More Running Than I Thought Possible...

Have I mentioned I have a dream of being a fantastic runner?? Well I do. I think I REALLY just have a dream of having a runner's body...but hey...I'm sure they got that body from running, right?

I was very active in high school, playing volleyball, basketball, and running track (and when I say running...I mean throwing...and really I mean just leaving practice early to go get slurpies and some pizza!) so you wouldn't think this running thing would be do difficult for me. Well you'd be wrong! I'm super slow and I've never run more than a mile in my life...and that was just when I was forced to run them in gym class.


First I thought...set a goal. So my goal is to run a 5K sometime this year.

Second I thought...figure out your training plan. I went to the Internet and found two 8-week programs. The first one is for beginning runners and the second one is for people who can already run about 2 miles and are training for a 5K.

Third I thought...do it! I'm on my third week of training...
I do all of my training in 30 minute increments (so this has equaled out to me doing these sequences 4 times).

Week 1: Walk 6 minutes, run 1 minute (repeat); do three times a week
This week was fairly simple. I have already been running off and on for about a year (not in long increments mind you) but a minute I can handle.

Week 2: Walk 5 minutes, run 2 minutes (repeat); do three times a week
I admit this was a little bit harder. I truly felt like this week was going to be it for me. I couldn't believe how tired my body got from just running two minutes at a time!

Week 3: Walk 3 minutes, run 4 minutes (repeat); do four times a week
I have feared this week since I saw the training program. It is a jump from running 8 out of 30 minutes to running 16! Um...what??
But I am so crazy excited to tell you...that yesterday....I actually did it! I literally almost puked one time...but I never stopped! I am so not looking forward to the next three times this week I have to do it...or the fact that next week I have to run even more....but I'm trying to focus right now on what I just did!

I know this doesn't seem like much to my running friends but it really is quite an accomplishment for me. Y'all are such an inspiration and I really love reading about all of your training. Maybe someday...you'll read about mine!

A Baby and Basketball!

Friday I had the loveliest time with my new friend Tammie. As you may remember, this was our first adventure out on our own without our husbands...and boy did we have a blast! She is so much fun and I am really excited about how much we had in common. I'm just so sorry I didn't meet her sooner.

We walked around the outdoor mall for a little while and then made our way to Starbucks for a break. Tammie is only maybe a week away from having her very first baby so a little exercise is a lot for her. She is too cute though. When Matt found out we were hanging out, he said, "Oh that's so exciting! If she goes into labor, you can take her to the hospital!" Well, I kinda flipped! What the heck would I do if this really did happen?? What hospital does she go to...do we need to get her bag...is she even packed...how long should I stay? I actually got kind of nervous! I ended up blabbing about this to Tammie on the way home and she thought it was the funniest thing ever. We had ourselves a good laugh...and she assured me that she was at least a week away from going into labor. We're planning an Oreo Truffle making session this week though...so I may in fact be the one driving my new friend to the hospital.

Speaking of Oreo Truffles...here they are!


My basketball idea did NOT turn out. Ha! Obviously..

I made the orange color chocolate and they were too cute. I was lazy and bought the store bought chocolate icing to make the stripes because I didn't want to whip up any chocolate buttercream. Well...the consistency did not work. It just didn't pipe in a straight line AT ALL! I ended up just doing little squiggles. Hey...they taste the same right?? They were still delicious and are now gone. Everyone at the party we went to on Saturday loved them...so I'd say...success!

My bracket, on the other hand, took a huge beating. I was sitting pretty...and this weekend was 1 for 4. Yikes...no money for me. Oh well...

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! As for me...it's a little Amazing Race and then off to bed. 4:45 comes pretty early on Mondays...

Weekend Plans??

It's finally Friday! This has been a rough week at work....we are letting 4 people go today...AND there have been rumblings that our Site Manager is leaving. More on this if it's true!

But onto brighter things....

Today I am going for a little shopping trip with one of my newest Cleveland gal pals, Tammie. She is the wife of one of the guys Matt works with. They live super close to us so we decided we needed to become friends! We're hitting up the open air mall by our houses after work. This will be our "first date" alone together...so hopefully we won't have any of those awkward silence moments...you know? Making new friends is hard! Tammie is pregnant and is SO super close to her due date...like two weeks...so I'm excited to see her. It may be awhile before she's up for hanging out again.

Tomorrow Matt and I are heading WAY east to meet up with some other people that he works with and their significant others to watch the NCAA Tournament. Well...since Purdue is officially out...insert sad face here...I'm rooting for North Carolina. I have them winning my pool and I am currently in 3rd place out of 100 people...so I have a very good chance of winning some serious cash!

I decided I would make the famous Oreo Truffles that I have been bringing everywhere...since they are always requested and always a hit! I'm going to try to decorate them like little basketballs. I had the idea...and then I saw them on this website!! It's exactly what I want to do!

What are your plans for the weekend?? Anything exciting?

A Starting Point

The story of my weight loss started oh so long ago. I was actually quite the skinny child but soon porked it up once I discovered I could steal snacks from the pantry and not get caught. I developed a HUGE sweet tooth which has never gone away.

As an aside, I am completely determined not to let this happen to my children. I don't blame my parents for my struggles (that's all on me) but I swear I will make my children eat well if it kills me.

I truly don't think I would've ever called myself FAT (what an awful word anyway...right??), but my weight was way up there. I am tall (5'11'') so you have to take that into account...I am aware. And I am thankful that I have always carried my weight well...relatively....(besides my huge backside and child-bearing hips...but I guess it has to go somewhere!).

I did WW on and off in high school and college. I never really joined for real (except if you count a very short one month span of going to the meetings to weigh in and then leaving!) but I usually just counted the points on my own. My mom has joined a bazillion times so she always had all of the materials to pass along to me. I had good spurts and bad spurts until I finally hit rock bottom. Maybe someday I will share this weight with you...maybe when I'm at my goal :)

Here I am at just about my heaviest....at my college graduation. It's weird to look at these old pictures...because at the time I thought I looked good you know?? I guess you don't realize how big you really were until you lose it. Oh my face...geez!


Shortly after this...I started doing WW for real. I wasn't cheating, I was working out, and it was really working for me. Matt and I got engaged and I was even more determined to look great for my wedding day. Well...I lost 78 lbs.


And then the honeymoon hit. A cruise. A buffet. A sweet deprived newlywed. Not a good combination. Needless to say, I have gained some weight since we were married 1 1/2 years ago. I didn't get down to my goal weight for my wedding either...so I'd say I'd like to ideally lose about 25 lbs. or so.

I started WW for real (yes...actually going to meetings...and staying!) late last year. I was doing really well (I had lost 11 lbs.) and then Christmas hit. I took it hard. For some reason my motivation was gone. Well ladies, I have gotten it back! I returned to WW last night and weighed in. I had gained 3.8 lbs. since Christmas (could've been worse right??) so I am now determined to get to goal. I'm so thankful to have this blog and all of you wonderful readers to keep me accountable. I'll post updates soon...and hopefully...with a lot of sweat and will power...I will make it to my goal weight!

Tees!

Has anyone heard of Busted Tees or Threadless? They're pretty much my favorite places to buy t-shirts online. They are absolutely hilarious. I'm big on giving them as gifts but I also have two of my own:

That's not me...it's the model from Threadless...but isn't the shirt awesome!


Also from Threadless

Here are some of my current faves from Busted Tees:

What, what Full House!

I got this one for my sister for Christmas!


And this one...a shout out to Doug from Nickelodeon...did you watch that show??


Who could forget Oregon Trail....ah...elementary school

Check them out if you have time. It's good for a laugh :)

On to a meeting...blech.

Retraction?!?

Anyone remember my post from yesterday?? I received such wonderful comments from my readers about what a touching story it was and what a loving couple we looked like. So you'd think that when my husband read my post he would be happy, right?? Well sisters, you'd be WRONG!

The ONE AND ONLY thing he took away from my post was this:

"Every time I was there, he was there. He was working downtown for the summer (it was the summer after his first year of law school) so he'd stop by after work everyday in his suit and bow tie. Oh...what a big dork I thought he was...but he was so much fun and truly hilarious...one could overlook his outward dorkiness."

That's it. Nothing else. A post I wrote to tell the story about how we met and fell in love is now leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.

As soon as I walked in the door last night he said he had a bone to pick with me. I was so nervous...I kept thinking...did I leave my straightener on?? Did I almost burn the house down? Was I supposed to do something and forgot about it?? While I was racking my brain to try and come up with why he was so upset, he said it was about my blog. He was mad I called him dorky! Oh dear...

Well he is demanding a retraction...and he's not going to get it...but I will explain.

Matt is not someone I would've ever pictured myself with. He's unlike any other person I have dated or even been attracted to. I think that's why I was so unsure about our relationship in the beginning...because it was so different than anything else I had ever experienced. Matt is extremely intelligent, very well spoken, funny, a UNIQUE dresser, ridiculously underweight, and he cannot deny it when I say that he is totally lacking in the muscle department. He wasn't what I was looking for at all in a boyfriend...but there was something about him that made me take a second (and maybe a third) look.

Matt turned out to be the one man I had been waiting for all my life. He had qualities in a significant other I never knew I wanted. He is extremely affectionate, sensitive, and caring. He's a great talker (a necessity with a long distance relationship) but also a great listener. He's everything to me and I can't imagine my life without him. Everything about him just fits...and I wouldn't want him any other way.

So who knew I would end up with a bow tie wearing, boat shoe strutting golfer who will only wear ties with little animals on them and won't exercise one minute to save his life? God knew...

The Story of Us

Have y'all read Mrs. Newlywed's post this morning yet?? I'm sure you have because she has a bazillion followers..but I have to say it truly touched me. Read her post for all of the information, but she and her husband are having trouble conceiving and things are not looking super optimistic for this to happen for them in the future. This got me thinking....

-What a fabulous man she has married to support her during this time; how would my husband and I handle a situation like this??

-Getting pregnant is not something that will happen for everyone...will it happen for me?? It's easy to think...okay...we're not ready to have kids right this second...but when we are...we'll try to get pregnant and we will. This is not always the case.

-How long do you wait to have kids...and how do you know when you're ready?? We'll never be financially perfect to have kids...who is? But how will we know when it's the right time for us??

So many unanswered questions! Anyone have the answers??

The one thing I do know is that I married a man who will be with me forever...kids or no kids. He's absolutely incredible...which brings me to the purpose of my post:

The Story of Us

Our story begins with four people...CJ, Robert, Matt, and me.

CJ and I met at Purdue my freshman year. We lived on the same floor and we instantly bonded. CJ left Purdue after one year, but we remained close friends. She lived in Indianapolis (same as me at the time) so we were able to see each other during the summer.

CJ and me at my bachelorette party (is this giving away the ending??)

Now, CJ has a brother, Robert. At the time, Robert was living in Colorado. He rarely came home to visit, and I had actually never met him in the two years I had been friends with CJ. Well, the summer between my sophomore and junior year...Robert came home for one week. And guess who is Robert's very best friend??? Matt! Now I could easily stop here...say we fell in love and the rest is history...but that would be a lie :)

CJ AND her mother had their hopes set on Robert and me getting together. He was a cutie...but he lived in Denver. I wasn't sure about the idea of dating someone long distance...but I was enjoying spending as much time with him as possible. I think I stayed the night at CJ's probably 5 of the 7 nights he was home :)

Robert giving the best man's speech at our wedding...told you he was cute :)

Matt spent just as much time with his friend as I did. Every time I was there, he was there. He was working downtown for the summer (it was the summer after his first year of law school) so he'd stop by after work everyday in his suit and bow tie. Oh...what a big dork I thought he was...but he was so much fun and truly hilarious...one could overlook his outward dorkiness.

The four of us had the most amazing week. I wasn't sure where things would go with Robert when he left, but I was definitely interested in him. But...not only him :) The day before Robert left, Matt and I happened to be leaving to go home at the same time. We talked for awhile outside our cars and he asked me for my number. I was one of those people that never said no when someone asked for their number...so I gave it to him. And then we kissed! I have no idea how it happened or why the heck I did that when I was interested in his best friend...but it did :)

The next day, Robert left (we exchanged numbers as well!), and Matt had already called. To this day I remember what his voicemail said. He said that he had to call because he just couldn't wait another day to talk to me. We ended up hanging out about every night that week because I was going on vacation the next week with my family and then I had to go back to Purdue to work until the end of the summer. When I left, I wasn't really sure what we were...but I knew he was interested. He told me he wanted to be together...but that silly long distance thing was not attractive to me...he was going to law school in Virginia! Yuck...I went back to Purdue unsure.

Matt was not unsure. We joke now about how he held our relationship together...and it's the truth. He just kept calling. I talked to Robert a few times...but it was obvious we were not meant to be. I began to give all of my focus to Matt. He came to visit me a few times before he had to leave for Virginia and we had said our "I love yous" by August.

Now I was stuck with the long distance. For 2 years Matt lived in Virginia and I lived in Indiana. I graduated from Purdue and moved home to Indianapolis for one year to go to grad school. Matt moved to Cleveland to begin working. FINALLY...after I graduated from grad school...I moved to Cleveland to be with Matt. Over 3 years of talking on the phone was enough for me. I was a little afraid we wouldn't be able to talk and be in the same room with each other...but everything worked out swimmingly! And now...the rest is history!