Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Stop Quitting

Hi.  My name is April and I'm a quitter.

Oh it's true; ugly, but true.  I don't like being a quitter.  I want to see things to the end, but I quit, a lot.  Once I started the Brazil Butt Lift 30 day challenge and stopped doing the program on day 29.  I finished day 29 and never finished day thirty.  REALLY?!?  How ridiculous is that?  I started C25K and haven't gone to the track consistently in 3 weeks, I was only 4 weeks in. I'm not stopping, but there is always an excuse.  Usually my excuse is that I don't have anyone to go to the track with me, but it is still an excuse.  I'm terrified of being out there all alone.  You never know when a bad guy or Sasquatch may show up.  I don't want my family wondering what happened to me when I get drug away be a serial killer or wild animal.  Thing is, I have a back up plan for when I can't get anyone to go to the track with me.  There is another track in the town I work in with many more people on it on any given day.  I just need to throw a bag in the car and change at work.  Tada!  No more excuses, but I'm still using them.

Trust me.  This isn't any more frustrating to anyone but me.  When I step back and realize what I'm doing to myself I just want to scream at the mirror.  When I finish this blog post, I'm going to pack my gym bag.  I'm going to go put it on top of my purse so there is no excuse of forgetting it tomorrow.  No matter how cold it is out tomorrow night, I'm going to the track.  Hell, I may even head to the track at lunch when there is at least some daylight left.  I don't sweat that much, it's only 30 minutes on the track.  I'll take come DO for my BO and some smell good spray.

I keep thinking that I'd like to start BBL again and actually finish this time.  I've had that thought for over a week now.  I even went to get the DVDs from someone I had loaned them to, they made it to the room I would work out in and landed on a shelf to collect dust.  I had it in my head that I was going to start the program tonight, then Mom invited me and Princess over for dinner.  We had brown beans.  SOOOOOO good, but SOOOOO bad to work out after.  Excuses.  There I go again.  Who cares if I'm the stinky girl working out?  Princess is about to go to bed and hubs is out of town.  It's just me and the flat screen!  I just have to stop quitting before I ever even get started!  Any tips?

Sunday, December 9, 2012

So.Busy.

It has been a while since I've posted anything.  It has been crazy busy.  What have I been up to, you ask, well here goes.

Recently I have realized that I have been out in this world for some time now and have never actually set up a home.  My houses have always looked more like bachelor pads; handed down furniture, nothing hanging on the walls, only attempted to paint rooms a few times and those were not successful.  We have lived in this house for over six years.  I have painted all the rooms the colors I want them, but not much more than that.  I'm not the greatest housekeeper, either.  So to remedy all this, I've hung mostly empty picture frames on the wall in an artful way.  I ordered some prints of our recent family photos from Walgreens, but have so far failed to pick them up.  I'll get those tomorrow and hang them this week.  I hung some lovely wine label decor pieces on the wall in the dining.  I've done nothing but clean (or so it feels) for the last couple weeks.  It all feels pretty good though.  I like that my house is finally feeling like a home for my family.  About the time I get every room completed, we will probably have found the next home we want to buy and I'll have to start over, but I will have collected a few things I can use in the next place.

What are your favorite things in your house?


I have barely been to the track in the last couple weeks, but I do have big plans in the new year.  More on that a little later.  I have managed to eat a little better and not add a bazillion pounds in my down time.  I'm actually on track with my weight loss.  I have been hovering around 185 lately, but today I was at 181.  I feel pretty good that next weeks weigh in will be even better even if I don't get to the track like I want to.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Motivating Someone?

While I can't seem to motivate myself, apparently I can motivate others once in a while.  Recently I asked my  little sister to take some family photos of Princess, hubs and myself.  Little sister takes great photos and I have a pretty cool camera, only makes since.  She got some pretty good shots, I was very pleased especially considering she didn't really know how to use my camera.  We had a good starter session and she was inspired.  I let her borrow my camera so she could get familiar with it more.  She took baby sister out and got some really great pics in that session, too.  Little sister is so excited she is talking about working hard on this and maybe making it into a business venture.  She has tons of potential, I'm sure she could do it.  I offered to help her put together a portfolio and have now been appointed Head of Marketing.  Who knows, maybe little sister will really make a go of this and she told me I was the one who motivated her to start.

Hubs and I, taken by little sister


In a conversation with curly friend earlier this week, she suggested that maybe my desire to be a runner and my Facebook ad to find running friends is God's way of using me to motivate someone else to start a running club in this area.  I purchased the book Run for God a couple years ago and started it a couple times.  I broke out the book again and I'm actually taking notes and using the book as intended, as a training program and a bible study.  I'm almost positive God doesn't want me to lead anything.  I'm not very good at sticking with stuff myself, I probably shouldn't be trying to lead others.  But maybe I can help someone else discover their ministry through running.

After having 2 conversations about me motivating someone with 2 different people in one week I've been thinking, maybe I could find motivation by being motivation.  I'm a pretty positive person and I love to see people meet their potential.  I know that God wants us to give and be generous and we will be rewarded for it in the end.  Maybe the thing I can give is pep talks and encouragement.  I know there is so much more I could be giving, but this may be something I'm good at, my talent maybe?  I named this blog 'Finding Motivation' but maybe I'm not just finding it, but providing it.This is something I am going to have to pray about and I would appreciate any prayers on my behalf. 

Have I ever posted anything that has motivated you?

Recap

Okay, it's been way to long since I posted anything.  I should probably recap because you are all on pins and needles wondering.  Here goes:

As you know hubs and I were in Branson a couple weekends ago.  While there I forced myself to get up and go for a jog.  One of the reasons I wanted to start running is so I could run in cool places, so why not start with Branson!  The thing is, Branson is in the Ozarks, ya know, like mountains...  Nothing flat and everything feels like it's uphill, even the downhills stuff.
 
 
After meeting some of the fam for lunch on Saturday, hubs and I decided to walk the strip to see some sights (by sights, I mean tattoo shops for hubs).  It was nice to take a leisurely walk with hubs, a great way to spend some time together, burn a few calories, and conserve a few natural resources.
 
 
 
This week I decided to post an 'ad' on Facebook to see if I could find a few local friends to hit the track with me.  We are more likely to succeed if we are in a group, right.  Got a couple to agree to start with me next week.  Wish us luck and pray that we can keep it up even with it gets really cold out.
 
Tonight is Thanksgiving Eve.  I know that isn't a real holiday, but it's fun to say.  I volunteered to make a yummy, healthy cranberry relish.  I didn't get a picture of it, but I'll try to get one before it's all gone.  I also made a Pumpkin Pi:
 
 
Ahha!  Pi!  I know, I'm a nerd...
 
And this beauty:
 
Dark Chocolate cheesecake with Cherries

Crust
8 Low-fat cinnamon graham crackers
1/4 stick butter
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 Tbsp strong coffee or a shot of espresso

Filling
1 10oz bag dark chocolate chips
2 (8-ounce) packages fat-free cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons splenda
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 large eggs
1/2 cup chocolate covered cherry wine
1 5oz bag dried cherries

Preheat oven to 325.

Melt butter in microwave, about 90 seconds. In a food processor add graham crackers. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Add melted butter, cocoa powder, butter and coffee. Pulse until combined. Press into bottom of pie pan or spring form pan.

Melt 1/2 chocolate over a double boiler. Set aside to cool.
Whip cream cheese. Add splenda and cocoa powder until combined. Add melted chocolate. Mix until combined.
Add eggs one at a time until mixed completely. Finally add wine until and mix.
In a food processor, add the remaining chips and cherries. Pulse until coarsely chopped.

Add filling to crust. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until center sets.
 
 
That about sums it up, sadly.  Until next time.
 



Saturday, November 10, 2012

Branson mini vaca

This weekend hubs and I decided to take a mini vaca and join some of his family in Branson, MO.  His grandparents and an aunt and uncle were going, so we met them to tag along for the weekend.  Something that has had me in absolute awe the whole time we've been here is how serious Branson takes Veteran's Day.  Everywhere we go people are offering some kind of discount for veterans, but they are also stopping to talk to these brave men and women who have fought for this country so that we have the freedom to run or not, or to eat junk through a drive through or something healthy and local, and a million other things we take for granted every day.  Hub's grandpa is a veteran and we've had conversations about different things.  You can tell by talking to him that is is proud of this country, even when he doesn't agree with it's leaders.  He is proud that he had the opportunity to fight for the freedoms we enjoy.  We have visited Branson in the past, but never this time of year.  You can feel the pride in this town this weekend.  I am in awe.

On thing that really effected me tonight:  We were on our way to dinner and a show and just outside our hotel was a gorgeous restored old pickup.  Hubs has a weakness for this kind of thing and it was beautiful so we stopped to take a look.  (Please forgive my cell phone photog, the camera was in the car.)


 



The young man who's name is on that gravestone always wanted to restore this old truck.  He enlisted in the military after high school and was killed in the line of duty.  His parents decided to restore the truck in his memory.  The picture I didn't get was of the back of the truck.  Across the bumper there was a banner that said 'All gave some, Some gave all' and the license plate read GAV ALL.  This young man wasn't even 20 years old when he died serving his country, our country.  I'm tearing up again just typing this.

Folks, I don't agree with a LOT of the decisions made by the leaders of his country, but we should be showing respect to those who serve so that we are free.  I bet we all know people who have served.  Take a minute out of your busy day to stop and say thank you.  Without the bravery of these men and women, we would be living a much different life.

Monday, November 5, 2012

It's the shoes!

Wore my super fantastic new stripper shoes today and my calves hurt more on my evening run!  You have no idea how sad this makes me.  I don't know what sensible business casual shoes look like, but I imagine little old lady shoes.  Please, if I'm wrong, post a link to some cute ones in the comments.  I know wearing high heels most days a week isn't really good for my feet and legs, I knew that before today.  It just makes me sad.  I guess I'll keep the heels for days when I don't plan to run and probably hold off on wearing them regularly until after I finish C25K.

I started week 2 today.  This is probably the furthest I've ever made it in this program.  Week two consists of 3 days with 90 second jog/2 minute walk alternating for a total of twenty minutes.  I think all days of the program include a 5 minute warm up and a 5 minute cool down.  I did 1.75 miles on the track today at this pace.  I really dislike that it is so dark when I get home.  I need to organize a group of people doing this at the same time so I'm less terrified of being snatched up by Sasquatch on my jogs.

Okay, enough with my paranoia, I mentioned a recipe coming soon so here we go:

 
Wild Mushroom and Barley Risotto
 
6 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups water
2T evoo
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups mixed wild mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups pearl barley, rinsed
1/2 cup red wine
6 cups turnip greens
1/3 cup Colby jack
1T butter
2t balsamic vinegar
salt & pep to taste
 
1. Bring broth and water to a simmer in a large saucepan.  Adjust heat to maintain a steady simmer.
 
2. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add garlic, cook about 1 minute.  Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they begin to release their juices, 2 to 3 minutes.  Add barley and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.  Add wine and simmer, stirring, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 1 minute more.  Reduce heat to medium.
 
3. Add 1/2 cup hot broth to the barley and cook, stirring, until most of the liquid has been absorbed.  Continue adding 1/2 cup hot broth at a time stirring until the liquid has been absorbed after each addition, adjusting heat to maintain a gentle simmer, until barley is tender and creamy but still somewhat firm, 35 to 45 minutes. (You might not use all the broth).
 
4. Stir in greens and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in cheese, butter, and vinegar.  Season with salt and pep.
 
I adapted this recipe from here.  It is a hands-on recipe, but cooking is therapeutic for me.  Original called for arugula, but the turnip greens at the grocery were way prettier.  Also called for an onion in with the garlic, but sil was over and she doesn't like onion.  I know, who doesn't like onion?!?  But I guess there are some out there...  Another change I made was the cheese, I didn't have parm, so I used Colby jack.  I think it turned out great.  VERY filling, I ate it as a meal.  Everyone else had it as a side to the steaks hubs grilled.  I made enough that I will be able to take leftovers for lunch at work for a couple days.  Try it, let me know what you think.
 
 

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Shoes

Super lame start to Pile on the Miles.  I only got out one day so far in November, did 2 track miles on Friday night.  I had intended on going today because it was GORGEOUS out, but ended up shopping with sil.  That was very productive, she got lots of stuff she needed and I got a fantastic pair of shoes I needed.
 
Needed, right?  As you can see, normal socks aren't really my thing...

I have successfully completed C25K week 1.  I felt pretty great about it, too.  I'm going to start week 2 tomorrow.  I look forward to the end of this 8 weeks because I should be able to run for 30 straight minutes, but also because I will have completed something I started.  I don't always do that.  I have a history.  I started the Brazil Butt Lift once and finished 29 out of the 30 days of the program.  I'm notorious.  My house looks like I'm a borderline hoarder often because I collect things for projects I'm going to do, then don't do them then purge everything to clean house.  I have to finish this C25K program this time, though, because I'm now accountable to you, my reader(s).  I almost skipped the track yesterday.  Hubs was home from being on the road all week, I had a long week at work, and I had a bottle of wine chilling.  I got my butt down to the track, sil and I both did 2 miles, then I had the wine after I showered.

Since starting this blog, I've lost 8lbs.  That really says something.  Thank you for keeping me accountable loyal reader(s).    Stay tuned, soon I intend to try my hand at posting recipes and food photography.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

C25K, day 1

I started couch to 5k again today.  Check out the app I downloaded, it talks you through when to stop and start so you don't have to keep looking at your watch.  Pretty nifty.  This time I'm going to stick with the plan.  I've started it before, but always think 'ah, I can do more than this' then skip ahead a couple weeks, get burned out and stop.  Lesson learned, doing it right this time.

I felt pretty good today while doing the program today.  My calves started hurting, but I decided to stop focusing on the fact that they hurt and just thank God I had the ability and stamina to get out and do something today.  He is so good.  Seemed to work pretty good.  After I was finished with the program today I walked a couple extra laps for good measure.  I had the intention of doing some yoga this afternoon, but ended up taking a nap instead.  I needed it, we didn't get to bed until late last night.  After the game, hubs started a raging fire in the pit in the back yard and everyone stayed and hung out.  It was nice and something we don't do often.  Good company, good food, good weekend.  Now it's time to crack down and help sil get to her goal.  Hope everyone has a good Monday.  Stay out of the Halloween candy!

Green Smoothie

I realize just about everyone has a version of a green smoothie.  I LOVE smoothies.  They are a great way to cram in a bunch of fruits and veggies you may not have eaten otherwise.  I don't usually have an exact recipe for my smoothies, just whatever fresh/frozen fruit I have on hand, maybe some greens if I have them, and a base of either water or Silk.  This time I paid attention to my ingredients because I wanted to be able to duplicate this one:

 
Please excuse my food photog, I'm still kinda new at this
 
 
1 cup fresh, local apple cider
1 gala apple, sliced and cored
1/2 fresh banana
handful of fresh spinach
about 1/4 tsp fresh grated ginger
1/2 tsp chia seeds
 
Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. 
 
Tada!  Super healthy, super yummy breakfast on the go, because that is all I have time for in the morning.  When it comes to sleep or breakfast, sleep wins every time. 

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Not a Weekend!

BAH!  Weekends are always the hardest for me.  After just saying that sil and I were going to get on track so she could make her goal, we both totally crashed this weekend. 

I was doing just fine today.  Went shopping with a friend, had a big pretty salad for lunch, all was well in the world.  Then I came home to hubs and a house full of football party.They had grilled burgers, hot links, steaks, and hot dogs for the kids.  Not a vegetable in sight.  Sil made nacho dip and WE ATE!  Boy did we eat.  I was actually pretty miserable by the time I got the kitchen cleaned up.  We made a vow to go walk/jog every night between now and her goal date.  We are going to squeeze in some kind of workout at the house, too.  We talked about starting my Brazil Butt Lift videos, but she won't be here long enough to complete the whole program.  I guess whatever we do would be better than what I did this weekend... 

Luckily there wasn't much leftover and I sent the last of it home with our guests.  I have to go grocery shopping now, but that will be worth it because I can usually get groceries without buying junk.  If there is no junk and we have all the groceries we need, there won't be any excuses to make extra trips to the store and end up with stuff we shouldn't be eating.  I think I'll try some pumpkin recipes from some of the blogs I follow.  It's starting to get cold more regularly so fall recipes are sounding better.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Dirty Work

I didn't get a workout in today because I got a huge workout while I was at my j.o.b.  Today my #1 and I did some MUCH needed cleaning in the storage area.  It's hot, dirty, heavy work.  There is a layer of dust on everything that you could write your name in and spiders everywhere!  Good new though, it's organized and we worked up quite a sweat.  I got in some strength by moving a TON of boxes and cardio by climbing up and down the stairs getting things I had forgot or things I never thought of in the first place.  I felt *GREAT* when I left work, so I went home and celebrated... with BLT's.  Okay, I know that really isn't good for me and I try to eat vegetarian most of the time and, as it turns out bacon isn't vegetarian (that makes me sad because bacon is soooooo good).

Sil had a doctor appointment today and meets with another doctor in a few weeks.  They want her to lose 15lbs in those few weeks so I promised to join in her efforts and crack down with her... tomorrow.  We are going to get to the track at least most days.  If weather permits, we are going to play tennis tomorrow.  It has started getting cold around here and I'm really not a fan of cold weather. 

I would like to move somewhere tropical where it's 70+ degrees all the time and live on the beach.  Maybe I'll move to the middle of the Sonoran dessert where it's hot, but it's a dry heat, as they say.  Visited AZ in the summer, I loved it.  It was 114 and the folks there talked about how hot it was.  Hubs and I were pretty comfortable, though, because it was more comfortable than what feels like 100% humidity here.  Princess complained about the heat, but she would rather be in the snow than the heat any day.

Hubs is home tonight so I think I'll close my rambling for now and go run him and Princess off the Wii and get in some quality time of my own. 

Where would you like to live and why?

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Finally off my butt

Today I finally drug my butt to the track.  Sil and Princess went along for the ride.  I only did a mile today, jog one, walk one, jog one, walk one, but at least I didn't just sit on my butt and think about doing something.  I did yoga last night and felt AMAZING when I went to bed.  I* LOVE* yoga.  I'm not terribly flexible or sturdy in some of the poses, but that will come in time.  Historically, I can stick with yoga for a longer period of time than I can running.  Gotta mix it up, though.

So here's a question for ya:  Why do my calves hurt?  It doesn't matter if I'm wearing my more expensive Asics or if I'm in my Reebok cross trainers or if I wear my Fila Skeletoes, my hurt if I jog for any length of time.  My feet hurt if I wear the runners or cross trainers, but feel great in the barefoot-type shoes, so I usually stick with the Filas.  No matter the shoes, the calves hurt like crazy.  I stretch.  I've tried stretching before and tried after and tried both, nothing seems to help.  Tonight, I even stopped in the middle of a walking lap to stretch a little more because they felt really tight again.
My theories:
 1.  Maybe I run wrong?  Is that possible?  Seems like such a simple thing, running, how does one screw that up, right?
 b.  I wear 3-5 inch heels most days, that can't be good for my legs or back in general.
 3. My muscles are really that weak that they are in pain trying to build up to be strong enough to carry my big ol' booty.
 4. Probably some combination of all of that and things I haven't even thought about.

What are your common running quirks?

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

How many miles?

So I took the plunge today.  I signed up for the Pile on the Miles 2012 challenge.  How many miles can you put in in the month of November, right?  I set my goal at 25.  I know, 25 miles in a whole month?!?  That is the wimpiest goal ever!  Thing is, even that sounds daunting to me right now.

Recently Not-So-Heavy K (the hubs has lost about 65lbs in the last year) took a job out of town.  Gone.  Monday through Friday I'm a single mom.  This has been an adjustment to us all.  When we first moved in together he worked out of town, so he and I have done this before.  The Princess, my now seven-year-old daughter was just a baby then and didn't know the difference.  We got married, he found a local job, all was well in the world.  Then a couple months ago his cousin asked him to come back to work on the road and supervise a crew.  After much debating and much prayer, we decided this would get us to one of our life goals faster, so off he wen.  Princess is adjusting well enough, only mild separation issues but she is requiring more attention from me.  What does this have to do with the lame goal, you ask?  EVERYTHING!

I'm already at work all day so leaving her at Memaw's for an extra hours isn't going to happen.  I prefer to walk/jog the neighborhood, but have you ever tried to take a seven-year-old princess on such a task?  Let me tell you, it's not fun.  She isn't interested in walking without a destination and she complains about jogging more than I do.  We take her bicycle along so she is happy, only now I'm more worried about the traffic.  Then there is the track at the school.  The NASCAR of walking, SUPER BORING, but still effective.  Everyone can move at their own pace, nobody is getting hit by a car, and she can just stop and play with toys if she wants.  The track is going to take MUCH more motivation than street walking (for those of you with a dirty mind, I'm not talking about the oldest profession in the world).  Putting my name, goal and blog address on a list with others, including real bloggers I follow, should help keep me accountable and when all of my millions of followers (okay, all one of you) are watching me and expecting 25 miles out of me, I better do something, right?

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Love the State Park

Today was a wonderful day!  Hubs, sil and I went to a car show today, not just a hot rod type car show, but a car show full of VW vehicles.  Very neat, very appropriate for the area I live in.  It's a little hippie college town and I LOVE it!

After we all went out to the state park for a workout.  Hubs and sil took the bikes and I chose to walk/jog.  Five miles on the trails and I felt FANTASTIC!  It was so refreshing to be out in nature, mostly alone with my iPod and my thoughts.  I did make some deer friends along the way.


 
And they view along the way was gorgeous
 
It is good to take note that state parks aren't generally flat
 
 
This is the view from the top of one of the giant hills I had to climb
 
I'm very glad that I got out today.  On a typical Saturday afternoon I'd have just taken a nap.  I'm figuring out that inspiration isn't really a problem for me.  I'm inspired by lots of things.  I'm lazy.  The only cure for that, GET UP AND DO SOMETHING!  It really is that simple.
 
I have decided that I want to do a sub40 5K in the spring.  I haven't picked a specific race yet, I would love to do one with hills or trails or something.  I realize that sub40 doesn't sound like a very fast time to seasoned runners, but in 2011 I did two timed 5Ks and neither were less than 45 minutes.  That's slow.  I'm still not fast and I may never be fast, but I'm learning that with running, slow and steady really is the way to go.  Slow and steady helps you to build endurance and avoid injury.  I have to remind myself of this often because I want to hit the fast forward button and just be an ultra runner.  It doesn't work like that.
 
I hope to continue to visit the state park on the weekends, but that isn't really the hard part.  The hard part for me is coming home after working all day and cooking dinner for my family, getting everyone bathed and in bed at a reasonable time and somehow squeeze in some kind of workout.  I know I won't get to go for a run every night but I have a TON of workouts pinned that claim to not take very long to complete.  Wish me luck!


Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Get this Party Started

Thanks to websites like Pinterest and Facebook it's easy to see what is motivating your friends, family, acquaintances and random people you follow like a stalker.  Problem for me:  I look at this stuff and I'm motivated to do something RIGHT NOW, but I can't do anything about it because I'm in the middle of something else.  Now I realize this is mostly an excuse, 'right in the middle of something' is code for goofing off on my computer.  Occasionally I'm goofing off at work and I have an actual excuse as it would be irresponsible of me to get up and try to work out while I'm at work (yes, I know I shouldn't be reading fitness blogs at work either...) and it would be silly of me to try to work out in four inch heels.  So what is a girl to do when she can't get motivated to get motivated?  After much Googling and reading many fitness blogs, the biggest thing I learned is that I spend to much time wasting time and I need to get my priorities in line.

Reasons to get off my ever expanding butt:

10.  Because my butt really needs to stop expanding.

9.  Because the scale is groaning louder every day.

8.  The stuff I'm watching on television is lame anyway.

7.  The bloggers I follow are blogging between workouts, not instead of working out.

6.  I have all the equipment I need to get in great workouts, i.e. lots of body weights...

5.   I know more about fitness and nutrition than any chunky girl should know. 

4.  My clothes are getting tight.

3.  I have a husband who loves me no matter what, doesn't he deserve the best me possible?

2.  I'm setting an example for my daughter no matter what I'm doing, I should be doing productive and healthy things.

And the #1 reason to get off my ever expanding butt:  Because I know how much better I feel about EVERYTHING when I'm treating my body well.

Right now you are asking  what more does this lazy girl need?!?  That is my question, too.  This is the journey of how I'm going to Lose 30 before I Turn 30.  I have set a realistic goal because that is what all the stuff I've been wasting time reading on the internet says to do.  I have at least thirty pounds to lose and I want to lose it before I turn thirty in nine months.  For those of you doing the math in your head, that is just over three pounds per month.  Yes, I said month.  I realize that is an extremely doable goal, but like I've said, I'm lazy. 

What's the plan, you ask?  I'm starting simple.  Slow and steady as they say.  I would LOVE to be a runner and running is cheap so I'm going to get out there for a jog/walk.  I don't really know how many days a week or how far, I'm going to get out there and see how it goes.  Maybe a 5K by spring.  I'll keep you updated...