There is a local musician that my daughter has seen a few times and he has as song that goes something like “run, run, run, run, we keep running” and lately I find myself getting the song stuck in my head. The thing is although it just becomes obnoxious and after the thousandth time of singing it to myself I’m screaming “GET THIS SONG OUT OF MY HEAD” (p.s. this is the only line of the song I know) I do find it is a constant reminder that I need to get get out and run and to keep on it.
I just started back up running consistently and I’m at that point where I am not yet in a routine so it doesn’t feel weird if I skip a run. I am working on changing that and now that I have a training schedule to follow I am finding the constant reminder a good thing. My training officially started last week and it is going well so far. I am starting out slow, no like real slow, but that’s okay because at least I am getting out there. I’m a week in and I’m already feeling stronger and excited to run. I’m three training runs down 47 to go!
Who else is training for a race? What keeps you motivated?
December feels so long ago by now but I still wanted to share a few of my December Favorites with you. My favorites range from food to fitness to self care items (beauty and skincare). These items are ones that I found myself going back to over and over again all December and I’m still addicted to them this month.
Tea. I don’t know what it is about December but it seems every year right around the same time I become obsessed with tea and then Spring comes and I move on to iced coffees. In December I found myself having a cup of tea every afternoon. Tea seems to help me relax and unwind for a moment even when life is chaotic. While I have been drinking a variety of teas I have been hooked on this Pukka Elegant English Breakfast*. I have no idea what makes it “elegant” but it tastes amazing. I have the relax and the original chai as well but I have yet to try the relax, although there are days I probably should and the original chai is okay but it’s not as strong as I’d like. Honestly I just have them displayed right now on our coffee/tea station because they look so pretty together.
Nii Bars. Seriously these bars are so good! I have found myself turning to bars in the afternoon when I just need to grab something quick to snack on. I first tried these bars at the Portland Veg Fest and I was super impressed. The bars are filing, taste amazing and have a great texture. I only have a few bars left so I’m going to have to restock soon! P.S. The Cherry Coconut Nii Bar is my favorite flavour.
Julep Plush Pout Lip Crayon. I got this in a Julep Maven box back in the summer (that I have since canceled) so I have had this for awhile but I rekindled my love for it this past month. This lip crayon is super hydrating and easy to put on when you are on the run – no mirror necessary. I just think it’s great in the winter because it doesn’t dry my lips out and it makes them look fantastic. The shade is Almond Nude and it’s just a simple nude but it’s really pretty.
Mama Mio Goodbye Stretch Marks. I would say that this is one of my favorite products not for just December but if I were to make a 2014 favorites list it would be included. Seriously amazing stuff. When I first decided to try it I was skeptical that it would actually work but I can honestly say it has reduced and faded my stretch marks on my stomach. After two babies my belly is basically all stretch marks but I have been using this since mid-September and it has visibly reduced my stretch marks. I have only been using it once per day and I believe it recommends three times per day but I am here to tell you once per day does really help. I am sad because I am at that point where you know any day now I’ll go to pump some out and it is going to be empty. Sad face. I have a few other stretch mark balms/lotions to use up right now so I probably won’t run out and buy another one but if I didn’t have others to use up I would. Basically I heart Mama Mio.
Fitbit Charge. I just love my Fitbit Charge*. It helps to keep me motivated and moving more. There is nothing like a little watch tracking your movements to keep you in check. My only gripe about the Charge, and this goes for most non-GPS trackers is that when I am pushing the stroller or a cart it doesn’t accurately pick up the steps because my arm stays pretty stationary. I guess it’s not a terrible thing because it just tricks me into moving more so I can get in my 10,000 steps.
I know we are already 11 days into the new year so this post is coming on the later side but since we still have 354 days to go until we are once again ringing in the new year I figure it’s still worth posting my 2015 goals.
Run 4 races this year. I’m already registered for one (and I’m currently training for it) and I have plans for registering for the other three in the upcoming weeks/months.
Focus on strength training. In the past I have been all over the place when it comes to workouts. Sometimes I am really into yoga, other times bootcamp style workouts and (most of the time) just simply running or other forms of cardio. This year I want to focus more on strength training because I know that it will help me shed those baby weight pounds that I am holding on to.
Focus on eating clean. I know this is cliche (along with the goals above) but it is one of my goals. December was a bad month for us and I’m ready to get back on track. I love to eat healthy but sometimes it is so easy not to eat quite as well either. This year is about focusing on lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Get outside at least once per day. Being a stay-at-home parent living (temporarily) in the burbs it’s really easy to go days without leaving the house. My goal for 2015 is to get out everyday with the kids for at least 20 minutes rain or shine. Last week we were outside most everyday (I actually just committed to this goal on this past Thursday) I can already see a difference when it comes to how I feel and how the kids feel. The outdoors is a amazing thing.
Spend more time on me. I spend 90% of my time focused on my kids, my husband, and my house or projects and not as much time on myself. This year I know that needs to change and that I have to take care of myself to take care of my family. That means:
Getting my haircut semi-regularly.
Working towards a regular skincare routine.
Taking bubble baths.
Getting at least 2 massages.
Buy makeup and clothes to help me feel more confident and motivated.
Spend more time with friends. We spend most of our time doing things as a family of four and while that is wonderful I know that I need to focus more on my friendships with other women (who aren’t online). Neil gets out 1-2x per month to do something with one of his guy friends and honestly I have only been out by myself 6 times since December 2012. Yes I actually counted. Honestly there is a lot of stress for me around going out alone because of pumping a bottle for Alder (there is an entire blog post dedicated to this over on Naturally Family) so I often chose not to just because of this. The thing is however I know I need to and that it is healthy for me to do so, so this is the year. My plan is to get out with a girlfriend at least every 6 weeks in 2015.
Go out on regular dates. Neil and I haven’t been out on a date without a child since….? April? May? Anyways if it’s been so long that I can’t remember it’s been too long – am I right? Anyways we have finally hit a wall and know that we need to get out for regular date nights. That we need a few hours every month away from our children because it’s important for our relationship. Last week I signed us up for a SitterCity account but I have still yet to find a sitter who is up for watching an infant – whomp whomp. It’s hard when all of your friends have children of their own to watch and no family nearby and no one to help recommend a sitter in the area (trust me I’ve asked and most people we know have a family member who watches their kids). Anyways this months mission is to find a babysitter and then schedule regular monthly date nights.
Get organized. We have so much stuff. It honestly gives me anxiety when I see how much stuff we have so this year it’s about pairing down and getting organized. I am working on focusing on one cupboard, box, or room everyday in order to help achieve this goal. With two kids and a so many other obligations this list seems to only get longer but Neil and I are working on it.
Read 12 books (that are not children’s books or cookbook’s). Last year I think I read 4 non-children’s or cookbook’s so this year I want to read one new book per month. This month I have already read Gone Girlby Gillian Flynn and I’m moving on to Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Timeby Brigid Shulte for my January motivational book for the SarahOhm.com Blogger Book Club 2015
I am sure I could come up with about 10 more goals but I’ll stop here. I am thinking about sharing monthly goals starting in February with a follow up each month on how my goals went – thoughts?
What are you goals or what is on your to do list in 2015?
The past year has been a big experiment when it comes to menu planning. I have tried weekly menu planning, monthly menu planning, bi-weekly menu planning and not planning at all. In the end I found weekly planning to be too much work, monthly menu planning to be to ambitious, not planning at all to be a poor choice and bi-weekly menu planning to be just right (I think I have been reading too many children’s books).
While I have found bi-weekly menu planning to work best for us it hasn’t been without it’s flaws. One new thing I am trying this month is daily themed meals to help streamline the process. Here it what’s on the menu for us:
Saturday:L- Sandwiches; D – Vegan Shawarma Fries
Sunday:L – Vegan Shawarma Salads; D – Vegan Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese + Roasted Cauliflower
This is one of those weeks where I am thrilled that it’s Friday and the weekend is here. We didn’t have a bad week, more of just an off week and I’m ready to recharge and start next week fresh. It always seems the first week after a vacation (Neil was off for 10 days) is a little funny so hoping that next week we get back into our normal routine.
Alright lets talk Fitness Friday. This week wasn’t exactly as active as I had planned. I only ended up getting in two runs so a big whomp to that. Basically I just did make time for it no other excuse than that. This week I focused on getting things done around the house during my hands free minutes (from holding a baby, wiping noses, kissing boo-boos) I spent catching up on the tower of dirty dishes, organizing the cupboards and cleaning up the main living area and the playroom.
So now that we talked about (what little) I did this week lets start on plans for next week:
My Lorna Jane MNB Diary has four circuit workouts to try so I am going to do all four this week and see how it goes. While I don’t have the workouts I will be doing to share with you, you can give this (similar) one a try.
As I am preparing for my first postpartum race I couldn’t help but think back to my very first race. Back in July 2011 after finishing the C25K program Neil and I ran our first 5k ever. It was the Shipyard Old Port Half Marathon & 5k in Portland Maine and it was a beautiful day and a great race. I hope one day that we are able to go back and do the race again but this time the half marathon.
What was your first race? Are you training for a race right now?
Today has been one of those days that I am glad is just about over. It started with some five month old cutie-pie deciding that 4am would be a fabulous time to wake up and kick, “punch” and laugh. Once he finally went back to sleep, about 45 minutes later, I finally fell asleep too but was rudely awaken but a well slept 2.5 year old who thought 6:30am would be a great time to get us all up — who am I kidding we are all usually up by 6:30am it just felt so much earlier today.
I woke up kind of foggy because it was one of those times when I was just so awake at 4am but I didn’t want to get up but by the time a fell back asleep and had to get up for the day I just felt meh. So I headed straight to the shower to wash off the funk (literally – Alder spit up on me and figuratively).
The day overall was kind of a weird one but I did finishing cleaning the living room (although you might roll your eyes at that statement if you saw it right now). Edith declared to me that she didn’t want to take a nap and fought it so I threw my hands up and said lets get outside and I went for my run (more on my training plan in another post). Side note 20 minutes in to my run and she passed out in the BOB with her book in hand and slept for another 40 minutes.
After a run all I could think about is how we have basically no food to make meals (poor planning on my part) and how much I just wanted to go out for dinner but we have declared a dining out freeze this month (!!!!) Instead I prepped some dinner and then it was time to pack the kids up for Edith’s first swim class of the year which was great for me because I didn’t have to put a bathing suit on because swim lessons are Neil’s domain. Instead I got to sit in the pool viewing area, watch what I could see of the lesson and Alder napped on me while I read Gone Girl on the Kindle App on my phone (this book is insane).
We headed home and Neil and I talked about how we both really wanted to go for dinner tonight but alas we made a commitment to our no spending money on dining out (I say spending money because if ya’ll want to take us to dinner feel free). So we are sticking to the plan but I am still kicking myself for not making a meal plan this week and therefore having about five things to eat. Anyways dinner out probably would have been a terrible idea anyways because Little Miss had a break down at home and refused dinner. Anyways life can be rough as a 2.5 year old for real.
So now here I am on the couch with the last of the Christmas beer, writing this post with the Little Man laying on the couch next to me, kicking me (hoping this isn’t a foreshadow of the 4am to come). I am hoping to convince Neil to watch another episode of The Good Wife and I probably should get down to work on a meal plan – any recipes you are loving right now?
Tell me about your day. Highs? Lows? In-betweens?
Goals for the day: Run.
Eats of the day: Sunshine Burger Hemp & Sage Breakfast Patty & Spaghetti Squash with Spinach Cashew “Alfredo” Sauce.
Quote of the day: Do not apologize for crying. Without this emotion, we are only robots. – Eat, Pray, Love
Fitbit Charge. I just love my 
