Chubby Chicks Run Too...

Carly's Consumer Critique- 2Toms Stinkfree

2012-01-09T12:38:00.001-06:00

My Weekend Wrap-up can be summed up into two words laundry and hockey. I thought I would take this opportunity to kill two birds with one stone do a product review on 2Toms Stink free Sports Detergent. A few weeks ago 2 Toms sent me a couple of trial size packets to review. Since I have a household of people that participate in stinky activities, we would be a perfect test market for them.

The Challenge:
2Toms Stink Free Sports Detergent versus Casa de Chubby's stankiest clothing.

My personal belief was that these "sports detergents" were nothing more than a marketing scheme and nice smelling soap. I was not going to make this challenge easy for them. I pulled out the big guns including.....3 sets of sweaty kid hockey gear that missed a few washings (on purpose....just for this challenge). There is nothing that compares to hockey stank. Even my sweet little Diva makes me gag when she is done playing.
The 2 wash cycles included:

3 pairs of hockey socks
3 shock doctors (polite speak for nut cups and pelvic protector)
3 pairs of Under Armor pants
3 kid sized tech shirts
3 practice jerseys
2 regular jerseys
2 neck guards
3 hockey skate blade towels that have never been washed
1 pair of running tights
1 technical race t-shirt
1 fleece jacket
2 sweaty knit hats
2 pairs of boys wind pants
4 pairs of sweaty socks
3 pairs of under britches
2 "clean" tech shirts that stilled smelled like my last workout
a yoga towel (from hot yoga)
yoga pants
yoga tank
other odds and ends

Since these were larger loads, I used the entire trial sized packed which was 2 FL OZ each time. While the detergent had a scent to it, it was not a cover up perfume-like smell. I would describe it as a "clean" scent but one that disappears after washing.

The results:
Everything passed the sniff test (well, I didn't sniff the nut cups or the undies because that is just weird). But, everything smelled fresh and clean. Even the technical clothes that were "stinky clean" when I put them in came out smelling great. My daughter's white hockey (who's bright idea was it to have white hockey jerseys????) came out bright and a stain that she got on it a few weeks ago came out with no additional care!! As promised on the packaging, it reinstated the fabric performance. It really does get the stink out.

You can purchase this online at 2toms.com. They sell a 10 pack for $17.99. At first I was a little blown away by the price but then I realized that this washes a lot of clothing and I could stretch out a 10 pack to cover at least a couple of months. I also realized it would be way more expensive to have to replace all of my technical clothes.

This detergent is residue free and contains no Phosphates. It is made in the USA.

Thank you 2 Toms for the opportunity of review Stink Free Sports Detergent.
Disclaimer: 2Toms supplied the trial sized product however my opinions are all my own.

Three Things Thursday

2012-01-05T13:35:00.000-06:00

1. It is 40 something degrees in Minnesota today. January 5th! I do not mean 40 BELOW zero....I am talking about an ice melting 40 degree heat wave. I don't have to tell you that this is almost unheard of this time of year. If this is global warming.....I am not complaining. Mother Nature screwed us last year with a winter that lasted 7 months.

The only person that may not be loving this weather is Chubby Hubby. He is a very devoted hockey dad and built a Hugh Jass hockey rink in our back yard. Winter is half over and we are still not able to skate on it. We have played a little boot hockey but it is not ready for skates. Oh well I say....I love hockey too but that is why we have indoor rinks.....bring on the warm weather!!!

2. My plan for the evening is to sneak in a little run and go to hot yoga. I am going to take advantage of this awesome weather and run outside despite the patches of ice. This time of year is typically hard for me to run. I loathe the treadmill with all of my being but running outside tends to be treacherous with the ice. I am glad we are having mild temps because I am motivated to run.

3. I will use bullet point numero three to brag a little bit. I think I have lost all of the holiday weight I put on since October. Yay! This time it is not because of a crazy detox or special diet it eating less and moving more. Huh....who knew that would actually work! Adding to that formula, I am tracking my food and not having Chubby Hubby's popcorn with an undisclosed amount of butter on it. I have dropped about 9lbs since Christmas. Seems like a crazy amount but most of it was my body releasing the massive amount of water weight from all of the sodium I consumed.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T14:02:00.000-06:00

I rang in the new year in a really mellow way....well actually I didn't see midnight as I was in bed by 10:30 so I didn't really see the new year until 7:00 the next morning. I know, I am such a party animal. I did manage to make it over to see a friend who just had a baby and to drop into another friend's New Year's Eve party. I was not completely boring.

My ~~lame~~ laid back night caused me to have a great New Year's Day. My body thanked me for not being hung over and not filling it up with some greasy biscuits and gravy. I typically spend the day vegging in front of the TV nursing a headache. This year was different, I got up and went for a run (a very very short run) and I went to hot yoga. It felt great to kick off the new year with a little sweat.

I spent some time over the weekend thinking about my 2012 goals

Running. My goal is to be able to consecutive miles and not die doing it. I have a few goal races that I want to complete but nothing is definite. I am doing the Carly 5K plan. I run as far as I can and then I try to beat the distance the next time I run. It seems to work for me.

Weight Loss. Of course this has to be on the list and there is an extra motivator this year...my 10 year (cough cough 20 year) high school reunion. I have to get into those white Levis!

Blogging. I am going to shoot to blog 4 time a week. I miss writing because it is a great outlet for all the crazy stuff in my head. I am also going to take some time to start reading blogs again. I miss ~~stalking~~ reading all of your blogs.

Cooking. I am going to plan to cook 3 nights a week (most weeks). While I admit I am getting better at meal planning, this is still an area where I need a lot of improvement. Our crazy schedule often sends us scrambling for dinners. That usually means we are hitting up a drive thru, ordering a pizza, or whipping together PB&Js. I want and need to do better. Three times a week is a very reasonable. Non-cooking days we will have left overs or we will have something easy to assemble.

Lunch(ing). Piggy backing on cooking, I am going to bring my lunch at least 4 days a week. Going out to lunch is breaking the bank and making my ass spread. The extra calories from restaurant food is not conducive to a job where you sit on your butt all day long.

Reading. I am going to read at least 8 books. I have a stack of books covered in dust that I need to finish. I am a very slow reader but I think I can manage 8 this year.

Working. I will find a new job this year. One that will be a good fit for me and one that will give me the opportunity to grow.

There you have it, my list of things that are going to make me a better person in 2012.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Summing Up 2011

2011-12-30T08:16:00.000-06:00

It has been a very interesting year. I describe it interesting because I can't call the last twelve months crap nor can I call them fabulous. It was definitely one of a lot of ups and downs. Hence..interesting.

To start with the not so great stuff:

Chubby Hubby lost his job in March
I had to have a blood transfusion in June because of extreme anemia
Not being able to run the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon (again with the anemia). Bummer because this is a race that is extremely hard to get into and I actually got drawn for the lottery.
My Achilles seizing up during Twin Cities Marathon forcing me to drop out at mile 15.5 ( can't forget the .5!)
Not getting the job I really really wanted. I picked a horrible time to attempt a career change.
Weight gain, depression, and frustration. The three went hand in hand.

Now I will stop being a Debbie Downer and go over the good that 2011 brought:

I went on three awesome mini vacations this year. Phoenix in February, Vegas in July, and then Florida over Labor Day. These getaways were awesome!
I completed the following races:

January- Polar Dash 5k
February - Lost Dutchman 10k
March-Get Lucky 7k
April- Get in Gear 5k
May-Charities Challenge Memorial Day 5k
July-Warrior Dash.....what a blast that was!
August- Urban Wildland 5k.....with my son
October- 59% of Twin Citites Marathon and the Monster Dash

I volunteered at the finish line of Grandma's Marathon where I saw many of my friends finish and it got to meet a couple bloggers.
Speaking of fellow bloggers, I got to meet and spend some time with Bobbi! She blogs at Zero to 26.2 ( I can't figure out how to link on this thing). She is awesome and we will be seeing each other again sometime this year.
We got a puppy....can I put that in both categories?
Chubby Hubby returned to the working world and he got to spend the Summer with the kids.
I started hot yoga and love it both for the workout as well as the stress relief

So how did I do with my goals?

Have a lunch time date with the gym at least 8 times a month. It shouldn't be hard with my motivated friends, Leah and Sarge. The plan is to go every M, T, W, and the occasional Friday. FAIL
Participate in an event every month. So far I have committed to the following races: SEMI SUCCESS, I didn't quite make it but I did I'd 8.5 races.

January: Polar Dash 5K
February: Lost Dutchman 10K
March: Get Lucky 7K
April: Get in Gear 5K or 10K

Continue with my Pilates class and not give it up this year like I did last year. It is boring but a very necessary evil. SEMI SUCCESS....I dumped Pilates and found hot yoga.
Make some more progress with Weight Watchers. After all, it is free for me right now and it would be a shame not to use it. FAIL
Twin Cities Marathon. It will be the 10 year anniversary of me becoming a marathoner. I will do better than I did this year. FAIL....at least I finished last year.
Do P90X with Chubby Hubby who is also whipping himself into shape. I sort of promised him I would do it. *sigh* That program scares me. FAIL...it is still in the package.

PERSONAL

Read 12 books. A book a month? I can do that. Any recommendations? SUCCESS or close to it
Take a lot more photos for fun and learn the basics of digital scrap booking. FAIL
Reduce self-induced stress. We are in the process of making some decisions that will be simplifying our family's life. BIG FAIL
Catch up on Modern Family episodes. Damn that show is FUNNY! SUCCESS

There was absolutely a lot more great things that happened in 2011, most important my friends and family are healthy. I will be thinking of what I want to accomplish in 2012 over the next few days.

Resolutions? Do you make them?

I am blogging for the first time on my new iPad. It is a fun gadget and I am learning more about it everyday. I am so overwhelmed by the things that it can do so I have just stuck to the basics (errr....play Angry Birds). What are your favorite apps?

Christmas Catch-up

2011-12-28T13:25:00.000-06:00

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone already! We had a fabulous Christmas up North at my parent's house. The weather was (and still is) UNBELIEVABLE!!! We have no snow and it has been in the 40's and 50's. I know our time is coming but I am enjoying every brown minute of it! The only one that is not enjoying the warm temps is Chubby Hubby. He built a very large hockey rink in our backyard and it is more like a swimming pool. The kids are dying to skate on it but it is not possible. Meanwhile, while my backyard is covered in standing water, I am running around town in a light fleece jacket. Woo Hoo!

On December 23rd we kicked off the weekend by going to Bentleyville. It is a tour of lights situated at Bayfront Festival Park on Lake Superior in Duluth. It is nothing short of amazing! The light displays are incredible. You stroll through these massive light displays while listening to some holiday music and along the way they have wood burning fires, hot chocolate, marshmallows to roast, and popcorn. They even have a huge skating rink. The best part about Bentleyville is that it is free! It is a fun and festive place for everyone to enjoy. I know we sure did.

Christmas Eve my mom had people over. It was a small gathering but really fun. There was a ton of food and a lot more laughs. Christmas day we opened our presents and then we had even more food. My brother and I teamed up to make brunch. We did great! By we, I of course mean that he did all the cooking and I stood there and watched him. The rest of the day was spent in stretchy pants watching movies. We ended the day with another huge meal. Hence the reason I am still wearing stretchy pants. Needless to say, we did go way overboard with the food.

A decent photo of the kids, even without threatening them

Next year's Christmas Card. Ugly sweaters are always funny to me.

The little chewy piss monster. (I do love her though!)

Bacon, cheese, and onion egg bake

Captain Crunch French Toast

The doggies....they look related don't they?

This is Steve the Head.
He became part of our family this year. He has a wicked sense of humor and make one hell of a tree topper.
My brother received him as a white elephant gift and we had some fun with him.

Hope everyone enjoyed the holidays!!!

My blog has been a bit "drafty" lately. My posts have not been being published. I have had a bit of writers blog but mostly I have not had anything to blog about. I haven't had anything to blog about because I have fallen so far off the wagon and I didn't want to use this as a platform to piss and moan. My motivation is back and I will be updating more as time goes on.

Wallie Exercises

2011-12-13T13:49:00.000-06:00

I had the opportunity to review an adorable children's book titled "Wallie Exercises" by Steve Ettinger. It is about a lazy overweight dog who with the help of some friends gets fit and has fun doing it. This book is written for children ages 4 and up and shares the message about the importance of physical fitness.

This book was a hit with Diva! She asks me to read it often. The illustrations are great and she loves the main character Wallie. I know she gets the message because she told me "Mom, you are like Wallie....LAZY"! Touche. It is pretty sad when your 4 year old notices when you stop exercising. This book has a great message for kids and is a great reminder for adults that fitness is important (especially because those dang kids are watching!).

This book also has some questions in the back about exercise, warm ups, and hydration....ask your kids to answer them and you will get some pretty funny answers like "You are not supposed to drink beer when you exercise, mom!".....sigh (I don't know where she would get that idea!)

You can read more about the book and the author, Steve Ettinger, at www.wallyexercises.com. You can also find Wallie on Facebook and Twitter.

This book is available at Amazon.com as well as activespudstore.com. Our copy of this book is being donated to Diva's preschool class. They have a health and wellness theme throughout their school year and it will be great for her classroom. It makes a perfect teacher gift too!!

Thank you to Steve Ettinger for the opportunity to review this book!!

I'm Not Drunk (Yet)

2011-11-24T10:58:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I wanted to take some time to reflect on all the things I am thankful for in life. As I was thinking about how blessed I am, I started laughing because I reminded myself of Chubby Hubby's big brother. When he would throw back a few cocktails, he would get all sappy and hug everyone while telling them how much he loved them. My Thanksgiving list sounds a lot like him except I am sobe (for now). Here is just a few things I am thankful for in no particular order:

1.9901-This is the mileage I ran today without stopping. It has been WELL over a year since that has happened. I may have run it at a grandma walks faster pace, but I still did it.
50 some degrees- Almost unheard of in these parts this time of the year.
Chubby Hubby- Well, love him or hate him....he is mine and I am his (no one else will take us). Plus he makes some pretty darn good tooth breaking popcorn.
My Kids- They are my pride and joy (although most of the time I pretend I don't know them in public), they make me laugh and teach me new things all the time. They especially make great toilet cleaners.
My Family- To quote my dad, "Not bad for a bunch of assholes". They are simply amazing....always there when you need them and not half bad to hang with either.
My Friends- I am blessed to have so many awesome friends that would do anything at anytime for me. I especially love how they appreciate my OCD tendencies by not posting any photo on the Internet without prior approval.
My Friends that Live in Warmer Climates- I am thankful that I have an open invite(Kelli, if you are reading this, I am inviting myself to your house in February)
My Chub-As much as I don't like the junk in my trunk.....it means that I have enough to eat.
My House- It is too small, it is too old, and it is not in the location we want. BUT.....it is warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and looks spectacular with Christmas lights (Father of the Bride, anyone??)
My Car- aka the MILF Mobile (I didn't name it but it stuck), It is rusty but it is paid for and it may be one of the only mini vans that does not have any chalk people on the back window.
Blood Donors- Thank you to all that donated blood. I received 2 units (I said units he he) this past Summer and it literally gave me back my life.
Biofreeze-does it need a reason?
My Job-I may LOATHE my job but I am still thankful that I have one. At least my boss leaves me alone, I get great benefits, and I am enjoying a 4 day weekend. I can tolerate it until I find a new one.
My Dog-Well, not really. She chews, she pees, and she bites. I am thankful she is not bigger than a football.
Hockey-A sport that all three of my kids love, one that makes them uber tired, and one that makes the winter go really fast!
Blogging and Bloggers-I love that I have a place to dump my thoughts and I love reading about adventures of other real people. Thanks for the entertainment and keeping me inspired!

These are just a few of the many many things in my live that make me so blessed.

What are you thankful for this year?

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

2011-11-23T14:48:00.000-06:00

What a crazy couple of weeks and I am just in awe that we are already going to be celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow! I wanted to swing by and announce the winner of the copy of the book Hot (Sweaty) Mamas.

And the winner is.......(pretend drumroll)

Abby!

Please email me at fatrunnergirl@yahoo.com with your shipping address. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I am enjoying it. (I am a slow reader)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Hot (Sweaty) Mamas are Here on a Book Tour

2011-11-14T07:16:00.000-06:00

photo credit: Hot (Sweaty) Mamas

I am very excited because I have special guests visiting today, Kara Douglass Thom and Laurie Kocanda, co-authors of Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom. They are stopping by on a virtual book tour and will be sharing some insight. Not only are they the author's of the fabulous book, but they are practically my neighbors! Both women currently live in the great state of Minnesota.

I am currently reading this book and I am loving it! It is not the same old tips and tricks repackaged for busy moms. This is a practical guide full of tell it like it is advice (without being condescending). I am only about a third of the way through this book and I have already learned a thing or two. What I find so refreshing about this read (or what I have read so far) is that it is not a postpartum weight loss book that helps you get back into your pre-baby jeans. It is about fitness and making yourself a priority while being a good role model for your family. I will also say that you don't need to have kids to enjoy it.

Today's guest post hits to my core....Missing workouts. Enjoy!!

Missed Your Workout? Was it an Excuse or a Reason?
by Kara Douglass Thom

There are no good excuses to skip a workout. That’s right. None. However, there are plenty of good reasons that might interfere with exercise. Excuses take on many forms, but 99.8 percent of them are a variation of “I don't have time,” or “I’m too tired.” We’ve all been there.

If you’ve ever missed a workout but knew deep down you could have made it happen, an excuse was in play. It’s like telling yourself a little white lie. Another sign: when explaining your decision, you sound like you’re trying to convince yourself—not just other people—that you did the right thing by skipping. As if repeating the story might make it true.

As for good reasons to miss a workout, those are always clear and definitive; they are often out of your control and don’t require any convincing on your part. You have a fever; your child vomited in the back seat on the way to the gym; your boss asked you to stay late to finish a project. You might have access to a Plan B workout option, but if you don’t, no need to feel guilt. This is especially important for those who tend to err on the side of exercising at all costs; who don't always recognize a good reason to skip a workout when they should.

And just as you would if you missed a workout because of an excuse, a reason not to exercise one day shouldn’t be the end of all future workouts. Tomorrow’s a new day. Will you choose to work out, or not?

Sometimes we need to make trade-offs in life. In the book, Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom (Andrews McMeel 2011), we share what we call a “Sweaty Decision Tree” that can guide readers to answer that question, “Should I work out or not?” Variables include whether or not the workout will leave you more or less stressed, what your workout plans were the day before, and if you think a workout is possible the following day.

What may be a good reason one day might be an excuse on another. An excuse for some people might be a good reason for someone else. In order to know the difference on this case-by-case basis you have to be in tune with your body and mind so you can be true to your needs and goals. And if you do miss a workout—whether because of an excuse or a reason—know that it doesn’t have to end your commitment to fitness.

This guest post comes from Kara Douglass Thom, a triathlete, freelance writer and mother of four. She and Laurie Kocanda are the co-authors of Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom.

Now for the fun stuff....I have a copy of Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom for a lucky reader. Leave me a comment about how you prioritize your day to fit in your workout or how you get a workout in even when you have a good excuse (errr reason) to skip it. I will randomly draw from the comments later this week. Want it now??? The book is available at major bookstores and on Amazon.com. Want to keep up with the latest news, they are on Facebook and Twitter. Tomorrow the tour stop is stopping by Step it Up with Steph.

I would like to thank these Hot (Sweaty) Mamas for making my blog a stop on their virtual book tour and making this give-a-way possible.

Disclaimer: The book was given to me to review however all opinions are my own.

Riding the Pole

2011-11-13T12:01:00.000-06:00

Last night I did something that I promised my parents I would never do.....I rode the pole. Yes, and I do mean a stripper pole.

How did I get into this situation? I attended my friend's super fabulous birthday party and she had a mystery destination for us. We met at her house and a big ol' van came haul 14 wild and ~~half in the bag~~ crazy broads us to a place called the Wolves Den Fitness. As we pulled up, the van of squealing women saw the several stations of port-a-poles through the windows. I should mention that these windows lacked any sort of privacy....what we were about to do was going to be available for the world to see.

If my thoughts were audible you would have heard holyshitholyshitsholyshitholyshitholyshit....All I could think about was the video of the chick bringing down the stripper pole on You Tube. Ughhh....that is all I would need. FAT CHICK DOWN!

We met our instructor and it was clear she had a lot of experience in the business if you catch my drift. It didn't take long for all of us to find our inner strippers and have fun with the poles. I think some of the women in our party have other jobs.....just sayin'. One mother of 4 (who is 45 BTW) grabbed the pole and did an inverted slide. WTF???? She is my HERO!

Me, my moves were more basic. Climbing up on the platform was challenging enough. I did manage to swing around the pole but the first time I did it there was an incident. My legs got tangled at the bottom and twisted. It took another person to untangle me. I got a charlie horse and I lost a shoe....it is dangerous. But after that, I learned a dismount(involving a cat crawl). I was trying to look sexy whilst practicing my pole dancing and I was told that I A) Looked like I was in pain, B) that I looked fierce, C) that I looked constipated. *sigh* I tried. This is my hot move of the night:

I did name myself Fantasia Glitzthighs (I found my stripper name here)

Maybe someday, I will be able to do the inverted slide like our instructor (whom I call Tits Mcgee)....

PPR (Post Pole Reflections)

The art of the pole dance is really hard
pole dancing is great for the core
I am sore in places that I didn't know could be sore
I have never laughed so hard in my life
Suburban mothers can shock you
My time on the pole may have been the best remedy for the funk that I have been in.
I will keep my day job.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Stay tuned tomorrow for a guest post by Hot Sweaty Mamas.....and a giveaway too!

A Week of Couch Fusion

2011-11-04T09:06:00.000-05:00

I can't believe Halloween has come and gone. This year may have been one of the more lame ones I have lived through because I was sick with some flu like bug. That would at least explain my extreme crabbiness and my sheer hatred for the Monster Dash. I spent most of the weekend fused to the couch watching really trashy TV. I did go to work the rest of the week but had very little energy to do anything but watch TV. Since I do not have anything to post about running or weight loss, I have a recap of how I lost a few brain cells:

Bridezillas
I have never seen so many trashy foul mouthed bitches in my life. The whole premise of the show is some girl is getting married and it is her day so she gets to be a total bitch to anyone and everyone. It is Jerry Springer crossed with TLC's A Wedding Story

I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant
Three words..... What the F#*^;!!!! Really? REALLY? I watched the dramatization of some chick who thought she was constipated grunt and groan on the toilet and low and behold...she literally shit a kid out in the toilet. Sorry, I just do not buy this crap......especially when they delivered full term babies. But the show is like a train wreck and I could not stop watching.

Top Secret Recipe
Some dude tries cloning famous foods such as KFC and Cinnabon. He gets clues to see if he can recreate the junk food. He lost me when he started stalking people for recipes and did some dumpster diving to see if he could get more information from restaurant's garbage. To me that seems like it is crossing the line into freakdom. Now if he could recreate a Reese's candy bar, maybe, but he lost me at KFC. It was kind of creepy.

The Today Show
Anyone else just wanna pop Ann Curry in the mouth for no real reason? (see I told you I was in a mood).

The one the wins the award:
Sharktopus. It is a movie about a shark/octopus hybrid that was created by the military. Something goes haywire in this thing and it terrorizes people. It was beyond bad but it was something that I could not stop watching. If you are wondering whatever happened to Eric Roberts, you can find him here. This movie gets the Chubby Chick two thumbs up award (see I told you I was on the couch too long).

In my week of laziness, I did manage to snap a few photos of my monsters on Halloween.....

Hope everyone had a great Halloween. I back to normal (relatively speaking) and back on track. Have a great weekend everyone!

Monster Dash and Airing my Grievances

2011-10-30T12:32:00.000-05:00

I signed up for the Team Ortho Monster Dash 5K which was on Saturday. I was a bit chapped before the race started because I discovered that the race was a not a race but a "fun run". I am all for fun runs but not when the entry fee is $41.49. Team Ortho has a series of races and they are always well organized, fun, and timed. It was my own problem that I misunderstood the type of race although it was deceiving....It was advertised as "Monster Dash 5K and 5K-9 Fun Run". To me, I thought that meant the 5K would be chipped like every other race they have put on and the 5K-9 run was a fun run. I was wrong. Forty freakin' one dollars to enter this crap.

THEN...I looked at my bib. It said I was 38 years old! The nerve! I am not 38 years old. Yet. I still have 2 months thankyouverymuch. (It probably was a typo caused by me, but it adds to my race annoyance and I will blame them, ha!)

My mood continued to take a nose dive along the course when people hit me with their strollers, I tripped over dogs, and I got poked in the eye with fairy wings. I especially enjoyed getting stuck behind a group of moms that ran 3 across with their strollers. They walked oblivious to people trying to get around them on the narrow street. People let their dogs run on a long leash in tight crowds of people causing tripping and tangling. Then these same people would be horrified when their pooches would get stepped on from people running. And seriously, there is none of this "on your left" business when there are shoulder to shoulder people and you are trying to pass with a double jogging stroller. What set me off was some chick was running with a stroller, and hit me with it while she was trying to maneuver through a congested part of the course....her passenger was a dog. That is when I decided was done. Evidently the strollers and dog lovers didn't read the memo about starting at the back of the back. I started walking and actually picked up a call on my cell phone during the race (can't beat 'em, join 'em....at least I looked before I stopped and moved all the way over). I finished my conversation and ran it in. I finished in about 40 minutes.

I was in such a pissy mood that I found no humor in the very creative costumes and ignored the fact that it was a PERFECT day weather wise. I am not a running snob by any stretch of the imagination and I love that there are tons of people that are running, but the lack of running etiquette drives me mad! To me running etiquette is as simple as common sense and a little respect for others. After this experience, I will not be so eager to sign up for races because lately they are not as fun as they used to be....especially with how spendy the race fees are getting.

What are you race pet peeves???

Back to Blogging....My ADD Catchall Post

2011-10-27T14:53:00.000-05:00

I know I have been very neglectful with blog lately and even more neglectful about reading them. It has been partially because of the life craziness factor but mostly it is because of some EXTREME attention deficit issues I am having. Every time I sit down to write something, I can't focus long enough to get my thoughts out of my head.

I know you must be dying to hear what I have been up to (sarcasm). To understand my mindset, I will write like I have been thinking....with the ADD.

Chubby Hubby finally got a job!
Wait....I can't go there until I have told you about....
Last week at this time...
Chubby Hubby's unemployment was going to send me to the nut house. I am a bit of a control freak and we don't do things the same. We just hit the 7 month mark and I was about to go insane.
But then, I realized that I haven't filled discussed why I have been MIA in the blogosphere...
Football. And...finally we are done with football which consumed our whole Fall.
But now we have hockey season and all 3 kids are playing. Bring it on!
But really, that is kind of boring and isn't every one's life crazy busy? So I should write about....
Volunteer obligations that I took on out of guilt and because someone said it was an "easy job". (FYI the school directory is NOT an easy job)
blah, blah, blah....been there, done that post before....So then I need to comment on.....

Seeing my family photos and getting a dose of reality about my girth
Which led to me to want to tell you about....
Going the the gym 3 times this week (applause please!)
Or maybe I should back up and mention that....
I have a new running goal, the Couch to 10K Program (Thank you Google and Danny Haralson)
Oh look I have a book review to share (Wallie Exercises)
Oh my God, that book review is really delinquent. I must get that posted this week....stay tuned....until then,
I must share my PSA which is...
Peanut butter toast is not a great take-a-long breakfast and I certainly do not recommend eating it while driving. Why? Peanut butter melts on warm toast. Melted peanut butter drips. The drips of peanut butter on toast that you are eating on the go, usually ends up all over your clothes.....the clothes you wear work.
Or maybe I will scratch all of that nonsense above and...
let you know that I am finally settled down to resume blogging. I hope I didn't make your brain hurt too much with my crazy train of wild thoughts.

BTB Sunglasses Review

2011-10-18T08:00:00.001-05:00

REVIEW: Be The Ball Sunglasses

I recently received a pair of Be The Ball Sport Optics. Per their website, btbsunglasses.com, the glasses are the "best $100 sunglasses you can buy for under $50" and marketed for all types of activities. Prior to my review I chose the 500 series to test and chose this model because of the design and because fit "medium to large faces". When I received them the glasses were a little too big for me. So I enlisted a friend and fellow Blogger, Rich, to do the review. If get a chance, check out his blog Diver Stuck in Minnesota. He is blogging about his journey to India and his trip to dive in the Maldives.

He tested the sunglasses playing a full hour of touch football. Here is an excerpt of his review. To read the entire review....click HERE.

Pros - The first thing I want in sport sunglasses would be a lightweight frame. These sunglasses are very light. The frame is primarily plastic but with some rubber accents. Which leads me to the second thing I liked about these: comfort. The rubber is in key pressure points: the two sections that bridge your nose and the two points that hold the glasses on your head. Both sections felt great the entire game and barely left a mark after wearing them for closer to 2.5 hours. Final comment I'd make is that they stayed in place all game. No issues with having to readjust at all during active gameplay. That said, I DID readjust which brings me to the...

Cons - The major comment I have against these glasses were the fact that they fogged up several times forcing me to readjust. While they fit terrific, they didn't allow for airflow to keep them from getting fogged up. A few times after several runs this happened. I'd be concerned when running that it would happen as well. My other con was very intermittent. During some views into the sun, I got streaks and unnatural bright spots from the lenses.

Verdict - These are good sports sunglasses. They fit great, were light and didn't leave marks, and stayed put though a full game. The cons weren't enough to detract from my experience. A quick readjustment took care of the fogging issue and the intermittent streaking was not enough to change your overall sight and view. Bottom line, if you are looking for some good sports sunglasses, give Be The Ball Sport Optics a look.

Thank you to Be the Ball Sport Optics for a chance to review your product and Thank you to Rich for stepping in to test them out.

ZeDonks and Camels, Oh My!

2011-10-17T12:55:00.001-05:00

Another October weekend is gone and I have to say it was a great one. Diva went to stay with my parents for the weekend so it was just 4 of us.

Friday

I made a trip to REI to buy myself some respectable shoes since I seem to be having some chronic issues with my feet and ankles. I bought my first pair of Dansko clogs. I got them in basic boring black. They are not as ugly as I once thought they were but they are not as cute as the heels I like to wear. They are wicked comfortable and now I have the itch to get them in brown to complete my waredrobe. On a side note, I got a pretty good deal on them because I used the REI member 20% coupon.

Saturday

Chubby Hubby and I spend most of the day watching the boys play football. One had a game (and he made a sweeeeeeet touchdown!!) and one had practice. After the boys were done playing we decided to head out to Severs Corn Maze and spend the rest of the afternoon there. They claim to have America's largest corn maze and every year they have an elaborate design (I alway wonder how the heck they do it). Along with the maze, we enjoyed the corn pit (or at least the boys did), shooting corn out of a cannon, and mini donuts. Then we looked at some exotic animals (not dancers). The one that left us scratching our head was the ZeDonk. I shit you not, a ZeDonk is a zebra/donkey hybird. The photo below is not the best, but that donkey really does have zebra legs. CRAZY! Poor guy, no wonder he didn't want to turn around.

I rode a camel while I was there. My friend made me do it because she wanted the experience and was not going to do it alone. We stood in line and waited for our turn with a bunch of 6 year olds. You should have seen the looks we got from other adults. I do not think I have laughed that hard in a long time, especially after seeing the look on the camel's face when we hopped on its back. It was absolutely an experience I will never forget. The guy leading the camel wore a sweatshirt with the company logo: Camel Towing. I loved it!

Sunday:
More football and Diva came home. We all had a great weekend but it stinks that Monday came around so soon. I didn't run this weekend because I wanted to give my foot/Achillies a little bit more rest before I start up again.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Wednesday's Quick Mind Dump

2011-10-12T14:54:00.000-05:00

I went for a little run last night and everything felt pretty good. There was a still a little tightness in the foot and Achillies but I am going to the Chiropractor again today for another treatment.
I am pretty sure my new Garmin is going to make me a better runner. I am kind of a data nerd so seeing my pace and distance pushes me a bit. (I love how a new Gadget gives me motivation to get out there)
I did hot yoga last night and accidentally went to the 80 minute class. This class is for the more advanced yogi which is soooooo not me. I was able to hold my own in the class even though I could not wrap my leg behind my head while balancing on one arm (okay, nobody in class did that but there were some crazy poses).
I made a week's worth of dinners on Sunday. Yay me for being proactive quite Martha Stewart-ish! Actually I made them because my children embarrassed me while I was getting them a quick fast lunch. I asked if they wanted to stop and Rotten Ronnies (our term of endearment for McDonald's) and they said no because we went there two other times that week. Ooops. I got a couple of judgemental glares from some perfect parents. Since I was afraid one of these parents was about to call CPS, I decided to plan ahead and actually make something we could at home. Success. Tonight we are having stuffed shells.
I have kind of a busy night tonight but I am going to go to the gym and run on the treadmill if it kills me.

Final Thoughts on 2012 Twin Cities Marathon

2011-10-11T13:10:00.000-05:00

It has been just a little over a week since the marathon and life is getting back to normal. My Achilles is feeling much better. I think between the chiropractor and the 90 minute massage most of the kinks were worked out. I still have a little bit of soreness that I am working out by stretching, resting, and ice. I think I will be just fine.
It occurred to me during this past week that as much as I love the Twin Cities Marathon, I don't know if I will run it again. The training cycle is just too crazy for me. Summer is just too unpredictable for scheduling and I do not do well with training in the heat. I have run it twice, dropped out once, and did not even make it to the starting line a couple of times. My attempts at this race have been half-assed, I have never been fully trained for it. Truth of the matter is, I love my ~~BBQ eating and beer drinking~~ Summer too much to devote to the training.

This year also brought on some additional challenges for training such as extreme anemia, juggling schedules of three very active kids, looking to transition into a new career, and dealing with Chubby Hubby's new status of being unemployed. Needless to say, this impacted my running huge this Summer. There were too many uncertainties that were stressing me out and I am not one that can run to get sane. Ultimately the ankle/Achilles thing took me out of the race but with all of the other things behind it, my heart was not in it.

I don't really have much going forward. I will be running the Monster Dash on October 29th. It is a 5K and I my only goal is to run the entire thing. From that point, I will play it by ear with different races.

The 59% Twin Cities Marathon Report

2011-10-05T12:57:00.001-05:00

I have been trying to figure out how to handle this race report since Sunday. Afterall, I didn't finish so what more can there be? Actually, a lot!

I will first state that I am fine. I am seeing my chiropractor for treatment on my Achilies and ankle. Although it has not been ruled out completely, they are pretty confident that my injury is not a stress fracture. Urgent Care put me in a splint and thought it was sprained. Most likely it is all Achilies related because it was beyond tight. Today I am walking normal with only a little soreness. The Chiropractor did some muscle work and I went in for a deep tissue massage. It seems to be working. I am going to baby this for a bit and start running when I get the all clear.

I always have been a fashionista

Now that is out of the way I can get to the good stuff:

I made it more than half way before I had to drop out. My thoughts are 59% is better than not even trying.
I ran in my brand new shoes. First time I have ever run in them and they ROCKED. I know the rules and I know the consequences, but I chose to challenge it anyway.
The weather was AMAZING! It was perfect day for racing.
The course. I have said it many times, but Twin Cities Marathon has to be one of the most beautiful courses out there. The Fall colors are stunning.
I ran with my friend and it was nice to have company and brag about the beautiful, cool place I call home.

I got to spend time with my friend that lives out of town. We ran as a Viking and Packer fan. I was a little shocked at how many Packer fans there are on this side of the boarder. Hmmmmfp. I didn't like being heckled!!
My new Yurbuds. They were amazing and did not hurt my ears nor did they fall out. The did not even need to be adjusted. Simply amazing.
My new Garmin. Wow, I can't believe I ran without one. It was fun to monitor my pace. I certainly caters to my neurotic side. Speaking neurotic....I wore both Garmins. I had one monitoring my pace and one monitoring my intervals. Yes, I am an uber nerd.
My pace was way better than I could dream of even doing a run/walk interval....I was on track to come in around my personal best, a far cry from the sag wagon.
The spectators were fantastic!!! Lots of cheering, music, and high fives. Again, this marathon should be on your race bucket list!

In the big scheme of things, I am happy with my performance. I ran well, I felt well, but I just knew it was not going to be a good thing for me to finish. I felt better running on Sunday than I have for over a year. That is success in my book and there are many more races to chose from.

One of the best parts of the weekend was the "internet dating" as my friend calls it, I call it a Blogger meet up. I got to meet Bobbi! She ran the race as well and did awesome!
She is one of the nicest people I have met and very down to earth. She braved the Casa de Chubby and got harrassed by my children and didn't bat an eye.

I have a feeling I will be seeing Ms. Bobbi again in June.

For a DNF, this race was still fun. I do hope that this is my ONE AND ONLY DNF.

Blogging From Urgent Care

2011-10-02T15:12:00.001-05:00

Well I can add something to my list of firsts.......a DNF. I am sure that you the reader are not shocked by this outcome, but I am a little surprised. I am surprised because I felt AMAZING! My legs were strong and my cardio was great. I was even on track to PR or come pretty damned close.

So what happened?

Around mile 13 my ankle started to stiffen up and by mile 14 I had bone crushing pain. I hobbled into the EMT tent at mile 15.5 and the doctor and Chubby Hubby told me that I needed to be done. For a moment I thought about saying screw it and hobble my way toward the finish. Weighing the consequences, I decided to play it smart and graciously drop out of the race.

Yes I am disappointed but I am not crushed. I am
actually feeling worse that i came into urgent care right from the race. Pewwwww! (I am decorated as a MN viking and my doctor informed me she was a Packer fan......Yikes!)

I have a whole bunch of stories from the weekend that I will share in an offical race report. Right now i am waiting to get an xray. Hmmmmpf.....this is really ruining my post race feast!

Three Things Thursday

2011-09-29T13:50:00.000-05:00

1. Holy Sh*t! The marathon is on Sunday!!
2. Holy Sh*t! The marathon is on Sunday!!
3. Holy Sh*t! The marathon is on Sunday!!

That about sums up my 3 Things Thursday.

1. The marathon is of course on my mind. No, I know I am nowhere near ready to cover 26.2 miles but I am determined to do it. People who know me do not have any doubt that I will cross the finish line regardless of my current condition. I wish I had that much confidence right now. Others that may not know quite as well are suggesting that I drop out. In my mind I am telling them to "suck it". See....I am insane! I am going to do and do it to the best of my ability.

2. I ordered a cake for after the marathon on Sunday. It is a white cake, with vanilla bean Bavarian cream filling, and chocolate butter cream frosting. It may have been a total fat chick thing to be more concerned about a cake than the race itself but it is that good. The only thing that would make this cake taste better is if I am wearing my finisher medal while eating it.

3. I may have mentioned this before but this is my 10 year anniversary of running my first marathon. My friend from Phoenix ran it with me 10 years ago (she was the one who dared me to do it!) and she flew in last night so we could run it together again. I am so excited because marathon mania has started. Good race or bad, it will still be fun!

Weekend Wrap Up-

2011-09-26T12:07:00.000-05:00

Remember me? I know it has been too long since my last blog post when my father asks me why I haven't updated my blog. Huh, who knew he cared? I thought I had better make him happy and finally write something.

Since the school year started, I have been doing nothing but running and I do not mean the type of running that entails training for a marathon. I have had a lot to blog about but these children require a chauffeur to all of their various activities. When I am not at work, I am either at the football field,the hockey rink, or helping kids with homework. I know this is normal life for most parents but damn, I feel like I need an award or better yet, a crown for maintaining this balancing act.

I am trying not to hyperventilate but Twin Cities Marathon is SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Since history has a way of repeating itself, I am not even close to being ready. This time next week I struggling to climb steps and vowing that I will never ever EVER do another marathon (this time I mean it!). I know I have completely lost my mind because I feel like I will see the finish line even though I cannot run a mile without stopping.
Because I have gone mad, I have done a few things that I swear will help me get through this race.
1. I bought brand new shoes.
2. I bought a Garmin
3. I got a marathon pedicure

The Shoes
About a week ago I did a 14 mile route and decided that I LOATHE my shoes. I bought them back in the Spring but they still have some good mileage left in them because I have alternated with other shoes and really haven't run many miles in them. They were not horrible enough to return but they never rocked my world. At about mile 12 on last week's run, I decided I needed new shoes ASAP. Right after my run, I took the shoes into the store and told the sales people my problems. They analyzed my wear patterns and watched me run and it was determined that the type of shoe I have is not for me. I tried on a bunch of new shoes and fell in love with an Asics model. This is a problem because I am a loyal Saucony girl. I asked the store owner if he thought I was nuts for buying new shoes/new brand a week before a marathon and he said "no". On top of that, the shoes were pink and in a size smaller than I normally wear (vanity sizing for shoes! Woot!). I ended up buying them based on that criteria.

After all that, the jury is still out on the new shoes and I will probably end up wearing my old shoes for the race.

See? I told you I have lost my mind!

The Garmin

I have developed a run/walk interval that I am comfortable doing and I plan on doing it for the race. I was scarred by last years experience when I was getting chased down by the sag wagon so I wanted a way to keep my pace in check (even though the bus my still be nipping at my heels). I have to at least maintain a 13:44/ mile to be a legal finisher. I wanted a way to monitor my pace throughout the race and started thinking about upgrading my Garmin. I took a poll on facebook and the results were overwhelming that I needed this gadget. I bought one and it is coming this week. I call it my little security blanket.

The Toes

Last year's my friend had a crazy pedicure done to commemorate the event. This year, I decided to do something funky as well. My vision was to honor my alma mater, the University of Minnesota, by doing my toes in a maroon and gold theme. I asked the lady if she could free hand draw a maple leaf and she said okay. It wasn't quite a maple leaf.....

Hmmmmm.....I am not sure what this is but this design definitely has some school spirit mixed with some Vegas. I have rhinestones on my big toenail! I am counting on this bling as being a good luck charm! After all, there are exactly 10 rhinestones which could signify my 10 year anniversary of my first marathon. On a side note, no matter what you do to toes (especially mine) they are UGLY!

I am kind of feeling a bit Charlie Sheen right now with all of the marathon insanity. WINNING! Anyway, hopefully I will be back to more "normal" (using the term normal loosely) next Monday.

Back to School!

2011-09-07T04:42:00.000-05:00

THE CHILDREN ARE BACK IN SCHOOL!!!!!!!

Do I hear angels singing? Woooo Hooo!

I can already tell the year will be off to a raging start. The middle child was practicing his spelling. If you see ASS and MORON in the photo below, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. My 7 year old is not only a fabulous artist, but he knows how to spell cuss words. Hmmmmm.....all I can say is that this occurred on Dad's watch and the proud papa sent this photo to me. I just pray he doesn't make an "ass" out of himself in front of his first grade teacher.

I just came back from Florida on Sunday night. Every Labor Day weekend, three awesome ladies and myself head to Singer Island for a little RnR.

I didn't have a single care in the world. The days went something like this:

Wake up when I wanted...(usually 7AM)
Drink coffee whilst listening to the crashing waves of the ocean and watch the sunrise
Walk the beach for a good hour.....that workout is not for the faint of heart!!!
Roll around in the sand because my calves locked up and cramped during beach walk.
Limp my way back down the beach.
Breathe a sigh of relief that I made it home without the help of the Coast Guard. (yes, I did this to myself more than once.)
Make a batch of beergaritas for the pool.
Lay by the pool and read while soaking in the very harmful UV rays
Leave pool around 5PM for "happy hour"
Happy Hour involved some very fun and almost violent games of Sorry (that game brings out the BEYOTCH in people)
Dinner of some sort (Triscuits and wine can count as dinner, right?)
Bed....usually at 8:30 (party animals!)

Ahhhh, if only I was that relaxed now. The school year crazy schedule has begun!!!!!

Believe it or not, I still have been training. Albeit, it has been about a week since I have focused on my actual plan. Right before I left, I was able to knock out 14 agonizing, long slow miles. I was able to do them just under the time cut off for the marathon. Yay me. This week, I am going to make my return to Hot Yoga and get an ass whoopin' from the trainer. It has only been a week out of my routine, but it feels like a year!

Vacation!

2011-09-03T06:41:00.001-05:00

I am enjoying the sounds of the ocean crashing into the shore, soaking up some harmful UV rays while ready trashy books, and having for wine dinner. AHHHHHH....I am in Heaven!!

Be back soon!

Posted via Blogaway

Lifestyles of the Crazed and Overscheduled

2011-08-18T14:18:00.000-05:00

My poor blog has been neglected for the past few weeks. I have been M.I.A. from the blogosphere because of..............

BIRTHDAYS
We just celebrated what we call "birthday mania" in our house. All three of my children have August birthdays and they are all within 12 days of each other. (yeah yeah....I know you are thinking it must be cold in November...haha). We had 3 kid parties this year and one family one (remind me not to do that again). I am so sick of birthday cake that I could puke. This year I purposely ordered kid cakes that I would not touch. That theory went out the the window....there is not a cake that I would not touch as I love them all.

Happy 9th, 7th, and 4th Birthday!!!!

ACTIVITIES

Can you guess which dancer is mine?
Hint: She has a tail.

I can officially add Chauffeur to my job description as I have been shuffling kids to their respective summer activities. Diva had dance and the boys had a summer hockey. Football started on Monday.
Add Chubby Hubby's softball and my marathon training and our house is a circus because we have activities every night. School is starting in a few weeks so at least there will be a better routine.

CONSTRUCTION
As of we aren't crazy enough, we decided to rip apart the front walkway and steps and replace it with new concrete. (by we, I of course mean Chubby Hubby, my dad, more family and friends). What a job! I have to say for a bunch of amateurs that did some nice work and we saved THOUSANDS of dollars not hiring the work out.

Before

After

THE DAMNED DOG
She is cute, but she is a pill. She loves to chew on my shoes, steals socks, and digs big big holes. She is still having issues with house training. I know it is typical puppy stuff but I forgot how much work they are. Any suggestions on a stubborn dog that is taking her sweet time potty training? Bootcamp for doggies?

WORKING OUT
It is an awesome sign for me when my laundry has more workout clothes than regular clothes in it. Lately I have been working out harder and longer than I have in a several years. I see ~~devil woman~~ my trainer every week and she has a new custom workout for me to help with strength, balance, and endurance. Last week she introduced me to Kettlebells. I LOVE THEM!! I was sore for 2 days after the fact but I felt like I got a full body strength and cardio workout. I am scheduled to meet with her tonight too and I hope we do them again.

I have also returned to Bootcamp. I can't really turn down that workout since it is basically a free session with a trainer. It is free, but vomit inducing. I was happy on Tuesday night because I felt like I could hold my own in the class.

Hot Yoga is still a part of my routine. I decided to buy a package and go at least once a week. I can't tell you enough how much I love this class. I am seeing some major transformations in my body, but also in my ability not to bust out laughing men show up in banana hammocks or when someone lets one rip during class.

But on top of all of that stuff.....my running seems to be improving. Last Sunday, I ran 10 miles. I should say I covered 10 miles. I did my own version of the Galloway Method. My intervals were 2.5 minutes running and 2.5 minutes walking. As funny as it sounds, my pace was FASTER than if I ran the whole way. For the marathon, I hope to increase the running portion and decrease the walking. But I am flying by the seat of my pants on this one. Getting a 10 miler in gave me some hope.

Although my workouts are going great the scale seems to be stuck at a number I thought I would never see. I am a few pounds shy of my highest weight ever (maybe I ate more birthday cake than I thought). Like I said, I am starting to see results and my clothes a little looser so I have some circulation around my midsection. I am happy with that success, but I am a numbers girl and I get frustrated with the scale does not cooperate. Ugh. I hope that in a few weeks, the scale will have some mercy. It is sad that I let a little gadget get to me.

That is my wrap-up. The end of Summer is always nuts and it makes me welcome the start of the school year. I am ready for things to slow down soon!

Urban Wildland Race Report

2011-08-08T12:30:00.000-05:00

Warning: Spawn bragging below.

Saturday my oldest son and I ran the Urban Wildland 5K. It was his first race ever. I was so excited and proud to be able to be able to do it with him. He just turned 9 years old last Friday and this was part of his birthday celebration. He did AWESOME. He took off at a pace that I could barely maintain, but forced myself to keep up with him. We ran, we walked, we ran some more. I let him decide how we were going accomplish this race. He would get a burst of energy when people would cheer him on. The photo above is him sprinting it in to the finish. That spot you see in the back....oh yeah...that is me. He ditched his own momma!!! Hmmmpf. He had a blast and is already asking when he can do another race. I am so proud of him!

His time: 41:08

My Time: 41:15

I Have Sold My Soul to the Devil

2011-07-30T07:12:00.000-05:00

Twin Cities Marathon is in a little over 9 weeks and I am still struggling with my running. I came to the realization that if I am going to do this race, I need professional help (both mental and physical). With the recommendation of a friend, I reached out to our Boot Camp ~~Bitch~~ Instructor and I explained my situation. I told her that come hell or high water, I was going to cross the finish line on October 2nd and I asked her if she thought she could help me. She took me to do a fitness assessment and wrote down all sorts of things on a piece of paper. She confirmed what I already knew, I was in rough shape.....pathetic really and no where near the condition of a marathon runner. I was kind of nervous that she would laugh in my face and reject my insane goal. She then stated "I would rock that marathon". I signed on the dotted line and hired her for 8 weeks.

I have had two sessions with her and she makes Jillian Michaels look like a push-over. I ran stairs with a medicine ball overhead, did wall sits, squats with weights, and inverted pull-ups. I pushed and pulled a heavy boxing bag through a studio and I did some heavy tire flipping. So far she she is keeping it interesting. I felt pretty bad ass that I was able to complete her workouts, especially the upper body one.

Well.....It has been two days since my last session and the DOMS have set in. OH MY GOD, I cannot straighten my arms. AT. ALL. I am walking around like the Hulk. I know I am not being a wuss because my arms are actually SWOLLEN (although all of my co-workers would disagree because of my constant whining). Please excuse the elephantiasis-like arm.

With that said, she keeps my goal in mind and only pushes me as far as she knows I can go and even helps me out at times. Right now I need to be pushed like she is pushing me. I have been down for so long that I have forgotten what it it is like to really work hard. It is a nice to have a reminder that I can still do this. Even with the sore, swollen muscles...I think she will get me to my goal.

Warrior Dash

2011-07-25T13:58:00.001-05:00

First, I feel like I need to get my head checked because I SIGNED UP FOR THIS! The waiver was plain crazy....I feel like I signed away less doing my mortgage papers. My favorite line was "water has not been tested for dangerous chemicals or disease". Keep in mind, this girl will not swim in a lake. With that out of the way, we picked up our packets and had a few moments to take in our surroundings.

Our wave started promptly at 8:30AM with a fire cannon. Chubby Hubby and I started running when we hit the timing mat. We were very cheery until we saw the crazy ~~MOUNTAIN~~ hill in front of us. We knew there were going to be hills, after all the race was held at Afton Alps Ski Resort, but we were not expecting to run up an entire ski slope while we were in our starting euphoria. Let me tell you it was not a bunny hill....it was a frickin' black diamond, steep ass, lean into it hill. We ran about a quarter of the hill before we decided to ~~say screw this~~ conserve energy. I reviewed the course online prior to the event, I seriously think that battleground map was just more of a suggested course because this was not like the website indicated.

We finally huff and puff our way to the top and we have our first set of obstacles. It was a junk yard of cars to climb over. Climbing through the cars and tires were easy enough, though I had to tread lightly because of the sharp objects that could potentially puncture a person. I survived that without too much trauma. Then we were off to the next surprise......there was some water spraying. It didn't occur to me that that was an obstacle, I thought the water was there as a cool off mechanism. NOPE. They were snow making sprayers and we had to run through them. The force and pressure of this water was crazy. I was so disorientated when I came out of it.

Once I completed the first couple of obstacles it was all downhill from there. Literally downhill. And then back uphill, and back down. I would run as much as I could on the uphill, walk with long strides the rest, and then I would gingerly run the downhill...usually sideways. It was pretty slick in spots because of the mud and water. My goal was not do die or blow out a knee. Success!

Yeah....I jumped that.

The other course obstacles were challenging and required a lot of upper body strength. There were walls to jump, barbed wire to duck under. There were cargo nets and high walls to scale, boards to balance, and a dark tunnel to crawl into. I completed all of the obstacles except one....the high cargo net. I am TERRIFIED of heights. I got about half way up and froze with fear when I realized I could see for miles! I felt sick and it didn't help that the netting was not a solid stable surface. I climbed down and walked around that one. I made up for that obstacle doing the next one where I scaled the high wall with a rope. I whimpered a bit but felt pretty bad ass after I conquered it. The last 3 obstacles were awesome! There was a water slide (which I have a pretty rad bruise on my leg from hitting the end), fire hurdles, and finally the mud pit/barbed wire crawl to the finish.

Chubby Hubby and I stuck together most of the race. There were times I ran ahead of him, but he always caught up to me doing the obstacles. We finished together. It was a very fun race and I can't wait to do another one. The only thing I would do different would be to have a whole team of people to add to the fun factor and to have a person to "crew". We left our stuff in our car and we were shuttled in from the parking lot. At the finish we didn't have any of our cash. We ended up leaving the party a little early. Next time we will know better! This was a double thumbs up race!

My official results were:
Time: 1:00:01 19:52/Mile
AG Place: 492
Place: 7645 NOT LAST!!!

Me looking tough after showing that wall who was boss!

A beer never tasted so good!

Believe it or not this is after we were hosed off.

I make horns look good!

Still so dirty

Mile High Blogging

2011-07-13T09:51:00.000-05:00

Chubby Hubby and I are Vegas Bound. This is our first trip that we have taken together sans kids since 2001! While I am crammed into a window seat and the douche bag sitting in front of me reclined his seat back so his chair is in my lap, I have decided to type up a really really really really long blog post with the hope of my constant clicking will get his damned head out of my face. I am not much of a flyer and this kind of shit kills me. I am also not much of a people person when it comes to the general public. Do not get me started on the boarding process and watching people deal with carry on luggage. Chubby hubby denied my request to upgrade to first class and I am now giving him stink eye (although, I am way way way too cheap to pay for the upgrade…..we are not getting there any quicker). Thankfully I can amuse myself with the safety instruction card. First of all, why do they have a ballerina shown in the diagram? Second, why is the baby in the 3rd row a floatation device? Then finally, if we are heading for a nosedive crash....I am not bracing myself....I will be slamming mini bottles of booze!

So enough about in flight bitching….WE ARE ON VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The children and wonder mutt are visiting my parents for the week. I called to see how things were going and my mother’s response was “Welll…..” that is when my cell phone decided to be a stinker and drop her call. Hmmmm…..funny how that happens. (just kidding mama: )

Because I do not feel like reading or sleeping, here is a run down of my random thoughts:

I am absolutely loving hot yoga!!!! I sweat like a whore in church, soaking through multiple towels but I feel amazing when I am done and my skin looks FABULOUS.
I had an appointment with the doctor and I got some awesome news….my iron level is back up to double digits. Not quite normal, but it is getting there. It is wonderful not getting winded vacuuming .
Since I am so far behind in my training, I have partnered up with one of the trainers that taught that hellish boot camp class. I explained where I am in training and what I want to accomplish. She gave me an evil smile and said “your ass is mine.” She will own me for the next 8 weeks.. I am a little scared, but I think this is going to be exactly what I need. She did an initial assessment and I found that my balance is way way way off on my left side. We are going to be working with weights, balancing and she will be giving me cardio homework. I do believe I will be expected to start going to boot camp again. I can’t weasel my way out of it when my trainer I is the teacher.
I got a pre-Las Vegas pedicure and I grossed out the pedicurist. People say that is not possible. Yes, yes it is. I was mildly embarrassed but kind of proud at the same time. She took the cheese grater looking thing to my callouses. She filed my feet down so my skin is as smooth as a baby's ass so it was hard to protest when she was making my most shameful part of my body look as nice as they could. I kept telling myself that she probably as seen worse. She kept making some strange faces as she filed….she would then make a comment about how bad they were then I would respond that I run. She gave me the “yeah right” look. Then she did the unthinkable…..she showed me what she sloughed off!! I just about puked. If that wasn’t bad .enough….she tapped the pedicurists next to her showed her and they looked at me and started laughing. Hmmmmpf…..I could totally relate to Elaine from Seinfeld. All embarrassment aside….my toes look fabulous!

As far as Vegas is concerned I can’t wait to get there. What is your favorite must do thing in Sin City? Chubby Hubby and I are looking for some fun stuff to do.

Well that was fun….the booze cart is heading our way.

*****Please excuse the typos and bad grammar, It was hard to see what I typed****

My Experience-Hot Yoga

2011-07-07T22:21:00.002-05:00

A little while back, I got a Groupon for Hot Yoga. Reading blogs lead me to believe that this was the most super awesome thing in the whole wide world!  It seemed like a must do for everyone. Since the price was right and the location of the studio was basically in my backyard, I hit the purchase button for an unlimited one month membership (I heart Groupon!).

I have to admit, I was scared to try it. I was not scared of the yoga experience, I was scared of being grossed out. Reading reviews of people's experiences with hot yoga literally had me gagging and dry heaving.  I imagined the smell of feet wafting through the room and coming into close contact with stranger's sweat as it hits the floor. I was also afraid of passing out or puking since I have no heat tolerance....I am after all a Minnesota girl.
Last night was my first night. My friend and I got to the studio 30 minutes early as requested for our orientation. We were greeted by an extremely buxom woman wearing spandex and a sports bra with red, blue, and green hair.   She did not have a yoga instructor's body and she spoke with a thick New York accent.  She also has a very unique name....the kind of name reserved for the very artsy crowd and yoga instructors.   I was weirded out and it was all a little much for me. I fought to keep an open mind but all I could think was WTF!!!! (I loved this woman after only spending 2 minutes with her!)

The time came for the hot yoga. When I walked into the studio, the 105 degrees took my breath away.
The instructor arranged us so we could be around experienced people since we were brand new to the class. She taught the class by walking around correcting our form and describing the poses. I loved this method because Pilates was not like that at all.   The hour seemed to fly by and I survived. I swear I sweat out about 20lbs when it was over.

The verdict: I LOVED IT! I felt great. I was more relaxed than I have been in a long long long time. I was completely surprised that I liked it so much. I was in the shittiest mood when I went into it and I came out a different person. No puking, no fainting, no farting (although someone else did and I didn't laugh...yeah me!). I liked it so much that I went back tonight for another round. After my Groupon is up, I will absolutely need to incorporated this workout into my routine. Hot Yoga.....2 thumbs up!!!!

Oh....one more thing.....I thought yoga was kind on an easy workout. NOT! I was so sore today and I anticipate that I will not be able to walk tomorrow!

3rd Annual Independence Rocks!

2011-07-05T11:10:00.000-05:00

Two weeks without a blog post? That is seriously crazy, and perhaps it might be Chubby Hubby's dream if I my typing silent streak transferred to my verbal communication.

Happy 4th of July! I am sitting here reflecting on the awesome awesome weekend we had with our family and friends. I can't help but get the warm fuzzies being surrounded by so many loved ones to celebrate a holiday weekend. We are truly blessed. No, it is not just the wine talking....this time.

If you have been a reader of my blog for awhile, you know the the 4th of July heavily celebrated at our house. Our town has a celebration that spans several days and the same goes for our household. We participate in many of the planned events as well as throwing a few of our own traditions. We attend the carnival for people watching, bad rides and mini donuts. We have a crazy 3rd of July party. Then of course there is the parade and fireworks. The best part is....everything is in walking distance. I have a detailed recap below.

The Carnival:

Last year's carnival was EPIC. The people watching was maybe the highlight of the weekend. The photos I took may have saved my place in hell, but damn they were funny. This year, the carnival was tame. No arrests. No hookers. No bad fashion statements. I was left to find my own carnival entertainment and I found it in the form of an airbrushed t-shirt stand! New this year!!!

I could have spent hours looking at their gallery. I came across one with my name on it. Chubby Hubby would not drop the $18 on this for me. Hmmmmfp. So I got one for him.....I couldn't decide between the airbrushed hearts with arrows and our names on them or the one with the mean looking wolf. I opted for simplicity. I got one that said "Donner's Girl" (my sweet pet name for Chubby Hubby) because I want everyone to know that I am a taken woman! Nothing says true love like an airbrushed tshirt.

The carnival would not be the carnvial without some rides. I went on two...the spinning bears and the tilt-a-whirl.....I was green and just about puked. Thankfully, my brother was a champ to take the boys on the really wild rides (looks safe right?).

After the "Round-up", they weren't doing so hot.....

The Party:

I just have to sum it up in a few words....good friends, family, coney dogs, beer margaritas, creepy Sponge Bob bounce house, food, lots of laughs, and really really really illegal fireworks!!!!! Thank you Mother Nature for the PERFECT day. I am not sure what I would have done with 80 some people in my tiny house if the weather was bad!

The Parade:

My boys always love the 4th of July parade. Imagine their delight when they found out they were going to rollerblade in it with their hockey association! Imagine my surprise when I found out we were ALL going to march in the parade....even Diva was part of the fun. There wasn't a huge turnout and they needed help passing out candy. I got the oh so very important job of carrying the banner. It was a lot of fun but very HOT!

The fireworks did not happen for me. The boys and Chubby Hubby went to watch them but I was way too tired. Diva and I stayed and watched through the trees at our house. We only watched for a few minutes before were threw in the towel and decided to gracefully end the celebration by heading to bed and let the exploding fireworks lull us to sleep. Even though we bowed out a bit early, this 4th of July was one of the BEST! Can't wait for next year!!!!

I did more than just celebrate the 4th (read: eat and drink).....I had my very first run with my oldest child. I like to think I am a great influence on him (patting myself on the back). He thinks I am the coolest person in the world because I run(yeah, so I may have a big head about it). He is signed up for his very first 5K in August. We are going to run it together. I am very excited because he is so excited. We went for our very first training run together this weekend and he did very well! Almost too well, I was struggling to keep up. We did a total of 3.36 miles and there were only a couple of walk breaks (probably because I needed them). He made it look easy and he is ready to rock on with more training.

I hope everyone had a safe holiday weekend.

Grandma's Weekend

2011-06-19T20:36:00.001-05:00

I am not going to dwell on the fact that this should have been a race report. Part of me is a little sad but the other part is a bit relieved that I didn't complete the 13.1 journey. Since I have been medically forbidden from running this race, I did the next best thing....I volunteered. At the end of the day I was just as tired as if I did run. So here is my recap of volunteering.

The drive from Minneapolis to Duluth is typically a little over 2 hours. If you head north on the Friday before Grandma's Marathon, you can expect to spend over 3 hours in the car. We made it in 3 hours and 40 minutes. Carly's PSA: Get to Duluth before Friday on Grandma's Weekend otherwise you will face bumper to bumper traffic on I35.

Once we got to Duluth, I grabbed my middle child and we headed to the Expo to pick up my packet. No, I didn't run, but I still cannot pass up a great Expo and the experience. We had a a "date" and hit all the booths. He helped me pick out some nice running shades and we tried on some Yurbuds (I must get myself a pair of these!!!).

Since I was not running, I decided to participate as a volunteer and my duties were to begin at 5AM. It was cold and pouring rain!!!! Although the weather sucked....it was still a lot of fun being out there. It helped that there was a lot of hot coffee flowing!

Getting race t-shirts set up and ready to go for when the runners finish is a crazy amount of work. Thankfully there was a tent to keep them dry. The t-shirts were all in boxes and they had to be sorted, opened, organized and set up by the time the first runners came across the finish line. We had approximately 2.5 hours to get this mission accomplished. All things fell into place.

We even had a little time to horse around before the first finishers came across the line. Kerri and I were both supposed to run the half marathon and both of us had to drop out. We were not going to leave until we had an action shot of crossing the finish line. Yes, people thought we were nuts. Eh...I figured I just paid $80 bucks for that picture.

We made volunteering a family affair. I signed up to volunteer because Chubby Hubby and my oldest son were already on the roster. They did this last year so they were the seasoned veterans showing me the ropes.

One of my son's jobs was to separate the drink tickets. Slinging beer tickets is a perfect job for an 8 year old. ha!

When the runners were coming in, my job was to hold the sign to direct people to the appropriate t-shirts. People kept asking what the signs meant. (I think the organizers need to specify "t-shirts" on the sign because people that just ran 26.2 miles do not connect these signs to t-shirts). We had a blast talking to runners and meeting other fun volunteers. (don't mind the waterlogged, freezing, windblown look below).

We got to take advantage of some of the perks of volunteering. There was a sponsor suite that had drinks and food. We are talking an open bar (yeah baby!) and a buffet of hot food. We were sent in shifts to go warm up and grab a few refreshments. This was a complete surprise to us but a great thing to make the day even more fun.

I love working at the finish line because you get to experience a whole different side of the race. Being a back of the packer, my experience withe the finish line is I see tables being taken down and lots of people have already left the site. This time I got to get up close and personal with the winner!

I kept my eyes open for my blogosphere friends. I got a tap on the shoulder and it was Julie! It was so nice to finally meet her in person. She also introduced me to Derrek another local blogger. She did great despite the freezing weather! I looked for Bobbi, but with the crazy sea of people I didn't see her. I took a peek at her blog to see how she did and she had one hell of a PR! I ran into a bunch of other people that I knew as well. This is a huge event and it is fun to take part in any way. I may just have to do it again next year.

If you were up in Duluth, how was your weekend?

It was a busy busy weekend. I am dying I am so tired. I must collapse and try to catch up on some ZZzzzzzz.

I could not do a post on Father's Day with out wishing Chubby Hubby, my baby daddy, a fabulous day. If you have to ask why he is drinking in the middle of the day.....spend an hour with our children. ha! Happy Father's Day to all the great dads out there.....especially mine (who did not want to be associated with this blog and will remain anonymous)

Vacation in the Hospital

2011-06-14T16:14:00.000-05:00

Is it wrong that I am enjoying (relatively speaking) my time in the hospital today. I am Facebooking, planning a party, booked a trip, and chatting with friends in a peaceful enviroment.
I am drinking the worlds WORST coffee!
The nurses are bickering amongst themselves. Someone made the executive desision to move the garbage can and it causing a lot of chaos. A LOT OF CHAOS!
The nurses talk trash behind each other's back when ever someone leaves the room. They are quite aware that it is not professional but they do not give a shit.
One of the nurses finally blew up and moved the garbage can back to its original home.
The rule of the day is, if you do not have rubarb, go the hell home. I have learned that the nurses are very competitive about their rubarb creations. Today they have brought in jams, jelly, cake, and all made from rubarb.
I have heard "Oh Yeah, you bet cha" about 4578 times. Hmmmm....I know that Minnesota peeps get made fun of all the time, but I refuse to believe I sound like that.
I am the youngest one in this room by about 50 years!
There are a couple of regulars here that are discussing dildos and singing La Bamba. Really. I cannot make this stuff up!
I received 2 units (I said units...giggle) and I am already feeling peppier. I hope to be up and running soon!
It is funny, because I checked my voicemail whilst getting blood and I had a message from the Red Cross tell me it was time to donate. It would have been funny to show up and see the look on their face when they read my hemoglobin.

There you have it....may uber exciting day in the IV Treatment Room.

If you ever need a blood transfusion, it is not bad.

Vacation, Intrusion, Transfusion

2011-06-13T18:19:00.000-05:00

The kiddos are officially on Summer vacation! Friday was their last day and now I am the mama of a 3rd and 1st grader. I have to insert a proud mama comment about their awesome report cards. They did extremely well and they clearly take after me. ha! Now it is time to enjoy the short while that we have nice weather.

I am beyond jealous of Chubby Hubby not being employed at the moment. They get to do whatever they want this summer! This working full time deal blows. Maybe I could be the hero of our department by suggesting how shutting down for the Summer would save a lot of money in a tough budget year. Sigh.... I can dream. I will say this, about a week into being at home with everyone, I would be pulling out my hair and running for the liquor cabinet.

Yesterday we had a standoff in our 'hood. I was not aware of any hullabaloo until Chubby Hubby started screaming at the kids to get downstairs. He then announced that there were cops across the street that were sporting some shot guns, rifles, and the K9 unit. I did what every good mother would do, flipped on the TV for the kids then I grabbed my cell phone, computer, and camera to document what I was seeing.

It ended up being a 15 year old kid who had the brains of a gnat to break in to this house in the middle of the day in our nosy neighborhood. My neighbor saw him and immediately called the police. He was hiding out in the attic and he told police that he broke in to this house because he had to use the bathroom. Riiiiight. It may be wrong of me to celebrate this, but he left in an ambulance. He was not shot, but the police dog got him....and got him good! The poor family that lives in this house are brand new to the neighborhood and they are completely traumatized! I hope they don't move!

This was my view and if you look close you can see the police pulling a Jack Bauer.

Now for the big news.....tomorrow I am getting a blood transfusion. I thought long and hard about it over the weekend and decided that I want to feel better faster. Despite the risks and the heebie jeebie factor, I think it is the right thing to do. I know from past experience that if I do nothing but supplementation and dietary changes, it could take months to get back into a normal range. I have been reading about how severe anemia can permanently screw with a person and if I want a shot at doing TC Marathon in October I need to do this now.
Tomorrow I will be at the hospital all day. I will be receiving 2-3 units. As shitty as it is to be there all day, I am pretty excited because I can bring my computer and finally catch up with some of my blog stalking! It is almost like a vacation! Has anyone had this done? Words of wisdom?

Hindsight is always 20/20. Looking back at this past year, the struggle is now making sense. I can't believe that I didn't realize my iron was low sooner.

Some Things Are Not Meant To Be

2011-06-11T05:15:00.000-05:00

I will not be running in the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon next Saturday.

I went to the doctor because I of a possible sinus infection (I am uber prone to them and get them often). As I suspected, I did. As the doc was giving my my prescription, I thought I would throw one more thing at her. I told her about my issues with running and how I can hardly run 10 steps without stopping to walk. I told her I thought my iron might be low based ~~on extensive interweb medical research~~ my history (I have a tendency to be a little anemic). She ordered a blood test.

After my test, she came back in the room and asked me "what do you think your level is at?". I responded "based on how I feel, maybe a 9 or a 10." She gave me a serious look and said, "Nope....you are a 6 and we typically do blood transfusions when people are around an 8."

Shit.

My response to that was "Huh, at least I know why I have to sit down when I get to the top of the steps now". I weaseled my out of the transfusion by promising I would eat red meat and spinach every day and also take the colon blocking iron supplements told me to get. If she doesn't see an upward trend by Wednesday, I will be transfused. *Shudder* Just as she finished her sentence about how serious this issue was, I spouted off the question...."so, I will be able to run Grandma's Half next Saturday, right?" She gave me the areyoufuckingkiddingyoustupidbitch look and said "absolutely not, and don't even think about it". I had to ask even though I walked out of her office there thinking that I will still cross that finish line (one symptom of anemia is not thinking clearly).

Later that evening, I came to my senses (Translation: I spoke to my girlfriend and she put things into perspective). My ultimate goal is Twin Cities Marathon. Doing this half marathon, half-assed mind you, could jeopardize my marathon training even more. I am already experiencing a training set back, if I attempted the race, who knows how long I will be out. So, I have to exercise some common sense here and keep my eye on what is really important. So there will be no race and I am going to focus on getting healthy.

I can't help but kind of laugh about the craptastic luck that I have with this race. The universe must not want me to ever participate in this event. The one year I get chosen for the lottery, is the one year I am not able to run it. Perhaps this was divine intervention. I think this is going to be the last year I try to run this race.

I may be down, but I am certainly not out. I will be volunteering at the finish line handing out t-shirts. If you are running, come look for me!!!

The Six Most Dreaded Words....

2011-06-07T12:38:00.002-05:00

I didn't know Carly was expecting!!!!!!

Sonofabitch it happened again!!!!

I was talking to my mother on the phone and she was hmmmming and haaaaing about telling me something.

"I VOWED I would never tell you....." she said. At that point, I told her to be out with it already. She said that at our family reunion back in January, one of our cousins excitedly said "I didn't know Carly was expecting" to my mother. My mother responded... "She's not". Ooops. Then came the back peddling from our cousin.

I know she was not being rude by her statement. Truth is, I did (do) look pregnant.....especially with what I chose the wear that day (perhaps a flowy white button down is not the best muffin top disguise). I certainly am not offended either. I had an honest good laugh (probably because I am 10lbs lighter today and I do not have any ice cream in the house). All laughing aside, my motivation is now solid. I never want to look pregnant again. I just wish that my mother would have told me this in JANUARY, maybe I would be closer to goal.

Those are not the only six words I dread. The other six words that have been making my stomach turn are:

I saw you out running today....

Gahhhh! What? All three seconds of me running? So you saw me huffing and puffing about to pass out? You busted me walking? Uhhhhh.....I was only laying on the grass to stretch for a second. Look away, I am hideous!

I ran into one of my friends who is an avid runner while shopping last week. He said those exact words to me and I wanted to hide because my "running" and his "running" are two completely different things. He is running Grandma's Marathon on June 18th. I told him I signed up for the half marathon which is on the same day. He knows that I am not fit for a 5K at this point so I thought he would have a laugh and make some smart ass comment.
I could not have been more wrong. He told me I HAVE to do it and backing out would make me a sissy (not the real word). He told me to just have fun and walk the damn thing if I have to. He reminded me that I KNOW what to expect and can push through it. Then he pulled out the big guns and said that it would be a waste of money (anything that refers to losing money gets me motivated) . I guess if he never saw me running, we may not have talked about the race, and I may have backed out completely. So....run, walk, crawl.....I am doing this half marathon just for the fun of it

I guess the PSA of my rambling today is that words you dread hearing can be a great motivator.

You Know You're a Minnesotan When....

2011-06-06T12:49:00.000-05:00

You are sitting outside, wrapped in a blanket, sicker than a dog simply because you cannot bear to waste a sunny beautiful day inside.

I am not sure what is wrong with me but it appears that I have some sort of Summer flu. I should have had a clue on Friday that something was brewing because I came home and took a 2 hour nap. I never nap. I got up and "ran" 3 miles on Saturday but I felt really off and my legs felt like concrete. I brushed it off and blamed it on my limited carb diet. Later that day, I was winded walking across the room and was really irritable (ugh my poor family). I progressively got worse and I laid around for the remainder of the weekend. I am still not 100% today but I am a lot better.

Anyway...my plan was to run 3 miles on Saturday and attempt 6 (run/walk) on Sunday. Boo...the 6 miler got blown off. What is that saying? Oh yeah...shit happens. I will tack on a little bit to each workout this week and keep going.

Since I did plenty of laying around this weekend, I got caught up on the Real Housewives of Orange County. I have a thing for really trashy TV and I totally got sucked in.

My Analysis of the Real Housewives

The drama is really, really stupid and has got to be staged.....who really acts like that????
They all look a lot older than they are....over made up, over tanned, over plastic surgeried, etc...
I wonder if lips and boobs ever look like theirs naturally. Probably not.
They all could use some updated hair-dos....cut some of that shit off
Gretchen talks through her nose and it drives me crazy
They all have beautiful homes but their house do not seem to have any character.
Money does not buy class (Wasn't there a song about that?)...this show is right up there with Springer in my book.

What did you do this weekend?

Super-fabulous Saucony Giveaway Winner

2011-06-06T06:56:00.000-05:00

The winner of the Super-fabulous Saucony Giveaway is.....

#31

(Just) Trying is for Little Girls

****Throwing Confetti****

Please email me at fatrunnergirl (at) yahoo (dot) com to accept the prize.

Congratulations to the winner and a very big THANK YOU to Onlineshoes.com for hosting such a great giveaway!!!

Bullets on a Friday

2011-06-03T12:29:00.002-05:00

I have spent 11 full days on South Beach Diet and I have lost 10lbs. Chubby Hubby has lost 13lbs!
I have not had a sip of alcohol in the 11 full days and I plan to keep going with it while I am training for this marathon. I may have a beer or two this summer, but I plan to keep the empty calories to a minimum. (Did I really type that???)
I decided to transition into Phase II a bit early (3 days) because I am really dragging when I run and figured I could use some good carbs to get some energy.
Plus, I got tired of eating eggs for breakfast!
I sniffed around the interwebs one day to find egg alternatives and found a Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie that looked interesting. The ingredients are pictured below:

I got excited to try it, but alas it was probably the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted. Think bitter peanut butter barf. **shudder**
Even worse than the taste was the smoothie explosion incident. As I was blending with a hand blender (not recommended), this "goo" (lack of a better word) shot all over the place. All over my kitchen, all over my clothes, and I even got a bit on the ceiling. Yuck. I do not recommend this. At least the eggs started to look good again.
I think I missed Spring. Today it is pushing 90 degrees and the humidity is gross. Man, I make Minnesota sound like the most desirable place to live. It would be great if the weather didn't suck 98% of the time.
Holy crap....there is NOTHING, NADA, ZIP on the calendar for this weekend. What to do? What to do? (besides running) This never ever happens. It is like the 5 full weekends in July!
Thank you to everyone that voted for Chubby Chicks Run Too on Circle of Moms Top 25 Health and Fitness Blogs. I am very excited that this blog was voted into one of the top 25 spots.
Also, there is still time to Enter the Superfabulous Saucony Shoe Giveaway. You have the opportunity to enter until 11:59 6/5/11. Winners will be drawn by a random generator on 6/6/11.

Happy Friday! What is on your weekend agenda?

It is a Good Sign When....

2011-05-30T13:36:00.000-05:00

Your Bib # is 262 on the first official day of marathon training. Twin Cities Marathon, here I come!

This weekend was a whirlwind! Almost every second had something planned, but it was all great things. I photographed my friend's surprise renewal of vows on Saturday (yes she surprised the hell out of her hubby) , Sunday we had a family get together to celebrate two of our nephews' graduations, then we attended my friend's Big Memorial Bash. Today it was a 5K, more photos, and then a cookout.

With all of the food centric events, I am happy to say I survived and rocked the South Beach Diet despite all of the temptations. I stuck to the plan (except one tiny little salted nut roll bar that I made for the parties....it was mostly protein anyway). I achieved the almost impossible....I made it 7 full days with not one glass of wine or a beer. You bet your ass I am patting myself on the back being able to make it through Memorial Weekend without one sip of alcohol (does that me sound like an alcoholic?).

Today's 5K was a race hosted by Charities Challenge. It was not a personal best nor was it a personal worst. It was not chip timed so I really do not know what my time really was. I do know it was under 40 minutes. I feel more energetic yet I felt like I was dragging a bit on the course. I am going to blame the lack of carbs. Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet seems to be great so far, but I will admit it is the best thing for running.. When we started, the storm clouds were rolling in and the skies were BLACK! But alas, the rain held off until we were done. I was happy it did not interfere with the race because I was able to complete my 5th race of the year. I am now five for five!

One cool things about today was I saw a bunch of pink shirts referencing a very familiar blog... Prior Fat Girl. I spotted Jen, the blog author of Prior Fat Girl. I have been following her blog for a few years. She has an amazing and very inspirational weight loss story! She looks AMAZING. She was not running this event, however, she was there cheering loudly. I introduced myself before the race and as I crossed the finish line, I heard her cheering me on. I love reading blogs that are local to me, and I love it when our paths cross.

Total weight loss so far is still hover right around 7.5lbs which I cannot complain about since it has only been a week. Chubby Hubby is still going strong and has lost 10lbs.

There are only a couple more days of me BEGGING and PLEADING for votes on at the Circle of Moms Top 25 Health and Fitness Blogs. Please give Chubby Chicks Run Too.. a thumbs up, I am tumbling down the list FAST. You can vote once every 24 hours until 5PM, June 1st.

Just Another Day in the Office

2011-05-27T12:24:00.000-05:00

What you are seeing in the photo is a bunch of Secret Service Agents and Police. Today’s special guest that is holding us hostage in our building is US Attorney General, Eric Holder. Kind of cool to have a high profile person here but it also kind of sucks because the building is almost on lock down and if you do make it out you have to wade through protesters. At least I can say it is never boring here as there is always something going on or someone visiting.

I am getting really excited for the 3 day weekend. We have a variety of things going on which will make the weekend fly. It will be nice to have a chance to properly welcome Summer (if the rain holds off!). I am no long afraid of caving in with any treats that will be at all of the events during the next three days. Why? I am down another pound. That makes 7 total since Monday! It is funny how a little success can rekindle the fire.

My run last night was nothing short of pathetic. I actually headed out for a 3 mile run and stopped dead in my tracks at about a quarter mile. That is when I decided to break in to the high school track and run laps there. I did about 2 miles total but was struggling just to make it around the track once! I am going to blame my extreme change in diet for this horrible run and I am going to keep trying. I have a 5K on Monday so we will so how that goes. My only goal for that race is to cross the finish line.

I know you must be getting so annoyed by my constant plea for votes, but we are closing on on the end date and I am FALLING FAST! Please help me climb back up and stay in the top 25. You can vote more than once (once every 24 hours!) So please, click the link and give Chubby Chick Run Too a thumbs up!

**click here**I KNOW IT IS PATHETIC OF ME TO BEG, BUT PLEASE CLICK THIS LINK AND VOTE FOR ME!! THANK YOU!!**click here**

ALSO,

There is still time to enter the Super-fabulous Saucony Giveaway.

You can double up your chances to win a pair of Saucony shoes. You can go HERE for a chance to win a free pair of Saucony Minimalist shoes.

3 Things Thursday

2011-05-26T12:23:00.000-05:00

1. Day #4 of South ~~Bitch~~ Beach Diet seems to be going well. I am not sure if it is my imagination or if I feel a bit "peppier" today. I actually feel like I could run whereas yesterday and the day before I felt like I could not get up to go to walk across the room.

Thanks for all of the great comments and ideas about your experiences on this plan. I am absolutely taking notes! This weekend is going to be a bit challenging and I will really have to plan. The hurdles I am facing are:

A movie-at least I won't be temped by the popcorn because of the tooth incident.
A wedding-I will be too busy working, but it will be hard to resist cake
A Grad Party-Again with the damn cake
Another Party- We are stumbling distance from home and no alcohol!
Post race treats-I always get a fun treat after a race and I will have to think of something fun. A Ricotta creme something ain't gonna cut it.

The 6lbs lost is a huge boost to the self esteem and will more than likely stay motivated because of this.

2. I forgot how much work puppies are! Man, do I love my little fuzz mutt but they are just as bad as toddlers. She is actually a really good puppy. She sleeps through the night and knows to go to the door to be let out, but she still has an occasional accident. I can't step out of the room without her nose up my ass....she has to be with us constantly. I seriously turn my head for a moment and she is into something. Chubby Hubby is home with her all day right now so she is not alone during the day.

The kids are loving her and are actually excited to help take care of her (Any bets when they will lose interest? That is why I am taking full advantage of their willingness to scope up dog poop). I wasn't completely sure that we were ready for a dog but I see how this little 5lb creature puts a smile on all of our faces and I know this is exactly what we needed.

3. I bought this the other day:

It is the Pro-Tec Athletic Roller. I bought it because of my cramping calves. It seems to be helping but I am not completely in love with this apparatus. The foam pieces move slide around while you are rolling. It was cheaper than the "The Stick" but I am almost wishing I spend the extra. Anyone have this model? What are your thoughts?

Okay, I am throwing out more pleas for votes. Please hit Chubby Chicks Run Too with a thumbs up! HERE

Also, There is still a lot of time to enter the Super-Fabulous Saucony Giveaway. You can enter HERE. I do not do giveaways often, but these are for the most essential running staple (at least for me as I am not a barefoot runner) SHOES!

Welcome to South Beach!!!!

2011-05-25T12:20:00.000-05:00

Oh how I wish I was at this beach right now!

(this photo is a text from my parents who are vacationing and making me very jealous of the sun)

The South Beach I am referring to is of course the South Beach Diet.

Chubby Hubby and I have both reached epic proportions and have hit rock bottom in regard to our weight being the highest it has ever been. I can say that the past year has been quite stressful and our bodies took a hit. Now that life is calming down (a little) we are faced with chubbier versions of our already chubby selves. We came to an agreement that now was the time to stop fooling around and do something about our weight because it affecting more than just the ability to button our jeans. Our health is in jeopardy. He has sleep apnea and is snoring excessively WITH the CPAP mask. My extra junk in the trunk is wreaking havoc on my ability to run and making me breath heavy walking up a flight of stairs. I purchased the South Beach Diet book several years ago, skimmed through it, and then let it collect dust. I pulled this book out and thought this would be the perfect way for us to jump start our weight loss and clean up our diet or at the very least put a fire in our belly to start.

The jump start is working. If my scale was correct this morning, I have lost 6lbs in two days (I know it is all water). We are half way through day 3 of phase 1 and I am not in a whole lot of pain. I have found it easy to follow when I am prepared and I am not hungry throughout the day. Oh....but I miss my carbs! The bakery case at Starbucks has my nose imprints on it because I was drooling over the breakfast pastries. Monday, we took a long walk for lunch and I said no to these:

These are some of the best cupcakes in the whole wide world and I said NO!!!!!

My goal with South Beach Diet is to break my addiction to sugar and eat cleaner most of the time. I don't know that I will be able to 100% embrace the South Beach lifestyle for life, but I do want to adopt a lot of the program. I have found that it is very similar Core program that Weight Watchers had several years ago. The Core Program is how I lost all my weight in 2006. I thrived on it but never regained my Mojo to go back to eating cleaner after Baby Diva was born.

I have only noticed a few negative side effects but I am sure that they will pass. I am tired!!!! I mean dragging ass tired! I ran on Monday and had a few issues but yesterday all I could do was bike for 20 minutes. If I were to self diagnose, I would think that it because my diet has changed 180 degrees literally overnight (duh). I am a little moody (okay maybe more than "a little" considering my morning greeting to Chubby Hubby was a middle finger). Perhaps if I read the book, they would go over these side effects.....but true to Carly form, I jumped right in.

One non-side effect issue is breakfast meals are harder for me to deal with. I have been having some sort of egg and I am at the point where I am gagging trying to get them down the hatch. This could be trouble because we are only on day three. The only other negative is there is NO ALCOHOL in phase 1! You may as well cut off my air supply. Kidding!!! Oh well, I was going to ~~sober up~~ cut back on alcohol during marathon training anyway. I am looking at it as a pre-training detox. I am chipper now, but we will see how I am in a few days.

Who has tried the South Beach Diet? Care to share an experience?

Wanna win a pair of Saucony shoes? Enter my Super-fabulous Saucony giveaway HERE.

Also, I am on my hands and knees begging for votes on Circle of Moms Top 25 Health and Fitness Blogs. (competitive much?) Please vote! HERE

Super-fabulous Saucony Giveaway

2011-05-24T07:01:00.001-05:00

Next Monday, my 18 week journey to the Twin Cities Marathon begins. To start my training out on the right foot, I replaced my shoes. There is nothing like a new pair of shoes to put a spring in your step and now you have an opportunity to get new ones too. The very nice people at Online Shoes have made it possible to celebrate the kick off of my marathon training by sponsoring a giveaway. Once lucky winner will win a new pair of Saucony shoes (up to $100).

Why you should sign up for this Super-fabulous Saucony Giveaway:

Saucony has been my partner in running for over a decade. I LOVE them!
Running shoes are expensive and who would not want a free pair of shoes?
Because I just got new shoes myself, someone else should get a new pair too.
Even if Saucony is not your choice in running shoes, they have several kick around shoes as well.
Why do you need a reason?
"Just Do It" (can I quote a competitor?)

As I mentioned, Saucony has been my running partner for over ten years. I got my first pair to train for my very first marathon. These shoes were made for me! They are a solid, quality shoe that has never failed me. If I was Cinderella, the Saucony Progrid Hurricane 12 model would be my glass slippers:

(I also love these because they make my size 10.5 feet look smaller)

Without further ado, this is is how you enter the Super-fabulous Saucony Giveaway:
Required:
Be a follower of my blog. If you are not already a follower, please join the insanity!! Either way, let me know in the comments.
AND
Visit Onlineshoes.com HERE and comeback here to comment which pair catches your eye or why you would want to win.

Extra Opportunities for Entries:

"Like" OnlineShoes.com on Facebook HERE, come back and leave a comment.
Follow OnlineShoes.com on Twitter HERE, come back and leave a comment.
"Like" Chubby Chicks Run Too..on Facebook HERE, come back and leave a comment.
Follow Chubby Chicks Run Too on Twitter HERE, come back and leave a comment.
Post about this giveaway on your blog, Facebook or Twitter (be sure to include @fatrunnergirl AND @OnlineShoes_com in your Tweet), come back and leave a comment.

I have to make it somewhat challenging to win,right?

Deadline for entry is 11:59PM 6/5/11! Winner will be picked by random generator on 6/6/11.

PS....There is still a little over a week to vote for the Top 25 Fitness Blogs at Circle of Moms. Please vote for Chubby Chicks Run Too by clicking the pink circle and giving me a thumbs up! Nine more days of begging and then I promise to quit spamming all of you. Thank you!!!!!!!

Weekend Life Lessons

2011-05-22T12:22:00.001-05:00

Life is way too damned short to host a garage sale.
You can learn a lot about your friends when the bring stuff to sell in your garage sale. I am wondering why my friend had a hand bag with a real stiletto heel? Funny thing is IT SOLD.

Giving to charity makes me feel really good....especially when they take drop offs onSaturday.
Watching all of your skinny clothes go to charity is a really really good way to find your Mojo
If your table umbrella is stuck, do NOT pull as hard as you can from the inside. Chances are it will break hit, give you a goose egg on the noggin, and your so called BFF will laugh her ass off.
Evidently the thing to do when there is rapture on the horizon is to go to Target. Evidently Target is a lot of people's "happy place".
Justin Timberlake is the best SNL host EVER!

It is impossible to be productive when there is a sweet sleeping puppy on your chest.
A puppy might be better than antidepressants to pull one out of a funk.

Mother Nature hates Minnesota. We just can't win with this weather and I am struggling to get my run into today.

Thank you for those who keep voting for Chubby Chicks Run Too in the Circle of Moms Top 25 Fitness Blogs. The others (which are also awesome blogs) are starting to kick my ass. Please give Chubby Chicks Run Too a thumbs up by clicking the link below. I am falling and would like to stay in the top 25. PLEASE....(As I mentioned, I am not too proud to beg!) Can you help me get over 600 today (I like to shoot high)?

GUESS WHAT????

2011-05-19T05:30:00.001-05:00

Remember her?

Well, we have a new addition to our family. Meet Mischa. She is a 10 week old Morkie (although I do not think she looks like one, but we will see in a few months). We chose the name Mischa because she is TINY and kind of reminds us of a mouse and in Serbian the word for mouse is pronouced "Meesh". Our whole family voted, it seemed to fit, and eventually it stuck.

I certainly was not expecting to get a dog last night. My parents drove to Minneapolis to watch the boys' baseball game. The met us at the field and when I greeted my mother, I didn't notice the little fur ball in her oversized purse. Surprise!!!! I of course freaked out. I was pretty damned excited. The kids went nuts! My friend who had the dog lives near my parents and she called them to see if they would be bring her to us because she needed a home with kids. How sweet is that????

She is a sweet dog and a great cuddler (although she did have a couple of Kujo moments but I showed her who was the queen of this castle). I am happy to have a dog again! With that said, I forgot how crazy puppies are! Wish us luck!

Wow....and her I had a whole post in my head about running shoes. I will save that for another day.

On a side note, I would like to thank you for voting and catering to my competitive side. If you feel like voting some more, just click the pink link in the side bar and give Chubby Chicks Run Too a thumbs up!

Wild Wednesday Thoughts

2011-05-18T10:25:00.000-05:00

It might be a Wild Wednesday because I am a bit hopped up on caffeine. Thank you to Starbucks for a free triple grande, non-fat, latte.
Yesterday was my anniversary. Chubby Hubby and I have been married for 14 years. He often says that I am worse than most guys because I am the one who forgot (oops).
We spent our anniversary watching The Biggest Loser and texting each other (while we were in the same room). We have mastered non-verbal communication. Now that is what I call love!
We are getting ready to put on our annual garage sale and I have decided to get rid of all of my “skinny” clothes *sniff*. The sad thing is they were hardly worn because I wasn’t skinny for long.
My mojo is UBER-fired up now to shed some weight….see above.
I did keep the famous bridesmaid dress. If you missed that story, you can read about it HERE.
I have started up the 30 Shred again. I am doing it every other day before work (4:30 AM!). Jillian works for me and I love the 20 minute workout.
Running is still giving me some trouble. I did a 4 mile run/walk. The good news is that I ran longer stretches of time and took shorter walk breaks. The bad news is my calves are still experiencing some HORRIBLE cramping.
To try solving the cramping problem, I am going to buy new shoes tonight, up my water intake, and add additional stretching time. Any other suggestions?
I just realized marathon training is officially starting in a week and a half! GULP!
And finally….because I am not too proud to beg (or spam the crap outta people)….Please click the link below and vote for Chubby Chicks Run Too on Circle of Moms. I would love to secure a spot on the top 25 list of Health and Fitness Blogs. My competitiveness is really starting to come out, but there are a lot of awesome bloggers that are also nominated. Speaking of being competitive….did you know you can place your vote once every 24 hours until 5PM on 6/1/11? Thank you for your support!

She Almost Was Mine

2011-05-17T08:21:00.000-05:00

Last night my girlfriend posted a cryptic message on Facebook and I immediately called her to see what was up. There was some hullabaloo that left this sweet little puppy needing a loving home. As I was listening to what happened, I was madly texting Chubby Hubby begging him to consider letting us adopt her. His normal response to my doggie requests is "Go to Hell!". Rather, he just ignored my text messages altogether. Since he was ignoring me, I pulled out the heavy artillery and showed the kids the photo. They went apeshit and it was now 4 against one. When he got home, we got to him and he caved. I was shocked that he said yes!!!! (While he didn't exactly say yes, his agreement was in the form of a heavy sigh, stating that he would NOT let the dog out at 2AM, and that I needed to make him a drink ASAP. That was a yes in my book!!!).

I made the call to my friend to announce that I would be happy to adopt this little fuzz ball. Then she broke the bad news to me....she said that her family could not let her go. They had grown too attached to her over the past week. ~~Then I hung up on her and told her to stick it.~~ I hung up a little disappointed because I got everyone excited about potentially have a new puppy. Boo. If I were in the same situation, I would have done the same thing. I guess it was not meant to be. My gut tells me that we will not be dogless for long. Afterall, I do need a walking companion to keep me moving. *evil grin*

Thank you to everyone that is voting for Chubby Chicks Run Too on the Circle of Moms list for the top 25 Health and Fitness Blogs. I would love it if you would keep giving this blog a thumbs up by finding me HERE.

Hot Stuff

2011-05-13T12:50:00.000-05:00

Blogger's glitch lost my very informative and witty post that I wrote yesterday. Okay, truthfully it was nothing more than a rambling about the crazy weather and how it was almost 90 degrees one day and how I am back to fleece the next....ugh....blah blah blah. I won't bore you with the details. Mother Nature does not make it easy to be a runner in Minnesota! On to the good stuff.....

Hot Yoga
Yesterday I purchased an unlimited 30 day pass for hot yoga through Groupon. I keep hearing people rave about hot yoga and I have been wanting to try it for a long time. I have been hesitant to do so because of the cost (I already have 2 gym memberships and lots of race fees) and the potential gag factor. Thanks to Groupon I get to try this for $35. Even with the good deal it took me a long time to purchase these sessions. You see, watching other people sweat and smelling other people sweat make me gag.

For those of you that have done hot yoga, what can I expect? What should I bring? Hand sanitizer? Air Freshener? A barf bag? The studio boasts that it has "antimicrobial" cork floors rather than carpet (WTF) and fresh air circulating the room. I need to know the gross factor before stepping foot inside the studio. I do know there is strength in numbers and that is why I am dragging my BFF with me. It is always great to try something at least once, right? At the very least, there is bound to be a good story with me, a 105 degree room, and tight yoga pants. I just hope it doesn't involve a hairy sweaty dude (or chick) dripping sweat anywhere near me.

Circle of Moms
I am pretty excited that I have been nominated for to be on the Circle of Moms list of Top Health and Fitness Blogs. Whoever gave the shout out....Thank you!!! There a lot of great bloggers listed and many that I read regularly (and a lot of new ones to read). Voting is now taking place to determine their list of the top 25. If you are interested in voting, please click the button below and give Chubby Chicks Run Too a thumbs up (or vote for one of the other awesome bloggers). Even if I do not make the list, I am honored to be nominated.

PS.....You can vote once every 24 hours.

Happy Friday the 13th!!!! Have a great weekend.

Will Run for Helmets

2011-05-04T05:30:00.000-05:00

I think I found just the thing to pull me out of my funk. I signed up for the Warrior Dash. It has the Holy Grail of swag; a t-shirt, a medal, and a fuzzy black helmet! A Helmet!

Since my goal is to complete a race a month, I though this race would be a perfect way to shake things up. I guess nothing shakes things up like a 3 mile obstacle course that contains walls, mud, and FLAMES. Is anyone taking injury bets yet? If not, this would be a good thing to bet on since I am rather clumsy. Our friends just completed the Arizona race and said it was an absolute blast. With that kind of endorsement, my July race was planned. The best part....CHUBBY HUBBY signed up too! First snow in May and now he is doing a race with me. Hell really is freezing over!

This lack of Spring weather and the gray skies have set my mood dial to perma-bitch. Although my running is coming along, it is not where I need it or want it to be. I have a half marathon coming up!!! Ack! I even considered not doing the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon in June. After all, I am behind on training.

When I mentioned that I was thinking about dropping out to my friends, they stepped in with their own encouraging opinions such as:

There is plenty of time to train (lie)
That I am too stubborn to back out (true)
That I am way too cheap to lose out on this entry fee (BINGO!)

I am going to suck it up and do what I can. Plus, if I drop out of this race, it will just be a downward spiral for Twin Cities Marathon. I know I will not be breaking records but I won't be sitting on my couch eating entire chocolate bunnies out of my kids' Easter baskets (not that I would ever do such a thing). Running slow is a better option than not doing it at all. With the help of Jillian Michaels and Hal Higdon, I should be able to accomplish this mission.

Get in Gear 5K

2011-04-30T13:40:00.000-05:00

This morning I ran the Get in Gear 5K with two of my friends from work. Just like last year, it rained and rained. I ran this race back in 2008 and it was snowing! I think bad weather is just a requirement of this event. One of the race announcers yelled "Suck it up! You people are from Minnesota, you are tougher than this weather". True. He had a point. But I will say it was tough getting out of bed to be excited about running in this stuff!

I was very glad that I switched from the 10K to the 5K. Not only to cut time off of being on the course but because I am behind in running. My only goal for this race was to give it my all. I started the race off pretty slow because of the crowds. It was hard to pass because there were so many people. It was probably a good thing for me so I didn't poop out too soon. When the crowds spread out a bit, I found my groove and ran pretty strong up and I almost made it 2 full miles. At that point, my legs cramped up and I had this weird heartburn feeling. I slowed down and then ended up walking for about 3 blocks. At the 2 mile marker, I started running and I picked up the pace. I know I was running faster than the first 2 miles. I kept going and when I saw the finish line, my inner Flo Jo took over and I was somehow able to sprint it in. I crossed the finish line and felt like I was going to throw up. That is how I know I gave it my all and I have no regrets. I felt like I did a good job.

I chose not to wear my Garmin or any other timing tool. I just wanted to run and have good time. I know I am slow right now and I don't need a reminder. When I crossed the finish line, I missed the clock so I had no clue how I did. Thankfully the race results were posted shortly after I got home. The results:

Chip Time: 38:13

12:18 per mile

1344 out of 1861

842 out of 1253 Females

322 out of 450 Females in age group

Overall, I am very happy with my results. This race is now my fourth race of the year. I am four for four and right on track with my race a month goal.

Michele and Kathy looking happy even though they are soggy!

We are done! Soaking wet and cold but happy with our results.

The Swag. A tee shirt and a nice reusable bag.

A Great Day and a Great Run

2011-04-27T19:47:00.000-05:00

It is just another day in paradise here. It was cold, rainy, gray, and ....wait for it....snow. More fracking snow....at the end of April!!! The weather set the stage for a funky mood right away this morning and I was sure my day was going to go down the toilet. I was wrong. It ended up being kind of a great day.

I started my day off with a super duper high maintenance coffee order from Starbucks. I am normally a tall black coffee girl but today I was the pain in the ass that ordered a total diva coffee....a nonfat, triple grande, half pump of vanilla flavor, latte. It was TASTY and worth the 215 calories! I can say it certainly fired up my heart before 7AM this morning.

I received an appreciation award from work. It is basically the equivalent to "Employee of the Month" without the rock star parking. Today, my big boss handed me a certificate and a gift card. Even though it is minor thing, it is always nice to get a little pat on the back and know that you are appreciated. When I hung my certificate, I noticed "appreciation for ?". Ha!! They know me too well!

The day continued to get better because I had lunch with my favorite girls, two major problems I have been working on were solved today, and we head back to Starbucks for a late afternoon caffeine boost and a little treat......HEAVEN! These are tiny treats that about about 3 bites. It is the perfect size to satisfy a sweet tooth. I had the mini chocolate peanut butter cupcake.

Then best part of my day happened.....drum roll please......

I RAN 3 MILES!!!! I ran three whole miles without stopping. I have not done this since LAST AUGUST!

It was slow, but I did it. This is a huge milestone for me. I have been struggling for months to break through the 1-2 mile barrier. I finally did it! I think it was all the extra caffeine that helped! I hope I can repeat this tomorrow and for Saturday's 5K.

Easter Recap, Family Food Traditions

2011-04-25T14:42:00.000-05:00

This year American Easter and Serbian Orthodox Easter fell on the same day which does not happen every year. The Easter Bunny usually gets to visit our house twice. We had a small celebration at my parents home and I can sum up the weekend with one word....FOOD. Traditionally for Serbian Easter we have Lamb, Sarma (cabbage rolls), a big tossed salad, and some crusty bread. My brother and I wanted to get a but cultured and we begged our mom to teach us how to make Sarma.

Step one: Make a drink. You cannot prepare Serbian food without a cocktail. Done!

Step two, dig out the largest bowl and pot you can find (I think my kids' toddler swimming pool is smaller)

Step three: Prepare the meat. This bowl contains 7lbs of meat. Yes, in our house 7lbs of meat is completely appropriate for 8 adults. The meat mixture is 3lbs of ground beef, 3lbs of ground pork, and 1lb of ground ham.

Step four: Add eggs. Season. Mix by hand. Ewwww. I made my brother do this part because I really do not enjoy touching raw meat.

Step Five: Not pictured add cooked rice and mush some more....also my brother's job.

Step Six: Prepare the sour head cabbage by separating the leaves. These leaves are what we will hold the meat. I really can't tell if my brother is smelling the sour heads or if he is simulating a self-motorboat. Knowing him, my guess is the later.

Step seven: Roll the meat mixture into small footballs. Then roll with the sour head leaves. There is a very specific way to do this and I think my mom was getting annoyed that I didn't do it right. After about 2 of the rolls I lost interest and left the rest for my brother.

Step eight: Layer rolls in big toddler sized swimming pool pot and add smoked meat. My mom had kielbasa and ham hocks (*shudder*). I got the "Ugh...Carly, it is Easter. Don't talk like that!" when I told her what the ham hock looked like.

Step nine: I can't remember what step nine was but I believe it was on the stove at this point. Like I said, the ~~alcohol~~ ADD kicked in and I was done. The rest was up to them. Once they were done, they popped them in the fridge and they were set to go for Easter Sunday. I think it may be awhile before my mom teaches us anything else in the kitchen. ha!

Easter Morning, the children woke up around 5AM to hunt for their Easter Baskets. They found them right away and had a sugar high by 5:20AM. Since I was barely awake, I didn't care that they were eating jelly beans by the fist full. A bit later, we were all dressed and ready for church. The photo below was the only quasi-nice one I could get of them dressed up.

After church we feasted...maybe a little too much. My pants were a bit tighter when dinner was over. I have to say our Sarma turned out great!(I am taking my fair share of the credit because I am in the photos, ha!). With full bellies, we headed back to Minneapolis. Some of us came crashed

Hope everyone had a great weekend and a Happy Easter (if you celebrate). What are some of your family food traditions?

Note: I did do a small run while I was visiting my parents. I may have canceled out the wine I drank.

I'm Dreaming of a White Easter

2011-04-20T12:48:00.000-05:00

I will not bitch about snow on April 20th but I would like to point out to our weather man that this is way more than "flurries". Hmmmmmfp.....(and it is still coming down). I am seriously dreaming of moving to a state where Winter does not eat up 7 months out of the year! On the bright side, it will make hiding our Easter eggs fun.

On a side note a 2 mile run + a 60 minute Boot Camp class = one sore chubby chick!

Tuesday's Bulleted Random Thoughts

2011-04-19T12:28:00.000-05:00

The weather forecast indicates MORE SNOW today. April 19th. I am overjoyed.
This forecast has put everyone in a really chipper good mood today.
I have been tracking my food on myfitnesspal.com for over 2 straight weeks.
I have lost 7lbs. Yay me.
I guess this tracking stuff really does work.
I hate that the only sound I can hear in my office for 8+ hours out of the day is the air flowing through the vents and the sound of my typing.
Boot Camp is tonight. I am looking forward to it. Why? I am not sure.
It is not a good idea to eat ice cream before a run even if it is your favorite flavor.
Please God, do not let the boys' personal story they need to tell for play auditions be about farting or pooping.
My new running play list rocks....I don't care what people say, Rebecca Black's "Friday" is a great tune to take on a run.
I miss reading blogs and I think things are settling down to get caught up.
I am really glad that Chubby Hubby's softball schedule caused me to dump my Pilates class.***

***Last night was my last night of Pilates with my current instructor. This time last year I quit her class. There were several reasons why I quit the class this time. Her rates went up, she treated her class like a personal therapy session (I don’t pay to hear her drama), and her routine never ever changed. On top of that, she never once walked around the class to ensure we were all doing the moves properly.

Chubby Hubby spared me the uncomfortable conversation when he informed me that his softball league plays on Monday nights. I simply told her that the schedule no longer worked. I am a huge believer in signs and my pilates band broke during our routine last night. That was enough to tell me I was making the right decision. I have no plans to give up my core workouts. I need them but I do not have to go to this class. I have Pilates at my gym.....for free.

Weekend-Wrap Up

2011-04-17T19:59:00.001-05:00

I am winding down this crazy weekend with a glass of wine and a chocolate cupcake. Should I admit that this is my dinner? I am trying not to be in a foul mood because of Mother Nature's cruel joke of dumping snow on us in the middle of April. The rest of my family is in a similar mood. The kids are planted in front of the TV and Chubby Hubby is in some other corner of this house. As I type I am wrapped in a blanket,wearing my fuzzy Uggs. I am sick of being COLD! I will quit bitching because I guess I would rather take this crap over the tornado shenanigans Mother Nature pulled down South.

My weekend started with a trip to the dentist. I sat in the chair shaking....I am kind of a wuss. The dental assistant took a look at my fractured tooth and did the Joey Lawrence "Whoa". That settled my nerves. The the sub dentist came in to took a look and said that I did a nice job with the break. I told him about the popcorn and he laughed while told me that his other business was selling popcorn because it keeps his dental business hopping (FYI, popcorn is responsible for lots and lots of broken teeth). He patched me up until my regular dentist could see me on Wednesday and sent me on my way. I will need a crown. The dentist said it was a multi-step process and expensive. Grrrreat.

Chillin in the dentist chair...you can't see my white knuckles

Friday and Saturday was dance mania! Diva had her very first dance recital. It is no secret that I really was not into the whole "dance culture". I was the mom rolling her eyes in the corner when the little girls would flounce by saying "I'm a princess!!". I just about broke into hives when I walked into the backstage area and saw a sea of pink, purple, sequins, and glitter. I am in no way shape or form a "girly girl". The apple doesn't fall far from the tree either. I had to tell Diva that there would be no sliding across the floor on her knees and to refrain from telling people she farted.

Diva surprised us all as she fearlessly danced stage and looked as cute as a bugs ear! She danced and she did awesome. My BFF and I were taking monetary bets if our daughters would be the ones running from the stages screaming. Neither one of them did and I am very proud. The recital was really low key and laid back. The musical numbers went quick and they were entertaining. Kudos to the dance instructor for knowing how to put on a good show and how to deal with sooooo many little girls. I think she will be doing this again next year and I have a feeling that we may get sucked into be dance moms (Bwah! That thought makes me laugh!)

Diva and her BFF

This is why you do not tell 3 year old girls to smile

She cleans up well if I do say so myself

Today we celebrated Easter with my inlaws. Chubby hubby made the "salad: in the picture below. His mom wanted us to specifically bring this dish. I was poking fun at him all morning as he was putting this together.

This "salad" contains:

Pretzels
Butter
Sugar
Cool-Whip
Pineapple
Cream Cheese

It is really healthy!!! Ha! I have named this recipe "White Trash". I do have to say, do not knock it until you try it....I finally gave in and had a bite. It was was delicious. I may run it through the recipe converter on my tracking website just to see how many calories is in this dish. I could get used to eating "salads" like this.

I used the weather and my busy weekend as an excuse not to run. The wind, snow/rain/, and gloomy skies did nothing to help motivate me and going to the gym didn't fit in my schedule this weekend...so I skipped it. I am not off the hook, I have my plan in place for the week ahead and it is going to be kind of brutal. In the meantime, I going to enjoy another glass of wine and watch some AbFab! I love that show and was informed that there was a marathon today!

You Got a Purdy Mouth!

2011-04-14T09:54:00.001-05:00

Last night after the kiddos were all nestled in bed, Chubby Hubby and I also settled in for our Wednesday night ritual. Modern Family. He popped some of his famous undisclosed amount of butter popcorn for us to have while we camped out in front of the television. We were not going to have any, but the mood hit us. Before I could protest, Chubby Hubby was in the kitchen pulling out his beloved popcorn pot.

I hold his popcorn responsible for part of my weight gain (always his fault) because it is so awesome. It not the healthy air-popped stuff, it is the real deal made on the stove with real oil and real butter. We got into a bad habit of having it every night. We were like crack addicts looking for a fix when 8pm rolled around. Finally, we had a come to Jesus talk about breaking our addiction to this treat because the needle on the scale was going the wrong direction. We acknowledged we had a problem and we have slowly been weaning ourselves. We gave in last night and dove into our washing machine sized bowls.

I made a deal with myself that I was only going to have a couple of handfuls. After my first four handfuls, I promised myself I would not eat more than a third of the bowl. Okay, half of the bowl. I finally settled on leaving a few kernels (the unpopped ones). Just as I was getting to the final fist fulls..... that is when it happened....Divine intervention. I dropped the popcorn immediately and ran for the bathroom.

I thought I had a hull stuck in my tooth or gum, but some thing felt really wrong. I was hoping and praying that a little floss would take care of the problem. I looked in the mirror and my eyes widened with horror.... I realized that half my tooth was GONE!!!!!!! The worst part about it is that as I was inhaling the popcorn, I must have SWALLOWED my darn tooth (I am not going to look for it...eeew).

I started FREAKING OUT! Chubby Hubby sprinted to my side to see what happened and his eyes got really big. Then my wonderful, supportive husband (sarcasm) started on about root canals, bridges, drills, and fake teeth. I don't remember much after that except a string of expletive words that I mumble on my way to bed.

This is quite traumatic for me. I am quite OCD about my teeth. I have had braces twice as an adult just because one tooth was "not quite right". I brush and floss and I am very proud of my minimal cavity record (only a couple very minor ones). My discussions about drugs with my children involve showing them photos of meth mouth. I mourned when I found out that my oldest needs to visit an orthodontist because his teeth will require quite a bit of work and I found out he is missing one of the permanent adult teeth (Genetic...but not from my gene pool!). Anyway, I think you get the point that I like my teeth and I am not taking this real well.

I called the dentist last night and left a frantic message. I promptly started calling their office at 7:30 (they open at 8AM). I finally got someone on the phone and told them who I was and why I was calling. The woman on the phone started laughing and stated that she received my ~~insane~~ message ~~that~~ ~~my have included hillbilly as description of the problem~~. She then went on to tell me that my dentist was ON VACATION!!!!!! She could tell I was about to hyperventilate and immediately referred me to another dentist. We will see what happens today. Wish me luck and wish me sedatives as I HATE going to the dentist!

I am a huge believer in signs and this sign was loud and clear that I should never eat that popcorn again. Message heard. I also like to find silver lining in stories and this story has one as well...Since eating is a bit challenging now, perhaps I will lose some additional pounds.

Weekend Wrap-Up-Progress

2011-04-10T11:40:00.000-05:00

This morning I ran 2 miles without stopping. This is a huge step for me as I have not been able to accomplish this since last August. I have run several races in past 8 months, however, I somehow manged to finish them despite the fact that I could not run for one continuous mile. I am happy that I was finally able to break through the wall and it feels GREAT. It was not easy and I was very slow. So slow that I think I could have walked faster with one leg. Meh, whatever at least I did it.

The problems I was faced with my last few runs seem to be going away. I have been dealing with my calf cramping with a lot of stretching and drinking a lot more water. Staying hydrated seems to help things. The wheezing has been brought on by good old seasonal allergies. I have combated this problem with allergy drugs that require identification, signature, and a pharmacist questioning my meth making abilities.

Long story short, I happy about the progress.

This past week has been a crazy and not worth recapping. However, I do believe I can offically say Spring is here because Summer Shandy is back in stores! I went to buy beer after a run this past week in running tights and a sweaty t-shirt. Classy.

Cheers to Spring!
We are hitting the 70's here in MN today ( I will pretend I didn't see the snow forecast this week)

My Run and MY run

2011-04-01T16:29:00.000-05:00

I will start with MY run.
This list is I would describe my run (walk) that I did yesterday:

Hard breathing
Wheezy lungs
Crampy calves
Heavy legs
Miserable
Tight shoulders
Painful

When does it get fun again? I really cannot wait until I can run a mile effortless and get up to a comfortable 3 miles. It seems obscene that later this summer, my "short" runs will be 8 and 9 miles. It was only my 2nd day running, I will keep at it until I like it. Fake it until you make it, right?

My Run, The Movie.
My Run is the documentary about Terry Hitchcock's 75 marathons in 75 days. My book for January was his book, titled "A Father's Odyssey: 75 Marathons in 75 Days". My review of the book was less than stellar. I thought the story contained a lot of holes and I was left with a lot of questions. Most of all, I could not make a connection on any level with this guy. I saw that it was coming out as a movie and figured there was no way in hell I would ever pay money to see it. I changed my mind. At the very last minute last night, I decided to go see what Hollywood could do for this story.

I got to the theater in Eden Prairie, bought my $12.50(!) ticket, and went to get a drink. Right in front of me was Terry Hitchcock himself. He was getting himself a big ol' bucket of popcorn and mingling with fans. It was cool that out of all of the theaters in the nation, I picked the one that the "star" was at. He seems to be a very nice man and appreciated all of the well wishes people were giving him. It took everything in my power not to go up to him and ask him all of the questions I that my inquiring mind wanted to know. I slapped on the filter (shocking), smiled, and simply said hello.

Like the book, I was not overly impressed with his story (I may be the only person in the world that feels this way). I was moved and got a bit emotional when he and his family spoke about his wife who lost her battle with Breast Cancer. Of course I am not going to pretend that running from Minnesota to Georgia is something to sneeze at.....it is INCREDIBLE. As far as The Run (as he calls it), there was no substance to his story. As a runner, I know there are aches and pains that come with running and I know the weather can be a bitch so I didn't feel I needed to be reminded. I was not inspired by his daily pain, weather, and interview recaps. I wanted to know more about what went on in his head. Running for 75 days must have produced some amazing sights and thoughts. I wanted to know more about his obstacles he overcame being a single parent and more about his relationship with his kids. His recap of The Run seemed a bit superficial and I could not figure out what was his true purpose on this journey. He was doing it to raise awareness for single parents and their children, but I didn't see that he raised money (I could be wrong, but I couldn't find any info on this matter). If raising money wasn't the purpose, I am not sure why he would take on such a journey with sponsorship. The movie also glossed over and even skipped some important pieces of his story that were included in the book.

I don't want to completely bash the movie. I was reminded by a friend that this day and age any sort of feel good story is a breath of fresh air. I may have some strong opinions and conspiracy theories but one cannot deny that this was an amazing journey. I think his heart was in the right place but things didn't pan out the way he wanted. I do know others enjoyed the movie. There was a girl sitting right next to me in the theater and I kept hearing "gasp", "awwwww", and "ohhhh". Either she was really into this movie or or she was enjoying a little "hitchcock" of her own if you catch my drift. The one thing I did take home from this movie was what he said at the end...."Get off your butt and do something". Good advice and now I can say I left the theater with a bit of inspiration.

Did you see this movie or read the book? What were your thoughts?

A Shakey Start

2011-03-30T19:20:00.000-05:00

Three months of 2011 have passed and I can count on one hand how many times I have ran. Three. Once in January, once in February, and once in March. Did I mention that all three times were during a race? I was hoping that I would be a lot further along with my running this year. A crazy winter and a bit of anxiety induced depression kicked my 2011 off at a snails pace.

Training kick off week is certainly kicking something....my ass. First there was boot camp (still traumatized). Then I went out for my first official training run and it was humbling to say the least. The schedule called for 3 miles today and I shaved it down to 2 miles. I was hoping by cutting the mileage, I would be able to have a better quality run. It was brutal. I cramped, I huffed and puffed, and I eventually broke down and walked. I certainly could feel those 10 extra pounds taunting me the whole time.

It is pure hell starting running again. I often imagine starting up running is like coming off of drug addiction. The difference is that you but your self through hell to get to enjoy running rather than liking it right away. Since I am serial running starter and stopper, I do know that the next two weeks are going to be HELL! So bear with me while I complain about ever single ache and pain of getting my running legs back. I am having a hard time believing that running can be enjoyable.

Boot Camp Round 2

2011-03-29T21:04:00.000-05:00

I am a glutton for punishment, I went back to Boot Camp. This week I found strength in numbers because two of my friends also came to class. It is nice to have people that I know around me when I start chanting curse words. Misery loves company!

The first half of the class was devoted to squats, lunges, planks, squat jumps, push ups....all the fun things. Not. The second half of the class was devoted to work on the track which I have to say I enjoyed (but do not let the trainers hear that!). We did running drills that I did in high school track and for a moment I got my competitve edge surfaced. When they said sprint, I ran as fast as my legs would take me. No times were recorded, but I was booking it. If I don't die from this class, I may start seeing the benefit with my running.

Dislikes:

Too many squat and lunges. I really am feeling it in my knees.
Because of the high stress on the knees, I wish they had more modifications. Unfortunately, the are equal opportunity ass kickers. Keep up or get yelled at.
The trainers do not anything but bark orders at you whilst sitting on their arses. I think if they are going to talk the talk, they need to walk the walk....just sayin'.
Having to do these ass whooping workouts in front of the whole club. I am sure I provide awesome entertainment for those that are watching while walking on the treadmill.
It is the longest hour of the whole week!

Likes:
*crickets*
I am sure I will like this class once my pants start getting baggy. ha!

I am sore now, I can only imagine what getting out of bed will be like tomorrow!

Weekend Wrap-up-Training Kick Off

2011-03-28T11:24:00.000-05:00

I do not have anything exciting to report for this wrap-up. I was a golf widow/ single parent this weekend. Chubby Hubby flew South to enjoy some warm weather and a lot of golf. It was a well deserved trip for him. With him gone, I headed North to see my family. It was fun to hang out and do nothing as well as having ~~other people entertain~~ ~~my spawn~~ something for the kids to do.

The relaxing ends today! Today is the official kick off of Runapalooza 2011. My goal is to run a race each month, but I have two big races this year that overshadow the rest. There are 12 weeks until the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon and 27 weeks until Twin Cities Marathon. I have settled on using another Hal Higdon training program because it has a great track record on getting me across the finish line. My only goal for each race is to run and enjoy them and not just survive the distance.

In order to succeed, I pledge the following:

I will following the training program
I will not skip a long run.
I will be flexible, yet, dedicated
I will cross train and do the strength and stretching
I will do speedwork and hills
I will do speedwork and hills
I will do speedwork and hills (I really hate hills)
I will get on a treadmill if I am forced inside.
I will not tie one on the night before a long run
I will not gain any more weight during training
I will remember that a long run is not a license to eat my weight in cheeseburgers and french fries
I will ~~try~~ not to complain about training. I signed up for this because I love running

Cross my heart to all of the statements above.

Kick OFF Week Workouts:
Monday-Pilates or Jillian DVD
Tuesday-Bootcamp
Wednesday-3 mile run
Thursday-3 mile run and Jillian DVD
Friday-Rest day (April 1st!!!!!!! Maybe Spring will get here this month)
Saturday-2 mile run and Jillian DVD
Sunday-Long run 4 miles

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I am a few days late posting this, but last Friday Delane from Euphoric Agony posted an inteview with yours truly. You can read it here. Thanks Delane for letting visit your blog!

A Confessions of a Stress Eater

2011-03-23T12:39:00.000-05:00

In previous posts I may have mentioned how my life was in limbo. We did not know if our kids could go to the same school next year, we had to wait to see if the lottery Gods would let Diva into our first choice of preschool (at the same school as her brothers to make like easy for us), and Chubby Hubby was set to be unemployed, oh and then there were a bunch of politics with the kids' little league. Thankfully my issues are not too major when I put them into perspective. I will say that the combination of it all was pretty stressful for a "what if" kind of person like me. A long dreary Winter on top of all of those unknowns made me a NUT JOB! I am not going to lie, the stress got the best of me and to the scale slapped me in the face....I have put on 10lbs since October. 10LBS!!!!!! %$#%U^%%^$^%;^!!!!!!!!!!!

But Carly, I thought you were doing Weight Watchers through work?

Oh yeah...Weight Watchers. Well, I did complete the series through work but I dumped it. I dumped it for two reasons. First, my head was not in the game. Call me crazy, but I didn't give a damn about how many points were in that ice cream that I consumed when I was feeling anxious. Second, the Weight Watchers at work was a little too close for comfort. I like to remain a bit anonymous at these meetings and one day the person weighing me in started calling people back by their first and last name. Not cool! I deal with a lot of people over the phone and I do not necessarily want them to know me from a Weight Watcher meeting. Plus, the crowd was not my type. They were down right hostile. I honestly thought a riot was going to break out when they announced their new program. Great program, great opportunity, wrong time. I believe I have hit "lifetime".....a Weight Watcher reject for life!

The dust is finally started to settle; the kids are back into their school, Diva gets to go to preschool, the boys are okay to play baseball this summer, and well, Chubby Hubby is now officially unemployed (which officially makes me a Sugar Mama). While I like him gainfully employed, things are not bad. In fact it is a nice break for him to regroup. We will be fine financially for a bit and I have someone to keep the house clean and have dinner ready when I get home.(Chubby Hubby, if you are reading this....GET OFF YOUR ASS AND SCRUB TOILETS! kidding).

I guess I am only putting this out there to say the storm has passed, life is good, and I am back on the wagon.

I Got Lucky

2011-03-20T11:23:00.000-05:00

Get Lucky 7K Race Report

Yesterday I ran the Team Ortho Get Lucky 7K. The short story is I finished with a PR (only because it was an instant PR as I have never run this race before). There really isn't too much of a long story but I will bullet my thoughts on the race:

It was FREEEZING at the start. I am really glad I made the decision not to check my sweatshirt and that I went back for my hat.
This was a WAY bigger race than I thought it was going to be. I found out via Facebook that several friends were running and there was not going to be a chance in hell of seeing them through the sea of people.
It took almost 10 minutes to cross the starting line.
I really wish I would have had a better running outfit that fit the theme of the race. There were a lot of cute costumes sporting the green theme. Next year!
The course was awesome. The route went through parts of Downtown, over the Stone Arch Bridge, through St. Anthony Main, and wound back into Downtown Minneaopolis. Again, I am always shocked at how hilly Minneapolis can be.
I ran hard for the first 2K which roughly translates to 1.242742384474668 (I love Google).
For the remainder of the race I did a walk/run combo. I mainly walked up the hills and ran on the flat and downhill terrain.
I had some major calf cramping at the 6K mark and told my friends to run on.
I walked out the pain, put on my headphones and finished the remainder of the last KM of the race running very strong.
Finishing time 54:36/ 12:34 per mile pace. A PR! Don't burst my bubble that it is an instant one.

Post race reward, a Matt's Bar Jucy Lucy!!! The photo just does not do it justice! A burger filled with molten cheese is a little bit of heaven! If you are ever in Minneapolis, this is a must on your to do list!

A Thought Timeline Through Bootcamp

2011-03-16T09:36:00.000-05:00

Last Friday, I got together with a few girl friends for a some drinks. My friend mentioned that she has been doing the Bootcamp at one of my gyms and she was raving about it. She told me is a was a great workout and a lot of fun. I told her I would give it a shot because she was so excited about this class. So, I did and these were my thoughts:

6:25-I am kind of nervous, why was the person at the front desk laughing when I said I was new?
6:29-Oh look 2 young girls as instructor, they won't be mean to me.
6:30- I have never used a medicine ball before. Bring it!
6:33-Interesting, did I miss the warm up?
6:35- Wow, I really think my arms are getting a killer workout. I am feeling the burn.
6:40- Yikes, the squats and lunges with this ball over my head are ~~effing killing me~~ quite challenging.
6:45-Push ups on the ball....really?
6:47-One arm push ups on the ball.....F#$@!
6:50-Oh goodie more effing squats
6:55-You want me to do WHAT?????? A bear crawl? *dry heaving*
6:58-Note to self....never commit to anything over a beer ever again.
7:00-Ahhhhh we get to sit down, on the bike.
7:01-Sonofa....my assssssss!
7:05-Bitch...you did NOT just increase my resistance and tell me to pedal faster.
7:11-I'd rather be waterboarded than to get off of a bike and go right into a 30 second wall squat.
7:11-This chick can't read a clock.....this seems WAY longer than 30 seconds.
7:12-Please legs do not give out because we have to run after this.
7:13-Don't puke. Don't puke. Don't puke.
7:15-Suicides? Crap. Only for 3 minutes? I think I can handle that.
7:18-Okay 3 minutes is a really really really long time.
7:19-Plank this. I will give YOU a plank! If my arms didn't hurt so bad, I would punch you.
7:20-Oh Little Ms. 20 Year Old sans C-section flap......I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!
7:25-I think I can, I think I can, I think....screw this I need water.
7:28-Sure, I would love to run stair repeats and I love it when you yell at me to move my ass.
7:30- I see a white light...Am I dead?

I can't believe she talked me into this.
I can't believe I survived.
I can't believe that I have made plans to go again next week!

Haaaaave You Met Mary?

2011-03-08T12:13:00.000-06:00

If you haven't met Mary from Fit This Girl, you should. Today she is my guest and she is sharing her story. Mary's blog was one of the first ones that I started following. I was impressed by her weight loss and excited that she is a local Minneapolis girl. Though, I have not officially met her in person, I do hope to take one of her Boot Camp Classes sometime soon!

Here's Mary.......

Working Hard Because We Are Worth It!

Hi everyone! It’s Mary from Fit this, Girl! I am thrilled to be able to talk to you about my story today! In High school I was athletic but I had a horrible diet! Sure I ran track and cross country and considered myself a runner, but I drank pop and at sweets like no body’s business. After high school, my lifestyle slowly got more and more sedentary and unhealthy! I didn’t run or work out, I didn’t eat well, drink water or take time for myself. I was a smoker and a heavy drinker to add insult to injury, but more than all of that I was hurting and unhappy.

When I started on my weight loss journey it was a hugely jarring experience! My lifestyle was SO over the top, that even changing my breakfasts was a hard row to hoe! “HOW many calories in that muffin?” But with any process, it takes a while to get going and get used to doing things a NEW way. Eventually I found my healthy food groove, I found my portion size groove and I rediscovered my running groove. It didn’t’ take very long after that and I started to see the pounds drop.

Fast forward to today, I am a personal trainer, boot camp and kettle bell instructor. People look at me and assume a few things: 1) I have always been fit and 2) that I work out all the time. First of all, jut because someone is always at the gym (because they work there!) they are not always working out. I teach three times a week and for a very long time that was ALL I was doing. For a while I was training for the Honolulu Marathon in addition, but for most of January, I was teaching only.

And, what we see is so deceiving—a fit person, a happy person, a thin person. We don’t know what their life is like behind closed doors. People are shocked to hear that I was a heavy drinker, heavy smoker and heavy period! But we can all stand to be examples at every stage of our journey.

As a trainer, I talk to a lot of gym members and clients about their goals.

It gets to the point where it’s not about being skinny, but healthy and strong. Hopefully it starts out that way to be a lasting journey and lasting change. Just the other day though I had a woman ask me if losing weight and getting fit was hard. The answer was yes and no. When I buckled down, when I put aside what my body wanted and I counted calories (WW points for me!), got to the gym and drank water—then yes, it was pretty easy. My weight came off about 1-2 lbs a week.

Then the other side of that is NO. It wasn’t easy at all—how can that be? I just said it was… the biggest obstacle that I faced was being consistent, being diligent and challenging myself. Was it HARD to do more than 3 pushups—YES! Was I tired? YES! Did it HURT my lungs, my side and my out of shape legs to run for more than 10 min ? YES! But did I find the motivation to push through, to challenge myself to that next level and be consistent in it? Yes I did, and YES that was extremely hard.

The feeling that I was consistent in my accomplishments was almost better than seeing those numbers come down. It was about what I could do, my strength, my level of fitness and the dedication that for me was the biggest part of my lifestyle change. It was not about the skinny jeans or the dress size, it was about my life and my health and whether or not doing something hard was worth it…in the end whether or not I was worth it.

And I AM and so are you—that’s why you are here reading!

Thanks for letting me share part of my story and stop by and visit me at www.fitthisgirl.com! Work hard, laugh loud and be well! Mary

Thanks for sharing your story Mary!

More Jillian

2011-03-07T12:27:00.000-06:00


http://www.amazon.com/Jillian-Michaels-Ripped-30/dp/B004CRR9IS

I was browsing my Facebook newsfeed last Tuesday and Ms. Jillian posted about her new DVD. Since I have a love-hate relationship with her I NEEDED this DVD stat. I set out and purchased right away. I came home and ripped it out of the case and completed the workout. All I am going to say is that this DVD is Shred on CRACK!
This workout is tough! There are 4 levels to complete and each level should take about a week (I think I may have to hang at level one for a bit longer). This DVD is in the same format as Shred with her 3-2-1 system (3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio,and 1 minute abs). The total running time of this work was about 24 minutes.....any longer and I think I would have been dead.

It took me a few days to ~~regain feeling in my arms~~ for the soreness to go away but I think this is going to be a great challenge for me. I was going to start the 30 day challenge today but I was struck down with a WICKED cold. I will stick with just Pilates tonight and if I feel better, I will start it up tomorrow. Has anyone else tried this workout? What do you think?

Friday Surprises

2011-03-04T13:23:00.000-06:00

I love Fridays and I especially love them when there are surprises that make me happy.
1. Diva got chosen for the lottery for preschool (sad that there has to be a lottery for preschool)
2. I just got off the phone with the Superintendent's office....the boys can stay at their current school!!!!
3. Diva's Preschool is in the SAME building as the boys' school! ONE STOP PICK UP!!!! You do not know how much I appreciate this!
4. More puking has earned me a half day out of the office today. Thankfully it is not me.
5. Finally, the best part of today..... I walked into my office to see this today:

You maybe wondering why I am so excited over doughnuts. Sarge's hubby was traveling to Portland for work and sent a link to some food porn aka VooDoo Donut. This site not only catered to the fat chick in me but also to my 12 year old maturity level. The box says "The magic is in the hole" and "Good things come in pink boxes". BWAH! They have some really unique types (and shapes) of doughnuts. One of my favorites was the Voo Doo Doll, it is filled with red jelly! Bite into it and it starts "bleeding". Sarge had fun with that one this morning. He had one custom made just for me (sorry if this offends anyone):

Yes, it is what it looks like, and it had "Carl" written on it (I have to admit I didn't know what it was right away). I was too big for me to eat myself (ACK!) so I ended up sharing it with a friend (hahaha!). Needless to say it provided me with endless jokes this morning and a massive sugar high.

You need to check out the names of some of these doughnuts, they are hysterical. I wonder if they ship to Minnesota?

Well, this week ended up being very crazy. I had lots of things I wanted to blog about but they will have to wait until next week. Hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend!

Weekend Wrap-Up-Hockey, Puking, and Winning the Lottery

2011-02-28T05:36:00.000-06:00

Friday night, Chubby Hubby and I scored some sweet Gopher Hockey Tickets from one of my coworkers. We had a blast and we had 3rd row seats. It was an amazing view; there is nothing like seeing the facial expression on someone getting checked into the boards. We go to games any chance we get.

To celebrate the Gopher's 5-2 win over Michigan Tech, we grabbed a burger at Buffalo Wild Wings. A couple of hours later, Cubby Hubby's joy went down the toilet....literally. He was sicker than a dog. He spent the majority of the weekend on the couch. I avoided him at all costs. I am desperately trying not to get this sickness. Although....he has lost a NOTICEABLE amount of weight and I am a wee bit jealous.

Speaking of hockey, this weekend, the boys had their last practice and last hockey game. I am not going to lie, I am SAD that the season is over. The boys had a blast and LOVED the sport. Back in October, neither one of them could skate. AT. ALL. Today my oldest son played on an select team mixed with advanced players. I don't sound like a proud hockey mom at all, do I? Well, this family is hooked on this crazy sport. The next 15 years ~~and our retirement money~~ will probably be spent in cold ice arenas.


I can always pick out my kid....he is the freakishly tall one with the bright red socks

We call him the bowling ball....he skates as fast as he can only to knock down several players in the process

Diva is getting ready for next year!


Chubby Hubby the trooper.....he didn't want to miss the last game of the season and he got roped into working the clock. He was so sick he had to leave after the first game...and he has been on the couch ever since.

Last night, I got some GREAT news....I am in for the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon!!!!!! I have registered so many times and this is only my second time having my name drawn. Wooo Hooo! I know it is crazy to get this excited over a half marathon but my life has been in limbo for several months and it is so great to have something go my way! I know that sounds a bit dramatic and I know it is but sometimes it is the little things that can make everything seem A.O.K. Training starts ASAP.

ABC's of Me

2011-02-27T09:23:00.000-06:00

(A) Age: 37 but I act like I am 12

(B) Bed Size: Queen

(C) Chore You Hate: Cleaning the Bathroom.....There are 3 boys in my house, need I say more? *gag*

(D) Dogs? Not right now, but I am wearing down Chubby Hubby. He will CAVE!

How can he say no to this face???

(E) Essential Start Your Day Item: Starbucks with my crew

(F) Favorite Color: Blue

(G) Gold or Silver? Silver

(H) Height: 5'8.5"

Tambura

(I) Instruments You Play: None right now, but I did play the clarinet in 7th grade (poorly) and the Tambura when I was younger (also poorly)

(J) Job Title: At work I am an A/R Accountant at home I am Queen.

(K) Kids: 3 of them.....2 boys and a girl

(L) Live: Minne-SNOW-dah

(M) Mom's Name: Janice

(N) Nicknames: Car, Carl, Car Car, CarDUCHEka (?) CP, Holmes, Duecie, Chuckie.....I have had several and I answer to all of them.

(O) Overnight Hospital Stays? Quite a few

(P) Pet Peeve: People who whistle their "s" when they speak, mouth breathers, loud eaters, know-it-alls, helicopter moms, the general public....hmmm, I guess I am chronically irritated.

(Q) Quote from a Movie: "Real tomato catsup, Eddie?" ---Vacation ,"Tommy want wingy"---Tommy Boy, "Merry Christmas, shitters full"---Christmas Vacation, "Nobody puts baby in the corner"----Dirty Dancing (RIP Patrick Swayze)

(R) Right or Left Handed? Right

(S) Siblings: One brother and my mom's dog that she refers to as my sister


My "sister"

(T) Time You Wake Up? Alarm is set for 4:30 It rarely happens that I am out of bed and moving before 5AM.

(U) Underwear: yup

(V) Vegetable You Dislike: I don't dislike any veggies.....I am just too lazy to eat them

(W) What Makes You Run Late: The children. I always blame the children and not Facebook or blogging.

(X) X-Rays You've Had Done: lots of them

(Y) Yummy Food You Make: I make a fabulous Italian Shredded Beef Sammy

(Z) Zoo, Favorite Animal: sea lions or the orangutans

Arizona and Other Miscellany

2011-02-24T21:37:00.000-06:00

The Lost Dutchman 10K Race Report
I will keep this short and sweet. Not too much to say except I came, I saw, I conquered.....well....I finished it. My official time was 1:19:12. That is roughly 12:44/mile. I completed this race doing a run walk combo. I did much better than I expected because the last time I ran was the Polar Dash.....January 1st.

The course was beautiful and it the back drop was the Superstition Mountains. It was an out and back route and I believe all of the races (excluding the full marathon) ended up on the same course. The course was a lot hillier than expected. Being from Minnesota, I was happy that we had cool (cold) running weather. It was rainy and very cold. It felt like a damp fall day. Certainly not weather I would have expected in sunny Arizona. But it was PERFECT for running.

My friend ran the half marathon and she passed me at the last mile of the race. It was quite funny when she did pass me because she yelled, HEY LADY, MOVE YOUR ASS to me and another woman looked at her and started bitching her out for being rude to slow runners. She was relieved and laughed when she found out we were good friends.

On side note....if you are looking for a kickass song to get you moving, put your college fight song on your playlist. It is impossible not to get a little spark when you hear it. It worked for me and I even got a few strange looks yelling "Rah Rah Rah for Ski U Mah" and then spelling MINNESOTA.

Post Race
I got nekkid with a really cute man and he made me moan. (Was that my mother I just heard gasp??!!). Actually, while the above statement is true it was nothing kinky...we treated ourselves to an hour message to work out some of the knots from running. It was amazing and truthfully, I need to do it more often. He concentrated on my calves, IT band, and shoulders....he asked if I ever stretch. I am guessing he thought they were pretty bad. I was sore for 2 days after the massage but I am feeling better. Do any of you get regular massages and do they help your running?

Dinner was next on our agenda and we both had a couple of martinis. Needless to say, it was a pretty early night! ha!

The Rest of the Time
My inlaws are snowbirds and have a little rental property in Sun City. It was perfect because they were only 7 miles from where I was staying. I got to see them a good portion of the weekend. They were trying to talk us into to moving there!!! Along with my family, they are the reason we are still in Minnesota. Ha! I definitely saw a new side to them and it was like they came alive. They were so sweet were my airport chauffeurs all weekend.

Other Stuff
I signed up for the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon again. It is kind of an obsession because I have such horrible luck getting into this race. I have gotten in ONE time.... ONCE! I have been throwing my name in the hat for several years. It is a very popular race. If I don't get in, whatever. I will volunteer again. Either way...it is tradition to be part of Grandma's weekend. I should find out early next week.

I am somehow functioning on 6 hours of sleep since Tuesday and I am going to hit the hay! I hope to catch up with you all very soon!

Plotting Revenge

2011-02-23T12:28:00.000-06:00

I am a bit too tired to produce a proper report from Arizona so I thought I would show you what my "friends" did while I was gone. They wrapped my entire workspace. I found it quite comical....especially after only 2 hours of sleep. I have to think of good retaliation when they are gone. It is nice to know I was missed.

Ha Ha!

Stuffed animals EVERYWHERE

Fun packages all over my desk. I have been unwrapping for hours.

My chair.....I did make it crinkle-rific most of the day

All of my pens

Files anyone?

My new family and friends

Paperclips.....every.single.one is individually wrapped. Yeah....not so funny anymore.

Arizona Tidbits

2011-02-21T10:05:00.001-06:00

First things first.....I will refrain from bitching about the cold and rainy weather here in Arizona because we got 2 feet of the white stuff back home. But seriously.....it is the desert and it has been raining. I was expecting to show off my pasty white skin.

I finished The Lost Dutchman 10k in 1:19:12. I ran most of it which is amazing since I have not attempted a run since January. I will post a full race report when I get home.

Post race, I went for an hour long massage. ouch! I think I need to do this more often.

We celebrated our races with a night on the town and a martini dinner.

Today we are just hanging out without a schedule and we might even see the Sun!

Butt Shield

2011-02-17T13:00:00.000-06:00

I had the opportunity to test out 2Toms Butt Shield. With a name like Butt Shield, how could I NOT test it? If you are imagining me laughing like a 12 year old boy, you would be right! What IS Butt Shield? The following information was taken directly off of the 2Toms site:

Do you suffer from Butt Irritation while participating in your favorite sport or hobby, at the gym or even while at work?

Well look no further as 2Toms has the solution for even the worst Butt Irritation. 2Toms is excited to introduce ButtShield®, a revolutionary new product which is applied to your butt to create a frictionless satin smooth surface that prevents chaffing. ButtShield® is applied with an easy to use roll-on applicator (no messy powders) and will not rub off even under the most extreme condition. One application of ButtShield® is all you need to guarantee a day of comfort, since the last thing you want to be doing all day is thinking about your butt!
What ButtShield® brings to the table:
• Eliminates the friction that causes irritation and chaffing
• Prevents Friction Burns, Saddle Sores, & Butt Rashes
• Lasts all day, even under the most extreme conditions
• Non-staining, Non-toxic, Non-Greasy,
• No messy powder or cream
• Easy roll-on applicator
• Waterproof
(Giggling yet? Because I am!!!)

Yesterday was the perfect day to do this review. The gals and I walked to Cupcake, an amazing little cafe not too far off campus. It was well over two miles round trip and it was worth it to get one of these.....

Photo Credit: Cupcake

Salted Nut Cluster-Vanilla cupcake topped with marshmallow frosting and peanuts dipped in nougatine. I have to admit, it still sends shivers up my spine just thinking about it. YUM! Anyway...back to the walk. It was almost 50 degrees here today so it was imperative that a good portion of our lunch needed to be outside. A walk was a perfect idea......well, almost perfect. Walking in jeans isn't always the best idea. At the risk of toeing the line of TMI....I was walking a little bow legged as I headed back to the office. Dang inner thigh chaffing!!!

I just received this sample in the mail and I was waiting for the perfect time to do a review. There is not time like the present! I do know that this product is similar to Body Glide, I got home and I right away ripped open the sample and applied it to my raw skin on my thigh. AHHHHHHH relief! I then decided I was going to take the review to the next level. I applied the Butt Shield to all the hot spots I kept those tight blue jeans on and I went ice skating for almost 2 hours. No chaffing. AMAZING!

While I do believe that the product is intended to be applied between the cheeks if you catch my drift, I applied it where I normally would apply body glide...inner thighs, toes, and bra straps. It worked great!!! Truthfully, I didn't know what to expect because this product was a roll on rather than a stick like Body Glide. As can see from the photos, it is slick.. it is the consistency of baby oil. It dried nicely and and stayed on the whole time. I had no chaffing issues, even wearing blue jeans. It also did not leave marks on my clothing and it washed off with soap and water. This product gets two thumbs up. I will be taking it with me to Arizona for my 10K!

I almost for got my favorite part, the label! It says "Go longer, finish stronger"......BWAHAHAHAHA. What did you really think I could do a MATURE review?

2Toms also carries a variety of other products that are beneficial to athletes. Products are available online and at authorized dealers.

Disclaimer: 2Toms was kind enough to send me a sample to try, however, the opinions are mine.

Blue Toes

2011-02-16T05:00:00.000-06:00

First Pedi of the year! I am usually very conservative when it comes to toe polish...I am a sensible red or neutral kind of gal. For some reason, blue seemed appropriate this go round since I am traveling and all. Pardon my ugly manlike feet, but I just had to post this photo because this is so out of my norm. I am sure I will scream tourist in Arizona while I am there because I will be wearing shorts and open toe shoes! I will try not to blind people with my pasty white skin.

I have been pulling out my warm weather clothing and let me just say, I am glad it is only February! I am not thrilled how these clothes fit. I have time to whip my sorry ass into shape before I have to wear these everyday. Trying on clothes is truly an eyeopener. Lets just say, I wear my stress and not in a good way. The good news is that in the next few weeks, the crazy stuff should all come to a head and calm down all at once.

Weekend WARM-Up

2011-02-13T22:56:00.000-06:00

It is AMAZING what a little sunshine and above zero temps will do for a mood!

OR

It could be the wine ~~that I am drinking on a Sunday Night WAY past my bedtime.~~

I think the thaw has begun....it was 45 degrees today and the sun was shining!!!!

I really have NOTHING to blog about. I didn't do crap for working out this past weekend (unless you count lifting a 5-8 Juicy Lucy as pumping iron).

Anyway.......it has been awhile since I have been in a great mood like this so I thought I would share my happiness. Or...maybe I am just blogging while buzzed. Either way, I hope you had a great weekend.

Over It

2011-02-10T13:47:00.000-06:00

I have officially hit the part of winter where I am completely mentally unstable. If one more person says "Spring is coming", I am going to really have to resist the urge to throat punch them. It is like telling someone running a marathon at mile 18 that the end is right around the corner. Thankfully, the winter crazies are the norm around my house. We have all resorted to our own corners and we act like rabid dogs when someone dare infringe on our space. The weather man says it is supposed to be 40 this weekend. He better have meant 40 degrees WITHOUT a minus in front of it.

I am sick of being cold!
I am sick of bundling up!
I am sick of snow!
I am sick of being stuck inside!

The only thing keeping me from really losing it is that in one week and one day I will be on a jet plane heading to sunny Arizona. Wahoooo! Hooray for the sun and snow free roads and a lot warmer weather and running. Oh yeah....running. I almost forgot that I am going there to do a race. This is the race that I learned I would be running via Facebook.

As far as the race I am supposed to do, I couldn't be less prepared. Winter depression got the best of me and I could not make myself run. There was nothing desirable about running on a treadmill or running on slick road in subzero weather. So I didn't do it. I sat home and pouted instead (worked really well for me). The race is a 10K, 6.2 miles. I do know I will finish however I think there will be more walking than running. I am not fretting though....I am on vacation!

I do realize that I must stop sulking about winter sucking. I have not lost sight of my goal to run a race each month and tackle 26.2 miles in October. So with that said, I took some time to be a bit productive and figure out my running schedule for the rest of the year. For almost every race I have ever done, I have been a loyal Hal Gal. Hal Hidgon's free training programs have gotten me across many finish lines. I wanted to try something different because I want to do more than just survive the marathon this year. I wanted something with some speed work and hills. I found another free training program at http://www.coolrunning.com/. I decided to use their 20 week beginner program and gradually ease into their recommended base week for the next 14 weeks.

I recorded all of the workouts on my calendar and highlighted potential conflicts. One problem I had last year was my lack of planning. I found myself missing long runs and suffering majorly because of it. This time I have quite a bit of flexibility in my weeks. I have planned alternate days for my long runs when the week gets tight (yes, I have a lot of stuff on the calendar already!).

Just doing that little task of planning my running put me in a slightly better mood. Six more weeks of this crap and Spring should be here! I hope or my house will be outfitted with padded walls.

Weekend-Wrap Up, Award Time!!

2011-02-06T21:19:00.000-06:00

I may be the only person in the US right now that really doesn't give a rat's ass about the Super Bowl. For my Cheese Head relatives and friends, I am very excited that the Packers are there, however, Chubby Hubby has banned any cheering for the green and gold. So since I have been banished to my little office corner, I thought I might graciously accept a couple of awards given to me last week. I love getting tagged because it give me something to blog about.

The wonderful Ms. M gave me the 7 Facts Blog award. This is a girl that I need to switch places with....She is in Texas and wanting to live in Minnesota, and me...well, I am the opposite! There isn't too much that you probably do not already know about me, but here are 7 more random facts.

1. I really hate Winter. I am sure you are shocked by this statement. Hockey and Netflix have made this Winter a tad tolerable. Moving south isn't an option because all of our family and most of our friends are here and we would miss them too much.
2. Aveda Blue Oil and Burt's Bees Lip Balm are two items I cannot live without. I have a thing for peppermint.
3. Chubby Hubby and I met our Freshman year of college. Minus a two week break-up we have been together since January of 1993. Time to trade him in for a new model...I kid. I kid.
4. Holy Moses, I just realized that last real job interview that I had was back in 1999. EEK! I will be in big trouble if I ever decide to leave my current job. I know it sucks to have a job with great management and fabulous coworkers.....and the work isn't half bad either.
5. I am not a fan of shopping. If I can't find it at Target, I really don't need it that bad.
6. I am trying to become a reader. I like reading but I just never make time to do it. Right now I am carving out a few minutes before bed.
7. I am very excited for 2011 goals...especially Twin Cities Marathon on October 2nd!

The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award
Thank you Charbelle for the tag.
Guilty Pleasures
Food
Chubby Hubby's popcorn with the undisclosed amount of butter, Top the Tater Dip (a Minnesota favorite chip dip), Chocolate scones from the cafe in my building, cheap wine, and good coffee.
Movies
The movies Blazing Saddles, Dirty Dancing and Bring it On are just 3 of my favorites that I love to watch and quote time and time again.
Music
I have some pretty crazy stuff on my iPod, I have pretty much everything from classical to hard core rap....cartoon themes to country (only a couple country ones though). I am not ashamed to admit that I have a few songs from Phineas and Ferb (my kids' favorite cartoon). Those songs are quite catchy and have a great rhythm for running.
Facebook
I am always amazed at how small the world is and I love finding out and seeing how people are linked....the whole 6 degrees of separation thing. I also love reading status updates. The funny ones make my day. There are some that are cryptic and drama filled and quite honestly, I like them too. It is like a real life soap opera!

I am supposed to tag people back so TAG you are all it!
I guess the game is over. Congrats Packers!!!!