Training My New Running Partner

I have longed for a running partner for quite a while...

Hubby doesn't enjoy running... so he's out.

Mostest doesn't enjoy being in the stroller as much as he used to... so he's out.

I'm in a new town so I haven't made many friends yet... so that's out.

SO, I got a dog! LOL

I got this beautiful girl and named her Aurora. Goddess of dawn.


She was born on Christmas Eve (how fun is that?) and she is about 3 months old.

Anyway, yesterday I took her for her 1st ever run! She has so much freaking energy so I figure "Why not give it a shot?" So I set out with my Nike+ set for a 3k and a mindset to walk if either of us needed it. Turns out, neither of us did!!! I am so proud of her! It was rainy too and it didn't bother her a bit. On my end, I was pleasantly surprised because I had way more endurance than I have had in quite a while. It was a very successful run and I look forward to taking her for her next one.

Here are some pics of us after our run! :) We are a rainy, sweaty, badass mess! LOL

More March of Kindness

I've been working on a few things in terms of kindness in the last week.

For Mostest I have been working on creating his own area to play and work in. Partly so he can be more independent and be able to get his own materials out to play and work with. And partly to give him a space that does not belong to the puppy at all. We have been trying hard to make sure that Mostest doesn't feel pushed out and overlooked now that we have a needy furry baby in the house.

So, I created a class-room for him! :)


Here's a peek at the various shelves and materials too

This is the manipulative shelf


This is the literacy/art shelf



This is kind of a random mixture shelf

I've been trying to make more art times available to him too. Its hard sometimes because I get busy and the puppy gets in the way. They are more work because I have to prep the materials for him. They can't just be left out to be available 24/7. However I know how much he loves to do them so I have initiated more in the past week.


I think these things have really made a difference for Mostest. He has been much less whiny and had fewer emotional eruptions.



Now for my little furry Goddess. I made a decision one day to really pay attention to her cues for needing to go outside. I don't know if it is because of my consciousness or a pleasant coincidence but that was the first day she had NO accidents in the house! She has not had a single accident since then either. It makes it so that we can have more pleasant interactions too when I am not upset because she peed in the house again. Woot!



Now for me... I went and bought myself some cute yarn to encourage myself in my new hobby of knitting. Plus I bought some cute fat quarters that struck my fancy. I love creating things. It makes me light up inside. Also buying these things has helped me prioritize some time for ME to do something I enjoy.

A 5k Kind of Day!

After a week plus of all sorts of reasons why I couldn't make it to the gym... I finally made it to the gym!

I had extra time today too so I decide to do as many 5k's as possible on multiple cardio machines.

I did 5k on the elliptical...

Then 5k on the treadmill...

And finally 5k on the bike...

I really pushed myself too. I didn't just go at my status quo pace. I think my endurance is finally picking back up too because I pushed harder than usual and felt better than usual too. I can't wait to go again!

Top 2 Tuesday

TOP 2 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT YOU

I saw this today and thought it would be a fun thing to do.

1)
 
(In light of Mostest's self haircut last week) I am the "official" haircutter-when-you're-not-supposed-to in my family of origin. I thought that the ferret and cat's tail hair should end bluntly not tapered... so I cut it accordingly. (good thing I knew to check for where the tail was...) I also cut my brother's hair when he was about 4 because he asked me to and I was trying to be a good big sister. Unfortunately I cut a big chunk down to the scalp by his ear... Oops. Then when I was 17-18 and my sister was about 2 I wanted to give her a hair cut and my mom said no, but I did anyway :) It turned out really well and my mom liked it though LOL

2)
 
                           Google Images
I hate it when the house or car or whatever is quiet. If there is no music on it feels empty and wrong. Music makes my world go 'round and I would be lost without it. I can even break my childhood into chunks based on what kind of music I loved at the time.

Kindergarten- 2nd grade: Whitney Houston

3rd grade- 6th grade: Country

7th grade- 8th grade: Pop

9th grade- 10th grade: Punk

11th grade - 12th grade: Rock

And now I listen to evvvvverything except techno. LOL

Mindfulness

This is something I need to work on. Being mindful.

I often think things like "Back when I was skinny, ______________." Or "When I'm skinny again, __________." It's always past or future. Never present. I never seem to think things like "Right now, I'm not where I want to be but I'm working on it and I'm strong." If I am thinking something about the present it is usually, "Ugh, I'm so fat" "I hate my body" "I wish I looked like her."

Sooooo not helpful or healthy. :(

Certainly this ties into food and weightloss/gain too. If I am not eating mindfully then I will most likely pick unwise foods and eat waaaay more than I should. This is definitely a problem I have.

I also think that way in other areas. For example "Someday when we're in the town we will stay in permanently, ________________." "Someday when we have a house of our own, ___________." Etc.

I also spend a lot of time not being fully engaged in what I am doing at that moment. By having the TV on while I am doing other things. Multitasking instead of fully engaging with Mostest. Even being on the computer while doing other things at the same time.

I need to spend more time in the moment. Truly being in that moment. I need to work on being happy with who I am right now, what I have right now and where I am right now. Having goals is a good thing, making plans for the future is a good thing... But it should not be at the expense of now.

A March of Kindness

I saw this over on Adventures in Mommyhood and knew this was something I should do! I have always believed that we can be kind and respectful in just about any situation. I also love to do kind things for the people I love. Goodness knows I could use some self-kindness too...

I will start with a kind thing I did today... Hubby couldn't sleep last night and went to work on 2 or less hours of sleep. So I made a choice to skip my gym trip so that he could sleep the rest of the day after his shift. Clearly I made the right choice because I saw him just long enough to fill his belly and he's been asleep ever since!

Empowering Myself

I have been absent for awhile because I have been embarrassed with my efforts to lose weight and especially my progress (or rather lack-there-of) and I just didn't know what to say about it.

I have been reading a lot of the weight loss blogs that I have bookmarked and one really slapped me in the face... Over at PriorFatGirl (one of my favorite weightloss blogs) I read this post by Elle: Strategy #1: Address the problem. It really made me take a hard look at myself and the choicing I have been making.

"If I subscribe to the idea that I am an “overeater” or a “chocoholic” or someone who “struggles with her weight,” then I am actually saying that I am powerless to control myself around food."

I have labeled myself as an "overeater" and as someone with "food issues" for quite a while. Which easily turns into an excuse for my behavior because "I can't help it, I have 'food issues' ".... And that is ridiculous. I have always been a firm believe that life is all about choices and that we always have a choice. So why have I not been applying that to my eating? I make the choice of what I eat and how much, not someone else, not the food. ME.

You can forgive yourself until the cows come home, and eventually you’ll be one of them. I forgave myself all the way to 212 pounds, and there’s not a doubt in my mind that I could forgive myself clear to 500 pounds or more.

This really struck me because I am constantly making excuses, justifying, rationalizing and probably forgiving too. "Well I had a really bad day... it won't be that big of a deal is I eat some ____." "I don't look that overweight..." Etc etc. And really this struck me on a very personal level too because I literally did forgive myself up to 200lbs...

This is not who I am. A woman who weighs 200lbs and has "food issues."

I am the woman who was badass on the rugby field and on the ice rink. The woman who could knock other chicks around and score try's and goals with ease. The woman who had tone muscles all over. The woman who could wear children's sized shirts. The woman who felt strong and powerful and sexy and energetic.

I want to be that again. Not the woman I am now. The woman who hates to wear cute clothes because they show how heavy I have gotten. The woman who hates to get her picture taken. The woman who feels tired most of the time. The woman who has to actually work hard to to fitness activities.

It's all about choices. Only I can make the choices that will lead to me being a happier, healthier person. The excuses need to end now.