Did I achieve 2011 goals and what are my 2012 goals?

So here are the questions I posed one year ago. Let's see how I did.

• Get Hope into a "big girl" bed (hopefully Jan. 2011)
• CHECK - pretty easy transition except for climbing out of her bed repeatedly at the beginning and playing with her toys at night and nap
• Get nursery ready for new baby (again Jan. 2011)
• CHECK - but not until March really
• Clean out office/gym area and make it more defined and less cluttered (Feb. 2011)
• CHECK
• Birth a healthy baby (ideally without having to be induced this time) (March 2011)
• CHECK, went into labor by myself - 10 days early, had baby with no drugs
• Make a smooth transition from a family of 3 to a family of 4
• CHECK - Hope had little issues with her baby brother
• Develop a schedule where I can get in my workouts with 2 kids while still nursing (that is going to hurt those early morning workouts, any advice?)
• Kinda CHECK - I think I did pretty well considering no early morning runs really because I am still nursing (and hate pumping) and the lack of sleep until just recently
• Get back into pre-pregnancy running shape (no date because I don't want to try to over due it)
• Another kinda CHECK, I mean I did not PR, but some of my races were close
• Participate in the Race for the Cure 5k (this is in May, just 6 weeks after I am due, so I say participate instead of run, because I may be pushing a double jogging stroller in this one)
• CHECK - I started pushing the stroller, but it was so crowded the hubs ended up doing it so I could do a little bit of running
• Run the Peachtree Road Race (10k), ideally in under 55 minutes (PR is 50:02), but again, not going to push myself.
• CHECK - ran it in 52:26 (6.31 miles)
• Run the 13.1 Marathon in Atlanta in October
• CHECK, but after so much lack of sleep and poor training (due to lack of sleep), it was not a great race for me.
• Would like to run some more (3 new) local fun races (5k's and other lengths that aren't traditional)
• Ran 2 new races this year (a 4 miler in June and 5k in November)
• Develop a stronger relationship with my husband (see they aren't all about running)
• CHECK - we had a really good year, especially considering our family grew and we didn't sleep, can't wait for next year
• Have 110 blog entries in 2011
• FAIL - I got really bad at the end of the year, I am going to blame the little guy again. 
• Run 750 miles in 2011 (I would love to say 1,000 but with the whole pregnancy and giving birth thing, I think 750 is going to be ambitious enough)
• FAIL - I ran 680.92 according to my records which could be off, but not by that much.  I tried to keep track in my training log book and think I did pretty well.  Will try for 750 again this year.

2012 Goals

1. Run 750 miles
2. Blog more (110 again)
3. Increase Interval training/Tempo runs - aim for 4 times a month (30 min HIIT on 1/3 was 3.12 miles)
4. Increase bond between my daughter and son (it's important to me that they have a good relationship with each other, especially since they are not the same gender)
5. Enjoy my time with my children - try not to be so rigid with my schedules
6. Submit a recipe for a contest (there is one that is due the end of March, so I think I will try that hopefully)
7. Investigate an herb garden again (don't have to start it this year, so think about how to do it right)
8. PR a race this year (doesn't matter the distance)
9. Accept changes in my life and try not the dwell
10. Aim to do 10 races this year
11. Go on a date with my husband that is not a wedding, anniversary, or holiday party (yep, I am aiming for just one considering last year was one and that was before the little man came)
12. Continue to build a better relationship with hubs (I know, how subjective, right). 
13. Try to be a more positive person.
14. Abs workouts 3 days a week (abs are still very weak, but not sure they will ever get strong after 2 pregnancies).
15. Embrace my new roles (not going to get into this right now)

What are your goals?  Anything else I should add? 

5 things I am loving right now

I love it when people tell me what they love (or hate) as it gives me a little help which as a busy mom, I can always  use.  So here are some of the things I love right now.

1.  Peas and Thank You Cookbook

What can I say about this book?  It not only has great recipes but it is a hilarious read.  I read it as a book the first time around.  The stories she tells will have you laughing out loud.  We have tried many of the recipes already.  We even made Santa Mama Pea's Sugar Cookies (and he loved them BTW).  Check out her book if you are in the market for a new cookbook (or even if you are not).

2.  Garmin 305

I have not been running as much as I would like to right now, but I got this for my birthday a few years back and I wonder how I lived without it for so long.  It is so nice to just leave your house and start running.  If I want to run 6 miles, I can just leave in any direction and after 3 miles turn around and head home.  I don't have to spend time researching routes.  And I am a numbers person so I love having the miles I ran with the time it took me to run it, etc.  Love, love, love this thing!

3.  True Nutrition Protein Powder

This stuff I have found to be the best as far as vegan protein powders go without costing me a fortune.  I couldn't find anything good at the regular grocery store (where I traditionally bought hubby's), so I ventured to GNC where I found this brand.  It was the only vegan protein powder they had, so I bought it.  It wasn't bad.  I think I paid $13.99 for almost a pound.  It was chalky and I could only get the vanilla, but I was fine with that.  I thought I couldn't do any better unless I wanted to pay a fortune, until I found True Nutrition.  You create your own combination of protein powder and it's very reasonably prices (I would say cheap but you have to pay for shipping).  I got myself a combination of 1/2 pea protein and 1/2 rice protein, vanilla flavored, and unsweetened (I wanted to be able to sweeten it myself).  I got the hubs 2 different whey proteins, chocolate flavored, sweetened with stevia.  I ended up getting us each 2 lbs. because shipping was only a $1 more if we doubled our order, making it cheaper per pound.  I was nervous when it came, but wow, it is not chalky at all.  The powder is much finer and I am very happy with it.  I got 4lbs for $44 (2 vegan and 2 whey).  The whey is much more expensive than the pea and rice, but still very reasonable.  I have only made smoothies with it so far, but I am hoping to do some baking (bars) with it soon.  Maybe this weekend. 

Why the combination you might be asking?  Well I hated to just get all rice protein powder when I had the power to make any combination I could possibly think of.  I think those 2 are the only vegan options I used them both.  We also got the powder in the free bags to save money, so I had to transfer them into containers when it got here.  I may have just ended my search for vegan protein powder. 

4.  The Big Bang Theory

I had never seen this show, but the hubs started watching it over Thanksgiving OnDemand (love OnDemand) and thought it was pretty funny (did I mention he has a PhD in biochemistry).  I slowly started watching a few and have since gotten into it.  They show reruns on TBS now, so we caught a few while wrapping Christmas presents late at night after the kids were in bed.  It nice to be able to watch so many episodes that I haven't seen before. 

5.  Running Log Books

Because not all my runs occur on the road (and my Garmin can upload to the internet), it has been nice to have somewhere to put all my runs down on paper.  I got one of these a couple years back and used it last year.  I specifically asked for one last Christmas and hubs said it was a lot harder to find then he had anticipated, so he had to order it and it didn't make it here by Christmas.  Oops.  I like to have that one place where I can put everything and then look back and see where I have come from.  I forgot to ask for one for Christmas this year, so I guess I need to try and find one.  It appears book stores do not carry them, so I could order again, or maybe a running store? 

Bonus Love:  This guy

3 days before Christmas, my little guy slept through the night for the first time.  Since then, he has only woken up during the night twice.  It has made my life so much better now that I am sleeping more.  I have so much more energy and can actually get through the day.  Thank you son for sleeping (it only took 9 months and 10 days but who's counting).

So this is what I am loving right now.  What are you into?

My less than stellar weekend

I am exhausted. I thought my daughter was a bad sleeper. My son woke up 7 or 8 times last night. I am drained. I have lost it. So no, I didn't get all my runs in. I also had a few unexpected things go on this week, so I could't make it to the farmer's market, which meant not many fresh fruits and veggies this past week, so my meals were not as healthy as they should have been. So I didn't feel my best either. Did I mention that I am having a few nursing issues so it's very painful still to nurse and even worse to pump. Neither kid is sleeping so everyone in my house is cranky. My morning actually started off with me crying in bed. You know when your day starts off like that, it's going to be bad. My weekend started out so great, I don't know how things changed unless it's the lack of sleep that is just getting to me.

On Friday, my brother-in-law had off work, so he went running with me, a lot of fun. Then I spent the night out Friday at my sister's house so I could get a solid night sleep, and I did, but we got up early to get a workout in before we started our day. We did 1 hour strength training class and 30 minutes of yoga at Chateau Élan before we hit the spa for a little R and R. I had a nice massage and a great time, but we tried to do so much that by the time we got home at 2pm, I was ready for a nap (which I didn't get). I could tell my mood was not great.

Sunday, I didn't even think about running. The little guy slept ok, woke up a couple of times, but we have had worse. Sunday night was awful though. And today has just been out of control, so no, another day of no running for me.

On one happy mote, I went to the farmer's market today (by myself) so we have lots of fresh foods in our house now. I had a nice big spinach salad for dinner. I needed that after this week's eating habits. I just feel so much worse when I eat bad. I am just having a "My life is a Greek Tragedy" weekend. I am hoping things are better tomorrow. I just hate when I have a long weekend with my family, that it isn't anything but fantastic. My husband works such long hours that to have an extra day with him and not be able to take advantage of it sucks!

I now have to deal with the fact that my fall racing schedule might not be as packed as I had hoped. I am just not going to be able to get all my runs in, and that is ok, but I feel so good when I get a good run in. Of course it's hard to get a good run in when you aren't sleeping well. I don't know what tonight will bring as far as sleep. I feel like we have tried everything. I don't know what is left to try.

Ok, enough of the pity party. I hope everyone is/had a great long weekend.

Thanks for the cyber hugs

Thanks for the great comments on my last post.  I don't know why I am so anxious about losing the baby weight.  I was not like this last time.  So weird.  I feel like a failure so much recently.  I feel like I am  not getting enough done around the house, not spending enough time with the daughter doing things she would want to do, not making great dinners, not losing the baby weight fast enough, etc.  Again, I don't know why I am feeling this way.  I was much more laid back last time.  I guess because I have been feeling better sooner, I feel like I should be getting more done, especially when it comes to losing weight.  I know I need to relax and chill out and let it be.  I am not sleeping much.  The son is not sleeping well so of course, I don't have a lot of energy to get me through the day.  I am also breastfeeding which means every 2 hours, I have to take a 20-30 minute break to feed him.  I don't mind doing it but I have to realize that, it takes a lot of time out of my day to feed the little man.  He is an eater! 

I am starting to work out again and am getting on a regular schedule with it so that is good.  I think that will continue to be the way I operate and not worry so much about eating.  I typically eat healthy, wholesome foods, so I should really worry about it. 

So I enjoyed my dessert last night (and tonight, ice cream both nights) and don't regret it.  I know I just need to relax.  I wish I could more.  Any tips to relaxing?

Snow Days 2 & 3

Well Tuesday and Wednesday were more snow days for us, so I decided to get creative with dinner on Tuesday.  I had some puff pastry left over from a veggie pot pie that I hadn't used up yet, so I did some searching on the internet to give me some ideas.  I saw a recipe for Taco Pockets.  The original recipe had ground beef in it so I decided to revamp the recipe to make it vegetarian and what was in our fridge and pantry. 

The Ingredients

2 teaspoons EVOO
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup frozen corn
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoon chipotle in adobe sauce
1/2 cup reduced fat cheddar, shredded
1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed for about 30 minutes
Flour for dusting

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Heat oil over a medium heat in a skillet.
Add beans and salsa.  Heat up.
Add seasonings and water and mix.  Once the water has been soaked up, add the frozen corn and chipotle in adobe sauce. 
Combine and heat for another 5 minutes.
Roll out the puff pastry on a dusted surface until it's a square (14 x 14 inches).
Cut into 4 equal parts.
Spoon 1/4 of the bean mixture into each square. 
Add cheese to the top of each one. 
Pull one corner over to make a triangle and pinch down all of the sides. 
Spray a little olive oil spray over the top of each one.
Place in the oven for 20 minutes.
Serve warm with some sour cream or avocado slices.

The bean mixture with salsa, spices and water.

The mixture on the puff pastry squares.

The end result.  Yum!  Had I had onions and bell peppers, I would have sauteed them up first and probably omitted the corn, but we are out of a lot of produce right now with all the snow. 

Day 3 of snow meant another day on the treadmill for me.  Another 3 miles.  I finished it, but it was harder than Mondays.  Since Adam was home too, I had take a picture of what Hope usually does when I am on the treadmill - runs beside me.  It's so cute!

And another day of playing in the snow. 

We have definitely enjoyed these snow days.  It has been so nice to have the family together and have less distractions.  I think I am on the only one who doesn't have cabin fever.  I am just enjoying this time. 

Snow Jam 2011

For the past few days, the news has been warning us about "The Storm" that was coming.  Well last night before we went to bed, it had already started snowing and we had about 2 inches already.  Well this morning, snow has covered everything.  We have about 5-6 inches which is a lot for us southerners.  We made it out late this morning.  Hope seemed to enjoy it, mostly because she sat in her comfy sled which was her dad's, aka 30+ years old. 

With mom getting ready to go sledding in the front yard. 

On her sled and ready to go for a walk.

Now it's daddy's turn to push. 

All smiles!

It is supposed to stay below freezing all day so we are not expecting it to get any better for another couple of days.  I was able to get my 3 mile run in today, but it was on the treadmill before heading out for snow walk. 

What I want 2011 to bring?

This is not a resolutions post but more of a what I want to happen in 2011.  Goals if you will.  I didn't post this last year, but I thought it would be fun and then at the end of the year, I can look back and see how I did.

1. Get Hope into a "big girl" bed (hopefully Jan. 2011)
2. Get nursery ready for new baby (again Jan. 2011)
3. Clean out office/gym area and make it more defined and less cluttered (Feb. 2011)
4. Birth a healthy baby (ideally without having to be induced this time) (March 2011)
5. Make a smooth transition from a family of 3 to a family of 4
6. Develop a schedule where I can get in my workouts with 2 kids while still nursing (that is going to hurt those early morning workouts, any advice?)
7. Get back into pre-pregnancy running shape (no date because I don't want to try to over due it)
8. Participate in the Race for the Cure 5k (this is in May, just 6 weeks after I am due, so I say participate instead of run, because I may be pushing a double jogging stroller in this one)
9. Run the Peachtree Road Race (10k), ideally in under 55 minutes (PR is 50:02), but again, not going to push myself.
10. Run the 13.1 Marathon in Atlanta in October
11. Would like to run some more (3 new) local fun races (5k's and other lengths that aren't traditional)
12. Develop a stronger relationship with my husband (see they aren't all about running)
13. Have 110 blog entries in 2011
14. Run 750 miles in 2011 (I would love to say 1,000 but with the whole pregnancy and giving birth thing, I think 750 is going to be ambitious enough)
15. Stay healthy and fit

15 sounds like a nice round number, so maybe we will just end it there.  Wish me luck!

Pumpkin and Apple Picking

So, I am only 3 weeks behind in posts (well at least this one).  A few weeks ago we went up to the north GA and went to the pumpkin patch and then traveled a little farther north and hit the apples.  This is something Adam and I have been doing since before we were even engaged.  It's so much fun.  We love getting to share this with Hope and next year there will be 2 little ones to share it with.  I paired Hope in a nice green top so she would stand out at the pumpkins.  I think the pictures turned out great!



Hope with some big pumpkins

Now, onto the smaller pumpkins, where we eventually found the one to carve. 

Nice family pic

Pointing out the pumpkins she liked.

Hope's way of travel after we paid for all of our pumpkins, gords, butternut squash, etc. 

Now, onto apple picking (should have brought a change of shirt for Hope here).  A nice pink or orange would have been nice since you can barely see her in the leaves. 

So proud that she got the apple all by herself. 

Washing the first batch of apples (I saw something on Dr. Oz about cleaning fruits and veggies that aren't organic).  There are no organic apples farms in GA that I could find.

The other 2 1/2 peps that we bought.

Some strawberry preserves I just couldn't resist.  

 

We had a wonderful time.  I loved the apple farm we found especially.  During our time there, we had a fried apple pie (yep, the pregnant lady picked that one) and an apple cidar slushie (Adam's pick). 

I can't wait to show you all the things I have done with the apples since then. 

Halloween 2010

Ok, so I decided not to do my posts in chronological order, because if I did, I might not get to Halloween until after Thanksgiving.  I wanted to capture the Halloween weekend before there was too much Thanksgiving talk (tell me it's not in 3 weeks already). 

So little Miss Hope was not really into the whole carving the pumpkin, especially when we were cleaning the inside out.  After Adam would scoop out the insides, I immediately separated out the seeds to toast them in the oven.  Yummy!

Here we have the finished product (got dark on us fast).  I know it's blurry, but you can tell our pumpkin is winking.  :)

It's Minnie Mouse.  We actually went to a Halloween party on Saturday night and dressed up then too.  She was not nearly as fond of the costume on Saturday, but by Sunday, she had no problems putting it on.  I need to remember to keep that in mind for next year, it's good to have a trial run.

Hope and friends trick or treating.  We had a couple of my friends come to our neighborhood to trick or treat with us.  It was a lot of fun and Hope was a real trooper.  I still can't believe she made it the whole time (both kids are older than Hope).

The transportation for the kids.  We would pull them in the wagon (can't take credit for this idea) and then let them out and they would run up the driveways.  Considering our age range was barely 2 to 3.5 years, it was a great idea and plan to use it again.

So that was our Halloween.  We had a blast!  Can't for for next year.  We will have 2 little ones!  Yikes!

Blueberry Picking

I found a U-Pick blueberry farm that has organic blueberries for $7.00/gallon and it's not too far away. They are DJ's U-Pick Blueberries. We had such a good time that we are going back tomorrow. Here are some pictures from our first visit.

They have a few goats too. Hope loved seeing the goats and she even got to feed one. She was so brave!

Hope has our bucket and we are ready to do some picking. Here she is putting more blueberries into our bucket. She was very good at picking the blueberries. Once she showed her which ones to pick, she was an ace!

Look at those cute little hands. She was so excited about it. Of course that only lasted a few minutes and then she wanted to just run around.

More blueberry picking for Hope.

Carrying our gallon bucket and looking for a new bush to pick at.

Me with our gallon of organic blueberries. Yum!!!

Once I got home, I gave them a good wash, but here they are right before. Now that's a lot of blueberries!

Hope did really well on her first trip to the blueberry farm. Of course, she got a little tired, and the owners kept telling us we could eat them off the bush. Unfortunately, once we showed Hope she could eat the blueberries off the bush, she stopped picking and putting in the bucket. She only picked and ate. :)

I will have to get some pictures up so you can see what all I have made with my blueberries.

First milkshake

Adam and I have done a really good job at giving Hope wholesome, nutritious foods, especially ones without added sugar. She eats plain yogurt, doesn't drink juice, etc. On her first birthday, she didn't even like the cake I made her. It wasn't until last Thanksgiving that we gave her a brownie sundae, that she developed her love for ice cream. The brownie part was ok for her, but it was the ice cream she loved (her mother's favorite). Since then, I have allowed her to have some ice cream with me every couple of weeks. Well in our recent trip to White Water, we decided to stay there as long as possible, then leave and get lunch on the road back. Neither Adam nor I are big on fast food in general, but at least Sonic has veggie options for me (and they have ice cream). When we got there, they were advertising, Buy 1 milkshake, get 1 free. So Adam and I each got a mikshake. I let Hope try mine (chocolate) and she loved it. She was sucking it down faster than I could get it. So we had to capture the moment on film.


She was in heaven! She loves using straws as spoons and this shake was so thick that it worked!

Big bite! It was a warm day and the shake was some very refreshing.

Since Hope's first milkshake, she has now become a connoisseur of milkshakes. On our recent business trip, Hope tried my grandmother's strawberry milkshake as well as my chocolate malt at Johnny Rockets. She loves her ice cream (as does her mommy).

Happy Anniversary

6 years and still going strong! Here is the first picture of us as husband and wife.


This was the picture we used for our Christmas card, 6 months after we were married.

I loved our cake. Not only did it look pretty, but it tasted really good too (sour cream pound cake with cream cheese icing). Yum!!!

A nice collage our photographer did for us. He did a wonderful job.

We spent the first part of the day at White Water for a friend's 30th birthday. She has a child 10 days older than Hope and is currently pregnant #2. So it was great to have a bunch of young children all together at White Water. Hope had a blast.

That evening Adam found a restaurant we hadn't been to before but came highly recommended. It was amazing! The restaurant is Mediterrean and our meals were awesome!

I had a traditional Greek shrimp dinner and it was honestly one of the best meals I had ever had. The shrimp were sweet and the feta and olives just made it divine. We also had a sampler appetizer that was very good as well.

So good job to hubby for finding this restaurant. We are definitely going back (if we can get a sitter for the little one).

Pics from our quick vaca!

Thanks to all the moms who helped me with advice on traveling in the airport with a toddler. So that Tuesday morning Adam went off to work extra early and my dad came over to take Hope and me to the airport. I was so nervous about getting Hope's car seat into my dad's car that I actually forgot the stroller. I didn't remember it until we were half way to the airport. Too late to turn around, so I was going to have maneuver Hope through the airport without a stroller. Yikes! But one of the best pieces of advice was the click the car seat to my carry on rolly bag. Awesome idea! Never had to worrry about it again. Once we got to the terminal I was very friendly to the woman at the desk and she looked up my seat and told me no one was sitting by me so I could take the car seat on the plane and put Hope in it. Yeah!!! Here she is all ready for the flight.


She had had such a busy morning that she actually fell alseep before we even took off and slept for over an hour. It was awesome! She did so well. As soon as we got to Fort Myers, FL, we got our rental car and went to find our hotel. There was a Super Target not even 2 miles from the hotel, so I grabbed one of those cheap $20 strollers for the rest of the trip. Then Hope and I hit the pool. :) Here she is all ready to go.


Adam met up with us Tuesday evening, and then he had training all day on Wed. but got out a little early and we all went back to the pool so Adam and Hope could play in the pool. She loved the water! Not afraid at all.

We went to a fun little restaurant outside of the hotel on Wed. night and it was really good. Here is a picture of Hope ready to eat. :)

We actually had to take a boat to get to the beach. Hope was so excited and had a fun time on the ferry ride.

Here is Hope playing in the sand. She enjoyed the sand much more this time around than last year. She hated the texture I think.

Watching Daddy intently as he makes a hole in the sand.

She loved playing with her beach ball. It was nice because the water was so calm that she was able to go in a little and she didn't get dragged out to sea from the waves.

Playing in the pool in her ladybug. We had this toy last year and it's funny to look at the difference in her from one year to the next.

Lastly, playing with daddy in the pool. I know he loved to have that extra day to play with his daughter.

It was a short trip but a fun one none the less. We can't wait to hit the beach again. It was difficult sharing a room with Hope and since Adam was tied up a lot with his training it was a lot to handle, so I didn't get to run like I had hoped, but maybe next time.