Mosyin' On Outta a Two Day Funk

Ello Loves.

I have been a TAD mia from blogworld the last two days. Although I do have most of this week off from work, I've busied myself with some other tasks that are on my to do list (ie finishing painting the hallway I started back in December!). Anyway, I am not sure of what time of the month it is, but my body is telling me it's feasting week. This comes about 10 days before the blessed you know what and makes me want to eat everything in site- including scavenging for chocolate at any cost!

Needless to say, I have not been on track. No exercise and binge eating. Eh. Tomorrow I am going hiking with a friend and I'm hoping for some serious calorie burnage!!

I also have no lovely pictures for you all today :(
Can you blame me for not wanting to share my binge meals? Boy would that be entertaining!

I DO however have some formspring questions I will tackle today:

(This one is a couple of weeks old so I apologize for the delay!)

How did you get the 'who am i' 'whats up with the lettuce' and 'before.during.after.' tabs on your blog?? Thanks!!

This is actually quite simple. When you are on your blogger "dashboard" select "new post." Once you are at the posting screen, look at the top underneath the tabs. There should be an option called "edit pages." This will take you to a screen where you should be able to then add different pages to your blog! Good luck!

And another:

How do you cook your vegetables?

Realistically, I don't have to much variety at how I prepare my veggies. What I usually do is slice them to however I desire (asparagus in half, broccoli in florets, etc) and then I toss them in a ziploc bag. I add some olive oil and shake to properly coat them. Then I do one of two things:

1. Sautee them in a pan, usually on medium heat with a lid, watching closely (the key is to take them out almost before they looked "cooked"-then they will be soft but still have a bit of a "crunch")
or!
2. I roast them in the oven. I have no specific temp or length of time- it's really random. I just keep a close eye on them and take them out when they look ready! I always use some kind of seasoning (usually Johnny's) on them while I'm cooking them as well.

This method works for what I usually make: asparagus, zuchinni, yellow squash, broccoli, brussel sprouts, even carrots. Other veggies I just eat fresh (like tomatoes and spinach) That was a great question, thank you!

I do have one last thing to say to you all AND a picture (I lied!) hehe. You know how I posted that pic of my dog licking the PB jar last week? Well she took that thing with her wherever she went afterwards....it was kind of hilarious! Here she is at her favorite spot by the window with her beat up PB jar:
Tommorow I will be wrapping up and reviewing the month of March, as well as setting some new goals for the month of April! Stay tuned!

Weigh in Week 20: New Kicks and You're In My Dreams!!

Hey guys. It's monday morning-(BLEH!) but you know what?! I'm feeling good! I will tell you why....

I LOST THREE POUNDS THIS WEEK!

WOooOOOhOOO!

That definitely makes up for the bitty birthday splurge week where I maintained. I am really excited because it is also my 5 month anniversary on this health journey. I have learned SO much and it's becoming more and more of a way of life. I love it.

In case you are wondering, that is a total of 31.5lbs lost in 5 months. :0)

I also got my new running shoes in the mail on Friday:
So far they feel wonderful! I wore them on my hike on Saturday but have not gone running in them yet. It will probably be a little later this week when I finally get out and test them along with my Nike+.

So happy! It just goes to show you what real focus and buckling down can do. I really tried hard this week and was hoping for a great number on the scale.

Good luck to you all this week. You can do this!

random: I had a dream last night that I was a manager for plus sized models. In one of them there were a few bloggers I know that were doing a photoshoot! HA!

Would your mom hike a mountain?

Well mine would! :) In fact...she did! Today!

Yes that's right folks, either I have the best mom in the whole world...or...I am just a great sales person. Because this morning I "sold" my mom on a 2.5 mile hike up a mountain.

It was tough. We took breaks and went at a our own pace. But we made it! Here's some pics to prove it:

The whole trail kept referring to the "vista." Well we got to the vista and guess what...it was a huge field surrounded by trees! Ah what a view...NOT! So we stopped and ate lunch.

My mom's first experience with a "cutie" orange- they will change your life!She insisted on taking a picture of it-- "for your blog!!" LOL

The pup likes pretzels!! (ps- I'm skinny!)
I convinced her to hike the last bit to the top- and happy we did!
My mom's dogs- razzle and dazzle. They could very well be the first Mini Yorkies ever to climb a mountain. I'm thinking of calling Guinness Book of World Records to confirm....See where I get my good looks?! ;)A beautiful view. Gotta love the Pacific Northwest!
It was a great day. Now I gotta just recruit the hubby for a leg massage! I'm going to be sore tomorrow!

Gettin' My Colors On

Thanks to all who commented on my "quarter life crisis" (as Alexia calls it! lol!) post from last night. Big decisions!

But now we are going to talk about something that has become a small obsession of mine over the last week: eating produce.

I decided this week I really wanted to focus on eating every color of the rainbow in produce every day. Also, to eat a fruit/vegetable at every meal and for snacks as well. I think I've done a pretty good job!

We will start with my dinner on Wednesday night. Another TJ's frozen creation:I paired this with 1/2 a bagel thin and a delicious side salad:One serving (1/4 of carton) has 260 in this veggie lasagna. I liked it! The hubby however was not to impressed.... ("where's the meat?!?!"). I think I would buy this again but just make it for me.

The next day I ate some veggie lasgna leftovers for lunch. The hubs came home early for work and saw me packing my snack for work. He said "wow, that looks like a healthy lunch"-- I said "Um...this is my snack....hehe!" Actually, I just told him I eat like a hobbit and it was my second lunch.Olives.Spinach.Cucumber.Tomatoes.Avocados.Garbanzo Beans.Carrots.TJ's Ranch Dressing.

Look at all those colors! I was so proud of myself!

Almost ready to go to work:
After I enjoyed that delicous and healthy salad yesterday for lunch #2, I came home and made....veggie pizza! (with a couple slices of turkey pep to please the hubs) I sided that with some roast veggies (ok this is just gettin' a little crazy...)


YUM. Um. I'm not sure if this is in anyway related, (well I'm guessing it is)...but...I FEEL GREAT! Seriously. So much energy. Awake. Not lethargic at all (which is a big problem of mine usually). And not to share TMI but...I gotta say "things" are moving along nicely..ahem...cough cough. It's kinda wonderful!

I challenge you all to get in your fruits and veggies for the rest of the week. Make that your goal: how many can you eat?! How many colors can you fit in?

I will leave you with some pics of my pup enjoying the remnants of the peanut butter jar. I feel bad laughing at her misfortune (being unable to reach the bottom) but it's just SO funny!

Life Decisions Scare Me

Well as some of you know I've been exploring a career in Nutrition. I have reached out to a few ladies that are from this area and actually got to go to coffee with a Registered Dietitian on Monday. It was really cool to be able to talk to her. I also had one person contact me through my formspring box that is an RD offering for me to talk to her. I haven't gotten a hold of her yet, but if you are reading this, just know I will be contacting soon!

On Tuesday I randomly started up a conversation with a lady I had heard through a friend was a certified nutritionist. You know that weird feeling when you introduce yourself to someone that doesn't know who you are but you know all about them? This was that. LOL! But that's ok, because our conversation turned out AMAZING.

Not only did we have a good 45 minute discussion on a nutrition career....we then continued our discussion through e-mails the next day.

I can't tell you guys how JUBILANT I am that I've met her! She is so passionate about her career and is so willing to help me with my professional decisions. It's honestly a big relief that I've finally talked to someone that really wants to invest back in me. Already she has thrown some huge decisions my way and given me some amazing options. For instance....ummm...the fact that there is University close to me that is Nationally renowned for the degree I want to get! YEAH! How did I miss that one?! Not quite sure!

I prayed a couple weeks ago that if this is what God would have me do, that He will help things fall into place. It's funny how I can pray that prayer wholeheartedly and still not believe that He will work things out. Doubt is a killer, huh?

If in fact I do decide to go to this University, it WILL be a sacrifice. First of all, it is a mighty commute. We are talking a 45 minute ferry and 20 minute drive. I'm hoping I would only have to go two or three days a week.

It will also cost money. The commute $ itself is going to be killer. Not to mention the univeristy itself. You don't really call yourself nationally renowned and not charge an arm and a leg.

Thirdly, time. And that is probably the hardest thing. What will I do for work? Will I have to get a different job to fit around my school schedule? Will Kellen feel neglected? Will my husky pup show her anger of less excercise through even MORE rebellion?! How long will this take? I want to have kids someday!!!
...all of this scares me to death.

But the biggest question is: is it worth it?

Is it worth it to be doing something I really love to do?
Is it worth it to finally feel like I've put my gifts to good use?
Is it worth it to feel like I am really doing something with my life, really impacting people and making a difference?

I've already asked my #1 (God) and #2 (hubby) to help me with this decision. So far all systems go....

But I'm still scared.

Creamy Oatmeal and Cool Gadgets

You may all remember a couple of weeks ago when I wrote about my struggle with oatmeal. You all gave some great suggestions! I also had been eyeing this strange creation called "overnight" oatsl I kept seeing on Kristen's blog. So I ventured into this world and....I fell in oatmeal love.

Yes, I realize that I said the reason that I didn't like hot meal was because it was "mushy"--and this is still true. But for some reason, this overnight oats thing has just a bit of crunchy and it overrides that mushy element.

Here was my first bowl ever:What I put in it:
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup soy milk
1 small banana, cut up
1/2 Tbsp PB
1 tbsp Agave

I threw all this in a bowl, gave it a couple stirs, and left it in the fridge overnight. Voila!

I have to tell you, I was pretty skeptical of what it might be like to eat this cold. It sounded pretty gross to me. I tried it anyway, and it was so good! The yogurt makes it so creamy. Now that I've had it cold, I can't imagine eating this hot, I'm not sure it would taste quite right!

I also picked up some steel cut oats at Trader Joe's last weekend but haven't tried them yet!

I received a formspring question a couple of days ago regarding my HRM:

What kind of heart rate monitor are you using? How do you like it?

I have returned this heart rate monitor watch that I got for my birthday:
I think I figured out the problem and why it was overestimating my calorie burn. In order to get your heart rate, you must place your fingre on the metal part of the watch during your workout. Well the problem is, (and I don't know about the rest of you) but my heart rate changes often during my workout! However, because I didn't really want to place my finger on there every minute, the watch was calculating my calorie burn from the last time I measured my heart rate...

and so....

because the main reason I even wanted the watch was for an accurate calorie count, I returned it.

Now when I was shoe shopping this weekend with my mom I spotted the Nike+Ipod sensor. If you have the Ipod or Iphone alreday, this sensor is just 30 dollars.

How it works: you place that little red sensor thing in your shoe and the white part plugs into your Ipod. The sensor measures how many steps you are taking and tells you how long you have been out, how far you are going, and your calorie burn as well. There is an actual voice that comes through your headphones telling you this information.

I realize that this is pretty different from a HRM but I think it's going to fit with me nicely. First of all, my main exercise of choice is running/walking which is what this is designed for. Secondly, I run at a lot of places that are unmarked trails- this is going to be SO nice to know exactly how far I am running.

Another cool thing is that you can set a certain calorie goal. When you reach that goal, the voice will tell you!

I'm really excited to try this out, but I am waiting to do so until I get my new running shoes which I HOPE will be coming in the mail today! I will keep you guys posted!

Excuse Me Miss...How Much Do You Weigh?

Another long one, so stick with me here folks!

I know what you are wondering. No, no one has asked me this. Well actually, one person did, but she was a good friend and we talk about weight pretty openly. Anyway, my title is actually referring to a reoccurring thought I've had in my head over the last couple of months. Let me explain.

You see, I just don't like trying to compare what I might look like to women on magazines or TV. It's pretty much useless because as we all know most of these women are either:
a. airbrushed to non human size or
b. don't eat more than an apple a day.
Um. Yeah. That's just not for me.

But what I DO like to do is "check out" women in real life- coffee shops, post office, the mall. This may sound a little bit creepy. And I'm sure it would be a little bit weird if they caught me staring at their adorable butt or awesome toned arms, but for the most part, I try to keep it discreet. LOL! In all honestly, I really just want to walk up to them and say "Excuse me Miss- how tall are you? how much do you weigh? Ok. Thank you. Byebye."

You see, "us overweight for lifers" just really have no idea what it might look like to be at a "normal" weight. When I was in 8th grade I weighed in at 155lbs at the doctor's office. I remember him coming in and telling me that what I weighed now was a healthy weight for a woman of 5'6". What I didn't realize is that he was really saying is "you can't gain anymore weight- you're done! No more!" Yeah. I didn't get it. I think I just almost took it as a compliment. Woohoo! I'm normal! Um...yes, you are normal...at the age of 13!

The point of this little story is really just to tell you all that I have no clue what weight I will be happy with. I really haven't ever been there. I don't have those pictures that I look back on and think "oh I wish I was that weight again!" So for now I'm just shooting for my first goal (about ten pounds from now) and we will see where I go from there.

Now food and Trader Joe reviews.

This week of course I have been testing out my Trader Joe products. Wow have I been impressed.

Monday night was chicken gyros.This is probably one of the easiest meals I make.

All you do is grill some chicken breast and cut it into pieces. The sauce is plain yogurt and dill weed- I also added a bit of lemon juice and garlic salt to this one. You could fill the pitas with veggies too to make a bit healthier.

Trader Joes Mini Wheat Pitas- They are pretty cute and yummy, but the best part about these is they are so cheap. I was having such a hard time justifying buying pitas at my local grocery store because they are SO expensive. A bag of about 10 mini pitas at TJ's is 2 dollars!

For dessert we of course had to try the delicious and oh so cheap TJ's wine:
I am not a huge wine fan in general, but if I do have it, it has to be fruity and juicy. This stuff hit the spot. And for 3 dollars a bottle- well you just can't argue with that.

Let me admit something to you all right now. In the last [almost] 5 months of "healthy choices" I can probably count on my hands how many times I've eaten a salad. Yup. I just really am NOT a salad person. I think mainly it's because the disgusting taste of lowfat dressings just never appeals to me. Kind of funny considering the title of my blog....

That all changed yesterday.
Holy guacamole. I have died and gone to salad heaven. Seriously- just send me to the lettuce patches--3.50 for this bottle of deliciousness. Maybe I am exaggerating. But I don't think so.

Last night's dinner:


TJ's gyoza- 3 dollars (about 22 in the bag) and for 7 gyoza it's about 220 calories. SO yummy. The fried rice was really good too.

That's all for today. Tomorrow I HOPE to talk about my heart rate monitor situation as I have had a few questions about it!

The Fuzz Cuzzy Runs

Good morning all my lovely blog followers! I hope your day has started out SWELL.

I have some very exciting news. I have a race buddy! YAY! You may remember my post a couple of weeks ago about the St. Patty's Day Dash and for whatever reason, I ended up running it alone. That was ok with me. It was such a big goal that I had been working at that I wanted to be able to just be proud of myself and myself alone when I crossed that finish line.

HOWEVER!

I am a big people person and so I've been trying to "scout out" or "recruit" (so to say) some running buddies for the last couple of months. Well I am happy to say that I have one who is doing the next race with me.....

MY COUSIN!![December 08]
aka "the fuzz" (We have always called each other fuzzy cuzzy since we were little. Nerdy, I know!)

Anyway, I am SO excited. And guess what that little stinker did!?!?

Convinced me to do a half marathon with her in June.

WWHAATT?!?(yes this is her and I- notice matching gofer teeth)

Yes, that's right everyone. I will be doing my first half marathon- the "rock and roll half marathon" in Seattle in June.

Don't worry too much though! We have already discussed our plans of trying to run half of it and walk the rest. We don't want to overdo it and end up injuring ourselves or getting discouraged because we couldn't complete it. Were going to take it easy and just enjoy ourselves!! I am so excited.

Next weekend we are going to go on our first run together. Since she lives about an hour from me, we will mostly be training seperately. But next weekend we plan to run back and forth across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge- which is equivalent to about 2 miles.
In May she will coming up to my hometown to run the Vikingfest race with me- 5 miles.

We are totally going to rock this race. No doubt about it...just look at how cute we are:
Ok, well, maybe she's the cute one. I was preoccupied.

I love her oh so much and am happy that she is getting into this crazy world of running with me!

Weigh in Week 19: Spoilage :o

This weekend I was majorly spoiled. By myself and my family.

I will start with myself. I knew I would be headed down to see my family this weekend and was excited about my Trader Joe's trip the whole week. I am a WEIRDO when it comes to grocery shopping...I get WAY overly excited about it. I wanted to spend a long time (alone, no pressure) at TJ's so I could check out all their products. I wanted to spend about 50.00 but came away with 75.oo in TJ's goodness....oh well. It was fun!

Here is my super secret TJ's shot since I had my SLR and I didn't really want people to think I was a CRAZY (like I kind of am).

I've been hearing SO much about greek yogurt lately and the last time I tried it I was not impresseed. So I decided to give it another shot. I also picked up some agave nectar to stick in it and some TJ's low fat granola:Verdict: YUMMY! The agave sweetener and granola gave it a great sweet taste, and it didn't taste aspartame-y like most other low fat yogurts. I will definitely be having this again.

Now on to family spoilage....

My mom insisted on buying me running materials for my birthday. She is SO excited and supportive on my new found love of running!

So we set out on Saturday and picked up a few things:
Socks.Insoles.

That can only mean one thing right?!

YUP!

I got new running shoes!

Unfortunately, they didn't have my size in stock so I will get them later this week.

I actually had quite a little adventure at the running store. I got my feet evaluated on a machine and then the store clerk asked to look at the bottom of my feet....umm....EW!

I was SO embarrassed. She pretty much "reamed me out" for not taking care of my feet. I have several blisters and callouses on my feet. Apparently I have been wearing one size two small. And I guess the ultimate sin when running is to wear cotton socks?! Who knew?!?

I never said I was professional!

I will post a pic this week when I got my new kicks in the mail!

I also hopped on over to Target last night. I returned my Heart Rate Monitor I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. I will be writing about this in a later post!!

However, I was literally jumping for joy when I realized that Target has REALLY CHEAP GROCERIES!

And guess what else?!?!I found bagel thins there! I've been looking for them everywhere!!

Woohoo!

A couple of week ago I wrote about how I had gone down in dress size and that I would post a picture of the new dress I bought...Well here it is!
I wore it all weekend long pretty much. I am really diggin' it because it is super comfy...and not to mention a size I haven't worn in about forever!

One last thing...my family took me out to dinner on Saturday night to celebrate my birthday. We went to a place called "Asado's"- an Argentinian themed restaurant in Tacoma. My mom and I split the flat iron steak, purple mashed potatoes, and a side of grilled asparagus:

And here we are:
Thanks for the spoilage this weekend, mum!

Weigh in:

This week I lost...ZILCH! You may remember that I had gained .5 of a pound from Monday to Wednesday where I had a special birthday weigh in. So technically, I did lose that .5. That's a start! This week I plan on totally rocking my calorie counting and hoping for a big loss as I coast into my 5 month weight loss anniversary next week! We will see!

In Need of Your Opinion...and EXCITING NEWS!

I will start with the exciting news since I know you all will just scroll down to see it anyway....I have my 100th follower! Thanks to "Dana Constable" for becoming my 100th follower! And to all my other lovely followers...I love you all!

I NEED YOUR OPINION ON THE FOLLOWING!!

1.
I am going to Trader Joe's this weekend. I'm SO stoked. I have about $50.00 to spend there. What should I get?!?!

2.
(this one takes a little more explaining) I used my Heart Rate Monitor for the first time on my walk/run yesterday. Now here's the thing: I ran/walked about 2.34 miles in about 30 minutes yesterday. Now normally, I have been writing down "300 calories burned" for 30 minutes of straight running- not even walking. Well when I ended my workout yesterday the HRM told me I had burned 500 calories. WOW. I find this hard to believe.

Then, I walked to get the girl I nanny for. The walk to her school is about 1.25 miles. I walked at a brisk pace getting there, and I was surprised to see the HRM said I burn 300 on that walk alone. That just seems way too high. I would normally say that a walk like that would burn 150 calories.

Thoughts? Opinions? Was I underestimating before? Or is my HRM overestimating?

Throw it out the window!

You all are too good to me :) No seriously, thank you for the comments yesterday, it reminded me that it would just be SILLY to be upset about 2 pounds when I've come so far!

Yesterday ended up being a wonderful, yet simple birthday for me.

I have started a bit of a tradition with my in laws to eat "green pancakes" on my birthday morning. I was SO looking forward to it this year because my mother in laws pancakes are seriously YUMMY. With as many kids as my mother in law has, at their house, they cook like a restaurant:

Here is my plate. Green pancakes, green syrup, green sprinkles. These pancakes literally melt.in.your.mouth! Mmmmmm

Here is my smallest brother in law enjoying his pancakes too!
Then the kids had a bit of fun with the cookie cutters and decided to make me a plate:
The K and N stands for Kellen and Nicole- the duck is our dog (apparently they had no dog cookie cutter...) lol

It was fun!

I went on a short run with my sis in law after that and then went and got ready for the day. I had to rock the new shamrock shirt my Mom got me for my birthday:
Guess what I got for my birthday!?!
A heart rate monitor!
I'm so excited! I can finally have an accurate idea of what my calorie burn is!
I'll be writing a review on this guy in the next couple of weeks.

WASTE NOT....

So....now to the title of my post!

Last night Kellen wanted to take me to get ice cream for my birthday. Where? McDonald's. Yeah, I know, real fancy...thanks babe! Anyway, I didn't really want to eat more calories...but alas- I ended up ordering a dipped cone.

We were driving on the way home and eating. I decided that I was done. I had eaten a significant amount of the chocolate and I didn't want anymore. The problem was...it was melting...fast! So I had one of two options: eat it, OR....throw it out the window!

*Now before all you environmentalists get on me, a cone and ice cream is completely biodegradable, so no worries.

So....I chucked it!

Now you may be wondering why I am telling you this story. Well I am happy to say that I saw that little incident as a bit of an NSV. I have a SERIOUS PROBLEM with wasting food. I am the girl that eats the leftovers off someone else's plate because I hate seeing food go to waste. (anyone else have this problem!?)

When I say I have this problem...it's honestly quite extreme. I have put extremely odd combination of food together for dinners and such just so I can use the ingredients in our cupboard. It is not unusual for me to go WEEKS without groceries because I want to use up what we already have. Kellen even likes to tell people about the time I sent a ziplock bag of marshmallows in his lunch for him to eat because we weren't eating them at home and I didn't want them to go to waste!

Well last night I conquered that little fear. I told myself it was OK to throw something away and save myself from 100's of useless calories.

It's My Party...and I can cry if I want too?!?

Hey everyone! Happy Birthday to me (hehe).

Well today was going to be my "special" birthday weigh in day because I had hoped to have my goal of 30 pounds reached by today!

Did I do it?

NOPE!

Am I crying? (I can, it is my party!)

Nope!
Ok, in all seriousness, I am actually up .5 of a pound since Monday. I have lost a total of 28 pounds, not 30.

Before I opened this page up to write this post I was kind of embarrassed. I really didn't want to have to log on here and tell you all I didn't accomplish my goal. But guess what?

I'm over it.

First of all, I'm happy to show you all that I am a REAL person that has REAL downfalls. The last week is one of them. Sure, it's ok to splurge once or twice "in honor of your birthday." But let's just say having your birthday does not constitute an entire week of eating with reckless abandonment!

I fell off the wagon. I did. That is the only reason for a gain. Could I have made it to 30 pounds loss by today? Maybe...maybe not. But you know what? WHO CARES!

I have learned through this little experiment that I am no longer putting a "goal" date to lose by. Why? Because for me, a goal date does not make me "more motivated." It just makes me feel pressured. When I know that no dates come into the equation, I can accept that everything I put into my mouth is a choice for the rest of my life...not for the next couple of weeks/months until I reach some specific number on the scale.

SO! That's why I'm happy right now, despite what the scale told me this morning. I WILL splurge and I WILL fall of the wagon, but, DARN IT, I WILL get back up!

I like to think of myself as a positive person. So let's focus on something that makes a smile cross my face:

One year ago today, I turned 21 years old.

I weighed more than I ever had before. Probably at least 25 pounds more than today. The most exercise I did was walk 10 minutes with a friend on a lunch break.
I was out of breath going up the stairs at my own apartment!
I dreamed of being in shape but thought it could never happen.
Me in May 2009 (on left)

Today.

I weigh very similar to what I did when I was 18.
I can run farther than EVER in my life.
I am the best shape I've ever been.
I've changed the way I live my life.
Me in February 2010

So here's to the rest of my life- it's going to be a healthy one!
ps- better comparison pics coming when I can get to my own computer...

Weigh In Week 18: My struggle with oatmeal and new running goals!

Thank you Thank you Thank you to all who left me supporting comments on my post yesterday about the St. Patty's Day Dash- my first 5k. Check it out here if you didn't get a chance to see it!

I think I may have confused everyone with the title of my post yesterday. Although running the race was my b-day present to myself, my birthday is not actually until Wednesday, which happens to be the "official" St. Patrick's Day.

My goal was to have lost 30 pounds by my birthday. So I will be having a "special" weigh in on Wednesday as well. But for now....

I lost 1 pound this week. That means I have lost a total of 28.5 pounds- which also means I would need to lose 1.5lbs in two days to achieve my goals. Um...hehe....well....we will see!

As far as RUNNING goes...I have set another goal! There is a parade in our hometown in May called VikingFest (oddly enough my town is themed Scandinavian.) The parade kicks off with a 5 mile run that I will be doing. I've set up a brand new training schedule (located on my sidebar) and will be keeping track through my blog.

In other news, I ventured into the world of oatmeal this week.

I have NEVER liked oatmeal. And well. I still don't like it.

I tried making it on the stove according to the package directions. I doctored it up with some delicious goodness:
walnuts.coconut.chocolate PB

Sounds good right?

Ehhhhh....

and then I tried:
Maple syrup. Regular PB

Better.

But still....

Ehhhh.....

It's just so mushy and gushy and...not good....

SO! All you Oatmeal LOVERS- I need ideas! I will try to try all of your ideas in the next couple of weeks (depending on if they fit my "palette" of liking) and will post a pic of the one I decide is my favorite in a couple of weeks.

Well I am now off to start my first day of the "Blogger-Made Home Workout Challenge" started my Seth at 1010in2010. Check it out if you'd like to join in!