Three (Favorite) Things Thursday

1. I usually like my Greek yogurt plain or with honey. Recently, I bought Chobani Blood Orange and I love it!

2. I asked for some Netflix series suggestions a couple of posts ago. This morning, I began Season 1 Episode 1 of Mad Men. I like it so far.  

3. Not exactly a favorite thing, but I'll go to the doctor for an ultrasound tomorrow. I am excited. And going to the doctor seems to be a "favorite" thing for me these days. :) 

Monday Musings

1. I am officially back working with the kiddos today. My clients list isn't that long yet. So, today was quite an easy day for me to get back into the swing of things. 

2. On certain days, I have the luxury of running home for a quick lunch. Saves money. Save calories. Today (right now), I am reading blogs, eating leftovers, and enjoying a quiet, alone lunch. :) 

3. Today marks the beginning of the third trimester. Feels like I ought to celebrate with some bubbly... 

Not kidding. But don't worry. I haven't drank wine since before I found out I was pregnant. 

Here's me. 

4. Sleep is getting a little difficult. I had a hard time getting comfortable last night, so I ended up sleeping in 2-hour spurts. Maybe the body is preparing me for when the baby is here. I finally got comfortable piling up my pillows up on my back/neck/head and slept in a obtuse angle. 

5. I was up before the sun was up. Got 2 miles in on the treadmill walking. Started at 2.5 mph and increased the speed by 0.1 for every 1 minute. After the first mile, I bumped the speed back down to 3.0 and increased it every 2 minutes, while increasing the incline by 0.5 every minute. Or something like that. 

6. I finished watching Nip/Tuck on Netflix. So I am looking for another series to watch. Suggestions welcomed! I ended up reading blog posts and trolled around Facebook to see what everyone was up to. 

Weekend Round Up

Monday: 1 mile

Tuesday: 1 mile

Wednesday: 1.5 mile in the morning. 0.5 mile in the evening.

Thursday: 1.5 mile in the morning. 0.5 mile in the evening. 

Friday: I probably got burned out with work. I came home and took a good nap and felt like a brand new woman. Totally needed that. 

Saturday: 1 mile at noon. Increased speed by 0.5 for every 0.25 mile. I like doing stuff like that - makes me work a little harder and kinda helps distract me and makes time seem to go by faster.
1 mile in the evening. It was a little slower. 

Sunday: 1 mile. Started at 2.5 mph, increased the speed by 0.1 mph for every 1 minute. 

This Week's Total: 9 miles.

This week is the first week back to work after a wonderful, restful, easy summer break. It is all about getting back into a routine, especially the morning routine with a time constraint. So far, I think I did a fairly nice job of getting my walks done first thing in the morning. Four days out of five weekdays. Not too shabby right? 

I think I could have boost the 0.5 mile in the evenings to 1 mile. I should be doing that. So, I will be working on it this coming week.

I love it that I broke the 8-mile per week this week.  I am going to break the 9-mile mark this coming week.

I have found that 2 miles a day kinda help prevent the rub-buh-dub-dub on my thighs a little. I am going to try and do that this week.

I did some kitchen experiments from the pins I pinned over at Pinterest this week. It has been quite a delicious week.

It says it is Texas Roadhouse rolls. 

I don't know. 

But it is tasty. 

Find recipe here.

This is crockpot beef and broccoli. 

I added mushrooms and bamboo shoots and sautéed the vegetables separately instead of following the instruction to dunk it into the Crock Pot. 

I am a rebel like that. 

Find recipe here.

I also did another tasty dish too. 

Crock Pot chicken teriyaki.

The recipe for  crockpot chicken teriyaki is here.  

How was your week? 

Any new experiments with runs or meals? 

Are y'all getting back to school/work like I am too? 

So far so good!

I have been back at work for two days now. It sure takes some getting used to.

No more lazing around and sleeping in until 10 a.m., and taking naps at 10:30 a.m. Ahhh.. those were the good ol' days!

I went to the big city for an autism conference last week and I took this at the hotel.

Me and Baby C at late 26 weeks.

Monday and Tuesday have been quite good.

I actually got my walks in early in the morning. Nothing strenuous. Just a mile. I may be able to squeeze in another mile in the evening, but I was exhausted from work on Monday. Maybe I will sneak in a mile later.
I am going to try and keep up the morning routine this entire work week.

This is me and Baby C at 27 weeks.

One more week to the third trimester.

Oh wow. Time passes, doesn't it?

(P.S.: I have been slacking at reading your blog posts. Give me some time. I plan on catching up with y'all this week.)



Facebook Official

So I made it Facebook official today with this picture.

It was a little daunting.

25 weeks.

And still growing....

Gosh. I am huge.

I Can Read!

Monday: 1.5 miles on treadmill
Tuesday: 1 mile on treadmill

I have been busy at the local library.

First up, Bringing Up Bebe.

This was an interesting book. An easy read.

I am not looking for sage advice on parenting with this book.
I just wanted an easy read. And this was good.

There were some interesting points discussed and allowed me to think and consider the way I would want to bring up my child.

Last week, I borrowed this from the library.

This is a page-turner.

However, if you have watched his program on 20/20 or on Fox, you would have know most of what he wrote in this book.

(Don't worry. That was not a real mimosa. Just OJ and some Sierra Mist)

Today, I went and got this book from the library.
Nothing like a little true serial killer story to get the blood pumping.

So far, so good. It is a little difficult to put the book down.

Yesterday, I went to the doctor for another routine check-up.

I even got to see the ultrasound of the baby.

Baby C is quite an active little thing. Bet Baby C is getting those legs ready for running!

Here's me at Week 18.

We have been doing some great job at growing!

One Lovely Blog

Tuesday: 1 mile. I actually ran/jogged more than I had been. I would walk 1 minute and jog for 30 seconds consistently. When I was walking, I had the treadmill set to an incline. It was a good workout!

Wednesday: Celebrated National Running Day with 1 mile on the treadmill with some running bursts. :) It was a good one. Got it down first thing in the morning and out of the way. Already felt so accomplished!

Thursday: I walked a lot, running errands, doing shopping etc. That counts right?

I was given the "One Lovely Blog" Award by Christine over at Dream Big Runner. Here are the seven things I would like to share. Not any random 7 things I pull out of the air, but 7 pregnancy-related things I didn't know or have experienced.

1. Friends seemed to like to put their hands on my belly when we take pictures. It's oddishly adorable in a good way.

2. Some concerned people around me are worried about me running. I really appreciate their concerns. But it gets a little "old" when I receive text messages or emails from concerned folks whenever I mentioned a run on Facebook. I have cut back like 90% of my runs in distance, intensity, and frequency. If only they read my blog. Then they will know what I am doing. I'm just staying a little active, move a little. And I am really taking it easy. Trust me, I am not the kind to let pride or stubbornness affect the baby.

3. On that note, people are worried about me carrying heavy things. At our local grocery store, there is a bagger who bags the grocery and then, would help load the groceries into your vehicle. I have always been doing that myself. It makes no sense to have someone help me when they could be helping an elderly person or to have them get out in the cold/heat. But on a recent trip to the grocery store where I bought a gallon milk and a gallon OJ and a few other items, the cashier lady insisted that someone help me load the groceries. Since she is a good bit older, I acquiesce. Rest assured. I am not lifting anything that is too too heavy. I have read that anything under 25 lbs is still ok.

4. Random people and friends have been hazarding a guess on my baby's gender. Most people tell me I am having a boy.

5. Being pregnant gives your perks! Other than people insisting they carry stuff for me, they are also giving me free stuff! The lady boss at a Mexican restaurant where I usually frequent for lunch gave me a free cheese dip. And yesterday,  the boss of an Indian restaurant gave me a mango lassi for free to "celebrate a happy special occasion." He also told me this, "You are having a boy!"

6. I am going through a 24-pack of water like nobody's business. I bought the big gallon jug to help cut down on plastic. But I find that I am not drinking as much than when I was just drinking out of a bottle. So it is back to the bottle.

7. The water seems to be doing wonders for my skin. It looks like the pores have gotten smaller.

I am supposed to tag some people too. But instead of tagging them, why don't you tell me at least one thing about yourself?

This Is How I Roll

Howdy! First thing first, accountability. Here's how I fared in the area of fitness for the past few days.

Friday 6/1: 2 miles on the treadmill. I also walked some with Paddy Wag outside and danced with her a little.
Saturday 6/2: 1 mile
Sunday 6/3: 1 mile + walk to neighbor's house to deliver fresh homemade rolls.
Monday 6/4: 1 mile
June total: 5 miles

How was your weekend? I had the most wonderful weekend with the boyfriend. We actually took time to rest and relax. We had our meals at the table, we talked about politics and stuff in general, and he pop-quizzed me lots of math problems. That's the deal when you have an engineer as your significant other. We did problems on aggregates and percentages, and talked about the differences between Celsius and Fahrenheit, and discussed the difference between precision and accuracy.

Since I was home pretty much all day, I did what I loved doing.

I made some homemade dinner rolls from scratch.

How can something so simple tastes so good?

I even made a pan for my neighbor because her dad convinently mowed our yard.

And the perfect segue from homemade rolls is this picture ....

My bun in the oven that I have been baking for the past 17 weeks. 

I have been having trouble sleeping at night, trying to get into a the "right" position.

Any advice??