She returns...

I really should have held out on all of you and made it a full two months without blogging!!! Oh well, here I am! So what has been new lately?

First and foremost, I have hit the 20 pounds lost mark. I started dieting right when I quit work and not stuck to it entirely, but am starting to see results! So, 20 pounds down, 1.5 million to go! Once I lose 13 more pounds, I a getting a pedicure. Anyone up for heading out with me on this one?!? I can hardly wait!

So, how did those 20 pounds come off? Dieting and exercising of course! I have been following Weight Watchers (but not strictly) and have been exercising a ton…probably more than I have my entire life! I am trying to go to the gym three days a week, where I do cardio on the treadmill and orbital. Then I do strength training. Just as of last week, however, I am going to try and train for a 5k. Here is the plan that I am following:

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It's a 9 week program where you run 3 days a week.
Week 1: brisk 5 min. warm-up walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging with 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 min. (do this all three days)
Week 2: brisk 5 min. warm-up walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging with 2 min. of walking for a total of 20 min. (do this all 3 days)
Week 3: brisk 5 min. warm up walk, and then do 2 repetitions of the following- jog 90 seconds, walk 90 seconds, jog 3 min., walk 3 min. (do this all 3 days)
Week 4: brisk 5 min. warm up walk. Then jog 3 min., walk 90 seconds, jog 5 min, walk 2.5 min, jog 3 min, walk 90 seconds, jog 5 min. (do this all three days)
Week 5:
· Day 1- brisk 5 min warm up walk, jog 5 min, walk 3 min, jog 5 min, walk 3 min, jog 5 min.
· Day 2- brisk 5 min warm-up walk, jog 8 min, walk 5 min, jog 8 min.
· Day3- brisk 5 min warm-up walk, jog 20 min.
Week 6:
· Day 1- brisk 5 min warm up walk, jog 5 min, walk 3 min, jog 8 min, walk 3 min, jog 5 min.
· Day 2- brisk 5 min warm up walk, jog 10 min, walk 3 min, jog 10 min.
· Day 3- brisk 5 min warm up walk, jog 25 min.
Week 7: brisk 5 min warm-up walk, jog 25 min. (do this all three days)
Week 8: brisk 5 min warm-up walk, jog 28 min (do this all three days)
Week 9: brisk 5 min. warm-up walk, jog 30 min. (do this all three days)
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Anyways, I am doing day 3 of week 1 and it has been ok. I think that week 4 is going to be where I hit the brick wall! So, why a 5k? I have always thought about doing one and Jamie and I had talked about doing one back when we were in the condo. So, now I am aspiring to do the Turkey trot, but I can’t seem to find out any information on it. I am sure that I will as the time gets closer! So, for now, I am training on a treadmill. My plan is to get through this coaching from above at the gym, then work on running on the pavement throughout the summer. Fall will start the part where I try to pick my pace up. (side note: jog…that is funny…I am a slow jogger! Right now, I am doing the walking parts at about 3.7mph and the jogging parts between 4.5 to 5.0 mph….so, yes, it will take me forever to do 3 miles!

The Jamie update…He is almost done with this semester of school. Only a few more weeks left! I am so excited! Then we can start working on some stuff around the house and actually be able to do things with the weather warming up!

The Rachel Update....She is as cute as ever! She is such a little girl. She likes putting chapstick on (ok, it typically goes on her chin, but she knows how to get the cap off and the general idea of what you need to do), carries around a purse and cell phone here at home, likes having her pretend necklace on, is always feeding her babies and occasionally tells me that either the baby or stuffed animal is “poopy” after smelling its butt! Can you tell what we do to see if she has pooped? She also loves to get her hair dried by the blow-dryer and always has to have the last brushing of her hair by herself.

So, what else is new in my life? Who says that stay at home moms don’t spend money? Recently, our microwave broke on us and I had to survive two weeks without one…wow was it ever missed…I never realized how often I used this appliance! So, we bought one and Jamie installed it last week. We knew that our microwave (the old one – although a big name brand and top of the line) was old (14 years!) and just not as good as the new ones out there. And wow were we right! It is amazing how quickly this one warms up the food! Then on to the next big purchase! We bough a closetmaid 9 cubeicle storage shelves. See below.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=163256-77268-864500&lpage=none

We bought this at Target, but I can’t find it on their site. So, anyways, you buy these cloth drawers and voila…the toys in the family room disappear! Can you believe it? Anyways, I am sick of this basket I have in the family room. It is overflowing with toys and I want some organization to it!

Ok,. I think that this is enough writing for one day. See you in a month or two!!! :>)