Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. After a wee bit of a pause in my writing I am back and I'd like to thank yoga for that. But before we get to yoga, we have a bit of catching up to do. So let's back up a few weeks...
First, I am happy to report that I hit a PB (personal best) last weekend with a 7.5 mile run! We got up on Saturday morning and Jake took the kiddos out to run some errands so it was just me, my treadmill, and HGTV. There is something to be said for how nicely your brain operates when there is no one saying, "mommy, mommy, mommy..." So here's a really loud shout-out to my husband for being so supportive and helpful. Running has become a love...a real love...not a one night stand like it was in the past. I am attributing that to the time we have taken to get to know each other. No seriously though, there is so much to be said for running slowly (in my case at about a 12 minute mile pace). I can breathe and talk and when I'm done I don't feel like I'm going to fall over dead. Its that high at the end and the feeling that I could have gone longer that keeps me coming back for more. I would even go so far as to say that if you are a person who says, "I hate running. I can't run, etc. etc." then you haven't run slow enough. I just really couldn't care less how long it takes me to run the miles because - really - if you have the cajones to make fun of someone who just ran 7.5 miles - no matter the pace - then you probably aren't a friend of mine. In fact, I probably won't introduce you to any of my friends either...and you probably hate babies or something. So I have been able to stick with running 3 - 4 times per week (I really try for 4) with one long run some time during the week. The other days I am running 4 - 5.5 miles.
Don't hate me when I say this, but I have become one of those annoying people who loves to work out. I used to think they were smoking crack or something. Or at a minimum they have some part of the brain that I was born without. And now I am one of them. That's all I'm going to say about that because I still want to have friends.
Second, I am happy to say that, thanks to www.livestrong.com/dailyplate, I have kept very good track of what goes in my mouth. If you haven't checked out that site, DO IT. Its awesome. As of today I have lost 15 pounds! Can I get an amen? Aaaaaaamen. Anyway, the good news is I'm back in all of my old jeans. The bad news is, they are getting a little baggy on me. I'm not sure exactly how to express this level of excitement in blog format...use your imagination. Let's also here it for reduced friction in the upper inner thigh region. Ladies, I know you'll celebrate that with me! There are definitely still areas on my body of total disdain, but even pre-babies and 10 years ago when I was the size of a yellow No. 2, I had those so I'm trying to look past them and celebrate the wins. I am hoping that a little more of this funny post-baby belly will go away. Its weird...
So all of this happy, happy, joy, joy is great, but I feel the need to also talk about the L column (you know, wins and losses...the L column). One thing that has kicked my tail a bit is the devil wine. I love red wine...and white wine...mmmmmm wine. There have been a couple nights when "over-indulging" has really left me useless the next day and actually, in one case two days (thank you Jones's and Emericks). That statement right there makes me feel like an old person..."I just can't do that anymore..." Let's face it, being a little (or a lot) hung over makes you want to curl up on the couch and snuggle a quarter-pounder, right? I am definitely not one of those people who likes to "sweat it out." I prefer to nurture the day after with food and laziness. My point here is that I haven't learned my lesson and I'm not sure I actually will for a while. I love those nights once in a while and I'm not really sure I am willing to give them up. They usually involve a babysitter, my husband, great food, and friends. I think you have to do or have that indulgent thing once in a while or you're going to get burned out on this whole "healthy living" business. The problem is, its a double whammy (I just spelled, spelled, and re-spelled that about 6 different ways...excuse me Mr. Oxford, can you tell me the proper spelling of whammie, wammy, whammy, wammie?...I digress). You get the additional calories of the wine, food, etc. and then the next day you're less likely to stick to your goal too. Devil wine... In any case, what I have discovered is that even if I go over slightly on one day, when I average it in to the week I am still under my calorie goal and that is what counts.
And now yoga...mmmm...yoga. So I am a big talker about all of the things I want to do and yoga is probably the thing I have talked about for the longest. At the same time, I am a giant chicken and I get really nervous in new situations (thus my resolution to do more outside of that jerk, The Comfort Zone). Because of this, I do a lot of talking and not a whole lot of "walking." Lucky for me, my husband knows about this short-coming and has graciously accepted the role of Chicken Pusher. In other words, he knows that I just need a little push and I'll do it. So for Valentine's Day he got me 11 pre-paid classes, a mat, and a grippy towel thingy and off I went to MidWest Power Yoga. The roads were terrible, I was running a little later than I wanted for the first class (I wanted to get there early and check it out before jumping in), and I was so nervous...I almost turned around and came home...but I didn't. I walked in and it smelled like a clean hippie (as opposed to a dirty hippie...one of the worst smells ever). There was incense burning and a lovely lady sat at the desk and welcomed me like her long lost spirit sister. She took my mat and got me a spot and I was in! She gave me a quick orientation and I was in love - with the yoga, not that lady. That's not really my thing. Anyway, it was (yup, I'm going to say it) life changing. The class itself was amazing even though I was really bad at a few of the poses. I felt calm and energized at the same time. Maybe it was only the yoga, but I think I was also so excited to be doing this thing that I have wanted for a long time and it was outside of my comfort zone. It was freeing to say the least. I can't wait to go back. Now I understand why my friends who do yoga religiously are so crazy about it...I get it now. Thank you Jake, for the best gift ever.
I feel like the older I get the more I am able to be certain of myself, but it is always a work in progress. When I look back on my life so far I see times when I was trying so hard to fit in with whom ever was around me. Even now, at 33, I still catch myself succumbing to peer pressure and I don't like it. People have always described me as having my fair share of opinions, but even those are mellowing a bit. At the same time, there are things that I will stand up for because they are mine and I believe in them. So this is my first proclamation: I LOVE GRANNY PANTIES AND NO ONE WILL CONVINCE ME THAT A THONG IS MORE COMFORTABLE.
Thanks for reading...signing off.
First, I am happy to report that I hit a PB (personal best) last weekend with a 7.5 mile run! We got up on Saturday morning and Jake took the kiddos out to run some errands so it was just me, my treadmill, and HGTV. There is something to be said for how nicely your brain operates when there is no one saying, "mommy, mommy, mommy..." So here's a really loud shout-out to my husband for being so supportive and helpful. Running has become a love...a real love...not a one night stand like it was in the past. I am attributing that to the time we have taken to get to know each other. No seriously though, there is so much to be said for running slowly (in my case at about a 12 minute mile pace). I can breathe and talk and when I'm done I don't feel like I'm going to fall over dead. Its that high at the end and the feeling that I could have gone longer that keeps me coming back for more. I would even go so far as to say that if you are a person who says, "I hate running. I can't run, etc. etc." then you haven't run slow enough. I just really couldn't care less how long it takes me to run the miles because - really - if you have the cajones to make fun of someone who just ran 7.5 miles - no matter the pace - then you probably aren't a friend of mine. In fact, I probably won't introduce you to any of my friends either...and you probably hate babies or something. So I have been able to stick with running 3 - 4 times per week (I really try for 4) with one long run some time during the week. The other days I am running 4 - 5.5 miles.
Don't hate me when I say this, but I have become one of those annoying people who loves to work out. I used to think they were smoking crack or something. Or at a minimum they have some part of the brain that I was born without. And now I am one of them. That's all I'm going to say about that because I still want to have friends.
Second, I am happy to say that, thanks to www.livestrong.com/dailyplate, I have kept very good track of what goes in my mouth. If you haven't checked out that site, DO IT. Its awesome. As of today I have lost 15 pounds! Can I get an amen? Aaaaaaamen. Anyway, the good news is I'm back in all of my old jeans. The bad news is, they are getting a little baggy on me. I'm not sure exactly how to express this level of excitement in blog format...use your imagination. Let's also here it for reduced friction in the upper inner thigh region. Ladies, I know you'll celebrate that with me! There are definitely still areas on my body of total disdain, but even pre-babies and 10 years ago when I was the size of a yellow No. 2, I had those so I'm trying to look past them and celebrate the wins. I am hoping that a little more of this funny post-baby belly will go away. Its weird...
So all of this happy, happy, joy, joy is great, but I feel the need to also talk about the L column (you know, wins and losses...the L column). One thing that has kicked my tail a bit is the devil wine. I love red wine...and white wine...mmmmmm wine. There have been a couple nights when "over-indulging" has really left me useless the next day and actually, in one case two days (thank you Jones's and Emericks). That statement right there makes me feel like an old person..."I just can't do that anymore..." Let's face it, being a little (or a lot) hung over makes you want to curl up on the couch and snuggle a quarter-pounder, right? I am definitely not one of those people who likes to "sweat it out." I prefer to nurture the day after with food and laziness. My point here is that I haven't learned my lesson and I'm not sure I actually will for a while. I love those nights once in a while and I'm not really sure I am willing to give them up. They usually involve a babysitter, my husband, great food, and friends. I think you have to do or have that indulgent thing once in a while or you're going to get burned out on this whole "healthy living" business. The problem is, its a double whammy (I just spelled, spelled, and re-spelled that about 6 different ways...excuse me Mr. Oxford, can you tell me the proper spelling of whammie, wammy, whammy, wammie?...I digress). You get the additional calories of the wine, food, etc. and then the next day you're less likely to stick to your goal too. Devil wine... In any case, what I have discovered is that even if I go over slightly on one day, when I average it in to the week I am still under my calorie goal and that is what counts.
And now yoga...mmmm...yoga. So I am a big talker about all of the things I want to do and yoga is probably the thing I have talked about for the longest. At the same time, I am a giant chicken and I get really nervous in new situations (thus my resolution to do more outside of that jerk, The Comfort Zone). Because of this, I do a lot of talking and not a whole lot of "walking." Lucky for me, my husband knows about this short-coming and has graciously accepted the role of Chicken Pusher. In other words, he knows that I just need a little push and I'll do it. So for Valentine's Day he got me 11 pre-paid classes, a mat, and a grippy towel thingy and off I went to MidWest Power Yoga. The roads were terrible, I was running a little later than I wanted for the first class (I wanted to get there early and check it out before jumping in), and I was so nervous...I almost turned around and came home...but I didn't. I walked in and it smelled like a clean hippie (as opposed to a dirty hippie...one of the worst smells ever). There was incense burning and a lovely lady sat at the desk and welcomed me like her long lost spirit sister. She took my mat and got me a spot and I was in! She gave me a quick orientation and I was in love - with the yoga, not that lady. That's not really my thing. Anyway, it was (yup, I'm going to say it) life changing. The class itself was amazing even though I was really bad at a few of the poses. I felt calm and energized at the same time. Maybe it was only the yoga, but I think I was also so excited to be doing this thing that I have wanted for a long time and it was outside of my comfort zone. It was freeing to say the least. I can't wait to go back. Now I understand why my friends who do yoga religiously are so crazy about it...I get it now. Thank you Jake, for the best gift ever.
I feel like the older I get the more I am able to be certain of myself, but it is always a work in progress. When I look back on my life so far I see times when I was trying so hard to fit in with whom ever was around me. Even now, at 33, I still catch myself succumbing to peer pressure and I don't like it. People have always described me as having my fair share of opinions, but even those are mellowing a bit. At the same time, there are things that I will stand up for because they are mine and I believe in them. So this is my first proclamation: I LOVE GRANNY PANTIES AND NO ONE WILL CONVINCE ME THAT A THONG IS MORE COMFORTABLE.
Thanks for reading...signing off.
OMG!!! you are hilareous!!! Don't fall into peer pressure, especially when it's some drunk chick blabbering on and on!!!!!!! Fantastic work on the 15 lbs! You look awesome!!! And of course congrats on the super awesome run and YOGA!!!!! You are an amazing lil athlete!!!!! Xxxooo
ReplyDeleteThanks for blogging, Jessie. I can really relate with a lot of your thoughts; I have a similar inner voice. Thanks for your honesty. I also enjoy the "full coverage" undies. Can't do the thong...
ReplyDelete