Colorado Mama

The World's Best Energy Bar Recipe Ever

2011-11-18T06:15:00.003-07:00

Please take a minute to check out my food blog and find the best energy bar recipe ever. I have to be careful when I make these because I will eat the whole thing at once and not save any for the family. This weekend I will have to make a triple batch to keep everyone happy.

Hunger Games

2011-11-17T20:17:00.004-07:00

If you have not read the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and I HIGHLY recommend this book. I finished this book in about 3 days because I could not put it down. Of course after I finished the first book I had to get the second and third one in the trilogy to wrap up the story. I know if I say anything about this book I will give many parts of it away but I can only describe this book as horrific, captivating and amazing.

I also just found out that the made a movie out of it that comes on in late March and I just watched the trailor and all I have to stay is "Oh my goodness!!!" I cannot wait for the movie. This is a MUST MUST MUST read book.
Have you read the Hunger Games?

Southwest Airlines

2011-10-06T05:21:00.000-06:00

I have been wanting to try flying Southwest Airlines for a long time because of their low prices and no fees for bags. Most of our flying normally is from Gunnison or Denver to Newark, NJ to see Joe’s family and at the time Southwest did not fly to Newark. This time however we were flying to Norfolk, to enjoy an O’Connell Family Beach Vacation in the Outer Banks, North Carolina.
I have to say that I LOVED flying Southwest. I am now a HUGE Southwest fan. Booking the airfare online was super easy and no stress. Then we arrived at the Denver Airport at 5am and we checked our 3 big bags at the curbside check in. At that time of the morning Southwest was the only one open for curb side check in. We had 4 people flying and could have checked 8 bags for FREE. We only check 3 but still it was so nice not to have to pay $75 for the bags.

In regards to boarding it was easy as well. With Southwest you are not assigned a seat. On your boarding pass it tells you when you board. There are 3 groups, A, B and C. I checked in the day before but I was never right on the 24 hour mark and for 3 of the 4 flights we were in the B group and one flight was the A group. Also since Lily is under 5 so we were able to board right after the A group but before the B group. Also, I don’t know what it is but by doing boarding this way everyone boarded the flight so fast. Normally on other airlines it takes a good 30 plus minutes to board the plane but everyone was boarded and we were pulling away from the gate in less than 20 minutes – Go Southwest!

Normally we fly United because United is the only airline that flies in and out of Gunnison year around. Over the past couple of years we have been flying out of other airports, and flying on other airlines because flying out of Gunnison is very expensive for a family of 4. Southwest has all airlines beat in regards to space in the cabin in the economy section. Southwest has all of the same seating, no first class, business class, economy plus, nothing like that. All of the seats are the same and all have plenty of foot room. I am a very short person, 5’3 ¼” and to me United has the least amount of space. If the person in front of me puts their seat back I cannot cross my legs. Southwest has plenty of leg room. The person could put their seat back and it did not bother me in the least. I could still lean over to grab my bag under the seat and cross my legs.

I do not have anything bad to say about flying Southwest. Now that they started flying to Newark you can better believe that my family will be regular Southwest fliers.

Check Southwest out at http://www.southwest.com/.

Have any of you flown Southwest before? Do you like them/ hate them/ indifferent?

Handies Peak - Mikayla's FIRST 14er!!!!

2011-09-04T19:33:00.001-06:00

This weekend Mikayla, my 6 year old, did her first 14er. I am SO SO SO proud of her. We went with my friend, Sherri, her husband, Tom, and their daughter Lydia, who is 9 and was also doing her first 14er.

There are two ways up Handies. If you stop at the first parking lot I believe it is an 8 mile hike round trip. We went to the second parking lot and came up the other side of Handies. This made it about 5.3ish miles round trip. Overall I am told the way we did it was steeper but shorter. Mikayla was a little trouper.

She was tough and only until the very last push did she start to break down. It was getting steep and she started crying. At this point we were so close to the top that I was not going to let her stop and call it a day. I was more than willing to take lots and lots of breaks to get the the top but Tom offered to give her a piggy back ride to the top and of course she took it.

Here is a picture of us. She made it to the top at 14048 feet.

Shortly after we got to the top a man that we had passed on the way up showed up. This is a picture of the youngest person (6 years old) and the oldest person (70) on the peak!

A picture of the six of us.

Mikayla getting her ride to the top.

Taking a break before we made the final push to the top.

This is not a great picture but on the drive back to Lake City there was a bunch of cars pulled over. This is a bad picture of a MOOSE!! I have lived in Colorado for 14 years and I have never seen a moose. I have heard there are some around Lake City and up in Crested Butte we will hear about someone seeing one every few years or so but this is the first moose that I have ever seen. He was happy to just walk around and munch on the willows - he did not care at all that we were all standing above him taking pictures. It was wonderful.

Weekend Trip to Glenwood Springs

2011-08-28T13:50:00.000-06:00

This past Friday Joe and I headed to Glenwood Springs without the girls. We have never left them with someone else. For the past 6 years either Joe or I have always been with them. So, they are ready to hang out at a friend's house all weekend while we went and had some fun!

We spent the night a Hotel Denver right in downtown Glenwood Springs. Friday night we enjoyed dinner at the Riviera Restaurant and then we played a round of mini golf. Saturday morning we slept in and it was nice to not wake up to Lily crawling into bed with us. We went to breakfast at Rosi's Little Bavarian Restaurant where I had Eggs Netupe. I really wanted to try some of their homemade cinnamon rolls, pastries or just a slice of cake but I was too full! After breakfast we headed over to the Yampa Spa. The Yampa Spa had vapor caves which Joe and I love going to. Finally after relaxing at the Spa we headed out for a hike. We hiked to Hanging Lake. It was super steep 1.5 mile hike from the parking lot. In about 1 mile we gained over 1000 feet which equals about a 16% grade. Joe and I were starting to get crunched for time so even though we were passing lots of the people on the trail and hauling a** it still took us about 45 minutes to get to the top. It was worth it. The lake is just beautiful. After heading back to the car we stopped at Rib City for some excellent BBQ. The BBQ was the best I have had in a long time.

I wish I had tons and tons of pictures to show you but even though we took the camera with us we never had it one us so we did not take any pictures. Click on the links above to get an idea.

Day 4 - 1 Mile

2011-08-26T11:20:00.000-06:00

I am starting to worry that I am not going to hit 21 miles this week. I did one mile run yesterday and a weight workout. I was suppose to get up early and go for an early morning run but that did not happen today. I am going to try and get some more miles in the weekend but since Joe and I are going away for the night I don't know if that will happen or not.

Day 3 - 8 Miles

2011-08-25T06:45:00.000-06:00

Yep - I did some catching up today. I did 5 miles first thing this morning and then another slow 3 miles at lunch. Now I have a bank of some miles towards my goal of 21 miles this week. I need this bank since my hubby and I are going out of town Friday night and I don't know if I will be able to get 3 miles in on Saturday.

Day 2 - 1.25 Miles

2011-08-24T08:49:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I only did a 1.25 mile run because I also wanted to get in a quick weight workout. I wanted to finish the other miles up after work but that did not happen as well. I did catch up today because I was able to get in a 5 mile run this morning before work. I am also hoping to get in another few miles at lunch so I can stock up! My hubby and I are going away on Friday night. This is the first time in the last 6 years (since we had kids) that we have ever left them with a friend/babysitter over night so we are due!

Day 1 - 3.03 Miles

2011-08-22T20:21:00.002-06:00

I had hoped to run first thing in the morning and then get another couple of miles in at lunch but I decided to sleep in instead! I did have a great 3 miles and my pace was 9:45 which is fast for me.

Running and Blogging

2011-08-22T08:23:00.000-06:00

One thing I have noticed with this blog is that when I am running good and strong I blog a lot more and when I slack off on running the blog lags behind as well. As you can guess I have not been running as much as I would like to be right now. I head out for a long run and my mind is just not in it. I have been mountain biking a few time instead of running and I am LOVING that. Two weekends ago I went mountain biking on the hill behind Western (as I call it - I don't think it has a name!) I did over 11 miles on the mountain bike and I only saw one other person the whole time. It was awesome.

Over the next 7 days I am going to try to average at least 3 miles a day for a total of 21 miles. I really want to loose a couple of pounds (who doesn't!) mostly because we are going on a beach vacation in a few weeks and I have put on a few pounds. I am going to post daily as to whether or not I did this. Hopefully my doing committing to daily updates I will keep running and keep posting.

Backpacking Trip with Mikayla

2011-08-20T08:23:00.000-06:00

Last weekend my friend Sherri and I took our daughters backpacking. Sherri is the pro backpacker so I just put on my pack and follow her lead. We took the girls to Boulder Lake outside of Ohio City. It was a hard hike with 2 miles of steep uphill but the girls survived with very little complaining. Mikayla was strong and had no tears! The hike was 7 miles round trip and we had beautiful views during the hike.

Here is Mikayla and Lydia. Lydia is 9 years old and they are best buds.

Our campsite.

On our way home my friend Sherri made a comment that she could easily go backpacking again the next day. I had to say that my shoulders needed to recover first! I was sore and tired on Monday and Tuesday but it was worth it. I love the fact that I can take my 6 year old backpacking and all of the memories she will have of these trips. Joe was upset that he wasn't allowed to come but Lily said she wants to go next year.

Killer Workout

2011-07-07T10:35:00.000-06:00

Head over to Run, Eat, Date, Sleep to check out the guest post I did. I have never done a guest post before so this was fun to put together.

Trip to Denver

2011-06-28T10:49:00.000-06:00

About two weeks ago we headed to Denver to see Joe's parents. They live in New Jersey but they flew into Denver to see us. His Dad is not big on the altitude of Gunnison so we decided to meet in Denver. This also makes it a vacation for us as well.

Even though it was actually hotter in Gunnison than Denver we spent as much time as possible at the pool. Or I should say that Joe and the girls spent as much time as possible at the pool.

We went to the Children's Museum of Denver. This was awesome! Here are the girls standing on a rock rattlesnake.

Grandpa Joe driving the fire truck.

They had the really cool exhibit that was a green with tunnels and holes. Just a real tree. Here is Lily dressed up like a possum.

Lily LOVED shopping in the market. Then she went next door to cook with the food she just bought. Mikayla loved the art area the best.

If you have real young kids they have the perfect play room for them. We checked it out.

The one thing my family does not have is any good pictures of all of us. I had Joe's mom take a few and this was the best out of all of them.

Joe took Mikayla and his dad to a Rockies game. Mikayla had a blast.

Lily sleeping in the big king size bed that her and I shared.

Mikayla has now lost 3 teeth! Isn't she cute!!

Pictures of the Sage Burner

2011-05-31T12:06:00.000-06:00

The Gunnison County Times has pictures of the Sage Burner here. Now you can see some of the terraine I was running on.

Also, head over to Jesse at Love of All Things Hills and Trails to check out her 50K Race report for the Sage Burner. She did awesome!!

Sage Burner 25K

2011-05-29T08:27:00.000-06:00

I did it! I ran the 25K Sage Burner at Hartman Rocks. The first 3 to 4 miles were tough but then the uphill mellowed out and after another mile or so it was a long, mellow downhill with a few ups but not as steep as the beginning. At the last aid station I rested for a few minutes and then I headed out to finish it up. The weather was perfect. Towards the end of the run it was getting windy but the wind was either pushing me towards the finish or it was cooling me down. I wanted to do this run in under 4 hours and I crossed the finish line at 4 hours and 1 minute with a total mileage of 16.25 miles. I would have done it under 4 hours but right after Jack's the course went down Collarbone Alley and that was so steep that I almost had to sit down to go down the super steep hills.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. When Joe and the girls dropped me off in the morning we forgot the camera and then when Joe was taking pictures at the end of the race after one picture the memory card was full!

Would I do this race again? Yesterday I would have said no but today I think I would. Do I want to do the 50K Sage Burner - not at this time =).

Girl in Translation, a review

2011-05-26T09:43:00.001-06:00

Recently I had the opportunity to review, Girl in Transalation, by Jean Kwok through the Blogher Book Club. I truly loved this story and I could not put it down. I am also the type of person who loves to read the same books again and again and that is just what I am thinking about doing with this one! Please take a minute to read my review.
Let me know what you think. Has anyone else had the opportunity to read this story yet?

I did it!

2011-05-20T10:48:00.000-06:00

Well - I did it. I paid the money and signed up for the 25K Sage Burner Trail Run. I am nervous about signing up for it but as long as I finish in under 5 hours I will be happy! Now I gotta find some goodies to stock my running vest with to keep me going.

Sage Burner - Can I do it?

2011-05-15T08:41:00.000-06:00

I have been training to run the Sage Burner at the end of May. This is a 25K trail run where the first 3 miles is all UPHILL and it is a long and tough uphill.

Yesterday I headed out to do about 14 miles of this race as a test run. I wanted to bail the first 4.5 miles. I was so ready to turn around and head back. It was also hot outside. I know I should not complain about the heat because in Gunny hot is 70 or 75. But I was in the desert and sage brush so it seemed much hotter than it actually was. I was glad when the clouds moved in.

At one point I took a cutoff because I did not want to do the entire 15.5 mile run. I was walking up just about every single uphill, no matter how small, on the downhills at the end my knee was bothering me and I kept thinking am I really up for this???

I have also found out that the race is closer to 17 miles not 15.5. If I knew for a fact that this race was 15.5 miles I would be ready for it - it would be long and hard but I could handle it - but 17?! I just don't know.

This was also the longest, and slowest run I have ever done. 12.43 miles in 2 hours and 55 minutes at a pace of 14:04.

For the last three weekends I have done long, hard trail runs so maybe I am burnt out and need a week off. I want to take a few days off and then head back out to Hartman's and do the first couple of miles again and see how it goes. If it is easier I will fill better about the whole thing.

Signal Peak Trail Run

2011-05-14T15:12:00.000-06:00

Last weekend I ran to Signal Peak and back. Signal Peak is accessed by the trail system behind Western State College or you can also access it from the Tomichi Heights subdivision east of town. I have lived in Gunnison for almost 14 years and I have never made it to Signal Peak but I have always wanted to.

Most of the run was pretty easy with a slow and steady uphill until the last 3/4 of a mile. At this point the trail was going straight up and it was too steep to run and so I was hiking at this point.

It was wonderful to stand on top and say "I DID IT!" It was awesome. The total run was 11.70 miles and took me about 2 and a half hours. I felt great at the end and I loved every minute of the run mostly because the weather was so nice and this was the first warm /hot run of the season.

New Layout

2011-05-13T14:12:00.000-06:00

Do you like the new layout? Do you like the colors? I was playing around with the layout today and thought I could use a change since I have had the same layout since I started this blog over 5 YEARS ago. Let me know what you think.

Best Brownies EVER

2011-05-06T09:41:00.000-06:00

I forgot to post the links to the best brownie recipe. Click here to head over to my food blog to find out more.

April Miles

2011-05-06T09:20:00.000-06:00

My goal for the month of April was to do 60 miles. Well, I came up short and did 45.6 miles. This month I have the same goal but I am pretty sure I will be able to run 60 miles because I have a 25K (15.5 mile) race at the end of May and I need to get in a 10 to 11 mile and a 12 to 13 mile long run before the race. With those 3 runs I will hit 37 miles easy.

Now that May is here the weather is getting nicer outside so hopefully, keep your fingers crossed, no more running in the snow!

Awesome Giveaway

2011-04-28T14:08:00.000-06:00

Head on over to Tall Mom on the Run and check out the awesome giveaway she is hosting. I could REALLY, REALLY, REALLY use some of this stuff.

Food Blog

2011-04-28T10:40:00.000-06:00

I just posted some great recipes on my food blog - Farmer's Cheese and Yogurt and Spelt Crackers.

Tomorrow I am posting on my food blog about some AMAZING brownies I made. They are truly the best brownies EVER!

Ipod Runner

2011-04-11T13:38:00.000-06:00

For years now I have always run with my Ipod. If for some reason I left it at home or the battery was dead that run would be awful. Lately though I have been leaving it at home more and more often and the thing is, is that I am enjoying my runs more and since I am actively thinking about my run I am pushing myself to run faster than usual.

So, do you run with or without an Ipod?

10K Sage Grouse Race

2011-04-10T08:33:00.000-06:00

10K race turned into a 7 mile race. This race was TOUGH. It was so windy it was almost pushing me backwards at times. I tried to beat my sister's time but it was too windy to consider that. Her race was also fairy flat and my was hilly.

Another thing, how many of you have ever ran a race that was what it was suppose to be in length? I can understand a race going a little over the distance it is suppose to be but come on - this 10K was almost an extra 3/4 of a mile! All of the races I have ever done have been a little bit longer than they were suppose to be - never have they been shorter. I wonder if my sister's race was shorter than a 10K - I just say this b/c I know what her pace is and it is not 9:40. - Sorry Sara. But for now I will just suck it up and admit that she is faster than me.

My overall time for the 7 miles was 1 hour and 14 minutes - an average pace of 10:40ish. For me, especially with the wind, that was pretty darn good.

Updated - March Running Miles - CHALLENGE

2011-04-01T08:50:00.000-06:00

Yesterday as I did my post and realized that I needed less than 2.5 miles to hit 50 I decided that I HAD to hit 50 for March. So after work I did another 2.5 miles. The last mile was the best mile I have ever run because Mikayla did it with me! I picked her up from dance and asked if she wanted to run 1 mile with me and she was up for it. Our pace the last mile was between 11 and 12 minute mile with only walking a very little bit. I am so proud of her!

So my running totals for March are 50.15 and April I am challenging myself to run 60 miles. Anyone care to join me?

93 Miles in March - Did I do it?

2011-03-31T13:21:00.005-06:00

Tall Mom challenged her readers to run 93 miles in March or 3 miles per day. I knew that I would not hit 93 but I was thinking I could do 50 or 60 miles. On her site she allows us to count running, walking, swimming or biking miles. For biking miles you convert it to running miles so it takes me about 5 minutes to bike 1 mile and 10 minutes to run 1 mile so 2 biking miles = 1 running mile.

I ran 47.65 miles in March. Man - I wish I would have looked at this before I went to lunch today. I did not feel like running but if I knew I was this close to 50 I would have made it happen.

My total miles (counting walking and biking) for March are 70.60 miles. I though this would have been closer to the 93 miles.

I am going to challenge myself to run 60 miles in April and have a total number of miles of 80. I enjoyed this challenge because it was not as overwhelming as it could have been.

Running

2011-03-18T13:22:00.002-06:00

I am slowly getting back into running but I am just not loving it the way I use to. I really think my problem is that I am already tired of running the same old streets that I have been running for years. Also, I am not training or focusing on anything. I am anxiously waiting for the trails around Gunny to melt so that I can start trail running again.

The Sage Burner is a 25K or 15.5 mile race at Hartman Rocks that I am thinking about training for. I thought about doing this last year but running at Hartman's is tough because it is a lot more uphill than you think it is. I think if I start focusing on that it might give me the boost I need.

My only concern with running the Sage Burner (other than the hills) is that it is a cupless race and I will need a good running camel back. In the past I have used the same camel back for running that I use for mountain biking and I hate it. It is heavy, big and rubs on my arms.

93 Miles in March?!?!?!

2011-03-04T20:00:00.001-07:00

Tall Mom hit me with a March challange to run 93 Miles this month or 3 miles a day. Of course I signed up. I can count my walking and biking miles and since the weather is getting nicer (bearing any snow storms of course) I should be able to do this. Running 93 miles this month will be difficult but maybe 50? My back is better, my foot is better - maybe this is the challenge I need to get back on track. But it is also March 2nd and so far I am behind by 1.5 miles.

Silly Lily

2011-03-03T07:46:00.001-07:00

In our house Lily is often called "Silly Lily." She will even call herself that. The other night I put her PJ's on for bedtime and she said that she wanted to be a princess when she woke up but she couldn't because I took off her princess stickers. So I said "How about you wear your princess nightgown to bed so in the morning she will be a princess?" She agreed to this so she went to bed in her PJ's and her princess nightgown on top.

When she woke up in the morning she said she did not have her princess wings on but she wanted to wear her bumblebee costume. That was also my day off and I thought she looked so cute I never even bothered to dress here. We went to Mikayla's school, the library, grocery store and Dad's work dressed like this:

I know - too many pictures - but she is too cute!

Talented Mikayla

2011-03-02T19:54:00.004-07:00

Mikayla decided she wanted to audition for the talent show this year. Remember she is only in kindergarten. Joe and I were not sure what her talent was but after talking about it we decided she should memorize two very short poems.

Mikayla made the talent show and went to practice every day. She worked very hard on her poems. We video taped her preformance and here it is on youtube. You have to watch the youtube video because it is so cute. I am so proud of her and I can only image what will happen next year!

She is always making silly faces for the camera.

What Have I Been Doing???

2011-02-24T09:38:00.002-07:00

It has been a little while since I blogged so I figured I would update you on what has been going on with me.

Running - I have been trying super hard to get back to running but it is a slow process. My foot is much better - YEA! But now my back is acting up. I feel like I am complaining and my boyd is falling apart which is not me but that is what is happening. My hips have decided that they don't want to sit right and keep going out. On Monday I had a great run and workout and then I spent the evening on the couch. But my hips are back in so I am going for a run on Friday and we will see how it goes.

Mikayla - Mikayla is going to be in the talent show. She is going to recite some poems. She has her poems memorized and has been going to practice. The talent show is on Friday and I am so excited for her. She is not worried at all. She is my social butterfly and makes friends everywhere she goes.

Lily - Lily is doing great and is so funny. She was looking at a magazine the other day and said that is a shark. I corrected her and said it was a dolphin. She said "dolphins have big tongues and otters have litte ones"!

Work - work is work. I am now tutoring two 5th graders in addition to working full time. I love these kids - they are so much fun. When I teach I remember why I wanted to be a teacher - I just wish I was using my degree.

Weather - It is starting to get warm outside. I love 30 degrees so much. It is much better than -20! I am going to either walk or go for a bike ride at lunch today.

1000 miles in 2011 - I am counting my biking miles, walking and running miles. I am still behind but I know as soon as I am really running those miles will pick up.

What is going on with you guys?

Online Cooking Classes

2011-02-10T10:03:00.002-07:00

As I mentioned a few days ago I am helping my friend Jen with her website, nourishedkitchen.com. Have you taken the time to check out her site yet? It really is amazing. I just love how she has grown her site from nothing into what it is today.

Jen is offering online cooking classes. They are pre-recorded sessions and you can watch each class as many times as you want and for as long as you want. This set of cooking classses is titled: Get Cultured! How to Ferment Anything: The Full & Complete Guide to Preparing Probiotic, Enzyme-rich Fermented Foods in Your Kitchen.

Not only will you get her cooking classes but you will also get over 50 video tutorials, 100 recipes and the 36 page e-book Get Cultured: Probiotic Recipe from the Nourished Kitchen.

Here is the link to check it out: Nourished Kitchen ecourse. Here is a link for detailed lesson plans.

Give Every Day

2011-02-08T13:44:00.004-07:00

Stephanie, over at Metropolitan Mama, and her husband and two beautiful girls have sold all of their belongings, rented out their house, bought a 5th Wheel and a truck to pull it and for a year they are going to travel the country by Giving Every Day. Stephanie and her family left last Saturday and started their journey. Unfortunately their journey has started off very rough with their truck needing a new transmission. Take a few moments to check out their blog at Give Every Day. You will enjoy following this family for the next year.

Nourished Kitchen

2011-01-31T07:52:00.000-07:00

I am helping my friend out with her blog/website. Jen has grown nourishedkitchen.com from nothing into a huge website with over 8,000 daily RSS subscribers, 11,000 newsletter subscription and over 13,000 facebook fans.

In addition to her blog she does monthly meal plan subscriptions, online classes and she has spoken as the Wise Traditions conference, and been featured in the Washington Post, CNN.com, Denver Post, WebMD, and much more.

Jen is the one who got me blogging over 5 years ago! Take a minute to check out her site and let me know what you think.

Lily turns 3

2011-01-28T09:40:00.016-07:00

My baby is now 3 years old! Where did the time go? I know all moms out there say that but really where did it go? Lily started out being my difficult child that just wanted to make my life and my husband's life awful but now she has turned into this wonderful, funny, little girl who loves to play with her babies, do puzzles, read books and cuddle. I love cuddle time!

If I was a good mom I would have had the camera out last night but I didn't - bad mom, bad mom! She was pretty cute too last night. I came home from work and she was wearing one of her dresses, then a pair of pink sweat pants that were way too big and finally her tinkerbell custom. Well you will just have to image it.

Lily - Hours old

Lily - on her way home from the hospital - less than 12 hours old.

Lily - 6 months old

Lily - 1 year old

Lily - 1ish years old

Lily turning 2

Lily age 3 (or one month before)

Run 1000 With Tall Mom

2011-01-19T08:46:00.004-07:00

I said that I was not going to sign up for Tall Mom's 1000 Mile Club but I did. I think I mostly did it this time because I can count walking, biking and swimming miles. For the biking I just adjust it to equal running miles. I average 5 minutes per mile while biking (give or take) and I average 10 minutes per mile while running. So bascially for every mile I bike it equals 1/2 mile towards my 1000 miles.

I am not sure while I did this because my mileage right now is super small (less than 5 miles last week) and I am still not running and walking is minimal. My foot is SLOWLY getting better. I can now do my walking errands for work without pain but I cannot do them everyday. But at least I can walk a mile every few days, take an ibprophen and be almost pain free.

Now that it is a little warmer outside I am trying to leave for work a few minutes early and bike a little extra longer. But then it it snowing today and that did not happen (maybe if I did take more time to get to work today I would not have fallen on the ice!)

Will I hit 1000 miles this year? I will probablly hit 1000 miles if I include all of the walking, biking and running I will be doing this year. I am also going to keep track of just my running miles and I hope by 12/31/11 I will hit at least 600 miles which would be 50ish miles more than 2010.

Re-Cap of New Year's Resolutions for 2010

2011-01-01T08:00:00.002-07:00

We just finished the year 2010 and I am happy it is over. 2010 was not my favorite year so I am hoping 2011 will be much better.

My New Year's Resolutions for 2010 were:

1 - Lose 5 pounds

2 - Participate in 1 marathon

3 - Participate in 1 triathlon

4 - Be more financially secure by the end of 2010

So did these resolutions happen or not?

The first one to lose 5 pounds did not happen and since I have not run in the past two months, nor done much of anything because of my foot I have gained 2 pounds. I know many people would say that 2 pounds is nothing but I have noticed right away how big my belly is - with just 2 pounds!

The second goal to run a marathon did not happen. I did do 2 half marathons and my longest run to date is 17 miles.

The third goal of the triathlon did not even come close to happening. I think I forgot all about this one.

The fourth goal to become financially secure is one of the reasons 2010 was just awful. We did sell our house and that is a huge relief. But at the same time I lost a great job. Since my new job is not quite full time and the dentist I work for takes a lot of time off during the holidays that I do not get paid for, I have almost cut my yearly salary in half. I was hoping to sell our house and keep my old job and then if that was the case we would be financially secure at this point and we would be paying down our credit card debt. But since 2010 sucked that did not happen. So I am more than ready to say good bye to 2010 and welcome in 2011.

This and That

2010-12-29T14:43:00.003-07:00

I have not been blogging for awhile because I feel as if I have nothing to say. My blog mostly revolves around running and I am still on the no running plan. In bullet style here is a list of what has been going on in my life.

We went to Kansas for Christmas to visit my mom and dad, and my sister and her family. It was a long car ride but we had great weather and the girls were wonderful.
Both sets of grandparents totally spoiled my kids - but they are worth it.
The girls were wonderful while we were in Kansas and now I know they can be perfect little girls.
I am still dealing with plantar fisciitis and right now I am at 2 months with no running and my problem is now is that I am gaining a few pounds. I gotta get running again.
While we were in Kansas my mom took me to a store called Ideal Feet . Their inserts are suppose to fix my plantar fisciitis. They will also fix back pain, low arches, high arches and what ever else bothers you. They claim that after walking in their inserts for 7 minutes you will be pain free. Well I am not pain free but I am using the inserts and right now I do not have an opinion if they will work or not but I will give them a try.
Also, in regards to the plantar fisciitis I also cannot go cross country skiing. I have tried this twice and each time I am sore for a couple of days. This really bums me out because I was hoping this winter since I am not running I could at least cross country ski.
I am still doing yoga and love it. I am ready to get back into it since I was out of town for a few days.
It started snowing at 7am this morning and now we have about 6 to 8 inches of snow. And all I can think about it I want to go cross country skiining.
This year I signed on for Tall Mom's 1000 Mile Running Club. I came up short. My last day of running was October 22nd and my year to date mileage was 552.65. Now Tall Mom is going to challenge everyone to run 1100 miles in 2011 - see what is going on. In 2012 it will be 1200 miles! I think that once I get ready to start running again I will have to set a goal for myself maybe 600 or more in 2011. We will see.

That is all that I can think of. What has been going on in your life?

Giveaway from Crayola

2010-12-15T13:52:00.001-07:00

Head on over to Amy's Finer Things for a AWESOME giveaway from Crayola. Also, take the time to check out her blog because it is a great one and I love reading it.

Mikaya's Adventure

2010-12-04T17:31:00.008-07:00

In our small town every winter a very large (2 or 3 story) tree is put in the middle of the street for Christmas. It is decorated with lights and with ornaments that the elementary school kids make. One child from each class is chosen to go downtown, go up in the cherry picker, and hang their class's ornament on the Christmas tree. Mikayla was chosen to do so.

She was so excited! I was worried that she might freak out while being up so high but she didn't. She could only see out of the cherry picker if she stood on her tip toes and looked over.

Here she is waiting to go up.

Climbing into the bucket.

They won't take her very high, right?

I can't believe they took her all the way up there! She was up at least 20 feet high.

She had a blast and loved every minute of it. That night we then headed downtown for the light festival and the lighting of the tree. We all had a blast.

I'm Still Here

2010-11-29T07:28:00.002-07:00

Sorry I have not blogging lately. I just feel as if I have nothing to say since I am not running right now. I am still dealing with a lot of heel pain and waitressing has also been causing me TONS of pain. Lately, the heel pain has hurt so much I have decided to quit waitressing. Hopefully by not running and not waitressing the pain will go away. If the pain is still bothering me in about a month I will be calling the doctor.

Also, by quitting waitressing I will be able to spend more time with Lily as well as Mikayla on her Christmas vacation. Maybe I will spend a day with her in kindergarten.

I have been trying to swim more as well as lift weights and I also started yoga again. I have forgotten how much I love yoga. The teacher that I have gone to for years pushes me exactly how I want to be pushed. In her classes she really makes you work. I have taken yoga classes that have been too easy on me and more stretching rather than a a workout as well and I have never enjoyed those classes. I like a teacher who pushes me.

On Saturday we headed up to Crested Butte so Joe and Mikayla could go skiing. Mikayla really started skiing last year and we want her to keep it up. Luckily, 6 and under ski free so that means she is free this year and next. We just have to rent her skis for the season and her skis are nowhere as much as an adult ski.

While Mikayla and Daddy did a ski run Lily stayed with me and had a blast playing in the snow. That is until her gloves were soaked and wet.

Tom's of Maine Wicked Fresh Toothpaste

2010-11-09T08:56:00.002-07:00

I am a Bzz Agent and that means that I get to try out new products. Recently I was sent Tom's of Maine Wicked Fresh Toothpaste in Cool Peppermint.

Tom's of Maine Wicked Fresh Toothpaste comes in Cool Peppermint and Spearmint Ice flavors. It contains fluoride to fight cavities. It does not contain any alcohol or artificial ingredients.

I LOVE it. It is so fresh tasting and it keeps my mouth feeling fresh for a very long time. I work in a dental office so I get to try many different kinds of toothpaste and so far this is my favorite. I love how good my mouth feels after brushing my teeth.

I would recommend everyone checking this out. It you do not find it in the toothpaste aisle look around and see if there is a natural section. My grocery store has an area with organic and natural personal care products and that is where all of the Tom's of Maine products are found.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Taking Time Off - Plantar Fasciitis

2010-11-05T08:42:00.004-06:00

For a very long time I have been dealing with what I am assuming is plantar fasciitis. When I say a long time I really mean almost 2 years. By dealing with it I really mean ignoring it. I have stopped running for about a month, in the past, to try and get it to heal but that did not work and it was probablly because the shoes I was wearing were sandels and basically they were like wearing no shoes at all.

Now I am going to get more serious about it. I am going to stop running for a month and I have not run in about 12 days. I am stretching my heel and icing it at night. I have also noticed that waitressing is not helping and in fact on the days I waitress it bothers me a lot during the day. But since we really need the money I cannot stop waitessing. If resting my foot by not running, icing and stretching do not help I think I will have to go see a doctor and get serious about this.

Let's hope that a month of rest, ice and stretching will help it go away.

Curtis Stone's 100 Calories Cupcakes

2010-10-24T19:35:00.001-06:00

I posted a blog post on Curtis Stone's 100 Calorie Cupcakes over on my food blog. Check it out.

Pumpkin Pickin'

2010-10-19T15:41:00.002-06:00

Saturday we headed down to Devries' Buffalo Ranch in Montrose, Colorado to pick pumpkins. We did this last year and had a blast. They have a HUGE corn maze that you would get lost without a map. It took us 30 minutes to get through the whole thing and we were moving quickly and using the map so we would not get lost.

We went down with friends of ours who has a son 6 months younger than Lily. Sam and Lily have been forced to be friends since they were born because his mom and I are best friends. They even got to the same daycare.

Lydia is Sheri's daughter and she is 3 years older than Mikayla but they get along great.

At the Buffalo Ranch they were Chuckin' Pumpkin's. So there was a lot more going on than normal. They had a bouncy house that the kids loved playing in.

Overall this was a great weekend with lots of family fun time. I had a blast and since my birthday was on a Friday it seemed like a birthday weekend.
Saturday we headed down to Montrose to go pumpkin pickin'

Birthday

2010-10-18T13:54:00.011-06:00

Friday, October 15th was my 32nd birthday. Our babysitter is out of town, Mikayla was on mid-fall break and the dentist I work for was out of town so I had the day off. We decided to hike Old Monarch Pass. We have passed the turn of to this road many times but have never taken it.

We were just getting ready to go up Monarch Pass (the paved one) and Lily had just fallen asleep. We decided to go and see a town called White Pine in order to give Lily time to sleep in the car. Also, during our little detour we saw where Old Monarch Pass comes out. Instead of starting it on the other side on Monarch Pass we decided to start up Old Monarch Pass from the west side. The road was great. There is logging on the road so it is narrow but well kept. The drive up was beautiful. Lily woke up shortly before we started up Old Monarch Pass and kept giving me dirty looks like she was going to scream and demand to get out of her car seat but she wasn't fussing so we kept going.
We were up so high you could see Tomich Dome and the snow covered San Juans.

The Continental Divide Trail crosses the top of Old Monarch Pass so we decided to hike a little bit of it. After all we came up here to go hiking.

You might be wondering what Lily is wearing. Earlier I mentioned Lily giving me dirty looks in the car. Well, she was getting car sick and eventually she threw up everywhere! Oh boy - I told Joe to stop the truck and we got out. I am just looking at Lily thinking - I don't want to touch her - it is everywhere! Then Joe's cell phone started ringing with work calls. The only place the last 30 miles where he could get cell reception and I had a sick kid - what are the odds?

I finally pulled Lily out of her car seat and stripped her down right in the middle of the road. Good thing there was no other cars. Lily is recently potty trained and therefore I had no spare clothes, no wipes or anything so I cleaned her up the best I could then I gave her my sweater to wear because it was cold up there.

We found snow up in the high country and the girls enjoyed playing with the early season snow.

The paved road is the current Monarch Pass.

As much as I complain about living in Gunnison I gotta admit most people would be showing these pictures as their vacation pictures and just another day in our lives. I had a wonderful birthday. After our adventures we went out for a couple of birthday drinks and appetizers with friends and then they came over for a birthday brownie sunday.

Time to get back in the game.

2010-10-11T08:30:00.003-06:00

Well, August and September were tough months but now I am moving forward. I lost a few pounds in August and September due to stress but now those pounds have come back. I also have not been sleeping well so it is time to start working out again. Normally at this point I go overboard which lasts a day or two and then I give up but not this time. My goals for this week are going to be the following:

1 - Monday, Wednesday and Friday get up at 5:30 am and do a weight workout.
2 - Monday, Wednesday and Friday go for a run during my lunch break.

At my old job I use to run almost everyday during my lunch break because I had a full hour and I was excepted to use my lunch hour unless I was super busy. Now at the dentist office it depends on our schedule but I normally get 45 minutes or so. I do miss running so it is time to get back in the game.

You know you need a break and need to read something funny.

2010-10-07T14:57:00.002-06:00

Thank you sooo much Brilliance Wasted for leading me to this link.

We all need a break and we all need to read something that will leave you laughing outloud. I just wish I was the only one in the room and the dentist was not sitting less than 10 feet away so I could laugh louder! Go ahead and click the link - it will leave you laughing.

Things I do NOT do:

2010-10-06T11:30:00.005-06:00

I got this idea from Kristen at Green Style Mom. I work two jobs, I am a mommy, I am a wife, I am a runner but there is still a list of "mom" type things that I do not do and that I do not feel guilty about.

1 - Scrapbook. My mom gave me a scrap book of Lily - she started it and expected me to finish it. Did this ever happen? Nope! Hey mom an idea for Christmas would be for me to mail this book back to you and have you finish it - ok?

2 - Bargain shop. Living in a small town without a lot of options leaves no options for bargain shopping. I do hit the local second hand store for the kids so does that count?

3 - Clip coupons. I have noticed that coupons are for name brand products and if I am only saving 35 cents my money is better spent on the generic brand instead.

4 - PTA

5 - Sew cute clothing for my children. This will never happen. My mom (sorry mom) forced me to learn to sew and I hated it. I do wish I had a sewing machine to fix a few small things but I really don't even want to try.

6 - Hand make everything in my home.

7 - Decorate extensively for any holiday.

8 - Iron. I do have an iron and an ironing board and if you want something ironed you have to do it yourself. The dryer works pretty good on getting out wrinkles anyway.

9 - Send cards.

10 - Comment on every blog post I read. I try to comment but if I don't have anything to say I don't.

11 - Make salad dressing. This is Joe's department and sometimes he does and sometimes he does not.

12 - Mow the lawn. Joe's job.

13 - Cook Dinner. This is Joe's job as well. He is so much better at this than I am and he enjoys it. Unless I am planning a big meal this is a task I would rather pass on.

What do you NOT do and do NOT feel guilty about?

Nurse

2010-10-02T07:55:00.002-06:00

If I had the money I would like to quit my job and go back to school and become a nurse. Well, yesterday I had second thoughts about that yesterday at work.

I am now an office manager for a local dental office. I really enjoy my job and everyone I work with. Part of my job description is helping the dentist when everyone else is busy. Yesterday we had an emergency scheduled and we had to pull two teeth. Yesterday was my turn to turn to help out. I was helping and watching all of this going on and I almost passed out! I think it was watching the tooth being pulled out but it was not that gross or anything but still I came close to passing out. I walked out of the room and the other girl saw me and said that I was white as a sheet.

The dentist finished without me and later when we talked about it he said he would give me another chance which is what I wanted. Let's hope next time this does not happen!

For all of you in the medical world has then happened to you?

Stuck in a Rut

2010-09-30T09:04:00.003-06:00

I have not been blogging much lately because I have not been running. I am not interested in running lately. During the last 8 weeks of stress I have dropped a few pounds - yea! But I cannot seem to get my head into the running mode.

Soon I will return to running and blogging much more regularly. I will try to post something at least once a week over the next few weeks but it might be mostly family stuff. I tend to be on facebook a bit more now that I am not blogging as much. You can always follow me on facebook - just find me I am Tiffany Ziegenhorn O'Connell. If you want to be my friend on facebook look me up and send me a quick note as to you who are - "I follow your blog" works just fine.

Homemade Applesauce

2010-09-27T10:00:00.003-06:00

Check out my food blog here for an easy homemade applesauce recipe.

Awesome Giveaway

2010-09-24T15:29:00.001-06:00

Check out Tall Mom's Blog here for a super awesome giveaway! It is worth your time to check it out!

Question - Help Me Please

2010-09-23T14:48:00.001-06:00

This is a question for anyone in a hiring position in corporate America.

Should resume's be one page or two?

When I first started creating a resume the standard was one page but now it seems as if it is moving to two pages. I have been under the assumption that two pages in just fine but today at work I was involved in a debate where this person was always instructed to throw away resumes if they were more than one page. So what do you think - 1 or 2?

I'm Back and Boy What a Month

2010-09-13T20:15:00.006-06:00

So the last 6 weeks have had its up and downs. It all started at the beginning of August when my hubby left his full time and his full monthly paycheck job and took a commissions only position with another real estate company in town running the property management side of things. I was worried about finances but since our house was under contract I figured we could make it work since I was making good money at a local law office as a paralegal. On the upside of this move my hubby is much happier and really enjoys the people who he works with.

Then a couple of weeks later I was let go at the law office. Things have been really slow the last few months and I made the most money of the three office girls so the attorneys decided to let me go. Now I was really worried and I felt awful. I really enjoyed my job at the attorney's office and I really enjoyed who I worked for. It was an awful blow and I was miserable. Gunnison does not have a lot of available jobs since we are such a small town and nothing available close to what I was making.

During all of this time the contract on the house was moving along smoothly. We thought about moving to Boulder and even went to Boulder to look around. Ultimately we decided to stay in Gunnison since we had to decide NOW and we had no jobs in Boulder. After we made that decision we both felt as if we had a huge weight lifted off of our chests. Maybe we just belong in Gunnison - after all we have been in this valley for 13 years. One more year of living in the Gunnison valley and I will be able to say that I have lived here longer than Kansas.

So I have been unemployed for about 3 weeks. Thankfully my parents helped us out because we needed to pay money to close on the house - not much but with neither of us working it was too much for us to handle. I started waitressing at a local restaurant where the normal tip is 10 or 15%. I have a little trouble with this because I have always been a standard 20% tipper because I know how hard waitresses work - I knew this even before I became one. Oh well, it is a job that is needed.

On Thursday of last week I interviewed for a great position with the ski resort in Crested Butte. I would love that job, but the only or biggest downfall is the drive. This is a problem since we only have one car but I could probably make things work and the pay is what I am looking for. Also, on last Thursday a office manager type position was opened in a local dental office where I knew all of the staff except for the dentist. His dental assistant and hygienist are the nicest people you could find. I interviewed with him and he hired me. It is about $4 a hour less than I was making at the attorney's office and not quite full time but I am able to waitress two lunch shifts a week and a shift on the weekends.

So I was hoping once the house sold finances would be much better but they are starting to look like they are going to be just as tight as they where. But I am still looking for work and we will do our best to make things work out. We have rented a very nice 3 bedroom rental. I also love living in town where I hardly drive. I would rather ride my bike everywhere and everywhere is less than five minutes on a bike - PERFECT! I can even run home on much lunch break and take Sky for a run with me and still have time to get back to work. The only downfall of where we are renting in not having a fenced in yard but at the same time I have been taking the dogs for lots of walks. Exercise for me and with waitressing and a stressful and busy past few weeks I have lost almost 5 pounds.

Back in a Little While

2010-08-31T19:42:00.001-06:00

I have not blogged in a while now. I have a lot of stuff going on and I am not ready to discuss it. Let's just say that I am hoping September is a much better month. I will be back when I am ready to talk.

Major Freak Out

2010-08-20T17:58:00.000-06:00

Today before lunch I went to start up my Garmin and it would not come up. It was dead and nothing would make it turn on. I even put it on the charger and it would not come up. I started really freaking out. I run much slower without it and how on earth am I suppose to do a 16 mile long run this weekend without? If you follow me on facebook you will see the freakouts I dealt with earlier.

But I had my lunch hour and I was in my workout clothes so I was going to workout. I was not in the mindset to start running so I did about a 30 minute bike ride and then a 25 minute run. I was much calmer at the end of the workout. My sister told me to go to their website and look up warranty information. I did this and I found out who to re-set it and now I am back in business - yea! Thanks Sis! My husband did make the comment - Now I see where your priorities are in life!

The Garmin is now working, and it will be ready for my long run Sunday morning.

On the house front - let's just say I never want to sell a house again. This house has been so stressful. The appraiser screwed up and said it was worth about $15,000 less than it was under contract for so I started crying and freaking out and called the bank regarding a short sale just to get this deal done. Then we saw the appraisal and saw that he had the wrong sales price so we got that issue fixed. Today was suppose to be the big deadline deal but the buyer's do not have loan approval yet. So we extended the loan approval deadline for another week but we were also able to move up closing a week. So keep your fingers crossed that everything goes to plan. We have started to look for a house but not too hard yet. I have not started packing anything just de-cluttering and cleaning out cabinets.

Life in Colorado

2010-08-17T08:09:00.000-06:00

Yep - It is that time of year. When I start complaining about the cold and it is only mid-August. I know a lot of you are dealing with a heat wave but you could just come to Gunnison and cool off. On my bike ride to work I was thinking gloves would be nice!

Changes, Changes, Changes

2010-08-16T20:51:00.000-06:00

I have not blogged in a little while mostly because we have had or are having many changes in my house and I am still not quite sure what to think about them.

The first change is that my husband is no longer with his employer of the last 5 years. He has moved to a new real estate agency in town. This change was much needed and he is very happy with his new office. The downside of this change is that he went from a nice paycheck every month to commissions only. Money has always been tight but now it is tighter than ever.

We are selling our house. Our house has been on and off the market for the past few years. We would love to be able to stay in our house but we cannot afford it. The house is under contract. I have not blogged about the house being under contract before because I was waiting for us to pass inspection objection - and now we have done so. We have to fix some items with the roof but nothing that is too scary or that will cost too much money. I want to sell the house but I don't. It is too expensive but it is an old house with a huge beautiful lot on the water. When I really think about selling the house I think of all the memories it has in it. We have owned it for almost 6 years.

Here is a link to see pictures of our yard this spring when snow fell in May.

Here is a link to see some general pictures of our house and yard.

Here are some really pretty pictures of the yard that Joe put on realtor.com.

Yes the yard is big, beautiful and private but as we like to say we just bought our dreamhouse too early in life. One day again we will have a wonderful house and property.

I have slowly been running again. I want to do the Mountaire Marathon on September 19th here is Gunnison. I don't know if I can but I am gonna do it. I might have to take the next day off since I might not be able to walk! I did 14 miles yesterday and it felt good. The last 3 miles were tough but I "got er' done"! I have four weekends left so I am hoping to get in 2 more long runs, 16 miles and 20 miles and rest two of the weekends and then I am doing it. Wish me luck!

Morning Runner - I am not

2010-08-06T18:39:00.001-06:00

Lately it has been pretty warm and humid during my lunch runs or I have been needing to use my lunch hour for other things. I have been getting up around 5 in the morning, having breakfast and then trying to head outside for a morning run. First I have to walk the first mile or so because of the morning pain in my heel (I know plantar fasciitis - but I am ignoring it until after my first marathon in September.) and then once I start running my head is just not in the game.

I have always wanted to be that runner who gets in a 10 mile run before work but that is just not going to be me. Oh well - it will be in my dreams.

Crested Butte Featured on MSN

2010-08-05T08:58:00.000-06:00

Check out this link on MSN. It features a house for sale in Crested Butte, 30 minutes to the North of Gunnison and where I lived for about 5 years. I wish we could afford to live in Crested Butte instead of Gunnison because it is just beautiful up there and you are truly in the mountains.

I just get excited when ever my neck of the woods gets featured on things!

Running Update

2010-07-29T08:10:00.001-06:00

I have now run 14 days straight. Today was my shortest run with 1.32 miles but I also have determined that I hate running in the morning. It is just not my thing. It takes me a good mile to get all of the aches and pains to go away and then I finally start enjoying it. I do enjoy the coolness of the day and the early morning feel to things though. I have always wanted to be that person who gets in 10 miles before work. I don't think that will ever happen, at least not until I do not have to be at work until 9 or 10 in the morning.

Even though it is hot right now I think I am going to walk in the mornings and really run at lunch.

Long Run on Lower Loop

2010-07-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

Last Sunday we headed up to Crested Butte. I did my "long" run on the lower loop. It was a struggle to get it done and I should have taken the time to stop thinking about how bad I felt and to look around. Joe and the kids waited for me to finish at the bottom of Gunsight Pass where the trails ends up.

The girls had a blast playing in the river. They did good about not getting too wet until Lily lost her balance and sat down in the water!

I am so done!

Land of Make Believe - Vacation - Part 5

2010-07-20T19:07:00.001-06:00

On Thursday we went to the Land of Make Believe in Hope, New Jersey. I really enjoyed the drive to the place because we took a lot of back roads and two lane highways to get there. It was beautiful. I never knew so many trees and farms existed in New Jersey. It was like being in Pennsylvania - well we practically were since PA was only a few miles away.

The Land of Make Believe is made for little kids. There is one section with a bunch of kiddy rides and another section with a pool, lazy river, and slides.

Here is my niece, Alexa.

Don't I have the cutest kids?

Mikayla loved riding all of the rides. This place was perfect for her.

My sister in law, Sue and Alexa.

My brother in law, Chris and Kyle.

Having fun in the pool.

Can you believe this lady gave birth to twins 18 months ago? She looks great!

Kyle - You gotta love his facial expressions and his "talking"

Mikayla was able to see Santa in July!

Lily wanted nothing to do with Santa.

When I saw this picture the first thing I thought was, Why is Sue holding Lily? Then I looked at the outfit and said to myself, that is not an outfit that Lily has. Oh wait - that is Alexa. It is those blue eyes.

Lily wanted to go on a ride but as soon as it started quickly decided that was the wrong decision.

Mikayla of course had a blast.

We had a great time at the Land of Make Believe and I see us going back next time we are in New Jersey.

That is my last post on New Jersey - it took me awhile to get all of them in. I am glad Joe took so many pictures because I am horrible at remembering the camera and then if I do remember it I forget to take pictures.

Homemade Pancakes

2010-07-20T09:35:00.002-06:00

So I am sitting at my desk and I am in need of my 9:30 snack. I brought some homemade pancakes to work and this is what I just enjoyed and boy was it good!

Homemade Pancakes
basic from scratch pancake recipe
plus - wholewheat flour instead of white
ground flaxseed meal
all natural peanut butter (nothing but peanuts)
blueberries

over homemade yogurt with a dash of honey.

I will have to do this again!

Bronx zoo - Vacation Part 4

2010-07-19T18:55:00.001-06:00

On Wednesday of the week we were gone we went Bronx Zoo. On Wednesdays it is pay what you can - and that you can. That is my kind of admission. Joe, the girls and I were the only ones who went. No one else wanted to deal with the heat and the twins would not get anything out of yet. It was hot but since there were plenty of trees it was bearable.

We saw plenty of animals to keep us busy. Here is a snow leopard (I think).

The polar bear was really cool. I kept hoping he would dive into the water for a swim but he decided to take a nap instead.

The seals were swimming all over the place. This spot was out in the open with no trees and therefore hot. I really wanted to dive into the water with them.

Lily relaxing.

Notice the big gorilla right behind Mikayla.

Gariffs are in the background.

A monkey's rear-end in the back ground.

Zebra

Mikayla's first animal site of the day. Lily kept calling it a cow. But she is also the one who moos at cows and horses whenever we drive past them on the ranches that surround town.

Lily was being Lily and did not want her picture taken.

We really enjoyed the zoo but I am glad that Joe drove instead of me. Driving over the George Washington Bridge was scary, too many cars, and the car lanes in New Jersey are way too small for me. I prefer the big open car lanes of the west. Then we also got lost so we toured the Bronx on the way to the zoo.

Long Run

2010-07-18T16:52:00.003-06:00

I am finally getting back to running. I took a month off and I don't think I helped any of my injuries, but I am ready to get running and I need to get in shape for the full marathon in mid-September. I ran every day this week except for Thursday. My goal was to run everyday with a minimum run of 2 miles.

Today, we headed up to Crested Butte because I wanted to run the Lower Loop. It was beautiful, hot, pretty wildflowers and just great. I was really out of shape. I was hoping to get in 7 to 8 miles and I finished with 6.2. I got a lot of running to do to get back in shape but I will get there.

Vacation Part 3

2010-07-15T06:05:00.000-06:00

At Grandma's house you can always find misc. fun stuff. Here is a pair of glasses that she has for Mikayla to play with. Lily kept putting them on and calling them her goggles.

We spent two nights at Joe's brother's house, Chris. We took over their master bedroom and one morning Lily woke up and was playing happily in her "nest" on the floor. I was shocked because she has never done this. I looked over at Mikayla and she was laughing quietly to herself because Lily was being so funny. What a wonderful way to start the day. A little bit later the girls started playing together on the couch in the bedroom.

Chris and Suzanne have a long living room and they have turned one section in the kids play room. Everyone had fun playing with all of the toys.

Beach - Vacation Part 2

2010-07-14T06:51:00.001-06:00

On Tuesday we all headed to the beach. Originally this was suppose to be a beach vacation in Cape Cod but that did not work out but we still had to go to the beach. It was also too hot to stay at home anyway.

The beach was wonderful. I have only really swam in the ocean on our honeymoon in Hawaii. This was the first time I swam on the Jersey shore. Normally it has been too rough for me. This time the high tide was coming in but it did not seem that rough so I kept heading in. The water felt so good.

Here we are, Grandpa, Grandma, Lily and me enjoying the day.

Suzanne and Alexa. The babies were not very happy at the beach. I remember last year when we went and Lily was the age they are now. It was not a fun day for me that year either.

Please ignore the farmer's tan. In Gunnison I don't wear my swim suit much.

Lily

2010-07-13T20:18:00.001-06:00

Lily is 2 and 1/2. She is a very cute kid and is saying all sorts of things. Lately we have been trying to get her to ask to be excused after dinner.

I noticed one day when she threw a fit about saying excuse me she kept looking at her feet. I put her in time out and when she came back she walked up to Teo (our old, chocolate lab sits by her feet at the dinner table and normally she has to walk around him to get down and leave the table.) and said excuse me. Teo at this night was sitting in a different part of the kitchen. I finally figured it out. She was not asking to leave the table she was asking Teo to move so she could get around him!

We have made it a point to all ask to be excused many times so she could see what we are doing but she still asks Teo, "excuse me."

July 4th - Day in the Pool - Vacation - Part 1

2010-07-13T05:45:00.001-06:00

Last Saturday we flew to New Jersey to spend a week with Joe's family. I learned one thing about Lily that day. She does not like flying. On the first flight the man sitting by the window was nice enough to give her the window seat. At first she was sitting happy, until the plane started to take off and then she started to shake and cry. I had to get her out of her seat and hold her tight to make her stop crying. She kept saying down, down. Eventually I settled her down enough to watch Pooh on the computer. If we kept her window screen down she was ok, but when it was time to land she was back in my lap. On the next flight she slept. Eventually on the way home she was use to it, a little bit.

Sunday was the 4th of July. Nothing was planned just a day sitting around house. It was super hot in New Jersey (100 plus). We pulled out the pools and sat around outside in their backyard, playing in the water and staying in the shade. By the end of the day the smallest pool was filled with hot water - that is how hot it was outside.

Joe's brother Chris joined us at their parents house. Chris is married and they have 18 month old twins, one boy and one girl.

Here is Joe, Lily, Alexa, Kyle and Mikayla playing in the pool.

Later that night we sat outside on their front porch to watch fireworks. I ended up trying to put Lily to bed right before they started. As I was reading to her they started so we went downstairs to watch but she kept saying bed so that night she fell asleep the fireworks.

Mikayla being silly.

Relaxing Evening

2010-07-12T18:47:00.004-06:00

Tonight I did not clean after work and therefore I got home earlier than normal. Also, the house was still cleaned and picked up from yesterday (meaning after I left for work the girls did not destroy it), I decided to make lunches in the morning. So this is what I did:

Made homemade yogurt
Watched the girls go on a nature walk
Sat outside and talked with my hubby
Played with my girls

Mikayla wanted to make mud pies in her sandbox.

Lily wanted to swing on her tire swing.

And I even had a few minutes to write this blog.
But now I release that it is almost 7 and the girls need a bath because they are messy from making mud pies in the sandbox.

So, what did you do this evening?

1000 Mile Club

2010-07-03T14:15:00.002-06:00

Tall Mom on the Run on the run opened her 1000 mile club this week. If you have at least 333 miles this year and sign up before the end of the week you can sign up to. When I saw this I was so excited. I don't think I will get 1000 miles this year but I am going to try my hardest.

We are off to New Jersey this week. I am actually sitting in the Colorado Springs airport right now waiting for our flight. When we get back next week I am going to re-focus on running and get in shape for a full marathon in mid September right here in Gunnison.

Have a Happy 4th of July!!

Another Yummy Healthy Receipe

2010-06-29T08:17:00.000-06:00

Please check out my food blog here for another yummy and healthy recipe.

Lock of Love

2010-06-27T15:32:00.002-06:00

I am been waiting to donate my hair to Lock of Love for a while now but I have not really wanted to cut my hair in order to do this.

Well, last week I decided that it was time. My hair was long enough, I needed a hair cut and I decided to just go for it.

Here is my before pictures:

12 inches later here are my after pictures:

The hair cut ended up being shorter than I planned on but I am glad to have cut it off and it is going to a good cause.

Workout in the Grass = Bug Bites

2010-06-25T12:59:00.000-06:00

I went home at lunch time to do a strength training workout outside. We have a big beautiful and private backyard. I was not thinking about the fact that I was wearing a sport's bra and doing crunches in the grass. Now I have at least 3 new bug bites, I am ichy all over and I think I am getting another one on my rear end!

Too cute

2010-06-24T08:46:00.002-06:00

A friend of mine, Sherri, has a 2 year old boy named Sam. Sam and my daughter Lily, who is 2.5, have been friends since the day he was born. They had to become friends with how much time Sherri and I spend together and now they two kids also go to the same daycare. Sherri is a teacher so Lily does not see Sam everyday at daycare anymore.

Last night I was watching her kids and mine for a little while. Sherri dropped her kids off and we were playing outside. Joe got home about 10 minutes later with our kids. Lily came running around the corner saying, my Sam, my Sam, my Sam. It was took cute. A little bit later they started running around the house, yelling, ahhhhh and then they would stop and laugh together and then head outside and do the same thing. They are too cute! You gotta love 2 year olds!

No Time For Running Right Now

2010-06-21T20:15:00.000-06:00

I am really slacked off on running and I am not planning on picking it up in the next few weeks. I really slowed down due to a couple of minor injuries. I am not running right now to try and re-hab them. I had to go home for a funeral. My beloved Aunt Jo died last week. She never married nor had any kids and therefore all of her nieces and nephews had a very special place in her heart. We all had very fun and loving memories of her. She always had a smile on, even when she was very sick. I was told that she finally stopped smiling about a week before she died. But now Aunt Jo is no longer in pain, she is in heaven smiling.

I have also slacked off on my Run 175 miles in 7 weeks. I was so ready to give that challenge a try but it did not happen. I am sure Kristen is still going strong. I know that I am not going to hit 1000 miles this year, I am too far behind but it will be interesting to see how close I get to that number.

Since I am not running the next couple of weeks I will have to take some pictures of the girls and post them.

Oreck Platinum Pilot Vacuum

2010-06-09T05:52:00.000-06:00

Head over to Musings of a Housewife and enter her giveaway to win The Oreck Platinum Pilot Vacuum retails at $599.

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

2010-06-08T05:52:00.000-06:00

I just finished Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. As he decribes it, it was a book about "a Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen." Chris goes into Mexico and finds the Tarahumara Indians. They are runners who will run 60 miles at the drop of a hat, run a deer to exhaustion, and have foot races between tribes. In reading this book I learned a lot about running. I took the principals of the Tarahumara Indians to heart and the next day ran 10 miles. That 10 mile run was one of the best runs I have done in a long time. I was strong, fast and very happy the whole run.

Chris also goes onto talk about shoe technology and how modern day racing shoes are the cause of our injuries. 8 out of every 10 runners will suffer an injury and the "better," more expensive your shoes are the more likely you are to suffer an injury. That hit home because ever since I started running I have been dealing with some small injury here and there and the only cure has been to stop. But I love running too much to stop.

In another chapter Chris talks about how as a human race we are meant to run. We are not built to be sprinters but to be marathoners.

This book is a must read for every runner out there. It is well written, keeps you thinking, keeps you on your toes and you will not want to put it down until you are done.

175 Miles in 7 Weeks - Week 5

2010-06-07T12:51:00.002-06:00

At this point I should have run a total of 125 miles, but I have not. I was sick with a cold one week and therefore only ran 1.3 miles that week. Then last week I got super busy at work and therefore I only ran one day. As of Sunday I have run a total of 73.55 so I am short by over 50 miles! I am going to finish this challenge but I don't think I will get in 175 miles in 7 weeks.

On another note I forgot to post by year to dates miles at the end of May. I have run a total of 342.37. I am not on track to run 1000 miles this year but wow - as of today I have run over 350 miles! How cool it that!

Lunch Time Fun

2010-05-27T12:41:00.000-06:00

I normally use every single minute of my lunch hour to run or workout. Sometimes I will clean to make some extra money, or clean my own house but those days are rare. I have been hit with a cold this week and it is wearing me down so I have not been running at all. Today I was going to go and start a cleaning job but it was too nice outside. After a long, cold winter, and a long cold spring I am ready for summer. I went to a local park, laid down in the grass and read my book in the warm sunshine. It was sooo nice I really did not want to come back to work.

Beginner Wednesday - Week 3

2010-05-26T06:00:00.000-06:00

Since no one has left a comment regarding by Beginner Wednesday's I can only assume no one is reading this and no one is taking this challenge on. But I am still hoping that soon someone will come across this and take action, so I am going to keep blogging and hoping I am helping to change someone's live.

How did last week go? Were you able to increase your time comfortably? Did it hurt, was it hard or was it easy? If last week was easy push yourself harder this week. If it was too hard last week, back off a little bit this week. This is your run, this is your training plan so modify it to fit you, but don't make it too easy.

For your workouts this week I want you to do the same 3 - 20 minute workouts but choose to do one of the two workouts below. Warm-up and cool down are both the same. 5 minutes at the beginning at 5 minutes at the end.

For those who want to make this week a little bit harder I want you to do the following:

1 - Run for 60 seconds, walk for 30 seconds. Repeat this for a total of 10 minutes

For those who want to make this week a little bit easier I want you to do the following:

2 - Run for 45 seconds and walk for 30 seconds. Repeat this for a total of 10 minutes.

Let me know how you are doing. Next week we are going to add in some strenght training.

175 Miles in 7 Weeks - Week 3

2010-05-24T20:34:00.000-06:00

This is week 3 of the challenge. I am not getting in 25 miles per week but I am getting in more than I was before I started this challenge.

Here are my totals so far:

Week 1 - 26.2 miles
Week 2 - 19.75 miles
Week 3 - 22.10 Miles

Total Miles = 68.05 miles and I am short by 6.95 miles.

Total Miles Left In Challenge - 106.95

I was able to take a 2 hour lunch on Friday and I did a 10 mile trail run. I did something to me knee and it really started hurting the last 1.5 miles of the run on Friday. On Saturday I got up and my knee seemed ok. I was volunteering with the Girls on the Run and I decided to run to the start of the race, about 2.6 miles. I felt my knee about a mile into the run but it wasn't too bad so I kept going. I helped get everyone registered for the run and then realized that I could run it too, so I did. Not a good idea. I finished and I ran the whole thing with a great pace but afterwords I was hurting. So instead of getting out on Sunday for the last 3 miles to hit 25 I took it easy and I am not running today either. I am going to run tomorrow and see how my knee holds out.

Take a minute to check in on Kristen's progress.

10 Mile Trail Run

2010-05-21T12:26:00.000-06:00

Today I took my 2 hour lunch instead of on Wednesday. It was perfect! I cannot tell you just how wonderful it was. The weather was perfect, sunny, not too hot, the trail was great. I cannot image a better way to spend two hours.

I did 10 miles in 1 hour and 57 minutes with a pace of 11:42. The first 5 miles were mostly uphill which really slowed me down but I was able to cruise and have a blast on the downhill.

10 Miles turned into 3

2010-05-19T17:53:00.000-06:00

I have a little bit of comp time at work set aside so I asked to take a 2 hour lunch today. My plan was to run 10 miles in that 2 hours - maybe a little bit more it I was really on my game. Will shortly after I started my run it started raining, then sleeting, then hailing or little tiny snowballs as I call them. I stopped and waited a little bit in a covered area and then decided to try it again. I finally gave up and turned around to head back. Since I turned around I was running right into it and I could not even see. My face and contacts were covered in water. Then it stopped raining so I tried again. I eventually gave up because I was going to be gone for 2 hours, the coat I brought was not a rain coat was soaked so I dropped it on the trail and I was heading for a ridgeline. I could see myself in another hour stuck in another rain storm, no coat and on a ridgeline. I am did 3 miles and headed back to work. I will try to get the 10 miles in another time.

Beginner Runner Wednesday

2010-05-19T07:12:00.000-06:00

Now that you have completed your first week of running we need to bump it up a little bit. Yes, each week will get a little bit harder but soon you will say, remember when I could only run 30 seconds at a time?

Like I said last week, I believe just about everyone can run. My sister (sorry Sara) is not use to working out. She has always been one of those skinny girls that does not need to work out to be skinny and she can eat a bag a chips. Yes it was hard growing up in the same house as her! Well I challenged her to run a 5K recently. This is the same girl who I don't think she had ever ran a mile in her life. She did a couch to 5K program starting in January and finished her first 5K in mid-April. She did great and is ready to sign up for another one.

Now, onto your workout for this week. This week I want you to do the same 3 - 20 minute workouts but choose to do one of the two workouts below.

Warm-up and cool down are both the same. 5 minutes at the beginning at 5 minutes at the end.

1 - Run for 45 seconds, walk for 1 minute. Repeat this for a total of 10 minutes

2 - Run for 30 seconds and walk for 45 seconds. Repeat this for a total of 10 minutes.

So as you can see you can either run longer or run shorter but walk less. The choice is up to you. Let me know how you do!

Don't Forget - Learn How to Cook Real Food

2010-05-18T08:32:00.001-06:00

Don't forget to sign up for classes on how to cook real food. Click HERE to sign up for the e-cooking course or

Click HERE to read more about it.

175 Miles in 7 Weeks - Week 2

2010-05-17T12:52:00.002-06:00

This week I did not get as many miles in as last week. I did 19.75. Here are my totals so far:

Week 1 - 26.2 miles
Week 2 - 19.75 miles

Total Miles Left In Challenge - 129.05

Total Miles = 45.95 miles and I am short by 4.05 miles but I will make that up. I am trying to take a long lunch one day this week and get in a 10 mile run which will help a lot but we will see!

Take a minute to check in on Kristen's progress.

This should make you feel better about yourself....

2010-05-15T17:35:00.000-06:00

Kathie Lee and Hoda showed up on the Today Show with no make up. You can watch the segment here. I have to admit that seeing them with no make up made me feel better. Sorry Kathie Lee and Hoda! Lately, I have been noticing the signs of aging all over my face - and I am only 31! You see all of these people on TV, many who are older than me who look GREAT. I know they have make up on and can afford all of skin treatments they want but to see what they really look like was a boost. Now if I could just first find time to put make up, figure out how to do it and then be able to afford all they put on I would look just as good as they do!

Nourished Kitchen

2010-05-14T11:52:00.000-06:00

I have a great opportunity to bring everyone. My friend Jen is the author of the Nourished Kitchen website Take a minute to check out her website. Jen's website is about getting back to the basics of food, no preservatives, no junk, no fillers, just real natural food. She is an amazing cook. I have enjoyed every single meal she has ever cooked for me (except for the liver but come on it was liver!)

Jen has received quite a bit of press regarding her website as well. Check out her list here. She was even featured in the Washington Post.

Jen and her husband Kevin are also responsible creating the Crested Butte Farmer's Market. They have seen it grown each year. I know because I don't get to see her as much during the summer because the Farmer's Market keeps them super busy.

Nourished Kitchen features great information, recipes, how-to's and so much more. Jen also has recipe cards you can subscribe to. The recipe cards are very nice, sturdy and with the pictures of food on them pieces of art. I would highly recommend these cards.

Jen has now added another feature to her website, an online cooking class. She is offering 12 cooking classes for $120.00. Here is a list of what she will cover:

Lesson #1: What is Real Food & Where to Find It
Lesson #2: Eat Whole Grain
Lesson #3: Homemade Sourdough Bread
Lesson #4: Homemade Salad Dressings
Lesson #5: Prepare Seasonal Vegetables
Lesson #6: Make Real Pickles
Lesson #7: Roasted & Slow-cooked Meats
Lesson #8: Stocks, Broths & Soups
Lesson #9: Easy Homemade Yogurt & Cheese
Lesson #10: Soda & Soft Drink Alternatives
Lesson #11: Naturally Sweet Desserts
Lesson #12: Menus & Meal Planning

To find out more information about her cooking classes please follow this link.

Jen has taught me a lot about cooking and there is so much more she can teach you.

Spring in Colorado

2010-05-13T06:39:00.000-06:00

Warm, sunny, shorts, windy

Cold, cloudy, pants, hat, gloves, windy

Warm, cold, sunny, cloudy, windy

Rain, snow, sun, windy

(Yes it is snowing right now in Gunnison and yesterday I was running in shorts and a tank top at lunch.)

Beginner Runner Wednesday

2010-05-12T19:57:00.000-06:00

I love running. I really do. It is my escape, my way to connect with myself, me time, and it burns a lot of calories quickly. Because of my love for running I want to turn everyone I meet into a runner, especially if you say you cannot run because I will quickly tell you that almost everyone can run.

I was not always a runner. My mom says as a kid I was the couch potato with my head in a book eating a bag of chips. No wonder I was a chubby kid!! I started running when I went to college. The gym was 100 yards from my dorm room and I had an enclosed walkway so no excuses. I started running slowly on the treadmill and eventually I was able to run one mile without stopping. So if I can do it you can to!

For all of you non-runners that are thinking about starting here are a couple of benefits of running:

1 - Walking or running you burn about 100 calories per mile. Now do you want to get that mile done in 20 minutes or 10 minutes?
2 - Cardio. Walking is good for you, but if you want to get a good heart pumping working out you need to bump that walk into a run. They have proven that for good heart health you need 30 minutes of heart pumping cardio 5 times a week.
3 - Lose some weight. With all this running you are bound to lose weight.
4 - ME TIME! Many moms and dads have trouble finding time for themselves. Set aside 20 minutes, 3 times a week for you and only you. Or you and your best friend - no kids.

Now if I have convinced you to start running you are now thinking how. We will start nice and slow.

Your goal for the next week is to run/walk three times for a total of 20 minutes. Start by walking for 5 minutes to warm up. No slow pokes, get those legs moving. At 5 minutes I want you to run slowly - no sprinting just get use to running - for 30 seconds and then walk for 1 minute and repeat. Do this for 10 minutes. Then walk the last 5 for your cool down and you are done. Now was that so hard.

Check back next Wednesday for your next running workout.

175 Mile Challenge - Week 1

2010-05-11T07:29:00.000-06:00

This was the first week of the 175 Miles in 7 week challenge. I did great. I did 26.2 miles - my 17 mile mother's day run really helped me out a lot but I also planned for that long run this week as I did not run as many miles during the week so I could save some energey for the 17 mile run. I am still tired today from it but it was worth it.

I am not exactly sure how I am going to get all of the miles in this week but I will. Kristen, did 28 miles! Go Kristen!

Tigerlily is in the process of moving across the country. She is leaving today so I will check in with her next week to see how she is doing.

Happy Mother's Day and 17 Mile Run

2010-05-09T18:09:00.005-06:00

I told Joe that the only thing I wanted for Mother's Day was to go for a super long run. So around 8:30 in the morning I headed out for 17 miles. It was great and the weather was perfect. I headed for the hill behind Western (as I call it since it does not have a name) to try out a new trail I found the other day. Behind Western State College is a peak called Signal Peak. It is about 14ish miles round trip from my house. Well, this new trail took me towards Signal Peak and I knew that mileage wise I could do it and still be at or under 17 miles. The closer I got to the peak I saw how the trail got to Signal Peak. Instead of the nice mellow up I was doing it turned into a straight up! I saw that and said, nope I can find another way to get the miles in. It was a super steep hill and I still had over 8 miles left to run. So I headed back down and around and eventually home. The last two miles were hard and I struggled to get them done but I did it. 17 miles in 3 hours and 23 minutes, pace 11:59.

The rest of my Mother's Day was great. I came home from my run to a quiet, clean and happy house. We went out to lunch and then took Mikayla climbing at the rec center. She has to be 5 to rock climb at the rec center, and she just turned 5 on Friday. My baby is now 5 - how on earth did that happen! After rock climbing and playing at the park we headed home where I was able to take a short nap and spend the rest of the day relaxing with my family. It was a perfect Mother's Day. The only other Mother's Day that I have had so far that beat this one was the one 5 years ago when I brought Mikayla home from the hospital.

April Miles

2010-05-03T06:36:00.000-06:00

Since Tall Mom started her 1000 mile challenge I have been trying and failing to get in the 83.5 miles of running each month. This month I did it!! 85.58 miles!!! I really did not want to run on Friday because it was cold and windy oustide but I only had to do a mile or so to hit 83.5. My year todate total is 273.02 and I am short by 60.13 miles.

I am hosting a challenge that starts Monday morning that challenges you to run 175 miles in 7 weeks or 25 miles per week. Hopefully this challenge will help get my weekly miles and also acculmate some so I can reach the goal of 1000 miles for 2010. I need to get as many miles in this summer and early fall so when it gets super cold outside I can sit back and relax some.

Click here to check out the challenge and sign up!

I was not ready for this, this morning

2010-05-02T07:49:00.003-06:00

Today is May 2nd and this is what I woke up to this morning.

I know that this can happen in the springtime in the Rocky Mountains but I still don't like it!

It is still snowing but it is warm outside so hopefully I will be able to post another picture this afternoon with all of the snow gone. It is still snowing but it is warm outside so hopefully I will be able to post another picture this afternoon with all of the snow gone.

Biggest Loser Gunkie

2010-04-28T13:04:00.002-06:00

I have to admit I am a Biggest Loser Gunkie. Every Tuesday night I have to take time out to watch this show. I get annoyed when my daughters talk, or hubby or whatever. All I want to do is sit down and watch the show. I do wish it started at 8pm instead of 7pm because I am still making lunches, doing dinner dishes, picking up the house, doing laundry etc at 7pm. So I normally from 7 to 8pm I get up every commercial to get my chores done and then at 8pm I finally sit down to really enjoy the show. Yes I know that I need that new TiVo thing but that is not in the budget.

I loved last night's show because inspiring others to lose weight and get in shape is what I want to do. I did not start exercising until college, I do not know what it is like to be obese but I do know what it is like to be chubby and fat. I do know how much better I feel after a great workout. I do know how good it feels to push your body to go harder than it did last weekend.

But if I want to inspire others how do I go about it? I do have a friend who is VERY overweight - now how I can get her out and exercising too?