Wednesday Weigh-In : Week 9

Before I get into the weigh-in post, I just have to explain the story behind the hoodie I'm wearing in the above photo...

When we got home from vacation, there was a UPS package here, addressed to Jerry. Jerry got all giddy and told me to open it. I had no idea what was going on--but sometimes he'll order something from my Amazon Wish List as a surprise for me, so I figured that's what it was. I was wrong, though. I'll get to what was in the package after the backstory:

As I've mentioned before, probably too often, I LOVE the game Best Fiends (note: it's "fiends" and not "friends"). I first heard of it while listening to my various true crime podcasts--it's a game that several podcasts advertised. I was getting bored with Lumosity and one day I downloaded Best Fiends.

I got hooked on it right away! I started playing it on my phone and now I use my iPad. It actually helps me with my anxiety; it takes my mind off of my anxiety and it's just mindless fun to play. (It's super addicting, though--just beware.) I even got Jerry hooked on it.

Anyway, Jerry knows how much I like the game and we talk about it sometimes ("Hey, I upgraded such-and-such Fiend today!" "I got 10 minutes of boost time!" and stupid stuff like that.) We banter about it--we realize it's a dumb thing to get excited about, but we're both nerdy about it.

I didn't know this, but Jerry wanted to buy me a Best Fiends coffee mug (I didn't even know that the game had merch). When he tried ordering it, the online store wasn't working. So he emailed them and told them that he wasn't able to order a mug for his wife because the website wasn't working.

They messaged him back and said that the store is no longer running--they aren't selling the merch anymore. But they said that they'd be happy to send him a couple of things anyway, and asked for his address. He didn't know what they were going to send, but he thought it was cool of them to do that.

So, back to the UPS package. As you can guess, it was from the Best Fiends people (Seriously Digital Entertainment is their brand). I still didn't know anything about Jerry writing them and them sending stuff to Jerry, and when I started pulling things out of the box, I was getting mad that Jerry would spend so much money on that stuff! (I knew it had to cost a fortune.) Then he explained the story to me and said they they sent him the stuff for FREE. (Yes, it is free advertising for them--but it's a win-win because I love it!)

I got a t-shirt, a raglan shirt, a hoodie, two mugs, a leather journal, three pairs of socks, and a canvas tote bag! I couldn't believe it. And I was really surprised by the quality of the merchandise--the shirts were the super soft, comfy kind of cotton that I love; the hoodie wasn't the standard fleece (it was more of a thick tightly-knit fabric); the socks, the bag, the journal, and even the mugs were excellent quality. I was stunned that they sent all of this.

I immediately put on the raglan shirt, which is my favorite.

I would post a link to their store and give them a big "thank you" shout-out, but they don't have the store anymore. It was a super fun surprise to get in the mail, and Jerry was just as excited to give it to me as I was to get it!

So, on to Wednesday Weigh-In...

My last official weigh-in was Week 7 because I was up north last Wednesday. I was at 176.2 pounds two weeks ago, and I don't know what it was last week. For today's weigh-in:

I was at 173.4, so I'm down 2.8 pounds. Not too bad, especially considering I was on vacation all last week! From my starting weight (nine weeks ago) of 197.0, I've lost 23.6 pounds. (Several people have asked me about how many calories I eat per day... I'm mostly doing the same thing I did before, which I wrote a detailed post about--you can find it here. I will write an updated post about it soon.)

I figured I'd just write a few notes about staying on track while on vacation:

I didn't plan out "special meals" or foods that I had to pack or anything like that. I wanted to just go with the flow, eat what everyone else was eating, and enjoy the trip. Something I've been doing since I started counting calories again is choosing what matters most to me--in this case, I knew that I was really going to want to enjoy my dinner (our main meal) and I didn't want to have to restrict what I was eating, so I saved most of my calories for that meal.

I did bring grapes with me--not because I felt like I "should" eat them, but because I love grapes and I've been eating them for breakfast every day. So, I ate grapes for breakfast and I usually skipped lunch. Then I'd eat whatever everyone was having for dinner. Each of my siblings, my parents, and I were in charge of bringing the food for and preparing one meal.

My mom took care of all the breakfasts. She made some great breakfast food, but like I said, I've been really into eating grapes in the mornings. For dinners: Jeanie and Shawn made amazing grilled pork chops with herbed butter, green bean casserole, and macaroni and cheese; Brian and Becky made the most delicious pulled pork with coleslaw and cheesy potatoes; Nathan and his girlfriend, Alex, made grilled hamburgers with sautéed potatoes and corn on the cob; and Jerry and I made lasagna with garlic bread and caesar salad.

All of the meals were delicious! I knew what we'd be eating for dinner each day, so I just estimated the calories ahead of time. I didn't measure or weigh portions--I just made my best guess. My dinners were high in calories, but I didn't feel the slightest bit deprived and I ate like a "normal" person would eat while on vacation.

I quit drinking alcohol in February, so I didn't drink any calories up north. I brought some La Croix, but I mostly just drank from my water bottle.

The only dessert we had was s'mores at the campfire each night, but I was too lazy to roast marshmallows, haha. So I didn't have any s'mores. (The last night we were there, however, I made some brownies with chocolate frosting--I wanted to do something a little special for Noah's birthday since we hadn't celebrated with the family. I had one of those and it was so amazing!)

I wasn't super active while I was there--I am most definitely not an outdoorsy person, so while most everyone did some things like tubing down the river, I stayed back and read my book in my hammock. I did help Shawn work in the pole barn a little each day--measuring and cutting boards and helping him to frame in some areas. The only real "exercise" I did was when I went for a three-mile run one morning.

I think the most important takeaway from the whole thing is that I didn't overthink anything having to do with my weight loss. I wasn't worried about it at all and I actually didn't even think of it much; I knew that as long as I wasn't pigging out I'd be fine. I did the activities I enjoyed and I skipped the ones I wasn't into. I ate the foods I liked and I skipped the stuff that didn't make much difference to me (like lunches). I didn't worry about exact measurements for portion sizes or stress about sticking to a perfect running schedule. I feel like it was a very healthy, balanced approach to staying on track while enjoying vacation.

It's probably too early to say this just nine weeks in, but I feel like the effort to lose weight has been pretty easy this time around. I think the biggest key to that is that I don't overthink things. Keeping it simple has made a world of difference!

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Transformation Tuesday #35

My mind just can't seem to comprehend that today is Tuesday. Yesterday, I was sure it was Sunday. And today feels like a Sunday as well! I think going on vacation last week messed me all up. Our trip was Monday through Friday, but it all felt like a long weekend.

Anyway, it's Transformation Tuesday! I only have a couple to share today (so please send me some!) but they are good ones...

I am typically what I call a black thumb, I kill everything I plant. But my husband and I bought a new house this spring and I really wanted to try a little garden, as well as fill the custom planters the previous owner left. We planted 4 tomato plants & 1 pepper plant along with lots of flowers. Surprisingly, I haven't killed much yet (although there have been a few casualties). These pics are exactly 2 months apart (May 16-July 16) and I'm blown away at the growth. We've even harvested our first tomato which was somehow a giant fusion of 3 separate tomatoes!

- Christie, Amateur gardener

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I am working on a "Phase 1" Kitchen reno, trying to keep the budget low and just use paint and smaller updates to get our kitchen to match our style. To start, we painted the cabinets using a sprayer, replaced the hardware, faucet and some lighting. The best best best project ever was painting the countertops. We had granite before, but it wasn't our style so we used a marble countertop kit from Home Depot to paint the countertops. It gets sealed with an Epoxy, but for $180, no one can tell that they aren't real marble! 

We are going to continue a few more steps to include replacing the floors and adding a new top to the island with legs to extend it out for more seating. We are trying to do the whole project for under $3000, so fingers crossed! 

We are tracking our reno at our blog sprucebaltimore.com, feel free to stop by!

- Melissa

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Melissa, I am super impressed. I have a "black thumb" as well--it's really pathetic! I think I need to just have someone come over and help me, because I have no idea where to start. But that's so exciting that your garden has really flourished! Definitely something to take pride in :)

Christie, holy cow! Your kitchen reno is STUNNING. It looks so elegant. And the countertops are crazy impressive. I hope you had an easier time with epoxy than I did! Hahaha (here is that nightmare of a story). It's amazing that you did that with paint. (I just have to say that the nerd in me really loves that you took your before and after photos from the same angle--I always love when they match up like that). Great job on the kitchen!

Thanks again for sending the transformations! As you know, I love this series. But to continue it, I need more submissions to post--so please send them. To submit a transformation, just email me a before photo and an after photo to: katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com. Be sure to include your name and a description of the transformation! Thanks, Friends :)

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Couch to 5K : Week 9 Recap (the final week!)

It's over! I finally completed the Couch to 5K plan. (I'm referring to the really old school plan from way back in 2005-ish.) I've attempted it several times, but this was my first time actually finishing. I'll save a "final thoughts" post for later this week, but I just wanted to write a recap of my Week 9.

For Week 9, all three workouts are the same: Run 3 miles. Simple! But definitely not easy.

Week 9, Day 1: Run 3 miles

I went up north on Monday. I packed clothes to do two runs while up north. As it turned out, I only ended up doing one. It was really hard to push myself to go do it, but I'm happy that I at least did one while I was up there. And I chose to do it outside, despite the fact that my sister has a treadmill at her cabin.

Her road is all dirt/gravel--and the gravel is pretty big. It's the kind that will cause you to roll your ankle if you're not careful, so I threw away any sort of ideas of what my pace might be. I even changed my Garmin to show only my distance, time, and heart rate so I wouldn't know what my pace was.

The gravel is 2/3 of a mile, and then there is asphalt. It's extremely rural, so I was only hoping not to encounter a bear. I ran straight on that road (no other options) until my Garmin showed 1.5 miles, and then I turned around. I just kept hoping to get to the dirt road, so I knew I only had 2/3 of a mile left. The last quarter mile or so was really hard. I just wanted to be done!

Overall, though, I felt pretty good. I knew I was probably going at a slower pace, but I was worried if I picked up speed, I wouldn't finish. It worked out well.

My pace ended up being much slower than on the treadmill (or on the streets by my house)--12:33 per mile. I was really happy with my heart rate, though--an average of 149, 150, 154 per mile, respectively. I was simply focusing on running easy--if it felt too hard, I went slower. Most of the run was in Zone 3, and what was in Zone 4 was on the low side.

Week 9, Day 2: Run 3 miles

I didn't do my second run until Saturday. I chose to do this one on the treadmill; it's been super humid here.

I don't know what it was about that day, but my run was horrible. One of the worst runs I've ever had! My heart rate was really high and I felt like I was going to die when I was done. I made it through the run, at the usual 5.0 mph, but the second I stopped the treadmill, I was gasping for air. I could barely gulp down water because I was trying to catch my breath. Jerry said, "Man, you must have been flying!" But I went the same speed as always, and it just felt so much different. I was even still trying to catch my breath after I took a shower.

My heart rate for each mile was 147, 155, 158 respectively. I was so sure it would be higher, based on how hard it felt.

After that, I had bad anxiety about running again. I was so nervous it was going to feel horrible. I planned to get it done yesterday, but like I wrote in yesterday's post, I was extremely tired. I'd even put on my running clothes early in the day, but I couldn't get the energy to do it. So, I put it off to today--knowing that today was my last shot.

Week 9, Day 3: Run 3 miles

I chose the treadmill again. Running in the humidity makes my heart skyrocket, and I really like passing the time on the treadmill with whatever book I'm currently reading. During the morning, I felt very "off". I did manage to sleep a little last night, thanks to my anxiety medication (I rarely take it because it makes me super tired, but sometimes it comes in handy).

Despite sleeping, I still felt lethargic (which was probably the medication still in my system). I knew I had to get my run done today, though, so I got dressed and onto the treadmill. I had a bad feeling about it, but I still just wanted to get it done. A mile in, I knew I wasn't going to be able to finish. I dragged on as long as I could, but I called it quits 1.3 miles in. My legs just felt super wobbly and weak.

I was so mad at myself! I knew I wasn't just being a baby about it--I really didn't feel right today. I laid on the couch, still in my sweaty running clothes, just staring at the ceiling. Two hours later, I woke up to the sound of Joey barking (someone was delivering a package). I had actually fallen asleep! That never happens.

After that, I started thinking about how I should just get back on the treadmill and finish out 1.7 more miles to hit my total of 3 miles. I didn't care if it was "cheating" by not doing it all at once. I wanted to do it--it was my very last day of Couch to 5K!

I was feeling much better than a few hours prior, so before I could talk myself out of it, I hopped back on the treadmill. The treadmill had cleared the data from the previous run, but my Garmin was still showing 15:00-something for the minutes I'd already run, so I was able to just continue on that. Since I was running at 5.0 mph, I knew if I ran until the minutes read 36:00, I would have gotten in 3 miles (the distance on the Garmin isn't correct when running on the treadmill).

The time actually went by pretty quickly--I was so relieved when I saw the 36:00 approaching on my watch! But I still felt like I was cheating somehow. I knew I wouldn't feel like I'd really done it. I wondered if I could keep running until I ran three miles straight. I would only have to run another 1.3 miles.

And I decided to keep going! It was SUCH a hard decision, considering how I felt earlier, but as I got closer to 3 miles, I knew I'd made the right decision. I was thrilled when I finally did it!

In total, I ran 4.41 miles--1.31 of it was at 11:00 AM, and then 3.00 was at 1:30 PM. I think that because the earlier one was so hard, I was probably still feeling the effects of the medication I took last night. A few hours later, I felt better (not good, but definitely better!).

Interestingly, my heart rate was still really high for the second run (in all, my average heart rate per mile was 150, 152, 162, 165). Look how much of it was in Zone 5! Usually, if I hit Zone 5 at all, it's only for a few seconds. Today, I spent 21 minutes in Zone 5. It's weird how the same exact run can feel so different.

I feel like I'm kind of going backwards in the heart rate training--I have been hoping to run at the same pace and eventually my heart rate will get lower (less effort). The logical solution is MAF training, but I don't want to do that (that would mean a lot of walking and I am just now getting back into running). I miss running; it just makes me feel good in a way that no other exercise ever has.

Anyway, now that I've completed the Couch to 5K, my plan is to continue running 3 miles, 3 days a week. I'm going to stick with the 5.0 mph speed on the treadmill and hope to see my heart rate improve over time. I'd like to start noting things like my hydration, amount of sleep, whether I've eaten, and things like that affect how I feel during my runs.

Overall, Week 9 was successful in the sense that I did it, but it was (by far) the hardest week of the plan! I'll write my final thoughts about the entirety of Couch to 5K later this week.

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August Book Suggestions?

I am SO TIRED that I can't even organize my thoughts into a blog post, so I am really going to keep this short (I know I always say that, but this time I mean it). I want to have a super quiet evening with no computer or phone. I'm just going to read and (hopefully!) get some sleep.

Anyway, I wanted to ask for some suggestions for an August book. I'm doing a Friends-themed read-athon for 2021, and I haven't picked a book yet. The theme for August is:

Ross: "PIVOT! PIVOT! PIVOT!" - Read a funny book.

Jerry and I actually use the "PIVOT!" line kind of often. Just today, we were moving a piece of furniture and Jerry starting calling out, "PIVOT!" Here is the scene, if you haven't seen it:

Anyway, I never read funny books! So I have no idea what to pick. However, I do have a single stipulation: I want to read a novel; no self-help books or memoirs or anything like that. Just a funny fiction story!

If you have any suggestions, please feel free :)

Oh! This is a good place to mention that when Jerry was looking for a show to watch on Peacock yesterday, I glanced up, did a double take, and yelled "STOP!! Go back!" (scaring Jerry half to death at my outburst). I saw the teaser cover of 'One of Us Is Lying' among upcoming shows. I read that book in June (here is my review) and I LOVED IT SO MUCH. I even said that it needs to be a TV series. And now it will be!

I don't know when it will premiere--all I can find is "later this year". I'm sure I won't like it as much as the book, considering I already know the ending, but I still can't wait to watch it!

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HERITAGE RECIPE: Maple Nut Cake

This is a rather simple recipe today, but don't let the lack of ingredients fool you--I was very pleasantly surprised at how good this turned out!

I chose this recipe because we just got home from vacation yesterday and we had zero groceries in the house. I hadn't gone grocery shopping or even chosen a recipe to make for today's post, so I flipped through the heritage recipe book looking for something that was very simple.

I had all of the ingredients for this Maple Nut Cake, so I decided to give it a try--and it was delicious! It has the flavor of chocolate chip cookies (without chocolate chips) but the texture of a quick bread. (I'm assuming the "maple" in the name comes from the brown sugar; there is no maple syrup or extract.)

Jerry called this "Cookie Bread" because it tastes like cookies but it's in quick bread form.

This recipe was submitted to the Rockwood, Michigan Area Historical Society via a handwritten recipe book by Viola Herzog. However, she copied the recipe from a 1930's issue of the Detroit News.

As always, I am typing this exactly as written in the heritage book. Make sure you read my notes afterward, because there is an important error in this recipe. I made this recipe exactly as written, with no substitutions or alterations. The printer-friendly recipe is rewritten by me with any clarifications.

Here is a printer-friendly version!

Maple Nut Cake

1/2 c. shortening
1 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. milk
1-1/2 c. flour
1 c. finely chopped nutmeats
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream shortening with sugar; add egg yolks. Mix well. Add milk and flour sifted with baking powder; stir well. Then fold in the stiffly beaten whites of eggs and vanilla. Bake in a greased loaf pan 1 hour.

My Notes:

First, the obvious error (which I didn't notice until I was mixing the batter). The directions never mention adding the salt or nuts, even though they are in the ingredients. I'm not sure if this error was made in the Detroit News, or the handwritten recipe, or the heritage book. I added the salt with the flour and baking powder, and I stirred in the nuts last.

I wish I'd read ahead to beat the egg whites--if I was doing this again, I would beat the egg whites first, set them in the fridge while I mixed the rest, and then add the whites in. This way, I wouldn't have to transfer the batter to another bowl, wash the mixing bowl, beat the egg whites, then add the egg whites to the batter. Egg whites won't get stiff if any of the yolk is mixed in there, so you need a very clean bowl to beat them (ask me how I know!).

To get specific with the ingredients, I used whole milk and pecans (since it didn't specify in the recipe, I just used my preferences).

I finally got some new bakeware, and I'm excited about using it! Since I've been making a lot of the heritage recipes, I got some metal baking sheets/pans to use instead of the Pyrex glass ones. (Temperature resistant glass wasn't introduced until 1915, and a lot of these recipes are from the late 1800's to early 1900's.) I think the bake times should be more accurate with metal pans. Anyway, I greased my new loaf pan and baked the "cake" for 1 hour, as stated. (I put cake in quotes because this reminds me more of a quick bread.)

It was done after exactly one hour in the oven. Delicious!

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Friday Night Photos : Family Vacation

I am SO exhausted! There is something about being in the car all day that is exhausting, despite the inactivity (literally just sitting). We drove home from my sister's property in the upper peninsula, leaving at 7:00 this morning. There was construction on the way home, which backed up traffic and added time to our drive. We were in the car for 11 hours! We stopped once for gas/bathroom and once at a rest area for a bathroom break. It was such a long day.

I'm not posting our family photos yet because I'm not sure when we'll get them back from the photographer. (And if I really don't like them, I may not post them at all.) So, I'm just going to post some random photos that I took during the trip...

The Mackinac Bridge is about halfway between our house and Jeanie's property. (It's the bridge that connects the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan.) Jeanie's property is in Ewen, Michigan, which is just about as northwest as you can get in Michigan. We live about as far southeast as you can get--so it made for a very long drive.

We took Joey with us. On the way up there, my kids rode with my parents, so it was just Jerry, Joey, and me in our rental car. He was SO good in the car--I literally forgot he was in there because he was so quiet.

Jerry pulled up some fun Snapchat filters to play around with--Luke and Riley love making faces and watching themselves with the filters. I love just watching them make faces.

The sweatshirts we're all wearing in several photos are shirts my sister had made for the week--since we were there to celebrate my parents' 50th wedding anniversary (which is tomorrow), the front says "Cheers to 50 Years!" and has their names in hearts. The back is a logo that Jerry designed for "Camp Fireside" (what my sister named her property).

Anyway, my dad taught Luke how to shoot a bow and arrow. I wish I'd taken a video of this shot, but I honestly didn't think he'd hit the target. He hit the target on the first try! Haha.

Shawn (Jeanie's husband) had these huge "chimney logs"--he called them that because it started as a tree that was rotted from the inside, so there was a hole down the center of it. When he cut it, it made a bunch of big rings. When put on the fire, the fire burns from inside the hole and lasts a long time. Anyway, they were super heavy so he brought them to the fire with his tractor, haha.

Nathan (my younger brother) has a black lab named Bailey. She's so funny--she climbs up onto the rocking lawn chairs and curls up into a tiny ball to sleep. It looks so uncomfortable, but that's where she preferred to lie down!

My sister's very old basset hound, Remington, does a lot of sleeping these days. Jeanie puts a bed out by the fire and he lies down there. Riley covered him with a blanket and sat with him. It was so sweet.

Like I mentioned on my Couch to 5K 8-Week recap, I had to start Week 9 while I was up north. Week 9 involves running 3 miles straight--so this was my first workout. I'll write about it on Monday during my final recap.

My mom brought one of those little parachutes that a lot of us probably remember playing with in gym class--she and I showed Luke and Riley how it works. We counted to three and pulled it up hard, then Luke and Riley ran underneath to trade places before it came back down. I used to love it when the gym teacher would bring out the parachute in class!

Jerry with the fish he caught on a pontoon boat Jeanie rented.

This picture below was actually my favorite part of the week! When we went up north in 2017, Nathan let me try shooting his rifle. I'm not a "gun person", but I thought it would be fun to see if I could shoot the targets. I loved it! It was so fun to use the scope to line up the shot and I felt "cool"--I told him I felt like a sniper in the movies, haha)  Anyway, he brought a few of his guns and showed me how to use them.

Nathan and I built this stand in about two hours! (I cut the boards, but Nathan put the whole thing together). We lined up a bunch of cans across the pond and I shot at them. The scope was so good that I only missed about 2-3 shots out of 20 or so. The scope was strong enough that I could probably read a book through it from all the way across the pond.

I'll never take a real interest in guns, but it was fun to shoot some targets with Nathan's. My boys were impressed that their old mom was a better shot than they were ;)

Okay, I have to finish unpacking. I'm going to bed early tonight--I can't wait to sleep in my own bed. Have a great weekend!

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Reader Emails

I had no idea what to title this, because it's a very random post--I have a couple of things I wanted to share, but they didn't really fit in with things like "Transformation Tuesday", so I'm just going to put them in a post on their own!

(Please read this post about submitting things for various posts, if you're interested!)

First, this is a "Motivational Monday" sort of share from a reader named Karen. She's been reading my blog for a long time and is always so kind. I was thrilled for her when she sent me this email--her excitement was shining through. (She gave me permission to share this, of course)

Karen turned 62 years old in May and you would never know it from looking at her pictures. After buying a pair of jeans and being unhappy with how she looked in them, she became determined to lose the "muffin top" before her birthday. Here is what she wrote:

"I wish I had a 'before' picture from 15 months ago when I bought these Silver brand jeans from Maurices. I had a big muffin top that I planned to hide under a jacket or hoodie. The jeans were tight and I didn't feel good about myself. I got majorly back into my stair workout--I sweat my ass off on this workout! I actually love it. I've never done another workout that I didn't come up with excuses or procrastinate. I say out loud to myself 'push it!'. My muffin top is gone and for a person my age, I feel strong, like a mean bitch! I need to do more weight lifting but this is the best cardio I've ever done. When we get older, we can still get tougher. I am constantly working, but still working out."

 

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If you read my post called "Boy Cookies and Girl Cookies", then you know that my beloved Aunt Mary Jo passed away early this year. I wrote about my memories of her in that post and I included a beautiful picture of her from when she was young.

I didn't know this, but a reader named Laura read the post and was inspired to draw a portrait from that photo. She messaged me on Instagram and asked if I'd like to have it--I was blown away at how amazing it looked! I thought it would be a perfect gift for Nancy, my cousin (Aunt Jo's daughter). Check this out--the original photo is on the left and Laura's drawing is on the right:

Laura hasn't been drawing for very long--shocking, right? It's so funny how she picked it up, too--she read my post about when I wanted to learn a new skill and I bought some drawing supplies and drew a picture of a cat based on instructions from a book. I didn't have interest in pursuing it further, but it sparked something in Laura, which she explains in her email below.

"I starting my art journey in August of 2018; my medium is pastel and sometimes graphite. It actually all started with your post about goals and “learning a new skill”. You had a blog post and picked up art posting this adorable cat you drew.

That inspired something in me and I remembered how much I liked to draw as a kid. I recalled really loving using pastels and decided that I would pick that up and see if I could make any progress. I bought a box of pastel pencils and then discovered this awesome website called colinbradleyart.com that offered tutorials. I signed up and immediately loved it, especially doing animals.

I was not very good, but I kept at it and got better. I started doing more and more types of pets and in the past couple of years even did a few commissions. I love animals, so drawing them seemed like the best of both worlds. That is my typical subject, but every once in a while, I see a picture with a story that moves me and I attempt that. So was the case for your Aunt Jo.

I was so touched by your blog post and then when I saw that photo you posted at the end, I thought, 'I want to draw her for your family'. I was very pleased with how it came out even though that is not my typical subject. I am so happy you like it and I hope it can bring some joy in such a sad time.

I don’t have a website yet as I typically post my art on Instagram. My entire art portfolio can be found there on @laura.m.art or @CustomPetPortraitsByLaura to see only my pet work. I can be reached on either of those accounts if anyone is interested in having a pet commission done or just has an art question."

                - Laura Mulcahy

Here is the progression of her work: 2018, 2020, and today:

I highly recommend checking out her work on Instagram. I'm still stunned that she hasn't been doing this her whole life! (And if you are looking to have a pet portrait drawn, she packaged the drawing so carefully--it arrived in perfect condition. I would definitely recommend her work!)

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One of the ideas I mentioned in the post looking for submissions/ideas is to write readers' fun news--I really like this idea, so I hope people will submit things! I received this fun news from a reader (also named Katie) who I met during one of my trips to the Pacific Northwest. Here is what she had to say:

"Attached is myself in my new (to me) little Minnie Winnie, a.k.a Littles. I was very fortunate (and grateful) that COVID-19 didn't adversely affect me. I am a software engineer and it was no problem to work from home. I even went into the office some because our office was so small that I was the only one going in. I say it was because my company has decided that working remotely is working out so they have decided to let the lease go on the office and we will be working from home all the time.

So...I got a home on wheels! This has actually been a dream of mine for a long time but Frankenstein, my dog, and I will now be able to travel while we work!! I am going to start small but hope to take a cross country trip to go spend a month "wintering in Louisiana" this spring! I am super excited and looking forward to it. I also attached a pic of my travel buddy!" 

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Sleeping in a Hammock

It feels so weird having posts that I wrote ahead of time get published at a scheduled time. I've done that for one post here or there, but going up north this week, I didn't want to have to worry about writing a post. Because of that, I feel like I haven't even looked at my blog in ages.

I didn't have a post prepared for today because I thought I'd try to write a weight loss related post (for my Wednesday Weigh-In). I'm not able to weigh in, considering I'm at my sister's cabin, and I'm having fun chatting with my family. So I'm going to leave it at this...

Last night, I (voluntarily!) slept in a hammock. I am not an outdoorsy person at all, so this was totally unlike me--but I love reading in my hammock during the day while I'm up here, and my brother has a couple of hammocks that have mesh coverings (to keep bugs out). Jerry and I decided to try them out last night.

This was my view in the afternoon while reading my book. It was the same at night, only it was pitch black outside. My sister and sister-in-law took bets on how long I'd stay out there, or which one of us (Jerry or me) would give in first and go inside. They voted against me! Hahaha. For someone who has never slept outside, it was kind of fun. (I was FREEZING in the morning because the temperature dropped quite a bit--but I wasn't about to let them win on that bet against me!)

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Transformation Tuesday #34

Happy Transformation Tuesday! Thanks for getting submissions in early. I wanted to get this post prepared ahead of time. I am actually saving a couple for next week, so if you sent one and it's not here yet, it'll be on next week's post!

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I gave my fireplace a makeover. First, I started by spray painting the brass/gold 1980s (or maybe even older) fireplace cover black. That looked so good that I painted the pink 1990s tile white. And that looked so good that I stenciled the tile in a vintage gray pattern. End of story. 

- Julie Castaneda-Hicks

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In my three season room, I had white bead board and trim installed 15 years ago when we first moved in to our home in Cleveland. Over the years this strange water stain appeared at the bottom of the trim along the floor and it was just ugly. There was no water leak so I don’t know where it was coming from.

Lately, I was just getting tired of looking at it, so I thought it would be a good idea to add shake shingles and paint them gray (the same color as our house). I had no idea how to start, I just knew that I could figure it out and I could do it on my own. The shingles were softer wood and easy to trim to size with a utility knife. I nailed them to the walls and used the same paint from when our house was painted. It took me a couple weekends, but I love how it turned out. I even went ahead and painted the floor white and stenciled!

- Sarah

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When we bought our house in 2018 we loved everything about it except the backyard. The patio had loose bricks and was very small, we had weird stairs to nowhere on the hill and nothing but weeds. When we delayed our wedding due to COVID-19 (and then decided to have a simple small backyard ceremony) we used the deposits we got back from the canceled wedding to transform our backyard.

We had to buy a shed (we have no garage and had no place to store all of our yard equipment). We started the transformation by tearing out the old rotted wooden stairs. In order to have the shed built we needed to have the yard leveled. Once that was done and the shed was delivered we had the patio and fire pit installed.

Rather than fight with a backyard of weeds and spotty grass we went for a large patio area. I knew I didn’t want grass on the sloped hill so I edged it out, put down so so so so many flattened cardboard boxes (to hopefully prevent weeds) then had fertilizer and soil delivered to cover the boxes.

I picked out a variety of hostas as I wanted native and low maintenance plantings. After I planted all of them (it took about three days) I mulched the whole area. Then I tilled the remaining grass/weeds and put down grass seed. Finally we had a fence installed (more so to keep our 15 month old corralled). I love how it turned out, and how much labor I put into it! 

Thank you so much for submitting these before and after pics!

Julie, painting the brass black made such a huge difference! And I'm super impressed with the tiles--I've seen a few transformations with tile stencils (including Sarah's below) and it makes me want to tile something, haha. The fireplace looks great!

Sarah, the shake shingles look great! I love that you installed them yourself, despite not having experience doing it before. You did an amazing job. And the flooring is beautiful! Great DIY skills :)

Caitlin, your backyard is jaw-dropping. The patio is AMAZING. I love the patio furniture, too. I can't wait to sit out there with you, hopefully sometime in the near future!

Please keep sending the transformations--it's so nice when I can prepare the post ahead of time. To submit a transformation, just send me a before picture and an after picture at: katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com. Don't forget to include your name and a description of the transformation!

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Couch to 5K : Week 8 Recap

I made it through Week 8! That means I have just one week to go and I'll have finished the Couch to 5K plan.

This week's workouts were all the same: Run 2.75 miles (no walk breaks)

I did all three of them on the treadmill, mainly because it's been hot/humid outside. I ran all of them at the same speed I've been doing each week (5.0 mph). I'm going to stick with that speed until my heart rate can stay in Zones 2-3 for the entire run. Like I keep repeating, my end goal is to be able to run three miles and have it feel easy again. I don't remember how long that took for me when I first started running.

Anyway, here are the details from my runs in Week 8...

Week 8, Day 1 : Run 2.75 miles. (treadmill)

I was really nervous about this run. Even though I'd run 2.5 miles in Week 7, I still worried I wouldn't be able to do it. But I really wanted to focus on keeping my heart rate down--trying to run easy and focus on my breathing.

I was reading a book that I really wanted to finish (it was exciting) and when my Kindle said I had about 45 minutes left in the book, I figured I'd better get on the treadmill so I would have something to read while I ran. I actually felt really good! It didn't start to feel very hard until after I got about two miles in. Still, though, I didn't struggle to finish, which was encouraging.

I was happy with my heart rate, too! I spent more time in Zone 3 than in Zone 4. My average heart rate was 152, so I was borderline between Zones 3 and 4.

Week 8, Day 2 : Run 2.75 miles. (treadmill)

I had a feeling that this was going to be a bad run because I just didn't feel good even before I started. I felt weak, tired, and my heart rate was already fast (my resting heart rate is usually 55-60 bpm, but it was at 90-ish--I have no idea why). I hoped I'd feel better once I started running.

That definitely didn't happen. First, I forgot to turn on the floor fan that I put right behind the treadmill. I was SO HOT. I didn't want to stop running to turn it on, but after about a mile, I couldn't take it anymore and I hopped off the treadmill to turn it on.

My legs felt so heavy and weak. No matter how carefully I tried to run, and no matter how much I concentrated my 3:2 breaths, I just didn't feel good. And my heart rate showed it when I was done. It took everything I had just to finish. As soon as I stopped running, I was gasping for breath. Even when I was showering 10 minutes later, I was still trying to catch my breath.

My average heart rate overall was 154--but the second mile was 156 and third mile was 159 (compared to 150 and 152 respectively during the previous run).

Week 8, Day 3 : Run 2.75 miles. (treadmill)

I was dreading this run because of how hard the last one was. I really didn't want to feel like that again! My anxiety about it didn't help, because it made my heart speed up before I even started running. I texted Caitlin (who is doing Couch to 5K with me) and she said that when she ran Week 8, Day 2, she felt terrible and it was super hard to finish--same as me. She said her third run was much better, which gave me hope that mine would feel better.

It seemed so much longer because the book I'm reading is pretty slow-paced. I found myself looking at the treadmill display way too often to check my distance. I didn't feel terrible, however! I actually felt much better than the previous run. I have no idea why that is--it's so weird how two of the same runs can feel so different just a day apart. After this run, I was slightly out of breath, but not bad at all. Nothing like the run before!

My heart rate didn't show that the effort was any easier, though, which was kind of odd. My average for the run was 153 bpm--it was more consistent though, at 154, 153, and 154 for each split.

Overall, I'm proud that I was able to finish all three runs, especially the second one. I'm disappointed that my heart rate didn't improve, though. I was really encouraged after the first run went so smoothly. I'm going to start paying attention to what I eat/drink and maybe how much sleep I get and see if there is a correlation with how my runs feel and whether my heart rate is high.

Week 9 is going to be interesting... my first two runs will be while I'm at my sister's property in the upper peninsula of Michigan. I know she has a treadmill there, so I may do that if it's super hot outside. But it would be nice to do the runs outside if I can. It will be my first time running three miles in a long time, though, so running on asphalt in sun and heat would make it so much harder. I'll just have to wait and see!

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