I did it!

Sorry for not posting - I'm in all day training (8-5), so between that & the kids, I haven't had much free time.

But, just wanted to share my excitement. . . I did it! I have officially lost all of the weight I gained when I was pregnant with my kids. It only took me 4 1/2 years. :-) YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!

Now, on to the 14 pounds I gained in grad school.

And, I've lost 19.4 pounds since January 1st of this year. It's been a long haul, but slow & steady is the only thing that's ever worked for me.

So professional

Yes, this is my very liberal interpretation of a work look. It's pretty limiting to have to wear sneakers . . .

I feel like a tool wearing the shoes with my skinny jeans, but I still need to get my new jeans hemmed. Such is life. :-) I know - I'm high fashion these days.

Outfit details:
Black sweater - Express
Pink tshirt - Loft
Skinny jeans - Gap, Always Skinny
Sneaks - New Balance

Sam has recently started dressing himself, and loves to come out of his room in the morning fully dressed, yelling "Surprise!". It's hilarious, mostly because of the outfit combinations he puts together. Too bad it's 50 and raining in Seattle today. . .

I think he gets his fashion sense from his mama. :-)

And, parenting lesson learned this morning. Michael is a pretty disciplined guy, and feeds the boys the same breakfast every morning: eggs, 5 varieties of fruit, and a few bites of a bread - generally banana, zucchini, etc. Whenever Michael is out of town, the boys ask for things like waffles, pancakes, etc. Nick asked me last night if he could have waffles for breakfast, and I foolishly answered, "Sure, but you need to get up early tomorrow so there's time to make them." He was up at 5:00 am (on the dot this morning), staring in my face while I was groggily trying to figure out what was going on. Asking for waffles. Lesson learned, people. Kids have a very broad definition of the term "early".

Food:
I'm doing pretty well with the eating - knowing that I'm not going to be running for a (long) while, I've been keeping the calories in check.

Breakfast - coffee, fruit, bagel thin with a soy sausage
Snack - mini luna bar before my workout
Lunch - protein smoothie + salad
Snack - hummus + Dr Kracker
Dinner - (the boys begged to go out last night) mini cheeseburger & a handful of sweet potato fries
Snack - raspberries

Workout:
My personal trainer puts my standard workouts to shame. My arms are so sore today that I could barely hold the straightener while doing my hair this morning. Holy glutes! And triceps! I did 15 minutes on the elliptical before she tortured me for 50 minutes.

And, today was a triple coffee day. I try to limit myself to 1-2 espressos per day, but some days . . . I just need another. Are you a coffee drinker? Tea?

Big weekend plans? I have the boys by myself this weekend, so we're going to squeeze in a few fun activities - maybe go see Cars 2, go to a bouncy house party, etc. Looking forward to it!

Less than a pound of "baby weight" to go, peeps! Great motivation for me to stay on track this weekend. :-)

I am officially the Bad News Bear

That's how I feel today. I went to a foot trauma/orthopedic specialist to find out why my minor fracture isn't healing and why I'm still in a lot of pain after 4+ weeks. I had my foot x-rayed again, and the minor fracture is pretty much healed. Yeah! Then, the doctor poked & prodded my foot, asked a bunch of questions, & decided that he wanted to do a more inclusive weight-bearing x-ray that would allow him to see the bones on the bottom of my foot. . . And, bingo. There is a fairly large break and a small piece of displaced bone on the bottom of my foot. Hence the pain. And, why the boot was hurting my foot to walk in. I'm back to wearing extremely supportive sneakers, and he dropped the mega/atomic bomb - likely no running for six months from the time of the injury. That means November. Anything could happen, & I could certainly heal faster, but yeah. . . I cried in the elevator at the hospital, & I'm getting all teary just thinking about it.

The muscle should theoretically start pulling the bone back together, but he's unsure if I've made progress (my initial doctor obviously didn't x-ray this portion & didn't even see this break), but I'm going back in four weeks to see if it's healing on its own. If not, there's a slight chance of surgery. *fingers crossed that doesn't happen*

He also recommended these as an alternative to the sneakers.

Will someone please shoot me? My grandma called, and she wants her shoes back.

I do have to give major props to Michael for today. One of my incredibly vain complaints with all of this drama is that I look frumpy & unprofessional every day - I have all of one pair of sneakers & one pair of jeans hemmed to wear with flats/sneakers. He obviously can't fix the major issue of no running for six months, so today he went out & got me a few pair of super cute jeans that I can have hemmed & a new pair of shoes. It's the little things, people.

I also had an ice cream bar for lunch. It slightly dulled the pain of the news. I envision myself cuddled up with a bottle of wine tonight. . .

I ate well yesterday & all that jazz, plus worked out. No workout today - don't want to interfere with the wine & ice cream doing their job. ;-)

Funky Town

I'm in a funk this week, hence the lack of posting. I think realizing that it's been over a month since my injury & I'm still not running (and - still in a lot of pain) is getting me down. I also feel like I spend a huge portion of my day trying to squeeze all of the necessary appointments in (physical therapy, personal training, follow up doctor's appointment to meet with a specialist), and it's stressing me out with work. The boys summer school got moved to a different elementary school due to last minute construction, so I'm now adding an addition 30+ minutes each way on to the day to make that happen. Not to mention that Nick's been sick, Sam's had multiple hearing checks due to a concern about his hearing, dentist appointments, etc. Sometimes it just feels impossible to juggle everything.

Add in the fact that I am just generally frustrated with my foot & not running, & it's rough. I made an appointment with a specialist, & I finally get to meet with him tomorrow. I'm very excited to at least get an opinion from someone who completely understands the injury, versus my general practitioner. Wish me luck.

Enough moaning & groaning in this post. I do not have the balls to post my current outfit picture, because it's just too tragic. I only have one pair of jeans that I can wear with flats/running shoes (I'm out of the boot until I meet with the specialist tomorrow & he can determine what's causing the pain), & I wore those yesterday. Which means today, I'm wearing a pair that is all gather-y at the bottom. With running shoes. At work. Which I am not a fan of. I feel like I don't look pulled together or professional. Anyway, here's what I wore yesterday. . . the fashion disasters continue.

Outfit:

Details

• Pink sweater - Jcrew
• Blank short-sleeved shirt - Loft
• Mixed metal necklace - Nordstrom
• Jeans - 7, Dojo cut
• Shoes - New Balance

Workout:
I did manage to work out yesterday, & did 60 minutes on the elliptical + 25 minutes on the bike. My trainer is sick & had to cancel today's session, but I'll be doing cardio + weights.

Food:
Yesterday was a good eating day - I'm obsessed with the protein smoothies at the gym, & get them as my reward when I work out. I know, food should never be a reward, but whatever. I need the motivation, folks. :-)

• Breakfast - sauteed spinach & egg on a bagel thin + fruit & coffee
• Lunch - protein smoothie + salad
• Snack - hummus, carrots & a handful of mini Dr Krackers
• Diner - 2 mini burgers + corn
• Snack - grapes

Yeah for life! Because I'm in a funk, I'm going to make a list of all of the things making me happy right now.

• The sunshine. Finally. In Seattle. Perfectly timed for the first day of summer.
• That my youngest son (Nick) didn't cry this morning when I dropped him off at his new school. He had a hard time with the transition to a different place/different kids/different teachers yesterday.
• I'm going on vacation with my parents & my husband in a few weeks, and I'm so excited. One thing I've noticed about having kids is that it's really hard to have adult conversations, so my parents rarely get a chance to talk to us and/or spend any adult time together, and we all get along well. Can't wait.
• We're taking the boys to Disneyland this summer! I've been dying to do this, and so happy that we finally got the dates worked out.
• My weight is the lowest it's been in 6 years, and I only have 1.6 pounds of baby weight left. Almost there!!
• That I'm FINALLY seeing a foot specialist tomorrow. First step on the road to recovery & running again.
• I'm going on a girls trip mid-July, and I could not be more excited about it. My sister, my best friend, + me. Sitting in the sunshine. Drinking adult beverages. Enjoying the cabana. Eating at fancy restaurants. Dressing up. Laughing. Having time to spend together. Yes!!

There is more, but I'll start with that. How do you cheer yourself up when you're in a funk?

Father's Day Weekend

We made the drive to the beach last night, stopping along the way to see my parents & capping off the night with a Costco run for supplies. It was actually a relaxing drive, and with 2 kids in the car for four hours, that can't be said very often. :-)

The boys are officially done with "preschool", and they'll be starting "summer school" on Monday. We headed to the beach to celebrate the end of school, Michael's birthday, & Father's Day.

I had another vomit-inducing workout with my trainer yesterday - she is hard core! I ate well, and all that jazz. Today I'm hanging on to 1600 calories by the skin of my teeth, and using all the self-control I possess not to have a s'more. Wish me luck. I did have two glasses of wine on the deck in the sunshine + a goat cheese appetizer, so life is good.

We went to the state park across the street from the beach house and rode bikes (minus me, with the fractured foot & all), climbed san dunes, & enjoyed the sunshine. . . Today in pictures:

Sticks are necessary for climbing to the top of the san dunes. . .

Can you see the two boys at the top of the hill? They weren't sandy *at all* by the time they rolled down. . . ahhhhh, summer vacation :-)

A gorgeous day at the beach. . .

Michael - relaxing at the beach

Yeah, I have pretty awesome beach hair going on here. You're envious, I know. :-)

Outfit details:

• Crazy hair - courtesy of the beach weather
• Sunglasses - Coach
• White hoodie - from a combination grocery store/all purpose store on a cold day when I was stuck without a jacket

Glamorous, I know. :-)

Life is good, and, as usual, I'm completely enjoying the beach experience. It's always relaxing to be here. I'm hoping to get in a strength workout tomorrow, but I must admit that today would have been the PERFECT running day on the beach, & I was a little sad that I was missing it. Oh well, plenty of time for that. I did hit the bumper cars with the kids, and that's totally a calorie burner. Right? ;-)

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!! Anyone racing or doing long runs this weekend? Let me live vicariously through you!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to the man who always knows how to make me laugh, supports me in all of my endeavors, feeds our kids breakfast *every* morning without fail, pushes me to be a better person and mom, and is truly my best friend. I'm lucky to have you.

We're having lunch together today, so I dressed up for the occasion. It's hard to make anything look good with the lovely boot. :-)

Outfit:

Details:

• Navy sweater - Loft
• Printed dress - BCBG
• Silver Sandal - Chinese Laundry/Ross
• Awesome boot worn with lovely white running sock = glamour

Workout:
I met with my trainer yesterday & we did a 60 minute pool workout. It was seriously vomit-inducing, and so very very hard! She kicked my butt. I'm feeling sore all over today, which is always a good feeling. I also did 1/2 of my strength training routine yesterday.

Food:

• Breakfast - coffee + blueberries + 1/2 wheat lavosh bread with egg and sauteed spinach
• Snack - Luna bar
• Lunch - banana protein smoothie + salad
• Snack - carrots & grape tomatoes + hummus
• Dinner - asparagus, plum, & 1 mahi mahi mango taco

Weight:
My weight is down to the lowest it's been in years. I don't know if that's "real", or a result of losing muscle tone. I'm a little concerned it's the latter, so I'm continuing my efforts with the strength training and eating well. I've officially lost 17.2 pounds since January 1st. Woo! And, I'm just about 1/2 way to my summer weight loss goal. I also only have 1.8 pounds of "baby weight" left. So very close! I will be having a serious celebration when I can officially say that it's all gone.

My big challenge for the week is that we're heading to the beach this weekend. Normally, that's not a problem for my workouts, as I love running at the beach. Clearly, that's out, as is biking, walking, and/or anything else I can think of. I'm cleared to swim or use the elliptical. I'm thinking there will be no cardio workouts happening Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, which sucks. I can still strength train over the weekend, so I'll focus on that.

Also, here's my handsome boy, Sam, at his preschool graduation last Friday. Such a cutie pie!

And a few other shots of the big day:

Nick, pointing to the "graduates"

The boot really makes any look. . .


Any big plans for today? We're taking Michael out for Greek food & ice cream tonight, & heading to the beach for a combined birthday/Father's Day weekend tomorrow evening.

Rockin the pony

This is what laziness does to you. You shower late at night, don't straighten your hair, and get up this morning, realizing that you're going to be in the pool with your trainer at lunch time. Is it worth doing your hair for just a few short hours of work this morning? Clearly the answer is "no".

Details:

• Scary hair - due to laziness
• Silver circle necklace - courtesy of Michael
• White tank top - Loft
• White sheer striped sweater - Loft. New, got it last week for $8! Couldn't resist.
• Coral skirt - Jcrew. This is a little big & may be getting retired. It sits much lower than normal, because it slides down to my hips.
• Solo silver sandal - Chinese Laundry/Ross
• Awesome boot - still here

Food:
Yesterday was a pretty good eating day. I tried to shape up after a weekend of unnecessary snacks & carbs. I am aiming for around 1300-1400 calories/day & I was at 1410 yesterday.

• Breakfast - coffee/fruit + 1 waffle with 1/2 tsp butter (leftover from the weekend)
• Snack - nuts/dried fruit
• Lunch - cottage cheese + protein smoothie + carrots, grape tomatoes, & hummus
• Snack - 2 plums
• Dinner - nuts + 1/2 a piece of wheat lavosh bread with melted cheese & sliced apples

Workout:
I did workout yesterday & did 60 minutes on the elliptical (felt great to break a sweat again!) + about half of my arms/legs strength routine.

Question for you - do you do your hair every day? I think you know my answer. . .

Too tired for words

It was a long, long weekend. Nick's ear drum burst on Saturday night, so he was in pain & awake ALL.NIGHT. I think Michael & I each got about an our of sleep in between consoling Nick & trying to help him feel better. We took him to the doctor on Sunday & he has an ear infection in both ears & one of the drums burst. Poor baby. On top of entertaining the company we had, it was a lot. I'm exhausted. Caffeine can't even touch the exhaustion I feel this morning. I also didn't eat well over the weekend - just shoveled food in when I had a free second.

Random images from the weekend:

My fruit tower (it's a Persian entertaining thing)

Me at dinner on Saturday. Ignore the double chin . . I think I see a little arm definition - finally!

At work this morning, looking haggard.

Exhaustion - up close.

Outfit details:
The dress is now too big for me, discovered only after I put it on this morning. It gaps at the chest & is too big in the lower half, so I threw a sweater on to hopefully disguise it.

• Printed dress - BCBG
• Black sweater - Jcrew
• Silver heart necklace - gift from Michael
• Black patent shoes - Nordstrom
• Awesome boot - doctor

I know a workout will help give me a little energy today, so that's my plan. And, I need to eat well & fuel my body appropriately so I have energy to survive the day.

These are the days that being a working mom is extremely challenging. You just really can't do it all, regardless of what people say or your own expectations. I've been facing this "is it worth it" career dilemma for quite a while, and thinking about other possibilities. Basically, I'm working on a different master plan once my youngest son enters kindergarten (next fall). More on this to come, but it actually feels harder to have balance and be a great mom/parent as my kids get older. With Sam starting elementary school in the fall, schedule coordination gets increasingly challenging. I keep asking myself if money is worth the stress we're all under in my house, and whether we would be better served if I took on a consulting/freelance role in the same industry I'm in now. There are plenty of opportunities, and my schedule would be infinitely more flexible. It's something I've wrestled with for months now. Deep thoughts on a Monday morning.

Have you ever had a career or work/life balance crisis?

Martha Stewart Called. . .

Yesterday was a whirlwind getting ready for our out of town guests, which explains the lack of posting. My husband is Persian, as is his best friend & wife, who will be staying with us for the weekend. Persians are huge on entertaining, so it's either go big, or go home. Here's how the day played out:

• Took Nick to school, took Sam to a hearing check
• Trader Joe's to pick up last minute supplies
• Dropped Sam off at school, hit up the gym.
• Ellipticaled (is that a word?) for 30 minutes until my foot started to hurt.
• Home - shower/picked up the house
• Mall - purchased Michael's birthday present & part of his Father's Day present for next week.
• Home for lunch- scarfed part of my salad. Left for Sam's preschool graduation.
• Graduation - tears were shed, many pictures were taken. Coming soon.
• Home - boys played in the backyard while I prepped the food for the weekend.
• I made - goat cheese spread for a crostini appetizer
• Then, cranberry & pistachio biscotti
• I also made - blueberry muffins
• And, white Italian birthday cake cupcakes
• Plus dark chocolate butter cream frosting
• Currant & toasted almond scones
• Curried cashew chicken salad for lunch today
• Prepped all of the fruit and vegetables
• And, a few other things I can't remember. :-)

My foot is sore from being up & about all day. I need to get the preschool graduation pictures off of the other camera, but there are some adorable shots!

Prepping the table this morning:

In the bread basket. . .

Currant & toasted almond scones

I think Martha Stewart is jealous. :-) What are your big weekend plans? Best entertaining recipe?

The big graduation

Outfit:
First up, you have my apologies for my outfit. One of my peeps was sick this morning, thus destroying my original outfit plan. I'm very limited with what I can wear, due to the extremely awesome boot.

Details:

• Black short-sleeved sweater - Banana Republic. New, bought it in Las Vegas. I'm thinking that it's not very slimming. Of course, I've already cut the tags off. Darn. I look like I have a spare tire in the photo. I promise that it's not quite that tragic in person.
• Purple tank top - Banana Republic
• Amethyst necklace - Tiffany & Co
• Black capri pants - Jcrew
• Black flat - Nordstrom (Me Too brand)
• Awesome boot

Food:
My eating was great yesterday, until my plans to go to the gym in the evening were foiled by a sick husband. I was frustrated & ate a bunch of dark chocolate roasted almonds. I know, genius. Anyway, I estimate that I was about 300 calories over my plan as a result. By the way, those almonds are fantastic. Whoever blogged about them & put the idea into my head is evil!

• Breakfast - coffee, fruit, bagel thin + a soy sausage
• Snack - dried fruit/nuts
• Lunch - edamame + small broccoli cheddar soup & baguette (Panera)
• Snack - homemade protein ball
• Dinner - grilled chicken spinach salad
• Snack - blueberries

And, my oldest son Sam graduates from preschool tomorrow. I can't believe he's going to be a kindergartner in the fall. It goes too fast!

Germ factory

I'm home again (just the morning this time - Michael is taking the afternoon shift so I can hit up an important meeting at work) with a sick boy. Have you ever noticed that kids are little germ factories? Well, they are. I know you're devastated not to have a traditional bathroom photo shoot, so I'll tide you over with a few pictures of my little germ farm - Nick.

Who doesn't want to get pulled on a sleigh & wear a fabulous birthday headband/hat on his birthday?

His face looks a lot like this pouty one today, but with copious amounts of snot running down his face. You're welcome for that visual.

This guy has serious attitude, and a penchant for accessories. And chubby cheeks. He gets them from his mama, obviously. :-)
Workout:
Yesterday I didn't have a real workout, as I had my first physical therapy appointment in the morning & a personal training appointment in the afternoon. I did have to squeeze some work in around that, so there wasn't time for anything more than what we did during my training sessions. The first personal training session involved a lot of conversation about my goals, taking measurements, and getting a body fat estimation. Oh joy. Let's just say that I'll continue to work on my fitness - it's clearly needed.

The trainer did show me some pool workouts, so I probably eeked out 10 total minutes of cardio yesterday, plus 10 minutes of strength training exercies for my legs as part of my physical therapy.

Food:
I had a good eating day yesterday - lots of vegetables & healthy proteins, & stuck to my calorie goal for the day.

• Breakfast - coffee, fruit, sauteed spinach & egg on a bagel thin
• Snack - homemade protein ball
• Lunch - light chef's salad + peach protein smoothie + pear
• Snack - carrots & hummus
• Dinner - edamame + 1/2 serving tomato soup + mini burger with tomato & mustard

We're having guests this weekend, and I've been doing a lot of prep to get the house ready. How do the projects just seem to creep up? My big tasks this week: cleaning up our spare bedroom, & organizing our laundry/room pantry - the room is pretty big, so it seems to collect random odds and ends from the rest of the house.

Are you working on any house projects? What's on your current list of things you'd like to do?

Good news/bad news

I met with the physical therapist this morning, & she had mixed news.

Let's start with the good news:

• I'm cleared to use the elliptical! (With the boot on)
• I have lots of muscle strength, especially in my hips. She said I was stronger than a lot of people she sees rehabbing after marathons. Yay!
• She gave me several exercises to help me maintain muscle strength while wearing the boot.
• My gym/physical therapy office has an underwater treadmill that I can use when I'm reading to start introducing low(er) impact running back in.

Annnnnnnd, for the bad news:

• She thinks it will be September until I'm running 5ish miles again. Let's just say that it took some self-control not to cry when she dropped that bomb. Basically, I'll be wearing the boot until July, then it will take a few weeks of lighter impact working out to get my full range of motion back. Plus 3-4 weeks of training to get back to 5 miles. She said maybe the end of August if I can really maintain leg strength by working out between now & then (pool + elliptical + strength only)
• She said that my calf muscle will atrophy due to the boot, and there's really no exercise they can give me to help with that due to the injury location. The calf will be my biggest barrier to running again & require the most post-boot work.

I'm going to shoot for the Girlfriends Half Marathon in Vancouver (October) as my official first half marathon. That's my goal, and I'm going to work hard to stay in shape, yet allow my body to heal. It's a fine balance. I also have my first meeting with a personal trainer today, to get a body fat assessment (can't wait ;-)) to ensure I'm not losing too much muscle tone, & to get some pool tips.

I needed to be up early for my physical therapy appointment, but there was a husband-inflicted snafu with the alarm that resulted in this scary look.

Outfit:

Details:

• Purple gathered top - Ann Taylor Loft (is it now just called "Loft"?)
• Amethyst necklace - Tiffany & Co
• Scary hair - courtesy of alarm snafu
• Weird marks on first picture - from the mirror
• Black skinny pants - Gap
• Black skinny leather belt - Jcrew
• Solo black patent shoe - Nordstrom (getting tired of this baby yet? I am!)
• Awesome black boot - courtesy of my doctor

I can't leave you with those scary visuals, so I'll throw in a few Las Vegas pictures!

Here's our gorgeous lunch location on our first day in Las Vegas - La Cave at the Wynn.

Me, finally soaking up the sunshine!

• Black dress - BCBG
• Silver necklace - Tiffany & Co
• Sunglasses - Coach
• Huge smile - courtesy of being on vacation!

Food:
Yesterday was not a banner eating day. If you're looking for healthy eating inspiration, you may want to skip this. If you want to see me keeping it real, read on. :-)

I can't decide what I'm doing that's making me queasy about 1-2x/month. Maybe it has to do with my multivitamin, or perhaps hormones from my IUD. Anyway, I try to avoid carbs, but that's about the only thing I can handle when my stomach goes nuts. Then I wasn't hungry again until 7:30, and didn't feel like having a full meal. Likely due to the cookie. Oops.

• Breakfast - coffee, fruit, sauteed spinach + egg on a bagel thin
• Snack - handful of nuts + a mini luna bar
• Lunch - variety of items from the hot bar at work. Pasta + hummus/pita + roasted potatoes + a mini sandwich.
• Snack - cookie
• Dinnerish snack - blueberries + carrots + a couple of bites of the protein balls I was making.

I made protein balls yesterday, loosely interpreted from a recipe I saw in a book. I'm going to give them a try today & if they are yummy, I'll post pictures & details.

Have you ever made your own protein bars? Any great recipes to share?

The weight debate

For those of you who liked the purple dress I posted on Saturday, I got it for $20 or so at Express - cute & reasonably cheap. :-) I picked it up in black for $12 over Memorial Day weekend at a huge sale, so expect to see it again soon.

Here's what I wore yesterday, for running errands & hanging out around the house. I know, so glamorous, but keep in mind that I can't wear pants these days, so I'm trying to be flexible with my around the house looks. Normally it's yoga pants. :-)  Note that I did not style my hair after swimming.

Details:

• Black tank top - Ann Taylor Loft (new, bought it last weekend in Las Vegas)
• Denim skirt - Jcrew

I made a super yummy breakfast yesterday - oatmeal & protein pancakes:

Sadly, that's not ice cream with breakfast - it's plain Greek yogurt with a drizzle of agave. Yum.

Food:
I've been doing well with eating, avoiding snacks & junky carbs, focusing on lots of protein & fruit/vegetables. In general, I aim for 1500 calories/day. I find that as long as I'm active, that's a good calorie range for me to lose a slow but steady one pound/week.

• Breakfast - coffee & fruit, protein pancakes + Greek yogurt
• Snack - protein shake
• Lunch - cottage cheese + handful of peanuts + 1 piece of pizza
• Snack - handful of almonds
• Dinner - corn + 1 glass of wine + 2 mini burgers wrapped in lettuce with tomatoes & mustard
• Snack - grapes

Workout:
I lifted weights yesterday & swam laps. I'll say this for swimming - laps are a killer workout! I don't know how you swimmers do it. I was ready to collapse after 10 laps. I need to find a training plan or something that shows me how to build on my laps.

Outfit, part deux:
Here's my look for today.

Details:

• Black top with slight ruffle detailing at the top - Ann Taylor Loft
• Bean necklace - Tiffany & Co
• Brown skirt - Ann Taylor Loft. (New, purchased over Memorial Day weekend)
• Solo black sandal - Chinese Laundry - Ross. (New, purchased a few weeks ago on my infamous girls beach trip which resulted in the awesome boot)

Weight:
I'm concerned about my weight, but not for the normal reasons. My weight is actually down from before I left for Las Vegas. And trust me, I ate well in Sin City. Champagne, wine, cookies, ice cream, steak, etc. I didn't go crazy or anything, but I certainly wasn't on a diet. Which makes me suspect that the change in weight is a result of losing muscle tone. :-( I am consistently doing strength training, fueling myself well, & doing what I can to keep myself in shape, but I already feel flabbier than I did several weeks ago. It's mostly in my head, but I don't feel as good about myself when I'm not running. I think this may be the first time in my life that I'm concerned about weight loss. ;-)

Does anyone have any experience with losing weight after you stop running for a period of time?

The perfect June day

Today was just one of those regular days that turns out unexpectedly well. Love those days. :-)

I started it off by trying out a water aerobics class, and I was pleasantly surprised. I was younger than everyone in the class by a minimum of twenty years, but the instructor structured the class so everyone could tailor the workout to fit their skill level. We did a lot of laps, swam in 8 feet of water with flotation belts, and used weights or a ball for the entire class. It's not running, but it was different and enjoyable. I pushed myself hard on the laps, and I think I'll be feeling my arms tomorrow.


Outfit:
Here's me, after we got back from the beach this evening. Yes, the house bathroom shots are nearly as tragic as the work shots.

Details:

Purple dress - Express

Brown woven belt - Target

Not shown - solo Gap sandal + awesome black orthopedic boot. Hot stuff.

Pink skin, courtesy of not having any sunblock on

Food (from yesterday):
I hit my calorie goals for the day, so all was well with the world. I also got 5 servings of vegetables & 4 servings of fruit, so close to my targets.

• Breakfast - Fruit smoothie made with strawberries, blueberries, protein powder and a banana
• Snack - cheese
• Lunch - 1 piece of vegetarian pizza, mini luna bar, carrots, hummus + Dr Kracker
• Snack - Frozen yogurt + mini oreos
• Dinner - 1 glass of wine, barbecued tilapia over spinach with mango salsa

Workout:
I did get in a great weight workout yesterday & stretched. Baby steps, people. I miss cardio, I will say that.

Anyway, on to today. After swimming, I made mini muffins - banana wheat germ. They were fabulous & the mini size means you can have a couple without doing too much damage. I also bought a new Speedo, so I don't have to swim laps in my bikini - hello, nip slip during water aerobics today!

I think this is the first weekend in months that we've hung around the house, & it was great. We had happy hour before dinner (margaritas + hummus/vegetables) & after we ate, we took the boys out for ice cream. It was a gorgeous summer day in Seattle, and ended up at the beach playing in the lake and getting sandy. . . A fantastic end to the day.

What did you end up doing on this lovely Saturday? Hope the weather was good in your neck of the woods!

The day that fashion died

Yes, it's true. The boot is incredibly stylish & sexy. Please don't be jealous.

I'm just keeping it real, folks.

Outfit:

• Denim jacket - Jcrew
• Black printed dress - Ross
• Silver heart necklace - courtesy of Michael
• Black tank top - Ann Taylor Loft
• Solo black patent flat - Nordstrom
• Incredibly awesome boot - courtesy of my doctor

Food:
Yesterday was a decent eating day. I avoided a second piece of pizza at dinner, but I did have a beer. Win some/lose some. The beer was just what the doctor ordered (okay, not really) after a crazy day.

• Breakfast - coffee, fruit, sauteed spinach & an egg on a piece of wheat toast
• Snack - dried fruit & nuts
• Lunch - tomato soup + tiny portion of tortellini, hummus, carrots, & 1 Dr Kracker
• Snack - Mini Luna Bar
• Dinner - beer, 1 piece of pizza, 1/2 of a small Greek Salad
• Dessert - Grapes

Working Out:
I think I've found a personal trainer to work with! I need the motivation and extra help if I'm going to use swimming as a workout. I'm hopeful that we'll be able to get together next week for our first session. I'm also going to do weights and stretching this afternoon.

What are you up to this weekend? Any fabulous plans? The boys have soccer on Saturday, & I'm going to try & an attend a water aerobics class. No other major plans, as I had the 1/2 marathon on the calendar for Sunday. *sad face*

I need to get the rest of the Las Vegas pictures from Michael, so expect more soon! :-)

Fractured Metatarsal

I got a call this morning from the radiologist, & I do have a fracture in my food. *insert extremely sad face & massive emotional drama here* I have to go to get fitted for a boot today. And I thought the running shoes at work look was bad.

Since I'm in a very squirrely mood today, I'll save you the rest of my whining & show you pictures from our first night in Las Vegas! We went to a fancy dinner at Botero, played craps, & had a great time. Note my sandals in the picture - I avoided heels like a good girl, even though it totally killed my style with the dresses. :-)

Self-portrait in the room

Outfit:

• Black strapless lace dress - Express
• Black bracelet - Banana Republic
• Black necklace - Jcrew
• Black beaded sandals - BCBG

Answering the tough life questions - hair up, or down?

Michael, being cheesy :-)

The lovely indoor gardens at the Wynn
Food:
I'll be the first to admit that I struggled with my eating yesterday. I know that food is not the cure for my current emotional feelings about my foot, but yesterday I tried to fill the void. No more self-medicating with snacks - I'm back on track & ready to maintain my 15 pound weight loss. No gaining!

From yesterday:

• Breakfast - 1 egg and a bagel thin, coffee + strawberries
• Snack - 1 skinny caramel macchiato at the doctor's office
• Lunch - cottage cheese, 1/3 of a burrito + 1/2 a salad (Michael & I shared lunch)
• Snack - nanaimo bar (I know - healthy, right? ;-))
• Dinner - tortellini + fresh tomatoes
• Snack - grapes

Operation Regroup starts today. I could indulge in more self-pity, but honestly, I'm tired of it already. I love a good plan, so I'm going to focus on what I can actually do, and not look back on the five months of training I put in. I can go back to running after this is over. In the mean time, here's my plan:

• Stick to my eating plan, cutting back 1 snack a day from my running diet, unless I'm swimming and/or super hungry.
• Hire a swimming trainer who can help me get comfortable in the water so that I can use lap swimming as a workout. (I know how to swim, but I have terrible form.)
• Focus on upper body workouts + abs, as well as any lower body exercises that don't put pressure on my foot
• Stay positive. This is a minor blip in my running life.

Any cheery or funny news to make me laugh today? :-) Bad jokes?

Viva Las Vegas

First off, Las Vegas was fabulous, and good times were had by all. Including my kids, who spent the weekend throwing pine cones at targets, partying at a Memorial Day barbecue with their cousins, playing with my parents' cat, hitting Portland & Powell's book store, riding a street trolley, having snuggle parties, and riding bikes on the obstacle course that my dad designed for them. A fun weekend in the country.

I'm currently in a bit of a post-vacation slump. Especially since I went to the doctor today & found out that I won't be running for a minimum of two more weeks, and need to see a physical therapist. Tears were shed, and I'm totally freaked out by the possibility of not running for a minimum of a month. I know - overreaction, anyone? But, it's hard to express how I feel about it. Running makes me feel healthy and confident, helped me lose weight, and really started to define me. I'm worried I'm going to gain weight, lose muscle tone, not be able to run the half marathons I've been training for, you know, all kinds of sucky things. I know I can come up with a plan and get past this, but I'm in a little freak out mode for today. Tomorrow I'll kick start Operation Regroup.

I'm going to continue to do strength training (I'm approved to do core & upper body), as well as look into swimming. I'm not a swimmer. At all. This should be interesting. Also, I have to wear running shoes every day to work, according to the doctor. Brace yourselves for some Fashion Don'ts. :-)

And, just for fun, here's me at work yesterday. I like to call this - our flight was delayed seven hours on Monday & I got home at midnight & didn't bother to unpack, find my makeup/straightener/or clearly my sanity by Tuesday am - picture. You're welcome.

Details:

• Printed top - Ann Taylor Loft
• Mixed metal necklace - Nordstrom
• Dark wash jeans - Seven, Dojo fit
• Black patent flats - Nordstrom

And, here are a few pictures from our first day in Las Vegas (aka - the day scary white Seattle people enter into the land of the tan and fit):

Me, in our fancy bathroom.
Cover up - Forever 21
Metallic sandals - Gap
Bikini underneath - Billabong, Costco

Me, being a tool in the elevator

Dorkiness continues

Fancy hotel - Encore, location unknown

I think this is the one where Michael pretended to take a picture of me, but was really trying to get a shot of the sweet and incredibly hot/fit mom to my right. Loved her, but she certainly makes the rest of us look bad. And yes, I'm really that white. Guard your eyes. :-)

Michael, at the pool. Note the bathroom signage in the background. I'm quite a skilled photographer.

More pictures to come!