Bad News....and Good News!

OK...so the triathlon that I've spent the past 4 months training for was called off on Friday. I was so bumbed...words can't describe how disappointed I was. All my clothes were laid out. I planned my meals just right. Mentally I was ready....and then I got the email. The beach where the tri was supposed to take place had experienced some flooding and the park was deemed unsafe. Again, the bad news is that it was canceled...even worse is that I can't go to the makeup date. This will keep me going for at least another year though. I'm ready for the challenge plus I've got some 5K's to run between now and then. I'm so excited for these races and they're going to be so fun in their own ways. The first one  is the Busy Babes Marathon 5K in Centerburg.

I'm running with several girls from church. We're all doing our own race between the 5K, 10K, and half marathon. Can't wait! A week later, me and my family are running in the Miles for Melanoma race in Columbus.

It's the first race in Columbus for this organization so I'm really happy to be there for the first race and plus I can support a cause close to my heart. PLUS I get to do it with my family. Ana is so stoked to do this race it's funny! She's been dying to run a race with me so now she gets her chance! The last race of the year is the Hot Chocolate 5K in Columbus.

I'm either running this with a coworker or with Nate. Either way I'm excited because this was my first ever 5K last year and it will be nice to go back and run in Downtown Columbus and get some yummy hot chocolate! The atmosphere was amazing last year and I can't wait to experience again!

I'm feeling great these days and I'm in the best shape that I've been in years. I can't wait to continue! Stay tuned for what happens next! I've got a weigh in tomorrow so we'll see what happens! Here's hoping for another lose!

My Progress

So I added a page on my blog for you to follow my progress. Although slow...very SLOW, I am making progress. I just want to show other people that if things aren't happening fast enough for you, it's completely normal. Stick with it! Things will change...you're size will decrease, your cravings will decrease, and your confidence will increase! I'll fill you in on some of my growth spurts as I go on. I'm leaning new things about myself each day but one thing remains the same though...trust God and love yourself. Make yourself a priority. If things are going to change you have to Love God and Love Yourself. As a mom, we're so busy to make sure that our husbands feel loved and our kids feel loved that we forget about ourselves. By the time we make time for ourselves we're tired and out of energy. Do it today!

Ready or Not!

Well folks, we're coming down to the wire for my triathlon! I did a trial run on Sunday and I felt great...other than my bruised tailbone! I injured it a few years ago and it's been aggravated ever since I started training. If I can just get thru Saturday I'll be in good shape. In the trial run, I did great on the swimming, and pretty well on the biking. I didn't get a chance to get to the run but I'm sure I'll be fine. My stomach was feeling a little queezy due to not eating properly the morning of the trail run and having lemonade with me instead of Gatorade. I think I soured my stomach so I wont be making that mistake on Saturday. The week has flew by which is a good thing because I don't have time to be nervous for Saturday! I lost almost two pounds this week and I'm officially starting to wear a size medium! It's a slow process but I'm getting there! Other than planning out my meals and working out, we've been getting things ready for our trip to Florida. We can hardly wait! We haven't been to the beach in a couple years so it will feel good to get back. We're going with Nate's parents and brother and sisters. So far we've got a great trip planned! Looking forward to making memories!! With that said, the next time I post, I'm hopefully going to have great memories of my race on Saturday. By that time, I'll officially be an triathlete! Move out of the way, I'm gonna get my metal!

Back & Better Than Ever

WOW! My last post was back in January...a whole 6 months have come gone. Hard to believe that so much can happen in such a short time. Not sure why I can't get this blogging down to a daily or even weekly cycle. It's so much fun to look at what's happen or what we've been thru as the years go by. Like I said though, it's been a busy year so far and I see I've made a lot of accomplishments. As I look over my goals that I had for this year and last year I see that I've already met a lot of my goals. That's encouraging right there! I've got an awesome group of friends that help me along the way and it's nice to have friends to lean on as we go thru this life. I'm looking forward to next weekend :) Some friends and I are completing in a triathlon. It's hard to believe that I've gotten bold enough to do something of this magnitude but ready or not...here I come. A week from tomorrow and we'll see what I'm made of. Philippians 4:13 keeps going thru my mind these days as I prepare. Looking forward to it being over and taking on another challenge...my next 5K in November. The girls are doing amazing and loving summer. I can hardly believe that it's half over already. We've got a vacation planned in a few weeks that we're looking forward to. We're going to the beach with Nate's sister's and brother's. It will be nice to get away!

OK, so here I pledge again. I'm going to try to keep up with this. Looking forward to getting back to blogging. It's a way for me to escape, if only for a brief few minutes. On that note - I've got a to run. An experiment is taking place without supervision! Yikes!

2012 Resolution Update

 In my last post I said I would give an update of my resolution gaols from last year. Here they are:

1. I want to be healthy - GETTING THERE
2. I want to get rid of the back pain when I sleep - DONE
3. I want to lose the spare tire - ALMOST DONE
4. I want to be able to get my wedding rings on and off with ease - GETTING THERE
5. I want to be able to wear the new ring Nate just got me for Christmas - GETTING THERE
6. I want my girls to know how to be healthy by what I do and eat - GETTING THERE
7. I want to lose the dip in my bed from me being over weight - DONE
8. I want my top "half" to be smaller from my bottom "half" - GETTING THERE
9. I want to climb a flight of stairs without being out of breath - GETTING THERE
10. I want to be able to wear boots that are cute - GETTING THERE
11. I want to be able to go into a dressing room and have my oldest say that I look good - HAPPENED ONCE
12. I want to decrease the risk of me getting cancer - GETTING THERE
13. I want to wear shorts and tank tops in the summer - WE'LL SEE!
14. I want to wear a bathing suit without people looking at my skin rather than the suit - WE'LL SEE!
15. I want to wear a size that doesn't have an X in it - DONE!
16. I want my husband to not have to feel "fat" when he puts his arm around my waist - GETTING THERE!
17. I want to put on my seat belt without pulling the whole belt out - DONE!
18. I want to be able to do jumping jacks without me peeing my pants!! - NOT GONNA HAPPEN!
19. I want to be able to work out without my top "half" going in different directions - GETTING THERE!
20. I want my husband to pick me up and carry me across the thresh hold - ALMOST!
21. I want to cross my legs instead of my ankles - I'M DOING IT MORE OFTEN NOW!
22. I want to get out of these size 16 jeans - DONE!
23. I want to wear that little black dress in my closet that's a large - DONE!
24. I want to treat myself with other things besides food - GETTING THERE!
25. I want to not be the big person in pictures - GETTING THERE!
26. I want to take a family picture where I feel good about how I look - DONE!
27. I want to be in pictures with my kids instead of taking the pictures - DONE!
28. I want my underwear to lay on my stomach instead of under my spare tire when I bend down - DONE!
29. I want to wear fitted shirts and not be conscientious if flabs are sticking out - DONE!
30. I want my family to feel proud of me - DONE!
31. I want to take warm vacations instead of cold vacations - THIS SUMMER!
32. I want to be able to dance with Ana - DONE!
33. I want to wear a coat instead of carry a coat - DONE!
34. I want to LIVE instead of sit on the sidelines and watch - DONE!

Resolutions

So last year I listed my weight resolutions and I just found it a few weeks ago and it reminded me that I needed to come up with some new resolutions. That's right...I met some of my goals so it's now time to set some new ones. I'll give an update on my previous goals another day. For now, this is what I'm resolving to do in 2013:

1) Wear a medium
2) Wear the black dress that's a medium in my closet
3) Cross my legs without forcing them to stay
4) Get on the ring on that Nate got me for Christmas in 2011
5) Feel OK with my picture being taken
6) Run another 5k or better
7) Drink more water
8) Get cute bras and panties
9) Get out of a large
10) Have to get my wedding rings made smaller
11) No smokers cough after running
12) To make better choices while eating
13) Run a 5k with Ana
14) To get tennis shoes more than once a year
15) Get into a size 12
16) Make my necklaces smaller in length
17) To not beat myself up over a gain
18) Putting my fork down when I eat
19) Making better drink choices when out to eat
20) Work on my saggy arms
21) Try insanity
22) Learn a different workout
23) Try to eat healthier....less pizza
24) More fruits and veggies
25) Reward myself with something new instead of food
26) Get my cholesterol checked
27) Get rid of old or big clothes
28) Get a cute bathing suit not to hide but to flatter
29) Get family pictures
30) Work with Aiva on eating better or exercising
31) Dress up
32) Get my scale to work
33) Figure out how to lose weight by working out and eating right
34) Don't be bad with eating just because someone else is
35) Have Nate hold me accountable
36) Get away from having a day or meal where I eat whatever I want - Eating 2days worth of calories

2013

 Yikes...where did 2012 go? It was a year full of...well, stuff. There were a lot of downs but also a lot of ups. The year started out like any other. Full of resolutions and dreams for what the year held. Unfortunately with the melanoma diagnoses, everything came to a stop. It was a rough summer but we got thru. A new house was waiting for us on the other side of my surgery so we had something grand to look forward to. We love our new location and the girls are in heaven by all the open space. We've christened it with a sleep over, plenty of brush pile fires, and a big trampoline in the yard. We are truly blessed. This past Christmas was one to remember in our brand new house.

Even though with the sparkle of a brand new house, it took a race to get me back up on my feet. I was in depression after surgery and didn't know how to pull myself out. It was the words a friend spoke that got me up and moving. She asked me if I wanted to run a 5K. My initial thought was, "Heck, no" but something inside me made me sign on the line to commit. After weeks of training and encouragement from my friends I finally did it. November 18 was a day that I'll never forget. My family was there to cheer me on and I did it...I couldn't rely on anyone to get me thru other than God. Like 1 Corinthians 9:24 says, I ran in a way to get the prize and that I did. At the end of the race was a big cup of hot chocolate. Unfortunately, it was crappy but I finally got there. The rest of the year was filled with the excitement of Christmas.

Now that 2013 is here, I've done a lot of reflection and I'm so ready for a new beginning. My aunt got me a daily calendar that has a scripture every day listed from the book of Psalms. The one on January 2 keeps coming back to me so I did some digging and found a version that I can relate to. In the NIV version of Psalms 25:21 is says "Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee." I love those words - integrity and uprightness. When I looked at the Message translation it resonated within my soul and I knew that it was the Holy Spirit stirring things within me. It says, "Use all your skill to put me together; I wait to see your finished product." After last year, I feel, and at times still feel broken. Like I'm a puzzle that still needs put together. It's my prayer that God would use all of skills to put me together this year because I know at the end, there's a glorious picture that awaits me. Ever see a picture in passing that just catches your eye? You can't think of anything but the details in that picture? I want to do that with the pieces that he's putting together. I want to be so in awe of what is looking back at me. Here's to a great 2013!