Inspiration

I've started using an iPhone app called Run Keeper lately that tracks, using the GPS on my phone, the workouts I do. Most of my workouts are walking, but I've also used it to track my running and the hike Sandie and I did a couple weeks ago. If you want to check out my progress/check up on me/keep me motivated you can check out my profile here: Melanie's Runkeeper Profile

I appreciate any and all types of motivation, and recently my (and some of your) cousin Joseph added me as a friend, so to speak, on Run Keeper. And can I just say... WOW. I mean really, WOW. Apparently he is training to complete an olympic triathlon this year. I'm not even sure I totally know what that means, but I know it sounds hard! And way beyond anything I'd ever set out to do! Anyway, any time he completes a workout it posts it up to the site... and I must say that I'm impressed. He is inspiring to me! The more working out I do...walking, running, biking, that sort of thing... the more I actually find myself enjoying it. Hopefully some day I will be fit enough to compete in something like that... actually, my goal is just to be able to do a 5k some day. To actually run a 5k that is.

Check him out, he's awesome: Joseph's Runkeeper Profile

Why you shouldn't run full bore down hill in your work clothes

Every {decent} day at work I take a walk on my lunch break. Yesterday I noticed a little side path I'd never seen before, and decided that today I would try it out. Well it was mostly just a million steps that led into a random neighborhood... but the point is, because I took this new route and kept climbing and climbing those stairs (I had to know where it led!) I ended up taking longer than normal and by the time I got to the top, I was running late for getting back to work on time. I mostly ran down the stairs, and then decided to save some time I could run down the long hill I had walked up to get to the stairs.

So I'm running down the hill, probably looking like an idiot, and I notice a man driving by with his window down slow his car and watch me run by. It was then that it occurred to me that I was in fact not wearing my workout clothes... in fact, I'm wearing a deep v-neck sweater with a tank top underneath... and definitely not wearing my sports bra. Needless to say, I stopped, adjusted myself, and walked the rest of the way back to work.

And in an unrelated note... I saw this lovely gem on my walk back:

What painting skills! And it really gives the van that something 

extra... I'm considering doing this to our van.

Don't forget to vote!!

One more time

I'm going to do a tie breaker...but Dad had a late entry option... which I think MIGHT be my favorite. So I'm adding that one in too. So one more time guys! This time you only get to vote for one name!

I posted this and then I saw that someone changed their vote! Haha, it WAS a 4 way tie, and just for the sake of it I guess the current winner is "My big fat diet blog". But is anyone against one more poll, just for fun?

Rattlesnake

Sandie and I went hiking this Saturday... it was so nice out (finally)! We did the same hike we did a couple times last summer: Rattlesnake Ledge . Last year it was a definite challenge for us, we had to stop at least 3 times on the way up for a break...and most of the time everyone (children included) were passing us on the trail. I'm proud to announce that we did really well this weekend! We only stopped 2 times on the way up, and that was only because we needed to give our dogs water. Buttercup (Sandie's dog) was thirsty, and rightly so. It was hot! Violet (my little "Facey") wouldn't drink the water. Boston's are known for overheating easily, but she would have none of it. She was SO over the top excited to be out hiking with us, she didn't want to stop for anything. I'm serious, if she were bigger (ie: not 14 lbs) she would have been dragging me to the top. Not only did we need to break less (without the dogs, I think we wouldn't have needed any stops), but we were actually passing other people. In fact, I think we passed almost everyone except the runners (why anyone would want to RUN up that trail is beyond me). I tracked the whole thing with an app on my iPhone, so if you want to check it out: click here to see how and what we did.

Here is a photo I quickly pieced together on my phone... not the best picture ever, but it gives you an idea of the view from the top. It really is pretty up there! (click on the picture to see it a little bigger)

  

I'm not looking so good here but the view sure is pretty!

Sandie and Buttercup

While we were eating lunch at the top, there was a family sitting a ways behind us and the little boy (maybe 5 yrs old?) kept talking about Violet and how he wants "a black and white dog just like that because it's so CRAZY looking" ... "but mom look how crazy that dog looks!" ... "mom I like that dog because it's so crazy looking!" haha, it was pretty cute. Eventually the mom brought him down and asked if he could pet her. He stopped by about 2 or 3 more times just to say hi and even fed her a few treats. I've said it a million time but Violet has a way with the kids!

And to be fair, she is pretty crazy looking:

Overall it was a great morning, and I felt SO good afterwards! Not nearly as exhausted as when we went last summer. We must be doing something right! And now I know how some people can go hiking for FUN. I used to think that was crazy (I STILL think Aaron is crazy with some of the hikes he does)... but now I see that when you are in good enough shape that you can do the hike without constantly focusing on how bad your asthma is, or how much your legs hurt, or whatever... there is actually some fun to found! In fact I kind can't wait to go again!

Ok this blog NEEDS A NAME!

It's time to finally name this blog... I'm horrible at coming up with names, and so Sandie pretty much came up with these on her own. But I like a few of them and couldn't decide... so I'm letting everyone else decide! The poll is on the right hand side of this page. Please vote...not sure how long I will let this poll go, I guess until there is enough votes to count for something. Also, you can vote for more than one name, in case you like multiple. so...

PLEASE VOTE!

as Matthew would say "peesh" and "tink oo"

Quick Laugh

Ab Ripper X

Sandie and I did Ab Ripper X yesterday ... I hate it, but I love it! I'm proud to announced we both survived (well, I can really only speak for myself). We must be doing SOMEthing right because I don't hurt today NEARLY as bad as I did the last time I did it (like 3 years ago?)... so we are adding this to our weekly routine. After doing so much ab work, my waist kinda feels skinny today! I'm sure it's just because all the muscles are really tight, but whatever. I FEEL skinner, so I will go ahead and pretend that I AM skinner. Hooray!

Camp Food

So as most of you know, we just got home from our first camping trip of the summer. One of our biggest obstacles to overcome would be FOOD! And this is an issue on SO MANY levels. Food takes up a lot of space, wastes a lot of my time, requires a lot of clean up, and tends to be over done when camping.

Last summer was the first summer that Melanie and I had been working out and really trying to become more health conscious. We were working out and watching our food choices, etc... and then camping season started! Suddenly I was gaining 3-5 pounds over a weekend camping trip! I would spend the next week working the weight off, only to put it back on the very next weekend. I was so disgusted! So we really tried to get a better perspective. All the workouts and smart eating during the week couldn't compete with soda, chips, marshmallows, burgers, and hot coco during the weekend! So we started to slowly make changes. We left all of the soda and juices at home. Instead we brought along water bottles and powdered drink mix (Gatorade or poweraide). We started cutting out the snacks and instead just brought one treat (like marshmallows) that we didn't want to part with. Then I did a bunch of food research to find healthier meals that strayed from the normal burger options. Lastly we committed ourselves to stick with the food plans and not just stop somewhere and grab fast food, etc...

Well all of those strategies were good starts, but this year I decided to take it even further! This summer I spent a couple of weekends, well in advance of camping season, to plan "menus" and prepare/portion/freeze all of the food. I started with breakfast: I decided to make mini muffins (just using the tiny muffin tins), and then bagged them up by portion size and froze them (to be eaten a few at a time with a piece of fruit), and my Loaded Oats recipe that is super easy and super filling. I just bagged up all of the dry ingredients in Ziplocs. For lunches I decided to do stuff like chicken salad wraps. Wraps are a great idea in lots of ways, but my favorite so far is that a bag as flat as a pancake packs a heck of a lot easier than a loaf of bread! Then I bought a few snacks (pretzels, apples, banana chips, etc.) and bagged them in snack ziplocs per person, per day. Finally, for dinners I came up with a handful of easy meals that could be made, frozen, and easily reheated over a campfire when the time came. I used our slow cooker and made a huge pot of chili, BBQ pork, baked beans, and fried up ground meat. Then I measured out portions and froze it all. The chili and beans can be reheated and eaten with mini corn bread muffins. The BBQ pork can be eaten on buns, and the ground meat is for Hobo dinners.

Well our first trip this summer put it all to the test! The boys griped the first night saying "what do you mean this is all there is for dinner?!" and tried out lines like "so if I get hungry in the middle of the night...where are the snacks?" Well I put my foot down and didn't give an inch! Plus it helped that there wasn't a fridge that they could raid in the middle of the night;) Once they relaxed it was clear that there was more than enough food still. All of it was much healthier options, all of it was cooked in disposable foil trays over the campfire (and eaten out of them too, so no clean up!) and nobody went hungry. We went biking and exploring and got in some good exercise too! And when we got home everybody felt great with no guilt trips! Just a few sore muscles from the 6 mile bike ride:)