Running.

I've always loved running. As a kid, I ran cross country and track. I wasn't always awesome at it.. I mean, I made championships and stuff but I never placed at them. But I loved the feeling of running and the high I would get after completing whatever goal I set for myself.

Now that I'm officially 23 lbs lighter, running is so much easier than my previous attempts in the past year. I'm still not awesome (currently a 9 min. mile), but at least I can improve from here. At least, this time, I know I can do it. My knees aren't bothering me. I don't have to stop because of a breathing issue. I'm actually running. It feels soooo fantastic.

long time, no blog.

I hardly think about blogging anymore. I think it's because my laptop died (RIP) which means I have to be upstairs and away from all the fun just to blog.. and- by the time I get to do that without worrying what in my house would be broken in my absence- i'm too tired/annoyed/preoccupied to do much else.

My last few posts talked about wedding planning and weight loss. The weight loss has been going fantastic- 20 lbs down!! I just reset my goal for another 20. Hopefully it doesn't take 6 months this time.. The wedding planning, however, has stalled out. The financials of it are seriously overwhelming. I bought a dress but nothing else has come together. We visited a couple sites and both were extremely expensive and, to be honest, we just freaked. Being unemployed with three kids, a zoo of animals and an old house = no wedding. So..  we're waiting until I land a job before we initiate any serious planning.

 To go back to the weight loss topic: did you know you can lose weight in your fingers and feet?? I had to turn my ring in to be resized from an 8.5 to a 6 and my regular size 11 shoes are a bit too wiggly. I bought a pair that I looovveeddd and I literally walk right out of them! So disappointed. Maybe it's just the brand.. my Steve Madden's fit perfectly. hmm.

under construction

i started weight watchers 6 weeks ago. I've lost almost 8lbs since then. I think that's pretty awesome. I would like for it to be more awesome though so I decided to get to the track this morning. I did a jog/walk combo, alternating each lap. My best lap time? 2:36. That's ugly but I know it'll get better. All in all, when I add up my lap times, I had an 11 minute mile. I'm looking forward to when it'll be half that. Today, I'm going to clean the hell out of my house, finish painting the bathroom and hopefully get a P90X workout in before taking my 2 mile walk tonight once the heat subsides. I didn't do really great this week when I look back at what I've eaten (an entire angel food cake, for example) so I'm not super hopeful about seeing a loss at the scale this weekend. I'll still go and weigh in. I'll take what I get. I can always start fresh the next day.

a wedding

this has been put off for quite some time now.. but we're finally planning our wedding. the date is still TBD- we're reviewing some sites in the next couple of weeks to determine where we'll get married and hopefully nail a date down.

Places we're considering:
http://www.blueherondining.com/
http://www.carlemuseum.org/



Have an idea? Let me know!

dead parakeets.

we've been talking about selling our house and moving. get a fresh start; try something new. explore. we talk about it with the kids all the time showing them pictures of potential houses and scrolling through the neighborhood, talking dreamily about what the autumn must be like there and if the neighborhood has great Halloween parties like the ones we're used to.

one of my sons just came in from the backyard with tears welling in his eyes, "Mom! What happens to Gloria if we sell the house?!"

Gloria is a parakeet. A dead one. And she's buried in the very back of my yard, under the elm tree.

"Honey, I'm not going to dig up Gloria so we can re-bury her at our new place." His head falls. "I'm sorry but Gloria stays in the ground." Tears.

Didn't see that one coming.