Calling All Runners!

I just registered for my third race. The first was a local 5K, the second was the mini-triathlon I did at our Y and this one is a 5K with an additional 2 mile dog run/walk! It is also affiliated with our Y so it will be very convenient for me. I'm excited and working on increasing my time and hopefully my distance since I'd love to run the 2 mile part as well as the 5K part. If I have to walk that, it will be OK, it's kind of hard to run with Ziggy since he just goes faster and faster and I can't keep up. We'll have to do a little training over the next month to get us both ready.

Race huh? Did someone say Run? Race? Food? Treats? Take me! Take me!

So, here's my problem. I am having trouble getting much past the 3.1 miles I do on the treadmill. Yes, I run on the treadmill instead of outside. I like it for so many reasons but mainly because it's air conditioned and also because I can take The Son to Kids' Corner for child care. It's just easier than scheduling my running around The Husband who works so much. I have a plan for today's run to try and get past that 3.1, I know I can do it and would like to keep working up to running the full 5.1 miles. (and you should know, I'm pretty slow but I finished my first 5K in just under 36 minutes so if I can beat that I'll be thrilled)

For today...
* Warm up stretches. I've been having a lot of hip pain and just looked up stretches to help me out.
* Mile 1- run at easy slightly challenging pace 5.3 to 5.5 on treadmill
* Mile 2- work on speed... 2 minutes 4.0+ pace 2 minutes 6.0+
* Miles 3 and 4 run at fairly easy pace of 5.0 to 5.1

It will be a definite challenge but I really do think I can do it. I have about a month to work up to the full 5.1 miles and I'm pretty sure that on race day, there will be a break between the 5K and the 2 miler so with my training I can do it!

Last but not least, if you are a runner and have any suggestions for good work outs to build both speed and distance, please, post them in my comments. I am definitely a beginner runner so I love to hear advice from those who've been running longer than I have. I also realize there's lots of info out there that I can "google" and I've done that but I'd love even more personal advice so hit me with it if you have it!

Have a great Tuesday, we're off to the Y for some running and pool time and then to karate for The Son it's a beautiful day in sunny PA!

Kickin' it at Karaoke!

I know, I know, no one says, "Kickin' it" any more... did they ever? I had to use that title because it was equally as cheesy as karaoke is. I don't care though, we had fun!

My cousin Chrissy and her friend Cherie are visiting from Connecticut. They seem to think that traveling to semi-rural Pennsylvania is "vacation" and since I love when they come visit, I won't burst their bubble... ;)

We headed out to a neighboring town on Saturday night to hang out, have cocktails (cat-tails as The Son says) and sing karaoke. Here we are before heading out, Chrissy is the one in the aqua top... we're just a few months apart in age so I consider her the friend I've known the longest in my entire life. My parents have baby pictures of us in the swing together... so cute.


Here I am, singing like a big dork. I sang, "Chain of Fools," "I'll Always Love You" and "Orange Colored Sky." It was fun.

The three of us got up to sing the karaoke classic, "I Will Survive," we asked some guy that we met to take our picture, he was an interesting character.

We had lots of these...

Which led to lots of these...

Those are NOT our cigarettes, they belong to the guy that took our pictures for us... really... I'm a good girl.



We left the karaoke bar around 1:30 and headed down the street for one more drink. Chrissy was the designated driver and really didn't drink much at all. Just want to add that so you know that even though we had a great time, one of us was a responsible adult and that we would never drink and drive. We got home after 2 AM and Chrissy and I stayed up until 4:30 talking which was fun but I regretted it the next day because boy, was I tired... I guess it's true that I'm getting old!

The rest of the weekend was much more low key but equally as fun. It was great to get a girls night out! We did go to the gym and the pool on Sunday and hung out with more friends and family. Good times... Good times.

Enjoy your Monday everyone, I'm off to the Y for an evening of swim instruction.

Big News from a Shrinking Woman.

Healthy Living with
CityMomma/CountryMomma

I've been slacking a bit on the Healthy Living posts, simply because I haven't really had anything new happen other than continuing to lose weight. I didn't have a giant loss this week, I lost .6 pounds but hey, that's a little more than half a pound and it put me at a total of 56.4 so really, I'm fine with that. It was one of those weeks when I kind of knew it wouldn't be a lot... ladies, you know the week I mean.

I have two bits of somewhat big news though...

1. I finally got measured by my trainer, it's been about a year since she took full measurements, even though I've only been working on losing weight for about six months. We went all the way back to my full set of measurements to find out that I have lost TWENTY-THREE inches total! Seven of that in my hips alone! I gained half an inch in my calves which is kind of funny to me but it must be from all my running. She was thrilled and I am thrilled! My body fat percentage has gone down about 10% and while it's still very high, it's getting better. Small changes yield big results continues to be my philosophy!

2. I registered for a class to become a certified dietitian! I will receive the materials at home for a home study program and then will take an on-line test which will enable me to work as a dietitian for weight loss groups. It will not be the same as going to school for four years to be a nutritionist so I won't be able to work in a medical environment but that's fine with me, I'm not one who want to be in the medical field anyway. I think it's going to be great for me to have the knowledge to keep myself on track and hopefully, I'll be able to eventually help others like my weight loss friend, Ms. Phyllis has helped me.

On another note, this weekend should be fun, my cousin Chrissy and her friend Cherie are coming from Connecticut to visit us again. We don't have a lot planned but we'll probably work out tomorrow and then head to the pool. (the theme for my summer is "the pool") We're going out to karaoke tomorrow night, perhaps I'll even take a few pictures. I'm a big karaoke dork! I just love to sing and I'm not too bad at it either, if I do say so myself! I'm looking forward to having some grown-up girl fun, if only for one night.

The Son is at camp right now and I'll be picking him up at noon to go to the... well, you know... POOL! ha ha! He loves it and so do I, everyone's happy.

Enjoy your weekend everyone! Stay healthy!

First dip in the outdoor pool!

We've been spending a lot of time at the Y's outdoor pool these days. It's fun for The Son and relaxing for me. I usually take him there after my workouts and his summer camp. We pack our lunches and snacks and eat lunch together and then he gets a chance to play with lots of different friends, in and out of the water. The water temperature is still a bit cold but when the beautiful sun shines, everyone is happy and warm.

I took a few pictures last week of his first dip in the outdoor pool. It wasn't particularly sunny on this day so I apologize for the slightly grey pictures.

"Cowabunga!"




First time down the big slide!



Oh Yeah! It's a little cold!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

So, guess where we're going today? Enjoy your day everyone!

Sprucing up a Bathroom Cabinet: Easy and Cheap version

In the City House we had this cabinet hanging in The Son's room over his changing table. It held lotions, diaper cream and little odds and ends.


Boring...

I knew that I wanted it in our downstairs powder room and The Husband finally got around to hanging it up in there for me. After he hung it however, I didn't really know what I wanted to put in it. I get lots of inspiration from other blogs that I read and I remembered someone's blog where they lined their cabinet or hutch with inexpensive scrapbook paper. I think it might have been The Nester's blog where I initially saw it. Anyway, that's what I decided to do.

I got a few sheets of blue flowered paper and some coordinating blue striped paper. It's interesting to note that I hadn't planned this in advance and I'm pretty sure that those pre-packaged scrapbook "stacks" only contain three of each pattern. I searched and searched through the numerous packs of paper I have and honestly couldn't find four that match, that's how I ended up with two different patterns. Now that it's finished though, I quite like it. So if you're going to do this, plan ahead and buy the actual paper in advance.

I didn't even have to cut the paper, I just hung it up and overlapped it, it fit perfectly. I used a little bit of my tape runner to adhere it to the back, as little as possible since the back is that cardboardy looking stuff since this is just an inexpensive Target cabinet, it might rip when I take off the paper, IF I take off the paper and it would be super easy just to put more paper up so I didn't really worry about that.

I got a couple little beachy themed items from The Christmas Tree Shoppe and then I used samples from prior "gifts with purchases" that coordinated with my bathroom as well as some hotel soaps that looked cute all stacked together. You certainly could use other items that you'll actually utilize but we don't use this powder room for much more than, well, going to the bathroom. I thought the teeny little sample items would look cute and I am very happy with the way they turned out.



Lastly, I know I got this idea from Kimba's blog (and no, I'm not linking directly to the posts, these blogs I'm linking to are interesting and good enough that you'll find something you like, even without the direct post from which I got my inspiration.)

I had the basket, also from The Son's baby room and I simply hot glued the starfish onto the front of the basket, filled it with unwrapped toilet paper and voila! a cute little toilet paper holder for the back of the potty to fill in some of that empty space.


A cute, virtually free project that really spruces up my powder room! I love it! I'm working on lots of free decorating ideas for my home right now because money is tight (for just about everyone I know) and I have some mini projects that I've been putting off for a while. (Butler's Pantry, bookshelves in study, laundry room, etc.) Stay tuned, they might even happen THIS summer! ha ha!


The Son is in camp, I'm heading over to the Y to work out, go to the pool and teach swimming later this afternoon. My tan is coming along nicely and yes, I'm wearing sunscreen... Have a great Wednesday everyone.

I'm baaaack...

Sort of.

Last week, I ran the "Kitchen Chemistry" camp at our Y and was SO busy but this week, I had this lovely plan that I would get all of my blog post for the week finished this morning and schedule them to go up each day at 6 AM. I LOVE when I do that, it makes me feel so productive but instead I...

- Took The Son to his first half day of "Dinosaur Week" of camp.

- Watched the Executive Director of our Y tell some idiot that he couldn't smoke a cigarette out in front of the Y after he heard The Son comment that he smelled smoke. It was a little bit thrilling I must admit.

- Got gas in my car.

- Came home and did dishes

- Checked my facebook and played a round of "Typing Maniac."

- Marinated a london broil in Balsamic Cherry Marinade from my Eating Well cookbook for The Husband to grill for dinner tonight.

- Marinated some chicken in this marinade (SO DARN GOOD! don't be afraid of the "liquid smoke") for us to grill tonight and eat for lunch this week.

- Uploaded pictures

- lamented that it was already 11:30 and I have to pack lunches and my swim stuff in order to work tonight and that it's already time to leave to pick The Son up from camp.

So, there you have it, none of my posts for the week are done. I should tell you that I lost another 2.2 pounds last week and my grand total is 55.8! I am loving it! I should have done a Living Healthy post regarding it but you'll have to count those recipe links as this week's Living Healthy post and let me just say that that chicken marinade is FANTASTIC! I especially love it grilled and served cold for lunch. If you like smoky flavored things, you'll like it too, plus, it's easy and healthy!

I have been mentioning that we made The Husband a special Father's Day gift and I'll post those pictures for you, just to get it out of the way. A few weeks before Father's Day, The Son and I went to one of those paint your own pottery places. He made this for his Daddy:



And I made this for myself:Each piece was $20 which included everything from start to finish. It was a little more than I anticipated but we were there for three hours so all in all, it was worth it. The Husband loved his gift and I'll most likely be going there again for difficult to buy for men/grandfathers in our life. (Disregard that past statement if you're MY Dad...)

I hope you all had a great holiday weekend, I'll be back tomorrow with another post and I'll try to get back around to visiting all my blogs that I've missed because of camp. Life is busy but good!

In the past two days...

I have left my house around 8:45 to be at work by 9 for summer camp. I haven't returned home until after 8 either because of swim lessons or because I had to go and buy more camp supplies. Needless to say, my blog is suffering. I will be out again today until at least 7:30. I doubt very much that a blog post will be completed... other than this one of course.

I hope you're all having a great week, I have been reading a few blogs here and there but not as consistently as I'd like. I'll be back soon! Miss you all!