Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Gwyn's World: The Big One!

Wow! Big ole #bloggerfail in getting this post done in any kind of timely fashion. Oh well, sometimes life just gets in the way, and that isn't a bad thing. But I promised to photo bomb you from G's birthday celebration (to call it a party would be taking it a bit far), so here you go. Don't say you weren't warned of the cuteness to follow!!

Personally, I spent the ENTIRE morning of the party decorating a cake that G wasn't even going to eat. This was after the first cake got stuck in the pan...it still got eaten, don't you worry about that! It just wasn't pretty!




From this position I barked orders to the rest of the crew (my mom, dad, and the hubs). There were seriously only 6 other people, all family, coming over-but I'm just that way. I made a few appetizers (didn't take pictures!), had a picture from each month of G's first year printed and put up on the wall, sent the hubs for a few balloons-he came back with more than would fit through the door-and generally tried to spruce the place up. All with the little one hanging out.




Everything turned out great, and at 1-does she care...or remember? No, but we got some good pics so we can tell the story repeatedly when she's old enough to want to know.


And how do you summarize in words a year of growing, learning, adapting and a complete upside down-ness to your life?


From a tiny little thing that I didn't have a clue what to do with...

To this...



Just one word. Blessed. She's amazing. She amazes me everyday.

With her smile.


Her sense of humor.


Her love of life.


Oh yes, and her love of food :-)



She literally destroyed the cupcake I made just for her.


She dances when she eats, and at first taste, she busted a move...and when we went to help her with the wrapper I thought someone was going to lose a finger! She did not want anyone near her food!


I guess I'll take that as a compliment that the cupcake was tasty ;-) I even made a 'clean' one using honey as the sweetener in an effort to try to avoid a crazy sugar rush. That did not work. But she enjoyed it, we all enjoyed watching and heck-you're allowed a sugar rush on your birthday, right?



We have grown together this past year. We've learned a WHOLE lot. And I know there is never an end to that learning. But I think I'm ready to give up the "new mom" title and just be a mom. Gone are the days of total freak outs, replaced by some sense that I know what to do when she fusses, cries, falls down, coughs, has a blow out, puts something disgusting in her mouth! I'm a mom. And she'll always be my baby.



Here's to many more frustratingly long birthday party days for mom where the end result is SO worth it...

Monday, October 15, 2012

The Golden Rule

If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all...

Isn't that what we're taught when we're young? This is actually more of a case where If you don't have anything worthwhile to say, don't say anything at all. I don't blog for the sake of blogging, I don't have a schedule to keep, if there is something I want to convey-I do. Otherwise I keep my mouth (actually my hands!) quiet and read what other people have to say. Obviously not much has been going on worth sharing these past few weeks.

Not that nothing has been going on, I just haven't wanted to share. I was stressing myself out (unnecessarily) over G's first Birthday, not doing very well with training or October unprocessed so I just wanted to hide out a bit.

Remember when I said that October Unprocessed was a lesson in awareness? It definitely is that. And when you don't do very well, you are even more aware! But I will say that I have made some conscious decisions so far that I may not have made had I not been 'participating'. And I'm reading/learning more things every day that are pushing what used to be decisions toward being habits. I think that's progress. The hubs is a hard one to please when it comes to food and I am a sucker for certain things (hello, ice cream!) but where I fail in one area I've worked to make up for it in others.

More and more I'm seeing the link between what I put in my mouth and how my body feels. Not just to fuel workouts, which used to be the main reason I tried to eat well, but for general everyday health. How I sleep, my mood, my energy levels, my uh-um, digestive issues. These are not things I didn't know were related, I'm just paying more attention and you learn a lot when you do that. Novel concept, I know!!! From what I've learned so far I am going to be forced to get real serious, at least on a short term, so this is only the beginning of that journey.


As for G's Birthday...it went well, despite my complete underestimation of the time it would take to decorate her cake and just getting out of the shower when guests arrived. *deep breath* I'll do a post just on the party if for no other reason than to overload you with pics of this crazy kid who literally devoured the cupcake we gave her. Thank goodness I found a clean recipe so although she acted a little sugar drunk after, it was not nearly what it could have been! And me without a video camera :( Thank goodness for smart phones!! She is an absolute riot and cannot believe how blessed I am to be her momma.

Monday, October 1, 2012

October Unprocessed


Happy October-it's officially my favorite time of year!

I've been trying to eat cleaner. I was doing really well. Then the wagon hit a bump. I fell off. Hard. I think I may have hit my head. Because I know better. I feel slower, sluggish, cranky and just plain guilty. My workouts suffered. And so did my mood.

So when I saw this challenge I knew it was a great way to jump back on and a great way to keep myself motivated and accountable to talk about my experiences here. Check out the Eating Rules page for the full deets, its full of great info in general, but basically you vow to go 'unprocessed' for the month of October.
October Unprocessed 2012

Of course that sounds like a simple concept until you go through your normal diet for a day. And my list generally sounds 'healthy': whole wheat waffles with natural p.b. and banana for breakfast, snacks of yogurt, wheat thins and protein bars, huge lunch salads and meat and veggies for dinner. But you start reading ingredients and realize the waffles are out, as are the yogurt, wheat thins, salad dressing and probably even the cheese. If the veggies are the frozen bagged kind that I'm often guilty of using they're out too since they generally have some sort of sauce on them.

To go all out for this Challenge would be tough, but it is encouraged to make your own rules, things you can stick to. The point is to make an effort and to realize just how much of our every day (even 'healthy') food isn't really food at all. It's a lesson in awareness. I know, sometimes ignorance is bliss, but in this case, it's actually killing you/me/us. Literally.

The main guideline in the challenge is to ask yourself-"Can this be made in the kitchen?" Not that you would, or that you have to, just can it be done. If the answer is yes, eat it, or something made with it. If not, you'll need to make some decisions. The eating rules site has lots of straight forward answers to some of the most common things you might be questioning so save yourself some research time and visit there first.

So here are some of MY rules:

1-Protein powder is ok: I use this to make my own snack/protein bars to stay away from those oh so convenient, long ingredient list, packaged ones. This is a good trade IMO.

2-Artificial sweetener is 'sort of' ok: This one is tough for me, but I'm working on it. I'm going to use the Challenge to try to kick it for good, but not going to beat myself up over a packet or two.

3-If you can't pronounce it, don't eat it: There are a million ingredients out there and I have no idea what most really are, but if it sounds like it was made in a lab (it has numbers in front of it!) it probably was.

4-5-ish ingredient rule: This goes along with that, when checking food labels if it has more than 5 ingredients it may be tough to reproduce at home. I may let a few things slide by if it is one of only a few ingredients.

5-Game day doesn't count: Ok, I'm hoping for the few hours surrounding the game and not the entire day, but tailgating makes the crowds and some of the other hassles worth it. I'm not toting around my own food too. When at home I'll make the effort to create something fun (and clean!) for the family.

Ok-Maybe this is what makes Game Day worth it :)
6-G's b-day also does not count: I am going to make clean cupcakes/frosting since I don't really want her diving in to a full sugar cake anyway so maybe this one won't be so hard.

The "practice" cake shoved me off the clean eating wagon!!
7-Perfection is not the point: Just a famous Note To Self. So I don't crash and burn after a few days and give the whole thing up!

I hope to write more about each of these as the month goes on and chronicle (aren't I self-important!) my thoughts and how I'm feeling over the course of the challenge. Maybe I'll even find some new great recipes and share what I've been surviving on. Half marathon training is amping up so this girl's gotta eat, and eat well. Let's ring-in 'eating season' with a healthy bang, are ya with me?!




Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Mom Without Baby-A Day in Pics

I am lucky enough that my MIL and SIL live nearby and are usually fighting each other to take G whenever the need arises. In fact, G gets to play hookie from school most Fridays to stay home with her Aunt and she has even spent a few nights away too.

Grammi and G at her first WV Mountaineer game!
But this weekend she left early Sunday morning and didn't return until Monday evening. So-what's a mom to do without a wanna-be-walking, I prefer attention at all times, almost toddler, scrambling up her leg or climbing anything else in sight? Well, here is what I did-in pictures (and captions!) pretty much in order of my crazy (somehow busier than when G's here!) day.

Baked bread!
Make 3 kinds of protein/snack bars!
Made a mess, and then cleaned it up!
4 mile run...
Went shopping for myself, came home with G's birthday dress instead!
Took these goofballs for extra walks-beautiful day!
Hard wood=Hard work!! This literally takes hours!
Rolled coins for G's bank account...while eating ice cream and watching Project Runway! :)
There were a few other things, like grocery getting (ugh!), laundry and general tidying up, but for this Type A chic a very productive and anxiety reducing day!! It was great to knock out some chores but I miss my baby girl. So do the puppies, they are pacing around wondering why G has been missing for so long, it's very cute. She'll be back soon and then the fun can begin again!

Happy G in the stands at the game!







Friday, September 21, 2012

Best Body Bootcamp...the Final Phase

That title sounded kind of Star Trek-y didn't it? Believe it or not I meant it to-because this plan is out of this world *cheese ball alert!* I have been nothing short of amazed.



Amazed at how quickly 8 weeks went by;
Amazed that I have managed to sneak in almost every.single.workout;
Amazed that my body was able to accomplish almost every.single.workout;
Amazed that each phase threw me for a loop, made me groan, and then made me grin;

And best of all...
Amazed that I am in the best shape (ever) less than a year post baby!
I love them!!

This is NOT the type of picture I would normally post, but I thought maybe some #proof was in order here. I mean seriously, I have guns biceps.  Of course they were always there and I've always considered myself somewhat strong (for a chick!) but I can't believe what I see when I flex now. And we haven't even been doing dedicated bicep work. That's the beauty of the plan to me. All the moves are very functional and sequenced in a way that you get in, get out and get the job done in the time you have. Which, for a busy mom is perfect!

Here's another great thing...Round 3 of BBB just opened. I highly recommend checking it out. It's the most bang for my buck, fitness-wise, I've ever gotten. Of course you get out what you put in but the facebook group and great motivation/advice they provide will be there for the days you feel down. Sometimes just reading a few of their comments got me headed in the right direction.


Half marathon training has been fitting right in as well. I use the 2 cardio segments of BBB as my short runs, doing the interval work prescribed and using the 'cardio of choice' day for the long run listed in my training plan. I finally made that 6.5 mile run and felt awesome about it. 2 short walk breaks and still gas left in the tank at the end.

It didn't hurt one bit that the weather was perfect, I was the only one out there, and the new sports complex where I ran had nice (open!) bathrooms to look forward to at the end ;-) And check out this awesome sign they had hanging at the entrance to the ball fields. Great advice!! It 's unfortunate they felt the need to do this, but at least it was done in a cute, funny way. Kudos.


I mentioned before that I will probably take the BBB plan and go through it again. I'm in the middle of a little and much-needed break from 6 day/week workouts, but when I get back on track that is what I'll do. It's the type of plan you could repeat, make a few modifications to suit your style, and never get bored.

Bottom line-sign up. And Thank You Tina!! I only wish warm weather would stick around a little longer so I can sell some tickets to the gun show! Haha!

Just because she's so darn cute!


Saturday, September 15, 2012

Gwyn's World: 11 Month Update

Oh my, here we go again. I get to lament for a few paragraphs on how big G is getting and how time is just speeding along. :-( All babies change quickly, it's their job, but G seems to have made some big moves this month. Along with perfecting her crawling technique, pulling up to anything standing still (and some not!), practically running with assistance and eating anything put in front of here, she's now a mimicking master, conversation babbler, and all around goofball/show-off.


They've moved her to sleeping on a cot at school (apparently this is a big deal?!) and she is now one of the oldest/biggest in her room. In fact we showed up one day last week to be told that she got caught on her way to biting a boy who tried to steal her snack. Honestly, I get a little territorial about my food too, so I can't blame her for that one!


If you want to catch up, here are G's other monthly updates:



There is not a day that goes by where she doesn't make me laugh. And not just a giggle but a full-on belly laugh. How good is laughing for you, by the way? Something like that can turn an entire day around and seeing this little person who is so happy 99% of the time makes me realize how good life really is. Stopping to smell the roses is always worth the time, ya know?

We have two more teeth on the bottom, only a guess on weight, and no idea on length (is it height now that she stands up a lot?) We don't see the doc for real stats until after her 1st b-day. Don't even get me started on that! Only a few people will be coming over, but I'm guessing about a thousand pictures will be taken, so of course the Type A in me wants everything to be perfect. I may have some interesting  pics to share after this weekend's cake decorating practice disaster is over.

Like most babies (I think!) she loves, loves, loves music. Of any kind. She dances to the elevator music the HD channel we watch baseball on plays when there's no game. That darn Fresh Beat Band could be on halfway across the house and she'll be bopping along! Even the goofy music her car seat toys make never fail to get a smile.

She can now express things that she wants by pointing, reaching or saying her 'words' for them. The best so far is Dak, which is obviously Jack, although to her I think it's puppy because she also uses it for Nallah! Of course she also expresses what she doesn't want by throwing, pushing or otherwise getting it out of her way. Whether it's a toy in her crawling path or mommy's hand or face somewhere she doesn't want it she will make sure it is out of her way quickly and with authority!


I've been trying to get her outside as much as possible now that it is reasonable in the evenings. She really enjoys our bumpy little wagon rides down the driveway. We get out and touch trees and leaves and walk in the grass and even watch bugs crawling. I want her to have an appreciation and respect for nature but also curiosity. So what if she came inside with dirty feet, those can be washed, the look on her face when she felt that cool soft grass under them was priceless!


Our world revolves around Gwyn's World, which is as it should be. I knew that going in. I just didn't know my heart would revolve around hers as well. It certainly know it belongs to her.




11 Month Update:
  • Weight: ?? Still 20+ pounds for sure!
  • 12 month clothes
  • Cruising, walking/running with hands to hold
  • Losing interest in binkies and bottles (except when sleepy)
  • Points at objects and waits for you to say the word
  • LOVES: chasing the dogs, pancakes, wagon rides and Wow Wow Wubzy




Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Taking the Plunge

I did it. Finally. I registered for the race I've been talking about...the Disney Princess Half Marathon!!! Ok, I did it a few weeks back, but still-it's done and there's no turning back now! I can't believe how excited I am over something so far in the future-I'm so glad I chose a race like this for my first, it's more of an event than a race and I think the atmosphere will be so much fun that the run itself will be an afterthought!
Princess Half Marathon
Seriously, how much fun does this look?
I've also mentioned the Jeff Galloway plan I'm using to train. I made it through the first 4 weeks without a bump. I even finished my first non-treadmill 5-miler without much incident so I figured things would continue to progress steadily (and easily) along.

Princess Half Marathon
Princess Pics Source
Wrong. This past weekend we came upon the 6.5 mile run. I woke up dreading it. I haven't been dreading running in quite a while so I knew this was not a good sign. It was also pouring down the rain which meant being confined to the basement treadmill-blah.

I decided to try a similar tactic as the 5 mile run with predetermined walk/run intervals. I think this works much better than waiting until you need to walk. This time I counted steps- 500 run, 100 walk. I only count one foot when I say steps, btw. I've used the step counting thing for a long time to keep my mind occupied. *It's also an easy thing to do when you first start running and actual distances freak you out, or you just can't tell how far a quarter mile or 400m or something like that is. Just get yourself to run X number of steps and then walk X number, increase the running number each time you go.* I also find the pure monotony of listening/counting my steps soothing, I get in a rhythm, so to speak.

Generally a good pace should be about 90 steps/minute (I think I heard this on another mother runner podcast, can't be sure though) so this was only 5-ish minutes of running at a time but I was still barely slogging through each one. It didn't help that I was feeling guilty for leaving G upstairs with her daddy who also had a million things to get done on the one day of the week we were actually home. These two things combined gave me an easy out and I only ran 4 miles in 42 minutes.

Should I enter G in the kids race?


I'm lucky. I'm way ahead on this training plan for my race so repeating Week X isn't a problem. The problem for me is always the mental game. Why was I dreading the run in the first place? Let's run down the potentials...

  1. Because I hadn't had enough sleep-no, I get the same 6.5 hours every night (this is the compromise for me to both function and get stuff done!) 
  2. Hmm-did I hate doing it on the treadmill? Sure, but I'd better get used to it with winter and looong training runs unfortunately coinciding soon. 
  3. Was it leaving G with the hubs? Maybe, I always feel guilty (please don't ask why) about doing that even though they need their time together. 
  4. Because I doubt that I can do it and hate failure so much that I tell myself ahead of time that I probably won't be able to do it so that I'll be prepared? DING, DING, DING-I think we have a winner!!
Ah-the psych out. Now here it is the beginning of repeating that week. I have two interval runs before I tackle that 6 miler again. So I have that many days to get myself mentally prepared-this time for the fact that I CAN do it. I need to keep my eating in check-I've noticed almost immediate fatigue when the processed stuff sneaks back in-and practice some positive self-talks during my week day runs.

I've continued to follow the Best Body Bootcamp format for those which means hills this week-yikes! That plan has helped tremendously with not getting bored with the weekday treadmill runs. In fact, even though this is the last 'official' week I think I'm going to turn around and do it for another 8 weeks. I plan an entire post about the overall experience, but it was great and highly recommended.

Here's to positive thoughts this week!

What run/workout thoughts keep you going?

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Compliments.

Lately I've been making a lot of posts that are reminders to myself, but I hope can also serve as reminders to anyone out there in reader land. I feel like this one is pretty important: learning to take a compliment. And learning to give them as well.

Most of us (I'm talking to you, ladies!) are hard on ourselves. We're surrounded by visions of perfection. For example, a few promises of magazine covers just sitting around my house:

Look 7 Years Younger
Drop a Jeans Size
20-Minute Dinners

And what about the typical 'Get Great Abs', 'Organize Your Whole House', 'Make This Thanksgiving the Best Ever', blah, blah-you know you read them. Or at least scan them in line at the grocery store and think "Why don't I try to make this the best Thanksgiving ever? My family deserves that." Of course they do, but that's a lot of pressure, especially when most would be happy with pizza!

I was actually reminded of this thanks to the hubs. He's not a man of words (he is from Mars after all!) but somehow mentioned he thinks he has become a 'leg man'. I frowned when I heard this and replied Too bad-that's my worst feature. And I have honestly always thought that. I have thick thighs that keep me from finding pants that fit in any decent way and calves that make me buy boots with the stretch panels so I can zip them. But then he surprised me by saying "I actually think they're your best."

Huh. I had no idea. Normally this is where we say-you're crazy, and walk away. But instead I kissed him, said Thank You and spent a few minutes trying to see what he sees. And you know what, they're not half bad. They carried me through pregnancy, plenty of running lately, and man BBB sure is working them!

My legs aren't even in this pic, but you get the point!!
He probably has no idea how profound that moment was for me. That is part of the beauty of it.

Of course you should be paying yourself a compliment every now and again, but doesn't it always mean more coming from someone else? Try paying one to a random person each day too. That girl with the cute shoes-tell her she has great taste. The one at the gym with the killer biceps-tell her you hope to have guns like that. And don't forget the ones around you...just mention every now again that your husband/bf has a cute butt or maybe it'll make more of an impact to say that he knows more about college football than anyone you know!

You just may brighten someone's day...or make them take a second look at something they've been doubting. Oh-and the next time someone pays you a compliment, smile and say thank you. And then believe it.

What's the best compliment you've been paid lately?

Friday, August 31, 2012

Foodie Pen Pal-August Reveal!!

UGH! I had scheduled this for release on August 31st-early a.m.....obviously that didn't work. I'm sorry Theresa (and Lyndsey)!!!

I'm totally in love with the anticipation of Foodie Pen Pal. Coming home from work and having that box sitting at my door makes me a little giddy, I'm not ashamed!



This month my pen pal was a reader named Theresa. She's a midwest girl like me so I knew I would be in for a treat (or two). And when she mentioned that she liked to bake-2 thumbs up :-) Thank you Theresa for all the goodies.

The Lean Green Bean


I was lucky enough to get some homemade 'healthified' banana bread...with a few chocolate chips thrown in for good measure! There were also some great dried snacks, mango and sweet corn. Now most of us have seen, and devoured, dried fruit but the sweet corn was new to me. Deeelish-who knew!


There was also some Chai green tea, a Fiberful bar, and some raw almonds. I immediately emailed Theresa to ask where she got these almonds. I already snack on almonds regularly but these things were out. of. this. world. Seriously. They were plump and just a tad salty, as if they had been soaked in salt water unit they puffed up into crunchy little bites of bliss. I stashed them in my pantry and eat a few at a time so they'll last. (Remember, the hubs calls me a food sandbagger-I'm totally living up to it!)





Check out what I sent to Kristin of Diva Dog Bakery. I'm trying to include something local every time, but these parts are not known for their healthy fare (WV is the 3rd fattest state in the country!) so I hope the peppers I chose were ok. I'm excited to see what she used them in/on/for.

If you'd like to join the fun, here is some more info on Foodie Pen Pals...or just click the button above:
-On the 5th of the month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treatsThe spending limit is $15The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you can choose to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
- Foodie Penpals is open to US, Canadian residents & UK residents.



And just for fun...this is pretty much what my days looks like now. I'm loving every minute of it :-) Happy Friday everyone!


Sunday, August 26, 2012

My New Training Buddy-Podcasts!

Some people swear by having a training or workout 'buddy', someone to hold them accountable either by meeting up with them or just talking about your workouts. I think it's even more common now to have virtual workout buddies. Through blogs, instagram, twitter, daily mile, etc. we can keep tabs on each other, but better yet-we can motivate each other!

Honestly, for the most part I enjoy my workout time as just that-mine. I like a good class once in a while but I've never met up with a friend for them or made running dates. I'm not against them, I just generally like to have those few precious hours each week to myself. Sometimes it's for blowing off steam, sometimes for quiet reflection, sometimes for thinking through a tough decision...and now sometimes even for learning!

I'm a voracious reader, I have magazines and books all over my house on all sorts of subjects-parenting, food, exercise, fashion, green living. I used to be one of those that read while walking on the treadmill (I know, I know!) but now that I run it doesn't work as well. In steps the podcast. I feel like I'm always the last person to get on board with technology trends and I know podcasts have been around for-ever, but I never thought I'd want to listen to people talk while I worked out. I was so wrong.

If you find the right one(s) it's kind of like watching tv with your eyes closed! You can really get into the subject, get 5 miles in and not really remember doing it! To me, that is priceless!


I totally went into this run doubting myself. I've never run 5 miles outside before and for me, outdoor and treadmill runs are two different beasts! I decided to run until my Garmin beeped for the mile marker and then walk counting my right foot falls 100 times, then run again until the beep. This actually worked brilliantly for me and I had a decent overall pace even with the walks. Week 3 of half marathon training in the books!

What also helped was listening to a podcast about running. I was really in the zone! So, without further ado-here are my new favorites (I use the stitcher app on my phone to play them).

  • Another Mother Runner -these chicks will be your new BFFs, great running talk with some side notes of the struggles (and hilarity) of motherhood. Oh-and they have super cute tops too!
  • Jillian Michaels-her abs face have made me buy so many magazines that I figured, why not? And I wasn't disappointed. With topics anywhere from losing weight to food additives to grieving a loss it turned out to be more life-coachy than I expected, but she's still very knowledgeable and I always learn something. 
  • Balanced Bites-any Paleo-ites out there probably know all about this site and the new Practical Paleo book. I don't spend a lot of time not he site itself (yet!) but I do like to listen. I crack up every time because somehow these two remind me of the NPR skits that used to be on Saturday Night Live, but only in the best way! Serious science alert here though, you may feel like you've been at a college class when you're done but the info is great. And wouldn't you have liked to be able to work out while in classes in college, what a great way to avoid the Freshman Fifteen?
I still love a good playlist full of high powered man-bashing songs (that's what the hubs calls them!) but this is good for a change up and just one more way for me to multi-task. Hey-I bet there is someone podcasting about that... 

What do you do to pass the time during your workout?

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Word of the Day: Compromise

This post will be short and sweet. No fancy photo collages, no links to other sites just a lesson to myself. Compromise is good. Do it. Daily. Repeatedly throughout the day if you must.

I mean that as a noun, not a verb. So I'm not saying to compromise something-like your morals, but to make compromises-to keep your sanity. According to Webster: Something intermediate between or blending qualities of two different things.

I'm an admitted Type A personality-all the way. I like plans, I like to stick to plans, and I get anxious and edgy when said plans take a detour. Yes, I know, I'm no fun. The hubs tells me that ALL the time! But that is was me. The new mom me however, is quickly seeing that if I do not learn to compromise I will always be edgy and anxious and never truly enjoy anything.

Bottom line, get over yourself and get on with enjoying life (this is a lesson to myself remember-don't take offense!). Trade folding the laundry for 30 extra minutes of sleep, trade the clean breakfast you forgot with the leftover pizza you found in the fridge at work, trade an hour on the treadmill for a quick run up the (long, hilly) driveway so you can spend extra time with a baby who's firsts are passing too fast to count, trade making long posts to read in bed next to your favorite guy.

Setting the bar high is a good thing. Setting the bar so high that you are disappointed regularly is emotional suicide. Take a deep breath and say it with me...compromise is good. Feel better? I do. Now please excuse me while I follow my own advice!

Monday, August 20, 2012

Best Body Bootcamp Update

Well kids, we've made it to the halfway point of Best Body Bootcamp. Hard to believe it's been 4 weeks already. To me, this is the sign of a great program since I am anything but bored and I continue to see results. Tina just announced there will be round 3 (yay!) so check it out if you're interested!


This week we continued tempo workouts, but changed the counts holding the contraction portion for 4 seconds. Sounds like a short amount of time, right? I challenge you to do some squats like this-2 counts to lower, hold for 4 (no cheating!), 2 counts back up. Now do that 10 more times. And then do 3 sets of that. Yeah-no joke!

Running went really well this week. I completed the workouts as written-even though I worried about the 5/5 intervals I ran a full 4 miles at speeds I wouldn't typically attempt. That is what I'm loving most about BBB, it's pushing my preconceived thoughts of what my abilities are. 

It was 57 degrees and I'm still dripping with sweat-hot!
I've been saying for awhile that if I would just get out of my own way, I'd be further along with my half marathon training and I think this program is helping me do that. Thanks Tina!! I managed another 4 miler on Sunday as my cardio of choice, so back on track with the training program.

We also set 2 goals each week as part of BBB. I haven't really been talking about mine, and apparently I need to so that I hold myself accountable. I decided on a 2 minute plank a day. I did get 6 of these but in the middle of one I realized I hadn't started my timer and I'll be damned if I was starting over!!!


My 2nd goal was to hike from my basement office to the fourth floor via the stairs at least once a day. I chose this because there is only one bathroom in the basement and the only other one I care to use is located on the 4th floor. I drink a lot, therefore I pee a lot; there are at least 25 women to this one bathroom-easy goal to meet thanks to mother nature. And I must say it's getting easier (when I don't wait to long to go!)

The hubs and I also kicked off a challenge for us-30 days of Clean Eating. I generally eat this way, but there are a lot of non-clean convenience foods that make it into the house each week. The more educated I become about food and the food-like products we consume, the more important this becomes to me. Day 1 is in the books so I'll keep talking about our struggles and how we're coping throughout the month. I'm sure there will be lots of positives to talk about as well. So-help me out:

What is your favorite clean eating snack?

Friday, August 17, 2012

Beautiful Blogger Award

Oh yay! What a sweet thing to see in my comments the other day...Sabrina of Work It Miss Jackson nominated me for a Beautiful Blogger Award! It was awesome of her to think of me, she's tolerated my incessant questions about photos and apps and is kicking some major Best Body Bootcamp butt...check her out!

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Anyway, here's how this works.
  1. Copy the Beautiful Blogger Award logo and post in your post
  2. Thank you the person who nominated you (but wouldn't you do that anyway ;) )
  3. Tell us 7 things about yourself
  4. Nominate 7 other bloggers and comment on their blog to let them know
Pretty cool, no? Yes, definitely! So, without further ado-some Friday night randomness.

1.  Very few people have any idea what I do when I say that I'm an Industrial Hygienist. And no, it does not have anything to do with teeth. Look it up. It's not fascinating, but it pays the bills!

2.  From the time I graduated high school until just recently moving was an annual event for me. Sometimes just across town, but I was in perpetual packing mode. You would think that means I know how to get rid of unnecessary stuff-not true. I've lived in both peninsulas of MI, in OH, IN and now WV.

3. This is the 3rd house I've owned, but the first with someone else.


4.  I only planned to live in WV for a max of three years, but on my first day of work here I met the hubs and all that changed. Five and a half years later I don't see myself going anywhere anytime soon.

5.  I have a (sort of) secret desire to get certified as a personal trainer, and am becoming more and more interested in nutrition and how food affects your body. I once was overweight with a warped body image. I'm in no way perfect, but I love seeing other people realize their potential too.

6.  I'm a self-proclaimed daddy's girl and hope my daughter is too. Who am I kidding, she already is!

7.  I am not afraid to try any kind of food. Just don't tell me what it is first! I figure the worst that can happen is that you spit it out...and you may just find a new favorite! New to me this week-jicama :-)

Well, those were short and to the point, but now you have a few more tidbits of info on me! Now it's my turn to share some of my favorite bloggers with you. I'm somewhat new to this world so I don't 'know' a lot of people, but here are some I do, and some I just enjoy. All Beautiful!

Maren of Maren's Morsels-super sweet chic who was my first Foodie Pen Pal, never fails to  crack me up!

Kristin of Diva Dog Bakery-I sent her a Foodie box this month, I can't wait to buy our puppies some of her goodies! Plus, she has the most organized Pinterest page on the planet!

MaryKay of Life's Adventures-one of my BFF's whose running the Disney Princess Half with me.

Lyndsey of Hot Mama-my cuz and great friend, an absolute wealth of food/health knowledge. I'm begging her to do some more posts! 

Jessica of Chockohlowtay-OMG made over goodies. Making some of her protein bars this weekend so expect another shout out when they get devoured!

Meghan of Running Toward the Prize-fellow Michigander whose been giving me great Disney run advice.

Courtney of Journey of a Dreamer-I just started following her, but am already hooked!



Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Gwyn's World: 10 Month Update

Ok-so I'm a few days late with this post, but hey, that's the life of a new mom right? Here's a random thought-when do you stop calling yourself a 'new mom'? Everything about her will be new to me so will I always be a new mom, or just until another one comes along, or just until I don't freak out at all the little things? Does that actually happen? Just curious.

If you want to catch up, here are G's other monthly updates:



We had our 9 Month check up with the pediatrician, Little G-as her cousins call her, weighs in at over 20 lbs now. See why I need Best Body Bootcamp?! Girl can eat too. I often have to be careful how much goes in front of her at once since she'll pack it in like a little chipmunk!

I just love how blue her eyes look here!
Still only 6 teeth, but I'm thinking I see the beginning of two more on the bottom. She's got a horrible little cold going on right now, all stuffy and snotty. It's the first sickness she's had so she's getting babied, of course. In fact, she's asleep in our bed right now, some cuddling is in order.


I've known that she's been close to crawling and/or walking for a few weeks now but because she works so hard at standing I really didn't know what would come first. Of course I told you already that she gave me a birthday present by crawling for the first time at Grammi's. She does it often now, but also works very hard at standing and cruising so I'm sure it'll be short lived. She likes to stop, sit back up and clap for herself, it makes for a long trek across the floor but a great video!

Time to practice my action shots!
Hmm, more firsts...her first real swing. They have some at school, but not like this. G seemed scared at first...until I pushed her higher, then she laughed hysterically. It seems like I may have a little thrill seeker on my hands. Finally, someone to ride roller coasters with me! She had a short-lived phase of sticking out her tongue, and can you believe I didn't get a picture of that?! Now she's into pointing. Maybe I'll catch that one!


One of my favorite things is to watch her 'dance', she just sort of bobs. It's gonna be even cuter when she can stand and do it! Oh-and the all out belly laughs, I just can't get enough of those. I'll make a complete fool of myself in public just to hear it!


She is the driving force behind almost everything I do these days, and I imagine it will be that way for a loooong time. I suppose that's why parents have such a hard time with empty nests? Can't think about that now!

10 Month Update:

  • 20+ lbs
  • 12 month clothes
  • Crawling, almost pulling up
  • Eats anything you put in front of her (except pasta-still!)
  • Has a 'word' for Jack the puppy
  • LOVES: trying to walk, making people laugh, her reflection, music