Another memoir from S.E. Asia - and other thoughts

I went to bed feeling very thoughtful last night. I think lately I've been in a kind of rut. A "me, me, me" kind of rut. And a "buy, buy buy" kind of rut. It's been so evident in my life lately that the more things I have the more I want. It's like feeding a big black hole. Sometimes I just need to step back and regain perspective.

So, last night I was thinking about how I have more shoes than I can even fit in my closet, but I want more. There are so many people in this world who don't even own a pair of shoes.

"According to The State of the World’s Children as reported by Unicef, there are 143 million orphans around the world. Orphanages do not receive enough funding to support the children in their care. One of the greatest and most immediate needs is a pair of shoes. Many of the children receive one pair of shoes to last the entire year, and some don’t have shoes at all."
-taken from shoesfororphansouls.org

Then I was thinking about how I throw away so much food every week when so many people don't have food or clean water. And how I get to go to bed next to my wonderful, caring husband every night when there are so many people who don't have anybody and who are lonely. I complain about our apartment all the time - it's too small or it's too loud or there isn't enough privacy - when there are so many people who don't have anywhere to call home. And these things are just the beginning. I take so much for granted, and I rarely sit and think about people who are really in need, much less try to do anything about it.

When we lived in Thailand, we would go down to the "night bazaar" quite often. It was a really long street, lined with carts where Thai people would try to sell things to make a living. Many tourists would come to this area to eat, shop, get massages etc. One night when we were walking down the street, I saw a middle-aged woman sitting on the sidewalk, holding a very tiny baby. While we often passed homeless Thai people sitting around night bazaar, this woman caught my attention. So, I went and bought her some Thai food and gave it to her. I tried to talk to her with what little Thai I knew, and then I left. From then on, every time I would come to night bazaar, I would buy her some food, kneel down and talk to her and the baby for a few minutes, then walk away.

It wasn't very long before this started to seem frustrating to me. I knew that it helped her in that moment for me to give her some food, but what about after that. What about the next morning? Or the nights that we didn't go to night bazaar? What about when we would leave Thailand for good and I would never bring her food again? I felt so helpless.

I never did figure out how to reconcile this problem in my head or heart. And I don't know how to reconcile the problems I was thinking through last night. I know that I can pray for these people, and I need to learn that that's the main thing that people need anyway. But do you ever feel that you could never really do enough to make a difference in someone's life? Much less in the lives of so many millions of people who are in need.

In writing this I'm thinking that maybe I'm giving myself too much credit. I could never do enough to make these people's lives great. And what is great anyway? What standard am I measuring life by? I mean, I met people in remote villages in Thailand whom I would label as having a poor life just because they didn't have kitchens and bathtubs and stoves and beds. But, I know that many of them were happy, and had a life that was full of the Lord. That's all they needed.

Like I said, I don't know how to reconcile these thoughts. But I do know that I need Christ's fellowship in my life so that I can have a chance of keeping a humble, Christ-centered perspective. Thoughts?

in love:)

I just found my sweet husband browsing Target's online clearance items....for ME! He has spent the last hour or so looking at all the clearance items, and he picked me out a skirt, some ballet flats, and two dresses. Now, he's buying it all for me for $35.00. I am so in love:)

this weekend...and a tentative new blog topic

It has been such a great weekend! I just love weekends when I don't have a lot of plans...other than hanging out with J and O. This was one of those.

Friday night we did have a Sunday school Thanksgiving dinner. It was so much fun. We just started attending Sunday school a couple of months ago, and we love it! There are so many great people in our class, and we already feel so much more involved and at home in our church. We're so glad we started going. So, Friday night we went to our first "get-together" outside of class. We ate a great dinner and then played some games. We really enjoyed getting to know some people better and just hanging out and having fun!

Saturday morning we woke up and went to the gym. We finally decided it's too cold to run outside, so we joined a gym on Friday. We hadn't run in about a week because we've been doing the Shred DVD and because it's been so cold. I can't tell you how great it felt to get a good run in. I just enjoyed it so much, and now I'm so looking forward to going back, even though I'd much rather be running outside than on the t-mill. We came up with a new weekly workout schedule that will incorporate our runs and shredding.

Monday: Just shred
Tuesday: Go run/come home and shred
Wednesday: off - except for some small spurts of exercise I'll try to get during the day
Thursday: Go run/come home and shred
Friday: Just shred
Saturday: Go run/come home and shred
Sunday: off

The rest of Saturday we spent Christmas shopping and got some really good deals at Linen's and Things. I got a gift for my mom, stepdad, dad, grandpa, and J's dad. We felt so productive!

We finally finished the day off by seeing Twilight! I really enjoyed it. I read all the books and absolutely loved them...and I loved the movie. I will say this: I went into it with really low expectations - a. because of the ratings and b. because I knew it wouldn't be as good as the books. And it wasn't. But, I really enjoyed it, and J liked it too. I would definitely recommend seeing it, just remember to not expect SO much.

Today, we got up and went to early service. We then ran home to let O out of her kennel and change clothes. My dad's side of the family had Thanksgiving today, so we drove to my hometown to see them. I'm not that close to my dad's side of the family - I really only see them on holidays. Now that J and are married though, we don't even necessarily see them then. It's already hard to figure out how to see both my mom's side (who I am close to) and J's family. So, fitting in my dad's family doesn't usually work out...until now! Aside from a little expected awkwardness from being around family who you never see, it was pretty fun. On our way home we stopped by Target only to discover that they had some really cute dog clothes in the $2.50 bin. Yea! We got O some really cute little shirts, and two coats:) I'll post pictures later.

Since we got home tonight, I've been spending time planning our meals for this week. Every Sunday, I sit down and plan all of our meals through the next Sunday night. Then, on Monday I go buy groceries. I think this week is going to be great, but also hard. Wednesday after work, we're going to head to my hometown, be there through Thursday, then Thursday night head to see J's family, and stay there through Sunday. I'm so excited to spend time with our families...I love going to both our hometowns. But, I'm nervous about my week of eating. It's really kind of hard to track calories when you don't know what's in anything! That's why I love to prepare my own food. However, I am going to try to relax, follow my own tips posted below, and enjoy the holidays with family. The good thing is I was able to plan meals with ingredients that I already have through Wednesday lunch, so that means we won't have to spend any money on groceries this week! Yea!!

So, I'm thinking that since I'm enjoying Jillian's food plan so much, I should start sharing it more. I'm going to start trying to post some of the meals we eat throughout the week. Plus I think it would be good to have a more consistent subject for my blog, at least for awhile. We'll see how it works out these next few days!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

all tuckered out

Haha!! I'm not sure where this picture came from...J emailed it to me the other day. I love a good dog pic:)

Weight Watchers Wednesday

I can't believe it's already Wednesday again! Time is flying by so fast. I'm so happy that the holidays are just about in full swing!

Last night was date night so J and I took our usual trip to Chili's. We always drive around trying to pick a new, fun place to eat out, but we always end up back at Chili's. We just can't resist their chips and salsa for starters:) I always get the same thing - Chicken fajita pita: no sauce, salsa on the side, swap steamed veggies (with no butter) for fries. It really is so good!! and only 350 calories for the pita. It's really filling too...sometimes I can't even finish it.

After Chili's we headed for our second date night stop as usual - Big Lots. I don't know if I've mentioned before how much I hate stores like Big Lots. Now don't get me wrong, I love to find a good bargain. But, I strongly dislike junk, and I feel as if Big Lots tends a little toward the junky side. However, my sweet and wonderful husband LOVES bargain stores, even junky ones. Big Lots, Dollar Tree, Walls, you name it. Basically, if you don't shop at these stores, you're not a true member of my in-law's fam. I have to say I find this little trait quite endearing about them. But, I still hate junk.

Anyway, I've gotten used to going to Big Lots almost every date night. I figure that J strolls around in stores that aren't his favorite all the time, so I make an effort to be a good sport. Lo and behold (did I really just say that?) I think I'm even starting to like it:) While they had a lot of junk last night, they actually had a couple of cute things. First, we got our stockings. I decided we should just get cute, but cheaper stockings for now, and then when we start a family maybe we can spend a little more to get ones that match. These stockings are actually really cute...and they go with our decor quite well. We've decided to go with a sort of vintage look with our decorations this year, and these stockings are vintagy and cute! Second purchase was a new toy for Olive. If we leave her home for an evening, we always feel the need to bring her something special back. So, she got this crazy stuffed bird thing that has ropes for legs.


By an hour after we got home, she had already torn open its side and strewn the stuffing from one end of the house to the other. What a naughty dog:)

Anyway. We then went to Hobby Lobby to try to get ideas for homemade Christmas decorations. And we got so many ideas! I'll be sure and post pictures once we get them made. I'm pretty excited about them. I'm so thankful to have a husband who not only gets into decorating for Christmas, but also is super great at designing and creating great decor!

We finished date night off by watching The Biggest Loser. I'm a new fan of this show, but I love it already! It's so inspiring to see what these people can do and how it changes their lives. And, now that I've been spending the first part of every morning with Jillian, watching them suffer during workouts helps me to not feel so sorry for myself when I'm DYING. More on that in a moment. I was really sad when Coleen got voted off last night. I was hoping so badly that Amy C. would vote off Vicki. I try not to hold grudges against people and I wouldn't recommend that for anyone else, but Vicki is just so hard to get along with and mean sometimes....and Coleen is so sweet. I was just really disappointed. With 80's week and all it was a very entertaining show nonetheless.

So, back to Jillian. J and I moved up to the Level 2 workout of the 30 Day Shred on Monday. Oh my gosh. You guys, I'm not even exaggerating - I think I've almost died every morning this week. It was the single hardest workout I've ever done. She pushes you until you think you are seriously not going to make it. You should have seen me at the end - I was a rediculous mess sprawled out on the floor just trying to breathe. You have got to try this workout. It is so hard, but like Jillian says at one point during the workout: we may think she is a total crazy person, but the people she trains get results! I am so excited about the changes I can already see happening to my body just after 13 days.

Also, an update to a past post - I did end up ordering the Mio Motiva petite strapless heart rate monitor. It came in the mail yesterday, and I love it!! I'm always having to be near the computer to track my calories throughout the day, but now I can take my tracker with me everywhere I go! Also, I love knowing how many calories I'm burning during my workouts, so I know exactly how many are going in and how many I'm burning off. And of course it's great being able to know my heart rate during my workouts. During this morning's workout - I was at 94% of my maximum heart rate. I know that sounds crazy, but it's true...I could feel it in my heart. No pun intended. I'm beginning to wonder if what Jillian does to my heart is even healthy. Haha. But really.

Anyway...in regard to the title of this post - I lost another pound this week! Yea! I'm so excited to see it coming off bit by bit. So, I think I'll continue with Jillian's meals for another week. Here is what we are having for dinner tonight (as leftovers:)

Baked Lemon-Garlic Chicken with bell peppers and mashed cauliflower. So good! How did everyone else do this week? I'm a little concerned about this upcoming week b/c I already have 4 Thanksgiving dinners to attend - our Sunday School dinner, my dad's family, my mom's family, and J's family.

For Weight Watchers Wednesday I thought I'd share some tips that I've used in the past in order to not lose all my progress during hard times (like holidays):

• Don't expect perfection, but don't give up entirely either. Keep your goals in mind.
  
• Splurge only on things that you really love and don't usually have
• Be really careful about portion sizes. At home I use a miniature plate and fork, which helps a lot! Sometimes at holidays or special events I allow myself to have a few splurge items, but I eat very small portions of them. The first bites are always the best anyway.
• Remember that food is not the focus and happiness/fun are not found at the end of a fork:) Try to focus on the family and friends around you.
  
• Get in some exercise, even if it's several 10-15 minute walks with family members, some leg lifts, 2 minutes of jumping jacks several times a day etc.
• If you mess up, don't beat yourself up about it...this is a lifelong journey of being healthy. Just get right back on track with your next bite. Mess ups usually aren't as bad as we think they are.
  

I hope these are helpful...I'm counting on them to help me out throughout this next week!

I think that's all for now. Sorry this post was so random. There's just lots of random stuff going on right now.

Oh, and I read several blog posts today about people getting the weird emails, so I'm going to stop using our real names on here... just in case you were wondering about the initials.

Happy Wednesday!!

Ahhh Mondays....

Today has unfortunately been kind of a blah day. I'm not sure why. I'm a nanny to a 6 month old baby boy. We'll call him H. Basically, I pick him up at his house at about 7:45 in the morning....bring him to my house, and then his mom picks him up at about 5. It's really a great set-up....and he is adorable! It's given me a little taste of what it will be like to be a stay-at-home mom someday.

I love being at home, but let me tell ya...it can be harder than you would think. I've always thought that staying at home sounded sooo easy and relaxing. I dreamed of getting tons of stuff done, always having the house perfect and the laundry done....and spending all of my spare time organizing, doing fun crafts, and staying caught up with friends and family.

Some days are just like this. Some days are not. Today is not. I've just felt really tired today. The thing about staying at home is that you have to be your own boss. You have to be disciplined enough to a. come up with the tasks that need to be done b. complete the tasks c. use spare time wisely. This is not always easy. When H is awake we eat, we play, we play, we change his diaper, and we play some more. However, when he is asleep, it is up to me what I do with that time. And today I have not used it wisely. I've basically been blogging all morning...and I took a 30 minute nap at about 10am. Now, you may be thinking you'd love to take a nap at 10am, but it's different when you actually have the oppotunity. Now I feel unproductive and even more tired. So there - that's a description of my morning so far, and of what it "can be like" to be a stay-at-home "mom." Any advice from real stay-at-home mom's on how you stay motivated and disciplined to be on task every day?

New subject. I recieved my very first blogger award!!


I'm so excited. It was so sweet of lyndsau over at All things Fluffy, Fashionable and Famous to think of me. Her kind words encourage me to keep this thing going, even when I don't really think anybody would want to read. Her blog is adorable!! You should definitely check it out if you haven't already. I want to pass this on to:

Danica at the chic runner - I absolutely love this blog. Every single time I read it I just want to lace up my shoes and go for a run....and I'm always going back for more. Love it.

Amy at Chapters - This girl is so down to earth and so inspirational at the same time. She is so genuine, and her posts are always either super funny, super insightful...or both!

Notquiteabride at How Sweet It Is - If you want fun and fashionable ideas for your wedding...look no further. It's exciting to see her go through this fun stage of life!

I'd love to continue on with some more randomness, but the little one just woke up so I think I'll go buy groceries instead! I'm excited to start a new week with all new Jillian meals! A glimpse of my planned meals this week - Almond crusted shrimp w/ steamed carrots and cauliflower, Open faced spinach and feta melt w/hummus and broccoli, and Baja Chicken wrap with corn and avocado. Yummm! More updates on that later.

WWW

So, as mentioned a few posts ago, I've taken a temporary hiatus from Weight Watchers to do Jillian Michael's online food plan. I had already decided to do her 30 Day Shred Video, so I thought it would be fun to change it up and do her food plan with it. I've really been enjoying it. I have made several great meals including: open faced hummus, olive, cucumber sandwich with walnut/cinnamon ricotta, chicken and veggie couscous salad and Jalapeno lime chicken with black beans and mexican coleslaw. Yummmm! I did make one meal (shrimp and black bean salad) that was a bit of a disappointment flavor wise, but I'd say one mediocre meal over the course of one week of bfasts, lunches and dinners isn't too shabby! Pics of meals still to come.

Also, to report in for WWW, I lost 1 lb! Now, for some that would not be very exciting. But, let me tell you, when you are nearing the end of your weight loss journey...with just a few measly lbs left to go, you will celebrate every single ounce that comes off! And I do. Some weeks I even celebrate maintaining. I just keep telling myself I'll get there eventually.

And, to update you on the 30 Day Shred video: I've been doing it for seven days now. I'm still on level one and it never ceases to kick my butt. And I'm still loving it! I can definitely see a difference in my muscle tone, especially in my arms. I can't wait to see what the results are at the end of the month!

Unrelated to WWW, I stumbled upon this blog today. When I say stumbled, I mean I really have absolutely no idea what path led me to this gem of inspiration. I love fashion, and I love trying new things and attempting to be stylish. However, I feel like God did not bless me with one ounce of natural ability at knowing how to put trendy, cute outfits together. But, He did bless Jessica at "What I Wore." This girl is so cute and so fashionable. I hope that some of her style know-how just might rub off on me if I keep up with her blog. We'll see. You should definitely check it out if you haven't already.

That's all for now. Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday!

decisions, decisions....

Okay, so Jon accuses me of being indecisive on a regular basis. Now, I've always thought that I was really decisive. I'm starting to think that was only because my mom and sister are extremely indecisive. Ex: my sister couldn't decide whether to go live in Thailand for the year or not. Now, obviously, this was a really huge decision. I mean, Jon and I knew for a year before we left that we were going to go. My sis, Cristen, decided THE DAY BEFORE WE GOT ON THE PLANE that she was actually going to go. I'm not even kidding. Then, when it was time to decide whether we were staying a second year or not, after much stress and deliberation she finally decided to stay another year. So, she came home to raise more support....and two weeks after she got to the U.S. SHE CHANGED HER MIND! Insane, I know. So, she went back to Thailand after "(not) raising support to say goodbye to everyone and get her stuff, then a month later - back to the U.S. for good. Now you may be wondering why I told you all that - and I'm not really sure. I think just because her indecisiveness is so outrageous!!

You can see, though, why I may have always believed that I'm a decisive person. Now...to the point of this post. My dad gave me a $100 birthday gift card to amazon.com in August. Yes, August. And I still haven't used it. Do you have any idea how hard it is to decide how to spend $100 on amazon? I mean....there is just a whole world of options! First, there were a few books that I thought I'd get. But I decided to wait just to be sure. That passed. Next, workout clothes. After that, black boots. After that, a nice, everyday watch. You see the pattern.

Well, I have a new item on the mind. As I said in a previous post, I was surfing around the blog world a few days ago...and I landed on this

the Chic Runner poster this on her blog with a great description of all the wonderful features. This little watch does so many amazing things. It has a heart rate monitor, alarm, 5 different timers and a personalized face where you can put your name/initials/whatever. Also, it will tell you how many calories you've burned during a workout. You can track the calories you consume throughout the day and it will give you a running total of calories in vs. calories out. I'm sure I'm forgetting something it does...because there is just so much! If you buy the above model, then 10% goes to Susan G. Komen. There is another model that has all the same features, but it is a petite version so it's smaller.

I want this amazing watch mostly because it's a strapless heart rate monitor, which I've wanted for a long time. All the other features would just be a huge bonus! If I decide to get it, I'll probably go with the petite version because I have pretty small wrists and some of the amazon reviews said that this one might be a little big for smaller wrists.

So, what's the problem you ask? I just can't seem to make the final decision. I mean, it's extremely rare that I have a$100 to spend on almost anything. So, I'm just having trouble committing! What to do, what to do. Any thoughts?

Christmas is coming!

I'm so excited about the rapidly approaching holiday season! I can't believe it is coming so fast. Last year we were in Thailand, and the holidays looked quite a bit different than usual, especially since the Thais don't recognize Thanksgiving or Christmas as being different than any other normal day. The holidays were still fun and meaningful...and I'm so happy that I'll always have those memories. It was really hard to be away from family, though. I'm a big "traditions" person and our traditions also looked a little different. Here are a few pics from the holidays in Thailand.

I almost died of heat exhaustion (no a/c in our kitchen +gas stove+100 degree weather=not a good atmosphere for cooking!) making a casserole and homemade rolls for our team Thanksgiving dinner


Thanksgiving dinner - Thai style:)

Celebrating Loy Kratong Festival with two of my favorite Thais

During Loy Kratong, the Thais send these lanterns into the sky in an effort to get rid of troubles/sins in their lives. Our Christian Thai friends don't believe this, but because it's such a big part of their culture they go to the festival and have lots of fun!

Our stockings (mine, my sisters, Jon's) and gifts


Our very humble Christmas tree. It was really just a potted plant, but I think we made it pretty festive!
My sweet husband on Christmas morning (your wish list changes just a bit when you're living overseas:)
The "Happy Birthday Jesus" cake I made for our team Christmas to carry on the tradition from Christmas at my Grandma's

We rounded out the Christmas holiday by spending a few days in the village with our Thai friends
For a Christmas Village outreach we presented the Jesus film - this cute little baby showed up to watch!

All loaded up for the 4 hour drive to the village!

Jon participating in street aerobics with the villagers. This is the kind of thing you have to love about Thailand:)

We went to church before we left the village. After church, they had lunch and an auction and some of our team bid on and won this chicken! Ha! Again, only in Thailand. In the picture is our teammate Tricia and my sister (right).

There was lot more to the holiday season than I could show you here, but those are a few of my more vivid memories. Probably the only Christmas on which Jon and I will go to the post office at 8 am Christmas morning in shorts and a tshirt to get packages from family...and then them not be there! I have a video of this, but I currently can't find it. Anyway.

I started thinking about Christmas today because I really want to start decorating our apartment soon. We don't have very many decorations, so I thought it would be really fun to make some. I want them to look classy, not so much homemade. Does anybody have any ideas??

RLS and Running

So, I've joked with Jon for some time now about having restless leg syndrome. I really have felt like I've had it at times, but it also seems like one of those things that people just make up or something. Am I the only one that thinks that? For the last couple of years, my legs just get really restless at night sometimes. Not every night, just randomly. So I'd say "I have RLS" in a really whiny voice, and we'd both laugh....but I'd struggle to lay still for the next half hour until I fell asleep. Sometimes it would also happen on long road trips or times when I would have to be still or confined for an extended period of time.

Anyway - for the last several nights it has been really bad. I was in tears last night because it was so frustrating! It so hard to describe how it feels - but I just can't stay still. Sometimes Jon will try to just massage my lower legs, which does bring relief, but only while they're being massaged. Can't blame him for not wanting to give up an hour of sleep to rub my legs while I try to sleep. I feel like such a freak.

So, in the midst of spazzing (sp?) out last night, I decided to do a little internet research into this crazy problem. I actually found quite a lot of info. Two things that interested me most were:

a. One possible cause of RLS is anemia (iron deficiency)
b. Taking an iron supplement can possible reduce the symptoms

This was a great find because

a. I've been diagnosed as being anemic - once in high school when I tried to give blood and once when I had a physical right before leaving for Thailand
b. I have an iron supplement already. My sweet MIL was kind enough to ship it to me when we were living in Thailand. I just haven't been taking it because I misplaced it in our move back to the U.S.

So, I immediately popped one in last night (after finding it in our medicine cabinet - you can tell I really wanted to find it before:) hoping to find semi immediate relief. While I still have not found relief (as I am about to die of frustration in writing this post), I'm hoping that if I stay consistent in taking them, maybe relief will come!

Has anybody else had problems with RLS or something similar?

On to happier things. Jon and I had a wedding to go to tonight, which was quite fun by the way. We got home fairly early though and decided to just relax and do nothing for the evening...which for me means blogging! So, I was surfing around, and I stumbled upon some wonderful running blogs. I would love to give them credit right here and now, but my restless legs are not going to allow me to sit still long enough to finish this post, much less go back and copy/paste url's for the great sites I found. You can look at the blog list in my sidebar to find them if you're interested...and I'll hopefully be in better shape to list them another time.

Anyway...these blogs were so inspiring. Some gave great style tips for runners, some great running tips and some just stories and experiences of running.

I love to run. I've mentioned it before, but I started running back in January when I started training for my random half marathon. In the past if anybody asked me about running I would tell them that I hated it. I hated to run just to run. However, in training for the half I found such a love for just good ole' running. Sometimes it's fun and I feel like I'm flying, othertimes it's all I can do to just keep putting one foot in front of the other, but regardless I love it.

After the 15k that Jon (my running buddy and sweet sweet husband) and I recently ran in, I've been slacking off. We went for one pretty short run this past week, and it was a really tough one. For some reason, I've just not felt like getting out there. Maybe it has to do with the onset of colder weather - I'm not sure. Either way, I've felt somewhat of a burden on my shoulders bc of the lack of runs lately.

Reading these blogs tonight though, made me realize that I think I've forgotten to remember and focus on the joy of running. The way I can just zone out and think of nothing (which is impossible at any other time of day.) The way I can plan and dream of future aspirations - when I'm running I always feel as if I can accomplish anything. The excitement and inspiration I get from my running playlists, beautiful sunrises, pretty trees etc. So many things I love.

So, I thank the wonderful running blogs for helping me get geared up to hit the pavement again. I can't wait to get up bright and early tomorrow morning and get in a nice long jog before church. Oh, how I love the blog world.

WWW...and some changes

Yea for Weight Watchers Wednesday!! Hop over to Make Mine a Mojito to see her WWW post when you get a chance.
As for me - I've had quite the struggle these past couple of weeks. I've just had such a hard time staying on plan. I think I've become a little bit bored with the meals I always eat. Also, I think I need to mix up my workout some. I've been running since last January. My husband and I first trained for a half marathon, then we went down to a 5k for Race for the Cure. Last, we ran a 15k a couple of weeks ago. I'd highly recommend a 15k, by the way. It's not too far and not too short. It doesn't take quite as much time or training as a half marathon. I also have done weight training off and on.
I think maybe my body has become accustomed to running and so it's not being pushed anymore. So, I found a dvd by Jillian Michaels the other day. She is the trainer on Biggest Loser. I've only watched a couple of episodes of BL, but I thought I'd try the dvd anyway. So far, I've done it twice....and I can barely move. This is the DVD.
It incorporates circuit training by having three minutes of weight training (with free weights), then two minutes of cardio, then one minute of abs. She does this rotation three times. I didn't think 20-25 minutes (includes warm up and cool down) of working out would really do much for me, but she pushes you so hard and doesn't give you any breaks. The first time I did it I went for a twenty minute jog first. She recommends doing this video every day for 30 days, and while I plan on doing that I don't want to give up running for the next month. So, I'll probably try to do both most days. Anyway. I'm really hoping this will give me a little extra momentum so that MAYBE I'll be able to get off these last 10 lbs! I think my biggest problem is that I don't always believe that I can actually get to my goal. I'll probably never be able to until I actually believe I can - so I'll be working on that for sure.

Anyway...so the crazy thing I've decided to do is to follow her eating plan for 30 days as well. Now, let me clarify something - I love Weight Watchers. I know that WW is a plan that I can do for the rest of my life. It is realistic and flexible...and it works. But, like I said earlier, I think I'm just getting a little bored. I've been doing WW for two years now. After reading Jillian's food plan, I decided that it might be refreshing to try new meals that are pre-thought out for me. I know, I know, I could just mix up my meals and keep doing WW, but even though I usually would shy away from a plan that tells you everything to eat, I think it may be just what I need to get to my goal. I just really want to go hard-core and push myself to get this last ten off. I've also been having trouble planning food and deciding what to eat, so hopefully it will help with that problem as well. So, today was my first full day following her food plan...and it was so good! I didn't get hungry all day, and Jonathan even loved the dinner I made. I think it will be a good temporary change, but I plan on going back to counting points at the end of the month.

I'm a little scared to try something new like this, but I think I just need a change for a little while.
I'll letcha know how it all works out. But, in the meantime, if anybody is looking for an at-home dvd that doesn't take much time, but is very challenging I would highly recommend Jillian's workout.

That's all for now. I've been having a little blogging trouble. I just haven't felt very inspired lately. Hopefully I'm just going through a dry spell. Here's to hoping that my blogging juices start flowing again soon!!!