Power of Prose

259.8 - yeah, I don't know what's up with that...
W2D2 - 1.91 miles (a whole 1/10 of a mile further than Monday!)

So I follow a couple blogs, including one written by one of my best friends from high school. Have you ever read someone - some writer that seems to write about using a hammer (or some other banal thing) and have it always be complete and utter poetry? My friend writes like this. I can smell the jasmine scented air and feel the moist heat of the far east when I read her words. A "mommy" blog that I read, the writer does the same. Absolute poetry, thick with metaphor, every sentence like some kind of meditation.

People that can write with such evocative imagery... they are on my list of people I wish I could be like. Who is on yours?

I love running!

257.6
C25K W2D1

I want to go again - right now! I loved my run this morning. Took L'il Girl with me and improved my speed and distance today. I had a little trouble going for 90 seconds sometimes - especially coming back up the hill but... All in all, a great run and I can't wait to go again.

Running with the boys

C25K W1D3 (2nd time)

Jonas requested that we take brother and the puppy and go for a run this afternoon. :) How can I say no? I am going to do as much of the C25K training as I can with the boys - if I can improve time and distance and speed while pushing 70lbs of stroller with dog attached then I will really be getting in shape! The moose is taking a nap right now, but when he gets up later we will be on our way.

I also planned out meals - breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for the next 2 weeks and have it posted on the fridge. I am spending the day today (besides our run later) working on homework, tie-dying and baking. I will be baking pretzel nuggets, onion bagels, bread and some breakfast pocket pies (for Jonas).

As for Jonas - my little monkey will be starting preschool in a couple weeks. We had Jonas evaluated for special ed about a month ago. We had a meeting with the Steuben child services people on Wednesday and the decision made was to get him the most services possible and bring his speech and language development to where it should be he will attend a full day 5 days a week preschool program in an enclosed special ed classroom. I feel good about this. I think the structure will be good for him and will get him the help he needs. I feel bad that he will not be at day care that much any more and I think that will be an adjustment for him and Jackson - Jackson really wants nothing more than to be with his brother at all time. :)

After having lost 3 of our 4 dogs in the last 2 weeks, it looks like L'il Girl will recover. She is eating (cat food, not dog food) and drinking and even she seems ready to go out for a run today. I am keeping my fingers crossed. The saddest part is that she has no pack now. The cats (especially the kittens) are trying to make a new pack for her though and have slept with her, cuddled with her and been staying very close to her the last few days.

Still stressed and busy, but that's life!

One month until my birthday

It is only one month until my birthday. I will be 33 and over 250lbs - still. Last year I wrote a blog post on Sparkpeople about how I did not want to make the same birthday vow to eat better and workout and be in better shape... and I will make exactly that same vow this year. It is depressing. I know that organization and planning is the key to changing my life and I haven't been able to get it together. I am bored and unhappy and unmotivated and I hate feeling like this!


I am upset with myself that I never really seemed to find my stride with this year. I didn't find an exercise program I could stick with and my eats have been totally all over the place. 

I feel like running is the way to go for me, so I am going to concentrate on my C25K and add in some strength training 2 days a week - probably ChaLEAN Extreme because it targets the whole body... And today I am going to go on a long walk/jog with my boys. Probably in their stroller for most of it (the baby for the whole thing) and just try to have some fun and enjoy the bright crisp fall day. I live in such a beautiful area and I feel like I never take advantage of it. So I am going to dedicate at least one day a week to taking a long hike/walk with the boys. Get some fresh air and sunshine (or at least as much sunshine as is possible in Western New York...) I feel good about that idea. I feel like this will help me reconnect and feel better about myself too. Maybe I can even get a jogging stroller and take the boys running with me all the time - with some really good warm clothes and one of those insulating wind block things!

Inspirational...

This youtube video about Ben was on my Fat Runners Club thread on Sparkpeople. It is a truly inspirational video of his journey. More than his weight loss, the change in his face from depressed to happy made me cry. He just looks so much happier at the end. Smiling from the inside, deep inside, instead of on only on the outside.

Pumpkin Butter

I am so excited! I found a recipe/instructions on how to make pumpkin butter from my pumpkins out of the garden. I am still planning on carving the big one, but I wanted to make sure I had pumpkin puree for pies and pumpkin bread and some pumpkin butter. Hmm, I hope I actually like pumpkin butter... the apple butter was a success so hopefully this will be too.

This is where I got the directions for the pumpkin butter in the crockpot. As soon as my yogurt is done in the big pot I am making this. The apple butter was so delicious that I put it on almost everything the last 2 weeks! And I really like how the whole batch had very little added sugar - the sweetness came mainly from the apples themselves. I am hoping to have the same success with the pumpkin butter. 

Running

There is a scene in the movie - "What Women Want" where Helen Hunt and Mel Gibson are pitching to the Nike people. The voice over on the "TV spot" they are pitching is basically a barrage of women's voices talking about all the things they have to do and then it's just the sound of the woman's feet hitting the asphalt as all of her worries and concerns fall away. I want that peace. I have always envied that and the people who run and can enjoy that.  I want to love running, I want to be one of those people who says "Oh yeah, I ran 5 miles this morning before work". To me runners have always seemed to be the epitome of fitness. So I will work on it. I think that the C25K will help me be a runner, to love running.

I am (or will be soon) a runner!