meeting his biological sister for the first time! They talked for the first time last month, and now he is looking forward to seeing her in person. What a fun week! (Dave, I'll be thinking of you Friday--I hope you'll let us know how the reunion goes!)

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This is Megan (on the left). She admits that she was never an athletic child, and she's been self-conscious of her body for as long as she can remember. She even remembers having to run the mile in gym class (don't we all have that awful memory? Haha!) and she was the last one to finish. The boy that finished first ran back to Megan and completed her last lap with her so she wasn't doing it alone. At 26 years old, she still says she is not "athletic", but she wanted to give running a try again. She tried Couch to 5K before, but always found it too difficult--until she learned to slow her running pace. She slowed down and found she could run almost a full mile--and last Sunday, Megan and her wife completed their first 5K race! They even ran the entire race without stopping. Megan has a goal to run a marathon one day, and checking this 5K off the list was a big step in that direction :)  (A big congrats to you, Megan! And to your wife as well.)  (Megan blogs at Meg on a Mission)

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As for myself, I have been lacking the motivation to exercise. When I stopped running a few weeks ago (I'm just taking a break, not quitting altogether), I had every intention of doing other things to stay active. But this weather has been so awful in Michigan this month that I just haven't made myself exercise. Occasionally, I feel the urge to go for a run; but usually, when I feel that urge, the weather stops me. I think I'm going to give myself the rest of this month to slack off a bit, but then on April 1st, I'll start with a schedule.

I loved the idea that a few readers suggested about having a list of activities, and choosing from the list based on how I feel that day. I will make a generic exercise schedule, so that I am sure to get in a good amount of exercise, but I won't restrict myself to particular exercises. My whole goal is to be happy and healthy, so I don't really mind if my exercise comes from running, or a bike ride, or just a long stroll in the park.

Interestingly, though, I don't feel bad about taking a break right now. My eating has been very good (I haven't binged in 25 days (maybe more, but that's when I started counting). The weight is coming off, but I am not in a big hurry as far as that goes. I've also been staying very busy every day, so it's not like I'm sitting around doing nothing instead of exercising. I think this break has actually done me some good!

I think my new antidepressant is doing its job, too. I still have good days and bad days, but the bad days are getting fewer and further between, and not as intense. I've just been feeling more focused on a day to day basis, which is nice. Even though I know that I'm not going to hit my 10,000+ steps per day goal for March (I need to choose a month with better weather and try again), I decided to go ahead and order the Brooklinen sheets I wanted. After the last nine months of struggling with deep depression, I thought a set of cozy sheets would be a great way to do something nice for myself. (And the timing is perfect, because we are getting our bedroom carpet installed soon).

The sheets are SO comfortable!

Anyway, my life seems to be moving in the right direction now, and I'm just hoping it continues that way. Hopefully April will bring better weather, too, so I can start riding my bike! I've been looking forward to that :)

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If you would like to share a successful moment on Motivational Monday, you can read how to submit your story here. I will post them on Mondays as I get them (I like to wait until I have 2-3 before posting). Thanks to Dave and Megan for sharing their accomplishments with us this week!

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A quickie post

Man, this March weather has really put a damper on lots of plans I made this month! Yesterday morning, I had planned a get together with about a dozen From Fat to Finish Line fans. We were going to meet at the State Park for a walk/run, and then go to Cracker Barrel for brunch afterward. When I planned it out last month, the weather was so nice that I was imagining a warm and sunny walk in the park.

Instead, it rained the night before, which then froze overnight. And in the morning, more rain--which gradually turned into snow and it snowed pretty hard all morning. I asked the group if they still wanted to get together or if we should reschedule, and I'm not surprised that we voted to reschedule. So, we're going to attempt it again in a few weeks. Maybe then we'll have some good weather!

This is a tree branch that was down by the water at my parents' house. It was totally covered in ice! I thought it was really neat looking...

Friday night, Jerry and I were supposed to go (with our kids) to our friends' Jake and Emma's house to play Euchre, but they ended up having to cancel because their entire family (they have four kids) is sick with the flu. The flu has been going around big time, and thankfully, my family has managed to avoid it so far! But some of my friends have not been so lucky.

Speaking of Euchre, Jerry and I are hosting a game night with some friends next weekend. I'm really looking forward to that! One of my favorite things to do is play board games with a group of friends, and it's been a long time since I've done that. I had an idea to put together a little prize basket to give away. When everyone arrives, whoever wants to participate can put their cell phone in a basket by the door--the goal being to keep their phones in the basket the entire evening. At the end of the evening, I'll pull out a random phone and that person will win the prize basket! It's just an incentive to interact without phones being a distraction. I miss the days of hanging out without distractions (and without worrying about photos winding up online later--haha!).

With the weather being so crappy this weekend, I've spent much of the weekend doing some "spring" cleaning. Yesterday, I cleaned out all the cupboards in the kitchen and arranged things in a way that seemed more efficient. I love how organized it all looks. I should've taken before and after photos, but the before photos probably would have been pretty embarrassing. My Tupperware cupboard was pretty horrifying, haha. (I'm in awe of anyone who manages to keep Tupperware organized)

Jerry and I decided to spend some of our tax return money on new carpet for the bedrooms, something we've needed for years now, so we finally placed the order for that. Usually, buying "adult" things is super boring (like the water heater and furnace we needed last year)--but carpet is very exciting to me! My bedroom carpet is burgundy right now, so it clashes with everything big time. The new carpet will be a light gray--much better.

Of course, getting new carpet means we have to clean the heck out of the bedrooms and move the furniture. A big project, but I will be so happy when it's done! The kids are pretty excited, too.

Well, Becky and Luke are going to stop by, so I've got to take a quick shower. Hope everyone had a great weekend! (By the way, if you have a Motivational Monday post for me, please send it over so I can do a post tomorrow).

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This and that

Sorry for the lame title of this post, but I sat here for 10 minutes trying to think of something to title it! I finally gave up.

What is with this weather?! It's like winter finally arrived, but a few months too late. The wind chill was in the single digits this morning. It's hard to believe that last month, it was 73 degrees on a few occasions!

Thank you for the nice comments on my last post. Noah is doing MUCH better now that the "splinter" (there really ought to be a different name for a splinter that is as large as his was!) is out of his foot. He went to school today, and when he only has to walk a short distance, he hobbles instead of using his crutches. I'm guessing that by the end of the week, he'll be walking normally again. That was such an odd thing to have happened! I'm so glad it's taken care of now.

On Saturday, I was supposed to take the RRCA Level II coaching course in Detroit. Currently, I am a Level I certified coach. Since I don't have a coaching business, it's not really necessary for me to be certified at all--but I like to have that credibility to my name when I write about training plans and give running advice, and things like that, so I thought it would be nice to get the Level II certification.

When I saw the course was going to be in Detroit, I signed up right away. On Friday, I was checking out the website to see what to expect at the class on Saturday, and I noticed that I was totally wrong about the certification process. The in-person course that I'd signed up for was only one small part--in addition to that, I'd have to take 15 more online courses to get the Level II certification. The total cost would be $650! If it was just the one class, for $250, then I think it would be worth pursuing. But I just cannot justify spending $650 on a certification that I don't really need.

I was debating all day on Friday whether I should go to the class or not; but then Noah kind of decided for me, when we took him to the emergency rooms on Friday night. There was no way that I could have left him all day Saturday to go to the class when he couldn't even walk! So, I won't be getting the certification, but I'm totally okay with that. If I ever decide to open a coaching business, then maybe I'll look into it again; but for right now, I'm able to do everything I want with my Level I.

I had another loss on the scale for my Wednesday Weigh-in today:

I weighed in at 148.2, so I was down 1.2 from last week. Not bad! It's funny--I really haven't been that excited about losing weight this time around. I think the older I get, the less I care about the numbers. Even if I didn't lose any more from where I am right now, I'd be okay with that. I care enough to work on getting my weight back down to where I'd like to be, of course, but it really just isn't very important on my list of priorities. Hopefully that makes sense.

When I saw my doctor at my last appointment, he said I really don't need to lose any weight. He was very happy with my health numbers, and said that I look like I'm a normal, healthy size. It was kind of nice to hear that from a doctor! I'm so used to doctors telling me to lose weight that it's refreshing to hear that he thinks my weight is just fine.

This week, I tried something different... I didn't count calories. I didn't count anything, actually. It was kind of fun! I ate exactly the same way as if I was counting calories, but I didn't actually log anything. I'd tried to do this before in the past, and wasn't successful at it, so I don't know that it'll last long; I had a ton going on this week, with Noah's ER visits and being away from home so much, so that is probably why I was able to get away without counting. (I spent SO much time driving this past week.) But, it's nice to see that I didn't gain weight even though I wasn't counting.

In other news... Lucas! I adore being an aunt. I think the hardest part about being an aunt is that I don't get to see him every single day. I'm afraid I'm going to miss something (yes, he's only a week old). We've gone to visit three times, and each time, I just love him more and more.

He is seriously the most chill baby I've ever seen. He hasn't even cried around me yet. Brian and Becky are the most laid back people I know, so I think that must have carried over to Luke. When Jerry was holding him, he put his arm up by his head to rest against it, and my heart basically melted.

My kids love going to visit Luke, too. He's their only cousin, can you believe it?! Jerry's sister doesn't have kids, and my kids were the only two in my family until Luke was born. Eli really likes to hold him. He's always had a big heart for animals, so it doesn't surprise me that he's good with babies as well.

Anyway, Becky and Luke are both doing well. And Brian is adjusting to being a dad just fine! I'm hoping I'll get to visit again this weekend :)

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