Ahh...some fresh air!

Yesterday we headed to Sky King.  It's a 5/5 cache, which is the most difficult rating they can have.  The Grateful Cacher had been sitting at 1499 finds for a week, waiting to make this one his 1500th find.  The cache is a small pill container, hidden about 32 feet up in a pine tree.  We met up with Team Geochef (Brian and Michelle) and started our hike in.  The forecast was calling for cold temps, but the sun was shining so bright that it didn't feel cold at all, and I soon figured out that I was a little overdressed.  We soon located the tree we needed, and the guys headed up to find the cache.  After a bit of searching, it was in hand.  It was a great cache and it was nice to be out with friends for the find on such a beautiful day.

Shortly after the event, we decided to make our way to Niles, Michigan to attend an event at a beautiful Botanical Garden in the area.  We met up with many more caching friends and spent the day exploring the grounds, finding caches and just enjoying the fabulous weather.  We, in usual form, couldn't bring ourselves to say goodbye, so went to dinner together before heading home.  We ate at Zekes, which is the same place we ate at after our kayak run.  Food is fantastic, however the waitress messed everyones credit cards up so bad, that some swore  never to come back again.  It was a total mess, and took over 30 minutes to straighten out.  Truth is, it never really was straightened out, I think everyone just sort of gave up.  We hit up one more cache and headed home.

We got back WAY later than I intended but it was a fantastic day and I enjoyed getting out into nature again.  I'm SO excited, as next weekend is our "regular" slumber party with all the friends.  I NEED THIS!!! I've been so down in the dumps the last month, and am tired of swimming in the swamps of life.  It's going to be good to be surrounded by people that love me, don't judge me and just care about my happiness!  COME ON SATURDAY!!!

The return of a mad woman...

I haven't blogged in what turns out to be over 3 months after a quick research.  Ugh.  I LOVE to blog, and had actually really been enjoying it.  But I was in a housing situation that wasn't ideal, and the person who was in charge of a roof being over my head was accessing my blog.  Eventually, things I was saying were going to be held against me in one way or another.  I just felt it safest and in my families best interest, not to blog for awhile.  I'm now out of the situation, and quite frankly just don't care anymore.
  So, to put it simply, life has changed, HUGELY, since my last update.  A lot of things still need to be sorted out, but I will say this...while some aspects of my life are currently VERY screwed up, other aspects of it have me happier than I have been in a very long time.  I have a lot of figuring out to do, and I'm lucky that I have a big enough support system that I can call on a friend anytime I need to vent, cry, laugh, forget....whatever.

So, my goal is to start blogging again.  The trick is going to be finding the time to do it.  Hopefully the next few weeks/months bring on some fantastic changes our lives.  Time will tell.....

Week One...done.

Whoever said dieting was just as cheap as not dieting can kiss my ass.

Went to the grocery store today.  Up until now, I hadn't been purchasing any special foods, and was just living off of what was available.  I was relying only on the training to help me lose weight, until I could go grocery shopping.  So this morning I set out to just grab a few things to get me through today until I could do my big grocery haul tomorrow.  That didn't happen.  $200 later I walked out with an entire cart of food.  BUT...not one SINGLE junk food item was in my cart.  About the unhealthiest thing I had was sour cream, for my chicken taco, and that was only because I can not stand the taste of low-fat sour cream.

I got almost every fruit they had.  I got tons of vegetables, healthy snacks like popcorn, low fat string cheese, etc.  I felt very good about my shopping trip, and am looking forward to trying some new foods.

When I started out on this training I just had a blanket goal.  I want to lose around 100lbs.  I didn't put any thought into when I wanted to lose it by, or at what rate.  Then I got to thinking, if I lose 2lbs a week, that puts me at one year to lose 100lbs...roughly.  I should be able to do 2lbs a week, if I am very careful and stick to the training....I think.  So tonight I got on the scale, because this is the one week mark of when I started training, and I am down 4.5lbs!!!!!!!  I more than doubled my goal, and that feels fantastic!  I really think I can do this!

That being said.  I have been doing this training with a co-worker, and we have really been helping each other out as far as motivation and encouragement.  The thing is, she only lives over here during the week.  So last weekend I had to train alone, and I will admit, it was REALLY hard.  I did it, but it's just SO much easier when you have someone suffering right along with you.

Tonight is 4th of July Eve.  I had to work, and I knew I wouldn't be out in time to fight off the traffic for fireworks, as our town is having them tonight.  The kids went to the park to watch them and after work I just came home.  And that is when I realized nobody had drugged the beagle.  Beagle + fireworks = migraine.  By the time I had realized it, it was far too late to "prevent" her reaction, but I could do my best to drug her and try to stop it half way through.  So I did.  Keeping in mind that I still had to run tonight.  3 hours passed, constant barking still.  At this point, I'm waiting for either A) her meds to kick in, or B) the fireworks to stop...whichever came first.  They both came at the same time.  So at 10:30pm, I finally head out for my run.

We are in the middle of a very ridiculous heat wave.  Heat index has been over 100* all week.  So running at night SHOULD be a blessing, but it is not.  It was still somewhere around 90* when I went.  I'm not going to lie, it was hard to keep up, because of the heat, and because my training buddy again went home for the holiday.  I really felt myself losing motivation tonight, but I struggled through it.  I will have to do it again alone tomorrow.  I hope I can find the drive to get back into the swing of things.

My blisters are now just slightly painful callouses.  My legs only throb when I run, not all of the time anymore.  I find I'm exhausted much earlier in the evening, which for me is a good thing, since I am usually up  till 3 or 4 in the morning.  I'm also getting up earlier in the mornings.  Overall, I actually feel pretty darn good, and that may be what I need to remind myself of when I get "down" about this.  I have proven to myself the last week that I can do this, if I try hard enough...and I need to remember just how strong I am when I need to be.  So, here is to a week of success, in my eyes, and I hope the next week does the same!

Day 7, post run

Blister Hell

Today it occurred to me that I had some free passes to our local water park that were going to be expiring soon.  I checked the date, and sure enough, today was the last day.  So I loaded up the boy spawn and we headed out.  And a lot of bare concrete.  The bare concrete KILLED my blisters....omg ow.  The stairs KILLED my legs.  I was exhausted by the time we left.  I really was feeling the last 3 days of this training.  

When I got home, I just wanted to go to bed.  My work out buddy is back home for the weekend, so I didn't have her to go with me for motivation.  So, again I headed out with the boy spawn.  We only did 25 minutes of training, due to how sore I was from all the walking/stairs today.  But we did it, and I survived, and I'm beat.

Tomorrow I think I may switch over to riding my bike for awhile, just to give my feet a chance to heal the blisters a little bit.  I'm so incredibly proud of myself for sticking with this....and can't wait to begin to see some results for all this hard work!  Keep the positive vibes coming, I'm still needing them!

Death Mission Day 3a

Today was day 3 of the 5K training.  Temps were nearly 25 degrees cooler than when we ran last night, so we were pretty excited about that.  We, Erica and I, had both agreed just to walk tonight, afraid we would over-do ourselves.

So, we met for a quick dinner, and soon hit the pavement.  But the strangest thing happened.  Though we had both agreed to just "walk" tonight, we both found ourselves totally motivated to run.  And so we did.  However, we decided to just repeat Day 1s training, which consisted of walking for 1.5 minutes, running for 1 minute, walking for 1.5, running for 1...repeating this for 25 minutes.  The first night we tried this, it about killed us both.  We were gasping for breathe, wanting to puke, keel over....something.  Tonight, after the first run portion, we both looked at each other and said "thats it?"  It was SO super simple.  I'm not saying ALL reps were that easy, but we were so much better at it than the first night, it shocked us both.  We continued on for the whole 25 minutes, and felt INCREDIBLE after!

I'm not going to lie.  My ass still hurts.  My blisters still hurt, my tendons are tensed....I just hurt.  But, I also feel AMAZING!  It is taking all I have not to head outside and run some more, except that it is lightning out, and it's almost 2AM.

And while at work tonight, I talked to Dr. Steve again, about him running a 5K with us, if we both made it to that point.  His response was simply "how could I not?"  And that made me feel pretty incredible.  Because if my boss, who runs, a lot, is willing to run with us, he must be pretty proud of the choices we are making, and that is a darn good feeling.  I'm trying to use that promise to us as my motivation to do this thing!  So after my conversation with him, I went and got on the scale.  I realize they say you are only supposed to do this like once a month, so you don't get discouraged, but I really was curious.  I about hit the floor when I saw that I had dropped 2.5lbs in the first 3 days!  Healthier food choices, combined with the running, really is making a difference, and that feels pretty darn good.

So with this blog comes the good, but also must come the ugly.  Unfortunately, we didn't think to get a picture of ourselves on Day 1.  I imagine it to look a LOT like our photo from Day 2, as that day was in 108* heat index weather.  I hope to someday be one of those people that posts an "after photo" that looks NOTHING like what these photos do, which is the ONLY reason I am posting them.  Keep rooting us on, everyone, we need the support!

Day 2, 108* heat index, 35 minutes of training.  

Day 3a.  Converted back to 25 minutes of training,
but we KILLED that 25 minutes!

Couch-5K= death of me!

About 9 months ago, I started having the recurring dream that I was running in a marathon.  I didn't think much of it until about the 5th time it happened.  I took it to be some sign that I needed to do something about my health.  The problem is, I HATE doing things alone, ESPECIALLY when it's something like working out.

I talked to my friend from work several times.  We've both wanted to become healthier, but just lacked some of the motivation needed.  She told me about this "Couch to 5K" program she had heard of, so I did a bit of research on it.  There are several variations, so not all will be the same.  But they all have the same principal...get you off of the couch, and in good enough condition to run a 5K.  i.was.interested.!!!!!!  We agreed to try the program together.  The one we are using is supposed to have us ready in 10 weeks.

And so began day 1.  I must remind you that I am almost 36, and I am over 100lbs over-weight.  I haven't done anything faster than a walk pace in close to 20 years.  I'm as out of shape as they come, and now I'm supposed to RUN?  So we set off.  I'm not going to lie, it hurt.  It hurt a lot.  Basically, you walk for 90 seconds, run for 60, walk for 90, run for 60.  And you repeat this for 25 minutes.  They don't even start you out small.  We both completed it though, and continued to walk for well over an additional hour after.

Day 2.  It's 99* outside, with a heat index upwards of 110*.  It's sick hot.  But I know that if we lose a day, we will lose all motivation.  So after working a double, we met up and took off running.  Despite the heat, today went much better on my body that the first day, though I did get a really bad cramp.  But we both succeeded, and I am pretty damn proud of us.

Tomorrow it is supposed to be warm again, and I'm not even going to lie, I'm pretty sore.  So, we have agreed to just meet up after work and walk.  Im afraid that if we go a single day without some sort of work-out, we will fall right into our old habits!

And so I'm now home and showered.  I stopped by the store for some fruits to snack on, and I am now ready for bed.  Wish us luck!

Where do I go from here....

As I chose the title for this blog, I was reminded of a song that I used to LOVE.  It  has nothing to do with what I am about to post, but now it's stuck in my head, and so I shall share it with you all..........
.Song stuck in my head....

Moving on...

My life is about to change.  I don't know what is ahead of me tomorrow, let alone next week, but I do know that the roof over our heads is being stripped away, and I can't afford things on my own, and I don't know what I am going to be able to do about it.  Brad and I's relationship has been over for several years now, and we've just stayed here, living separate lives, under the same roof.  It's been dysfunctional, but it's worked, and that is now over.  I won't get into any of the details, for my own reasons, and I don't really have anymore on the issue...but if I vanish for awhile, you know why.

Uncle Perry, Aunt Connie, Aunt Barb, Uncle Mark, Mom and Uncle Toad

Me, my brother Cameron, and my Mother

On to the better updates...This past weekend was my family reunion at my parents house.  I had the most incredible weekend.  I stopped and visited my bestie, Tim, on the way up.  After spending a few minutes with him, we headed to my moms and got to spend the day with her, just catching up.  We haven't done that in years.  After the temps cooled down, we set up our tents (they live practically in the woods, so perfect camping spot).  We awoke Saturday and did a few last minute things to get ready for the party, decorated some cupcakes together, and the extended family soon arrived.  My sister and her family couldn't attend, and I REALLY missed them.  My brother was running late, but eventually was able to make it.  However, he couldn't stay the night.  Last years reunion was fantastic because all of us siblings camped in the yard, and that evening, we all just spent time around the bon fire, being siblings.  I was really looking forward to that this year, but understand that others couldn't stick around.  Perhaps next year.


I did, however, invite an old friend over that I hadn't seen in over 8 years.  We spent the evening around the fire catching up a little, and just enjoying each others company.  It was nice to laugh and just have a good time.

Kylie picking purple paint off of her thigh from an earlier seating choice, Caiden going after my camera strap, and the elusive Little Jason.

Sunday, I was contacted by my "little" brother, Jason.  Jason is a kid that I met when I was maybe 12 years old.  He was about 7 or so.  He just became a part of my life, our family.  He was such an adorable kid, and became super important to me over the years.  We have continuously lost contact for one reason or the other, but always manage to "stalk" each other back out every few years.  It had been about 7 years since we last saw each other, about 1 since we had talked.  We made arrangements for him to come visit the family that afternoon, and I can't begin to describe how awesome it was to see him again.  In my mind, he will always be "little Jason", but in reality, he is now a grown man.  It's just another reminder that we are aging.  We spent the entire afternoon, and evening, just reminiscing, talking about our lives, playing the standard "50 questions" and discussing ways to make sure this separation never happens again.  I didn't think to get a picture of the 2 of us together, or even one with him and my parents.....or even one of just him, while he was there.  However, while uploading pics of the weekend, I did manage to find this one of him in the background!

And then Monday became my slap back to reality....back to work, and now packing, and trying like hell to figure out how I am suppose to be able to move out on my own......stay tuned, this could get ugly.