Working Out My Work Out

A part of growing up I was not anticipating to happen so soon in my adulthood, is the dreaded weight gain. When I was at USF as a Freshman I experienced the natural weight gain with living away from home for the first time and I did have a new medication which has a side effect of weight gain, but between the end of Freshman year and the beginning of Senior year I gained, (I cannot believe I am about to admit this to the world wide web!) approximately 40 pounds! **Insert gasp** I do not think that the weight I am today is outrageous, or even above normal, but prior to integrating exercise back into my life I was feeling sluggish, not toned, uncomfortable finding things to wear (not able to just go buy another wardrobe for my new size) and just very different.

Side Note: Entering college I needed to gain weight. I did not realize this until I was looking back on high school pictures, and I honestly look sick. My arms look like a skeleton's. Here is a look back for you all (I am in the white shorts):
Thank the Lord for my parents. They have never pressured me to be one thing or another, especially with my size. However, knowing I wanted to start working out, my mom suggested that we rejoin Curves . Yes, the women-only 30-minute circuit workout, whose clients mostly consist of the 40 and over crowd. This is so good for me because I can always fit in a 30-minute whole body workout during my day. In addition to boxing, I really feel healthier and I have way more energy. My workouts did help me lose a few pounds within the first month and then....nothing. I have hit some sort of plateau, but would still like to lose a few more lbs. and get a little more toned.

I have tried the diet thing and that did NOT work out for me. I become a really bitter person when I am not satisfied with what I eat. In addition to cutting down on the unhealthy stuff I love to consume (Dick's cheeseburgers and Trader Joe's Strawberry Licorice) I have come to the only conclusion....I need to run. I have always HATED running and avoided it at all costs, but I believe that if I run around Greenlake three times a week and keep up with my regular routine, I can get in the shape I dream of! Plus it is just too beautiful to pass up. Here is a picture of the lake:
I had my first trial run...run, yesterday and man do I need to start small! I think I ran for about a mile (with a long stretch break in the middle) and I was exhausted. Even though I am no Wilma Rudolph (and never, ever will be) I am just proud that I am trying!

Well after a long time of vacation from nannying I get to see Kate tomorrow, so I better take the dogs out and get to sleep, but not before reading a few chapters in Kathy Griffin's book! Too funny!

Wish me luck with my running adventures......

Vacation

Welcome back to my blog after my few week hiatus! I would loved to have a blog, including pictures, from my trip to New York, but unfortunately my dad's hard drive got swiped clean and we lost ALL of our pictures. Luckily, they can be saved, but not without a hefty price!

This past week itself has been quite crazy. Daniel and I left Thursday night, after I worked all day, for a four hour drive down to Oregon, but not without a strange complication...Our poor Albert got sick on Wednesday afternoon and (without trying to gross you out by revealing too much) it did not contain exactly normal vomit contents. Well after I had to get someone to cover for me at work, I had to call the nearby clinic in our Vet chain and ask them to squeeze me in for an appointment.

After waiting quite some time, I got him some medicine and when I was almost steps out the door, I realized that I did not have my credit card...I then had to call my mother, crying (of course), and have her come bail me out while the clinic stayed open late for me. Now, I know how irritating it can be when people do not leave a store (aka Nordy's!) when it is closing time, so I just felt awful. Anyways, Albie is on the road to recovery and I hope he is feeling alright.

...back to the trip! Once we finally got to Sun River on Friday, the boys and I were so ready for some fun and relaxation. Daniel, Gus, Albert and I stayed in a beautiful home with my parents, my aunt and uncle, cousins and friends. In two other houses on our lane were my other aunts, uncles and cousins, so it was a family-filled weekend! It was so wonderful just to wake up without having to really do anything. Although we did get some resting in the hot tub at night and for a couple hours by the pool, we were quite active (riding bikes and going on a hike in a lava cave!) We had a lot of fun and are already planning the next time we can get away with the doggies!

Unfortunately, I had to be back to work at 3 pm today, so I dragged my three boys out of bed around 5:30 pm so we could start the trek. It was a long day, but I am glad it went by pretty painlessly for a 7 hour road trip. If you ever are thinking of taking a classic summer vacation in the outdoors, the houses at Sun River, OR are beautiful, comfortable and incredibly safe. Highly recommended!

Back to the Grind

So after coming home from New York and getting to sleep around 2 am (5 am for my internal clock!) I woke up at 7 am to my favorite show...Saved By the Bell! Daniel usually turns the television off after I fall asleep at night, but he was so exhausted and comfy in our bed after 5 nights away that he fell asleep with it on, too. I couldn't fall back asleep, either because I felt like it was 10 am, or because I just needed some Zach Morris in my life, so I got ready for work.

It was so good to see baby Kate! I feel like when I don't see for than 2 days she just grows so much! I was a little nervous to be honest, because Kate had someone else watch her for three days. I wasn't nervous that they would not know what to do, I think I was just feeling territorial...haha. Well supposedly, Kate did not have a good Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Everyone was curious if it was because she is teething, or just being fussy, but she was quite vocal about her unhappiness. Yesterday she was a little fussy but we pretty much had our routine down and today she was the happiest I have ever seen her! She was cracking up so hard when I would put fuzzy socks on my hands and flap them around and when I would dance with a blanket, pulling it over her face from time to time (which got squeals!). At the end of the day I tried to give the other babysitter the benefit of the doubt, telling Kate's parents that maybe she just didn't like being off schedule...but they both insisted that she just missed me and did not like that other girl ; ) This made me feel really good about the work I have been doing with Kate!

Although I love my work at the summer program for Extended Care and was quite looking forward to seeing the kids, my heart sank for a minute when I first walked into work this week. I heard the most dreaded word you can hear, working with kids........LICE. yuck, yuck, yuck!!! Ever since the second grade when I was sitting behind a girl, and saw those white bugs in a girls hair, I have always been mortified by them! Luckily, the staff got things under control quickly and by the time I had gotten there all the kids had been checked, one sent home to be taken care of properly, all the couches spread with de-licer and carpets vacuumed. No EC today, or Monday for the holiday so that is good!

Don't know what to do for the Fourth yet, but I am just excited to spend the night with my three boys. I am sure we will go to my parents for some hot dogs and potato salad and the classic flag cake decked with lots of frosting, raspberries and my favorite, blueberries! I will be sure to update this on Sunday with some pictures. Maybe I can find some old pictures of the cakes through the years, just to give you guys a sample : )

I hope you have enjoyed my work adventures of the week (and it was only 1.5 days). Sleep is needed. Boxing in the morning!