My First Blog Award!!!!

I just received my first blog award!!! It's called the Beautiful Blogger Award and was given to me by a friend named Sam from Believe In Yourself. How exciting!!!! Sam is a new friend from the Healthy You Challenge that I am a part of. She is an awesome blogger and deserves to keep getting this award back. So, the rules are to pick 7 bloggers to give it to and to write 7 things that most people wouldn't know about me.

People that I would love to bestow this award to. (Please don't feel bad if I didn't give it to you. I'm sure you were in the running. It was really hard to narrow it down.) These aren't in any particular order.

#1 C. Beth Blog - Beth is one of my favs for sure. She is always making me laugh and challenging me to run a little more, write a bit, and blog more often. She is very talented.

#2 Karen from Muffin Fixation - We go way back. :) She's so amazing. She is constantly thinking of the next thing to do and how she can challenge herself the next time. Very inspirational.

#3 Keelie from REAL FAT - Keelie is one of my favorite new blogger friends. I love reading the latest on her blog. She is VERY inspirational and encouraging.

#4 Chibi Jeebs & The Neurotic Struggle - She is always so sweet to me and definitely should get an award just for her sheer support and encouragement to me and other friends. I love reading her blog.

#5 Lindsay from Healthy Stride - A very supportive encouraging new friend. She is a huge inspiration. I love her spunky side and love reading her blog.

#6 Amy from Inner Fat Girl - I wasn't sure you would want everyone going to your blog or not, but I couldn't not give it to you. You are amazing and are always inspiring me to do more than I ever think I can do. You are one of the biggest inspirations for me. In weight loss and in running. You challenged me to do a 1/2 marathon with you when I was only running about 2 minutes at a time. You started a fire in me and I can't thank you enough for that. And for all of your love and support.

#7 Mary from Yafusso Posse - My original blog inspiration. Mary is an awesome friend. We have known each other a long while now. I always look forward to Mary's next blog. She's so creative and imaginative. Several of my themes for different days were stolen from her. :) Mary is one awesome mom, wife, and friend. Love you Mary!

Now to my 7 things:
#1 I have a Bachelor's degree in Psychology (and a minor in Health Promotion)
#2 I have always wanted to have my own photography business.
#3 I have never broken a bone,
#4 I am a PartyLite consultant who needs to have my own party to kinda start back up again.
#5 My first trip was to Alaska when I was 5 or 6 months old.
#6 I have a desire to do a mission trip to Africa.
#7 My #1 allergy is dust mites.

It ended up being kind of random. But there you go.

Relief After The Doctor Appointment

So, this tale doesn't start with relief, but it sure does end with it.

I went to the doctor almost 2 weeks ago now wanting to be tested for fructose intolerance and hypoglycemia. The test needed for the fructose intolerance the lab didn't have. It's apparently a new type of test so that wouldn't be happening. I did get my blood taken and had my liver, kidneys, and glucose tested.

All of the results were normal. AHHHHHHHHHH So, what does that mean? How the heck could it be normal. I was happy the other things were normal, but the blood sugar didn't make any sense for it to be normal. I had sooo many symptoms when they tested it too.

This started me in a frenzy to figure out how the test could have been in the normal range even with hypoglycemia symptoms. I did find in the papers I already researched that people could have symptoms and be in the normal range. That made me feel a little better but not totally. Then I found another paper said that birth control pills (which I'm on) can also affect the test. I just didn't know how much. My original lab result was 88. My cousin's wife (and my friend) Anny so generously offered to let me have her glucose meter so that I could test myself when I'm having symptoms so that I would have another reading to tell my doctor. My reading that next morning at the first sign of symptoms was at 79. Much closer to below normal, but still in the normal range.

I went to my appointment today with my million papers filled with so many questions for him. It was a great appointment. I don't know if I have ever felt more HEARD at a doctor than today. He said that it really doesn't matter what the reading said. I am having Hypoglycemic symptoms so we need to treat my Hypoglycemia. He reiterated what I read that people's bodies are different and can experience symptoms starting at varying levels. I need to have smaller more frequent meals (which I do but am not great at). Maintaining my blood sugar is something that I really have to work on because I still am having symptoms every single day because I'm not quite getting it right. I need to be more careful about that.

Also, we talked about Heredity Fructose Intolerance vs. Fructose Malabsorption (which sometimes is referred as Fructose Intolerance). The difference is huge with regards to how I would need to change my diet so I felt like I needed to know. I don't think it's the heredity one because I can have small amounts of fructose and be ok. Just not the liquid version, apparently. (Because he said it gets absorbed faster.) So most likely I have the Fructose Malabsorption. He is going to routinely check my liver and kidney function anyway just in case to make sure. Right now they are ok.

My mind has been opened up. Since the last appointment I found a website that lists so many more things that I'm not supposed to eat and things that might be ok to try and test out. And since I have been trying out that diet my symptoms of FM have drastically gotten better. It is hard to follow though because I pretty much can't have any drink other than water and tea. I can have small quantities of somethings but not much. Also wheat is something I'm not supposed to have. That one is probably the hardest. Especially since everything has wheat in it. Thankfully since I most likely have FM instead of HFI I can still have small amounts of wheat and not get sick or do damage.

What a relief this is. I literally let out a huge sigh when I shook his hand as I was leaving. I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I even teared up on the way home. Finally I knew what I thought I had, I really do have. It's not in my mind. It's 2 conditions that I need to manage but that's ok. I'm not excited that I have them, because really they both are a pain in the &*%*&! I'm just glad that I finally know what I have an can go from there. A lifetime of dealing with symptoms that I had no idea were all related finally have some meaning.

I encourage you to get your body checked out. Do you have ailments that make you think something might be wrong? I encourage you to get it checked out until you figure out what's going on.

Ah...I just had to get that all off my chest. Praise God for finally getting answers.

Running Personal Bests

I reached 3 personal bests last night when I ran.

1 mile = 9 min. 59 sec.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (previous best was 10 min. 10 sec.)
2 miles = 20 min. 19 sec. (I think my previous was 23 min.)
5K (3.2 miles) = 33 min. 36 sec!!!!! (previous best was 35 min. 5 sec.)

I SMOKED my 5K previous best. Probably because I was trying for my personal best on my first mile and didn't hit it (10 min. 20 sec.) but then tried again on my second mile and did it (9 min. 59 sec).
I am soooo stoked about getting under 10 minutes!! I am thrilled!! It didn't feel possible, but now I know I CAN DO IT!!!

Weekend MADNESS

Ug! I gained .4 this week. Not much, and I could have worked out in the morning to lose it, but I didn't really want to have to do that. Especially since I was such a workout queen yesterday. I was so determined to lose this week, but it just wasn't happening. I had done too much damage over the weekend to recover from that.

The weekend madness is OVER! I'm sick of it. I'm so tired of having to make up for whatever I did on the weekend. A couple friends of mine are having the same problem. So, we are weighing in together on Mondays as well. Just to make sure we did well on the weekend. I really need this. And I need to exercise on the weekends too. I have been slacking on that too. Then feel rushed to lose the weight during the week. I hate to do it, but I think for the next challenge, I might have to switch it to Monday weigh ins. Fridays seemed so much better because then I didn't have to be as stringent on myself on the weekend. Well, that is NOT working.

On a good note, I got one of the best workouts of my life yesterday. It started in the morning with doing the 30 Day Shred DVD (with Jillian Michael's). I did Level 1 and Level 2 with no breaks. That alone was insane. Then I told Skyler that we were going to walk to go get Courtney from school. She told me she wanted to run. How do you like that? I got a challenge from my 4 year old. So, we ran to school. Skyler did so well. She's really a runner anyway. She loves it. She only stopped a couple times to pick a flower. :) That's so Skyler too. We picked up Courtney and all 3 of us ran home. We couldn't go quite as fast on the way home because Courtney is not a runner. She needed more breaks. I was so proud of them. Then at night I went to the gym because it was so late (and dark). I really wanted to run outside because it felt so great. I waited too long to leave. I ended up running 4.55 miles there (5.67 total for the day)and doing stretching and abs too.

It felt so good to push myself past what I thought I could do in one day. It felt like a Biggest Loser workout day to me. It was my last chance workout for sure. And I still gained. I guess I just need to take it from here.

Today was not a good start to that goal, however. I went out with my hubby for a date lunch to Chilli's. We hardly ever eat out so eating out was not good. I did eat well though. I had their guiltless grill chicken sandwich (however I had to substitute a different roll because I'm not supposed to have wheat) minus the sauce and minus the onions (yet another thing I'm not supposed to eat). That came with a side of steamed broccoli (and tiny pieces of carrot and a little cheese). I tried to take off as much cheese as I could. It was just a tiny bit on it but still. Then we tried Frugos for the first time. Also not a good choice. It's a frozen yogurt place. I didn't have a ton, but shouldn't have had any. Then my parents wanted to come over to have dinner with us. They wanted to have pizza. Ug! They ordered mediums at least so the pieces were smaller. I had a little salad and one piece of pizza. I'm going to be working out tonight at home. Scott is at a Dodger game tonight so I have the night open after the kids go to bed.

At least I tried to make the best of the situations and I am going to work out tonight. I need to be more accountable for my actions. That's why I'm putting it on here.

10 on Tuesday

Ok, so I logged into my blog on Tuesday, and as I'm writing this it is already after midnight. Why am I still up?

1. I went to Disneyland again today. My sorority sister's daughter was celebrating her birthday at the happiest place on earth. I'm so glad that we went. The girls all had a blast together. So compatible as friends. And it was great reconnecting after so long.

2. I let Jillian kick my butt tonight. I did the 30 Day Shred LEVEL 3!!! This was only the second time I have done level 3 and it was easier this time. I was actually able to do the full sit ups. I couldn't even do it last time. I was so excited. I also did a few other moves better/easier than last time too. woho!

3. I am determined to make this week a great week for my weigh in on Friday. Last week I lost 1.8. It's good, but I want to be losing more. I know I can if I just get better on the weekends. A couple friends and I talked about our weekend battles today. We decided that we are going to pretend that we have another weigh in on Monday as well. So, the 3 of us are actually going to weigh in together just to make sure we were good on the weekends. Keeping each other accountable. I'm so excited about this. I think it's just what I need. Motivation to stay the course.

4. I hear Skyler coughing in her room right now. Oh, how I pray that she isn't getting sick. The poor girl seems to be getting sick left and right.

5. Oh the drama with the doctor. I will have to elaborate more. I have a follow up appt. on Monday.

6. The girls and I ditched the BMX bike show tonight. I seriously did not want to go. And I totally forgot about it and had thought we were doing Disneyland. Then I get the illustrious "golden ticket" home from school that Courtney won. This entitles her to get there early for better seating. Still no desire to go other than to make her happy if this is what she wants to go to. So, I gave her the choice. I told her all about the bike show and that her friends would be there or Disneyland where she would meet some new friends. It was such a quick choice. Disneyland it was. Then she kept going back and forth, but ended on Disneyland. :)

7. Oh good. No more coughing sounds from the other room. I hope she can get some good sleep tonight. They both should with all of that fun and exercise tonight at Disneyland.

8. I asked the teacher about the "3rd grade phonics book" because it was hard to believe. She said that she didn't really know for sure if it was 3rd grade for sure, but that it was the 3rd phonics book. So, even if there is one per year, it would be 2nd. Regardless, it's above reading level.

9. I also found out that she started the Accelerated Reader Program at school too. And from the mouth of her grandma (who is the librarian), she didn't think there were any kindergartners in that program. How exciting. Charting new waters. So, she will be reading the book and coming to school and taking a test on it. Then she gets a new book. There are points and prizes and fun stuff like that. We read the book today and she did so well with it. Several new words and she is learning them fast. She could probably test on it tomorrow. I'll have her read it again just to be sure before school. Ya, ya....I'm a bragging mom tonight. So proud of how well she is doing and excited about her eagerness to learn.

10. Only a couple more days until weigh in. More workouts coming my way. :)

Weekend Review & Realizations

The weekend starts with Friday as usual since my hubby has the day off. Weigh ins started off the weekend. We had a play date with some of Courtney's friends from school at a park. We had dinner out with my parents which started the bad eating for the weekend.

We had a fun time hanging out with my brother and Chris who were down from Colorado to take his state test to be an electrician back in California again. My brother, Shawn will be moving back here at the beginning of June!!! We are so excited to see the whole family!!!

Saturday Courtney got to go to her Saturday Academy at school. I'm just bummed it was the last one. She just thrives with extra learning. She just came home today telling me that she is now on the 3rd grade phonics book (she's in kinder). Crazy! I'm so proud of her.

Saturday night was a new experience. I got to run with my hubby. He just started running and has walked up to 1.6. He has run/walked a mile before. He went running with Shauna and I and finished a 5K!!! And on top of that, his first 5K was a hilly one. We kept encouraging him to keep going.

Sunday we headed over to Disneyland with some awesome friends (Ellen, Gracie, Mindy, Kiara, and Alex). Preston couldn't come this time and Scott was feeling the love from all of the kids who couldn't stop hanging all over him. lol Normally the love is shared between the 2. He ended up giving rides to them and making himself even more sore. lol

I have been having trouble on the weekends with eating. I think I need to pretend that weigh in is on Monday so that I don't eat horrible on the weekends. It's like I'm giving myself permission to indulge. I need this to stop!! I can't stand having to make up for the damage I've done on the weekend. I WILL change this behavior!! I will make this a good weight loss week!!

I also need to drink more water. Normally I'm pretty good at this since I really can't drink much else. But I know I'm not getting enough for good weight loss. So, that's another goal I would like to reach for.

Our computer has a bunch of viruses in it. Oh joy. I was going to search for something using Mozilla/Firefox's main home page. It has a google search right there. Don't use it!! Go to google.com and use it there instead. The search results that I got gave me a virus. Immediate. Ug! I just clicked on the search result. No download or anything like that. So, thankfully a friend (Jon YOU ROCK!!) offered to help us out and fix it. So, he has it. Then my parents offered to let us use their laptop to use in the meantime. (My parent's rock too!!) lol Did my apparent NEED for the internet show? lol I actually just went over to their house to send out the weight loss email to the challengers. I have facebook (well most of it..no games) on my phone and can access email through my phone too. So, I was pretty good. haha This is so cool though. Love this laptop. :) So, that's how I'm writing this out today. Hopefully I will still have my word docs because I use them all the time to save everything. I did try to save them on a disk and the computer wouldn't let me. I'll have to do that once it's all better. The biggest thing is all of the pictures that are on there. Thankfully we post tons on facebook so we do have access to a lot of them. I need to get better at backing them up on CDs. This should teach me a lesson.

Hooked On A Feeling

Yesterday and today I woke up feeling that my legs were a little skinnier. I don't know if you have ever experienced this but it's amazing. I just could feel my legs were closer together. It was so cool. I just had to share.

10 on Tuesday

1. Today marks one year since my dear friend, Monica passed away. It's so hard to believe that it has been a year already. I think about her all the time.

2. I lost 1.2 last week in the challenge and am tied for 7th place. I'm hoping this week is better.

3. I feel so much better today. I need to get my booty back to the gym. I have been sooo slacking with that.

4. There is such a fine line between eating enough sugar to combat low blood sugar and overdoing it and making myself sick and too much to overeat. ug! I want to lose weight, but this is all complicating matters. I will be reaching for more fruits at home when it's low, that's for sure.

5. It scares me a little to think about the results not coming back as having this. Because otherwise, it's like, what the heck?! The side effects of both scare me too. Those foods making me sick is only the beginning of the underlying problem of it causing liver, kidney, and small intestinal damage. Let alone the horrible things that can happen with damage from low blood sugar. I'm going to try not to think about it in the meantime.

6. We had a good sex talk at bible study today. You read that right.

7. I'm a little sad and a little excited that softball is over. It was so fun to watch. It made me want to play. But exciting that we don't have somewhere to be 3 times a week.

8. I have really been enjoying reading with the girls. Courtney started reading her Fancy Nancy books to me yesterday. I'm so amazed at how great she is doing after asking about the words once. Most of them she remembered when she read it.

9. I feel a little stressed right now. I think it's from all of the testing and figuring everything out. I need to go work it out at the gym.

10. You would think with my fast yesterday that I would have lost some weight with it. NOPE! Boo...that bad scale. Come on...at least .2! Nothing.

Oh what an ordeal!

I finally got an appointment to see my doctor after figuring out what is wrong with me. And what has been wrong with me forever. When I was younger I just thought it was normal. Then as I got older I started noticing certain things I couldn't eat because it would make me sick. I'll leave out the details. Just know it's not a good thing. I started writing down many things that would make me sick. It all seemed so random, but I figured maybe it was somehow related to high fructose corn syrup. I was quickly proven wrong when I had something with it in it and had no problem. This is just the start.

So, I started researching it to figure out what kind of GI problem I had or what allergy or something like that. I couldn't believe when I found this one sight that literally listed ALL of the random things I couldn't eat. (And I mean can not eat. Like taking a tiny sip off the top of an Icee that's overflowing tiny bit.) So, what do I think I have? Fructose Intolerance. It's either a Heredity Fructose Intolerance or Fructose Malabsorption. Either way, no good.

While I was researching it I was looking at the side effects. One of which is Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). I couldn't believe it!!!!!!! I have for at least 6 years thought I had something wrong with my blood sugar and recently realizing it had to be low blood sugar. I have always had to carry food with me (like a granola bar or anything) just incase I get hungry. And when I say hungry, I mean nauseous hungry. I have mentioned the nausea before to the doctor but nothing he thought it was too much acid and had me use antacids. These did nothing.

Hypoglycemia makes so much sense. For the Fructose Intolerance my body isn't processing the fructose that is ingested. So, the obvious result would be low blood sugar (because hardly any gets in). This makes so much sense now that it's spelled out on my computer.

So, I made an appointment. It was made more urgent because I had a bad reaction last week. I had a bad dinner (2 slices of cheese pizza) and then put the girls to bed. Went to the gym and when I got home I was sooo nauseous. I had it really bad. I then started getting dizzy, disoriented, and had an insatiable need to lay down. I forced myself to eat an orange before I laid down. Thankfully the sugar helped but it took a while to get fully better. It seems like the lower the blood sugar has gone, the longer it takes to go back up and to feel normal again. Thankfully, I usually can tell when I need something because the nausea will just start to set in. Then I can eat something and be back to normal. It's when I do extra things or am not prepared that it gets worse.

So, I went to the doctor today. I got my blood test done. I should not have driven myself. I fasted so that I would be able to take the blood test today. So, I had breakfast at 7:30am and the appointment was at 3:15pm. By the time the doctor was in the room I was already getting shaky/jittery and feeling that need to lay down (extreme tiredness/fatigue). I also was having trouble walking normally.

I went to the lab that they told me my insurance had to go to and they were no longer at that location (in Whittier). So, I am calling their number and it's disconnected. I try customer service and use my maps on my phone to find a new location. I had to drive all the way to Bastanchury. ahhh I was so hungry and not doing well. I really needed some sugar fast. And now I had to drive all the way there. Thankfully I didn't have my kids with me. I finally find the place and get it done. I just wish they had the test available for the fructose intolerance too. He said the testing might be too new and that might be why they don't have it. I have to call some place to see if they have it. Regardless, I'm running on the fact that I have both.

On a side note, people who have fructose intolerance are often misdiagnosed with lactose intolerance. I was diagnosed with that with my allergist a while ago. But as soon as I figured out what it was and stopped taking the Lactaid, I was fine. I wasn't having reactions to cheese or milk ever. Only things like ice cream and dairy in chocolate. I just had assumed the concentration was higher in those.

They will also be testing my liver and kidneys to make sure major damage hasn't been done. That and the small intestine is where the fructose that isn't absorbed accumulates.

After my testing I immediately put a LifeSaver in my mouth. I needed that immediate sugar. Then I scarfed down some graham crackers and M&Ms in the car on the ride home. I was getting better on the ride home but not totally normal yet. I went to my mom's house to get the kids. I was still having symptoms and couldn't shake it yet. It wasn't until after I had a big meal that I felt almost completely normal. I should get results by the end of the week.

Wow, that was a novel. But it helps me to write it all out. To get it all out there and to share what I'm going through too.

Mother's Day

My sweeties! I probably should have taken this picture when we were with fresh makeup and hair done. This was at the end of the day. The girls were so sweet to me on Mother's Day. They kept bringing me pictures that they made and flowers and telling me so sweetly that they love me and happy mother's day. It was precious. They both made me stuff from school and church too.

And here are us silly willies.

We had a fabulous Mother's Day. We started the day off at church. It's always a wonderful way to spend a Sunday and Mother's Day. They always have a way of uplifting you and encouraging you. They did an extra thing for single moms. I thought this was awesome. Single moms don't have the dad going out and buying a present or encouraging the kids to make something on Mother's Day. (Well, some married moms don't get the dad going out to buy a present either.)

After church we went to Scott's parent's house for lunch. It was Scott's mom's birthday too. Both my family and his family were all over there. It was so nice to be together. Then after we were going to go let the kids play at the park. The girls were elated to drive with Aunt Maureen there in her car. The part of the park with the playground was closed off. I guess it's getting fixed in the next couple weeks. Boo! So, we went to Aunt Maureen's house instead. They got to chase each other in a circle. (They love houses with circles.) Then Aunt Maureen helped them make cookies and we ate the yummy goodness.

Such a fun day!

1st Trophy

Courtney had closing ceremonies for softball. They didn't get to do opening ceremonies due to it being rained out. So, they decided to do closing ceremonies instead. Here is Courtney with some of her team. Yes, she's wearing a crown.

Talk to the doll because I don't want you to take my picture.

Skyler being a ham after all.

Yearbooks for softball?!?!? At least it was covered in the fees, but still. I didn't get yearbooks for all of those years I played. Crazy. Seems like a bit of a waste of money in my opinion. The girls at least had fun signing each other's books. They saw some older girls signing the numbers of their other players, so they wanted to do it too. Monkey see, monkey do.

Courtney is so proud of her first trophy! It's pretty huge!

Totally 80's Night

This was for our MOPS Chocolate 80's Game Night. So many things in the title, but so much fun. We ended up having dinner and dessert. We played 80's Scene It. Amy, Eva, and I were on a team together and we won. I did them almost no good. Eva rocked it. Amy knew a bunch too.

Ya, I'm hot! haha I took this and sent it to Scott. He was at a birthday party with the girls.

Dinner time!

These 2 crack me up. Goody goody, Candice!! Hilarious! Great costumes ladies!

Sheila and Eva looked awesome! Eva won the costume contest. Her outfit was all stuff that she actually wore in the 80's. No fair keeping it, Eva. haha You can see more of my workout girl outfit. Puffy hair, off the shoulders sleeves, leg warmers, shirt tied to the side, crazy makeup.

Christina looked awesome! Love those hot legs!

Here are most of us that dressed up.

This one is one of my favs. I love it!

Haha...work it!

It was such a blast!

Teacher Appreciation

Here are the journals that I made for Skyler's teachers (and one of my friends). I still need to make one for Mrs. Maldonado (Courtney's teacher). We did other things for her teacher appreciation, but I think she would like it.

This one is for Miss Wagg. Her favorite color is blue.

Ooh, I really liked making a ladybug one. I had made a card like this before, but just changed it a little for the journal. Her favorite color is red.

I think these were my favorite colors to work with. This was the first brown one I have done. Her favorite color is brown.

Softball Playoffs

You read that right. Softball playoffs for Tball! This was the first year they did playoffs for her division. Not a good idea though. It gets way too competitive and the kids can feel it. One of the little girls was crying after the game. They got a bye on the first round, and lost the one playoff game they played. They really needed an umpire. The coach (on the other team) kept changing the rules. It was like, come on. You just said the opposite for our team. ug. I was glad it was over with one game. That was intense.

Weekend Review

I'm thinking this might be short because so many events happened over the past few days that they really need their own entries.

I'll start with Thursday since I haven't talked about it. Courtney had her first playoff game for softball. Friday I went to an 80's Night. It was awesome. Saturday was closing ceremonies for softball. It was also a huge party for my cousin's graduation and a bunch of cousins' birthdays. Sunday was mother's day. We went to church in the morning. Then we went to Scott's parent's house for lunch (with my family too). It was also Scott's mom's birthday too. We tried to go to the park after but that was a bust. Then we went to my aunt's house and then home.

Soooo much more could be said. But you'll have to wait for the next entries. lol

Running

I decided to go to the gym today to run. It's good to change it up every now and then to throw your body off. So, I did my fastest mile!!! 10 minutes 10 seconds. I shaved 5 seconds off my time. Then I continued on to my 5K (3.1 miles). I decided to do sprints today. I ran for a minute at 7.0 speed then would walk for a minute (or a little longer), then back up to 7.0. I did this 6 times. Then I just decided to start running at a 5.8 for the rest. Man was I tired. But I pushed myself and went up to a 7.3 to finish the 5K. I ALMOST beat my personal best. I was under by 1 second. I was at 35 minutes 6 seconds. That's the fastest I've ever run on a treadmill. Both for the 5K time and speed (7.3). I plan to keep pushing myself and trying different methods of running to increase my endurance and speed. Because once you have ran at 7.3, a 6.0 seems easy.

10 on Tuesday

1. I'm glad I'm doing this late today instead of yesterday. It would have been a whole different attitude yesterday.

2. Some health concerns going on right now. I need to stop procrastinating and see the doctor already. I'm pretty sure what the diagnosis will be, just scared to do it and just want to figure out how to deal with it and what caused it.

3. I did Level 3 of the 30 Day Shred yesterday!!!!! Wow! Holy crap was that hard. So many different ways to do push ups. Finally yesterday and today I felt strong enough to actually do them not on my knees. (Except that last one set because my weights aren't tall enough to have my hand around it on the floor.)

4. I really should be more sore today than I am. I really thought I was in for it after that workout yesterday. I feel great. I guess my body is ready for this after all.

5. We now have 39 participants in the Biggest Loser challenge. It was 38 on Friday and 39 now.

6. This week is teacher appreciation week at Skyler's school. Time to start making some journals for her teachers. I have made them for all of Courtney's previous teachers there, so they should get one too.

7. As if one week of being sick wasn't enough, now I have a sore throat. ug! Sinus issues, throat, tiredness (but that could be from the other health concern).

8. Needs some new songs for my gym play list. Any suggestions? What gets you going?

9. I need to get caught up on my 40 days of Purpose reading for church/small group. Also, need to do the bible study lessons that I didn't do.

10. Really thought I was over something until it got thrown in my face again. Not on purpose, but still.

30 Day Shred

Awesome workout! I recommend it. Today I decided to push myself in my workout so I could lose weight this week. I did Level 1 AND Level 2 without breaks in between. It was pretty hard core. My muscles are feeling great and I'm not sore from it. However, by the end of it I was so exhausted. I have been battling being sick for a week now and am not 100%. I was so exhausted that I had to take a nap after my shower. I had this huge need to lay down. I guess I did too much too soon. Oh well. I was just excited that I did both together. That was awesome. I still have yet to try Level 3.

MOPS Fundraising Yard Sale

AT MY HOUSE!!! So, the crazy madness is over. Hooray! I could not be more excited that it's over. But I am so glad we did it. It was such a huge success. We made $1400 for our MOPS program. Sponsoring women who wouldn't otherwise be able to come and for child care fees as well. Many women will be blessed by this. Plus the organizations we donated to after will benefit as well.


The chaos started at 5am!! A wonderful group of women (and 2 men) showed up at my house at 5am to start getting all of the stuff out of my house and garage and out of Candice's truck to pile on all of the tables we all put out. This is the pile while we were still taking stuff out of the house and truck. Scott, Dad, Candice, Amy, Danielle, Eva, & I were the 5am crew. I guess I should say Courtney was part of that crew too since she woke up when we started getting ready for everyone to show up and wouldn't go back to sleep. She started carrying bags out. :)

The ladies started putting the bags on the tables of where we thought they would end up.

Check out how far across my lawn those tables go. And we added a couple rows after. We had about 13 tables that we knew were coming and I thought I would ask to see if we could get a "couple" more. I put it on my status on facebook. What an amazing response from everyone to help. We ended up with 39 tables!!

A view from my driveway. You can see the MOPS Fundraising Sale sign.

My dad even showed up at 5am to help set everything up. That last table hadn't been filled yet. We still were putting stuff out and it was light already.

We had so many workers. Andrea, Jasmine, Nanette, and Heather came to help out. We also had lots of shoppers we knew (Julie, Katie, Marti, Linda, Dave, Mom, Dawn, Hannah, Emily, Michelle, Stacey, Kristin, etc.). Sorry if I didn't put your name. There were a bunch of you and we appreciate you all.

We had so many bags of stuffed animals.

This one is my favorite. You can see the how far everything expanded on our yard.

Busy shoppers...we never really had a slow time. I remember one time looking around and the least we had was about 5-7 people looking around.

So many donations came in. Thank you to everyone who donated.

The girls tried on some of the formal dresses and my old Cinderella dress. Scary! They're not old enough to have me thinking about that yet.

I don't know how this happened, but we didn't get a group picture of all of the people who helped. So many workers. And the hard core people who were there at 5am and stayed until clean up was done.

Everything that we didn't sell was donated to 2 places. First a group at our church "Families Helping Families" took a truck load of whatever they wanted. (They are a group that helps families who are under or un-employed with basic needs. They have frequent yard sales to help cover costs.) Then the rest was taken to "Bridge of Faith". They have a shop where you can donate too. But what they do is have homes for kids who time out of the foster care system. I hope I'm saying that right. And a huge thanks to Candice who helped me take the donations to Bridge of Faith and to Amy and Ryan for taking the load to Families Helping Families.

I'm glad it's my last one. I'm not going to host another one. It's a ton of work. All of the sorting so that on the day of it's easier to do. All of those bags were marked with what size they were or what category it was. I will be a happy helper next time. :) The kids all had fun playing together too. Bonus! Lifting all of those tables I think did me in. We are sore and tired. I went to bed at 8:30 last night and woke up at 6. Now we just have the job of getting all of the tables back to everyone. Hopefully a few people will come and pick them up.

Singing Sisters

Both of my little cuties sang their little hearts out last week. I'm so thankful that they sang last week too because Skyler is sick this week and can't sing. (What a concept. Someone actually keeping their kid home when they are sick.) Courtney will still be singing tonight. Here are some of my favs from the performance.

Courtney is up in the back row. She's the tallest. Skyler is in the second row. (You can see her near the bottom.)

Screen shot from the monitors.

Pretty good one of Skyler.

Courtney at the top. It was hard to get one of her.

The whole group.

Biggest Loser Challenge

The Biggest Loser Challenge started up last Friday. We officially have 39 participants!!! That's just insane. So many people telling other people. I was talking to Roselia, because I couldn't remember how many we started off with last time and it was 34 last time. This challenge just keeps growing. I love that more and more people are wanting to make a change to their life and take control. And huge kudos to Roselia for starting it all. It's fun making new friends. It's hard to remember everyone's name though. Especially when they are only here for a few minutes once a week. lol I'm glad to be hosting it this time. It adds a fun dynamic to it.

My first week I lost 8.4!!!!!!!!!! I haven't ever lost that much in a week....EVER!!!! I'm still recovering from gaining after the challenge. Why oh why did I let myself just eat whatever in between challenges? I still have a tiny bit left to go before I'm back at 60 pounds lost. Then I will not be looking back. I'm starting off the challenge in 6th place!! I was 4th in actual pounds lost. I plan to climb the ranks like I did last time. Only this time I would love to be in 1st. :) Watch out ladies! Here I come.

10 on Tuesday

1. We soooo need to go to the store.

2. Only a few more days until the pile up of donations will be out of here. We are still accepting donations for our yard sale. We also need shoppers 6am to 1pm on Saturday the 1st of May.

3. Ug I am sick today. I ran out of Zicam. I usually take it at the first sign of sickness. I couldn't this time and now I'm really feeling it. It's amazing how different a cold is without Zicam. I'm all achy and miserable today. Courtney's not feeling well either. She has a bad sounding cough, and has been more lethargic than normal. I kept her home from school today.

4. Don't know why I'm blogging and facebooking while I'm just wanting to lay down.

5. I had fun on Sunday stamping. It was so fun to be so crafty.

6. Needs to borrow lots of folding tables for Saturday. Do you have one we could borrow for the day? I will label it with masking tape on the bottom to be sure yours gets back to you.

7. Can you tell what's consuming my thoughts right now? So much about the sale...and other things too. Not enough energy for it all.

8. We are at 35 people in the challenge!!

9. What's up with T-Ball having playoffs?? I thought the point was not to point out who won or didn't win.

10. Loves our new table and chairs!!

Weekend Review

This is a picture of Courtney and Jenna trying on "makeup" at the park. These girls crack me up.

Friday started the beginning of the Biggest Loser Challenge. I will have another blog about that. So, Friday I had people coming over to weigh in. Saturday morning Courtney had a softball game. We found out that they are doing playoffs in her division for the first time. I really don't see why they should. It's T-Ball! She only has one more game besides play offs.

Saturday night we had an awesome time bowling. It was the MOPS Couple's Bowling Night. It was so much fun. It has been so long since I have bowled. Real bowling, not Wii bowling. I brought my ball and shoes. I was surprised that the shoes still fit. I went through so many different sizes of shoes through having the girls and after that I had no idea if they would fit. I got 3rd place in the first game and have no idea with the second. We were done way before the other lane so I totally forgot everyone's scores. It was a blast.

Early Sunday morning at the crack of dawn we had to be at church. (I seriously almost wrote butt crack of dawn. And now I did. Oh well...I think it's funny.) The girls were singing in the 8am service and had to be there at 7:30am. This was Skyler's first time performing with church choir. And the first time they were together performing. This was kind of like practice for next week's performance.

In the afternoon I got to go to my cousin, Randi's house for a "Stampin' Up!" party. Lots of family and friends were there to have fun making cards. After the party all of our families came over for dinner. The kids had a blast playing together. Adults and kids were playing baseball. The kids were riding their bikes together. They went down to the trail together too. So much fun.

What a great weekend!

Softball Fun

I was a proud mom on Saturday when Courtney played 1st base! She has been practicing a lot and actually got picked to play 1st. Plus, both Scott and I played 1st a lot.

Courtney was giving Papa a look when he didn't get the ball.

What is up with the obsession with fruit roll ups? lol And why do they insist on unrolling the whole thing first?

The girls are all slugging the ball hard! Here is one of Courtney's hits.

Silly Skyler

Courtney cleanly fielded a ball when playing 2nd after it got hit to her really fast. She even threw the girl out at 1st!!

Awesome throw!

My parents hosted a pizza party for the team after the game. What a fun time it was with all of the girls and their families.

Check out that HUGE pizza!