Did anyone see that mack truck that just hit me?

This was my facebook status and wouldn't you know that a bunch of my friends either texted or called me to see if there was anything they could do....ummm people if I got hit by a mack truck the last place I am going to be is on facebook! I do have my limits! I just have strep throat which one of my friends commented that it basically feels the same way! I'm bummed because I wanted another high points week in the HBBC but my body had a different idea! Today is the first day I have been able to function without constantly thinking about sleep. I'm just worried that Emma will get it so I am keeping a close watch on her.

Well 2009 is rolling to a close whether or not we want it to. Does anyone else feel a little down on new years? I will say though this year I plan to be ringing in the new year in a better spot than last. Last year I was nursing Emma and crying because it hurt so bad! It has been an amazing year and decade! I started the decade by graduating from college...getting my first teaching job...and gaining a brother-in-law...now in 10 years I have gotten married...travelled...ran the Boston Marathon...and became a mommy! Wow! This year I have watched my little peanut grow into a beautiful 1 year-old who has a great sense of humor and loves to learn new things!(Not that I biased or anything but she's the best!)

I am really looking forward to 2010 and all that it has to bring! I normally have the same resolutions each year to lose weight and get more organized but this year I am being more specific and intentional.
Running: My goal is to run at least 4 half marathons in 2010 with at least one of them to be a sub 2 hour race! I also want to improve my short races and get a 5k under 25 min! Also on the racing docket this year....a triathlon! I know it will be a challenge but I am so excited!
Body: My body goal has two parts. I do want to lose 13 more pounds. I have gotten just below my prepregnancy weight but I know that the less I weigh the faster I can be. The second part may seem to contradict the first. My second body goal is to accept the way that I look. This is going to be a challenge since I don't remember a time when I looked in the mirror and I saw what was looking back at me. I need to meet this goal not only for myself but more importantly for my daughter. When I found out that I was having a girl I was really nervous that my bad body image and habits would rub off on her. I know the only way I can help keep that from happening is by being a good example for her. I can show her how to be healthy and celebrate the great body that God gave me. There are many people who only dream of being able to run...I need to keep it in perspective and be a better role model for Emma.
Mind: In May I will finish my CAGS degree in Ed. Leadership...I hope to follow that up with an acceptance to a doctoral program.
Spirit: My goal here is simple...to relax. Easier said than done! My body has been trying to tell me through chest pains and other things that it is time to breathe...there are so many things out of my control but I need to leave them there and not try to control them! I need to take deep breaths and know that God is in control. I need to only do my best each day and accept what I cannot control. Life is meant to be enjoyed and I have so much to be thankful for that I just need to relax and enjoy it!

What will 2010 bring you? I with you all a happy and healthy new year!!!

Runner's World Quote of the day

"I can't imagine living and not running."

Paula Radcliffe

I get a quote every day about running and this was the one for today. I think that just about sums it up! Enjoy your day!!!

49.2 points....Boo ya!

Well at the beginning of the week my goal was to hit 40 points in the HBBC...well with today's 10 miler I smashed it and the day isn't over yet!! Don't you just love when you reach a goal?! I didn't know if it would happen this morning since little Miss Emma woke up with two eyes swollen and yucky. A trip to the dr. and some pink eye cream later I spent the afternoon running! 10 miles....and it was GREAT! We are having a heat wave here topping off at 50 degrees on Dec. 27th! I am totally taking advantage of it since Tuesday it is supposed to be Arctic cold! Enjoy your Sunday all!

Exhausted...but Hopeful!

We made it through another Christmas tornado! It actually was a lot of fun. I just love seeing family and Christmas is my favorite holiday! I looked forward to the candle light service at our church all year long! It just brings back so many memories...I just love it! Plus Emma had a blast with her cousins! They would run by her and she would squeal and go running after them. She loves kids and her cousins are so good with her.

I am famous for forgetting things either at my house on my way to my parents' house or at my parents' house on the way back to my house. This year was no exception! We packed up the car with what seemed like everything we owned and headed to Newport. A few hours after we got there, I asked the hubs to take Emma's dresses (she had 3...2 from her uncle and one from her Grammy) out of the car so they wouldn't be too cold for her when it was time for church. Well he came back in the house only to tell me that the dresses were not in fact in the car. Now I have to admit I was very over tired but I started crying! I wanted her to look so cute at church and she was going to have to wear her Santa dress that she has worn all day! Well she did look cute but as I looked around the service there were little girls in there dresses and bows and it made me want to cry again! (like I said I was very over tired!) Well my wonderful hubs drove all the way back to Boston after church to get the dresses! 3 hours of driving! She was able to wear them on Christmas day and she did look absolutely adorable! Thanks to him!!!

This morning I am exhausted but the week before the new year always makes me hopeful! I get excited making goals for the coming year! I can't believe a decade has gone by! This one has been a life changing one...beginning with graduating from college and ending being married with a 1 year old! I will be spending this week watching every "Best of" count down and making my own goals list! I already mapped out my races and it is exciting!

Today I hope to get out when the rain stops to run 10 so I can get above 40 points in the HBBC and try out some of my new toys I got for Christmas! I let you know how they all work!

Merry Christmas to All!!!

We are stepping onto the tornado that is our Christmas this morning and heading down to RI for Christmas Eve. I call it the tornado because we go to my parents' house for Christmas Eve...stay over...and then head back north to the hubs' family party about an hour and a half away. Before Emma it consisted of about 3 different places we went and then coming home and crashing. I am thankful for this year's scaled back plans.

All that to say that I will not be in bloggy world for a few days. I am heading out for a run this morning in the wicked cold and then we are off! Have a wonderful holiday all of you! Enjoy the magic of the season...the closeness of those you love...and the day off!!!

On of Those Days

Have you ever had one of those days that you just wanted to lace up your shoes and run, and run, and run until you don't feel like you are going to rip someone's head off and hand it to them for doing even the smallest thing? Yeah having one of those days over here and the treadmill is in the wrong part of the basement so I can't use it and it is the hubs' turn to go to the gym. Ugh! It started with me running late to work and just began to unravel from there! It ended with a pointless meeting where everyone was talking around me like I had no clue what I was doing. I wanted to say, "Um excuse me but I have been teaching language learners for 10 years now...have my masters in it and soon will have my CAGS in the same...I think I have a friggin clue here!" Sometimes I feel like ever since I had Emma people have been bypassing me for things and I am not sure why. I just had a baby...I didn't leave my brain on the delivery table! Oh well I just keep thinking that God has something even better for me but it is frustrating to have people act as though I don't have useful insight! Either way if that is what is going to happen because I had a baby then so be it. Being a mom is the best thing that has happened to me in my life other than being saved and I wouldn't trade Emma for the best job in the entire world! In my opinion...being her mommy is the best job I could have!

So I am off to jump around my basement doing some sort of On Demand video! Hopefully when I am done I will not feel like my skin is crawling!

8 Points and Counting

On a fun note Mel at Tall Mom is having an awesome giveaway! It is all about GU which I just recently became a fan of...check out an old post where I compared it to frosting!

Today I started my quest to getting 40+ points on the HBBC by taking a BURN class at my gym...75 minutes of craziness! I wish I could take it everyday! It is on the spin bikes and you alternate between the bikes and weights! It's awesome! Tomorow it is back to running....quick question- How much do I need to run outside to train for my half? I have to wait until the hubs gets home from work to run especially now since it is freezing. I don't want to take Emma out in this. Well he gets home around 5:30 and then I jump on the treadmill. I run my long runs outside on the weekend but is this enough?

Weekend Haze

I just looked at my points for the HBBC and I pulled out a duck this week! In my defence we had Emma's birthday party this weekend coupled with a huge snowstorm! This week I want to hit the 40+ points mark...and now that I have put it out there I own it and need to reach it! It will be a challenge with Christmas and all but isn't that the point of the challenge?!

Well my little love has turned 1 and I can't believe it! It was very appropriate that we had a huge storm starting on Saturday (her birthday) since it snowed for 3 days last year as I sat in the hospital! We gave out snowflake ornaments as the favor for her party...seemed right! We had a great party with family and friends (I have to post a pic. of the cake...loved it!!!). It always warms my heart to see just how many people love and care for Emma. She has blessed so many people in such a short time and I am so excited to see where God's plan is going to take her! Right now she is just about running all over the house! She did about 2 days of the "drunk stumble" and now she is walking everywhere!!! My parents joked at the party that of course my daughter would go from a stumble to running!

I was hoping for a snow day today but no such luck! I am off to work for 3 days so I guess I can't complain. BURN class tonight and hopefully a run too...gotta get to 40 points!!!

Paula Deen Yumminess!

Here is the recipe for the Monster Cookies...WARNING the are "wicked" good and in Massachusetts that means really, really good!

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup multi-colored chocolate candies
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup raisins, optional
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, raisins, if using, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.

Enjoy Ya-all!!!

Get behind me Satan...aka Paula Dean's Monster Cookies

Well as you can see my blog has taken a festive turn! I thought since I was in full festive gear lately that it would only seem right. Yesterday after my run, I had to make cookies for my husband to bring to work...they make baskets for all the people that make their life easier like the police, hospitals, dr. offices and what not. Well each year I try out a new recipe but this year I had a request from his coworkers for my cookies from last year...Paula Dean's Monster Cookies.

These things are in true Paula Dean style...stick of butter, container of peanut butter, M&Ms, chocolate chips, and oatmeal. They really are awesome but boy just one and you can feel your hips expand! I'm glad he got them out of the house this morning!!!

I am making my goals list and checking it twice for 2010! I am excited to have this blog to keep me accountable! Also you all are so inspiring that it is making me try things I never would have done before...or should I say TRI????!!!

Well Hello Mojo! Welcome Back!

I am a huge "Glee" fan...the hubs is too but won't admit it outside the comforts of his home! Well this weekend could be described through a song from the show this week..."You can't always get what you want...but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need." Friday I was really looking forward to my long run on Saturday. It was going to be really cold which I thought was good since the Hyannis Half is going to be just freezing. Well Saturday's run did not happen for many reasons and so I headed out later than expected today determined to get 10 miles in. I was a little nervous since I had had coffee this morning and wasn't sure how my belly was going to be. Well half-way through my run I began to laugh to myself...it was the kind of run that I really really needed. You know the kind when you are just in an awesome rhythm...the cares of the world just fall off...and you could go on forever. That was where I found my mojo! It had been gone so long through defunct running partners and feeling frustrated...then pregnancy. Oh it felt GREAT!!!

I also tried GU for the first time during my run today....I tried the chocolate mint flavor...I tentatively took about 1/3 of it and......I thought to myself..."Good Lord Almighty! Why have I waited so long to try this?"

It looked like this:
but tasted like this:
I split it into three part even though I wanted to pour the whole thing down my throat all at once! And...my stomach felt great! I can't wait to try more!

Whole lot of This and That!

Well I have to apologize for being MIA for so long! I have been keeping up with the HBBC but as far as blogging I have been a waste! The problem being my little lovey daughter has been waking up in the middle of the night standing up in her crib screaming and crying...not quite sure why. There could be many things...teeth, dreams, a noise she hears...who knows but it some nights happens 3-5 times!!! This makes for a very tired day for momma! I have been falling asleep as soon as she goes to bed! But I have lots to talk about...just have been laking in the energy to do so!

First things first...I hit my prepregnancy weight!!! I am very excited about this but I still have 10lbs more to go! I really need to lose these next 10lbs...I just need to do it for me.

It has been really hard for me to verbalize this...I never thought I would do this but I find it hard to do things for me lately and they are all starting to catch up with me. A good example of this my poor excuse for hair. The last time I had it done was 6 months ago!! YIKES! Now lucky me I have curly hair so I can get away with a little but I have gone WAY past the allotted time! I just have a hard time...maybe it's guilt because I am working and would be taking even more time away from Emma...I don't know. However, this came to a big reality check for me last week. I was having chest pains for about 4 weeks that I was trying to ignore, coupled with an eye twitch that wouldn't quit I was a mess. I called my doctor about the chest and they told me I had to go to the ER because they would be able to do tests there. Well....I never went. And as much as I know I really need to get it checked out and get my physical I just saw it as a colossal waste of time to go to the ER and have someone tell me that I need to relax. Some days I look in the mirror and don't recognize myself. I feel like sometimes I am trying so hard to just stay above water that weeks fly by and I never take time to recharge my batteries. Is this normal? How do I make it all fit????

On a more positive note, I ran in a local 5K last weekend and was so excited with my time!!! I got done in 25:20. Now that isn't my fastest but it is 2 minutes faster than my last one I ran in May. I was so mad though because I didn't know where the finish line was. Before I knew what was going on, we turned a corner and there it was. Either way I am excited with my time and I was able to run with my good friend Jill. We dressed up too!!!

Now it's on to my next half marathon. It is coming up in February and from what I hear it is a flat course. I bought some GU and am going to try it. I am really hoping to reach my goal of under 2 hours with this race but I am a little worried with the weather. It is on Cape Cod...in Feb=friggin freezing!

My goal is to make my goals list for 2010...Mel at Tall Mom has inspired me to get them down and stop putting it off! I hope you all have a great night!