Beer, Potatoes, and Sheep

Well non-existent blog world, I've been away for a while because I have been in the land of beer, potatoes, and sheep...yep, you guessed it...IRELAND. Tal and I took a wonderful vacation to Ireland as soon as I was finished teaching. We spent about 10 days in and around the cities of Dublin and Galway. We wished we could have seen more of the country, but that probably would have meant renting a car. About that...they drive on the wrong left side of the road. Something I could never get used to in Australia a few years ago and still couldn't get used to here. I had a hard enough time remembering which way to look when crossing the street, I can't imagine trying to drive on the street! 

We did so much and it although we were there for over a week, it feels like a whirlwind vacation, except for the plane rides. Let's just say we spent a lot of time sitting on the runway because of mechanical issues,  standing in line to find our lost luggage (we got it the next day), running to customs in Ireland to get home (wasn't prepared to schedule time for the) circling over Pennslyvania because of storms. Here are just a few pictures from our vacation. 

Trinity College Library--A book nerds paradise. Its a tough call now if I want
this library or the library from Beauty and the Beast in my future house.

Cliffs of Moher--Pictures cannot do it justice. Absolutely breathtaking! 

Connemara...I could live here and be a sheep farmer :) 

Kylemore Abby--I felt like I was at the Irish (way more prestigious) version of Sweet Briar.
Definitely could have gone here when it was a boarding school :) 

We did get to spend a little bit of time with my sister, Mackenzie.
She was the excuse reason for our visit after all.

Of course we had to stop by the Guinness Factory and learned how to pour the perfect pint.
I can pour it, but I definitely don't like it! Ireland is definitely a beer Guinness driven country.
I need to find myself a county all about wine :)

I'll save my favorite picture and spot for last. Let's see if anyone knows what it is...

Alright. Do you know? It's a bridge in Ireland that the tourist companies are fully taking advantage of because of the fame it got with a certain Irish dreamboat in a movie that was based in Ireland (I don't mind). Any guesses? 

It's where Gerard Butler meets Hilary Swank for the first time in P.S. I Love You! Super cheesy, super touristy, but I loved every minute of it :) 

Now that I am home and have shared some of my pictures from my trip, I am ready to get back on the bandwagon. At least I am going to try. I tried to run yesterday and my knee still wasn't having it, so I am not sure how that is going to go right now even though I have a race in September and my first Half Marathon in February. I have no excuses anymore. I am done with teaching for the summer, I am back from vacation, Tal is home to help me with Zeus. There is nothing that I can use as an excuse not to get going again. I think this summer is what I really need to get started and get in the habit of working out and eating right. 

No Turning Back

Registration opened up last night for the Disney Princess Half Marathon and I debated whether or not to actually sign up. I went back and forth and couldn't decide if I wanted to wait or if I should just do it. It probably doesn't help that I went to the Rheumatologist the day before and he told me to stop running. Obviously running is not the best thing for your body, but I guess its even worse for the lucky people with RA like me. So I had to decide, do I listen to my doctor or do I go with my gut and prove to myself I can do this race?

Well folks....there is no turning back now. I have officially registered for the Disney Princess Half Marathon. What did I get myself into? I guess committing will really force me to get my act together and do this. I think this is something I need to do for myself. I need to prove to myself that I can commit to this and complete it. I am; however, a little worried about not completing under 3 hours and 30 minutes. I would hate to be that girl that gets pulled off cause she is too slow. If I did the math correctly (which is possible, but I am not very good at math) I should finish just under at about 3 hours and 25 minutes based on my 8K time. My biggest concern with that is I did a lot of running in the beginning of that 8K and wasn't following my 3 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking routine. So.....maybe I won't make it. I guess as I get closer in my training I will figure it out.

So, that is that. Training needs to get kicked in to gear....oh wait I leave for Ireland in oh....4 days. Yea, maybe training will get kicked into gear when I get back (I hope!).

The Dreaded Before Picture

Alright everyone (well no one right now cause I have yet to get the guts to share this blog with anyone) I have finally decided to take before pictures. Today is Transformation Tuesday over at Mama Laughlin Fit Camp Facebook Page and it kind of hit a nerve with me today. Every week I see so many amazing women and how they have come so far and it is always inspiring, but I still have that "I will never look like that" mentality. Well today I saw a girl who was about 160 and looked like I look and then she showed her after picture at 135. That is what I want to do! I can be that girl! One day I will post pictures to Transformation Tuesday and maybe one day (before that) I will use this blog as accountability and motivation for others. 

As much as it scares, frightens, terrifies (anything of the sorts) me, here goes nothing. With the ups and downs I have had lately, just seeing these for myself was a bit of a kick in the butt, but maybe knowing they are out there will be even more. Enough avoiding....here it goes. This is me now at 166 pounds. 

  

Here is to less ups and downs...No more excuses...Making it work...and getting down to my goal weight of 140 by the time I get my braces off (February/March of next year).

Wheel out the DIY

Along with getting my butt in gear with working out (which I did...3.5 miles and some pilates yesterday) I decided to stop sitting around on Pinterest all day and get to work! I went to town on my apartment and cleaned everything! I mean scrubbing, spraying, everything. The inside of the microwave even got cleaned...ohhhhh...ahhhh.

Since the school year is wrapping up and I have less to do with lesson plans, I figured this weekend would be the perfect time to start working on a DIY project that I have wanted to do for a while. Plus, Tal wasn't home and I wanted to surprise him with fixing up our patio. A while ago I was on Pinterest (surprise surprise) and saw this beauty from Country Living Magazine.

Aaaaaa-mazing! I wanted one and when I went home to visit and saw my neighbor had one in his driveway I wanted one even more! I asked my mom if we could ask for it, but she said that her boyfriend could just get one from his work....YES! Thank goodness for working with the power company and having a whole bunch of those electrical spindle things laying around at work. I had to wait because one of those puppies would not fit in my little Honda Civic. Luckily my mom came down for a visit about a month later and I got my beauty. 

Zeus couldn't help but make an appearance :) 

As impatient as I was to get this beauty, it sat looking like this on my patio for about 2 months. I guess school and life just got the best of me. I was determined that it would be my first project once summer started. On Thursday I decided to go to Lowe's after work and get everything I needed to put my table together. Well, I didn't really plan much out, except that I knew I wanted to use rope around the middle part. So with a little wandering and looking like a lost puppy I stumbled across the vinyl flooring section. Hmmmm...this could work. I remembered watching a Bath Crashers episode where they used cork flooring and said it was easy to cut. I couldn't find any cork tiles, but figured the vinyl wouldn't be much different. So I laid out 4 different colors on the floor and picked the one that was the darkest to kind of get close to our dark kitchen cabinets. 

After about two days of work and a sore thumb from cutting all my pieces with scissors (I know scissors weren't the best and most accurate choice but they were all I had and I am a bit impatient with getting projects done) I ended up with a beautiful table! 

I was so happy with it. I was worried that the vinyl flooring would look stupid or wouldn't piece together well, but I think it's great. I might still go back and add something around the edges to smooth it out, but I haven't decided yet. Since I had a beautiful table I figured I needed to spice up the patio a little more. I found a nice outdoor rug from Garden Ridge for $50 and went to Wal-Mart to get a pretty plant and some hanging lights. With a little TLC my patio looks like a place I want to be now. 

I think my flower and gnomes are perfect for the table. I've had those gnomes since Christmas (part of my obsession with white ceramic figurines) and they finally have a home now! I can't wait to show Tal and to start working on more DIY projects over the summer! 

Eat, Party, Sleep, Repeat

Well, I did really well working out (for the most part) until the end of this month. Any teacher out there can tell you that the end of the school year is CRAZY! With the end of the school year craziness (only 8 days left!!!!!!) and being away for memorial day weekend I kind of fell off the bandwagon and wasn't really able to get back on this week.

Tal's roommate from college was getting married back home this past weekend so we went up for the wedding. Being out with everyone was so much fun and the wedding was a blast, but I totally feel into the eat, party, sleep, repeat mentality for the weekend and let all of my working out and eating healthy just fall by the wayside. It didn't help that I just couldn't force myself back into a routine when I got back home.

I've officially decided to get back on track this June and get my butt in gear. My hopes are that I can be gone from work all summer and return at least 15 pounds lighter (about 5 pounds a month). I keep kicking myself that I could have done this a long time ago and been 15 pounds lighter before summer, but you know what I am starting to realize that I really can't do anything about the past and I have to stop pushing it back to another week and another week and another week. That's how I got myself here in the first place. I contemplated waiting until July to get started because we are going to be in Ireland for 10 days, but I am hoping that I can walk a lot and just try to watch what I eat.

It's a new month, it's a new me! I saw myself get down to 163 and now I am back up to 166 after only a week. I can't do this! No more excuses! It is now or never!

Nom! Nom! Nom!

Peanut Butter...who loves it?!? Everybody, that's who! Peanut butter is probably one of the best foods (aside from sweets) out there in my book. Honestly, if I could have it my way, it would take up majority of my food pyramid. I could honestly eat an entire jar of peanut butter by itself and I have come close before.

Peanut butter is my go to snack. I figure a small spoonful will help tide me over when I am hungry. Well, that small spoonful turns into two spoonfuls, which turns into three or four. Before I know it, I have eaten half the jar. I just can't help myself! Unfortunately, I don't like (ok....honestly...haven't tried) the healthy peanut butter. I'm super picky about my peanut butter. I have an obsession with love Skippy Reduced Fat Peanut Butter. No, I will not eat JIF or Peter Pan or any of the other crap out there, heck I won't even eat normal Skippy. Don't judge--I used to bring my own jar of peanut butter to swim meets in college so I could eat it with breakfast at the hotels and not have to use their peanut butter.

As much as I have an obsession with love peanut butter I really have two options. I need to learn how to control myself and find better snacks....or I need to get brave enough to try healthy peanut butter and learn how to like it. I think it really needs to be a combination of both and I need to figure it out soon before I let peanut butter and snacking ruin everything I have been working toward. 

Menu Monday

Food....Food is something that has always been a battle for me. I love food, but I love food that is terrible for you. I could sit and eat cupcakes and chips all day and be a totally happy camper. Unfortunately, you can't live like that (although I am still waiting for someone to make vegetables taste like chips or a cupcake). As much as I love food, I am a terribly picky eater. I'm talking PICKY. I grew up only eating food that was cold, processed, and typically in the white or close to white color family. I didn't eat a lot of fruits and barely any vegetables. So it has been quite the process in expanding my palate. I have come leaps and bounds from where I started, but still don't try a lot of recipes because of the taste (or my unwillingness to try the new taste). 

We try to make a lot of our meals during the week and sometimes I get adventurous enough to try a new food. Pasta is a staple in our house and we usually make pasta at least once a week, but since I got my braces we can't use pasta sauce anymore. I found this recipe on Pinterest for a pasta that didn't have any pasta sauce and figured we would give it a try. Of course as soon as I showed Tal, he didn't want it because there was no sauce and therefore no flavor. Well, Tal plays tennis on Thursday nights and I am on my own for dinner so I decided to make it then for myself. I was a little hesitant too, but it was delicious and great for the summer because it isn't too heavy. 

Summer Pasta with Olive Oil and Tomatoes 

Adapted from BigSisLilSis.com

1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil

2-3 garlic gloves (depending on taste)

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 container of small cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup parmesan cheese (grated or shaved) 

1 lb of whole wheat penne 

Combine oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt and simmer on low in a medium sauce pan for about 5 minutes. Slice half of the tomatoes (I like to slice them into fourths because I don't want them too big, but you can do halves if you want) and stir them in with the sauce mixture. Let simmer for about another 5 minutes. Cut and add the rest of the tomatoes (however much you prefer). 

Remove from heat and let sit while you are making the pasta. You want to start this before putting the pasta on so the tomatoes have time to sit. This allows some of the juices from the tomatoes to mix with the sauce. Cook the pasta as package directs for al dente. When pasta is done drain and mix in a large bowl with sauce. Add parmesan cheese and season with a little salt to taste. 

So easy and super yummy! It is a great summer pasta that isn't too heavy and perfect for a quick and healthy dinner. 

Teacher Appreciation Week

This past week was teacher appreciation week and my first one as an actual teacher. Like I've said before I am a first year special education teacher (I work with students on the autism spectrum) and I absolutely LOVE my school. We are spoiled beyond belief!

Monday--Breakfast Day. Sounds great right, well it was, except for the fact that a parent decided to make homemade doughnut holes....O M G. I did stop myself from going back and only had two. The old Kelsey would have gone back for seconds or thirds of those puppies.

Tuesday--We got to take 10 minutes to go get a relaxing (and much needed) chair massage. I did an arm and back workout the day before so I was tight and it felt great!

Wednesday--Dessert Day. I have the world's biggest sweet tooth. I love sugar and could probably eat an entire cake by myself if given the chance. The only thing that I really benefit from (in regards to being healthy...well sort of) is that I don't like chocolate. STOP THE PRESSES!! I know, a woman that doesn't like chocolate. I get that all the time, but it's just gross, I've never liked it. I think my little sister made up for my lack of chocolate gene though, so we're okay. Seeing that most, okay almost all, woman like chocolate, a lot of the deserts had chocolate in them. This limited my options and forced me to only get pound cake. Well I didn't want to look like a total loser and get like 5 pieces, so I got 1 piece with whip cream on top.

Thursday--Luncheon. We got the wonderful opportunity to have a full hour (unless you're a teacher and forced to scarf down a lunch in less than 30 minutes, you have no idea how glorious a full hour is!) for lunch. And, not just a full hour, but a full hour with a catered lunch. I had a salad (good job), chicken wrap (pretty good), pasta salad (ehhh...not bad), and Ritas italian ice (ummm....I was doing a good job). During our lunch we got to pick an envelope with a gift card inside. I got $5 to Tropical Smoothie Cafe! Plus we got to put our names in for a raffle for larger gift cards. Well, the girl who NEVER wins anything, won a $25 gift card to Olive Garden. Looks like someone might be having a date night this week courtesy of my schools PTA.

Friday--Coffee Day. I'm not a big coffee person. I mean I used to only drink water (Now I drink water, wine, and margaritas hahaha). But, I figured I would give it a shot. I tried an iced vanilla something or other because I can't do warm drinks. Needless to say, I still don't like coffee. Point is, we could custom order our coffee that was delivered to our room throughout the day.

Needless to say, I am very fortunate to be at an amazing school, with amazing faculty, amazing PTA/Booster Club, amazing students, and amazing parents. However, as fortunate as I am, my stomach may have over indulged a little bit too much this week. I am definitely paying for it, but I guess I have put in enough work in my first year of teaching that I deserve to give in a little bit, just this once.

I hope any other teacher out there had a wonderful teacher appreciation week! I know I did and I appreciate the fact that I only have 23 days left of teaching until SUMMER VACATION!

I will leave you all with this picture my mom sent me at the beginning of the week. I'm sure some of you can absolutely relate...

Gratification

I hate to admit it, but I'm definitely part of the generation that likes instant gratification; I blame it all on technology. I know that hard work pays off and it takes time, but it is easier to see that in certain things, like teaching or school work in college. For some reason, I am having a really hard time applying the whole "takes time" concept to working out and eating healthy.

I've always been bigger than everyone else. I remember hitting 100 pounds in elementary school and being so sad. I vividly remember a day in middle school where we had to do some experiment that involved us weighing ourselves. I was terrified and did everything I could to avoid the situation, which included faking sick that day. I've never been the biggest girl, but I have always been bigger than my friends and unhappy with the way I looked and felt, but there was always some excuse and no matter how hard I tried, I always fell back into my old routine.

I think sometimes I convince myself that things just aren't going to change and I'm still not going to be that pretty skinny girl so why bother putting in the work. Or maybe sometimes I'm just not ready to give up certain things and put in the work. Loosing weight and living a healthier life is a lot of work and when I don't have anyone there to do it with me, I give up quickly. Both my mom and my sister are tiny, always have been (my sister was a size 00 for the longest time), so they never had to worry about it like I did. Then I went to college and swam competitively, loosing weight and going on a diet isn't exactly the smartest choice when you're training 3 hours a day in season.

Any who.... to try and avoid a whining situation, I need to find my motivation. There has to be someway for me to keep going on this track alone. It's not going to happen overnight and I am not going to loose 30 pounds in a week. It's going to take a while, it might take a long while, but I've never seen myself as skinny and can't remember the last time I was under 160, so I convince myself that it's never going to happen.

I need to find a friend or an accountability partner that can help me stay on track. I really don't think I can go through this alone.

Totally RAD

Are you RAD?

Yesterday I ran, well mostly walked, the Color Me Rad race with a group of co-workers. If you've never run the Color Me Rad or Color Run race, it is something you need to do at least once. It isn't a time race and it is just something really fun to enjoy with family and friends. 

We had planned on running, but some of my co-workers brought their kids (kids under 7 are free with an adult) and it was more fun to stay back and run/walk with them. The kids had a blast and loved running through the color. Everyone I work with is older and a fair amount of them have young kids. I don't have any kids yet, so I really don't mind getting a little fun kid time in. It also made it a little easier for me because I would have fallen back with the pace their parents can run. I could use them as an excuse to walk more haha. A little sad, yes, but oh well! 

Here are some before and after pictures from the race today. It's messy, it's fun, and everyone needs to do it! 

Before

After

I knew that I would end up walking most of the race, but since there was a small chance that I would run I decided to use Saturday as my rest day. Well my weekend ended up with me not working out on Saturday, but doing EVERYTHING on Sunday. I decided that walking 3 miles wasn't enough for my training so after I got home from the race I went to the gym and ran 3 miles and did a pilates ab workout. The old me never would have even thought about running after a 3 mile walk, so I'm proud of my motivation and determination to do what I have planned. 

Tips for Color Me Rad

• Get there early, even if you signed up for a later wave time. There is no check in and no designation of wave times, at least where I did mine. It was super crowded and even though we signed up for the 8:00 race, we didn't end up starting until at least 8:30. 

• You really don't need to buy extra color packets unless you want them before the race. You end up getting one right before you cross the finish line and then they throw at a bunch all over the place

• Wear clothes you don't care about! Duh! It came out of my leggings pretty easily, but the water mixture was much harder to come out of my workout shirt I had underneath my white one. 

• Your tennis shoes will officially be colored so wear an old pair, or give yourself an excuse to go buy a new pair. 

• Have fun and enjoy yourself get RAD! 

Fish Out of Water

Ever since I can remember, my workouts have always and only consisted of swimming and whatever torturous dryland routines my coach put me through. I'm not a land person and am not a fan of doing a workout that requires clothes and sneakers, give me a swimsuit and water any day. I never went to the gym, never did fitness classes, never ran. I really didn't know how to workout outside of swimming. Since my RA diagnosis I haven't been back in the pool except for coaching last summer. Part of this is because it has been hard to find a pool close by since graduating college, but I also started a long journey of figuring out what was wrong with me and managing my pain. 

When I decided to get determined and start my fitness and weight loss journey I couldn't really decide how I wanted to go about doing it. I contemplated many different ideas...

• Finding a pool: No pool close enough to my apartment, plus the whole process of getting wet every day after work just didn't appeal to me. 

• Joining a gym: Pretty big monetary commitment for something I didn't know how much time I would have given I was starting my first year of teaching. 

• Crossfit: I have limited use of my arms because of my RA and there seems to be a lot of need for arm strength. 

• Jillian Michaels: Lots of people love Jillian and I'm sure her videos provide great results, but I don't like her. I think she's mean and I really need some happiness in my workout videos. Plus I live on the second floor with obnoxious downstairs neighbors. 

• Zumba: I am so cordinated. Ha! I took a Zumba class once (on accident...I looked at the wrong calendar at the gym and showed up to the wrong class). Never again.
  

Lucky for me, I got a job in August teaching at an AMAZING school. There are no words to describe how amazing my school is and how much I love everyone who works there. The staff is very close and does a lot together. During one of our first staff meetings a teacher suggested starting a running group after school, immediately I thought oh my gosh...NO! I hate running, I am a water girl, I can't run. Then I started to reconsider. This would be a great way to meet more people I work with and start to get back into shape, considering I really hadn't worked out since my collegiate swimming career ended in 2011. I decided it was worth the $60. We had a running coach and a 12 week Couch To 5K program designed just for the needs of our group. We started in September and our program was set for us to all run a 5K together in December. 

Needless to say, it was a rough start and I wanted to quit almost every day. It was hard, especially for someone who has never run before. Everyone thought it would be easy for me. "You're the young one in the group", "You swam in college"...Let me tell you, being young and swimming in college was no help to me at all! We ran 3 days of week after school and I tried to keep up with teachers I knew, but they were just too fast for me and I ended up falling back, except I was too fast for the group behind them. I literally fell right in the middle. I suffered through the practices, but spent a lot of time crying during my runs. It seemed so easy for others, people who were a lot older than me were kicking my butt. I was dying! I think I was the most discouraged because I did end up falling in the middle of two groups and I really joined this to help find my place a work and make friends. I was the only first year teacher and one of two new teachers at a school where people come and stay forever. There were lots of ups and downs, but I went every time and tried. 

I had made it through 11 weeks of training and only had one week before my first 5K. I was so proud and excited, so of course something bad had to happen (it's funny how it works that way...right). The weekend before I started to feel a little bad, but figured it was just sinuses or something. Well, it wasn't it turned out to be a full blown case of the flu. I was the first positive case of the flu at my doctors office, points for me! I was sick the whole week and as much as I wanted to run, decided it was the best choice to stay home and rest. It killed me not to be there and run the race I had been training for. 

Long story short (sorry not so short). Even though I never got to run that 5K the running club really gave me the motivation to learn how to run and get started with running. Without it I never would have found this determination or even thought it would be possible for me to run. Now I am determined to run (as slow as it may be) the Disney Princess Half Marathon in February. Finding your passion and nitch when it comes to working out is hard and it took me almost two years after swimming to figure it out. But I am happy where I am now and ready for this adventure! 

Challenge Me

Lord help me, I have decided to join the May Plank and Squat Challenge. Sounds like a great idea right....ask me again at the end of the month and I'll have the real answer for you. 

I'm doing the beginners workout out, which really doesn't seem too bad, I guess. I think the planks are definitely going to be the biggest challenge. I hated planks when I was swimming and in my best shape. I would  struggle through planks for 1-2 minutes. I'm definitely not in my best shape right now and 20 seconds on the first day was killer! 

A lot of people are doing planks, squats, and push ups, but with my elbows I can't do push ups anymore. I would love to add push ups and trust me, my arms could definitely use it. However, my arthritis won't exactly allow it right now. I'm hoping that with the change in my medication my elbows will start to get better and I can start to do some arm workouts. If I'm going to work my ass off with the rest of my body, I need some sexy arms to go with it. 

Anyone else out there doing the May Challenge or have done another month long challenge? I keep telling myself I am determined to make it through the whole month. I think I can do it! 

Side Note: Who comes home from a stressful day to a much needed glass of wine? You? Yeah, I thought so. Sometimes you just have one of those days and you need to sit and take the edge off. In my first year of teaching, I would love nothing more, but can't because of the medicine I am taking. Well, today was one of those days were I could have come and used not just a glass, but the bottle to de-stress. Today, was just one thing after another, all with the same student. This little one decided to crawl under all of the bathroom stalls and lock them, then decided to push someone on the carpet, then decided to throw sand at people on the playground (just because), and then cried/screamed for a solid 30 minutes because he missed the Magic School Bus movie during science, due to his behavior. Oh the joys of a special education teacher. I love my job and I love the boys I teach (...yes I did say boys, 9 boys, all boys), but somedays they just make you want to come home to a nice big bottle of wine. Hope you all enjoyed a nice big glass tonight for me. 

Southwest Y'all

No, I didn't go to the southwest, as much as a nice vacation to some warm weather would be nice. I can picture myself at a spa in the desert. Now that I'm daydreaming of a trip well stuck in this gloomy weather we have today, I should get to the point. 

Every since I got my (stupid) braces put on it has been extra difficult to find dinner meals. It's hard enough to find healthy meals that I can cook and in a sensible time, let alone find foods that I enjoy (I'm a picky eater...I didn't eat my first salad until I was 20 years old) and don't have foods that will stain my braces. Tal and I have completely different taste pallets, but he suffers through my bland tastes and the lack of red sauces we have going on now. 

Let me just say one thing, TGFP "Thank Goodness For Pinterest". Pinterest has been a lifesaver with food, teaching, clothes, DIY projects...basically my whole life. I have more pins on my Pinterest than I know what to do with. Maybe this summer I'll do some purging in organizing....maybe. Anyway, I found this great recipe for a Southwestern Black Bean Salad. Now, like I said I didn't eat salad until I was 20! I know, but I tried (once in high school), it was just a texture thing and lettuce just didn't mesh well with my mouth haha. Although, this salad doesn't have any lettuce, I still never would have tried it a couple years ago. 

Photo from skinnytaste.com 

Let me tell you all, this salad was awesome and super easy to put together. All you need is some black beans, corn, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, olive oil, and avocado. Tal and I decided to add some brown rice to it and it was almost like a healthier version of Chipotle without the meat. You all need to click here and make this tonight. It is a great summer salad that is cold, refreshing, and filling. Yum! Yum! Yum! This will definitely be a good addition to the summer menu in my house. 

Natitude

This weekend Tal and I took Zeus up to Northern Virginia to visit my mom, and his mom who conveniently lives about 2 miles away. My mom and her boyfriend bought season tickets for the Nationals this year and since he was out of town Tal and I got to go.

It was a nice little break to get away, see my mom, give Zeus a big backyard to run around in, and go to the Nationals game. It was absolutely perfect weather! Low 70's, perfect for shorts and a t-shirt without being too hot. I had to borrow my mom's Bryce Harper shirt since I don't own one yet. At least it was for a cute player, right....but hands off ladies, he is already taken. No, not by me, Mr. Harper himself is already signed up for the position of my future brother-in-law (at least according to my sister haha).

I wish I had more pictures from the game to share, but T hates, and I mean hates, taking pictures. So I am lucky if I get anything. I was able to snap one of the two of us, but I am still learning how to smile with these braces without showing my teeth....ughhhhh.

I didn't get my long run (not much of a long run yet, only up to 2.5 miles, but still something) in on Saturday because we didn't get up to Northern Virginia until almost midnight. After that, I was not about to get up before the game and go for a run. After the whole weekend, I felt just as tired as Zeus did when we got home on Sunday and didn't run then either.

After a long weekend of not working out and eating out WAY too much it took a lot of effort, but I am back on track and worked out this morning. I tried to do running and some "strength" training in the morning, but unless I get up at 4:00, there just isn't enough time. I think my new plan is running in the morning and doing my other workout after work is going to be the best plan. I ran this morning and did my workout this afternoon so it is a step in the right direction. I'm ready to get back on track this week :)

I'm Back!

I'm back blogging world! I started this a while ago and did really well for about, oh, 2 weeks (if that). Well, after some time away, I have decided to get my butt back in gear! Along with my lengthy list of other health problems, I have TMJ...what does that mean you ask. That means my jaw sucks and I got the joyous opportunity to wear a mouth guard type thing for over 6 months and now I get to wear braces for almost a year! Braces....seriously....I'm 23 and now I look like I am 15. Yippee...I hope you can hear my sarcasm. 

Well, if I have to suffer through a year of having braces I might as well get my butt into action and start to loose weight. My logic to all of this, aside from wanting and needing to live a healthier lifestyle, is that if I have to suck it up and be unhappy with my smile for a year I might as well use this year to make myself better all around so that when I do get my braces off I will be skinny and happy with the brand new Kelsey! Plus the disney princess half marathon I plan on doing with my college roommate, D, is only 10 months away! 

So I am back and ready to make myself better. I have done so well for the past two weeks working out and running. I tried to work out after work, but I usually ended up coming home, walking the dog, cleaning up whatever mess he made, and then making dinner. By then I am done and ready for bed. T calls me an old lady because I would go to bed at 8:00 every night if I could. So, I reluctantly decided it would be better to get up and work out before work. Well, let me tell you, it sucks, but I manage to push through (most mornings). The 4:45 alarm blows, but I know that it is making me a better and happier person. 

I don't want to ramble on for too long with my first blog back, but I am excited to get back into things and make progress. I hope to use this blog to share what I am doing with my workouts, any new recipes I find (and attempt), my hopes to DIY my apartment this summer, and managing my RA. Maybe someday I will get the courage to share with the world, but for now I am happy to use it just for me. 

Running for Charity

Have any of you ever heard of the iPhone app Charity Miles? It's a great app that you can download for free on your iphone. I downloaded it a couple days ago and just started using it. Each time you use it when you run, walk, or bike it donates money to the charity of your choice.

Every time you run you make money for each mile you complete. 

• 10 cents per mile for bikers
• 25 cents per mile for running and walking

Running is definitely not my favorite activity and trust me I dread doing it almost every time. I have yet to figure out this whole "runner's high" thing or feeling so great during a run...ha! I feel terrible and as soon as I get home I want to eat and sleep. Since it is not my favorite task (maybe it will grow on me more as I keep going) it makes me feel a little more motivated to keep running when I use this app. Right now, my running during the week only adds up to about $1.00, which doesn't seem like much, but when you add that up over the course of a year, it is more than $350, just for running. If you are going to be out there running, you might as well be running for a cause. 

I have a few charities that are near and dear to my heart.

1. Arthritis Foundation--I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis in June 2011 and it has made a huge impact on my life. It is a cause that I am just starting to become involved with and hoping to do more with in the future as I am starting to admit to my disease and learn to deal with it. 
2. Multiple Sclerosis Society--My father was diagnosed with MS when I was 12. That diagnosis changed my life almost as much as my own. My father's health and happiness quickly went downhill after his diagnosis, with the loss of his job, divorce, and moving away. I've been involved in helping to find a cure since I was in middle school
3. Autism Awareness--Being a special education teacher, working specifically with students who have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), I hope to support students and parents affect by this baffling disease. I work with my students all day, but send them home to very brave and patient (for the most part) parents who have to deal with autism 24/7 in their lives. 

Charity Miles doesn't have an endless list of charities, but it does have a lot to choose from...AND you can choose a different charity each time you run. That way you have the option to spread your heart even more. Moral of the story is get your phone, download this app, and start running. While you do that, I will keep trying to convince myself to do the running part. 

I know that no one is really reading this or following it for that much, but I was really using it to help me stay motivated. Just the idea of someone out there possibly reading it, forced me to keep running. However, I guess that just wasn't strong enough. I've been on a bit of a running hiatus, or flakey schedule, lately. You would think with an 8K in, oh what, 4 DAYS?!!? I would get my butt into gear. I'll keep y'all updated and if I can manage to move Saturday afternoon, I'll post about it. 

Recap on what has been happening:

Everyone bakes a dog a
birthday cake right?

• My younger sister, M, came to visit from college this past weekend with a friend. Unfortunetly it wasn't great beach weather around here, but it was still fun. 

• Zeus turned 1! My baby is growing up. It is so hard to believe that we picked him up a year ago in May and he was just a little baby, now he is my big chunky bubba.  

• I started taking an online class for work. Not that it requires much work, but it is still just an extra thing to work on. 

• I spent a lot of time before M got here trying to finish up some decorating projects. Even though I feel like I feel like I got a lot done at the time, I look back and everything still seems half finished. When I finally get things done, I'll update the blog world. Until then it stays an unfinished secret.

• I had a heart to heart with myself and came to terms (a little bit) with my RA and my medication. I have to give myself an injection every other week and I avoid it like the plague (it sucks and hurts like a you know what). There have been some weekends I avoided it, even though I know I shouldn't have. I got all my medication straight again and I'm starting to feel a little better. 

On a positive running note, I did manage to get myself to run yesterday. It was gorgeous outside, a little windy, but warm...finally! I haven't run outside since training with my running group in December. Bottom line--I'm a wimp and I hate the cold, plus I enjoy watching TV while I run haha. My time is better running outside, but let me tell you, running into the wind sucks! I was able to suffer through 2 miles. 2 miles, ummm, hello you are running 5 on Saturday. Yeah, I know. I'll figure that out when I get there. Tomorrow is my last day I intend to run before my race, hoping to do at least 2.5 miles, but it's always a surprise. 

Muscle Me Maybe?

Have you ever been at the gym and could hear someone's music? Well, maybe not since most gyms are larger with more noises. The gym at our apartment is pretty small so not too much noise going on in there. Since it is pretty small, if someone has their music up too loud you can definitely hear it. This afternoon, I walked into the gym and saw a guy running on the treadmill, a pretty buff guy might I add. He was cooling down from his run and I could start to hear this music. I didn't think much of it until I started to recognize the tune. Let's see if you know this one?



Unless, you lived under a rock last summer, you have to know this song. I felt the need to break out in song and sing with him, so I did of course! Okay, not really, I would never do that! I'm not the type person to draw much attention to myself, unless it is in front of my kids at school, in which case I don't care. 

Secretly I will admit....I love this song. Shhhh....Don't tell anyone. 

Other than having some Carly Rae Jepsen stuck in my head during my workout, I did tackle the terrifying weight machine. I didn't do much, because it's been FOREVER since I have done any real weights. I don't think I have done any weights since my RA diagnosis. Most of my problems are in my hands, elbows, and shoulders, so weights aren't exactly the easiest. I did just a little bit, but a little bit is better than nothing right. I didn't want to overdo the first time. Plus I kept worrying that someone else would come in the door and totally judge me for having no idea what I was doing.

Me and a little HGTV

Where do you get your motivation to run...or for me keep running? I have the hardest time staying motivated, once I get tired and see 1 mile, I want to stop no matter how much I have intended to run. I've found that I do a lot better when there is a certain TV show on and I go for that time frame. Typically I want to see what happens so I have to force myself to keep going.

My television obsession is pretty much anything on HGTV. It is my ULTIMATE goal in life to be on an HGTV show. I am a huge fan of shows like Kitchen Crashers, Property Brothers, Flea Market Flip, etc. However, my biggest fear is that I will be at a Lowe's one day and see someone from one of the House Crashers show, but not be able to use them because I still live in an apartment. Is that totally crazy? It might be even more crazy because I don't even know if they still film new episodes. The whole purpose of this HGTV rant, is that I try to use these episodes to keep me going. Once I see a house get started, I have to see how it finishes! Thank goodness the treadmills at our gym have televisions, otherwise I would quit after 2 minutes.

In the end, I accomplished two things this afternoon...took Zeus for a walk (check out the video so you can see what I put up with every walk...he hates his harness) and ran-walked 2 miles. All of that hard work was quickly squashed after T and I went out for Mexican food. Not our intentions tonight, but we forgot to put the crock pot on this morning.

Tomorrow I tackle the weight machine...maybe.

Birthdays! Birthdays! Birthdays!

No...no...it's not my birthday, but when you are a teacher it feels like it is somebodies birthday every day. At my school, I feel like there are constantly cupcakes, or cookies, or brownies (okay, so I don't like brownies so those don't matter) in the work room leftover from someone's birthday or class event. Today, the day I decided to dive head first into my training and new goals, was no exception. Cupcakes....of all things...mini cupcakes. You know how those mini cupcakes are. They're so tiny and they make you think, "well they're not as big as a regular cupcake so one won't hurt". Of course after you have one, or at least after I have one, I think "well that was delicious, they're still so small and two is still probably less than one normal cupcake, right?....okay...yeah...I'll have two". So, long story short....I had two mini cupcakes.

two mini cupcakes...totally smaller than a regular cupcake....I think
I'm pretending that they're vanilla and I would actually eat them.
(I know call me crazy for not liking chocolate...everybody does)

Not the best start to my day, but I did actually go for a run after school today. Along with being super productive around the apartment instead of sitting on Pinterest. Speaking of Pinterest, I found a 1/2 marathon training program that I liked, but decided I needed to tweak it since it was only a 12 week program. Hello....not a runner here...definitely need more than 12 weeks to find a way to make my body run 13.1 miles without dying. Completely understanding that I have no idea what I am doing, decided to create my own year long training program, allowing some wiggle room for my 10 day vacation to Ireland this summer (YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! Can you tell I'm excited???). 

Today I started out by finding my sneakers buried in my car, no really they've been there for a few weeks. Once I found those I head to the gym with T (the boyfriend). I do much better when he is there because I can't just skip out after 5 minutes, which is what I wish I could do almost every time. I used to hate and refuse to do anything on the treadmill except for walk, but I'm starting to do better with it now. Plus the ones at our gym have the TV attached so I can watch HGTV or TLC. I did 2 miles today on the treadmill with 3:00 minutes of running and 1:00 of walking. It took me a little less than 30 minutes. Not my best time, but I haven't run in about 2 weeks and I am always slower on the treadmill, but it was toooooo cold. I hate the cold, I hate being in the cold, so obviously I am not about to go for a run in the cold by choice. 

It's not the best start, but it's a start. A start is better than nothing, right? Here's to continuing that start.

Side note...I hope everyone is watching the Bachelor tonight. I'm not a huge fan of any of his last three choices, but am anxiously awaiting his decision for his final two. I know, it is trashy TV and even though the relationships NEVER work, I love it. 

Sneakers or Glass Slippers

Hello blog world! I've been following multiple blogs for a while now, mostly home DIY or fashion blogs, but also a few fitness blogs. My roommate from college, D, and I made a decision a while back that we wanted to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon. Now, this marathon is held every year at the Disney World Resort in Florida at the end of February. We made this decision in December of last year, but quickly decided that with our lack of running background 2 months would definitely not be enough time to train. We both grew up swimming and swam together for our college. Well folks, if you're not a swimmer you might not understand, but if you are you will understand that most swimmers are not land people. I always tell people that if you put me in the water, I can do anything, but put me on land and I can barely function. So, yeah...we definitely needed more than 2 months to be able to run 13.1 miles.

I decided that since this weekend was the 2013 Disney Princess Half Marathon and I have almost exactly a year to train, now would be the best time to get serious. And what better way to get serious, than to blog about it of course. Who knows if anyone will see this or even start following, but you always hear that writing things down helps you remember what happened and stay focused.

So RunDisney, I'm determined and I'm ready. I have 365 days (just about...the official race date for 2014 hasn't been released yet). I have a lot to deal with on the side, but I'll talk about those boring details later, but I am ready to train and ready to run. I will be running in glass slippers by February 2014!