Movin' on up!

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Originally uploaded by MBooth_98

So see the previous post for where we were about a month ago. Demolition complete, but just a big pile of dirt out back. Then we had a foundation. By the end of this week we have this! Wow! We are getting very excited, as things are really coming along! Our contractors signed a deal for another big job they hope to start at the end of Sept..so they are motivated to move quickly. yayy! They say we will have a second floor and roofing by the end of next week. The weather has been great, so that has surely helped. Looking good!

I DID IT!

I did it. Today I ran for 20 minutes non-stop, no walking breaks...20 whole minutes in a row. 5 weeks ago I could barely do 90 seconds. Seriously. I am so proud of myself. I have no idea how far I went (the program suggests time OR distance -- not both). I just run in random zig zags around my neighborhood, so there is no way to know. Think I'll wait a few more weeks til I worry about that. For now I am too pumped (although I'll probably be a little sore later)

And my $135 running shoes that I went to the specialty store to get and end up totally hurting my feet? The store says I can bring em back and they'll figure out what is going on and replace with something else, if necessary. yayy!

Now if only I could work on the eating. In the 5 weeks I have been doing the running program, I've gained 4lbs. URRGHHHHH. I am afraid to go weigh in at ww. But I probably need to in order to get back on the wagon.

I feel like I was stood up...

So I am feeling weirdly discouraged. I have been working for about a week to prepare for this big event at work. Lots of writing, researching, etc..to prepare one of our members for this big presentation. Felt completely organized, totally prepared, was psyched. The event was this morning. I meet with our speaker this morning at dawn (yes, I actually got up pre-dawn to jog this morning - 8 minutes 2x! yayy for me!) went through all the prep..expected q&a's, etc. We were good to go. Get to said event, event starts, and about 30 minutes in, gets cancelled. For weird reasons, that are sadly, legitimate. I feel like I got stood up by my prom date. Now I'm all dressed up with nowhere to go.

Is there a Doctor in the House?

So in the last 10 days, we have been to the doctor's office 5 times, and we have one more visit scheduled for tomorrow. For the last five months (knock wood), the kids have been remarkably healthy. We maybe were home for one day with them from Feb-June. But when it rains it pours.

First, two Saturdays ago we brought bigman in to check if he had an ear infection. The answer was no, but in the 1 1/2 hours we spent waiting, DD#2 caught strep. We were back with her on Monday. Rapid strep said no, overnight said yes, so she was on antibiotics on Tues. On Friday we brought bigman back cuz he was getting more sick, and wanted to make sure he didn't have strep. He was fine. On Sunday, DD#1 has a screaming crying fit for an hour before I take her to urgent care -- diagnosis: swimmers ear. She is on antibiotics starting on Monday. Then DD#2 had her 3-year checkup on Monday. Tomorrow bigman has his regular checkup with the pulminologist. Oh yeah, and we didn't go on vacation last week cuz we had too much work. nice.

I am praying this grants us another 5-month reprieve. We really need a friend who is a doctor -- preferably family practice, or a pediatrician. Apply within.

Help! I'm being followed!

So. I have been doing this exercise program for about a month now. It is called Couch Potato to 5k (CP25K), and was designed by some experts on Cool Running.com. Now before you get the wrong idea -- I am not a runner. My whole life I lived by the mantra "I only run when chased". Seriously, even as a kid, I did not run. But for some reason this program seemed compelling. And, I realized something. I AM being chased. By a big old butt that I can't believe belongs to me. So, with my big butt chasing me, I have started running. The program is cool. Each week it alternates running and walking at increasing intervals, until, at the end, you can run for 30 minutes.

Currently I am up to running about 5 minutes alternating with three minutes with walking in between. It doesn't sound like much, but when the program started, I couldn't imagine running for 90 seconds, so this is big for me. The program is helped hugely by these free podcasts. They tell you when to walk and when to run. I can't imagine how people do it without these -- you would have to keep looking at your watch or pedometer constantly!

So..I can't really imagine myself running a 5k in a few months, but who knows? If you'd have told me I could run for 5 minutes without stopping (much less do it 2x in a 20 minute period, along with 2 3-minute runs), I'd have said you were nuts!

So far my funniest moment came about a week into the program. I hoped on the scale, figuring there should be a big loss, given I am now actually exercising. But nope. My first thought? What the (*#$, I'm not doing this for my health! Then I laughed, and realized, I am doing it for my health!

Hopefully, combined with weight watchers, in a few months, nothing will be following me.

Slow News Day or WHAT??!!

So what is with all the hoopla over John Edward's haircuts. I mean seriously. The man has nice hair, and pays a little too much to keep it that way. Do I need to know that? Do I care??!! The Washington Post, which I consider to be a good newspaper, had an entire article (at least it was in the style section) telling the "REAL STORY" from the hairdresser's point of view. Are you serious???!!!

Aren't there people dying in Iraq and Afghanistan? Try reading the posts on anysoldier.com -- that will give you some news people should read. Aren't there debates on immigration and health care reform to be reporting on? I simply do not care what anyone -- candidate, elected official, next door neighbor, teacher -- spends their money on, as long is it is legal. I beg the media to just let this -- and any other stories of its ilk -- go!

Blueberry Pie

So last Saturday we decided to go blueberry picking. It was so fun. We went to Butler's Orchard, about 35 minutes from us (depending upon which of us is driving at breakneck speed). Anyway, when you get there you weigh your containers (we had beach buckets) and get on hayride-type truck to get you to the blueberry fields. The girls and I went, as DS was asleep, so DH stayed in the car with him (not being a big blueberry fan anyway). We got out there and started picking. The kids really liked it and there were blueberries as big as a quarter! My 3-year old kept eating the berries, while me and my 5-year old focused on filling our buckets. After only about 15-20 minutes we had all the buckets filled, and hopped back in the wagon to the parking lot. After weighing all our loot we paid for the blueberries and it was $10!!!! We easily had $40 worth of blueberries there. I was psyched!

This farm also had a flower garden you could go picking in too, so we stopped there on the way out. The girls insisted on ONLY picking pink flowers. No red, yellow, or even purple. Just pink. okey dokey.

When we got home we made pie. My oldest must have done this at preschool, as she rattled off the ingredients from the top of her head when I suggested it. Weird, especially because she won't eat fruit -- OR pie. We used store-bought roll out crust, and cut hearts in the top. The girls loved making it. We served it the next day at a party we held to meet other kids in our neighborhood who were going to Kindergarten in the fall. It was a HUGE hit. I had three pieces. So much for WW that week.

Now I have about 4 pints of blueberries frozen to make pies into the winter. Can't wait!