Race Recap + Robots = Happy Mandy

Saturday I ran my first race of the season! It was the HOPE 5k and a fundraiser for Aspen, our women's shelter. I loved that it was local and the money went to a local charity. What made it EVEN MORE BETTA.... was the tech shirt and the 20.00 entry fee. A.W.E.S.O.M.E.  I was stoked that Pam told me about this race. I was able to invite a good friend of mine, my daughter, her friend and my son Cooper. I couldn't be more proud of all of them. It was Megan's first 5k and she was a freakin' rock star. 

Yes, we do take pre race pics... we love it. Thx.

 

Girl after my own heart and her friend forev, Ilianna!

 

The actual running part of the race was just OK. I took off and was feeling okay... but I won't lie to you my legs were heavy. You know the type.. tree trunks that won't get out of their own damn way.. That's me. Also, since I've stopped journaling and being smart with my diet, I got the added bonus of feeling my ass jiggle with every step I took. Yay me. Oh... I did get scolded by a guy on the course. He was less that happy with me for not running on the sidewalk. Since I had to run up the mountain on Chestnut and was already starting mile 3 I pretended I didn't hear him.. Oops. My bad. My only "negative" was no water. I know, it's a short race but I didn't hydrate and I don't want to be responsible for my own errors. :)  My time was 33.07 minutes. Meh... Not the worst, not my best.s

 

Because I'm a hard worker and a great wife, I decided a trip to Costco immediately following the race was in good order. Nothing says sexy more than me in running capris with a grease face shopping in the big city. If you have a death wish, hit Costco at 11:30 on a Saturday. It's fab. However, I had a HUGE mission. No, not just the toilet paper at a discount .... I was getting me a new baby. A new love... Something that shows me how much it loves me by being a helper without any yelling, or whining.

 

Friends, meet Rudy... my Roomba.

 

This little baby is amaze-balls. It works and works and works... and never complains. Plus it puts itself away. I can't even get my kids to do that... Dang...........

 

 

Sunday was a basic cleaning, cooking, and jammie day. I was up at 5:30 cleaning and hangin' with Rudy (see above) while my family slept. I love morning when everyone stays the heck out of my way. After everyone woke up I was able to relax a bit and have some quality time with the fam. I was the bra-less wonder until 3:00 when unexpected people stopped by. Then I was forced to change out of my flannel jammie pants and holey sweatshirt. Oh plus I hadn't brushed my hair... fab. I'm a fashion icon. Watch out Kim K.

 

 

Confession time... I had to toss out my jellybeans. Yeah, yeah... I know. Big deal. BUT this is a big deal. I actually had to take them out of the bag, put water over them so they were ruined, and then toss them out. I knew if I just tossed the bag out, I'd take them out and hog them down. Hey, don't judge... you'd do the same thing. It's getting bad for me. I am so into sweets like that I'd consider it to be a binge food. I will think about having them. When I'm eating them... I feel great. Then when I'm done, I'm pissed at myself. UGH.... Binge food. Proven over and over again. I know, everything in moderation but these are not part of that. These are my kryptonite.

 

 

 

 

 

This week's goal???? 3 days of running and then a 5K on Saturday. YEP.. gotta do it!!!

 

 

How many days do you run or exercise during the week?????????

 

xoxoxo

M

 

OH I joined instagram... find me... minimemandy. :)

 

 



 

 

 

If the world runs on donuts.................

Ready ... set.... go............. freakin' crazy.


That's my life lately. It's been one thing after another. Busy with work. Busy with kids. Busy with family. BUSY.... but ummm.. who's life isn't busy? Right? Sooo instead of sitting here telling you how much I have going on... I'll share this little morsel of bullsh*t and we can move forward.... :)

Now let's get down to business ..... I'm down to the WIRE on my running and basically I will be having my ass handed to me at the Wenatchee 1/2 marathon. I mentally KNOW better but I can't seem to straighten up. Lame-o. I've decide to treat this race as a training run for my RnR in June. I completely enjoy paying cash to get my ass kicked. Bahahaha.. I'm awesome, like that. Or stupid. You pick.

Last week I started to "restrict" my sugar intake and processed foods. I strongly believe that I could RUN around the world and back but if I don't stop eating crap-ola I'll never get rid of my gut. Sooo being mindful of my food was important to me. I was SO DANG good on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, FRIDAY... and then Saturday.. I screwed myself. It started with a rice crispy treat, then a donut, and a taco, and and and.....  Sunday was Easter and I decided the all-you-can-eat at Grandma's was a wise choice.  I felt like Fat Bastard...

Thank goodness he has sweat bands on his wrists.. ahahhahaaha...

Soooo today I'm back to balancing my "restricted sugars" and being a normal person. If you see me with a bag of skittles, slap me for it....

Saturday I squeaked out 4.25 miles with Pam. She made me do a giant hill which should NOT be allowed. I know, I know... I should be saying "Hills? I love them. They make me feel so challenged." but really I'm thinking ... "Son of a...... why the hell is she making me do this?" :) Good thing Pam is the bomb-dot-com so I'll forgive her for the torture. Bahahahaha..

Sunday after my guilt riddled hog fest, I met up with Teresa and we ran 4 miles and walked another 1.15 miles. It felt great. The weather was amazing. My back had a knot in it and that kind of sucked but it was good when it was over. I'd like to give a shout out to the loser-face in the Jetta that swerved towards us, pretending to run us over. I hope Karma comes to scare the hell out of you as well. There is NOTHING FUNNY about swerving towards people on the road. Ya jerk....

Monday and Tuesday.. Meh.... nothing much to report. Work, Kids, Life....

Last night Rylee (my amazing 14 year-old daughter) & I ran 3 miles... She did incredibly well for just tossing on shoes and heading out. I guess that is one thing about my new active lifestyle, I really enjoy. My kids are doing it too. Maybe we aren't all "Clean Eating & Loving it" but we sure as heck are moving more. It helps. :)

Hope you guys have a fantabulous night..... I'm thinking a little Jillian Michaels Yoga Melt Down with the fam-dam is in order......

Here's a little Mandy humor for ya...............

Yep... True Dat....

 

 



 

 

I wish this said "married" instead of "dating" so I could text it to my hubby.

He would really appreciate my subtle hints, I'm certain.

xoxox
M

SH*T IS GETTIN' REAL...REAL FAST!

HOLA...


HOLY CRUD it's been a while since I blogged... I hope you all can forgive me. So much has  been going on and lots of things have slipped through the cracks. I hate that saying... Slipping through the cracks. It's gross. Anywhooooo..

In October I began the BIGGEST most challenging process of my life. Yep, even MORE challenging than running, wiring my jaw shut to all sweets, and raising a teenage daughter. I opened my own business. As most of you know, I'm an insurance nerd and that's what I've been doing....  I've open an Allstate office. I love it but I am exhausted most evenings from all the brain work I've been doing.

AS A RESULT I've gained back approximately 8 pounds. Ummmm... hellllooooo that's a newborn baby I've added back to my a$$ and gut. GROSS! I'll admit, I've done some running here and there. Some Jillian, some of this and some of that isn't cutting it. SLACKER.  

I've caught myself hoggin down on Skittles and gummy candies. I've caught myself letting go of my hard ass work... I'm not liking it ONE BIT. It's hard to "get real" with yourself. You have to admit that you are effin' up and move forward. However while laying on the couch watching Army Wives, worrying about what happened to Jeremy at the end of season 3 is NOT MOVING FORWARD.  Sheesh.........


This last month has been MUCH better and I'm getting back in the swing of things. I'm learning to manage time better at the office. Forcing myself to take a break. Allowing myself some ME time to run and I dang well better.... I have a half marathon at the end of April to do.

The hardest part of this is that my husband is amazing and loves me like this.....

Awww.. I know, right? Wade says "He's not romantic... He's smart!"  Never mind their love fest tho... let's talk about me gaining 8 freakin pounds. Son of a.........  Sooo Wade never said anything like "Hey fatso, go get your run on" and I never said "Hey I'm getting lazy, I should go get my run on".....

YESTERDAY I did run... and I felt like my legs were 10000000000 pounds BUT I felt great when I was done. Running really is my love. Workout videos are good.. and Jillian's Yoga Meltdown is AWESOME but... RUNNING + MANDY = LOVE forev. I love the simple math of it... approximately 1 mile = 100 calories... Yep. That's right! You still want that SNICKERS bar?

Sooo I'm back to blogging. I need it. I need to spill my guts and have you guys telling me to get off my ass. Today I will do some sort of running.. AGAIN. The weather is ugly but I have a freakin fantastic treadmill that I can run on tonight. NO EXCUSES.... so I'M BACK BABY!!! Bring on summer with short shorts and tank tops... no flabby legs and arms for this girly.

And just because this couple is too funny... I thought I'd leave you with some funny stuff. Oh and if you're offended...Sorry. Get over it... It's only a joke and yes, I'm twisted. Thx for askin.

TRUE DAT!

Bahahaha... WOW he's have a bad day!


xoxoxo,
M

Kids Say The Darnest Things!

I'd like to start my post today with the one thing that CRACKED MY A$$ UP.....

For you viewing pleasure......Jennifer Aniston's stolen home videos

If you haven't seen that... it is funny as heck. I mean how can you NOT love her sense of humor. If you don't find it funny then you're not funny. Just sayin!

Now... TODAY.... I journaled. It was fabulous... Oh wait, no it wasn't. After braggin up my "AWESOME APP" on facebook and pimping myself out for friends... it acted like a turd ALL DAY LONG. UGH.... Sooo, I wasn't able to log in my lunch... or dinner. I still have to do it. Actually I think I need to "re-boot" my iPhone. If that's not the techno lingo... Oops.. Myfitnesspal was NOT my pal today. It was my nemesis. Damn.

Today was Hunter's OFFICIAL birthday. He's the big double digits... 10! I love that kid. He's such a funny guy. Him and Cooper have been pretty good buds tonight. That basically means they DID NOT FIGHT. THANK HEAVENS. :) Hunter wanted beef stroganoff for his birthday dinner. Funny choice for a 10 year old, but it's easy to make. I used lean elk meat for the burger, fat free sour cream and 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup... so I tried to make it as "low cal" as possible.  I surprised our birthday boy with an ice cream cake from Baskin & Robbins. I purposely bought the smallest one they had. I can't be trusted and NO ONE in this house needs to have extra cake. It's just not good for us. I'm learning....

 

I borrowed the Insanity DVD's from a good friend tonight. Tomorrow morning will be DAY 1. I normally wouldn't pick tomorrow since it supposed to be a boot camp day but with the air quality changed to "Hazardous", I am betting we don't have boot camp. The smoke from all our forest fires has been terrible and my eyes and sinuses are paying the price. Poor fire fighters.. God Bless them all...   I'm also missing Candice. She's been such a big supporter of mine and without her I feel kinda lost. She is amaz-balls.... and a rock star rolled into one person. :)

Anyhoo... INSANITY... sounds like it's going to kick my ass but I need it which seems fitting since I picked it up and immediately head to get ice cream cake!  Ha...  Jeez, the other night I was having a freaking nervous breakdown trying to being TECH SUPPORT for the Playstation 3 that I couldn't (still haven't) gotten hooked up for Hunter. It resulted in a bucket handful of red vines and hours reading the online User Guide. Oh and if you EVER give a child a gift without installation instructions, you should have the sh*t slapped out of you. FOR REALS... Not naming any names but damn it, I'm no IT person ... I need direction folks!
 

Soooo.. since I share all my ideas... and all my failures and successes.... I'm gonna share a funny thing my son Cooper said to me tonight...

"Mom? Do you HOPE and PRAY you'll do the whole Insanity DVD set?"  To which I reply     "Get the hell outta here, kid!".... Okay okay.. I didn't say that but you can bet I thought it. Instead I said "SON! I'm gonna rock those DVDs" and he said "Yep, because you want that tee-shirt they give ya!".... See?? My kid knows his momma... I don't do ANY exercise unless there is a free tee-shirt or a metal involved. :) LOVE IT.

OH...one quick success story for THE HUSBAND... he got a deer tonight. I freaking love him. Archery hunters are HOT HOT HOT. Congrats baby.

Nite Everyone
xoxoxox
M

I'm PRETTY SURE... Dr Phil Wants Me!

I'm seriously BEAT.... but I had a kick a$$ day and that makes me happy AND I'm below my daily calories... AMAZING.

Today was Hunter's 10th Birthday Party. His actual birthday is the 18th, but we wanted to have the party during the weekend so his friends could come. Hunter decided that Brooklyn's Pizza was the place to have it, which is fine by me because I don't have to worry about my house getting messy. Yes, I'm that kind of a mom. Sorry...

I woke up about 6:30 today... it was awesome to sleep a little bit later than the "normal". I was able to start some laundry, make my husband an iced coffee, and frost some birthday cupcakes before my morning run. YUP... you read that right.. I actually got my butt outside and running... It was a LOOOONG one too. 10 miler. YUUPP... 10 MILES. Hey.. when I say YUUPPPP do you feel like you're watching Storage Wars?

I met up with Kerrie, Teresa, and Pam at the High School at 8:00. The weather was pretty nice. Actually a little warmer than I expected. We did an average pace of 11:30 for 10 miles. It was a great low key run. I freaking love those... AND AND AND... I burned 1190 calories... I won't lie to you tho... mile 8-9 was a pisser for me. No "special" reason.. I think I was just tired. However, the run is DONE and I can feel good about it for the rest of the weekend... I don't care what anyone says.... 10 miles is FAR.

These bitches can run! :)

After my run, I came home to see that my SUPER WONDERFUL and always HOT husband had helped finish up the laundry and was at the store. He even brought me home a Diet Pepsi. I know pop is TERRIBLE for you, but for some reason after a long run I always crave a Diet Pepsi on ICE. I don't if it's the carbonation or what, but that's all I want and I hardly ever drink pop. I don't even keep it in the house. Strange, huh? Oh well... aren't you glad I tell you random crap like this???

At 1:00 we had Hunter's Party so we headed off to that .... Talk about a LUCKY and LOVED child. He had a big group of friends AND family there to celebrate with him.. and he was spoiled. I feel so grateful to have so many people who love my kids... it's a blessing!

Also a blessing?? Being done with the party! It wears me out. I'm old and not a fun mom. There I said it... Dr. Phil is asking me to co-author his next parenting book.. It's called "Stop Asking Me Where Your Shit is...I Don't Wear It.....What Good Parents Really Think."  At least that's what MY parenting style is.... "Ummm, no son.. You can't have a box of Twinkies before bed. What? Why you ask? Because I don't want you to puke or shit yourself, son. DUH!"  or how about "No I don't think I'm going to buy you another pair of Miss Me Jeans. What? Why you ask?? Because I can't afford to cover your ass in $120.00 jeans when I need to buy Botox.... Momma is trying to slow down the aging process."   Okay, okay..the Botox is a dream and my spoiled daughter has multiple pairs of Miss Me (also her dad and her grandma buy these suckers for her)... and yes, I'm trying to catch a parasite so I can drop enough ass to fit in them.. Don't judge.

Hahha.. awesome.

 

Can't you see me and him on the cover of a book? FOR REALS.

Then to wrap our night up we had a party to hit for my good friend's daughter. I love this girl. Brandie just turned 21. She's beautiful, amazing, kind, and fun... she really is her momma's daughter. I just love her. It was so fun.

We had to cut it short tho... Wade is leaving for Montana and he had to get home to meet up with his hunting partner. They are busy getting ready to hit the road. He better be bringing home some ELK.

Welp.... I'm off to laze around in the recliner with a hot pad and my holey snuggie because I'm freaking a party animal..... Maybe I'll get allll kinds of crazy and top of the night with a cup of hot tea. I'm feeling pretty out of control.

Oh and just because I found this saved on my computer, complements of my teenage daughter... here's a little Jacob to the rescue. Too funny.

Nite Nite!

xoxoxoxo
M

Random Mandy.... LUCKY YOU.

I saw this on another blog and it inspired me to use the same format..... Different "things" but same idea......


If you know me at all.......

If you know me at all, you'd know I'm only loud and funny because I'm insecure.

If you know me at all, you'd know I only run because I want to be thin.

If you know me at all, you'd know I only have one sibling and I wish we were closer because I think he's a total rockstar of a guy. It's probably my fault, because I've always been the bossy older sister.

If you know me at all, you'd know I truly believe my husband is HOTTER than Bradley Cooper and almost as hot as George Strait. I kid, I kid.. he's just as hot. :)  

If you know me at all, you'd know I love my kids ALL 3 OF THEM.. and my bonus kid, Cash.

If you know me at all, you'd know I could sit down and eat a bucket of red vines and not think twice about it... but I can walk past a chocolate bar ALL DAY LONG.

If you know me at all, you'd know I love to sing my heart out in the car, as if I'm auditioning for The Voice. Hi Blake. xoxoxo

If you know me at all, you'd know I change my clothes almost 2 times every morning to find the "perfect" outfit, but that I've gotten better about it SINCE losing weight. :) Yay.

If you know me at all, you'd know I hate a dirty house and I'm flipped out until mine is clean. 

If you know me at all, you'd know I love my Grandma Pat so much. She's my constant voice of reason and the most amazing lady... besides my momma, who taught me anything is possible.

If you know me at all, you'd know I hate CANCER.... It's effin' stupid.

If you know me at all, you'd know I love helping others.... and working with the public is "my thang".

If you know me at all, you'd know I really do try to "reason" the jelly beans I eat, the ice cream I want, and the need to have those things.

If you know me at all, you'd know I compare myself and my weight-loss journey to others, even though I shouldn't and I'm pissed that I've allowed myself to stall.

If you know me at all, you'd know my all time favorite store is GOODWILL... So, please continue to donate all your slightly used high-end stuff so I can continue to purchase it FOR CHEAP.

If you know me at all, you'd know my biggest fear is losing my spouse, child, or parent..... and I feel blessed to have everyone safe and happy.

If you know me at all, you'd know....... I love blogging and I LOVE all of you for your constant encouragement and feedback.

If you know me at all, you'd know I'm so damn happy it's FRIDAY. :)



Wasn't that fun??? Don't you feel so happy to know these random-Mandisms.....  Don't lie. It made your day. Do this... try it... it's fun.

Here's to a good day of eating and a better day at work with no headaches!!!!

xoxoxox
M

What does GI JOE, Iron Girl, & Elk all have in common? ME!

Last week I squeaked out a whopping 5.28 miles. TOTAL. That's it folks. 5.28 miles of running and I'm suppppposed to be training for a 1/2 marathon. UGH.... I'm doing that thing I do, I make excuses! There is a reason why my body looks the way it does.... EXCUSES. 

BUT on Sunday I did my most favorite race so far. We did the Iron Girl 5k in Seattle. I freaking loved every dang second. 

To start with my group of friends that did this with me are A.W.E.S.O.M.E! It was Jessie, Shelley, and Stephanie.They are sisters and I basically grew up with them. Then we brought our daughters. Rylee (my 14 year-old), Lainey (Jess's girl), Cassidy & Carley (Shel's girls). I love Iron Girl because it's a women's only, no pressure, fun race. Every finisher receives a metal and you get the experience of a large race.

When we arrived we had plenty of time to spare, which was good because I freaking need STARBUCKS. Yes, I haven't learned from my Relay Race experience. Don't judge. Sometimes I need to have stuff pounded into my head..... I mean I still think Jager Bombs don't cause hangovers, okay?

Any hoooo... we found great parking spot and headed off to pick up our packets. We put on our bibs and waited for in line for the porta-potty which seemed longer than Goldie Hawn and Kirk Russell's dating courtship! No kidding... this line was a billion times longer than any other race I've been to and that was crummy because Carley is 4 and my bladder is 100 so there is a good chance of one of us wetting and I'm betting it me.

Cassidy, Lainey, Carley, & Rylee

Steph, Shelley, Jess, & Me.. Pre-race

Pretty soon we all headed to the start line. It was great talking with my friends.... encouraging the girls... and just knowing it was about the experience and not a timed thing. NO PRESSURE... which as you know, I'm lazy so I'm all about that. RIGHT?

When the race started we began walking..... Cassidy and I decided we'd jog a little bit. This kid is competitive.. I LOVE IT... The best part is she had forgot her tennis shoes and had to wear her grandma's. So here is this 9 year-old running in shoes that are a 1/2 size too large and she doesn't CARE. I freaking love kids. I would have been pissing and moaning NON STOP. For reals. We did a few jogging intervals and then walked with her momma, Shelley.

Rylee, Jessie, Lainey, Steph & Carley were ahead of us. I was kind of bummed I didn't get to see my daughter cross the finish line, but I know she rocked it. When we got close to the finish I told Cassidy "Let's run in the last .10 of a mile and sprint across the finish line"... she was game! Me, Shelley, and Cassidy took off.... as we rounded the corner I yelled "RUN CASS, RUN.. FAST AS YOU CAN" and her little 9 year old legs went into high gear... As she ran across the finish line, the announcer yells out "Cassidy Gay, 9 years old just finished Iron Girl 2012"... I won't lie to you... Shelley and I were choked up.... It's awesome. It's so incredible seeing someone finish a race... and when it's a kid... it'll really get ya.

We found the rest of our group and I hugged up Rylee.... That kid makes me proud. I know she was pumped because she beat me in. I was pumped because I wanted to show her how awesome a big race is.... and we all wore our metals with PRIDE..... Who am I kidding, I'm still wearing that thing. I kid, I kid.... kinda. I mean I might wear it while dusting or cleaning.... but maybe not to work. HA.

SO that's race #6 completed... Oktoberfest 1/2 marathon is 7 of 7 and I will have met my goal. Last year I would never ever have believed I could do it..... In you face, old Mandy...... IN YOUR FACE.

Monday I had errands to run so I didn't make it to boot camp..... :(  I suck. I know.

Yesterday I ran with Joy and Pam on lunch for a 4 miler and burned 496 calories.... but yesterday afternoon I felt like POOP. Seriously... I was dragging a$$ and it was pathetic. I came home hit the couch and slept away the evening....

TODAY'S goal?? Get my round self to boot camp and journaling my eating.... I think I can, I think I can.....

OH OH OH... big big news... My friend has an Insanity DVD set I can borrow... I am doing it. I'm taking the challenge. Since I NEVER seem to get below 150 pounds without having my jaw wired shut, I've decided to see if I can get some more inches off.....Numbers aren't as important when I'm rocking a smaller size in jeans. RIGHT?

Welp... good luck to my incredibly sexy husband who is out hunting RIGHT NOW. This morning when I woke up he was all "Camo'd out" and of course my sarcastic self HAD to ask if he was hunting or playing GI-JOE... he responded with "Nope, important business meeting".... I love that man. He "gets" my humor and plays along.... So, here's to you babe...BRING HOME SOME ELK... no pressure but come on already......... ;)

Here's to a kickin' ass Wednesday....

Love ya,
M