{and the doctor said....}

well, actually, the PA said....

My blood tests came back normal. My thyroid level is normal, but a "low" normal, so basically borderline still. My cortisol level is fine, I'm not diabetic, and everything else they tested was fine. However, my cholesterol was high..... so he told me to {get this}... EXERCISE and eat healthy. ::snort:: Yeah, I've only been doing that religiously since.... January? Like 5 days a week? What was I before I exercised? On my deathbed? and I brought it down to High? I dunno.

So, I told him I still wanted to talk to the doctor (w/o paying another $25 copay to talk to her) over the phone as she told me she still was going to put me on thyroid meds if it was a normal low.... as well as phentamine. We'll see what happens, and IF she calls me back.

Tomorrow I run 20 minutes straight. However, I just discovered Exercise On Demand, and wow oh wow! Did I find some great exercise stuff there! There is tons of 10 minute videos that concentrate on arms, abs, etc. There is a few Biggest Loser videos on there (did one, and I was cursing Bob for all the lunges he was having me do). Oh, and can't forget Carmen Elecktra's Striptease video. That was funny. ::snicker:: She kept saying 'OK, now, 5-6-7-8 and a 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8', so it was more like a dance video than an exercise video.

So, after doing all those lunges today, I *hope* I can make it through the run tomorrow. Lunges kill me & my legs for a few days.

About my cholesterol. Need to study up on that. Not 100% sure what to eat or do. I know Cheerio's & oatmeal! But beyond that, I'm flabbergasted. Now what do I do? Eat oatmeal for every meal? Cut out red meat? Any ideas? Pop an Omega 3 pill? Y'all know I hate fish, so will it give me a fish taste if I happen to burp? If it does, I'll be running to the toilet puking.

And Y'all want pictures of me sporting my bandana & vintage '80's headband (when I get it)? yeah... right.

You ain't getting it! :P

Or, I might put it on my girls so you can see it in its glory. Maybe I might rustle up some leg warmers too.... great....now I feel like listening to Flashdance.

{Run #2 Week 5 C25K}

I'm BAACCKK!! from my run, that is!

Not too bad... not too bad! (wiping sweat off forehead) I snagged up a snazzy bandana from the drawer, and used that as my "vintage" headband. I'm kind of freaked out to venture out much to Target or Walmart due to this swine flu.... so the bandana will work for now. This Texas weather is crazy! It's pretty humid out there, and I ran at 8:30!

Now, for the run.

I did it! I ran! Not the 20 minutes straight though, that's on Friday. (still shaking in my legs on that one!) So, I can totally do this 5 minutes at a time run. Next week it's 8 minutes (but a glorious 5 minute walk in between!).

And I figured out while running and smelling the houses along the way that smell so yummy... doing laundry is an air freshner for the outside of your home! :D Anything to keep my mind busy & not think "how much longer?" This running thing is turning out to be more of a mental thing for me than physical, it appears.

{Week 5, Run #1 C25K}

OK... I'll fess up. I *think* I might like running.

I always say this on the first run of the week though.

By my second run of the week, I'm cursing in my mind that I hate running.

Week five is fairly simple: walk briskly for 5 minutes, run for 5 minutes, walk for 3 minutes, run for 5 minutes, walk for 3 minutes, than run for 5 minutes. Total running time is 15 minutes. I will do that today & Wednesday. Friday's run will be a straight 20 minutes, no stopping. I'm literally shaking in my legs.

How am I feeling? My legs don't hurt... my calves hurt a bit but I think that's b/c the trail I run has some incline here & there on it. Short hills. I do need to invest $1 in those vintage '80's headbands....::rolling eyes:: I had so much sweat dropping off me that my hearing aid kind of shorted out and I couldn't use my telephone mode for a few hours. Oops....

{Japanese Tea Garden}

Last Friday the girls had the day off school. It was a bit drizzly out, so we hoped for the best and made out to the Japanese Tea Garden. I heard about this place from a few friends, and it was a quick place to visit, free, and most of all... beautiful! We were told we had to see this in the spring when the flowers are in bloom. So, away we went, armed with my camera and very limited photography skills.

We started off at the bottom of this entry, and had to climb these rock steps to the top. When we reached the top, this is what we saw.... beautiful!! (see pic of Katie above)

Katie & Maddie are on a rock bridge covered with green foliage. We cross that bridge and it takes us to a beautiful waterfall, on the top of a quarry. This garden was actually built in the 1920's, and it was built from a quarry!!

Madison & I in front of the waterfall, picture courtesy of Katie

Katie & I in front of the waterfall, picture courtesy of Madison

While standing in front of the waterfall, we gazed out to look at another rock bridge which took us to the waterfall... unbelievably beautiful!

In the midst of this garden, there were many beautiful, exotic plants.

There was water all around, and in this water were huge koi fish, and a turtle. We spotted a turtle! After walking around, I found this cool door that was reddish, and made the girls pose for me and my wanna be photography skills. My children were not very excited to be modeling for me, or posing. Some were cute, and some were....

tired of me and stopped smiling for the camera.

PSST... did these pictures show up OK? I'm trying the Image Resizer for XP, but they might be fuzzy if I make it a medium size. What does it look like for you?

{Run #3 of week 4 C25K}

Whew... I made it!

I got up early, and went out in the hazy weather we had. I think it was 70'ish. Had a great run. Kind of hard to run the last 5 minutes. Then I thought. And I thought hard. I'm trying to think if we were supposed to do THREE repetitions of this thing, or two? Oh well.. I'm doing two. I'm pretty beat after doing two repetitions.

Came home to find the girls completely engrossed in our new cable TV. They were drunk with cartoons.... way too many choices to pick from.

I came in, sat down, drank some water. Sweating profusely. And I felt strong.

{Run #2 of Week 4 C25K, and the dr said....}

Yesterday morning early, I had to make a pit stop at the doctor. Remember me asking for prayers that my thyroid would be L-O-W (I know... stupid thing to ask for). Well, after talking to my doctor (who, BTW, I LOVE!!), she said that she would definitely put me on thyroid meds for a bit even if my test turned out on the low normal side (YAY!). But, she was wondering about my cortisol level as well (last year I had a pretty stressful year).... and my blood sugar level..... and something else that I can't remember. Oh, and my blood pressure was THROUGH THE ROOF! I was surprised I didn't have a stroke. It's never been that high at all. I'm usually the normal 120/80 girl. So, hopefully by Friday morning I'll find out what the verdict is. The doctor said she would also put me on phentamine just for 4-6 weeks only to help kick start my weight loss & metabolism as well. I don't have a prescription yet though, so we'll see.... So, had 4 vials of the red stuff taken from me, and hopefully I'll be on the road to thinness soon!

After going to the doctor, I took my second run of the week (Week #4). It was about 11:15 when I went, and by noon it was almost 90, so it was a little on the hot side to be running (well, for me it was!). I started off great, but by the last round of my runs, I was really struggling. Cursing in my head that I hate running. I had to tell myself "OK, just make it to that tree.... OK, now make it to THAT tree". Then I did something really stupid. I thought "well, all these runners all kick their legs & knees up high and run.... let's try that". Umm, yeah. That hurt, and it lasted for about 5 seconds. Didn't do that again!

I dragged myself home again (literally). And I think the dirty house people finally cleaned. It didn't smell!! The "house that always smells good" was doing laundry again. LOVE her detergent (or fabric softener!).

This morning, I woke up w/ a Charlie Horse (note to self: drink more milk!), and I am
S-O-R-E!!!

{poetry cafe}

Last week Katie's 5th grade class had a poetry cafe. The required items to bring was a box of cookies & a coffee mug. She pleaded & begged me to come. I said...."OK".

So I went.

I arrived to her class, and it was changed into a poetry cafe.... literally. There was a black/red brick colored paper behind a stool where the kids would sit & read their poetry. There was a bongo drum where a girl sat & banged on the drum softly with the tips of her fingers, wearing a beret & sunglasses. There were fabric tablecloths covering the desk, complete with a small flower arrangement, and then there were the coffee mugs around the desks. You really were in a dark, jazzy poetry cafe setting. A projector was on, showcasing the poetry reader, while the lights were off.

All kids & parents snapped their fingers when a poet was done reading their work.

::snap:: ::snap:: ::snap:: ::snap::

Then, a visitor came in, played some jazzy music, and recited his poem "Hello (pause for 5 seconds) my friend. (pause for 10 seconds) I want you to know (pause for 5 seconds... listening to the jazzy music, moving head along to the beat of the jazz) how much you mean to me (pause for 7 seconds)." (surprisingly I remembered the first line of his poem!)

He did a great job, and showed the kids how a true poet reads his poem, complete with music, and the appropriate pauses.

Finally, we drowned our sorrows in our coffee mugs with pink lemonade, and ate our cookies in silence (not really... I was surrounded by 4 chattering girls).

It was ::awesome::

::snap:: ::snap:: ::snap:: ::snap:: ::snap::

{C25K Week 4, run 1}

This week's run is a little confusing. Walk 5 minutes briskly, run 3 minutes, walk 90 seconds, run 5 minutes, walk 2 1/2 minutes, run 3 minutes, walk 90 seconds, run 5 minutes. Then you're done. I had to write it all down on my hand so I didn't forget it all.

Well, I walked briskly first, then when I got to where I normally start running (which is after 5 minutes), I surprised myself when I found I had ran OVER the 3 minutes. I thought "ooh, I think I can do this!". Course, I may think differently when run #3 of this week comes upon me. It's a straight 20 minute run, I think. ::shudder::

All in all, it was a good run, and my breathing was MUCH better. I'm just breathing as I need to breathe, no particular way. ::wheeze wheeze::

However, courtesy of Katie's fancy ipod, I had Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You" song to bop to along the way. Love that song. I need to learn the words, so I don't look like a fool when I lip synch the wrong words to it. Wait, I do that to all of them..... I make up my own words! Who cares if it doesn't make sense! Also, Taylor Swift kept me company as well.... maybe that's why it wasn't so hard this time? I had company to listen to? I had to restrain myself from singing along, and worse... dancing along to the music while I was walking. Several other runners passed me. One had very long legs and she ran pretty fast. Most of the others jogged like me: slow, picking their feet up only as they needed to.

While I was in the alley on my way back home, I passed along my familiar houses. While thoroughly happy I made it through this run, I couldn't help but think to myself:

Goodbye house that stinks. (please clean your house!)

Goodbye old people (who has bars on their windows???)

Goodbye yummy smelling house (ooh, she's washing her clothes today!)

{conversations with Maddie.... again}

A few weeks ago, my father in law had a surgery to remove one of his kidneys. My girls were pretty worried about him. Last week the girls talked to their papa on Easter. He told Maddie that grandma put cornish hen in the oven for dinner.

Maddie asked him "what's cornish hen?"

He said "oh, they're whole chickens but they're little"

Maddie then said "oh, like midget chicken?"

Papa said "yes, I guess it's kind of like midget chicken"

::squee:: Oh, too funny!

{week 3, run 3 of C25K}

It's been pouring down rain here for the past two days, and today is also supposed to be raining cats & dog. So, I went to the gym for my run #3.

First of all, running on the treadmill is SO much easier than running on the pavement. I like it much more. However, if I ever want to do a 5K, then I have to do this on the pavement. Kind of like doing the harder thing so when I do the easier thing it's a piece of cake (rather than doing it on the treadmill then try to run outside.... immediate PAIN! I'm sure!!)

So, it wasn't as hard as it normally was for me. I did like the bounce in the treadmill.... I don't get that on the pavement. My calves did burn a lot though.

Next week... I fear next week. ::shuddering::

{i luv overstock...}

Last night I couldn't sleep, so I browsed the internet. After I went to all my usual haunts, I decided to go to overstock.com. I never go there. When I do, I only look at the clearance stuff.

Which I did, and guess what I found?

Yep!! A beautiful quilt for the girls... and get this price: $38.99!! Yay! Love clearance prices! It comes with the quilt & two shams. Sadly, I can't find the other shams & throw pillows anywhere on the internet.... But, I did love the $1 shipping they had!! Wahoo!

But, the girls have a new room now (well, it's clean, organized, and rearranged). They are in need of new summer-y bedding. I was so hesitant about buying it b/c Katie isn't really a "pink" girl, but she LOVED it! Yay!! PERFECT for a tween girl & her pink loving sister!

{Easter}

I love this picture of Maddie... but it's all fuzzy. :(

Look at those little butt-cheekies (as Mike calls them)

So glad someone has a tiny butt in this family.....

This year we had an Easter Egg hunt at church. They held it in the backyard of a couple, and it was drop dead gorgeous back there! Talk about a mini waterfall with a pool and a beautiful jacuzzi.... ::swoon:: Anyways! Our church ward has about 25'ish+ kids total (small ward), and the kids were allotted 10 eggs each. The girls had a blast. This is Katie's final year in Primary (which is from ages 3-12), so she lived up her last year at an Easter Egg hunt at church. Following this egg hunt, there was a huge BBQ for all the adults & kids. It was a huge hit, and very delicious!

Ummm.... 10 eggs Madison! Not 20... or 30!



Katie & her two friends from church: Summer & Darcy

The next morning, the Easter Bunny (who is about to retire, I think.... or WANTS to retire) had a small treasure hunt. She laid out a bunch of eggs with paper inside that said "sorry... keep looking!" until the treasure piece of paper that said "Congratulations! You won the big prize!!" was found. {{Easter bunny said she was tired of putting candy into the eggs....}} Katie was the big winner this time. I found some great movies at Ross' for only $4.99. Yes, cheap I am, but they're good movies!! My only regret for this entire Easter celebration was that I wasn't in gear enough to do my Easter Egg Family Home Evening lesson (which has like a sacrament cup, thorn, red piece of fabric, three dimes, and the final egg is empty which symbolizes the resurrection... yeah, forgot to do that ::smack::).

Then the girls put on their dresses given to them by Great Grandma Dee (my grandma), and away to church we went.

We came home, and I made a delicious dinner of ham (w/ coca-cola in the bottom, and it was FANTASTIC!), potato casserole, asparagus & my strawberry/mozzarella salad. Mike's boss & her little family came over, and she made homemade angel cake (yummy!!) with strawberries on top. Oooh.. strawberry shortcake was so yummy! We had a wonderful time with them.

{C25K week 2 & 3}

O.K.!! Time to catch up on my experience & thoughts on my final run for week 2, and of course, week 3 (2 runs so far).

I.Hate.Running.

Saturday I woke up at 8 a.m., woke the girls up to see if they wanted to ride their bikes while I jogged, and they did. So we headed out. Katie kept telling me "run faster Mom!" I kept shouting back at her "this is as FAST as I can go.... leave me alone!" I survived and lived.

Now, this week is an entirely new set of rules. First walk briskly for 5 minutes, then jog for 90 seconds, walk for 90 seconds, then jog for 3 minutes and then walk for 3 minutes. Do this entire set again.

I did OK. Still having a hard time breathing. My SIL Tiffany gave me a pointer of breathing 1-2-3 in and out 1-2-3. The entire time I'm doing this (I did it on my run #2 for this week) I'm thinking "wheeze-wheeze... maybe I have asthma, and I SHOULDN'T run?!" I had a hard time expanding my lungs fully after running the full 3 minutes.... Hmmm, will need to bring that up to the doctor to find out why.

Before my run today, I bought a cheap digital watch that has a stopwatch on it. Let me tell you, it was SO much easier than trying to figure out "OK... has it been 2 minutes or 3 minutes?" Best $9.99 I've ever spent!

While jogging then walking today, I wondered why we were supposed to "walk briskly" after jogging. Who in the world can walk briskly after jogging? Not me! I'm half dragging myself after jogging! Course, in the alleyway that I use to get to the trail, I experience all sorts of smells from people's houses.

"Ooh... she must be baking!" "OOh... old people's house... there's tons of mothballs in that house!" "ooh... wonder if they have garbage piling up in their house and they need to be featured on Oprah or that British ladies show about cleaning?" Yep, I know how to entertain myself.

Oh, and I saw the biggest lizard today that I've ever seen while in Texas. Biggest excitement of my day. And guess what? I didn't even scream & leap in the air like I normally would've done out of horror. Wanna know why?

Because I was too tired. And sore. and still wheezing.....

{happy birthday to tiff!!}

After my internet not working ALL day long... I'm finally able to get on and do a quick post.

I married into an awesome family. Mike has two sisters who I love dearly and a brother (who married a gal who is also just too cute!). I have come to love his sisters as my own sisters, even if we have an "in-law" by our title. :)

HaPpY bIrThDaY tIfFaNy! :D

(from left) Mike, Wesley, Tiffany & Marcie

taken at Wesley's wedding last July

{introducing....}

Delicious Memories of Mine!!

....a place where I will add all my tried & true recipes

(just in case if fire or destruction will wipe out all my recipes)

{Week 2 Run 2 of C25K}

Got new tennis shoes yesterday. I went to Kohl's, and after trying on two different kinds of Asics shoes, went back to the same pair as I bought last June..... I tried a pair w/ a high arch, but I just didn't know if I could get used to it, or if it felt weird, or comfortable. I love these babies!

Went for my run this morning at 9:00... did 30 minutes total of the run/walk after walking for 5 minutes to warm up. I think I officially hate running. I just don't like it. But, I'm going to change my mindframe, and am determined to LIKE it (not love it, but it would be great if it came to that). My left leg didn't hurt at all, but towards the end it was a little bothersome. I did stretch a bit before I left. No shin pain this time.

I made an appointment with a doctor to see about my thyroid. I keep thinking "why the heck am I not losing weight? I'm LITERALLY exercising my butt off!". Seriously, going from not exercising after a few years, to exercising every day, coming home drenched in sweat after exercising for at LEAST 1 1/2 hours should do something, right? Top that off w/ eating correctly, and NOTHING!! Nothing happened!

I see the doctor in two weeks. Pray for my thyroid to be LOW..... {{I know, weird thing to pray for....}} Last time I was checked was about 3-4 years ago, and it was almost borderline, but not quite. If it's not low, someone is seriously going to get hurt. So, watch out.

Aren't these sandals cute? I thought so!! So, I bought myself a pair!

{the fling, the swords}

they rested to watch the men in kilts throw haystacks with a pitchfork.....awesome!

Saturday the girls participated in the Highland Games here locally. Since they are no longer competing, they joined a Highland Dance group that is a performing group. They danced two time brackets on Saturday. Maddie danced the Sword dance, Katie did several dances with the other girls, and one on her own: the Seann Trius. Both girls danced with the rest of the ensemble to the Highland Fling.

Here are a few of the pictures I took....

the Fling (their teacher is in the middle)

the finale of the Seann Trius (she has to do a big leap and land like that)

dancing the Seann Trius

dancing around a sword

{Week 2, Run #1 C25K}

It's kind of chilly out today, so I put off running until after lunch. Immediately my left shin/leg started bothering me. I need some new shoes, I think.

I started running after walking for 5 minutes. The plan this week is walk briskly for 5 minutes, then run for 90 seconds, walk for 2 minutes. Do this alternatively for 20 minutes. Last week I was able to run/walk for 30 minutes, but today I did the bare minimum. I was freezing from the cold wind, not to mention that my left leg was hurting. So, I did I think about 24 minutes of running/walking, then went home.

I'm doing better running in general. Working on my breathing (that's so hard!). Still need to get a stopwatch (who wants to pay $15?! what happened to the cheapy ones?).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For the rest of my friends... I am going to type up the death by chocolate recipe, so you can email me at amybeccaz {at} hotmail {dot} com and I'll forward it on to you. I still need a creative name for my food blog. Got any ideas?!

Also, getting ready to do a small giveaway, so stay tuned for that in a few days as well!!

{death by chocolate}

A friend of mine (Mandi) recently celebrated her birthday a few weeks ago. Another friend baked one of the most divine cakes I've ever tasted in my life. She said "you have to try this cake!" So I did, and fell in LOVE! I asked Mandi if she had the recipe, and said she didn't. So.... I did what any brave woman would do when they just HAVE to have a certain recipe. I asked our other friend if I could WATCH her make the cake the next time she made it. Yep, I was too chicken to flat out ask her for the recipe.

So, we made a date, and I learned.

I learned SOOO many amazing tips! I'm so glad I learned how to make this recipe, not to mention all the tips I picked up from my friend Leisa!

So.... jealous that I have this huge cake sitting on my kitchen ledge?

You should be. It's to DIE for!! It is SO incredibly rich. For a chocolaholic like myself, I can't even get through a thin slice of this cake!! It takes me a good 15 minutes!

I think I'm going to start a food blog of all my recipes, and I'm going to post this recipe over there. {{whenever I find the time to start it....}} THAT way, in case of fire or disaster, my recipes will always have a place and I will be able to get to them anytime, anywhere. Stay tuned for when that happens....

{Day 3 of C25K}

I had a MUCH better run today.

My legs didn't hurt as bad while running. I had better positioning of my left foot (I must've been sore or something). I walked for 5 minutes first, then as soon as I hit the alley that led to the trail, I started the jog/walk. I did the full 30 minutes this time (again, only 20 minutes is required, but I did 30). It took me to the end of the trail and a little bit on the way back, then I walked the rest of the trail & back home again. Felt SOOOO good!

I had lunch with Mike this afternoon (YAY for Chipotle!) and I had a hard time walking. Was pretty sore and my muscles in my legs were fatigued a bit. Mike laughed at me b/c I walked a bit like a drunk.

So ecstatic that I'm able to do this, let's see what next week brings starting on Monday!

{Lunch Woes}

This morning I was packing a lunch for the girls. I asked Madison to bring me her lunch box, so I could stash it with her lunch. I asked her "did you empty your lunchbox for me yesterday?" (she has a problem emptying it, resulting in leaking box juice all over her lunchbox). Here is her cute reply:

Madison: Yes, I emptied it, but I'm so so sorry I didn't eat all my lunch.

Me: Why didn't you eat your lunch?

Madison: Because Paige grossed me out.

Me: Why did Paige gross you out?

Madison: Well.... she scratched her butt, then she took the SAME hand and picked her nose, THEN she ate it. And.... I just couldn't eat after that.

Me: ::giggling:: Yeah, I probably wouldn't be able to eat after that either.

Madison: But Mom! she's still a good person! I still like her and want to be her friend! {in a total serious tone & expression}

So, to all those 1st grader's, butt scratching, nose picking (and eating)...... quit grossing my kid out. She needs to eat!

Side note: Madison has a weak stomach. She throws up if she sees someone else throwing up (i.e. when Katie 's coughing so hard she throws up .... well, Madison is running to another bathroom or kitchen to throw up as well).

{Day 2 of C25K}

Ouch.

This hurts.

I was a little sore yesterday from day 1 (which I ran on Monday). I did 30 minutes of serious biking @ the gym as well as 30 minutes of weight training. I felt pretty good, just a few sore spots here & there on parts of my legs. THEN, I ran today. {{gasp}} I went at 10:15 this morning, walking my 5 minutes first, then started the 60 seconds run/90 seconds walk. I did this for about 25 minutes. Which is still better than the 20 minutes they want you to do. I think I felt better running than I did walking. Walked my 5 minutes home, which I was dragging my body home it felt...

I also noticed that I run funny. My left leg doesn't seem to want to lift all the way. So, my right foot is going "heel/toe" but my left foot just pounces the pavement, and I don't think it goes "heel/toe" at all. I am thinking Mike needs to see me run to see if I'm right. I feel like my left leg isn't very strong, which is why I'm running this way. I'm going to take it easy today & tomorrow, then run on Friday.

I do know I can tell a difference when I run on pavement vs running on a treadmill. A month or so ago, I was able to run 20 minutes straight without stopping on a treadmill. Then I stopped. Pavements HURT! But.. I'm still keeping the goal of running with my girls on their bikes in my mind. I HAVE to do this!