Super quick Healthy Living post...

Super quick post today... I have a couple much better posts in the works but don't really have time to get to them right now so I just wanted to do my...

Healthy Living With
CityMomma/CountryMomma

... post for today. I lost another 1.8 pounds this week! Hooray! My total is 44.4 and I am feeling great. I am almost in "onederland." Can you figure out what it means? It's about as close as I'm going to get to telling you my weight and consequently, you could pretty much figure out what I used to weigh. Ouch. It's been a journey of happiness and sadness and lots of self-discovery, I'll tell you that. I know that this is the last time I will ever have to see those 44 pounds. Truly, I know it, I don't know how I know it and I'm sure plenty of people say they know it but trust me, it's gone. For. Good.

Tomorrow is my mini-triathlon at the Y. I have to be in the pool at 8:12 AM and we are swimming for 20 minutes, we then have 2 minutes to get to the spin room for a 40 minute spin class and then we have 3 minutes to get across the street to a local park for a 45 minute run. WOO HOO! Sounds like a blast, don't you think?

I had pizza for dinner last night. And four wings. With blue cheese. And two vodka gimlets. Yikes. I know it's not good but I do often eat what ever the heck I want on Thursday nights and then just really watch the rest of the week. I'll be totally fine. Miss Phyllis, my weight loss lady says we can apply the 90 per cent rule to our eating and that if 9 of your meals are right on target health and calorie wise, you can pretty much eat what ever you want for that 10th meal. I probably use this philosophy about once a week. It's been working too!

The problem is, now I feel I cannot take off from the gym today and I probably should to rest up for the tri. I also got new sneakers and I want to try them out. I'm going to work out lightly, full body weights, AMT machine on a lesser tension (10-15) and then a one mile run. That's it, I swear, one mile, I really want to see what these babies can do. I'll probably wear the old sneakers for the tri since I don't want my new pretties to get dirty outside.

I know I mentioned that I was going to post about my favorite souviner at Disney and I'll probably do that this weekend or get it ready to go up on Monday. I also want to tell you about a place that I've been finding a lot of really cute, fashions for my new figure. Problem is, I'm shrinking out of things at a very rapid rate. I love fashion and I know good brands but I don't have money to spend on things that fit for a month. You might be surprised at my favorite "new" shopping destination but it's a great place for people who are losing weight to go. It's Good... Will you belive it? I don't know. ;)

Have a great weekend everyone! I'll have a mini-tri report for you too coming up.

Disney: More Magic Kindom with the Crystal Palace Character meet and Greet!

We're picking up today with more Magic Kingdom. We had a great time and I took a lot of pictures, what can I say?

Here's some pictures from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride:

The Son makes his official Very Scary Pirate Face. Don't be frightened, he won't hurt you unless you try to steal his treasure.

Riding with his Aunt and Uncle. He was especially in love with his Uncle (BIL #1) and continues to tell me how much he misses his "funniness." The Husband and I deemed ourselves "Chopped Liver" on this trip.

The Men. Yes, The Husband and the BIL #1 knew that they were both wearing pink polo shirts.
They didn't care that they were matching OR that they were matching and wearing pink. These two are very secure in their masculinity.

We scheduled this trip very quickly and therefore were unable to reserve many "character dinners" (character dinners aren't exactly my favorite but we did want to do one or two for The Son), we did manage to get a dinner reservation at the Crystal Palace with Pooh and Friends. The food was actually quite good except that when they tell you there is a "sundae bar" don't believe them unless you consider a machine with frozen soft serve and a bowl of jimmies a "sundae bar". I don't. But I digress...

Here is The Son meeting some characters. He was a little put off at first, I think they made him nervous, but he soon warmed up. I have to say that the people who portray these much-loved characters, are very sweet and excellent with the children, even with being unable to speak.





When we left the Crystal Palace, it was just in time for the "Wishes" fireworks show. We stood on the steps of the restaurant and watched them over Cinderella's Castle. It was beautiful and The Son loved the fireworks. Here's a somewhat blurry shot of his face and his amazement. It was so sweet.

Goodnight Cindy! Your castle looks pretty tonight!


We headed back to our hotel, full of the Disney Spirit, beliving that all our wishes would in fact come true one day...

In my next post, which may or may not be tomorrow, I'll tell you about what I think is the Best. Souvenir. Ever. at Disney World. Enjoy your day! Happy Wednesday!

Disney: You didn't think I was finished did you?

I took a little break from the Disney posts to post about my 5K but decided to do a couple more for this week since I do have 1,100 pictures. I left off with the Magic Kingdom... let's pick up where we left off, shall we?

This is "Pooh's Thotful Spot" a cute little play area with some water for children five and under. The Son had a nice time here and probably could have played longer if we let him. It was a nice time for the grown-ups to sit and rest a bit.

Enjoying the water...


Here is is on top of a "log" pretending to be a puppy. Can you tell? It's often difficult to keep track of what The Son wants to "be" at any given moment. I love his imagination.


Tipping his hat to me, I don' t know how he came up with this but did it frequently throughout the trip. So funny.


After our time in the 100 Acre Wood we stopped for... Ice cream... yes, I had some too. Yum.


I'll leave you with those photos for now, I have some more planned to post for tomorrow that are also Magic Kingdom. I hope you're not too bored.

I have four days until my mini-triathlon and I'll be finishing up some final training this week in preparation. I ran for forty-five minutes straight today in preparation. One more big run on Wednesday and some mini workouts in between. I'll probably be taking off on Thursday AND Friday if my "tri people" at the Y think it's a good idea. I'm getting scared and worried but think I'll be able to complete it even if I have to walk at the end. Good times...

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Addict.

Something is wrong with me. Seriously wrong with me. I am addicted and I can't believe it. I honestly never thought it would come to this, but it has. "What are you addicted to?" you ask? Well, I am addicted to running! RUNNING! Today I ran 3.5 miles on the treadmill. I finished my 5K in 35 minutes and then just kept going. I have been trying to increase my endurance so that I can run for a longer period of time. When I'm doing it, I think I hate every minute of it, but when I am finished, I can't stop thinking about it, how far I ran, and what I am going to do next time. I just spent the last hour googling running plans and running message boards. I actually brought myself to tears when I stopped to think about how far I've come. A couple months ago, it was difficult for me to run a minute and a half at a time, yes, a minute and a half. Now, I am running and setting the treadmill time for 45 minutes! So far, I am pretty much a treadmill runner but I do feel like I would enjoy it if I ventured outside to run.

... AND... not only am I addicted to running, I think I'm addicted to the exercise in general. The mini-triathlon I'm doing at the Y is next weekend and I've been swimming, and (stationary) biking along with my running. We will be running outside at the park across from the Y, I think I'll make it a goal this week to head over there for at least part of my work out to get myself off the treadmill a little bit. Today I ran into the women who is in charge of the mini-tri and she suggested that I bike a couple miles "really hard" and then get on the treadmill and run a mile. I did that twice and BOY, was I tired. It was a great work out though. You know you've worked out well when people ask you if you've been in the sauna because you're sweating so much. GROSS! I know!

So, I know I'm really late but I still need to update you with the...

Healthy Living with
CityMomma/CountryMomma

post for the week. Another good week for me! I lost another 1.6 pounds which brings my grand total to 42.6! I am working hard and eating healthy and it just keeps coming off. I really do eat a lot of food and I've been trying to increase my fruits and vegetables which is the most challenging thing for me with this lifestyle.

I have a lot of work ahead of me this week with the triathlon on Saturday... lots of cross training to do. I'll keep you posted about my new favorite pastime, or should I say... addiction!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone!

Sweetness...

The other day, I let The Son head out to play with some of the neighborhood children. I check on him constantly when he's out there and one time I looked out and this is what I saw:


The kids were all sitting on a neighbor's steps looking at The Son's dinosaur book with him. There are kids from four different families in this shot and it just made me happy to see them all sitting together and getting along so nicely. We love this neighborhood...

The Son Runs a Race

What an exciting day! We have a guest blogger today! The Husband has agreed to tell the story of The Son running the untimed 1 Mile "Fun Run" on Saturday. I'll add the appropriate photos...

After watching Citymomma/Countrymomma leave with the pack of other 5K timed runners and then the 5K untimed runners depart, The Son and I got into to position and waited for the official announcement to start the mile run. (Incidentally, both CCMomma and I predicted an early exit from the run by The Son with the standard, "I'm tired, please carry me on your shoulders Daddy!" Note the plaintive whine that's implied.) While waiting for the official announcement to run, The Son tried various starting poses to best facilitate a quick start.



Someone with a clipboard and whistle -- official race-starting equipment -- directed everybody to turn around and run down the hill in the opposite direction of all the other runners. Before I knew it, the Son was off down the hill running full clip like the god Mercury after three espressos. I had to quickly speed down the hill after him. At the bottom of the hill, the runners were directed into the woods where various race supporters had gathered along the stone gravel path, cheering on the milers. The Son soaked in the adoration of the applauding onlookers and acknowledged their praise with a big smile and a thumbs up. If a bigger kid attempted to pass The Son, he would grit his teeth and run harder. (I'm assuming the "gritting of teeth" since for the most part my view was of his backside leading away from me.)


He stopped occasionally to soak in the outdoors and to allow me to catch up. At one point, he stopped in mid-stride to pick a dandelion to give to a Mom who was ambling along with her daughter. She thanked him with a smile and, "Aren't you sweet." (Even in the midst of heated competition, he's still a charmer.) The Son jogged along and rounded the final turn toward the Finish line with me trailing (and thanking God that it was almost over). The final stretch toward the finish line reminded me of the marathoners entering the the stadium with the throngs of people cheering the olympians to the end. (I was hoping that I didn't look like that "agony of defeat" runner stumbling and drooling toward the Finish line.) Meanwhile, the Son looking as refreshed as when he started the race, ran on ahead of me crossing the Finish line with much zeal in under 12 minutes. I followed him by thirty seconds. As we walked to the resting area to get a cup of water and to catch our breath, The Son looked up at me and asked, "Do I look thinner?" "Yeah, I guess you do," I replied, thinking that CCMomma and The Husband had utterly failed in their predictions of The Son's running prowess.



So, there you have it folks! The Son is a runner too. Who knew? It was funny that he woke up the next day and while rubbing his little thighs says, "Momma, when I bend my legs and do this, it hurts right here." I told him that I had just complained of the same thing and that it was from good exercise. He was very proud. We are proud of him and love that we can add another sport to his growing repertoire. He's growing up so fast... Thank you sweet Husband for writing this for me. I love to pawn my "work" off on you. really appreciate it since I wasn't there and wouldn't have been able to do this story justice.

Have a great Tuesday everyone. It's an exciting day for me, I am heading over to The Sister's house and cooking dinner for them AND meeting my new niece for the first time! Hooray!

The Official Race Report!

The results are in! I ran my first 5K on Saturday and managed to complete it in 35 minutes and 48 seconds! I am thrilled beyond belief because I never thought I would do it in that amount of time. If you read my blog, you know that my fastest time on the treadmill was 35:35 and I've never really run outside. I was striving to finish in under 40 minutes but was seriously thinking that I might have to settle for under 45, you can imagine how proud of myself I am.

I have a few pictures to show you, my vanity will be hurt after this post but I suppose I can take it for the sake of an accurate "report." Here, The Son and I walk to the beginning of the race. The Husband took one of the back of us too, that will NOT be making the blog, my self-esteem isn't THAT secure.

Stretching to prepare for the race, it was very cute, as I started stretching, The Son decided that he too needed to stretch out. He was signed up for the 1 mile unscored "fun run" with The Husband.


Wow! Look at all the people... I was getting nervous... really nervous...


Can you tell? This is my "I'm really nervous, what have I gotten myself into?" face.


Showing off my number...
Here I am amongst the crowd, I realize it's blurry, The Husband must have been getting over-excited. It's the only picture I have in with the other racers though so I had to post it.

And before I knew it... we were off. I situated myself at the back of the group considering I knew I would not be a fast runner. I had been warned that there were a lot of hills in this race. I am not used to hills. I managed to run the first mile, pretty much without stopping. There were a lot of kids around me who were a part of the YMCA's "Girls on the Run" program and they all had running buddies (moms and dads) with them. It was nice because I fed off the encouragement that their parents were offering them. Each time I wanted to stop I would hear a parent encouraging their child and I knew I could keep running, at least a little bit longer. After about the first mile, there was a water station with little paper cups of water. I had to stop to take a drink and then I had a hard time starting back up again. I was heading up another hill and I had to walk. I was feeling really down on myself for walking but just kept telling myself that walk or run, I was doing it. I was participating in a race! The good thing about all the hills going up was that there were also quite a few hills going down. I decided that I could run them and in fact, it was easier than trying to walk so I tried to make up speed on the way down. Finally, I saw the mile 2 marker! I realized I was two thirds of the way finished! At this point, I doubted that I would ever run another 5K! ha ha! I kept going, and going and going, until I was rounding the bend and could see the word "FINISH" ahead. I glanced at the clock and realized that it read somewhere around 35 minutes! WHAT? I was shocked. I managed to cross the finish line with the clock reading 36:20. I was thrilled with that time! It wasn't until later that I realized my time would actually be less because I didn't cross the timing mats at the same time the clock was started. That's how I ended up with the time 35:48! I came in 488/877 women and 64/103 in my division. My overall placement in the whole thing was 1012/1508. I'm happy with all of that and know that I have goals to reach as far as improvement but that's a good thing!

As I crossed the finish line, I searched and searched for my guys. I couldn't find them and evidently, they didn't see me. I'm kind of sad about that because The Husband says he was poised with the camer to take a picture of me. It didn't happen, but to be fair, there were a lot of people there. We took a dorky picture of me in my race t-shirt later and then The Son and I posed for a final shot.

Again, with the thumbs-up. It's the kids trademark I think.

We stayed for the after-race party and had a few snacks until we decided to head home where I collapsed and took a much needed three hour nap! The Husband and I got to go out on a date with friends that evening because of the YMCA's "Parent's Night Out" it was a great day and evening all around.

Tomorrow, we're going to have a guest blogger... The Husband who will give his race report on The Son running the 1 mile fun run. He's a much better writer than I am so I'm sure it will be funny! Have a great Monday everyone!

I am a runner!

It's official... I have completed my first race! I must say, I am very, very proud of myself. I don't have an official result yet but I am guessing I came in somewhere around 36 minutes... that's what the clock said when I crossed the finish line but I probably crossed the start line a few seconds in since I started with the slowies in the back. I will update more and add some pictures when I have official times!

YAY ME!

Great news, Good news...

First the GREAT news! I am an Aunt again. The Niece calls me "Aunt Kiki" so I am pretty sure that her baby sister will also be calling me Aunt Kiki... the thing is, I don't know what to call her baby sister since "The Niece" is already taken. (I DO have another niece on The Husband's side of the family (she's a young teen) and I've often thought she needs her own bloggy name too...hmmmm, I'm in a quandry.) I'll have to think about it and while I do that... here's a couple pictures of the little sweetie for you all to see. I will be meeting her in person on Sunday or Tuesday so there will be more pictures at that time.


The Sister says she can see our mom's face in her new daughter's and I can definitely understand why. I had an interesting thing happen to me regarding this new little bundle of joy too. Bear with me, this might not make a lot of sense. I think I once mentioned that I have a fascination of sorts with the number 1,047. I don't know why. My brownie troop back in the day was Troop 1047 and I always look at the clock at that time too. Since my mom has passed, every time I look at the clock and it's 10:47, it makes me think of her. When I'm running and I look down at the treadmill, it's often 10:47 and I think of my mom urging me to keep going, work harder. Well, The BIL sent these pictures to me last night at... you guessed it... 10:47! I'm not a religious person but I do feel spiritual when I think of my mom and I couldn't help but find some significance in this. I know, it's probably crazy but it makes me feel closer to her.

So after my craziness... the GOOD news!

Healthy Living with
CityMomma/CountryMomma

I lost another 2 pounds this week! I wasn't sure I would lose that much but I'm thrilled that I did and it brings my grand total to 41.2 pounds! YAHOO! I've certainly been working hard but it's all paying off. Eating healthy is not difficult at all and the working out is amazing. I can't get over the things that my body can do.

I've never liked to run, frankly, I still don't really like it but I'm doing it. I'm. Doing. It. I'm running. 3.1 miles on the treadmill without stopping . AT. ALL! Those of you who are runners may or may not appreciate how big of an accomplishment this is for me. I've been every weight, in high school, I was thin and healthy and did a lot of dance and physical activity like that but I have never been athletic. I could never run and now, at almost 40 (ouch.) I can do it. I am also getting really excited for the mini-triathlon that I'll be doing soon. "Training" for that will begin on Monday.

Tomorrow is my first 5K ever. I'm getting a little nervous (and excited) but hoping that I can complete it in under 40 minutes. I managed 35:35 on the treadmill on Wednesday and was absolutely amazed at that but I've never really run without the treadmill and I'm sure it's a bit more difficult without. I've asked a lot of people and have come to the conclusion that today can be a normal work out day as long as I don't push myself too hard. I'll just be doing my beloved AMT machine and a nice gentle walk on the treadmill along with my weights. Nothing stressful.

So, tomorrow's the big day... I'll let you know how it goes! Have a great Friday everyone!

Disney Trip: The Magic Kingdom

I have to begin today's post by mentioning that The Sister is having a scheduled c-section today! She's giving birth to their second girl. I'm very excited to be Aunt Kiki to another beautiful little girl! I'll post more information if I get any details later today! Love you Sissy! Good luck!

We started our second day at The Magic Kingdom. The Son was especially excited to visit because we told him he could be "in charge" of what we were going to do. He was very proud to have that power. We decided to head over to Frontierland and check out the lines for Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain. We decided to get a fast pass for Splash Mountain and headed under an little pavilion to find this cute little play area themed around the Splash Mountain ride (which is themed around the Brer Rabbit stories) The Husband had to make a business call which gave The Son ample time to play here. It was for ages 2-5 and you can tell from the pictures that he loved it!





Can I take this moment to say a couple things about traveling to Disney? I'm on my Disney soap box so to speak. When a play area has an age limit, parents, please abide by it. This little area was a hidden gem and I think a lot of people missed it but I encountered plenty of areas where the children playing there were WELL above the posted ages. It makes it difficult for the little ones when parents allow this. I had to keep reminding The Son (and he's a pretty gentle boy) that there were younger children around and to be careful so you can only imagine what 8, 9 and 10 year olds do in areas like this. It's a major pet peeve of mine. There were plenty of obviously older kids with younger siblings who behaved appropriately, I certainly don't mean these people but there's always some rough-housing, mean kid who ruins it for lots of others.

Also, I know trips are expensive, I know most people want to make sure to see everything but I believe parents need to remind themselves that these are times that are special to children. Allowing a kid to play in a little play area, or watch an interesting Floridian bird, instead of traipsing to yet another line, is going to be the kind of thing they remember about their trip to Disney. I saw so many crying, irritable kids and haggard parents who were clearly just trying to do too much. It made me sad. I am happy to say that we kept the whining and irritableness to a minimum. Yes, we unfortunately missed the Peter Pan ride but we were still happy for most of the trip. And speaking of that interesting Floridian Bird...

The Son was fascinated, the people on the bench were feeding this guy pieces of turkey leg which seemed so wrong to me but it was LOVING it. Others tried to feed him popcorn or pieces of pretzel and all he wanted was turkey. Cannibal.




Thanks for stopping by my blog today. I'll have more Magic Kingdom pictures soon as well as details on my new niece. Tomorrow is my weigh-in for our Living Healthy, Living Well program. I've had a good week but this is the week of the month when it's often difficult to lose weight, girls, you know what I mean. Hopefully, I'll lose a little something...

Enjoy your Thursday!

Disney Trip: Miscellaneous Disney Hollywood Studios

Lots and lots of Disney pictures, here's just a couple more cute shots of our day at Disney Hollywood Studios. I realize you might be getting bored of these so I apologize but I have to post them for posterity and by posterity, I mean The Son's grandparents and Aunts/Uncles, etc. who read my blog.


Here's The Son doing his patented knee shaking/arm waving dance at the Playhouse Disney show. He enjoyed this show but I was slightly disappointed. The show they had previously with Bear in the Big Blue house was much better.

A snowman? In Florida?

Outside the Muppet's Theatre. Miss Piggy Rocks!

Hope you enjoyed everyone! Have a great Wednesday, tomorrow we travel to The Magic Kingdom!

Disney Trip: Toy Story Mania!

More Disney pictures... I did mention that I took 1100, didn't I? This could go on for a while...

We travel to Disney pretty much every other year. The Disney Vacation Club has helped us be able to do that. Consequently, there's not too much that's new when we do visit. Not that that's a bad thing of course. One of the few new things we got to enjoy this time was a new ride called "Toy Story Mania!" It's one of the best rides ever. I will tell you that if you're going to go and want to ride it, head over to it quickly and get a fast pass as soon as you arrive in the park. Fast Passes are often gone half way through the day so you want to get one early. We made a mistake the first time and didn't get a fast pass and we waited, and waited and waited, for well over the "estimated time" that kind of sucked but the ride is awesome so we didn't feel too bad after all was said and done. Another time, we got on the ride at the end of the day toward closing when all of the fast passes had been redeemed and there were no more being given out. That wait wasn't too long.

Here's an excerpt of the description for Toy Story Mania! From my tour book: "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2009." by Bob Sehlinger with Len Testa. Great information even for one who thinks she knows a lot about Disney (that would be me.) It's really hard to describe this ride and the book does a great job so I'll just let you read that.

"Toy Story Mania ushers in a whole new generation of Disney attractions: "virtual dark rides." Since Disneyland opened in 1955, ride vehicles have moved past two-and three-dimensional sets often populated by audio animatronic figures. Designed by the Imagineers and constructed by skilled craftsmen, these amazingly detailed sets and robotic figures literally defined the Disney creative genius in attractions...

Conceptually, this is an interactive shooting gallery much like Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, but in Toy Story Mania!, your ride vehicle passes through a totally virtual midway, with booths offering such games as ring tossing and ball throwing. You use a cannon on your ride vehicle to play as you move along from booth to booth. Unlike the laser guns in Buzz lightyear, however, the pull-string cannons in Toy Story Mania! take advantage of CG (computer-graphic) image technology to toss rings, shoot balls even throw eggs and pies. Each game booth is manned by a Toy Story character who is right beside you in 3-D glory cheering you on. In addition to 3-D imagery, you experience various smells, vehicle motion, wind and water spray. The ride begins with a training round to familiarize you with the nature of the games, then continues through a number or "real" games in which you compete against your riding mate. The technology has the ability to self-adjust the level of difficulty, and there are plenty of easy targets for small children to reach."

Honestly, the ride is awesome! So much fun and I would have loved to go on it multiple times in a row. I just know I could have gotten a higher score! ha ha!

Here's some pictures of the line. The attention to detail as you wait in "Andy's room" is simply amazing. Disney never fails to impress, that's for sure.

The ceiling... I know it looks upside down but this is the angle from where we were standing.


I had to take this shot because I had these blocks when I was a kid and this "bridge" one was my favorite. We had a little green half circle that fit right in there. I don't know why, but I loved it.


Look how the crayon is dulled from use. I thought it was really cute that they had a pink crayon was still brand-new and fresh. I wondered if that was was intentional, like Andy didn't want to use pink?



Finally got our 3-D glasses...


I think this was outside near one of the snack stands but still it was cool...


Lastly... this guy was great! He talked to the people waiting in line. I guess there's a camera so that someone can operate him and actually see the people waiting in line. It was funny.



I'm sure this post can't quite do the ride justice, it's kind of just one of those things you have to experience to understand. Rest assured that everyone in our group from age 5 to almost 50, LOVED this ride. Thank you Walt Disney World, this one's a winner for all ages!

Have a great Tuesday everyone!