Some basketball pictures

Crap....the sickies return!

So Cassidy is sick with runny nose, sneezing, coughing and fever and Spencer is sick with a stomach virus. I'd like to spray Lysol after everytime Cassidy sneezes or coughs but that would just be one big constant spray. I didn't work today because Spencer was throwing up this morning and I can't be on a call when he needs me as well as if Captain Coughs-a-lot needs me. I had to trek them to the store this morning for cough syrup which says it lasts for 12 hours but it's more like 2 and I got Cassidy her very own box of lotiony tissues because she was crying because her nose was burning. Please, Please, Please God don't let me get sick too! I've got several hours of work to still put in before the end of the payperiod. It's great to work from home but the downside is no pay for sick days :(

Brenden the business man

I'm so proud of Brenden. We have 6 inches of snow and he's out shoveling other people's driveways for $5. Last night he came to us and asked if he could do that because he wants to earn some money to buy some video game things so we said yes, of course. I'm happy he's taking the iniative to earn money of his own. He's in for it now.....I see mowing in his near future!

I finished up my third week of running training with 1.5 miles every day totaling 7.5 miles for this week. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm really proud of myself for staying committed to it this time and I never want to stop. I've come very far by not letting myself stop when I get tired, or not even get on the treadmill when I'm tired, as well as running when maybe I have a bit of pain in my knee. That happened again today in the beginning of my run so I slow down my pace and go slower and it works itself out in a few minutes. The old Julie would have quit and said I have to rest my knee for like say a month LOL! I'm not saying I wanna run marathons right now but I would like to run a 1/2 marathon in a year or two. A 1/2 is 13 miles. I'm finding out about myself that what I set my mind to I can and WILL do! Go Me!

School Lunch anyone?

Today was 2nd grade parents day to eat lunch with their kids at school so I packed a lunch for Cassidy and of course we went. I bought the school lunch which was chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, peas and a roll. It was really good! Spencer however wanted to pack today. He's not one to try new foods. Spencer got to show us a powerpoint presentation that they created in computer lab. Cassidy like sitting in computer lab and Spencer showed it to her too and she liked eating lunch there too. I almost cried when I realized that she'll be eating lunch there in 8 months. As I look at her she just seems too small to be ready for kindergarten already. When each boy started school I still had someone at home with me. I don't think I'm ready for it yet. I'm gonna cherish these next 8 months that I have with her before she starts school. I'm guessing the dogs may welcome the break in harrasment as she sits here right now annoying Koda :)

Week 2 done

So this week I ran 1.25 miles every day (M-F) for a total of 6.25 miles for the week. Next week I move on to 1.5 miles every day. And this is all running, no walking whatsoever. That's why I'm building slowly. I don't count my weight loss until Monday morning for the weight loss for the previous week but so far it's 2 pounds lost for this week. I don't run on the weekends and it's a nice little break so that I don't wear myself out completely or get injured. And this helps me to not give up on the weekdays as well if I have a break. Today we have 3 basketball games and I'm gonna work from 10-2. So I'm wrapping this up now so I can start some laundry and grab something to eat before working. Have a nice weekend!

One week, 3 pounds

So last week I started running every day again and ran 1 mile each day. I lost 3 pounds last week as well. This week I'm running 1.25 miles and I'm 2 days into the week already and have 2.5 miles already ran for the week. I'm finding that as I build mileage gradually it really helps my endurance. Before running my races last year I was just running until I couldn't run anymore then walk and then run again but I want to be consistent and never have to walk. The old way would make my legs sore and the next day or two I'd not run and it just wasn't the right way to go about it. So I've now read alot about the right way to build mileage and also the importance of stretching. I used to not really stretch at all which is what would lead to the achy legs and when it hurts that just gave me an instant excuse to give up. Last week on day 3 my legs were sore but I ran anyway and felt so good about myself after my run. And yesterday my knee started hurting but I ran anyway and again felt proud to have not given up. Cassidy likes to get on the treadmill after me and last week she ran .13 of a mile and today she actually kept going for .25 of a mile! I'm very happy to be setting a good example for her and that she likes to run like mommy.

A brand new year....

that will lead to a brand new me! My new year's resolution is to really dedicate myself to my running and stick with it. I want to be that girl running races and most importanly I want to be skinny Julie again. So I will be running Monday through Friday and concentrating for a while on running 3 miles a day. At this point I can run 2 straight through but I hit a mental block at 2 miles that tells me to stop and I have a panic attack and can't go past 2 miles. I have run 3 miles once, no walking at all, but it was the slowest pace known to man but I never walked. So today since I hadn't been on the treadmill in about 6 weeks I started off running 1 full mile which is easy for me and I'm starting off slow because I know tomorrow my legs may be achy and my mind will say "let's skip it today" but my mouth and my legs will say shut up and I'll get on the treadmill and run 1 mile again and a little more each day til I'm running 2 miles straight again and then just keep building that way til I'm at 3. My friend wrote a blog post that said "You've got to slow down if you want to win" and I'm using that motto to slow down back to 1 mile and build back up to my 2 and then on to 3 by increasing my speed. I was running 2 miles but not at a very fast pace. So this way I'll slowly increase my speed and mileage at the same time, all the while watching the pounds fall off. And I'm drinking protein shakes to help muscle recovery too so I'm not too sore and will be able to run daily. I have devoted the last 11.5 years to being a stay at home first and never do anything for myself and this is the year I do something for me!