And I Always Come Crawling Back.......

I just signed back up to be a member at the fitness center at work.  I quit several months ago really for no good reason besides not going.  Now I am kind of kicking myself because I had to pay the quitters joiners fee again. 

Why did I come crawling back?  Well, it is simple, my lunch hour is the ideal time for me to work out.  I am not thrilled about working out over my lunch hour but it is a better time than 8:30 at night.  I am also not doing this alone.  There are other crazy people in my office that go would rather sweat than eat.  Another bonus is that I get reimbursed for going to the gym 8 times in one month....so it is basically FREE.  Have I mentioned that I love my employee benefits??

Now with 2 gym memberships, fresh running shoes, and a Pilates class I have NO EXCUSES for not working out.  I literally have every base covered.  Now I need to make myself go and it won't be hard as I have a very exciting year of events planned.


Note to self:  Don't quit stuff:

I dumped Weight Watchers.....I am back
I dumped my Bally's Membership....I am back
I dumped my Fitness Center Membership....I am back
I dumped Pilates...I am back

*sigh*

Gobble Gobble

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!!! I am getting ready to tackle another work week but I could use another day off.  Here is yet another random thoughts post as that is all I can seem to muster up these days.

• I enjoyed 4 days off.  I love long weekends!!!
• Despite trying not to over eat, I went ahead and did it anyway.  My philosophy is, someone went through a lot of trouble to cook all that food....SOMEONE needed to help out and eat it.
• I am wondering how I could overeat when I am allergic to the main course....Turkey?
• In all of my overeating... I cannot recall eating any vegetables.  Hmmmmm.
• I did have a slice of red velvet cheesecake (red velvet cake on the bottom and cheesecake on on the top....drool).
• I participated in the Turkey Day 5K that was held in Downtown Minneapolis.  It was cold, slippery and a there was a zillion people.  I am still glad I did it.  Did it=.5 mile run to start....walked most of it and then ran the last .5 (ish).
• My hip is still barking at me but it held up okay during the 5K.
• The 5K was the only exercise I did all weekend.
• The calories I burned during the 5K didn't make a dent for the damage the cheesecake did.




Dressed and ready to go for the 5K...or a bank robbery.  I have said it before, I am jealous of you Southern Folks!


•  Needless to say, I did not earn very many points on the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge...but I am not giving up.
• I did a little bit of Black Friday shopping and got most of my shopping done in one swoop through Target.  I didn't get up at the crack of dawn and much to my surprise, the crowds at  Target weren't too bad.  Chubby Hubby on the other hand did get up at 5AM (only because he had to work) to see if he could get a good deal.   He lucked out and spent the rest of the day on a retail high.
• Saturday, I spent the day decorating the house for Christmas.  The trees are up and the lights are hung.  I am 100% in Christmas mode and loving it.
• We always have to watch Elf and Christmas Vacation the day we put up the tree. I love those movies!!
• Sunday we celebrated Thanksmas (combined Thanksgiving and Christmas) with my inlaws.
• Ugh....I am fooded out!  I need to find some vegetables!

That about sums up the weekend.  I have a lot to be thankful for and I am glad I got to spend the last 4 days with my friends and family.  I hope everyone had a great holiday.

Weekend Wrap-Up, Mind Dump

• It is sad that a weekend of hockey, 2 birthday parties, a hair appointment, and catching up with normal house hold chores is considered a LOW KEY weekend.
• Speaking of hockey, pardon my current obsession but we are new to the sport this year and I have made some pretty sweet observations.  I think I need to do a hockey mom post.  I sure met a doozy today!!!
• Mother Nature was not nice to us this weekend....we got freezing rain and made the roads and sidewalks like an ice rink.  I watch my boys fall on their asses just stepping out the door.  I laughed but it wasn't funny when it happened to me.
• I had to chisel ice off of my car before going anywhere today.  It looks like broken glass.  Again, I am so jealous of people who have never had to pull out their ice scrapper.
• I went to the gym today.
• I WENT TO THE GYM TODAY!  (I had to say it twice because I am shocked too)
• I need to go to the gym more often because I was very amused by the guy on the machine next to me.  He kept grunting and the guy on my other side kept moaning.  I was cracking up the whole time.  Then I saw my neighbor who is a religious gym goer and an AMAZING runner.  I was reminded of what an inspiration she is....she ran a 5K while battling breast cancer and ran it faster than I could ever dream about....she won the race.  Unbelievable.
• The hip was tight but did Okay.  I spend to quality time on the Elliptical Machine and did some stretching.  I go back to the chiropractor tomorrow and I have another Pilates class.
• Ugh...I am "running"  a 5K on Thursday.  It will be more like waddling but I am okay with that.
• I joined Amanda's Bootie Buster Challenge at the last minute.  I am doing it to be held accountable for this holiday season.
• I finished all photo editing for the YEAR.  ***happy dancing***
• I am finally relaxing for the night and enjoying a glass of wine (yes I still have the points for it) and watching ELF (that movie does not get old for me).  I got said glass of wine by texting my hubby who is watching football upstairs.  Call me lazy or a lucky lady....either way, I am happy.
• That is about it....I am looking forward to my 3 day work work week, Thanksgiving, and Black Friday.  Until then, I am going to enjoy this:

Three Things Thursday-D is for Dummy

1.   I could not maintain composure when my son's Kindergarten teacher showed me his letter journal.  We go to the "D" page and I instantaneously burst out laughing (and perhaps snorted and wiped away giggle tears).  The teachers response was "look at how nice his writing is".   BWAH!!!!  I could not focus on how perfect the "d's" were written.   The teacher knows exactly why I was laughing and I am sure she thinks I am a a big pervert (I think I busted her trying not to laugh).  For the record the picture is a dinosaur and the other word is "duck" not "dick".  I am saving this artwork forever!

2.  The letter D is also for Dumbass and my son could have drawn a photo of me.  This morning I must be the talk of the hospital security office for being such a tool.  I met my girlfriend at a local ER after receiving a phone call saying she was driving herself in because she was having an allergic reaction.  When I arrived, I spotted her car right away....it was haphazardly parked in the ambulance unloading area.  I found her in the ER and took her key to move the car so it would not get towed. 

I had to look at her key very closely.  It was one of the fancy keys that is not really a key.  I said, "What the?" and a doctor said..."Oh, that must be a push button ignition".  OK...easy peasy or so I thought.  I got out to her car, pressed a few buttons, and the lights and radio turned on and her seat moved but the car would. not. start.  I played around for several minutes making the windshield wipers fly and the horn honk.  I got a lot of strange looks from people walking by.

Finally, I flagged down a staff member on her way to work and asked if she know how this new crazy technology worked.  She was as clueless as I was and after playing with the key that is not a key for a few minutes, she suggested contacting security.  I followed her to the security office and explained my situation to the young man.  I could tell he was holding back a laugh.  I told him, if he was so smart....he could start the car.  He followed me out to my girlfriends car, got in and started experiencing the ordeal I did....then... click.  The car started.  Dammit.  It really was just a push of the button (and stepping on the brake at the same time).  *sigh*  I thanked him for his help and smiled and laughed.  I am a dunce sometimes.

When the whole car ordeal was taken care of, I made it back to my girlfriends room.  She was looking a lot better and they discharged her not long after.  She got a good laugh out of the car follies.  Gotta love technology.

3.  Today's weigh in was down .6 lbs.  I am not unhappy about it because truthfully I was expecting a significant gain.  Stress + Monster Cookies = disaster.  I guess I have one more thing to be thankful for....my little loss.  I won't have a meeting next week so I have 2 weeks to make some serious progress!

Pilates

I started doing Pilates again, or as Chubby Hubby calls them "Pill-Lats".  I made the decision to stick with the same instructor as I had in the past.  The routine was almost the same as it was six months ago.  It was kind of nice to go back and not have to re-learn moves. Rather being in the gymnasium of an elementary school, I actually drove a bit further and went to her studio.  It is much nicer place (and cleaner!).  My only complaint about the new location was the MIRRORS.  I had to find a position in the room so I wouldn't see myself.  I will admit I was a bit taken aback when I caught a glimps of myself.....there is a reason that the mirrors in my house are just shoulder up.

I was shocked that pretty much all of my strength I had six months ago is gone.  I gave my all during the hour and my body was screaming. There were several moves that I could not physically do.   There was one rolling exercise where my back cracked so loud, I swear it made the floor vibrate (but damn, it felt good!).  My instructor assured me by the end of the five week session I will be able to complete all of the moves.  I sure hope she is right!

I originally quit this class because I was B-O-R-E-D!  I have determined that the benefits outway the excitement factor.  I really shouldn't complain because this class gives me over an hour to myself, stretches out my tight muscles, and is a hell of a good strength and flexibility workout.  I reserve the right to groan about how boring it is, but I will not be quitting this time.  If want to continue to run, this workout is going to have to be a necessary evil in my life.

Oh yeah....I am so very sore today.

Weekend Wrap-Up-Lifestyles of the Lame and Boring

I have been MIA this week and for nothing exciting.  I have been burning the candle at both ends and unfortunately running has not been part of my schedule.  I guess it was a blessing as my hip continues to recover (and it is feeling great lately).

This weekend it snowed. A lot.  Ugh, I am not a fan of the white stuff though I shouldn't complain because we have had a beautiful Fall.  Thankfully I am a hardy Minnesota chick and it did not get in the way of my Saturday morning coffee date with BFF.

I am a crappy friend.....I sat in a nice warm car while she brushed off the snow.  hahaha.  I am jealous of you Southern folks that have never had to warm up a car or clean your car off before driving.

With the craptastic weather, I decided to do some crazy cleaning and attack my closets.  I pulled stuff out of every corner in this house and slowly sifted through it.  My house looked like an episode of TLC's Hoarders.  Slowly but surely things are either making their way back into the closets or into the trash.  I found my Weight Watcher pouch and I have kept all for the booklets from my very first attempt with the program.  I decided all of my old stuff with the exception of my weight log would be send to the recycling.  No sense hanging on to it as I have recommitted.  Time for a fresh start.

I did some baking and cooking today.  I never bake but today, as I was cleaning out my kitchen cupboards, I realized I had pretty much everything for Monster Cookies.    I also whipped up a batch of beef soup.  I think I need a domestic goddess crown today because I earned it!!  Besides cleaning and cooking, I edited my final photos of the year, Finished ALL my laundry (gasp), ordered some sweet new winter boots (I live in MN and don't have winter boots) and took the boys to hockey (it is a workout getting the boys in their skates!!  I actually was sweating!!)  It was a very boring and very domesticated (yet productive) weekend.  Sometimes snow days are nice to take care of business.

While cleaning out my closet, look what jumped at me.  My running shoes.  They look so sad and neglected.  I think I actually heard them speak to me and they said something about all the miles I would have to run if I ate those cookies pictured above.

There you have it....the worlds most boring blog post!

My Hips Don't Lie

I should say, my hip doesn't lie and it is telling me to cool my jets with running for a bit.  Since the race, my hip has been, I will say, a bit uncomfortable.  I am refusing to say injured because of the wave of "I told ya sos" that would come my way for not being prepared for the race.  I have been seeing the chiropractor for treatment.  They have been using The Stick on me (not a sexual reference), some deep muscle therapy, and yesterday I received an ultrasound treatment.  Heat. Stretch. Ice. Repeat. The good news, is that it is starting to feel better and I do not have any restrictions.  I am being cautious though and just walking right now.  I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that I am not running...but I guess it is better than being completely laid up.

Dealing with this has made me realize that I need to go back to Pilates.  I was doing really well when my core was a bit stronger.  It has been six months since my last Pilates class and I lost most of the strength I gained.  I quit because I was bored and I felt that I could use the time to do more aerobic type workouts.  I learned the hard way that my body that has been battered by having children cut out of me and I really need this type of workout.   So, I am resigning up to start next Monday.  Boring or not, I like the instructor and she does have a good routine (even though it does get monotonous).  I need to suck it up and go because it will help me get back into my running shoes quicker.

Happy Anniversary Chubby Chicks Run Too....!!

Three years ago today, this blog was "born".  I started the blog on a cold November afternoon with a sleeping newborn in the bassinette beside me.  I started with the intent of just keeping a journal of my progress (or lack there of) with running and weight loss.  I never expected anyone to read the sludge that comes out of my sick, twisted brain.  I appreciate all of the comments that have kept me entertained and encouraged over the years.  Thanks for stopping by and reading!

My 3rd year of blogging has followed my journey through:

• My 3rd marathon!!!
• Getting to meet some cool people from RLAM and being featured on their blog for "Follow this Mother"
• A half marathon finish
• Volunteering at Grandma's finish line
• A new new all time high weight (weight LOSS blog?)

3rd Year Lessons and Observations:

• Even though I am a craptastic runner, my kids see me as an Olympian (I love it when the brag to their friends)
• Speaking of Olympians....don't stand next to them to take a photo.  I does not do wonders for the self esteem.
• My hot pink recovery socks are awesome...I think they make me look cool
• Biofreeze is a gift from God
• Don't let your 3 year old get a hold of your caffinated shot blocks.  Bad, Bad things happen!

A look back:
1st Blog Birthday Post-
2nd Blog Birthday Post


I am off to celebrate with some Weight Watcher friendly cake so that during my 4th year of blogging I can achieve the original goal of losing weight!  Thanks again for sticking with me!  Happy Friday and I hope to finally catch up with all of your blogs (I have been way behind in my blog stalking)!!

Three Things Thursday

1.  I am doing a little happy dance right now because I am down .6 lbs.  You may be thinking "whoopee", however, I think that I dodged a major bullet.  I am so happy that my transgressions brought on by Halloween week didn't punish me at the scale (yet).  I am down a total of 4.2 total.  I do know that I will have to work very hard this week so the 40lbs of trail mix and 200 Kit Kat bars do not catch up with me next week.





2.  I am going to buy myself a pair of ice skates.  The boys just started playing hockey this year.  Since they are just learning to skate, we hit the open skating at the ice arena quite frequently.  Instead of sitting in the stands watching, I can lace up some skates and embarrass my children by doing my best Michele Kwan moves.  I bet it is good cross training (assuming I do not break anything).  Also, they offer open skating at the hockey arena here on campus during lunch.  I may have to do that sometime too.

3.  Thanksgiving is two weeks from today (EDIT:  Three weeks from today...I seem to be a week ahead of myself)!!!!  I am planning on doing the Turkey 5K on Thanksgiving day but I am still not back up and completely running...I am going to do it as a run/walk.  If I do it that morning, I do not feel as guilty for indulging in all of the Turkey Day goodies!

Halloween Damage Control

Halloween, actually the weeks leading up to Halloween, kick off the weight gain season for me.  Every year I seem to pack on the pounds and when January 1st comes, I am shocked because I have usually set a world record for amount of weight gained.  This year it WILL be different.

Last week at Weight Watchers I had a stellar first week with a 3.6lb loss.  This week has been a bit of a challenge.  Halloween parties, trick or treating, and the fact the Hershey's took a dump in my house has my resolve a bit weak.  I did a scale hope last night and folks....it aint pretty.  I am now doing damage control. 

• The bag of candy pictured was donated to the troops.  The boys' school is collecting candy for Operation Gratitude.  The kids got to pick out a couple of pieces and the rest was shipped out.  I know it is their candy and I shouldn't touch it, but I am powerless to sugar.  Plus they do not need it either.  It was kind of sick that we donated a half full grocery bag full of candy.  I can't imagine how many lbs that would equate to on my bod.
• I am chugging water to flush out the salty and bad foods consumed over the weekend.  Burgers, chips, dips, drinks, etc...
• I started running again last night.  It wasn't much and I have to build up the mileage again but I got out there.
• No matter how ugly the journal looks this week, if I ate it it is in the journal.

The difference between last week and this week was planning.  Last week, I planned having cocktails and high calorie foods....for one day.  This week, I didn't plan ahead.  Now I hope my "Halloweening" won't show up all that bad on the scale.  *fingers crossed*

Weekend Wrap-Up...Happy Halloween!!!

What a weekend!  I love Halloween.  So while I am coming down off my sugar high, I will leave you with our spooktackular costumes.

Diva as Minnie Mouse

Vampire

Scary Werewolf

I do declare....I look like a southern belle.



Lindsay Lohan and the debutant



Who ya gonna call.....Chubby Hubby.