I know I'm on a break, but I wanted to give you the final update on my December workout madness!
Holiday Distance Challenge
DONE! I did not work out much in the last week as I got smacked with a terrible head cold. After hitting my goals, I spent more time resting so I wouldn't feel miserable for Christmas. In fact, I even turned in my log sheet on the 23rd so I wouldn't feel tempted to do more than I should for how poorly I was feeling.
SWIM: Since I was already done, I didn't swim any more. I finished the challenge with 86 laps complete, and only 85 needed.
BIKE: I biked over lunch the first 3 days last week. I logged 31.51 miles for the week, so I finished the challenge with 130 miles, with only 112 needed.
RUN: Didn't run. I had the best of intentions on Monday and Wednesday, but with stuff going on at work and not feeling well, I just didn't do it. That's OK, because I already had 28.74 miles and only needed 26.2.
Overall, I'm feeling pretty awesome that I pulled it off. It was definitely a challenge, but I wrote up a plan and stuck to it! I can't wait to see my goody bag when they hand them out the first week of January.
Don't Gain - Maintain!
I did replace the battery in our scale and have been about 133-134 for the past week. I will give a final-final update on this one when I have to do my last official weigh-in for Mary's program during the first week of January.
Hope you are all having a great week!!!
Monday, December 27, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Merry Christmas!!!
Merry Christmas from Megan and her Bake Shoppe assistants!!!
This year we baked, frosted, and sprinkled about 8 dozen cookies to share with friends and neighbors. We even saved one to leave for Santa tonight!
I hope you and your families have a very blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!
I'll be taking a break until after January 1, and then I'll fill you in on all our activities at the end of this year. See you then!
This year we baked, frosted, and sprinkled about 8 dozen cookies to share with friends and neighbors. We even saved one to leave for Santa tonight!
I hope you and your families have a very blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!
I'll be taking a break until after January 1, and then I'll fill you in on all our activities at the end of this year. See you then!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Another New Arrival!
My good friends James and Christy welcomed their second daughter to the world early this morning. Sarah Elizabeth arrived at 2:02am, weighing in at 10 lb 1 oz, and measuring 21.75" long. I'm so happy to hear that everyone is healthy, and I can't wait to see pictures of Samantha meeting her new baby sister. :)
Congratulations, and Merry Christmas!
Congratulations, and Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
She's Here!
Congratulations to my brother Travis and his wife Sarah... They welcomed Layla Vivian into the world yesterday evening, 12/20/10. She weighed in at 7 lbs 1 oz, and I am anxiously awaiting a picture of my new niece!
Congratulations also to Layla's big brothers Bryce and Ian! We can't wait to see you all!!!
Congratulations also to Layla's big brothers Bryce and Ian! We can't wait to see you all!!!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Holiday Workouts - Update #5
Another Monday, and here I am to update you on my progress in the past week. I have been terribly busy but have still made workout time a priority if at all possible.
Holiday Distance Challenge
Looking over my totals with me yesterday, Colin said, "And you thought this was going to be hard!" Well, Buster, it has been! I've had to make time to do something I just don't like (swim), and I've had to turn down several lunch invitations through the month of December so I can ride the bike during lunch and later stuff in a sandwich at my desk (as I am doing right now). I am making excellent progress, but it has been difficult. Here are my latest stats:
SWIM: I completed 31 laps last week for a total of 86. I only needed 85 to complete the challenge, so I am 101% complete. I threw that last one in for good measure, and felt so hard-core doing it as it was 55 and rainy Saturday morning when I finished the swimming portion. :)
BIKE: Last week I added 37.69 miles for a total of 98.49. I'm 88% complete toward my goal of 112 miles. I did bike today (that will be on next week's update), and can easily complete the biking portion this week.
RUN: Not too much, but I did add 5.86 miles for a new total of 28.74. The goal here was 26.2, so I am 110% complete. This one is the easiest for me, though, so I'll keep adding miles this week before I have to turn in my log sheet to Ashley at the Y.
Don't Gain - Maintain!
Our scale still does not have a battery. At least now I've identified the type we need to buy, which I suppose is a step in the right direction. Based on the sag of my pants, I would hope I am doing OK with my weight. We had a Major Problem here at work last week which caused me to stress-eat a bit more than I usually do. Like having 2 Cokes at lunch instead of just one? Oops, and bouncing off the walls the rest of the day. Too many M&Ms, etc, but now that I've taken care of all of those, I don't have anything like that left at home to reach for to fulfill a chocolate need. I am trying hard to make healthier snack choices this week. Wish me luck!
Holiday Distance Challenge
Looking over my totals with me yesterday, Colin said, "And you thought this was going to be hard!" Well, Buster, it has been! I've had to make time to do something I just don't like (swim), and I've had to turn down several lunch invitations through the month of December so I can ride the bike during lunch and later stuff in a sandwich at my desk (as I am doing right now). I am making excellent progress, but it has been difficult. Here are my latest stats:
SWIM: I completed 31 laps last week for a total of 86. I only needed 85 to complete the challenge, so I am 101% complete. I threw that last one in for good measure, and felt so hard-core doing it as it was 55 and rainy Saturday morning when I finished the swimming portion. :)
BIKE: Last week I added 37.69 miles for a total of 98.49. I'm 88% complete toward my goal of 112 miles. I did bike today (that will be on next week's update), and can easily complete the biking portion this week.
RUN: Not too much, but I did add 5.86 miles for a new total of 28.74. The goal here was 26.2, so I am 110% complete. This one is the easiest for me, though, so I'll keep adding miles this week before I have to turn in my log sheet to Ashley at the Y.
Don't Gain - Maintain!
Our scale still does not have a battery. At least now I've identified the type we need to buy, which I suppose is a step in the right direction. Based on the sag of my pants, I would hope I am doing OK with my weight. We had a Major Problem here at work last week which caused me to stress-eat a bit more than I usually do. Like having 2 Cokes at lunch instead of just one? Oops, and bouncing off the walls the rest of the day. Too many M&Ms, etc, but now that I've taken care of all of those, I don't have anything like that left at home to reach for to fulfill a chocolate need. I am trying hard to make healthier snack choices this week. Wish me luck!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
2010 Holiday Concert
Sunday evening was our big Christmas concert at church with choir, orchestra, handbells, and the contemporary worship band. Here we are before we took off:
I am always so thrilled that my family comes to watch, and I really appreciate their support. I needed it that night!
Let's just say that we did not start off in spectacular fashion. The first 2 songs had some issues. Both times we were able to recover, but after the first 2, I'm sure my blood pressure was sky-high. Could we really keep it together for the rest of the evening??? Thankfully, YES! After the first 2 sketchy songs, the rest of the evening was fantastic. We all had a great time and pretty much forgot about our difficulties we'd had early on.
Katie had so much fun sitting with Poppop and discussing all the music with him. Natalie did not really want to sit still and was starting to tax Colin's patience by the end of the evening, but they survived. It was a little late to keep them up on a school night, but we don't do it very often, so I thought it was worth it for a night of great music.
Who knows... maybe one of these days, Katie or Natalie (or both!) will be up there playing and singing, too!
I am always so thrilled that my family comes to watch, and I really appreciate their support. I needed it that night!
Let's just say that we did not start off in spectacular fashion. The first 2 songs had some issues. Both times we were able to recover, but after the first 2, I'm sure my blood pressure was sky-high. Could we really keep it together for the rest of the evening??? Thankfully, YES! After the first 2 sketchy songs, the rest of the evening was fantastic. We all had a great time and pretty much forgot about our difficulties we'd had early on.
Katie had so much fun sitting with Poppop and discussing all the music with him. Natalie did not really want to sit still and was starting to tax Colin's patience by the end of the evening, but they survived. It was a little late to keep them up on a school night, but we don't do it very often, so I thought it was worth it for a night of great music.
Who knows... maybe one of these days, Katie or Natalie (or both!) will be up there playing and singing, too!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
O Christmas Tree
Friday we went out to get our Christmas tree. Hooray! I get so excited to have a real tree in the house because I love the smell. :)
We did set it up on Friday and did our decorating on Saturday. We did a little before lunch and finished it later in the afternoon. Surprisingly, Katie was not as interested in decorating this year. Natalie was a fantastic helper, though!
Mesmerizing!
We did set it up on Friday and did our decorating on Saturday. We did a little before lunch and finished it later in the afternoon. Surprisingly, Katie was not as interested in decorating this year. Natalie was a fantastic helper, though!
That is, when she wasn't busy watching the yule log on our local cable access TV station...
Mesmerizing!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
We Go Together Like Chocolate and Peanut Butter
Last Thursday was our holiday lunch for work, and I signed up to bring cupcakes. My manager tried to talk me into chocolate, peanut butter, and bacon cupcakes (we both saw this on a cooking show a while back), but I decided it would be best to skip the bacon... this time.
Since I'd been at church for my concert dress rehearsal Wednesday night, I was up super-late getting these cupcakes done! I started with the chocolate cupcakes from my favorite box mix.
Then came the peanut butter frosting (recipe HERE). It tastes DELICIOUS! But let's just say it was a little more time-consuming than I'd anticipated. Do you see the adjectives "fluffy" and "spreadable" in that recipe? Mine was not exactly like that. It was much thicker, and adding more milk was not helping, so I just sort of gave up and frosted them with it so thick. And it worked out. I used red and green M&Ms to hide my frosting imperfections, and they looked great!
They tasted fantastic, too! I took 2 dozen of them to work and had very few leftovers after the party. I snagged a few to bring back to my family, and left the rest at work for people to snack on Friday.
Yum, yum! I think this recipe's a keeper, but I need to figure out a way to make it actually spread. If you have any tips, let me know!
Since I'd been at church for my concert dress rehearsal Wednesday night, I was up super-late getting these cupcakes done! I started with the chocolate cupcakes from my favorite box mix.
Then came the peanut butter frosting (recipe HERE). It tastes DELICIOUS! But let's just say it was a little more time-consuming than I'd anticipated. Do you see the adjectives "fluffy" and "spreadable" in that recipe? Mine was not exactly like that. It was much thicker, and adding more milk was not helping, so I just sort of gave up and frosted them with it so thick. And it worked out. I used red and green M&Ms to hide my frosting imperfections, and they looked great!
They tasted fantastic, too! I took 2 dozen of them to work and had very few leftovers after the party. I snagged a few to bring back to my family, and left the rest at work for people to snack on Friday.
Yum, yum! I think this recipe's a keeper, but I need to figure out a way to make it actually spread. If you have any tips, let me know!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Holiday Workouts - Update #4
I'm sorry I haven't been on here much in the past week... Soooo much is going on with Christmas preparations, our big concert last night, and the like. I just haven't had time! I promise I'll catch you up a bit after I get the photos off the camera.
Holiday Distance Challenge
Slowly but surely, I am getting there! Three weeks down, and here are the details:
SWIM: I did 20 laps on Saturday and 20 Sunday. My new total is 55, with a goal of 85. I should finish that this weekend.
BIKE: Since my last update, I've put in a little over 37 miles. My new total is 60.8 miles, so over halfway there! The goal is 112 miles. I did not bike today as I had a doctor's appointment over lunch, but I'll continue biking over lunch until I'm done with this.
RUN: I haven't had time to run since the last update, so I am still at 22.88 miles, with a goal of 26.2. I will try to hit the mark today depending on how much time I get at the Y. We'll see!
Don't Gain - Maintain!
I was at the doctor for a checkup today and weighed in at 137. That is 1 pound higher than my original weigh-in, but I'm not concerned. That's a fluctuation. All this extra exercising is keeping those holiday pounds at bay!
Holiday Distance Challenge
Slowly but surely, I am getting there! Three weeks down, and here are the details:
SWIM: I did 20 laps on Saturday and 20 Sunday. My new total is 55, with a goal of 85. I should finish that this weekend.
BIKE: Since my last update, I've put in a little over 37 miles. My new total is 60.8 miles, so over halfway there! The goal is 112 miles. I did not bike today as I had a doctor's appointment over lunch, but I'll continue biking over lunch until I'm done with this.
RUN: I haven't had time to run since the last update, so I am still at 22.88 miles, with a goal of 26.2. I will try to hit the mark today depending on how much time I get at the Y. We'll see!
Don't Gain - Maintain!
I was at the doctor for a checkup today and weighed in at 137. That is 1 pound higher than my original weigh-in, but I'm not concerned. That's a fluctuation. All this extra exercising is keeping those holiday pounds at bay!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Holiday Workouts - Update #3
Holiday Distance Challenge
After my panic of last week, I have mapped out a way where I'm fairly confident I can get this all done. I have been biking over my lunch break at work and plan to continue doing so unless it's a day where we have a holiday lunch that I need to attend as part of a group. My running miles are nearly complete, and I've started on the swimming.
About the swimming... I asked my friend Clifford, who swims frequently, what a beginner like me should aim for when doing laps. He said to do 10 and see how I feel. I took his advice on Saturday morning, and after 7 laps, I was beginning to feel like I was crazy! I took a little break after 7, then another break after 12, and finished with 15 laps. And then I went inside to run (insane!!!). My legs were certainly feeling it later in the day! I unfortunately did not get to swim on Sunday, but I will try to swim both days this weekend.
After 2 whole weeks and 1 day, here are the stats:
SWIM: Need 2.4 miles (85 laps). I have 15 laps complete last week for 15 overall.
BIKE: Need 112 miles. Since the last update, I added 13.3 miles for a total of 23.73.
RUN: Need 26.2 miles. Since the last update, I've run 5.97 miles for a new total of 22.88. Almost there!
Don't Gain -- Maintain!
With our battery still out on the scale at home, we'll hope I'm still at 136 for the time being. My friend Crystal actually thinks I'm losing!
And to our organizer, Mary: GOOD LUCK AT THE HONOLULU MARATHON! We're cheering you on!!!
After my panic of last week, I have mapped out a way where I'm fairly confident I can get this all done. I have been biking over my lunch break at work and plan to continue doing so unless it's a day where we have a holiday lunch that I need to attend as part of a group. My running miles are nearly complete, and I've started on the swimming.
About the swimming... I asked my friend Clifford, who swims frequently, what a beginner like me should aim for when doing laps. He said to do 10 and see how I feel. I took his advice on Saturday morning, and after 7 laps, I was beginning to feel like I was crazy! I took a little break after 7, then another break after 12, and finished with 15 laps. And then I went inside to run (insane!!!). My legs were certainly feeling it later in the day! I unfortunately did not get to swim on Sunday, but I will try to swim both days this weekend.
After 2 whole weeks and 1 day, here are the stats:
SWIM: Need 2.4 miles (85 laps). I have 15 laps complete last week for 15 overall.
BIKE: Need 112 miles. Since the last update, I added 13.3 miles for a total of 23.73.
RUN: Need 26.2 miles. Since the last update, I've run 5.97 miles for a new total of 22.88. Almost there!
Don't Gain -- Maintain!
With our battery still out on the scale at home, we'll hope I'm still at 136 for the time being. My friend Crystal actually thinks I'm losing!
And to our organizer, Mary: GOOD LUCK AT THE HONOLULU MARATHON! We're cheering you on!!!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Megan's Bake Shoppe
Getting ready for Christmas, one of the things I like to do with the girls is make Christmas cookies using my Grandma Wanda's recipe. So delicious! Friday afternoon, I got home a little early and whipped up a batch of dough, then put it in the fridge so the girls and I could cut it into shapes and bake them after supper.
And we had a great time (sorry, I forgot to take pictures!). They really enjoyed helping, and although I think I got a few gray hairs in the process, they did much better than last year when it came to following directions and not just randomly stamping their cookie cutter all over everyone else's shapes. I was happy with that. The cookies are in the freezer, waiting for me to frost them later.
Fast forward to this afternoon, when we decided to make up another batch of dough, chill it, and cut it and bake it after supper. However, due to the fact that no one napped since we were at a birthday party this afternoon, we were on the verge of major meltdown by the time we were cleaning up after supper. I didn't know if I would have the patience to go through the cookie process when they were already in such foul moods. Luckily (for me), they forgot about the cookies and went on playing while I folded laundry until their bathtime. Things went awry after bath, and major meltdown did occur from the overly tired girls. When they finally went to sleep, I had some quiet time in the kitchen, rolling out and cutting all the cookies myself, baking them, and putting them in the freezer.
I'm sure Katie will be a little upset that I did that, but hey, at least I didn't frost and sprinkle without her and Natalie! We'll do that later in the week.
Also this week, I am making chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting for our work holiday party. I'll let you know how those turn out!
And we had a great time (sorry, I forgot to take pictures!). They really enjoyed helping, and although I think I got a few gray hairs in the process, they did much better than last year when it came to following directions and not just randomly stamping their cookie cutter all over everyone else's shapes. I was happy with that. The cookies are in the freezer, waiting for me to frost them later.
Fast forward to this afternoon, when we decided to make up another batch of dough, chill it, and cut it and bake it after supper. However, due to the fact that no one napped since we were at a birthday party this afternoon, we were on the verge of major meltdown by the time we were cleaning up after supper. I didn't know if I would have the patience to go through the cookie process when they were already in such foul moods. Luckily (for me), they forgot about the cookies and went on playing while I folded laundry until their bathtime. Things went awry after bath, and major meltdown did occur from the overly tired girls. When they finally went to sleep, I had some quiet time in the kitchen, rolling out and cutting all the cookies myself, baking them, and putting them in the freezer.
I'm sure Katie will be a little upset that I did that, but hey, at least I didn't frost and sprinkle without her and Natalie! We'll do that later in the week.
Also this week, I am making chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting for our work holiday party. I'll let you know how those turn out!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Holiday Workouts - Update #2
I was only going to update weekly, but I've had such a panic-inducing moment that I thought I'd share now.
Holiday Distance Challenge
Um, yeah. Remember how I signed up for it because I liked the idea of running 26.2 miles between now and the end of the year? Well, I caught wind of something about the challenge and confirmed it late Tuesday... I actually have to do ALL 3 IRONMAN LEGS. I don't know where my head was when I signed up, or how I misinterpreted this challenge to mean that I have to do one of the 3. I gotta do all 3. When I read that email from Ashley at the Y, my first reaction was to fire back an email and say I was done. How could I fit this all in, already a week into it and lollygagging my way through 26.2 miles???
Then I couldn't sleep Tuesday night because I was so mad at myself for throwing in the towel. I at least need to try! What's the worst that could happen? I called Ashley on Wednesday morning and talked through a few things with her. She said it was OK to do my miles at a different Y as long as a staff member signs off on them (I work near a Y that I can go to during lunch). And since swimming is not my forte, she was very encouraging and said I could even kickboard my way through the 85 laps required to hit 2.4 miles of swimming. Feeling relieved and much more upbeat after Ashley's words of encouragement, I'm mapping out a way to get this thing done.
SO. Here are my new statistics:
SWIM: Need 2.4 miles. Haven't started but plan to this weekend.
BIKE: Need 112 miles. Knocked out 10.43 miles during my lunch break for a total of 10.43.
RUN: Need 26.2 miles. I've been on the treadmill 2 times this week for 5.58 miles, with a cumulative total of 16.91.
Don't Gain -- Maintain!
Our battery died on our scale at home. While I am working to replace it, let's just hope I'm still at 136 for the time being. Big thanks to Mary for her inspiring blog post on Wednesday morning. I'm feeling the fear and doing it anyway... so timely! Between reading that and talking to Ashley at the Y, I think I'm calmed down and ready to keep on working toward my goals this holiday season!
Holiday Distance Challenge
Um, yeah. Remember how I signed up for it because I liked the idea of running 26.2 miles between now and the end of the year? Well, I caught wind of something about the challenge and confirmed it late Tuesday... I actually have to do ALL 3 IRONMAN LEGS. I don't know where my head was when I signed up, or how I misinterpreted this challenge to mean that I have to do one of the 3. I gotta do all 3. When I read that email from Ashley at the Y, my first reaction was to fire back an email and say I was done. How could I fit this all in, already a week into it and lollygagging my way through 26.2 miles???
Then I couldn't sleep Tuesday night because I was so mad at myself for throwing in the towel. I at least need to try! What's the worst that could happen? I called Ashley on Wednesday morning and talked through a few things with her. She said it was OK to do my miles at a different Y as long as a staff member signs off on them (I work near a Y that I can go to during lunch). And since swimming is not my forte, she was very encouraging and said I could even kickboard my way through the 85 laps required to hit 2.4 miles of swimming. Feeling relieved and much more upbeat after Ashley's words of encouragement, I'm mapping out a way to get this thing done.
SO. Here are my new statistics:
SWIM: Need 2.4 miles. Haven't started but plan to this weekend.
BIKE: Need 112 miles. Knocked out 10.43 miles during my lunch break for a total of 10.43.
RUN: Need 26.2 miles. I've been on the treadmill 2 times this week for 5.58 miles, with a cumulative total of 16.91.
Don't Gain -- Maintain!
Our battery died on our scale at home. While I am working to replace it, let's just hope I'm still at 136 for the time being. Big thanks to Mary for her inspiring blog post on Wednesday morning. I'm feeling the fear and doing it anyway... so timely! Between reading that and talking to Ashley at the Y, I think I'm calmed down and ready to keep on working toward my goals this holiday season!
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