What a great weekend!

Yesterday was my birthday so my mom planned a BBQ party at the park to celebrate my birthday, my step-dad, and step-brother's birthdays. It was a lot of fun. I didn't stick to the Challenge rules though. I skipped breakfast and had a latte (big no no), had my mom's tortilla rollups and potato salad (another big no no), and I had 2 cupcakes (HELLO, it was my birthday!). I did have grilled chicken and veggies for lunch though. I had Mexican food (Rosa's) for dinner and did not stick to any of the rules, including drinking sweet tea, oops! The birthday party was tons of fun. Joey's Dad came down for the party as well. That was very nice. I didn't even know he was coming until the morning of the party. Joey forgets to tell me things! We played games, hung out, and had good food. I even got presents. :) I got a Texas Tech ring, Texas Tech Toms, a Texas Tech watch, gift cards, perfume, a 90 minute massage from my Mama, and some running gear from Academy (my favorite store). Joey got me an iPhone 5, but he gave it to me on Friday. I guess he was just too excited, lol. He said it is also my Mother's Day present. The party was so much fun. I am so happy my mom planned the party for us!

My TTU birthday cake!

Today is Day 8 of the Challenge and that means I am back to the fiber drink for the next 3 days. *gag* It was easy today though so I guess I am used to it now. I thought it would be disgusting after a 4 day break. I did weigh myself on Day 4 or 5 and was down 2.6 lbs. I've been exercising, I have energy, and overall I am feeling pretty good! People have asked me if my craving for carbs has gone down. I don't really crave carbs. I enjoy the crap out of them though. I am just trying to get away from eating SO many carbs for dinner. We eat a lot of pasta, rice, and potatoes. I love Mexican food and my guilty pleasure is chips and salsa. I usually don't have that in the house though. I am trying to eat more lean meat and veggies for dinner, but I know that Joey will not survive on just meat and veggies every.single.night. For example, tonight I am making the Skinnytaste Garlic Lime Pork Chops I posted about recently. With it, I am making Broccoli and Cheese Twice Baked Potatoes and Butter and Herb Pasta. I only bought 3 baked potatoes for Joey, Kyle, and Paige. I am not having one. I am also skipping the pasta and having veggies of some sort. I do not plan to pass on pasta, rice, and potatoes forever. I am just trying to get my body used to not relying on carbs to be the main dish of every meal.

I am proud to say that I started running again last week. I have been just walking with Brynlee in the jogging stroller. I thought it would take me a while to get back to running, but I think that was just my mind not being confident and maybe being a little lazy. I've been walking for at least 3 miles or walking for an hour. Last Thursday, I decided that I was going to start the Couch to 5K to ease back into running. Thursday was very cold for this time of year. It was in the 40s all day. I bundled Brynlee up including a warm hat, mittens, and a blanket. SHE WOULD NOT KEEP IT ALL ON! It was making me so aggravated. I was all bundled up and totally pumped to run Week 1 Day 1 of C25K. Annnnnd we were outside for 13 minutes. It was something like 0.80 miles. I kept having to stop to cover her back up, put her hat back on, and put her mittens on. It was so frustrating. I know she was cold so I went ahead and took her back inside. I was so annoyed and had tons of energy to burn!

My sis-in-law, Paige, is off on Fridays so I asked her to watch Brynlee so I could go for a run in the morning. I had to get my chilly weather gear on and I headed out. At first, I doubted that I'd be able to follow the Week 1 Day 1 exactly how you're supposed to, but I did it. :) It starts out with a 5 minute brisk walk and then alternates jogging 60 seconds and walking 90 seconds for 20 minutes. Then you finish with a 5 minute cool down walk. During the last 5 minutes, I just continued to alternate jogging and walking. It was nice. I felt great and very proud of myself.

On Saturday, I went to the NAMI Walk with my mom and David (step-dad). It was supposed to be a 5k walk through Dallas Fair Park. I had my Garmin on and when we finished, it was only 1.9 miles! My mom asked one of her friends, who was volunteering, and she said that 2 things happened: 1.) They had to slightly shorten/change the route map this year because another event was going on at the Park grounds and 2.) Part of the group skipped an entire turn! So we ended up doing 1.2 miles too short. I was a bit disappointed, but it turned out to be more of just a leisurely walk than a good workout. My Garmin said I only burned 172 calories during 38 minutes of walking. It's okay. A LOT of people showed up to support NAMI and that is what is important!

Today I am back to following the Challenge as I am supposed to. I did not have near enough water on Saturday or Sunday so I am back to using my hospital jug to get the water in! Water is so very important for our bodies and honestly, I wish I would not have given in and had sweet tea Saturday night and Sunday night. But I think this is important to remember...

How was your weekend?

Challenge Update and Recipes

Day 2 (yesterday) of the 24 Day Challenge sucked.

I read that the first 3 days are the hardest because your body is so used to having more (bad) carbs. Day 1 was easy, but I was SO drained yesterday. My Spark helped me in the morning, but I was exhausted by 1pm. I did get up and go for a work out around 10am, but it was rough. I took Brynlee to the hospital down the highway from us so that we could have a change of scenery. They have a very nice path to use. There were a few people on the path running and walking. The path is a little bit over 1 mile so I planned to do it 3 times. Once we got almost back to the beginning, Brynlee saw the (crappy) play area. She started acting crazy and wanting to go play there. She was trying to get out of the stroller, hollering, and kept saying, "Mommy!!! SLIIIIIDE!!!" I had already planned to take her to the park after we worked out, but she would not/could not wait. So I put her in the car and we went to the other park. I was so mad that we only did 1 mile. I decided to "trick" her and park away from the playground. Then I got the jogging stroller back out, loaded her up, and off we went. I got another mile in and then we played at the playground. She was happy after that. The view is so pretty at this park.

 

 

My sis-in-law, Brynlee, and I went to Sweet Tomatoes (salad bar place) for lunch yesterday and it was delicious. I had a huge salad. By the time we got home, it was about 2pm. I put Brynlee down for a nap around 3pm. After cuddling with her in the bed, I felt even more tired. I ended up taking a 2 hour nap! She slept for over 3 hours so I guess the park wore her out. I woke up from the nap and still felt drained. I felt so exhausted. It was kind of like I had been awake crying all night. That exhausts a person! I had absolutely no energy.

Day 3 of the challenge has been better than yesterday. The fiber drink was a tad better yesterday and today it didn't bother me at all. BUT that does not mean that I am excited to keep drinking it, lol. I am happy to get a 4 day break from that crap. I did wake up feeling extremely exhausted again though. Once I drank my Spark, I did feel better. I spent the morning searching for healthy, Challenge friendly recipes to make for dinner that will also keep the other 3 adults in this house happy. I am making Baked Chicken Parmesan from Skinnytaste for dinner tonight. I've made this before for me and Joey so I hope Kyle and Paige like it. I am not going to have pasta or garlic bread, but a big ole side of steamed broccoli (which I LOVE). I am going to make a few other recipes from Skinnytaste as well. I am making these Garlic Lime Pork Chops, but I have to skip the cilantro lime rice because my brother doesn't like cilantro. :( I am going to make this Salsa Verde Chicken with lettuce wraps for me and rice for everyone else. I have also made this Chicken Ropa Vieja and added it to the list for next week. I think I am going to make these Broccoli and cheese twice baked potatoes for everyone (except myself). I think they will be good. I like to cook, but am always worried that other people won't like it or that I won't do it right.

I took Brynlee grocery shopping today for everything we need. I got a TON of fruits and veggies and only spent $177. I really thought the bill was going to be outrageous, but that's not bad. That's with all of the meat, diapers, waters, canned goods, milk, breads, etc. My basket was very full! I hate having to unload the car and then put all of the groceries away by myself though. Luckily, Brynlee fell asleep in the car on the way home and stayed asleep when I put her to bed.

Look at all of that good food!

I am a bit tired right now and seriously want to lay down for a nap. Brynlee has been asleep for a little bit over an hour. I am hoping she sleeps for 3 hours today, lol. I guess I need to drink some Spark so I can get stuff done! I haven't worked out yet today. I am hoping that I can go workout WITHOUT THE BABY tonight. I just need some time to myself. I am with her all day long every.single.day since I still haven't found a job. I love my child, but I need Mommy time and I NEVER get it. Joey gets to go play disc golf with his brother, a friend from work, or my brother. He will call me after work and say he is going to go play disc golf. That takes a couple of hours and then he has the 20-30 minute drive home. He gets to go to work every day and be around other adults without our child. I feel like I do everything with her. I can't go to the bathroom without her. I shower with her most evenings. She goes to the store with me. She goes with me to work out. I take her to the park. She sleeps in the room with me. I wake up with her every day. The list just goes on and on...

Just for fun, here's a picture of Brynlee for you...

 

Hahaha! She is not so cute as a Zombie! Chill people, it's just an app called Dead Yourself. We are big Walking Dead fans around here. :)

 

Are you having a good day?