Weekend Round Up + Random Tidbits

Exercise has been blah again. It has gotten increasingly difficult and I have been walking increasingly slow.

Monday: 0
Tuesday: 1
Wednesday: 1
Thursday: 0 - Woke up late. Baby's daddy called for vehicle rescue. His truck's battery died on him. So I had to go get them. We ended up having breakfast together, so that was nice.
Friday: 1
Saturday: 0 - I cleaned the house and sorted Baby C's clothes and got them laundered. So while I didn't walk, I didn't exactly just sit on my booty and eat bons bons all day.
Sunday: Walking around the grocery store. I actually drove to the grocery to walk. It is cool. There are things to see and distract me. I get grocery shopping in.  I actually had to stop and sit down halfway through the shopping. My legs were getting tired and my back was hurting. So I actually found a bench in the middle of the refrigerator/cheese section and sat down for a good 5 minutes to catch my breath, rest my feet and back.

Now the fun stuff!

I am totally digging my new Under Armor flip flops! We are talking about some serious thick, fluffy memory foam. Feels like I am walking on clouds..... Love!!!

I have been working on writing Thank You cards. I have never used the phone book so much before in my life, looking up address. :) I love it. Can't help but feeling incredibly appreciative and blessed for all the love showered upon us.  

Yesterday, I finally broke down and got rid of the badly chipped fingernail polish on my toes. Then, I had to contort my body almost Cirque du Soleil-style to paint those toe nails.

 

I also did the same color on my fingernails. Basically, it is 2 coats of a nude-ish base and a coat of a sparkly pinkish polish. It is light enough that when chipped, it isn't quite as visible. 
(I don't like pedicure/manicure at shops. I don't like people touching my feet or hands, or back. Which is why I am not crazy about massages either.)

Sunday has been wonderful. It has been gloomy and we have had some rain. Perfect day for something hot and soupy. So I made some chicken and dumplin'.

 Rolling out the dumplin' into thin strips using a sweet ol' lady's recipe.
This is so comforting, so hearty. 

Lastly, here's another belly pic. 

It is a little blurry. Sorry.
But look at THAT chunk-a-ginormous belly!

I am at the tail end of 32 weeks (+4 weeks since I am measuring REALLY BIG).

Baby C was active last night and this morning.
His daddy had his arms around me while sleeping and we were all awoken by Baby C's kicking.

It was neat. Baby's Daddy was smiling when he felt him moved repeatedly. 

I think I'll have a better week this coming week.
I will work on that. 

Question for you:
How was your week? Bought anything cool? Have another product that you absolutely love? 

Weekend Round Up - Of Shopping and Eating

Monday: 1 mile
Tuesday: 2 miles
Wednesday: 1 mile
Thursday: 1.5
Friday: 0 - sick.
Saturday: 0 - sick
Sunday: 0 - went shopping. So I did a fair amount of walking.

Total Miles: 5.5 miles

Well, it was a slacker of a week. I was dealing with a scratchy sore throat and a stuffed up nose on Friday and Saturday and part of Sunday.  The body was a little achy and I just didn't do much. Will get back on it this week.

Sunday was great! A friend (also my boyfriend's research partner during college) texted me and asked what we were doing. Since Keith (the boyfriend) was working and resting, friend and I decided to go to the "big city" to make it a day of eating and shopping.

Baby Gap has a Labor Day sale kinda deal. So I bought some body suits that the now-boy Baby C could use.

Of course, we stopped at Orange Leaf for some frozen yogurt.

And at Whole Foods where I got a bottle of mint sparkling water. That stuff is good and refreshing for a hot summer's day.
I also got a bag of quinoa.
Recipes welcomed!

We bought Indian food home to eat with the boyfriend. And of course, they had to talk some shop and research and stuff that this pregnant brain has a hard time understanding.

All in all, it was a great weekend!

Weekend Round Up and Look Who's The Trickster!?

Monday: 2 miles
Tuesday: 1 mile
Wednesday: 2 miles
Thursday: 2 miles
Friday: 2 miles
Saturday: 0
Sunday: 0 again. Decided to go to church at the last minute. Had lunch with the family. Came home and was actually tired, so I took a nap.... blah blah blah ... the walk never happened. 

Miles This Week: 9 miles

This Week In General: I felt pretty good. Actually really good when I get my 2 miles out of the way first thing in the morning. I do need to get a better grip on my timing. I don't seem to be able to squeeze in a leisurely Internet time + breakfast after the walk and before all the "get-ready-for-work" stuff.

Next week's plan will be to keep up with this week's mileage. The plan is 2 miles a day for most of the week. I want to hit 10 miles this coming week.  Of course, I need to devise a proper, workable morning routine that will allow me to get out the door in a timely fashion.  I also need to get into a proper routine of chores while juggling work.

Surprise this week?
I believe y'all know that I went to the doc for my routine preggo check. I am getting pretty darn good at peeing in a cup. :)
Anyway, I got one of those fancy 4D ultrasound done and we were all excited and talking and gushing about the baby.  The tech girl asked if we wanted to know the gender. I said, "It's a girl." She gave one of those "hmm" silent look and then said, "It's a boy. See his scrotum over here?"

So I guess, we now have a boy. Whoopie doob! Surprise. Little Bugger is already playing tricks on us!

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? 

Weekend Round Up

Monday: 1 mile

Tuesday: Left early to go on a delivery trip with the boyfriend and didn't get back until Wednesday morning.

Wednesday: 0.2 mile. I tried to get Nip/Tuck streamed on the iPad but every time I placed that thing on my treadmill, it kept saying I don't have Internet connection. I do not have the mental power to go through the walk without some form of entertainment. So I gave up.

Thursday: 2.8 miles. I knew I had to do more than 1 pathetic mile just to make it up for all the slack! After one mile, the counter thing said 1.2 mile (because I didn't reset from yesterday), so I decided to keep going until an even 2. Then, I decided to walk to an even 3.


Friday: 1.52 mile. Promised a fellow blogger, Jessica that I would walk today. Thanks for keeping me accountable!

Saturday: 2.0 miles. I walked a little slower today (average about 2.8 mph) and didn't bother much with the incline. Just a mindless walk and it was good.

Sunday: 1 mile. Just had to get the walk in. I have the trouble with my iPad not streaming from Netflix when I placed the iPad on my treadmill. Does anyone have similar problem?

Total Miles This Week:  8.52 mile. I'm glad I surpassed last week's mileage. Next week, I am going to try and beat this 8.5 mile-mark.

Cool Thing This Week: I became Facebook friends with Jessica and I am thoroughly glad that I have a virtual walking buddy to keep me accountable.

Weekend Round Up

Monday: 3.5 miles. Walked with Paddy Wag outside. There were some inclines. It was hot. But it was good.

Tuesday: 1.5 mile in 30 minutes. Almost didn't do this, but decided to just whip it out of the way. One mile turned into 1.5 mile.

Wednesday: Lazy day. Went to a lumber mill with the boyfriend to pick up the forklift. It was hot!  Why does heat wipe me out so easily these days? Or really, anything I do seems to wipe me out!

Pine in the yard with water spraying on it. Gotto keep it wet. 

Thursday: 1 mile in 20 minutes. Almost didn't do this again. Ugh! What's wrong with me. But I got it done. Told myself, just one mile. Just one mile. I can do just one mile!

Friday: Lazy. I honestly didn't know what I did other than some chores around the house. I enjoyed the chores actually - sweeping, mopping, laundered the clothes and sheets and comforter. And I cooked both lunch and supper.


Saturday: 2 miles. Most of my day was spent being lazy, but I stepped up and give myself a kick in the rear finally.  I also made some chocolate chip cookies using this recipe here.


Sunday: I fell again today. Not a bad fall. I was sitting on a roller wheel suitcase in the laundry/pantry room organizing canned goods when somehow, the suitcase moved and I just fell. It wasn't too high off the ground and I was able to do a frog stance halfway. But alas, the entire body's center of gravity threw me off and I landed on my rear.  It wasn't a bad fall, but enough to scare me.  I really got to be more careful and mindful. After that, I was just wary. I gave the treadmill a miss today.

Total Miles This Week: 8


What I Learned This Week: 

• I do not like thrillers or spooky anything.  Was watching "Pretty Little Liars" on Netflix but I got spooked. So I quit watching it. 
• I found "Nip/Tuck" and have been enjoying it. Christine, you need to watch it while you are on your treadmill! 
• I need to watch the amount of sweets I eat. And the salt. Every time I eat something sweet, I have to chase it down with something salty. 
• I can walk at least 2 miles at a comfortable easy pace. Going to try and do it at least 2 times next week.

Weekend Round Up.

Monday

• 1 mile. Started at 3mph and upped 0.1 for every 1 minute. First round was 0% incline. Second round was 1% incline
• I got the workout in first thing in the morning because I was going to be out of town for a fun day with my grad-school friend. I knew I wasn't going to walk when I get home. I went shopping after lunch with my friend, so I got in more walking.  I was tuckered out when I was home. Sore! 

Tuesday

• REST. I didn't sleep well last night because my hips and back were sore. I might have overdone the day before by walking too much (albeit in comfy shoes) yesterday. I propped my feet up and crocheted Baby C's blanket instead.  

Wednesday

• 1 mile. Started at 3mph and upped 0.1 for every 1 minute. First round was 0% incline. Second round was 1% incline. 
• Got it done first thing in the morning because I had a day of appointments with the orthodontist and the doctor. 
• This was the day where we found out if Baby C is a girl or a boy. Exciting! 

Thursday

• 1 mile. Continued with the speed/timing strategy like the day before. Nothing spectacular. Watched a teen TV series "Make it or Break it" (it is about a group of girls trying to make it to the US Olympics gymnastic team.) 

Friday

• 1 mile. Continued with the speed/timing strategy. Continued with the TV series.

Saturday

• Cleaning. I did some deep cleaning today. Had to take breaks because the back, well, I can't really bend over like I used to. So, I had to insert plenty of breaks over the course of the cleaning process. 

Sunday

• Just lazy. No excuse. I got up late. Got a late start with my new cleaning routine. Then, life took over - lunch with the family, followed by a nap and what-nots and trying to catch up on the day's chores. Just lazy. 

What I Learned This Week? 

1. I have to be honest with myself. Getting the workout done first thing in the morning is my best bet in getting any kind of workout in. 
2. Workouts done first thing in the morning really sets the tone for how the day is going to turn out. I feel more productive!

So the plan for this coming week is to get my workouts in first thing in the morning. I'm aiming for at least 5 days. 

What did you learn this week?

What's on your plan for this week? 

A Belly Full Of Berries

Friday: 1 mile on the treadmill. I had a virtual walking date with Aneta over at Running (Buckets) To The Altar.   She is a sweetheart who keeps me accountable when I needed to do speedwork when training for a half. And now, she keeps me accountable for walking on Fridays.

Saturday: 1 boring mile on the treadmill watching Season 1 Episode 1 of the original Law and Order.

Sunday: 1 mile on the treadmill. Upped the incline by 1 every 2 minutes to a maximum of 6. Then, at the last bit, I upped it every 1 minute.

Overall, it takes over 19 minutes and just under 20 minutes for me to do a mile. I have been moving my arms too while walking. Sometimes I carry a 5 lb dumbbell and swing it around like a crazy woman.

**********

This weekend was wonderful.

The boyfriend and I spent a few hours Saturday at a nearby orchard picking blackberries.

It was about 1 p.m. in the afternoon.

The weather wasn't too sweltering.

Blue sky. White clouds.

These are Red Haven peaches.

We didn't pick the peaches because this was a cash/check only place.

I don't have the habit of carrying cash around because I lose them.

So, we scrounged around my vehicle for dollars and coins and came up with enough to pick either blackberries or peaches. We decided on the blackberries because we can pick a lot more of that than peaches with $7.

We picked over 4 lbs of blackberries.

They were cheap - only $1.15 per pound.

And we ate some while picking them.

Gotto taste them to make sure they are sweet, right?

On Sunday morning, we woke up eating some English muffins, eggs, and Canadian bacon and enjoyed bowls and bowls of delicious blackberries that we picked and some of the strawberries I bought at the store.

These were delicious!

Nature is so wonderful!

We are hoping to go back again next week to pick peaches!

How was your weekend?

Have you been to an orchard to pick your own fruit?

What's your favorite?

Weekend Round Up - Family and Sleep.

I haven't been writing since last week's wonderful half-marathon experience with fellow blogger, Christine. This is mainly because of work and mainly because of I am doing shorter, easier runs. For example,  this week, I did two easy run/walk on the treadmill for about 2 miles each. I am trying to modify my running regime a little to allow me some rest time. I do not have any races planned for this year.  But I still hope that I will get a 10K race in by December. I will see.

The weekend was great. I spent Saturday sleeping, playing on the computer, and reading. A co-worker asked me to go to the movies but I had to turn her down because I thought I was going on a delivery trip with the boyfriend. Turned out we didn't have to, and while I could call her back and rearrange for a movie, I chose to stay home. And spent time with Paddy Wag.  It was a very wise decision.

Sunday was spent catching up on laundry and I promise you I was a super-laundry woman! I think the water heater tank we have at this house is small or too old and there just aren't enough hot water for showers and laundry. I have to time when I shower/laundry. And often times, shower takes precedent over laundry. Thank goodness my clothes are darks. But the boyfriend likes his whites. No wonder we are perfect for each other.  I went to a family get-together later in the evening and played with a toddler and a baby. It is amazing how much bonding I can do with a toddler over a thing of ketchup! Apparently I am cool because I love ketchup! The toddler also taught me how to dance like a ballerina.  Of course, I had to do silly things with my arms and hands and legs. It made her laughed so hard and she finally resigned to the fact that I may not be as good of a ballerina like she is.  Have I already mentioned how much I love my boyfriend's family? :)

So it is back to daylight savings time and I don't really feel like I got cheated out of an hour - probably because I slept too much over the weekend. I can still sleep some more... But tonight, I planned on walking/running on the treadmill to clock in some mileage. And of course, do some planks. I am seriously behind on planks! Ouch Christine! Your challenge is hard!

Weekend Round-Up: Delivery, Love, and Run

SATURDAY:  Between my running pal's sick child and the need for me to go on a delivery trip with the boyfriend, the outside run on Saturday naturally didn't materialize. The delivery took longer than expected, but we got all the wardrobes, head boards and foot boards in the rooms. 

 I turn the wardrobes around with the back facing the trailer's door, so the boyfriend can use a dolly and roll that baby out of the trailer and into the rooms.  While this seems like an easy task, it does saves him time. I turn about 4 around because that's all the room there is for me to maneuver the wardrobes in the trailer. Then, I sit and read my book.  Sometimes, I stack the headboards and footboards on a cart and roll them into each room.

Sometimes when there isn't anything I can do to help, I just sit at the back of the truck and read and take naps.
And take pictures of myself.

Oh vanity. Thy name is women.

When I came home, running was the last thing I want to do. 

So I played with my Paddy Wag instead.

I always feel bad leaving Paddy Wag at the house.
So we have to have that bonding time when I got home. We played with her toy where I threw and she fetch. We hugged. I scratched her belly and her forehead. And I talked to her about my day.
Goodness. I Love My Paddy Wag!

SUNDAY: The most noteworthy thing would be my last weekend run before my half marathon next Sunday. 

Eight miles on the treadmill in 1:33 minutes.

It wasn't easy. But it is 8 miles in the bag. 

I am doing quite well with my mileage for February! 

And I need to go and do my push-ups!!
Later, gator!

Stink Stank Stunk.

I have been tired and sleepy and while I did my runs, I just haven't blogged about it because I am tired. I really just want a day or two of doing absolutely nothing with nothing to worry about, but just sit and read a book, and drink some hot tea. That's all. Do you have days like that?

On Friday night (bordering Saturday), I ran 4.5 miles in 49:16 minutes. 
After that, I took a nice hot shower and slept like a baby.

On Saturday, I slept in. Like, really in. Then, it was time for me to hit the "big city" to do some grocery shopping for Chinese New Year (which falls on Monday). We always get new clothes, shoes, underwear, jewelry for the new year, so I decided to go get a new top or something. 

 I ended up getting a coral dress, a white sweater, a pair of black pants and a striped shirt. 

These are mostly for work except for the dress,
which I plan on wearing it to a friend's wedding in March.

I bought everything from Forever 21 except the black pants which I got at TJ Maxx.
I don't spend a lot of money on work clothes because I work with pre-K kiddos and I do scoot my bottom across carpets and get Play-Doh or paint or marker marks all over me.

 Also at TJ Maxx, I needed 2 round cake pans because I have lost my round pans during our move 

and I needed more wine glasses.

I also shopped at some Asian grocery stores
for ingredients that I can't get at your usual regular grocery store. 

 

Not shown are wanton skins, baby bok choy, ginger garlic paste and some Chinese vinegar. 

That aloe drink is tasty because it has corn syrup. So not exactly your health-food. 

I love sardines. I know, they smell bad. But I love them. I love anchovies too!

That canned longans - those are really tasty canned fruit. 

I love canned fruit - peaches, fruit cocktails, tangerines. It is like eating dessert but not quite as bad. 

The jar with the yellow lid is some chili pepper concoction - smells bad but taste good.

The jar with the blue lid - that is gold!
It is Thai and it's called Tom Yum. It is a base/paste for tangy, spicy, lemongrass soup.
It's also really good to do a shrimp stir fry.

Ok, did I freak you out with all these stinky Asian food? 

Also went to a regular grocery store to buy regular grocery.
It was 10 deodorants for $10 and this is the ONLY brand the boyfriend likes.
Trust me. He is not stink, stank, stunk!

There is something about cereal in a big bag and I always fall for it. 

I just love BIG BAG cereal.
One time, pre-Paddy Wag days, I bought a big bag of brown chocolate balls cereal because it resembles dog food and I so wanted a dog so very badly.

 

Today (Sunday) was 6 miles on the plan. Once I got to 6 miles, I realized I needed another 0.4 mile to round it up to a weekly mileage of 20. So I did another 0.4.
The entire run was set on a 1% incline.
I felt good, even though I had to stop the treadmill a few times for a sip of water. 

I watched "The Secret Life of A Bee" (Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah etc were in it).
I don't think it was a tear-jerker, but man! I cried and cried.
It wasn't easy running and crying at the same time!

I also found a sticker-worthy spot (finally) for this sticker sent to me by Secret Santa.

Hate it that it took me so long to find THE right place for it.
Duh!!

 

 

This makes 57 miles for January!
Got another few more to hit 100K for this month!

What I Have Been Up To?

Sorry I haven't been blogging lately.

Ths past weekend, I really wanted to get onto some holiday baking. But before I got started on baking, I decided I wanted to consolidate all the baking stuff and make a baking station in the kitchen.
It took me a whole day + a little bit.
It involved a lot of pouring stuff out and washing the containers, finding all the containers with blue lids, and pour stuff back, making labels.

Now all of the baking stuff are placed on this pantry cabinet thingy.

Top row (from left): rock sugar, Splenda, sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, Splenda brown sugar blend, and baking soda.

Basket Row (from left): fruits, breakfast, tea and cookbooks.
The shelf below is actually a top where I prepare my tea.
The flour, boxed cake mix, mixing bowls, measuring cups are in the cabinet.

I haven't wrote about this
but last week, I got a really sweet thoughtful gift from Christine over at Dream Big Runner.
Along with the book was a very red sparkly Santa card.

I haven't ran much because I wasn't home at all.
I made a road trip to Louisiana to see my friends, favorite professors, and a former grad school classmate who happened to be in town from Tennessee for Christmas.

Lots of coffee, driving, and catching up but it was all wonderful.

I ended up spending a night at a friend's house because she fed me such delicious rice and curry
and I just cannot stay awake after that meal.

When I got home on Tuesday, I pretty much packed and left on a delivery trip with my boyfriend.

And now, I am home.
I will be running with my running friend tomorrow.
Running will resume tomorrow. 

Now, gotto go sleep!!

Weekend Roundup #2

The boyfriend and I went to a wedding on Saturday.  Our friend from India (groom) weds his girlfriend from Nepal. They had a ceremony in India for his family, a ceremony in Nepal for her family and a ceremony in the good ol' U.S.A. for their friends in America.  Being in America, you gotto do the usual American wedding things - white dress, unity candle, garter toss, bouquet toss.

We got home early enough, watched "The Last Emperor" on DVD and slept. I was ready to pound out that 9 miles I was nervous about a few days ago.

Sunday 5 a.m. rolls around. I didn't want to roll out of bed. But I did! And I was early and waited on Ms. M and Mr. J.  It was a blustery morning. Ms. M, being the seasoned runner and all, taught me about how to "read" winds. After our 4.5-mile loop lesson, Ms. M headed home and Mr. J and I were left to our own devices. I had to "read" the winds to make sure that we don't come back head-on with that wind. Not too shabby. But I clearly need more practice. It was "HEAD ON" on our last 0.3 mile.
Funny how 9-miles today were much easier than the 4-miler killer runs earlier this week.
And we managed a very nice negative splits run. Check this out!

12:44
12:37
12:20
13:07,  13.04 (stopped to take the reflective vest, get a drink of water, and got my Gu Chomps)
11:34
11:29
11:27
11:17
9:42 (last stretch - uphill and we made a quick strong dash for it too!)

After the run, I headed home for a hot steamy shower and got back into bed for a nap.
Woke up and had breakfast fit for a princess at 1 p.m. (pancakes with real maple syrup with nuts, turkey bacon, coffee, OJ, eggs). I ate well and enjoyed a pretty sight outside the window because we got some snow, baby!

Looks like a bli-bli-bli zzard out there.

 I'm so scared that I can't seem to stand still for a picture