Tapered 501s, Aqua Net & Keds!

Friday was my BIG weigh-in. I'm sure you recall, I was dreading it. I mean seriously dreading it. I have this terrible relationship with  my scale. I know, I know a person should NOT be obsessed, but I won't lie, I am.  I have a number IN MY HEAD that I can't let go of... so until I'm there, I'm weighing in EVERY Friday.

Soooo, here it is....

OH YES BABY! OH YES!


I lost 2 lbs!! HELL YES, I did! I'm always please when I move down on the scale. I want so badly to be in the 140's... any of the 140's. I'm not picky. :) Soooo, seeing this number made me want to pick up that dirty little scale and kiss it and hug it and embrace it. However, I kept my composure and just hi-fived myself! It's tough being a spaz. TRUST ME!


Saturday was my "planned" 10 mile run... However, at the last minute I decided it would be WAY MORE FUN to go to some garage sales and drink iced coffees with my husband. I mean, a girl has got to have priorities, RIGHT? We didn't find anything fabulous. I got a tee-shirt for a quarter and Hunter got some leatherman thingy.

Saturday night I got allllll kinds of crazy with an adult evening out. It started with getting dressed. After showering, I was DYING to wear some skinny jeans (SIZE 9.. FOLKS) so I poured myself into them. It was obvious that I was going to need some assistance.... so my super awesome hubby helped me. I had him holding on to the jeans at the waist, while I was in them, and made him pull. Yes, it's true. Yes, it's ridiculous. BUT DAMN it was STRETCH denim and I needed them babies STRETCHED! :) AND yes they did fit me prior to the group stretching but I wanted them to be just a little more loose around my spare tire. By the way, if you ever find yourself looking for a man, find one who is willing to laugh at you AND with you. We were both cracking up! Oh and FOR THE RECORD, I haven't wore "skinny jeans" since early 90's when I was buying 501s and begging my mom to taper the legs AS TIGHT AS THEY WOULD GO. You know, the ones where you could hardly get your feet through the leg holes! AWESOME.

After getting glammed up my always good to me hubby took some pics. Yes, I had to beg and plead but he still did it. :)

 I've got moves like Jagger!

After dress up and photo ops, we were off to a night of music, WINE, and incredible friends. It was definitely a great night. My friend, Candice's little brother was performing in town. He is VERY talented and will be a BIG star some day. I took my picture with him so I could prove to everyone I knew him. You know, after he signs with a Label and starts raking it in.

Being a party girl is a thing of the past for this girly. GET A LIFE, MANDY! When you pretend to be 25 and drink 2 bottles of wine with your hubs... YOU WILL FEEL IT IN THE MORNING. What the?? When did I become so lame or grown-up? You decide. I woke up with a pounding head. The only cure was 4 Tylenol, and iced coffee, and 2+ hours laying on my deck soaking up the sun. If you remember from my post earlier, you know that I still have a 10 miler to run. RIGHT? Well... since I make very poor choices, I didn't even START my run until after noon. Knowing it was going to be a scorcher and to keep up with my really awesome day, I decided I'd run on my treadmill.

Treadmills SUCK. Okay! I said it. Plain and simple. 10 miles on a treadmill is H.A.R.D. and boring, and lame, and, and, and.... but I did it. 10 MILES. I was a sweaty mess. However, I came to a REALLY big conclusion today. While I was running I was watching Real Housewives of New Jersey. First off, they need to TAN some more. Jeezus are you people for reals? And why do you all have to act like you're uneducated?? Then to top it off, I caught a little Real Housewives of Atlanta and those ladies.. OH MY GOSH. I just can't even begin to tell you how goofy they are. Sooo, if you EVER feel like you have problems, just turn on a little BRAVO TV and you're gonna feel GREAT. Even while running 10 miles on a treadmill, hungover. :)

That's all I got for ya. It was a great weigh-in, weekend, and run. I survived.  What did you guys do this weekend? Any exercise?? Any fun family adventures?? Most importantly, did you find anything FAB at garage sales?

Love,

M

As A Matter of Fact.........

FACT: I will change my outfit 4 times and still wear the first thing I tried on because I feel chubby in everything else, regardless of getting into smaller clothing.

FACT: I look in the mirror and still see myself at 179 lbs.... which is 27 lbs MORE than my current weight.

FACT: I still doubt my ability to run a half marathon, regardless of my training.

FACT: I am addicted to sugar... Seriously, I'm JONES'N for some Starbursts RIGHT THIS MINUTE. But, because I'm a slave to the scale I'll settle for some Good Earth tea and stop whining.

If only I didn't read stuff like this

Don't be getting all judgemental or ready to call my hubs and plan the intervention. I know plenty of you are reading this magazine in the checkout line. I've seen YOU!  I'm not looking into anorexia, but I won't lie, when I see these crazies I think "That takes some serious self-control". Let me tell you straight up... I DO NOT find this attractive. However, I am guilty of buying this magazine and reading it. My bad.

This week I have been a little too LAX about my journaling. I don't know WHY other than I just haven't been into it. I decided to turn it around yesterday and I've managed to pull through it just fine. So far, so good. Again... I'm a slave to the scale, even though she's a rotten thing, I'll be jumping on it tomorrow morning wanting to see what I've done. I'll be sure to share with you guys tomorrow how that story ends. :) I see someone hitting the trashcan and it sure as hell isn't ME!

Tonight we went for a little run. Well, actually I ran while Wade & Hunter rode bikes. It was 3 miles and it felt great. I don't know why I was dreading it. I was sure loving the run when I was doing it. Isn't that funny? You put something off and then when you're done, you're thinking "What was the big deal?". This weekend is a LONG run... I'll be increasing to 9 or 10 miles. Whew. That seems like so much running. I love that my body is learning to endure running like that. It's so cool to think last year I couldn't do this. I just wonder what NEXT year will bring me. :)

Oh... I also scored some cute finds at Goodwill today. I love when someone else gives up their high-end jeans and I can buy them for $5.99! Got 2 pairs, in a size 10. Ummm... THANK YOU very much. They are London Jean (Victoria Secret brand). I also snagged an Aeropostale tee-shirt and & Maurices tees-shirt for $1.99 each. I love second-hand store shopping ESPECIALLY when I'm trying to lose weight. I can't see spending big money on clothes that I hope to wear for a short time. FYI ... I do not buy undergarments from second hand stores. Just in case you were wondering... that's FREAKING NASTY. Just wanted to clear that up before you sickos got carried away. :) HA...


I need some good tunes to add to my running playlist. What songs do you guys like for running or exercising? Also, please tell me someone else buys this tabloid stuff... It can't just be me. RIGHT? What's your favorite "trash" magazine?

Love
M

Wenatchee 10K Recap... and other good stuff!!

Wenatchee was an excellent adventure! We left after work Friday night. Wade was our driver and Candice rode along.... No sense in taking 2 cars. Gas is too spendy. I'm so fortunate to have a husband that is willing to take off and stay in a Motel 6 style motel just so I can run for an hour. I was also so thankful we had made plans to stay in Wenatchee so I would be "well rested" and not have to get up too early on Saturday.

When we first arrived in Wenatchee we went to pick up our race packets. I was kind of shocked that we didn't get anything other than our numbers and timing chips. I guess I was expecting more. Oh well.... They certainly made up for it AFTER the race. :) When we walked into sporting goods store to grab our numbers I was instantly insecure. I felt out of place surrounded by all these athletes and I'm just some gal from Ellensburg!  

My boss had recommended we eat at a place called Wok-A-Bout Grill. I had mentioned that to Wade and Candice and as luck would have it, it was JUST across the street from the sporting goods store. Even the guy from Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe, had ate there when he was in Wenatchee. I always heard that you should "Carb Load" before a race so feeling like the total rockstar I am ... I decided to DO THAT. It was YUMMY and really so bad for you... but tasted so good. Just like most things in life, right??? If it's yummy it's probably bad for ya. :) My eyes were WAY bigger than my stomach, but it worked out ok. I didn't journal this meal. I don't know why, I just didn't. We took leftovers home for Wade and Rylee to enjoy on Saturday.  

Yummy!


After dinner we went to our hotel. Candice and I were able to visit and I witnessed how the pros prepared on a pre-race evening. She had all her stuff set out and ready for the next morning. Race bib pinned to her shirt and chip on her shoes. You can bet your ass, as soon as I got back to our room I did the same thing. We chatted up a bit and then agreed to meet at 6:00 am. We wanted to be sure to have our coffee and food with plenty of time to get to the starting line.

I swear I rolled around in our bed all night and barely slept. I was so nervous. So excited. So flipped out. SO STRESSED. I'm not sure WHY but just knowing I was running with other runners made me a worry wart. Could they see that I was new? Can they tell I've never done a 10K? UGH.... My alarm finally went off at 5:40 am and I crawled out of bed. As soon as I got a text from Candice I headed to her room. We visited, she fed me an iced coffee and peanut butter toast, and we then decided to meet up at 7:10 to leave for the race.

I was a wreck. I changed the position of the bib on my shirt 5 TIMES.. yes 5 damn times. Wade kept saying "Stop it, you're making holes in your shirt from pinning and re-pinning."  I finally decided it looked okay and forced the husband to take multiple pics of me. Like this....

Yes... I'm that much of a dipstick!

Once we left the hotel my nerves were VERY amped up. I was on edge. The closer we got the more I felt like a TOTAL poser. What the hell am I, a former chubby chic, doing at a race, let alone gonna run in it? I've never been athletic. I've never been into sports.... I can't hit a ball with a bat to save my own life! I can't Zumba without tripping... trust me I've tried. Just for the record, I have done 2 other 5K, but this race felt different. I don't know if it's because I knew others, that I consider amazing runners, were there in the same group.... or if it's because it's the first race of the year, but it was enough to make me feel goofy.

Pretty soon it was time for us to head to the starting line. We all went our separate ways since we all run at different paces and I headed to the very end of the group. I'll tell you, it's interesting to see all the different shapes, sizes, ages, and groups of people that come out for a run. There were walkers too! I got my iPod started and then it happened. The gun fired. We were starting. At first I was just nervous... but once I had my music on... I was good to go. It was only a block or two into the race and I realized I needed to pass some people. They were slower than me.... SAY WHAT? Could it be that I was faster than someone else? Really?? I remember thinking.. Just go... and before I knew it I was at mile 1, then 2, 3 and time to loop back around. I couldn't believe it. My legs were taking me and my lungs felt great. I was even passing people STILL! I tried to not get over confident. I kept saying "just stay steady and you'll make it without  stopping".... I loved the out and back style race because I could see everyone coming back my way.... It's just so cool to see runners speeding by you, regardless of what direction they are going. I remember at mile 5 I started to get emotional. I thought "Damn you Mandy! You really are a runner. You are running 6.2 miles and you are feeling good. Nothing hurts and nothing is stopping you. YOU GOT THIS!"... I had told Wade that if I could finish in 1 hour 10 minutes, I'd be pleased. The last tenth of a mile you run over a bridge then cross the finish line. When my foot hit that bridge I was emotional. There is just something about having all that adrenaline and pride flowing that gets to me. As I was coming over the bridge I saw the clock... Could it be?? Was it really at 59 minutes?? Holy SH*T!!! I was gonna do this in less than an hour. I had to KICK it up.. I started sprinting towards the finish.. I saw Wade and Candice and everyone else... It was AMAZING. I had done it. I finished my first 10K in less than 1 hour. One year ago, that would have been impossible.

After getting our official results I discovered I finished 113th with a chip time of 58:36 and a pace of 9:34. That's pretty damn good if you ask me. :) When we were heading home Wade said to me "I'm very proud of you. I was standing there thinking "My wife is running across the finish line" I would never have guessed this a year ago." Hearing that from him was the best award there could be. Confirmation of your loved ones being proud of you. Such an amazing feeling. I'm blessed.

The rest of our weekend was nice too. We left Wenatchee and took our kids to Supercross in Seattle.... Today we spend the day doing yard and house work. We HAVE to enjoy that 70+ weather, right? It felt like summer out. Love it.

OH.. and update on the whole weigh in... My scale is a dirty whore who spends her time lying to me. At least, that's what I'm going to think.... since I was up a pound. :(  Hopefully this Friday, she'll adjust that attitude and give me a lower number.... COME ON 140s.. you gotta want to be there, right?

Thanks all for your love and support... it means the world to this wantabee runner gal!

Love

M



170!!! You lurkers... YOU!

Awwwesome... That is what I think of you guys. You are all so A.W.E.S.O.M.E.... Awesome, awesome, awesome... That's the way to be. Rah...

In almost 24 hours I've had 170 views of my blog and 3 followers with 5 posts! Thanks GUYS! I'm super excited to hear all the positive and very motivational words you have shared with me. I feel so lucky to have you all cheering me on. Please remember to push me when I'm dragging a$$ and feeling lame-o! Like today when I didn't run...  :}

Now... back to business. I've received QUITE a few questions already... Most of them are "What do you eat?" and "How did you start?" ... Here is the secret. Are you ready? I mean are you really READY to hear this??

I made a CHOICE, because dang folks... life is about CHOICES and you can PICK what you WANT to have happen. RIGHT? Everyday is a battle for me. Ummm... hell yes, I would love to have to McDonald's cheeseburgers and a milkshake. However, I'd rather try to rock a cute pair of jeans MORE! I still have those cheeeeezy burgers and shakes but NOT every day.... and really not even once a week... MAYBE once a month.. MAYBE! A girl has got to have her gut bomb foods, right?

The first thing that helped my diet was journal. Yeah, not glamorous but it works. I joined myfitnesspal.com (username: amhamlin.. find me). It is a online FREE tool that you journal your goals, food you eat, exercise you do. It's that simple but it keeps me going. I've learned so much from this simple little tool. I've learned TRUE portion sizes. I've learned how many calories I can waste on crap foods. I've learned running a mile will not erase my french fries.
myfitnesspal.com has EVERYTHING on it... even Elk steak. My dinner tonight was 472 calories and I was FULL.

 Elk steak, tomato slices & fat free cottage cheese.

The other thing I do is just try to be 'good' only for THAT day. You know... One day at a time. True-dat! ONE DAY ... I can be good at eating for ONE day... then tomorrow I'll have another ONE day. Easier said than done, but that logic works better for me then saying "I won't eat any junk food for 2 weeks". Really? Is that the person I wantta be? A chronic dieter? Nah...

Now..enough with the fluff.... I'm PRAYIN' for a great weigh-in tomorrow, but since I stepped on the scale this morning and saw NO movement, I'm certain to still be at 152. I wish I could just get into the 140's... I'd take 149.5! However, my crap-a$$ scale has NO give and I think I'm gonna have to work harder. I've read that I should increase my calories. NEGATIVE. That did NOT work last week. Any ideas folks?

Next.... I have my first race of the season... Saturday I'll be doing the Wenatchee 10k. I've never done a 10k but I plan on treating it like a training run since I'm supposed to be training for the 1/2 marathon in May. I was stoked that I'd get a finishers medal but after reading the info again... I only get a shirt. HELLLLOOOO don't these race people know I'm only doing this for the BLING of it? Damn. I'll be sure to do a recap on Sunday.

Again, thanks for all your kindness.

Love
M

Brand New To Town!

Ya know... I've been following so many blogs lately... I've been am a Facebook junkie... and now I'm gonna do a blog of my own. I suppose I could tell you my life is perfect and I have 3 perfect children, a rewarding career, an amazing husband, but no one really wants to read that junk EVEN THO it's the TRUTH! :) That's my facebook disguise! HA

What I am going to blog about it my REAL life. My true struggles with my own body. My learning to be a runner. My struggle to be "healthy" and my GOALS. If I've learned one thing, I've learned I MUST HAVE GOALS!

My first post is dedicated to being brand new at something. Yeah, you heard me... I'm starting from scratch. I started this little journey just about one year ago. I remember wanting to lose weight. I remember thinking that I didn't want to be the "heavy" friend. The husband and I were planning our trip to Mexico. We were going with some good friends and THEIR friends, who we didn't know. I was sitting at approximately 179 pounds (on a good day) and felt pathetic. I started to hit the gym. It was a month before we left and started going. It sucked. I sucked. It was stupid. Really I know you're expecting something inspirational right now but NOPE ... it was stupid. I honestly didn't put too much effort into it and therefore I got LITTLE RETURN.

We went to Mexico and I looked like this .........

 Why the hell was I dressed like that?



I was the heaviest gal there in our group. In the past I've always tried to be the funny girl but something about this trip made me want to change that. I wanted to be healthy and thin. That's when it changed. When I got home I heard about a Boot Camp plan that a friend had joined the year before. I basically invited myself to tag along. I had a piss poor attitude and I was NOT enjoying any bit of it, but I was afraid to stop. I was mostly afraid to look like a loser to everyone else there. I paid for the full 3 months in advance. If I'm one thing, it's cheap and I'll be damned if I was going to pay for something and NOT use it. I remember thinking that Candice, our instructor was the Devil. I remember thinking "This is easy for her because she's skinny". BUT, I also remember she believed I could do it. She yelled at me for my crappy attitude and high-fived me for finishing. Now Candice is one of my closest friends. She measured me and in 30 days re-measured. When she called me to tell me my loss that night, I bawled. I cried so much it was ridiculous. I wasn't sad. I was proud. I cannot tell you how long it had been since I was proud of myself for taking care of myself! I had lost inches in the DOUBLE DIGITS! I think it was 13 inches. In ONE month. I hadn't been eating well so when I saw what I could do I decided that had to change. I joined myfitnesspal.com. I still journal almost every day. I made some goals for myself and every month I lost a few more inches. I started hiking with my family, which my sexy hunting husband LOVED. It just felt great to be active. It's funny looking back because I knew I wanted this... I just didn't know I could do it.

Running. I wanted to run. I wanted to be like those other women at boot camp that had those lean bodies and were strong. They all talked about their runs and their goals and I have to admit... I was jealous. I wanted to be strong. I remember saying to Candice and Jana (a fellow boot-camper) I wished I could run. Sooo, what did those two beeeotches do? They made me run. They really did. They MADE me do it. 2 slow miles on the school track, but I did it. I'll never forget that feeling. I still hear Jana say "Just slow down" and Candice saying "YOU GOT THIS!". This motivated me in ways I never knew possible. This made me want to be a runner. No.. I DON'T LOVE RUNNING. I love being DONE running. I signed up for a 5k with my cousin's wife, Teresa. She pushed me through it. Then did another 5k... with my longtime friend Carrie. I bawled when I crossed the finish line. YES, the full on ugly cry!!  Then I got ALLLLL KINDS OF CRAZY and have committed to a 1/2 marathon in May 2012. Running has changed my life. I'm a better wife, mom, and friend because I LIKE myself and who I am becoming.

Today I'm still learning. I'm still growing (shrinking DUH) and still struggling. However, I haven't given up. I'm weighing in at 152... and I wear a size 10-12. That feels GREAT. I'm more active than I could ever imagine or dreamt of being. I'm PROUD of ME.... HOWEVER... I'm doing this blog so I can have YOU guys keep me going. PLEEEEZE.... I'm really stuck on getting into the 140's.... I'm training for a 1/2 marathon (or two)... I'm trying to shrink my BELLLLLY FAT.... I'm always learning and trying to understand my body and how to take care of it. I'd love to have your feedback, support, suggestions... anything!

Here I am today.....

Love

M