December Embrace the Craziness!!!

I quote this movie throughout the year!

 Well, again with the inconsistent blogging! Ugh!!!

crazy Zumba instructors!

 Anyway, So far, December has been great. I got to start off with a Charity Zumba Benefit class. All proceeds went to a local organization to help buy Christmas for the less fortunate. My fellow Zumba instructors are so awesome! We raised over $1500!



 It was awesome to see so many people have such a great time and enjoying making fitness a part of a celebration. Zumba is one of the only things I know of that people do to celebrate things. I mean, how many people do you know celebrate by exercising?


I also had a celebration class for my friend and sister in law, Billie Jo. She had met her first goal of 50lb lost! Sabrina and Tamela helped make the day special! I'm looking forward to the 100lb loss celebration~ We are totally going to rock it!

Sabrina, Billie Jo, and myself

We didn't intentionally match in this one!

On the home front, We've decorated the Christmas tree, and had horribly unhealthy polar express hot chocolate, and more homemade cookies than I can count! By the time Christmas rolls around, I may look like Santa (minus the beard hopefully). I love the music and movies this time of year. Also, I get to look forward to seeing my daughter, Kylah, for Christmas break! I can't wait, it has been a long 5 months!

Long time no blog

Wow, July. That's a long time! I quit doing the half training because I started teaching Zumba 4 times a week. I've been keeping busy as I can. I'm missing my oldest something fierce. She is living with her dad in VA for a year. I feel like she is slipping away from me. I know this is a short blip in the scheme of things. As a mother though, it is hard to be away from them. All of my children are just amazing. So smart and beautiful. Granted the babies are sometimes trying, but I love every moment with them as well. (Except when they are screaming, and then I deem it nap time and love them again all over!)

Me (far right) and some of my awesome Zumba instructor friends.

One of my students and me :)

More students and I, we were at the Party in Pink Zumbathon.

On the diet front. I haven't really lost a ton of weight, but I do feel like I am getting healthier. My biggest challenge on weight loss is definitely the diet. I know that you can't out exercise a bad diet. To be honest though, I'm pretty happy with myself most of the time. Comparison is the thief of joy. I read that somewhere. No idea who to credit for the quote, but it is true none the less. I am happy with my body as long as I don't compare myself to others.

Zumba is going great. I wish I could get more people coming, but improving the lives of whom ever I can is what I will keep doing. As long as my costs are covered, it's worth it. I at least get to exercise doing something I love, with great people.

your sweaty Zumba instructor

On another note, If I can change the title of this blog, I totally am doing it. I feel like a total poser, since I haven't run since July!!

Training week 5 with RunnersWorldTulsa (my week one)

Well I started a little late with the whole half training thing. I have been running, just not with the group. I ran a couple of 5ks and then my older girls left for VA last Saturday. I actually got out and ran the training run with the group. Since I haven't been running like a should, I decided to run with the 14+ min/mile group. I had a blast! I might run with the 13+ next time, but truly enjoyed today's run. It was nice and easy. I could breathe the whole time and didn't feel like I was struggling. It was wonderful. It was nice and breezy and cool (since we started early). Way better than running when it is 90-110 degrees! No pics today, but will try to make up for that on my next run!

First Steps Out of Door are the Hardest

Totally didn't want to run today, but I did it!!

seeing the beauty in everyday!

Today, I woke up knowing that I needed to get out there if I was going to keep up with my half marathon training. I haven't even gotten to do one group training run. I've done a couple of 5ks, and then this weekend had too much to do. This Saturday 2 of my teen girls are going to visit their dad. The oldest will be leaving for a year :'(. I'm sad about it, but I'm trying to not dwell on it. I am looking forward already to the 13 year old to return and she hasn't even left yet. The house feels empty when they are gone.

Anyway. Enough of that. I got out and thought I would go to the track at the high school. I walked over there, and a bunch of rowdy teenage boys were getting ready for football practice. I really don't need a bunch of young whippersnappers laughing at me while I wheeze and shuffle my way to better health. I decided to just take one of my regular routes.

Down a country road

Here is a bullet point recap:
It's hot.
Carrying a water bottle is awkward.
Sweat is dripping in my eyes- OWOWOWOW!
Crap, dead cat in the road, go to the house and let heavily tatooed man wearing a welding mask about it. (I was worried they may have kids who would see it), He assured me that it wasn't their cat and they didn't have kids.
Man I hope that guy wasn't a serial killer.
Another guy walking down the same country road, Rapist? no talk about the weather.
Dogs, Hopefully not aggressive. Nope.
More sweat in my eyes.
I can make it to that stop sign...maybe the shade....no I can do the stop sign.
Cars, get over a little!!
Another dog. one little bark
More sweat...Almost there!
Finally made it to my road. Ahhhhhh time to cool down.

Storing some hay in the Hay Capitol of the world!

Pretty much how it went. 45 min went about 3.5 miles. Under 13 min mile which was my goal.

Race Recap Mohawk 5000

This is after.

Kylah getting ready to start!

Ashleigh getting ready to start!

This was the girls' first race ever. We got up bright and early to head to the race. On the way there Ashleigh was telling me how nervous she was. I told them not to worry. Every race I had ever been to had lots of walkers, they wouldn't come in last. I was very very wrong. This was a small race, they came in last. They told me to go ahead and not worry. I told them I would be at the finish line. I couldn't help myself though. I had to keep checking on them. I would run back until I could see them, and then continue towards the finish line. I'm not positive about how far I actually ran. My runkeeper messed up a little. I finished in 41 min. The girls' finished in 48 min. I ran back with water to cross the finish line with them. We all three placed in our age groups and got medals! Awesome experience. Hoping to have lots more races with them!!

With our medals!

Ginormous Goal Beginning-Scared of Utter Failure

Goodbye my lovely!!

I have decided on a goal. It's a big one. I'm going to give up soda. Again. For good this time. If you have been around me enough, you know giving up Dr. Pepper (in any of its forms) will be like giving up crack. It has been weighing on my mind lately. I have been realizing that I have a hard time going without it, and how much I really drink. Really, honestly and truly, I drink at least 200 oz a day. I just added up today's total. Yikes. It is bad for my health, and I know that. It is basically an addiction that I have to break. So, starting tomorrow, I'm going to stop drinking soda. I'm not going to substitute any other sodas for Dr. Pepper. I will be drinking water, juice, crystal light, lemonade, and milk.  This will not be easy. I am going to take it one day at a time starting tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Yes it will!!!

The Wind Comes Sweeping Down the Plains-Welcome to OKlahoma!

Looked a little stormy today.

Today I decided to get out there and run. I looked up motivational quotes on Pinterest and got dressed. I headed out with my runkeeper going and the music on. It was windy!!! I'm not sure if there are any storm warnings, but by the end of my run the sky had a greenish tinge. If you are from Oklahoma , a greenish tinge is not a good thing. Like most Oklahomans, I'm not going to get too worried until I see a funnel cloud.

look at those clouds!

I took a different route than normal. I conquered my fear today. I went over the old 33 bridge. There is no shoulder, and people aren't really used to runners. So, I was worried that I would get hit by a car. I made it! I also had to run on Hwy 88 for a short time. It slowed me down a bit, because I had to run on a slope in the grass to avoid the cars.

I'm on top of the world!

All in all a good run even though it was REALLY windy! I should have gone farther, because I have lost a lot of my running ability. You don't use it, you lose it. I went too long without running. I'm looking forward to the next training program with Runner's World.

I promise I have two legs, but I was running.

2.53 miles in 32 min (with 5 min warm up)

Walkin' in the Sunshine

A few of these have happened to me.

Today, I walked through the sunshine. It was warm. I had every intention of running today, but once out there I lost all motivation. Billie Jo called me, and we can't ever have a short conversation. I just never felt it today. I am glad I got out there and at least got a walk. So yay for me and all that. Tomorrow will be better. I plan to get out there in the morning before it gets hot.

today it was a 18 minute mile, since it was walking only

Motivation for tomorrow.

Even Bad Runs Are Good

I love running in the country!

Monday I went out and took advantage of the older girls being home to watch the babies. I started the runkeeper and headed out. I actually listened to music this time (one ear only!). It was enjoyable, until I looked down at my runkeeper, and noticed that it wasn't working. UGH. It said I had already gone a mile, in 5 minutes. I wish. So I'm not positive how far I went or what my average min/mile was. I did go appx 36 min and I think my average min/mile was somewhere in the normal range. It did get difficult, and I forgot to go to the bathroom. Luckily this was a short little run. You would think country roads wouldn't be all that busy. Well here in Inola, they are always busy! And I just knew if I hung my butt out there, someone I know (I know lots of people) would see my white behind and tell everyone about it. Luckily though, I made it home without incident. Hoping tomorrow's run works out better. It did feel good to get out there, and my foot felt pretty good. I've started wearing my boot to bed again, because the foot has been hurting. Today is Zumba practice and Sabrina's Zumba class tonight, so no running today for me.

The roads will wait for me.

Track Running With My Bestie

Pretty sunset

My friend Sabrina and I were texting this evening, and she said her and the family were going to go running at the high school track. I haven't been seriously running very much at all lately. I need to get back to it as I feel as if I am losing everything I gained over all those weeks of training. Anyway, I invited myself along, and said that we would meet her there. Her son is 3 weeks younger than my son (even though he is the bigger one!). They like to play together. So I brought Amos, and Kylah and Ashleigh. I left Erika with her daddy at home.

We have had beautiful weather recently. Today was no exception. It was in the 70's with a really light breeze, perfect for getting back on the road. I'm going to have to try track running again. Very different from the treadmill and the road.

Logan (in the red shorts) and Amos (in the blue pants) running buddies.

Let me just tell you, Sabrina has loooooonnnnngggg legs, and therefore long strides. I have said it many times and unashamedly (is that a word? spell check didn't flag it, we will go with it) I am a shuffle runner. I have a very short stride and I go slow. It is good that I went with them though, it makes me push myself. All in all awesome little run. Could have done more, but was feeling kind of lazy. Enjoyed the company though. Nothing like running with your best friend, even when she's kicking your butt.

About average except for the under 8 min/mile average while running!

 

After walking home, I came in to see Erika fast asleep on Eric's legs. So sweet. She didn't even wake up when I moved her to her bed. Amos asked to go to bed, so we must have worn him out too! And now I'm headed that way as well! 

New Month, New Goals...Errrr Goal

My old diet

Today is the first day of the new month. May. I'm not overly worried about getting in a bathing suit this year. I guess this is my year of self acceptance. I'm more irritated at how unhealthy my diet is. I love the unhealthy foods. I crave cakes and cookies more than anything. I can even pass up chocolate if I can have a snack cake with milk. Burgers and fries. Ugh. I am starting my own new challenge for the month. I'm going to improve my diet!

I am going to limit my junk food.
I will NOT have dessert everyday. (yes we do this at my house)
I will eat a healthy lunch everyday.
I will eat oatmeal everyday for breakfast.
I will also eat 2 snacks a day. (Some sort of healthy snack)
I will drink a full glass of water before eating anything.
I will try to distract myself with an activity if hungry before scheduled time to eat, and will drink 2 glasses of water.

I am off to go make my grocery list for the next two weeks. I am not going to say that I won't have any junk food, I'm just going to severely limit it. Don't go crazy here, there is no way I could cut it out completely!

My new diet

Back into the Swing of Things

Yes, this big hay bale is in the middle of town.

It was a beautiful day Saturday. After weeding the garden, cleaning up the yard, and cleaning out the trees that were growing in my gutters, I decided it was a perfect day for a run. I haven't been running in a few weeks. I was suppose to run the OKC Half Marathon today. Members of my running group ran, and I'm a little bit jealous! That's ok, I will be training with them again, and this time I am going to do the Route 66 Half right here in Tulsa! All my friends did great, and I am loving seeing their pics.

Tractors are not uncommon either.

New running shoes!

 Since I knew I wouldn't  be running today, I decided to head out and try my new running shoes. I still need to get some new inserts, but made due with my old ones. I went for a run around the big town of Inola. We are the hay capital of the world, which is why it is not unusual to see hay bales around town. It wasn't overly hot, and I wanted to try to increase my speed since I wasn't going for distance.

Honeysuckle perfumed the air. Love the spring/summer!

I finished the 2.47 miles in 30minutes and 12 seconds. Average 12:12 per mile. Not too bad, but not great either. I am hoping this next week I can get in some more miles and maybe a little quicker.

Rocking it out, captured by Billie Jo (my Sis in law)

In Zumba news, I taught my first ever hour long Zumba class. I was subbing for Sabrina in Claremore. It was a blast. I messed up a few times, but I think all the ladies had a good time. I know I did, and if they got as sweaty as I did, they had a good work out too! I got new Zumba shoes too!!

New Zumba shoes too!

Riding the Roller Coaster

This is my life.

My last post was all positive. Today I am feeling more than inadequate in every way. My neighbor came over around 10:50 to get something out of the garage today (We are building rooms in the garage for the older girls). I was still in my pjs with no bra on,already eating lunch, and my house was completely trashed. I kept my arms crossed and tried to explain away how incredibly lazy and disgusting my house and I looked. I am not exaggerating the house. Amos found the basket of plastic eggs and had dumped them on the living room floor. There were toys all over.

At least the pictures on my walls aren't crooked. Right?

Erika has been screaming all morning, usually because she thinks she is mistreated in some way. She falls down, well somebody must have pushed her, I strap her into her carseat, shame on me. Every thing has caused a screaming meltdown today. Also, we are working on potty training, but Amos really isn't getting it. He does well if I tell him when to go, but doesn't tell me when he needs to go. I feel like I am being trained more than I am training him. So we tried regular undies this morning. First thing he does is poop in them. Ok, gross. I clean him up, and we talk about where we are suppose to go potty. He will tell you that you go in the big boy potty, not the undies. Seriously, 20 minutes later, he pees on the living room carpet. I have waved the white flag today. He now has on a diaper. I know logically that he won't be going to high school in diapers, but I have to say that the thought has crossed my mind that he will always be in diapers.

Interesting. There is one fish, two fish, a red fish and a blue fish.

 I'm not sure where this inadequate feeling comes from. Why do I compare myself to other people, sometimes people I don't even know? When you go to someone's house, usually you give them a heads up. So they have their house clean. I know this, but I still get so jealous sometimes that my house seems so cluttered all the time. I clean things off, and then the same day sometimes just hours later, they have piles of stuff on them. Amos is almost 3 and not even close to potty trained, my house is not ever going to be in the pages of Beautiful Homes, it seems as if the majority of my communication with the babies is of the yelling variety, and I have no fashion sense, AND I'm extremely unhappy that I haven't been running or to Zumba in 2 weeks!
Hmmmm........Maybe I have found the problem. Luckily it is an easy solution. Tomorrow I will be going to Zumba, and Saturday after I get my new shoes, I am going to go for a run.
You will all be pleased to know that I have finally gotten dressed and cleaned the house. I even did 2 loads of laundry! Now that the babies are both asleep and my chores are done, I am going to enjoy my peace and quiet and watch some kind of mind numbing tv until the older children get home......in 15  minutes.

I live near train tracks, this equates peace and quiet good enough for me. Where's the chocolate?

My First Zumba Benefit Class!!!

This last Saturday, one of my friends, Tamela, hosted a Zumba Benefit Class. We donated the profits to the Vinita Special Olympics Team. In all we raised $900!!! Tamela did an awesome job planning it. There were so many great prizes that all participants received something! There were 4 instructors, and I had the privilege of being one of them. As most of you know, I don't currently have my own class. I had been very nervous because of this. Tamela, Sabrina, and Crystal all have their own very successful classes. On a neat side note, we all started Zumba with Sabrina before becoming instructors ourselves!

Crystal, Tamela, Sabrina, and yours truly

I have to say, I think we did awesome!! I had a blast! Now I am definitely more motivated to try and find my own classes. I am a procrastinator, and until something falls into my lap, sometimes I don't really work very hard at it. I am going to try and find somewhere, and a good time for me and at least a couple..hundred? some people! I will be making a  few calls today. Hopefully, good news will follow soon.

Me and Crystal rocking out!

I encourage all of you who want a really FUN and high intensity work out- Try Zumba. Just once!! Look up your area on the Zumba website, find an instructor near you. I promise you will love it. It doesn't matter if you have no rhythm, can't dance, two left feet, can't shake your money maker like that, etc, etc. Everyone is doing the exact same thing. Doesn't matter. Just get out there and shake it!

 I won't be writing about any form of exercise this week, I've been ordered to stay off my foot for at least a week. I hate swimming for exercise. Therefore, no exercise. Excuse me while I go stuff my face with Easter chocolate. Just kidding. Kind of. I am going to be getting some new shoes, and then I will be back at it! Happy Tuesday all!!