Guess Who Won!?!?

...i did.  and here's why...

Tanner had a swim meet in Bountiful this morning.  For various reasons, I decided to go despite the severe pain I'd had in my neck for a good week.  I'll get to that later.  Tanner first.

See this...

Yeah.  I'm pretty sure he was the youngest swimmer there.  If you aren't familiar with how meets are run, kids are seeded according to age, and their time (boys race boys, and girls race girls).  Tanner competes in the "boys 10 & under" age group, and is usually seeded last, because he's just a tad bit on the slow and inexperienced side.  That's okay. You have to start somewhere!

He ended up taking off 7 seconds from his 50 backstroke time....yay!  Progress.  And he took a whopping 49 seconds off of his 50 freestyle time.  SUPER YAY!  I'm confident he could have shaved an additional 30 seconds from the 50 free if he hadn't gotten silly and just bobbed up and down the last 4 yards.  Regardless, he is now using his arms and legs simultaneously...instead of separately.  It's a good thing.

Despite his placing last (not including those disqualified and no-shows) in his category, I won, because I got the see the standing ovation that every spectator and swimmer gave him after swimming both events.  I got to hear the "how old is that kid?!" and all the "Gooooooooooooooo!" from the people around me and in every corner.  It was hilarious!  I'm not sure if they were excited he finished because he didn't drown, or that he finally finished so they could go on with the next event.  Either way, it was awesome.  And he was a trooper!

I also won because I had my neck worked on....I don't think I posted about it here, but I did something stupid while lifting weights last week, and thought a disc slipped or something.  I had terrible pain radiating up the back of my head and down my left arm, and at times debilitated me from doing the things I need to do.  I have lived in constant pain for the last week, and was just about in tears at the meet.  I don't even remember half the drive down, because the pain was so sickening and I thought I'd throw up at any moment.  I would compare it to Kortlen's natural birth (pain at a 10, being the highest), with this being about a 12....a constant, sharp-shooting, tingling, hot, sickening & nauseating 12.  At least giving birth is over after a few hours.

ANYWAYS, my dear friend Karen asked how I was doing, and she could see I was almost in tears.  So she grabbed another swim mom who is a massage therapist to come and look at me...and then she worked me over right then and there, so painfully, that I burst into tears in the bleachers!  I was so embarrassed, yet SO RELIEVED!  I could move my head! Magic fingers!!! I think I was also crying because for the first time in a week, I had felt relief from the pain.  Throughout the course of the meet, my new friend Debbie worked on my neck about every 30 minutes.  The pain was still there, but subsiding.  Each time it felt better and better.

Turns out, the pain wasn't a disc (although I did go the the chiropractor Friday morning and it sorta helped).  Apparently my neck muscles and nerves were fighting each other and causing muscle spasms.  Ice helped IMMENSELY (I'd been doing heat....face-palm), and simply understanding WHAT was going on made me feel better.

Despite crying half the way home because the pain returned to be more than I could handle, I am even more excited to see Debbie again this week and have her work me over...I don't care how much she charges, I NEED the pain to be gone!!

And I'm tired of wearing the bag of frozen cranberries around my neck.  LOL!  It's kindof getting old.

Yup...I'm a winner.   


Note to self:  Don't do dead lifts and then check your form in the mirror.  That's just stupid.  

What do I have to lose?

So...it's no secret.  I'm kinda-sorta-really-absolutely sentimental.  Over anything, and everything.  Not emotionally, I just really value my ties.  Especially my roots.

It's also no secret that I've been working my behind off to lose some of this ice cream-baby weight...and it hasn't melted one bit.  Not even an ounce!!!  (I promise, I'm not joking...I weight EXACTLY the same as I did on September 1st....not cool!)

I think it's time to turn up the intensity...what do I have to lose?  Besides blowing my knees out running a marathon?  Nothing.

I think I'm going to do it.

Do What????

THIS...  I'd be swimming over the ranch my grandfather and his sons owned.  I have VERY fond memories of this beautiful place...and which I'll name my next child after...and that's the biggest reason WHY I want to do it.  Because I'm sentimental.  Getting in shape and actually accomplishing this feat is just an added bonus.  Told you I was sappy!  :)

I talked about doing a triathlon last year, but started too late in the season to really get anywhere.  I did that 50 miler on my bike, and swimming and running would have totally been welcomed.  LOL!  I've been biking at least 50 miles a week for 6 months, and swimming will come back without a huge problem...just need to build up my endurance (and get some better eyes).  The only thing I'm kinda-sorta worried about is running.  I used to hate it...but on Friday, when I ran for an hour (with some walking and jogging of course, but also some RUNNING in there), I realized that I can do it.  I can do anything.  And this is something I will do.

Now would be the optimal time.

I mean, I teach at an athletic club, and instead of getting a paycheck in the mail, I get a family gym membership (you're not supposed to know that, but whatever...it is what it is.) ...so why not get a trainer so I don't seriously hurt myself...and make good use of my 'pay' while I have it?!?!?!  Ryan also has a membership...we should totally be a team.

Yeah - there's some ducks I need to get in a row first (like asking if Ryan would do it with me), but really; what do I have to lose?

Stuffing my face....grrrrr.

Why is it that after I do a grueling workout in which I sweat buckets and my face is a dark fuscia (how the heck do you spell that anyways?) red, that I immediately come home and stuff my face with a handful of Vanilla Wafers or cashews or a slice of toast that's hot out of the toaster lathered with butter and homemade strawberry jam?

I'm shooting myself in the foot.

Gaaaaaaah!

And water.  I drink it like crazy.  You wouldn't know it though.  While I love my Nalgene bottles, I'm trading them in for something with a straw.  It's bad enough that I sweat through the back of my shirt, but when it's wet in the front, too, it's a little unnerving.

Best workout music ever:  Jon Schmidt & Steven Sharp Nelson's New CD - "YouTube Hits Volume I".   Suggesting there might be a Volume II coming out soon?

While Aerosmith, Rihanna, Van Halen and Red Hot Chili Peppers rock my spinning world, I found out that I really enjoyed the classics and amazing music Schmidt &Nelson's compositions provided me this morning.  It was amazing...my focus was awesome.  It may have helped that I bike with my glasses hanging off the neck of my shirt like a librarian, and that I couldn't see anybody staring at me and my sweatiness.  Is that even a word?  Probably not.  Anyways, if you want a way to shut out the world while exercising, just make sure you cannot see anything.  It helps immensely.

But it felt good to do my own spinning workout.  Amazing actually.  I think I'll make it a Friday morning tradition.

And while I'm thinking that over, I'll try to dismiss those cravings for ANY FOOD in my mouth the second I walk in the door.

My Face..

...was embarrassingly purple after a spinning class this morning.  I didn't realize HOW purple, till I got in my car after picking up Kortlen and had a moment at a red light to glance in the mirror.  Even after I got home, showered, and got dressed and ready for the day, it was still purple...with a hint of red.  

I've discovered that I dislike running...love(d) swimming, but it's tricky without contacts as the wall always sneaks up on me (Doing the 'glasses' thing right now)...and absolutely LOVE biking.  We've biked a lot this summer.  So I figured a spinning class during Taylor's preschool and Tanner's Kindergarten would be just right...and it was...grueling.

It was intense.

You've heard the term "sweating buckets"?  Yeah.  The floor beneath my bike was soaked.

Ewwwwwwe.

Loved it.

And a lady in my class with a prosthetic leg was super inspiring....can't wait to get back to earn another purple face.  And burn more calories.  And feel like I'm going to die.  LOL!

Bring. It. On.

Triathlon Training...

um....so I want to do a triathlon.  yes, I have something to prove.  and yes, this is the first I have seriously considered it.

Have you ever competed or participated in a tri?  I know a lot of my blogging friends run 5k's, half marathons, marathons, and crazy 24 hour races (that's you, Becky M.!!!)...and I hate running with a passion....but I'm loving biking and I used to be a fish.  No, really.  I used to spend 2-4 hours in the pool every day, and I really miss it.

I know it won't take too much time to condition in the water again...well, maybe a little bit of time...and I know I don't have the right kind of bike (I have a mountain bike, not a roadie)...and my gym shoes/running shoes are a good four years old...but they're still white, so I can still use them, right??

I've found some sites and articles and completely signed up for a Tri in Pocatello on the 23rd of July...but I didn't hit the 'complete' button for two reasons.  (i don't know 'how' to do a tri, and Ryan kinda laughed at me when I told him I'd be spending $40 on the registration fee...and then we added up all the other fees like a pool pass, new shoes, new tires, etc, etc, etc.)

Any suggestions???  Where do I start?  If I don't do it now, i'm afraid i'll never do it...

Family Fun Run

Tanner is a member of the Idaho Falls Swim Team (IFST), the Piranha's.  He loves it and is learning so much!!!  As a 'team mom', I'm also learning a lot...like how to be a mom, and not a coach, and how to be supportive without nagging, and how to be more involved in the community, instead of just watching things happen around me.  He has the most amazing coach, Coach Denise, who was also my coach when I went to Western Zones in Hawaii, nearly 10 years ago!  We have missed her dearly since she's been away helping her son who was in a horrible motorcycle accident, and can't wait for her to get back in the water with Tanner!

Saturday was a Family Fun Run put on by the Eastern Idaho Public Health Department, promoting Miss Idaho Falls's platform of eating healthy and being fit.  It was a great opportunity for the Swim Team to get out and get some publicity, hence the video link below:

Family Fun Run In Idaho Falls - Local News Story - KIFI Idaho Falls

Some of the mom's also got some cute pictures of the little kids that were there before it started, and snapped this awesome shot...

You can see me in the background, helping Taylor with his 5-sizes-too-big-tee-shirt.  :)

We were excited to see our friends, the Waite Family, and they even won two raffle items!!!

Tanner was pretty crushed he didn't win a thing...he had his heart set on the pink girl's bike for my little sister (she's much too tall for the small bike, but it was pink, and he wanted her to have it!), or more importantly, the TRAMPOLINE!!!!!  His fellow 4-year-old swim buddy, on the far left in the picture, actually won the trampoline...which brought a thirty-minute bout of tears...

Regardless of the tears, we had some good fun at the Family Fun Run!

What is YOUR FAMILY doing for fun this summer to stay healthy and keep fit???

Spring Sweetness

Yesterday I had a post brewing in my head titled "that *damn* bird" but then never got around to writing it...

Needless to say, she/he came back, again, and pecked themselves right through the trusty old screen I put up!  BLAST!  Literally...If I was a good shot, I would have blast the darn thing to high heaven...I was SO tired of having to empty their nest just to dry my clothes!  Talk about persistence.

Kortlen has three teeth.  Three months BEFORE Tanner and Taylor got teeth!  Poor kid.  It's been rough on us all.  Last night I pretty much just walked with him around the apartment from 10:30 - the alarm went off this morning at 6:30.  We had a 'date' with some friends to go to the temple, and despite the havoc those teeth are creating on our sleep, we went and had a very nice morning.

We also went on a fabulous bike ride and picnic today with some very awesome friends.  Besides the fact that Ryan and I had a few hiccups getting to our meeting point (there are instructions manuals for putting things together for a reason...), we had a really good time.  For the first half, which is all up-hill, I pulled the trailer AND had a kid in the seat behind me...I got so plum tuckered out that I made Ryan hook the trailer up to his bike.  My fatigue probably had something to do with the fact that I couldn't wait to get to the awesome new park so I 'power rode' for as long as I could.  LOL!  Next time I'll chill a bit more and just enjoy the ride...and try harder to avoid pedestrians with my long load.  :)

I think I've mentioned it before, but this bike riding will be GREAT exercise this summer!!!  I can't hardly wait till Monday rolls around so we can go for another ride.  :)  A girl has got to rest on the day of rest...and give the tush some time to recuperate...or get a softer bike seat.  Wowie!

Anyway, the baby boy is growing like a weed...learning so much, and thinks he can eat anything and everything I have in front of me.  Right now he has chocolate drool all over him...and me.  Little stinker!

I also have a little Hiawatha running around.  For some reason, Taylor thinks that it's too hot to wear a shirt, and he now runs around with a tan little back and loin cloth.  What's he gunna do when July and August roll around?  He's going to melt.  That's what.


Tanner has been learning his phone number...and it's still a bit shaky...so if you see my lost child anywhere, please just call me...I am not real confident his his number/memory skills today.  But we're working on learning some of those essentials before the summer is over.  Remember the "Safety Kids"  and their  "I know my number" song?  Yeah.  We've been singing that for two days straight, but we just can't seem to get all the sixes and twos in the right order.

Ryan had a job interview on Thursday, and they liked him so much they called for a second interview for Friday!  Problem is, he's too smart, has too much education, and is too hot to work for them (seriously).  We have yet to hear back from them (they were supposed to call yesterday) so I think we're staying where we're at for a while.  Darn.  I was looking forward to a $2 raise.

I took some REALLY FUN engagement pictures yesterday...Can't wait to get them posted!  Super fun and I tried some 'new to me' locations.  :)  Stay tuned to see a very happy couple and a very happy little boy!

Family & Friends

Ryan's side of the family held their annual EAPFR and we had a blast!  Seriously, that's what it's called.  It stands for "Earl A. (I always thought the A was for his grandma, Annetta, but it's not) Poulsen Family Reunion"...and it's only taken me six years of marriage to say the letters in the correct order!  Sweet Grandma Poulsen passed away last February, and it wasn't exactly the same without her there, but still nice to get to visit and laugh with relatives. 

We usually hold it at a park, but because of inclement weather, we held it at the church house next to his grandma's house.  I'll be honest...I complained loudly about going, but once there, it was so much fun.  Even for gigantic, pregnant, and critical me.

Here's a sampling of what kept the boys busy:  the craft tables on the stage were fab.u.lous!

Taylor beading...he loved it for about 10 minutes...then he started dropping beads by the handful...

Tanner was incredibly proud of his beaded necklace...he's still wearing it!  Both boys had beads with letter that spelled out their names. 

Each boy got to make pet rocks...I think they're still in the trunk of the car, as we already are growing a rock garden on both front and back porches.

And each of them also made fun foam visors...Tanner was in heaven!  This is only part-way through his visor decorating time...he had so much glitter glue when he finished, I think it's STILL trying to dry. 

We left after a delicious lunch (with too much of Grandma's fudge in my system) and right before the auction, where items are donated and then purchased with proceeds going towards the next year's reunion.

While Ryan stayed to go shooting with a bunch of cousins, I headed out of town for a little get-together with an old high school friend. She was coming out from Virginia for a wedding and reunion, and so we planned a bbq at my parent's house.  Unfortunately the other girls we invited had things come up at the last minute, and the weather was yucky, but we still had some fun.

Never in a million years would I want to go back and re-do my high school years.  I've spent the last 8 years blocking them from my memory.  However, I wish I would have been better friends with many people...and less self-concious about what they thought about me.  That wasted so much time and energy!

I also wish I would have gotten a picture of the two of us and all of our kiddos together, buy we were too busy playing.  Here's what I did get pictures of though...

We braved the mud and gloomy skies to go feed the chickens our swill from dinner...aka, all the watermelon rinds, hot-dog buns, and scraps...

From L to R:  Jacob, my cousin who is staying with my parents for a while, Parker, Taylor and Tanner.  We couldn't get Preston or Paisley to leave their mama's side.

Jacob and Tanner have become 'best friends' as Tanner tells me repeatedly, every day.  This teeter-totter is actually a toy my dad made for us growing up.  Instead of going up and down, you pump or pull with your arms and legs to make it go around, and around, and around, till you are so dizzy you want to puke.  We spent many hours on this as kids...  Tanner and Jacob loved it...I had to literally pry them off when it was time to go inside!  At one point I thought I was off the hook, as they were going so fast I thought they'd FLY off!

Sunday we went to church with my parents, where the boys were fairly decent...and Tanner once again spent his Primary time in Relief Society with me...little turkey.  I have to give it to him though, he was VERY reverent in R. S.  So...why does he struggle in Primary?!?!  

After church, my mom took Katelyn down to BYU Music Camp, Jacob back to his house, and Reed to visit his friend (I am not sure on the relationship status there!) Amy, so it was just me and my boys, my dad, and Deseret.  

Anybody remember this old thing???

Tanner played with Grandma and Grandpa Poulsen's Lite Brite last week, and I was pretty sure my mom kept mine from the 80's, so I used this as bribery for being good in church and eating dinner...

Guess what a little boy THOROUGHLY enjoyed doing after his nap?

I apparently enjoyed it too, because there was an entire package of the black paper refills.

Two is company, but three is a crowd, so I got Taylor playing with Deseret's cash register...

I'm not sure why, but both boys LOVE to play with coins.  Every time you insert a plastic coin in the register's coin slot, it would tell you what it was.  Taylor repeated it...and could probably tell you what all for coins were that he as using.  Little smarty pants of mine! 

We ate a quick bowl of cold cereal for dinner and headed back home, where daddy awaited us.

The only downer of the entire weekend (you know by now that there HAS to be a disaster when I go to my parent's house, right???) was that in my thurough packing of weekend stuff back into the trunk, I forgot my makeup bag...with deoderant, toothbrushes, all makeup, makeup-remover, straightening hair products, bobbypins, EVERYTHING in my toiletry bag...was left on my sister's bathroom counter.  Uggh!

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Monday morning I ran to WalMart and got some mascara and deodorant, and that will have to do until someone comes my way to bring my bag to me!!!  Super awesome that I get to teach sewing classes ALL WEEK, EVERY MORNING.  Oh well.  I'm hoping this will be a great time for my pregnancy induced acne to clear up...HOPING.

Daddy and his A-Game

Ryan has a game he likes to play.  Not just any game but a ball game.  More specifically, CHURCH BALL.

Tonight after rushing home from work and a quick dinner, daddy hurried to the stake center for warm-ups, and we followed shortly, but not without a bit of a surprise.

On our way out the door, there was an extra poster on the table from my scout derby endeavors.  I thought I'd let the boys have a few minutes of spontaneous fun, and that, we did! Our results:

(I offered Aria to hold and color on the back of Taylor's poster, but she was content to watch from the chair.)  Can you tell I was once a cheerleader?  Too funny.

Here's the Rose Park Ward Elder's Quorum Basketball Team:

(There's a latecomer missing, but you get the idea.)

And one of my favorites...just like their daddy...needing a drink after a good run.

Come to find out, this little guy wasn't feeling too good, but I love this picture anyways.

The entertainment...as if watching their daddies play a good ole' game of church ball wasn't enough.

By the way, our daddy helped his team to WIN!  (It doesn't matter that the other team didn't have enough players to start, but in the end they did round up enough players and tied the game; 33-33.) 

I love the way...

...my four year old, Tanner, thinks.

Tonight as Ryan was putting Taylor to bed, Tanner was sitting on my lap while I watched "The Biggest Looser".  It's a reality competition show, where people who are morbidly obese, compete to see who can loose the most weight in a certain amount of time; all while under the discretion of physicians, professional personal trainers, and the scrutiny of national television viewers. 

At one point, Tanner said, "Mom?  I don't wanna get big and fat."  I replied, "Then we need to eat healthy, like eating our vegetables and fruits.  That also means we can't have lots of cake and ice cream and candy and stuff."  "Oh," said Tanner.  I could tell the little wheels in his head were turning.  He also seemed genuinely concerned for the contestants on the show. 

A few minutes later, towards the end of the episode, as the contestants are weighing in, I casually mentioned to Ryan, "Dear, don't ever let me get to that point!"  I don't care if the world knows how much I weigh.  And just to prove it, I currently weigh 162 pounds.  Exactly what I weighed the morning before delivering Tanner, four years ago.  On the flip side, I can't imagine being in nothing but a pair of shorts and a sports bra on national television, with everyone staring at every ounce of fat on my bones...the appearance and the emotions would be a little much for me.

In response to my comment to Ryan, this is the conversation that Tanner and I had:

Tanner:  "Mom, I promise I won't ever let you get like that."
Me:  "Thanks, Tanner."
Tanner: "Just promise me you'll eat your vegetables."
Me: "Okay....if you promise me you'll eat yours."
Tanner: "Yeah, mom.  I promise.  'Cause I don't wanna get big and fat."

He didn't say "big and fat" in a demeaning way, but with almost a scared tone to his voice.  I think my four year old is sincerely afraid to get "big and fat".  That in and of itself, scares me.  

I will never cease to be amazed at what my son picks up, good and bad.  The fact that he knows it is unhealthy to be obese, and doesn't want to end up like that hit me hard.  Looks like my weight lifting routine just became a little more permanent.  It also appears that the money I was setting aside for a haircut will now go towards a morning or evening water aerobics class.  I cannot afford to let myself go, and I cannot afford to let my son down.  

I love you, Tanner!  Keep reminding me, and we'll stay healthy, together!

I spy a super hero!

Okay...the title is SUPER cheesy, but ya know...

Tanner and Taylor had a little play date Thursday with our friends little girls, who are almost exactly the same ages as our boys. Tanner & Adelaide are just 10 days apart, and Landon isn't far behind (see group photo below). They have a blast together!!! Most of the time.

Here are some of our super heroes...

As soon as I taught Tanner and Taylor how to fly, they thought happy thoughts and just took off!

L to R: Annabelle, Taylor, Adelaide, Landon, Tanner

Aaaaaand tonight after my 4 mile jog/walk, and after making freezer corn (yummy!), and while my darling husband was putting the garage back together after CLEANING it out, I had an inkling to make this little ditty for the ride down to Utah tomorrow...

This was super easy, and super fun to make. I'm glad it went so well! All the little gadgets used to be in a clear water bottle, but it was just too loud for church...so I thought we'd make this a bit more quiet and reverent. Hope it goes over well in the car, too!

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And on another happy note, I ♥ my job...today I cut out all the material for BOTH of my Christmas presents for the boys (twin sized, twin quilts). Really. Two of the same quilts, with all the same material with one exception...Tanner's will be blue where Taylor's will be red...stay tuned for updates, & pictures! I figure if they're just two years apart, they'll probably share a room for the rest of their life...until one of them moves out...but this way their room will hopefully always be coordinated. Am I a dork or what! LOL!

{My Third...}

...day of my new-found exercise routine, jogging/walking went really well! I actually enjoyed it! In fact, I looked forward to it ALL DAY. I was really excited that I made it, without any major mishap. Just trying to get my breathing in sync so I don't get side aches. Other than that, I think I'm going to step it up a notch on Wednesday! Wish me luck!

I think I may have made Ryan feel a little bad, though, because I told him he couldn't run with me. He looked shocked, but I tried to explain as we were running/jogging that his legs are too long and his stride is off from mine. If I try to keep up with him, I'm exhausted after 20 seconds. He was a good sport and just followed far enough behind (he said the view was better, but I'm not quite sure about that!) that I couldn't hear his feet slapping the ground. I reassured him after getting our snow cones (and I got sugar-free) that in a week or two, maybe I'll have more endurance built up and can run right next to him. :) He reassured me the view was better from behind. Silly husband! :)

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On a side note, because I didn't check my camera settings before shooting 300+ pictures on the 4th of July, they're all so under-exposed that I think they're beyond saving. I'll try to take some time tonight...wait...this week...to get them up. I feel like I'm talking to myself. But hey, it's okay.

__________

By request of some I give you {drum-roll please} Karen's Advice: Do not run. Jog easily. Allow your legs, feet, toes, hip, core, shoulders, arms, neck and all the other muscles in your body the opportunity to 'fall into running'. Don't force it. Your body needs to strengthen the joints that are being used before you 'beat them up'. :) Instead of doing the recommended 60 second jog (and I was doing a hard jog because I thought I had to) alternating with the 90 second walk for 20 minutes, Karen recommended that I lightly jog for 2 minutes, walk for 2 minutes, only four times, then walk it out. I did that the second day and the third I did the 2 minute exchanges for 20 minutes then walked it out for forty and felt much better. I don't know if it was because my body was liking the attention of exercising those muscles, or because I was gaining confidence in actually getting out and doing this.

I still warm up before hand by walking briskly for 5 minutes roughly and stretching my calves and quads a little, then get to it! Afterward, I stretch it out a little (plus the walking it out) and throughout the evening, stretch a little.

Hope this helps those of you who asked! :)

{My Second...}

...attempt at running went much more smooth than the first...we'll see how crippled I am tomorrow morning though. Oh, wait. It IS tomorrow morning, but just barely! I skipped out Wednesday, but went tonight. As of this morning, I was able to walk down my stairs, sit unassisted on a toilet, and get up from my desk without any assistance. HUGE accomplishment...I would dare say bigger than actually getting out there and exercising!

So the short story: I modified my routine, THANK YOU Karen (our bishop's wife who has been running for YEARS), and I must say, it was MUCH more satisfying to not be purple-faced for an entire hour AFTER exercising...only about 55 minutes. I still went the same distance, but different jogging/walking intervals and I stretched a bit more, too.

I feel great right now. I've been packing for our little get-away to Lava to go swimming tomorrow and preparing food and goodies (healthy ones, though) so I've put off taking a shower. I think after a nice hot shower, I'm going to call it a day...or a day and a half. :)

So, runners, I'm thinking of doing this three times a week...how often should one run to keep this up? I understand that you have to use it or you'll loose it, but for getting started, is every other day okay? I thought I should be aiming for daily, but I think my muscles need to recover in between runs...what are your suggestions?

ooh...and I'm super excited about my snippy little 'running' capris...so cute (especially at TJ Max's price...I've never shopped there before, but I think I found a new place to scavenge!). Much more cute than the workout pants I wore through my last pregnancy. :) I LOVE being a mom!

{My First...}

...and possibly my last 'training' session...

Let me explain.

There are many factors leading up to my desire to be more fit.

• The fact that many of my blogging friends are posting about recent 5K runs or some kind of running achievement (P.S. Congratulations to you all!)
  
• The fact that my dear friend inspired me by one of her very recent posts with a letter from her body :)
• The fact that my administrative assistant (and we've become good friends as well) and her husband are running a 5K this weekend together in honor of a great community member who passed away in a tragic Avalanche/Snowmobile accident and I'm jealous that she's in shape to do it
  
• The fact that I can see the nurse writing down my weight every time I go to donate plasma and it's on a steady rise
• The fact that my little brother is coming home from his mission in less than two months, and I'd like to look nice for a hopeful family picture to take place around that time (did that make any sense???)
  
• The fact that my current weight is just one pound less than what I weighed when I was full-term with Tanner
  
• The fact that my baby is a year and a half old, and I have lost and put back on the weight
  
• The fact that my pants are extremely tight...to the point that I dread getting dressed each morning
• The fact that I'm NOT pregnant, so I have NO excuse to eat the way I am
• The fact that my body deserves to be taken care of, just like the laundry, the dishes, my kids or my husband (and not in that order, but sometimes that IS the order...don't judge me!)

Today I had this fabulous idea to go swimming for Family Home Evening. While looking up local pools and prices and times, well, one thing led to another, and before we knew it, we were looking up local parks with walking paths and their distances. That led to finding a routine for learning to run. Seriously. I HATE running. I dislike walking, if I can help it! Since my good ole' workout swim suits no longer fit, I figured I could squeeze into a pair of Ry's Rick College shorts and burn some calories that way. I found a fun little routine, that looked like I could maybe fall into a sensible pattern of getting some MUCH NEEDED exercise.

So, all of you who have inspired me...let it be known that my thighs are burning, much like a Chicken's, my calves are on fire, and it took a full hour for my face to turn from purple to a relatively normal color. My shoulders and neck are stiff, and I wasn't even pushing the stroller...I handed it off to Ryan as soon as my 'brisk 5 minute warm-up walk' was complete.

What routine am I doing??? Glad you should ask. The site is HERE. I am supposed to start out with that warm-up walk, then alternate 60 seconds jogging with 90 seconds walking, for 20 minutes. TWENTY WHOLE MINUTES!!! My body started to protest after about 5. No joke.

Well, Ryan and the kids were troopers, and might I say I made it the entire 20 minutes, and then had to walk for another 30 so my legs wouldn't cramp up and cripple me. This is sure going to be an adventure!

Well, Happy 200th post to ME! And Happy Exercising as well...if any of you have ANY suggestions or would like to take a look at that site (all you runners) and tell me if it's legitimate, if I'm in for it or if you have a better idea (remember I'm going from couch to hopefully enjoying some physical exercise), PLEASE leave me a comment or email me or call me and let me know!!!

I used to get painful shinsplints in high school, the one semester I ran track, so I'm praying I DO NOT get them...any suggestions in THAT department???

{defeated}

This morning I had in my head a little plan to get out and exercise...especially after throwing out three bags of clothes before going to work (yes, I still have a few to wear, but I figured I was done wearing things I had in high school, my fat clothes for after giving birth, and my skinny clothes without any hope of ever fitting back into them...).

As soon as dinner was done, complete with Ryan doing the dishes (I know, you're all jealous), I changed my clothes into some workout attire. After getting the kids wiped up and strapped in the jogging stroller we purchased last summer but we've never jogged with, I took off to the local community park, where there is a paved track. Simple enough of a plan, right?

*I alternately jogged, pulled Ryan's shorts up, walked, pulled my shirt down (you know how those things ride...), jogged, reprimanded the kids for fighting, walked, etc, etc, etc. After that single mile, we FINALLY reached our destination. Now the real fun could begin...running.

For anybody who claims they know me, knows how much I LOATHE running. I HATE it with a passion. I swam competitively for 12 years, so I feel most comfortable layered in three swimsuits, my head shrink wrapped in latex and my eyes bugging out in goggles. Besides, it's just sexier not watching all the blubber wiggle with every bounce on land...water is much more forgiving, and you feel lighter!

I wish I would have known if anybody had a lame-o Memorial Day weekend, because then I could have invited you to watch the show my boys and I put on at the park. It was hilarious! and free. And it would probably make anybody feel better about themselves after watching me try to exercise.

It was a continuation of the previous "alternating jog, pulling my pants up, walking, pulling my shirt down, jogging, reprimanding the kids for fighting, walking, etc, etc, etc" and my kids screaming for three laps, topped by a 70-ish year old woman speed walking faster than my poor attempt to run.

I was humiliated, so I gave up and took the kids to the playground area where we played on the swings for a good 45 minutes. (I'll conveniently skip the fiasco Tanner and I had on the soccer field...I'm surprised Child Services wasn't in the parking lot by the time I reached the playground. Okay, I'll tell: Tanner wanted to walk, so I let him out. I was apparently going 'the wrong way' to the playground and Tanner wanted to go the 'other' way (backtracking) so I left him on the field where he threw a 10 minute tantrum, jumping at least 8 inches off the ground and purposely throwing his body all over, screaming, "Come back! Moooooooom!" and "bwahhhhhhhh.") Regardless, they loved it, I loved it....once again, those Simple Pleasures topped the cake!

So now I'm a little sore, my hips are achy and the growing wart on the ball of my left foot is throbbing, but I got to show off my fake-baked legs to a lot of concerned community members, making sure I didn't hurt myself (or my children, for that matter!).

Oh, the sweet smell of {defeat}!

And as a side note, for any of you who have the June issue of the church magazines, the Ensign has a fabulous article about better aligning the day and not feeling overwhelmed as a mother...Something I really needed...It's in the Questions & Answers section, pages 12 through17 (apparently it needed a five-page spread). Here's the link to the church website if you read it online: June 2009 Ensign**

*Don't worry, there are no pictures for your viewing pleasure to accompany this post.
**Okay, they don't publish it online until June, but you could get to it from the link above.