Long Day...

I am about wiped out today. It might have something to do with the lack of sleep I had last night. Managed to get to bed at a reasonable time. Brian was packed and ready to go by 10:00 and I was able to turn my light off by 10:30. I thought I fell asleep right away, but so I was surprised when I work up and saw the clock only say 11:15, then 11:43, then 12:12. At this point, I convinced myself to not even try to go back to sleep. I decided it was too much work to get out of bed, so I just decided to play my DS, did not want to actually wake Brian up by turning on my light to read again. This lasted until about 1:46. At which time, I forced myself to turn off the game and get back to sleep. Well, it worked I slept great until 4:00 AM, when Brian's alarm went off, so much for a solid 8 hours. I did manage to get back to sleep after Brian left, but only for about two or three more hours. Logan decided we didn't need to sleep in, even though he was excited last night about being able to sleep in this morning.

Despite my lack of sleep, I completed my run for today. A full 4 miles. Wow, I am so glad I have 15 more weeks before I am expected to run 13 miles, because four miles felt so much further than the normal 3.1 miles I run during the 5K season. Here's to the next few months of training.

It is official...

I have officially signed up for the Half Marathon. It is the North Olympic Discovery Half Marathon. It is scheduled for June 6th. I have just over 4 months to prepare for this. Thankfully I am not alone. I have just received confirmation that my sister has also signed up. That means there is no backing out now. Fortunately, she will have a training partner, her friend Renee, will be making this journey with her. I am so excited for the both of you.

Today was my day off from working out. Yes, I am entitled to a day off here and there. Especially once I am in my full triathlon training, I am thinking my body will be screaming at me to rest. Tomorrow is a 4 mile run, the debate is whether I do it inside or venture outside in the possible rainy weather. Only time will tell... Even though I took today off from running, I did get my Green Smoothie. Our friends Jessica and Jason came over for dinner. I made ribs this evening, and I do have to admit they were pretty delicious, thanks especially to the wonderful sauce Montgomery Inn BBQ (that of course came from Jessica via Cincinnati.)

There is also a new blog that I will join Angela and Renee and possibly others in sharing our progress to get healthier. Be sure to check it out... www.halforbust.blogspot.com

Didn't want to forget

This will be super quick. Heading to bed, but I wanted to keep with my commitment. We stayed up to watch the Hangover. Not too bad, funny in parts. Also managed to get my run in this evening, mostly because I was trying to get away from the boys while they were arguing.

More tomorrow...

First Day in the Pool

It was a good start. I was able to do about 1000 yards. Not straight swimming, but it was up and down the lane. I needed to use a kick board for most of the workout to prevent myself from dipping too far into the water while trying to breath. It was a successful swim for the first time in a long time. I did manage to do the breast strike for a full 100 yards, that felt like a good accomplishment. Hoping that my arm is not going to be super soar later this evening or tomorrow morning. Ice pack, Here I come!!!

I am still hoping to get my run in after dinner, but we will have to wait and see about that one. Hey, at least I got one workout in today, it is not like I did nothing. It is also not too late for a Green Smoothie, last night we made one at 8:00, mostly because Brandon chose not to eat his dinner and that was the only way he was allowed to play the Wii with the rest of us. Hmmm... I think that might be another topic.

Multi-tasking

I consider myself to be a very good multi-tasker. Although sometimes I wonder how many tasks should I really be doing at one time. I am currently writing this blog, listening to Logan read his book for homework, listening (tuning out) the President's State of the Union Address and at the same time trying to get Brandon to eat his dinner or finish his homework, both of which we have been working on for over an hour.



I suppose at the end of the day, they will all get done, but it does tend to take a little longer to do all of them at once than it does to do just one at a time. But it seems like if I am not doing more than one thing at a time, I will never get to any of them.

Well, I think I have reached my limit, I am really not sure what Logan is reading, so I shall attend to him. Good night

Ready for some good news?

I went to see the Orthopedic Surgeon this morning for possibly the last time. I have been given permission to return to the pool. That of course is the good news, unfortunately now I don't have any excuse for not swimming. My first time will hopefully be on Thursday. I will keep you posted on that torture session. I am pretty sure it is not going to be as fun and enjoyable as it once was.

Today's workout was on the treadmill. Working on increasing my speed, although I am not sure my legs want to go faster than a 10 minute-mile. But I will continue to work on it.

Didn't make a new green smoothie yet, but I did get to try the neon pink one yesterday. I will try to send the picture that I took from my phone. I may still have one today, still waiting for Brian to be home. Yes it really is after 7:00 PM. I did get the opportunity to have lunch with him, but I am sure the boys would like to see him for a bit before they have to go to bed. These next few months are going to be very stressful with Brian working so late, trying to get the house ready for the market, and trying to determine where we will be moving (and of course, Brian finding a job). Maybe I need a drink instead of a Green Smoothie. Does putting alcohol in the smoothie discount the good it does?

I think you all maybe in big trouble. I just learned how to post from my phone.

Do you hate Mondays?

I probably hated them growing up, but not since I became a mother of school-aged children. I actually really like them. Mondays are one of our busy days of the week, but it usually means that the boys are back in school. I will say that I do miss them while they are at school, but not as much as I enjoy a few hours of peace and quiet. I took the boys to the bus stop this morning and came home and got a full hour workout. It was great. Until I am able to get back in the pool and bike ride consistently, I have been supplementing my workouts with the Wii Fit. Let me tell you doing the Hula Hoop for 10 minutes is a huge Calorie burner, not to mention a VERY LONG time. I don't recommend that. If someone wants to beat my score on that one, they can have it, I will not be challenging that one. But for the record, I did do more than 3000 'hulas'.

After school, the boys have Aikido and Chess. So we do have a lot going on, but there is another good thing about Monday... I DON'T have to cook!!! We get to eat on the run. Chess is held at the mall in the food court and we usually have about 30 minutes between Aikido and Chess, so what better way to fill the void? Feed the boys greasy food from the mall. No McDonalds at this mall, so they either have Pizza or Subway. Believe it or not Logan will actually eat have my sandwich, which is great and healthier, but it means I don't have the other half for lunch the following day. The sacrifices we make as mothers.

Jessica will be bringing a Green Smoothie to share this evening, although I am told this one is supposed to be Neon Pink. I will take my camera so you can all share in that one. Have a good Monday.

I didn't want to forget...Updated

This will be short, as I am heading to bed, but I promised myself I would get something written here. We tried another smoothie today, this time Brandon wanted more and more and more. He was only using a little cup, but he kept asking for more. I think we may have found a winner.

Here are the pictures of the boys enjoying their Green Smoothie:

I was also able to get my run in today. I am still sore from my meeting with the Trainer this past week, but it felt good to get some miles under my belt. Considered the first week of my training for the Half Marathon. I think I may have decided on a race, so I guess that means it will only get closer.

Our Busy Saturdays

We have survived another busy Saturday morning. The boys are usually exhausted by the end of the day, but enjoy all of their activities until then. We started off the morning with our craft at Lowe's, today they made tic tac toe games. Actually have a photo or two of our little builders.

Both love to do the crafts every week. We alternate between Home Depot and Lowe's, certainly have to make sure that we have both stores near us wherever we move.

After Craft, we have Aikido and then soccer. The boys are doing much better as the season progresses with soccer, they are actually starting to go after the ball. For a while there, Brandon would run in the opposite direction because he was afraid of getting hit in the stomach. As if his brother doesn't hit him enough, and he keeps running towards Logan. Go figure...

They were both rewarded with a treat to McDonald's, Brian once again reminded me how much he hated that place. This is usually why we go there when he is out of town. Once we got home, both of the boys helped make our very first Green Smoothie. Yes, it really is green. I told the boys not to think about the color or what was going into it, just close your eyes and drink it. It worked for Logan, not so much for Brandon. He is not as trusting, not sure why? Here is a lovely picture of our first Green Smoothie. It actually had a similar enough taste to Peanut Butter, so I was able to enjoy it, without thinking too much about the ingredients also.

What a bad way to start...

I could not even keep to my goal for two days in a row. I had every intention, thought about what I was going to write as soon as I got home. However, a little body was kind of preventing that from happening. I spent all morning in Brandon's classroom, just so he could decide to ride the bus home (usually not a problem, but I watched him get on the bus AT SCHOOL!!!) He likes it, so that is fine.

Rushed home, to get lunch together and head out to physical therapy. After PT, Brandon joined me in working out with some step aerobics, until he got bored and used some of the steps as bridges for his trains. Hey at least I got me workout in... Although my legs are still in pain. Now it has moved to my calves. Today should be loads of fun running.

After school, we picked Logan up and then rushed (yes again it was rushing) to get ready for Boy Scouts. They had a meeting at the Library and each got to pick out a few books. Rushed out to get dinner and head to the School for Family Bingo night. The boys had so much fun. They even got to call out some of the numbers. Might have to play more often, it is a great way to work on number recognition for Brandon.

This now brings us to our crazy Saturday mornings... Craft at Lowe's, followed by Aikido and then RUSHING off to Soccer. Lunch is usually somewhere around 1:30 on these days. Good thing Daddy is making Eggs and Potatoes to fill them up. I will hopefully have some pictures today.

Really Behind the Eight Ball

I must apologize for the extremely long absence of updating our blog. I would like to say that life has been so busy that I have not had a moment to sit down and write about any of it, but that would probably be fabricating the truth just a little bit. Actually, I have no real reason for the absence. I just walk away from the computer after checking email and totally forget to return and update all of our doings. My hope is to change that. Because really how difficult is it to actually write a few paragraphs daily? Please don't answer that... I am sure it is very easy and I will look like a fool.

I am also hoping to start adding my training to this blog, that way I am somewhat held accountable for my workouts by more than just myself. Not that I expect anyone to call me up and yell at me for not working out. Actually that might not be a bad idea. I feel so much better after my workouts (except right now with my legs aching right up to my butt). But I know I was better off after completing my workout yesterday. Here are my goals for this year: complete a Half Marathon (possibly in June) and complete an Olympic Distance Triathlon (hopefully in July or August). I set out to do both of these events last year, unfortunately with my shoulder surgery, I did not complete either of them.

For those who don't remember, I had a SLAP (Superior Labral tear from Anterior to Posterior)Tear in my Labrum. I had surgery on October 7, 2009. I was in a sling for six weeks (absolutely no movement), for the following six weeks I was allowed movement but only lifting things UNDER 1 pound. I don't know about you, but one pound is very difficult to comply with, especially when there are two little boys in the mix. I am almost done with my third set of six weeks and I am slowly increasing my weight. I do not have 100% of my movement, but I am almost there. As soon as I am allowed I will be heading back to the pool. I have missed being in the water the most during this whole process. Once my shoulder is healed enough for me to continue swimming, my training for triathlon season will be in full swing. My goal is to be in the water by mid February. Wish me luck...

On top of my training, I am going to be starting a new way of getting fruits and vegetables into my family. For those who know me, these food items do NOT rate high on my list of edible things. Actually I am not even sure they made a list in my diet at all. My dear friend Jessica has started a blog: The Year of Green Smoothies. She loves these things and makes them daily if not multiple times a day. Supposedly, one drink is enough fruits and vegetables for the entire day. Since I currently don't eat any of them, I figured even if I only make one smoothie a week, I am improving my health, right? I originally would only try a smoothie when I was at her house, but one day she brought a smoothie to me and Brian was there. As soon as he got a taste of it, he was hooked. Not sure if he loved the taste of it, but he loved the IDEA of it. Any time we can drink one smoothie a day and get that much natural vitamins in our body is a good thing. If you are interested in more information about these follow Jessica's blog. I am not sure how much I will be posting about it. But she will be excited just to hear I am thinking about drinking them.

I don't want to burn out on my first day back to the blog, so I will end for now. I will try to post some pictures soon of our trip to Disney this past December.