Highs and Lows

Lifelifelife. Infrequent blogging. Blahblahblah.

How about some recent highs and lows so you know the low-down? And the high-ups?

High: I have been walking during my lunch breaks most days. The weather has been bee-yoo-ti-fullll here, as we finally got some semblance of summer. I walk around the concourse at our minor league baseball stadium along with all the other sneaker-sporting office workers doing the same.

Low: 3-year-olds, amirite? I just can't even with this one. She's going through some definite three-nagerdom right now.

She's still pretty cute, though. I think I'll keep her.

High: Audrey is a dream baby. We moved her to her crib a few weeks back (which is upstairs while our master is downstairs), and it's like it wasn't even a thing to her. She's very close to crawling, and already does a creep-type thing. If I walk away for a few minutes, she's usually not all that close to where I left her. Childproofing may need to be a thing here again soon.

She's so happy!

 Low: I got suuuuper sick 2 weekends ago. It was a stomach bug thing that lasted about a day and a half (and no, I didn't even miss any work because that's just how I roll it seems). We had to miss out on going to the free day at the art museum. I guess there's always next year...

High: I had my first-ever review at work (I guess it's only annually around here?), and I got a raise! Hooray me. Insert "you like me, you really like me" meme here. There were some also some other long-term goals that my boss seems to be on board with that came up in that meeting. Like, things that could help my work/family balance actually be, well, balanced.

Low: My husband's courseload this semester is rough. We barely see each other because he's studying all the time. I also have to do Thursday nights all on my own since he has class until 9. (The Thursday thing was going to be a low, but those nights are going pretty well.) Our anniversary is next week so hopefully that will be a nice time to actually, y'know, talk to each other. If I wasn't nursing a baby, I was going to suggest a night at an (Amish!) inn about an hour away. Maybe next year. We're going to an indoor trampoline park instead (thanks, Groupon!). And then dinner or such.

High: Hubs got promoted to Lieutenant Commander last weekend! And I finally got to pin it on him (he had been at sea for his previous promotions). Another raise, too. :)

No more "railroad tracks" for this one!

And that's a wrap.

Thank you to Ana for the blog-spiration.

2015 Resolutions: Mid-Year Check-In

I made me some resolutions (slash to-do list) way, way back 6 months ago. Let's see how they're panning out.


1. Have baby, name the baby!
Done, and done! I had said in January that naming was harder than birthing, but I got a stubborn one who had to be induced at nearly 2 weeks late. Named in about an hour after birth, little Audrey Francine has been a pretty awesome baby so far.

2. Still be pumping at work a year from today.
As much as I was dreading pumping, I'm doing great! And I don't dread it. I got my routine down and my supply is doing beautifully. I can pump out her full 4oz. feeding in less than 15 minutes usually (and in my first morning session, it's more like 6oz.) It's too early to say, but I think I'll make it the year.

3. Decorate Cora's room.
Done! The only thing missing is the curtains that I haven't made yet. B has contributed, too. Her room runs really hot in the summer and he bought these tinting decal sticker thingies for the window that have really helped!

4. Read 12 books.
Well, I thought I wasn't on track because my book club read the same book for 6 months (which did not help light any fires under my bum), but actually I've finished exactly 6!

My book list so far, and I'm currently reading another two:

1. Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs
2. The Beginner's Photography Guide by Chris Gatcum
3. Marriage: Illustrated with Crappy Pictures by Amber Dusick
4. Shopaholic to the Stars by Sophie Kinsella
5. Bébé Day by Day: 100 Keys to French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman
6. Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver

And yeah, 2 of those (numbers 3 and 5) are sorta what I call "throwaway books" that I read in like a day. Totally counting them.

5. Run ONE race.
I have gone running once so far since giving birth (one mile, and it was S L O W), so I'm sorta on track! I think my goal is to run the River City Rat Race in October.

6. Host 4 dinners at our house.
We've had one. And does Cora's birthday party count? Or hosting Book Club? (Things to ponder.) My sister and her family and my parents are coming in town this week and we're having a baptism party, so I think I'll count that somehow as another.

7. Learn how to use my fancy camera.
I read the photography book, sorta figured it out but still haven't invested the time or energy to do everything on manual. But I do know my other settings pretty well and have gotten decent shots.

Taken a few months back while Cora ate a snack and I messed around with manual settings.

8. Get that blasted passport already.
Still need a push on this. Maybe we just need to plan a trip to Canada so I get it done.

----------------

Basement Update:
And this was on last year's list, but it keeps evolving, so I thought I'd share. I had the goal to clean/fix up the basement back in 2014.

Before everything, here was what we were working with:





Yikes.

Mid-year check-in (a year ago from now) it looked like this:




Nice, right? Except then life happened.

End of the year, it looked like this:




And now, thanks to my wonderful husband, it looks like this!

I had no idea we had beanbag chairs until I took this picture. Where did they come from?

Yep, B's homework table is still there. And the beach chairs stay . . . We'll get a couch eventually.

So those are my goal updates. I think I have a good chance of hitting them all within the next 6 months. How are you doing with your goals?

Preparations for Baby #2

Yesterday was my due date, which obviously came and went with no squishy baby to show for it. Normal? Of course.

While I'm not sure if I've technically "nested" (except the day I decided to vacuum out my car perhaps), we have done some stuff to prepare for our newest family member.

1. Getting the nursery ready (even though we won't use it for a few months)

Cora is staying in her room, and our office has turned into a nursery/office for now. We'll get the desk out of there when the need arises.

The empty space in the center bottom is where her name will go!

2. Getting Cora's room decorated
I had been meaning to do this since, um, August, when I repainted her room and decided on a coral and navy blue color scheme. So it was about time, but I knew we would switch some furniture out and rearrange so I let it sit.

 I made the 'artwork' with some art canvases covered in fabric. Then I cut shapes out of some other fabric and used fabric glue to attach. Easy project (although my stapler was not very good, and I ended up bringing home my work stapler to finish it. A staple gun is the best option, but the staples in ours were too big and stuck out too far.)

I think I still want to add some navy blue curtains to the window, and then we'll call it mostly done.

3. Buying new pajama pants
When I was pregnant with Cora, I had a short "pregnancy vs. x" series on the blog, with topics like Pregnancy vs. Habitat for Humanity and Pregnancy vs. A Music Festival. Well, this time around, pregnancy didn't stand in my way much. However, if I had to pick something to remember, it would be "Pregnancy vs. Pajama Pants."

I have ripped--the the point of needing to throw out--not just one, but TWO of my favorite pairs of pajama pants. They're the Old Navy lightweight cotton ones that I've had for YEARS, and they were the only pjs that still fit on my expanding bottom. The first pair didn't make it through the second trimester due to my own clumsiness in trying to put them on and stepping my foot right into the crotch part. On Wednesday, my second pair broke (also in the crotch) when I was cleaning up the house and squatting down to pick stuff up. I went to Old Navy on Friday and bought another pair (a size up, ugh). I even tried them on, which I don't recommend to any 40-weeks pregnant lady, like ever.

My newest pair. May they last as long as the old ones.

4. "Practicing" labor
Ugh. We thought I was in labor the day before I was due. Steady contractions all day long, but they were very mild. They never got more intense. I went to work the whole day and timed them with an app on my phone. Everyone was excited for me and was hoping to hear good news soon. My mother-in-law drove up to stay with us, expecting that she would be taking care of Cora while we were at the hospital.  But it never progressed to anything more than mild contractions.

I slept a bit, then woke up a bit nauseous on Friday morning (my due date) and decided not to go into work. Then it all just stopped. No more contractions, no more labor. I guess I ended up taking a "mental health day." I was mad. I felt like I was letting everyone down. And I was tired of getting texts from anyone and everyone about 'how was I doing, do you need anything?' (I think a lot of this was due to lack of sleep. Although I still don't want the bothersome texts.) I got hit by the one-two punch of prodromal labor, and I'm not a fan.

5. Looking at pretty nursing-friendly dresses online

Isn't this gorgeous? I still can't figure out if it's my size (it's a one-off listing on Ebay), and I have no desire to jump through the hoops for a return, so I'm refraining. But darnit, it's so pretty.

This dress on Amazon is also on my list.

6. Zumba and cartwheels
I think I've started to become a legend at Zumba, what with showing up the day after my due date for class. But I had so much energy this morning, and probably sweat harder than I had in the past 2 months.

40 weeks, 1 day, after sweating it out at Zumba Toning class!

I also did 2 cartwheels after the Tuesday class (during week 39), and it, uh, kinda hurt. As evidenced in this video:



Well, that's pretty much all the preparations we have made (aside from a half-packed hospital bag). Baby can come out now if she wants!

My Pregnancy Exercise Regimen (and other updates)

First of all, thank you all for your kind words and concern after my last post. They never called me after the 3-hour test, so as far as I know (a week later), I do NOT have gestational diabetes. Hooray! I had an appointment today and totally forgot to even ask, but it wasn't brought up.

However, I did bring up my exercise regimen, which has differed from the last time around. Amazingly, I'm working out MORE this time, even though I'm working full-time and have a kid underfoot. Last time, I had a part-time gig twice a week and could hit the free gym on base pretty much any time outside of that. I happily pay for a 'single parent' Y membership now, and it kinda forces me to use it or I feel guilty about paying.

With Cora's pregnancy, I did the elliptical. That's pretty much it. I would go when I could watch my favorite shows on cable on the gym's machines since we don't subscribe at home. I even did the elliptical on my due date. I still remember that workout vividly. I remember trying to picture what kind of birth I would have and how much my activity in pregnancy would help my delivery, recovery, and weight loss.

I did have a good birth with Cora, and the weight came off pretty easily. I'm hoping for mostly the same this time, but the elliptical kinda bores me now. I also haven't gone running since the Thanksgiving race. This might have more to do with the weather--I hate running in the cold!

Belly pic time: 30 weeks, 1 day

I have maintained a goal of working out at least once a week this time around, with a solid attempt for two times a week. I found that going at 5am before work was just not working for me, so I'm now trying to hit Zumba or Zumba Toning class twice a week because I really do love it! The Zumba we do at my gym is so different from the first time I tried it (way back in 2010--you can read about that here). It's such a party in there! And we do a lot of current songs and not so much the stock Zumba songs. The instructor pulls her routines off YouTube. You can see a similar version of the one we do to "Uptown Funk" in this video.

While I am having a blast, I got word from the nurse practitioner today that I'm probably letting my heart rate get too high since I am actually having some slight contractions during it (just a tightening at the base of my belly, but pretty sure that's a contraction?). Ugh. Darned if you do, darned if you don't, right? I do the low impact moves, but I think I'm just having too much fun in there. I might get a heart rate monitor to see if I can keep it below 140, or I might just march in place or step-touch more often from here on out.

This is what comes up when you search "pregnant Zumba." I chortled.

Aside from exercise and my occasional doomsday vibes, this pregnancy is actually going quite well on paper. I've already gained more weight than I did the entire time with Cora, but I'm within the normal realm. (I still hate thinking about how I'm the heaviest I've been in my entire life and I still will probably add another 10 lbs to that!) I'm sleeping well, the baby is kicking a lot, and she got the hiccups for the first time last night when I went to bed. I had almost totally forgotten that was a thing.

Race Recap: Gallopping Gobbler 4-Mile

My first Thanksgiving Day race! (And possibly my last?) It was cold. Like, under 30°F. I ran a race last March in this type of weather, but I wasn't pregnant then. Or trying to keep my mother warm.

Oh, have I mentioned how awesome my mom is? I figured I would be going to this race solo, but my mom was in town for the holiday and wanted to support me. She didn't run or walk it, and I wasn't even going to suggest it to her. I did loan her a pair of fleece-lined leggings, since her Georgia version of 'winter attire' was quite lacking. Mom luckily got to stay inside a warm building for most of the time I was running.

Only picture you can even tell I was pregnant. (I could tell because I the blue shorts I had wanted to wear don't fit over my fat butt any more!)  A day shy of 21 weeks.

As for the race event, it was . . . eh. It was so bare-bones. "Packet" pick-up consisted of your bib and a t-shirt that didn't even have the year on it (very possibly re-used from last year). But I did get to pick between pink and gray. There was organization to the race, but it kinda felt like the guy in charge just isn't interested any more. (He didn't cash my check for nearly a month, so I was starting to think it got lost in the mail.) The post-race food consisted of a long line with only a bottle of water and some nasty "corn cake" (think rice cake but Indiana-style) sample. Blech. I think all the fastest people got bagels and fruit or something, but I guess they ran out for all of us 'slow' people. (Um, I still finished in the top half! Color me unimpressed.)

Oh, how pregnancy changes things.
I definitely would have been in the next corral up a year ago.

The course, however, was beautiful. We ran about a mile down a street, and then turned into a large cemetery. There were about 5,000 people doing this race (both the 4-mile and 15K races started shared a start and the first 3 miles), so you could see a whole train of people snaking through gentle rolling hills of the cemetery. It was mostly quiet, even though I had my music playlist running. I felt pretty good the whole time, minus some tightness in the bottom right of my baby bump. I couldn't figure out if it was round ligament pain or a stitch-in-the-side. Could have been both, honestly. I just put some pressure on it and mostly ran through it except for one small part of a hill in mile 3.

Fun race story: I overheard a conversation from two 20-something gals behind me. One was saying how she and another buddy come to this cemetery and run all the time. "Yeah, it's beautiful. And there's never anyone here." I turned back and threw in my 2 cents, "Except for all the dead people."

Nary a chuckle. C'mon, that totally deserved a chuckle.

About to cross that finish line!

My final stats for this one:
Chip time: 42:48
Age Group Place: 50 out of 135
Overall: 1192 out of 2495

The website put my pace based on the gun time, which is stupid, so I looked it up on whatsmypace.com (love that site!), and it was 10:42/mi. Not great, but not shabby.

While I was happy to run this race, I was probably even more happy to finish it. Winter running is not my cup of tea. At all. (I don't even like tea, so is anything really my cup of tea?) If I do another Thanksgiving Day race, it most likely won't be this one. I think I would have been happier at a smaller race and a shorter distance.

Ultimate!!

Do I have any other ultimate frisbee players out there in blog-land? It's actually something that B and I sorta "clicked" over when we initially met. Little did I know that he basically played a whole different sport than I did. He played for a club team at Notre Dame (name: Papal Rage)--they went to tournaments most weekends, called plays, had practices. I learned the sport from barefoot hippies on the Myers Quad at Georgia. We had an intramural league, and it was mostly just running around in circles trying to catch the disc.  When I lived in Jacksonville, I found a group to play with that was definitely of the barefoot-hippie ilk.  I just thought that was how the game was played . . . until I moved to Norfolk.

B's team: Gang Green

B had a group in Norfolk that played the version of the sport he knew.  It was definitely a learning curve for me. Basically, there was a lot more strategy to it, based on forcing the opposing team to go a certain direction when you're on defense. My knee started messing up during all that, so I ended up just watching B play when we were out there. He found a group to play a few pick-up games with in Pensacola, and they were more my speed. However, I was 9 months pregnant at the time, so no playtime for me.

B is the one on the left about to catch the disc

Now that he is unemployed about to start grad school here in Fort Wayne, I convinced him to join a summer league that I found online. They play once a week, and his season just ended yesterday. I brought Cora out there a few times to run around and watch Daddy do his thing. She liked to cheer, "Go Daddy! Go green!"

Watching B play was a lot of fun for me, too. I realized how much I miss it, and hey, maybe I'll join next year's summer league?

I love my sigh at the end of this. I was really into the game!
(This is my first time using Blogger's video uploader, so I hope the quality is good enough so you can figure out what's going on.)


p.s. If you don't know anything about the sport of ultimate, it's basically like soccer without the dribbling. Here's the wikipedia link, if you're so intrigued.

I Pick Things Up and Put Them Down

After over a year of just messing around with weights in the gym with no real focus, I have started a lifting program!

I had been wanting to do one for a while, after B said I had "eff-around-itis" when it comes to the weight room (although he used a much less-PC term). So I finally kicked my butt into gear. I wanted one designed for women, so I got the book New Rules of Lifting for Women by Lou Schuler, and read it cover-to-cover before doing anything.

Did I get this from the public library? Mayyyybeeee

I started day 1 and screwed myself over (started too heavy, crazy DOMS), so I decided to wait until after our vacation was over and start again. I did Day 1 last Wednesday, and I have been sticking with it.

So far, I'm really liking this program. It's a 6-month program with different stages and a Workout A and Workout B in each stage. I like variety! There's also a good variety in the workouts themselves--barbells, cable stations, dumbbells, and even the Swiss ball. You have to keep a workout log each time you go to the gym, and now I have them in a handy-dandy binder for reference.

Here was my starting point from each of the first 2 workouts:
Squat: 24-lb body bar
Deadlift: 40 lbs

Seated row: #5 (I think it's 25 lbs?)
Lat pulldown: #5 (25 again?)

Step-up: 10lb dumbbell (20 lbs total)
Shoulder press: 10lb dumbbell (20lbs total)
Lunge: 10lb dumbbell (20lbs total)

Yes, the weights are LOW (for me, I have actually done much higher just doing a few reps), but that's how it is designed. The first few workouts are high reps at lower weights, then you gradually move the opposite direction for higher weights and lower reps.

I'm excited about this. After 3 workouts, I already feel stronger and more confident. Sometimes just having a clear sense of direction can do that for me. Since you're wondering, yes, I am still running! I have a 5K this weekend, actually. Stage 2 of this weight program starts including cardio interval training, and I'm definitely hoping that will help my 5K times.

Any other lifters out there? I'd love to hear if you ever did a set program like this!

What I Wore Sunday and a Race Recap

Way later than usual, but still linking up!

I ran a 5K yesterday morning, and then we packed up a few things and headed north to my in-laws' lakehouse in Michigan. My husband had his first days off in over a month, so I'm glad he got to relax on the lake. I finally got to attempt waterskiing, and I never made it up out of the water. But then I sorta knee-boarded. Baby steps over here . . .

Instead of going to our usual vigil mass, we got to go to a 9am service. I love the 9am service because apparently Cora is kinda sleepy then and just kinda chilled out in her grandmother's arms through about 90% of mass (but didn't fall asleep).

And I wore something "beachy" (lake-y?), at least in my opinion.

Shirt: Target // Necklace: Body Central //
Skirt: handed down from my sister a long long time ago // Sandals: Target

I wore a long skirt to see if it gave me "airflow" like everyone who wears maxi dresses says those things do. Yeah, nope. I was hot and immediately changed into khaki shorts the second we got back. Whenever I'm hot, my first instinct is to just peel off as many clothes as possible, so I don't think maxi dresses are for me. But this was a wraparound skirt, not a maxi, so maybe I'm wrong?

As for the 5K I did yesterday, it was my first 5K in over 2 years (I did a 4K back in June). Since B had the day off, he stayed home with Cora and I went to the race all by myself. I ended up using that hidden pocket on my shorts for my car keys, and it worked pretty well!

The run itself was good. It was kinda drizzling out when we started, and it was super humid. I think that threw a few people off, but I have been training in really high humidity (running at about the same time the race started). I felt good the whole time (no cramping and didn't gun it too hard at the start) and had a good pace. I had a goal time in mind, and I knew I was going faster than it. Since I started running again, I have had this other goal time, a really lofty one. I was starting to think I might actually hit that one. But I did not.

I finished the race in 28:17, which is about a 9:08 mile pace. The sensible goal was to do it in 29 minutes, and the lofty goal was 28:00. So I'll still work on the latter for my Color Me Rad race next month.

But the best part?

I won my age group!! I seriously couldn't believe it! My overall place was about 38th. I guess you just gotta find the smaller events (I'm guessing there were about 112 runners total for the 5K) and be a 25-29 female in this town! There were only 5 other girls in my age group.

I posted this on FB right before we left for the lake. Didn't have internet all weekend and came back to 48 Likes on my status. I didn't even know I had that many friends!

Race Recap: Riverfest 4K

I ran a race this weekend!

I haven't run in a real race in over 2 years (when I did the Fiesta 5K), right before I got pregnant with Cora. Pregnancy and running do not mix with me, and neither does being within the first 6-8 months post-partum (or so I've found).  I decided to go easy on myself and run a 4K first this summer. (Plus, it was only $5 to register. A steal!) It was definitely a small race, as I figured out pretty quickly. We ran all around the campus of a small college (IPFW) here in Fort Wayne, and it was part of a festival to celebrate our mucky brown awesome rivers.

After a couple of logistical mishaps at sign-in (my bib bag didn't have any twist ties for the shoe chip and only contained ONE safety pin for the bib), I was ready to run! Cora had fun playing with her great-grandmother, who came out to look after her while I did my thing. There were two other races that morning, and the start times were only staggered 15 minutes. This was a bit odd, since kids were still finishing their fun run which ended right where our race started. Also, about halfway into our run, we ran the opposite way through where the Mud Run was finishing, and I had to dodge a photographer and a few participants. Hopefully they can figure that out a bit better next year.

As for the race itself, I got off to a great start and blew ahead of a lot of people. Most of the race was just . . . me, and nobody else around. I passed the 1-mile mark and glanced at my watch: 8:06! Are you kidding?! When I run on my own, the fastest pace I've had was about 9 minutes, but it's usually closer to 9:30. I have noticed that the shorter the run is, the faster I am, though, so I believed it. I also train on some hills, and this course didn't really have any.

I sprinted the end (as I always do), and great-grandma didn't even see me! I had asked her to take a picture, but I looked back as a volunteer took the chip off my shoe and saw her looking very intently the other direction (at all the people finishing). Oh well! I had her take this picture of me afterward, though:

Just pretend the background is the photo below.

This was the actual finish line I ran through.

I also forgot to stop my watch right when I was done, so I had to wait two days for the official results to come out to know how I did! (I didn't stay around for the awards ceremony because Cora needed a nap and I needed a shower and Grandma needed to get out of the humidity--and the ceremony was over an hour after I finished.)

I finished my 4K (2.48mi) with a time of 21:14 (8:34/mi pace), and I came in 2nd in my age group!! And 20th overall. Yes, it was a small race, but I still beat over 140 people and 11 girls in my age group! Also, this is weird, but I had made a comment a week ago that I wanted to be 30 so I could do better at races, but actually I would have come in 4th in the 30-34 with my time. I guess everyone my age is too busy having babies/running big races like half marathons/did the Mud Run instead?

Here are all the final results, if you're curious: http://ipfwriverfest.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/4k-run-results.pdf

my cheering section

I'm signed up for one more race per month through September, and I'm excited to see how well I do!

Running Playlist (Part Two)

This is a continuation from the running playlist post I did two weeks ago. Here are 7 more songs that I jam out to while on the trail. Tomorrow is my first race in over 2 years! It's the Riverfest 4K, and my goal time is 23:00. Let's hope I can do it!

This thing now has new purple headphones, but I was too lazy to take another picture.

(There are little music  players from Grooveshark below each song title; hopefully they all load for you.)

WARNING: Almost all of these songs have explicit lyrics, so click the players at your own discretion.

1. "Natalie" by Bruno Mars (2013)

Makes me laugh, and makes me go faster somehow (even though according to jog.fm the BPM would put you at a 13:48 mile, which is way slower than I run).  

2. "Love Like Woe" by The Ready Set (2010)
This song is just fun and fast. (6:48 mile pace! Which is sorta half that Bruno Mars song, so they go together, right?)

3. "Troublemaker" by Olly Murs featuring Flo Rida (2011)
Hey, this song even says "run as fast you can" in it! A good time to do, well, exactly that.

  4. "Evacuate the Dancefloor" by Cascada (2009)
If you want dance-pop, Cascada is your girl.
5. "Backstabber" by Ke$ha (2010)
This is probably closest to my pace (or at least where I aim to be). 160 BPM for a 9:00 mile. I'm usually closer to 9:30 for longer runs, but I'm doing a 4K race tomorrow and in my practice for it a week ago I got under 9, so I hope this helps!! (If you want to hear more about my love/hate relationship with Ke$ha, there is this post from 2 years ago.)

6. "I Love It" by Icona Pop (feat. Charlie XCX) (2012)
Well, if you want to get technical, I actually have the "Glee" cast version, since I found that one for free. But this song is straight Eurotrash, and you know what? I don't care.
7.  "Love Is Marching" by BarlowGirl (2009)
This is either a warm-up or a cool-down song, but it's super pretty.
Another 7, so 7QT it is! See more at Conversion Diary.

My Running Playlist (Part One)

I can't believe I went so long without running music. I did the Couch-to-5k a few years back with just the thoughts in my head. For Christmas, I got a small mp3 player that is perfect for the gym and running. (And probably beats wearing a phone on your arm, but I wouldn't know anything about that.) This tiny little thing just clips to my shorts!

I'm about to get new headphones for it, but these have been doing okay as long as it isn't too windy.

(There are little music  players from Grooveshark below each song title; hopefully they all load for you.)

1. "Feeling Good" by Michael Bublé (2005)
This is a great warm-up song. But I usually let my playlist go on random, so it's a nice boost toward the end of a run, too (as I found out today). Hey, I'm always ready to hear the silky smooth voice of Mr. Bublé (see my concert review from 2010 if you want more on that.)

2. "Here We Go" by 'N Sync (1997)
I was never a huge boy band fan back in the day, but I got the 'N Sync 'experience' from a good friend who had her entire room plastered with their images. I never had a backlash against their music or anything, so listening to this song just reminds me of high school and also makes for a great first song to hit as I embark on my running journey.

  3. "Chloe (You're The One I Want)" by Emblem3 (2013)
Definitely the newest song on my list, but oh-so-catchy. Also, it reminds me of a friend bearing that name, which gives me a good chuckle.

  4. "Save Me, San Francisco" by Train (2011)
I just plain like this song, and I want to get my butt back to this city ASAP. I think this is the one song on the list that I consistently try to sing along to during my run. Cardioke, anyone?

  5. "Fat Bottomed Girls" by Queen (1978)
Well, if you're gonna pick a song by Queen to run to, you might as well go all out, amirite? I've never even had a fat bottom.

  6. "22" by Taylor Swift (2013)
It's been a good 7 years since I was Taylor's age, but she totally nailed it. I met my future husband that year, I 'served my country' in AmeriCorps, dealt with homesickness and/or lovesickness for the first time, and it was the most "miserable and magical" year of my life. Plus, this song is super-catchy which means it's fun to run to.

  7. "Baby" by Relient K (Justin Bieber cover, 2011)
If you never quite caught Bieber Fever, and don't want to admit you actually like his first single, then this might be the best way to go. It's a little less peppy than the original, so perhaps you could save it for your cool-down.
I'll be back next week with another handful of tracks off my playlist! (I run for over 30 minutes, so there is definitely more.) I would usually recommend jog.fm to anyone looking for running music (it gives you music to match your pace), but it hasn't served me as well as I thought it would due to my weird pace. But check it out anyway. And since I just happened to do 7 of these, I might as well link up with 7QT at Conversion Diary.

Reasons for Distraction

I have a lot of things on my mind, so this is just a brain dump and a life update. A lot of ish has happened in my life since the last time I really let you in to this mess, so brace yourselves.

The first thing was that a high school classmate of mine who I was pretty good friends with my senior year passed away. We had gone our separate ways in the past ten years, but we kept up on Facebook and I at least knew a little about some of his recent health issues. His death sorta punched me in the gut. I kept looking at my own kid thinking that his parents never thought they would be burying their child on his 29th birthday.

But then. Then I wanted to see what this friend has written in my yearbook, and while I was looking for that, I chanced upon his senior 'ad,' where parents and siblings wrote him happy thoughts and wishes upon graduation. It was through that I learned he was a 'miracle baby' and had almost died when he was born. I guess these things just don't come up between two healthy seventeen-year-olds attending the Homecoming dance together. That ad changed my whole perspective. His parents instead were probably celebrating that they got 29 years with this miracle and got to watch him be a normal kid and hit all of those milestones that may have never happened. Although I am sure they are still grieving as well. Life (and death) is complicated. I've now started getting more annoyed at people who whine about gray hair or wrinkles or other parts of the aging process. Because all of that minor stuff still beats the alternative.

As for the rest of my time, I had mentioned doing Screen-Free Week in a modified way. Well, we did it, although I probably wouldn't call it a success by any means. We did head outside a lot more, and I didn't have any screens on while Cora was awake.

I had picked Tuesday to be my completely screen-free day. As Tuesday chugged along, I was getting so much accomplished I began thinking, "Hey I should do this more often!"  I decided to give bread-baking a try and spent all morning mixing, kneading, rolling, and letting this thing rise twice. When I opened the oven to check the bread I had spent the greater part of my morning on, my newly-walking daughter came out of nowhere, and she put her two open palms flat against the open oven door.

Parenting fail. Kitchen safety fail. Fail fail fail. That whole afternoon is now a blur of tears, wailing, and calling the pediatrician in a panic. I now know which local hospital has a burn center at it and can give you exact directions on which hallway to take. My child had to wear a sock over her bandaged hand for a week, and the other (better) hand was slathered in aloe and re-wrapped after every meal. (Just call me Dr. Mom. Sigh.) She has mostly recovered now, but the hands still haven't fully healed if you look at them. Luckily, she's been (mostly) her same high-spirited self though.

To make matters worse, that bread I made wasn't even very good. However, Cora seemed to like it. (Is that the opposite of biting the hand that feeds you? Feeding from the hand that bit you?) I think I'll stick to buying honey wheat bread from now on. Seriously.

Don't be fooled. Just buy bread at the store and save yourself a trip to the  burn center.

There were some other screwballs that got thrown at me that week, like some fraudulent charges on our credit card, losing the title to my car, and the beginnings of toddler picky eating habits (and the related meltdowns). I feel like someone's out to get me. But I ain't gonna let him in.

So on a happier note from all of that, my attentions last week were diverted by house-hunting online and my husband's 30th birthday celebration. I made the best-tasting cake I've ever made (homemade triple layer devil's food with a dark chocolate frosting --both from America's Test Kitchen cookbook), and an enchilada feast that got taken over to Grandma's for a celebration dinner.

I have also been running again and signed up for a Color Me Rad 5K in August. B doesn't understand why people pay to run when I can just go outside and run a 5K right now. (But but but I want to get blasted with colors!)

In other health-related news, I have been taking a free online course called Child Nutrition and Cooking through coursera.org, and so far, so good. Very minimal time involved, and it's pushing me to cook new things and add more vegetables into our meals. Sometimes this gal just needs a syllabus and assessments (grades) to get on track. I'm such a nerd.

Ratatouille I made for my first class assignment