Thursday, January 22, 2009

Poor toes

You all really pulled through on the comments, and for that I thank you. I feel a special closeness with you, my blogging friends, so I feel like I can share with you a little bit of a sad story.
As you know from my last triumphant post, I have had a really sore hip. Almost a week later, I am still struggling with it, but it is on the mend. I can now walk up the stairs with alternating steps instead of the crawl I used at the beginning of the week. It has been really painful, but still worth it, in my opinion.
Now for the sad part. Ben was in Kansas City this week, so someone still had to take care of the kids. I was making dinner one night and thought I would save myself a few excruciating steps and just separate the packages of chicken where I was standing at the freezer. I dropped one of the pounds of frozen chicken, and because I couldn't move my leg out of the way fast enough, the package dropped right on my poor little pinky toe. I didn't cry through the whole hip ordeal, but I did cry about the toe.
It does feel a little better with a fresh pedicure and coat of nail polish.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Accountability Update aka YAY ME!!!

I think it was back in August that I told you all that I was going to run a 1/2 marathon in hopes of motivating myself to get into shape. Well, this was the weekend, and guess what....I DID IT!!!! I am so proud of me! We met up with Ben's sisters, aunt, cousins and grandma in St. George, Utah for the race. We had so much fun! I love my in-laws, they are all THEE BEST!
So, here is the rundown of what I have been doing.
I joined the gym. Best thing ever. I love going to the group classes. I know me and this is what motivates me. Here's my schedule:
Mondays and Fridays: 5:30 power up (kind of a cardio/fat burning weights class)
Tuesdays, Wednesdays (@ 8:30) and Thursdays: 5:30 spinning--my gosh--after your bum gets used to the seat wedged into it, this class is so much fun! Thursdays I also go back at 9:15 for Butts and Guts. Soon we will have another core class to fill in on Wednesday mornings.
I also try to get back and do more cardio on the elliptical or go out running 4-5 miles. I like the elliptical because it doesn't kill my knees.
I also said in my previous post that I wasn't going to weigh or measure myself, and for the most part I haven't. I didn't want to discourage myself. I am nursing Jeff still and my body still wants to hold onto fat, but I finally did weigh myself and I have lost about 10 pounds! Even better than that, though, is that instead of buying XL pants and shirts, I am feeling very comfortable in a Medium!
I don't usually make a habit of taking before and after shots so I don't have much for concrete evidence. I was looking through pictures and found this one. Now don't barf......

My tummy (among other things) is so gooshy!
Here I am at the end of the race with my SILs and CIL (that is cousin in law). Thank you (marathon running) Kristi for hanging back with me! You saved the day. It was my goal not to walk at all. I did let myself have a little rest at the water stops, just enough to drink my water without sloshing it all over myself, but at mile 6 my hip started to really bother me. I tried to stretch it out, but at mile 10 I couldn't handle the pain anymore. I had to walk. DANG IT! I was able to pull it together and run most of the last mile, but I was absolutely dying! I have had a really hard time walking the last couple of days, but it was worth it to be able to finish a goal I had set for myself. I am pleased, however, that the rest of me is doing great! For the most part, besides my hip, I don't have any other sore muscles, and my heart rate and recovery were in tip-top shape! I feel really good about the lifestyle changes I have made and am going to keep everything up. I set out with this race as motivation, but now have other goals for myself.

Last but not least, I LOVE THIS GUY! He has been so supportive and kind. I am really looking forward to him running it with me next year!

OK, that's about it. It sure is a narcissistic post, but guess what, this is my blog. Now, I am expecting a lot of comments containing phrases such as "Oh my gosh! You look so good!" and "Way to go, Emily! You are truly amazing!" and maybe even "Six Kids Later is HOT!" Any of those will do, or any other for that matter!



Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Why?

It was clean yesterday. This is what I find today. Why do I even bother? Today the story is that they were making tattoos. What this has to do with toilet paper shredded all over the floor is beyond me. I think, to their credit, that they may have been trying to clean up the make-up smeared all over the counter, that may have something to do with the empty Clorox wipe containers smashed on the floor. I hate to admit that tooth brushing is already a privilege that must be earned daily and supervised by a competent adult (this is because I was tired of tubes of toothpaste being squeezed out almost daily and spread out on counters, door knobs and pillows--you know, funny pranks like that). I am considering making usage of the bathroom for whatever reason a privilege also. Why are my kids so destructive? What have I done wrong? ARRRR!!!!!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Movie Review

Ben and I went to see Valkyrie last night. I LOVED IT! It definitely was not a make you feel good movie, but I went in there knowing what was going to happen and it was still exciting. We had seen a documentary on the real Valkyrie plan on the History Channel a few days ago and it really gave me an appreciation for what these brave men and women knew they had to do. It was touching to see the children of those involved speak so proudly of what their fathers had done for Germany and all of the world. I have seen reviews of this movie and have been reminded of how ridiculous Hollywood is. Many reviews were based on Tom Cruise, not the movie. I liked them both. The only bad thing about the movie was that right in front of us, a family had brought their LITTLE kids. They were banging their heads on the back of the seat and into my leg for awhile (until I told them to knock it off), and giggling the whole way through the movie, until the end ***SPOILER ALERT*** when they quieted down and sat still through all the suicides and executions. That is what I call responsible parenting. Idiots!
We also went and took the kids to see Marley and Me when we went to Tahoe last week. We were really looking forward to seeing it so we braved the casino and the singing Elvis we had to walk through to get to the theater. I think it had a lot of potential, but our kids started asking too many questions like "Why did she say there is a naked lady in their bed?", and "What is a _______?" so I guess I will have to wait for the DVD to find out on my own how that one ended. Oh well. Have you seen any movies lately?