15 Thing Friday

1. Song obsession of the moment:

2. My headphones broke. Again. I'm so mad. So, I went to my back-up, half broken (aka: only 1 ear works, the volume doesn't go up, etc.) stash and found this disaster.

Took me like 20 minutes to get it all untangled. SO mad.

 

 

3. Take my advice. Skip this . 

I love banana flavored anything. Banana pudding- love. Banana Laffy Taffy's- LOVE. This yogurt- do NOT love. Ew. Skip it.


4. This article. Hahaha. Buzzfeeed, you never disappoint.

5. Let's talk some celebrity fashion. Good news first?

(source)

Blake Lively. Love the dress. Different, but not TOO different. Love the metallic color and the fit/shape. Love the big statement necklace too. Love, love, love.

 

 

 6. The bad news:

(source)

Now, I love me some Jennifer Lawrence. I think she's hysterical and super likeable. However. BIG however. WTF, Jennifer? Seriously. The pants, the shirt, even the sunglasses... I mean... HUH??? I just don't get it.

 

7. So, my knee.

It's been a whiney, little bitch lately. Ok, more than a little bitch. A big, giant bitch. Hurts basically all the time. Walking, standing-- HURTS. I tried to ignore it. I even gave it a WHOLE week run-free. Still hurts.

 

 

8. Because of #7, me and this guy are BFF's lately again. At least we have been for 2 days. It should TOTALLY already be working, right???

Oh, foam roller, how I haven't missed you. Even a little.

 

9. Remember how I'm preggo, right?? Well, this happened the other day.

Silly, Hubs. Expecting a preggo woman to have leftovers. Silly, silly man.


10. Speaking of preggo.... I got this DVD for free!

Free!!! I'm planning to try it this weekend. We all know, yoga's not really my thing... but, I'm gonna try. Really. <Someone hold me accountable, ok??>


11. Sadie picture, because looking at that face has gotta make your Friday a little better.

12. Speaking of Friday... I have to work today. BOOOOOOO!!!!! Everyone I know has off and here I am. Stuck in the office. BOOOOOOO.


13. Even WORSE about working this Friday.... Gym #1 is closed, even though the University is open. Add that to the Con list for Gym 1. And, no, I still haven't decided what to do.


14. Started watching New Girl a few weeks ago... I HATED the first episode, but was on the elliptical, so gave episode #2 a try and now, I'm HOOKED. Love it.

15. Ok, ok-- so this is about the day before a holiday... but, I think it has a nice ring to it if it were about the day AFTER a holiday... like today.

(source)

To quit or not to quit???

Guys. I need help. Maybe by the end of this someone can just tell me what to do? That'll be great. Thanks.

So, I can't make decisions. Like, about anything right now. The Hubs pretty much always picks where we go for dinner when we go out, what movies to see at the theater or from RedBox (though usually, I go through and say- Ok, I'd see one of these 4 and he picks from there). The other night I could not decide what I wanted for dinner and ended up having mac and cheese and min-chicken wontons just because I couldn't decide between the two. Yes, I am weird. Lately, I've had a hard time even deciding what to wear in the mornings. Don't even get me started on Baby T's name. Woah. I can't even think about that decision without getting heart palpitations. Seriously.

Ok, so you get it. I suck at making decisions lately.

Well, I have a decision to make. You knew that was coming, right?

I currently belong to two gyms. Yes, I know that's more than a little ridiculous. Yes, it drives the Hubs a lil' crazy.

Gym 1 is the gym at work. I work at a university, which obviously has a gym for the students. Well, they let us old folk (aka: staff and faculty) use it too. It's not HUGE, but has the basics-- ellipticals weights, treadmills, etc. It costs $10/month for me to use it. AKA = CHEAP.

Gym 1's Cardio area... see-- lots's of treadmills and there's a bunch of elliptical's you can't see behind the TM's

Gym 2 is a private gym. It's a pretty good facility with lots of cardio machines, great group classes (though all my favorite teachers have recently quit). It's PRICEY, at about $45/month.

Gym 2's group exercise room, all set up for Signature Strength

I never thought about giving up Gym 2, because I LOVE group classes and Gym 1's group classes were an additional $2/class. Way back when, I was going to 4 classes a week MINIMUM. That's an extra $8/week, which would have added an extra $32/month. For that, I could go to gym 2, which had a higher quality of group classes anyway. Easy decision.

Well, of COURSE gym 1 would throw a curve ball at me, in email form...

An unlimited pass changes a LOT. Especially when just $60/year! That would make Gym 1 just $15/month, while Gym 2 is still $45/month. That's $360/year difference. That's SIGNIFICANT in my book.

So, what to do??? Do I quit gym 2 and get the pass for gym 1??? I'm TORN.

Here's some pro's/con's (because that's how I roll):

Pro's on Gym 1:
-it has an indoor track, which is WAAAAY better than a treadmill. Gym 2 doesn't have an indoor track. 

-it has WiFi, so I can watch Netflix Instant on my iPad. Gym 2 has personal TV's at each cardio machine, but I can only connect to their shotty WiFi at ONE treadmill. And, their TV's kinda suck, only 1/2 work and they only get like 3 stations.
-it's at work, so it's SO easy to get a quick workout in at lunch. Plus, I don't have to travel to/from, as I'm already there.
-CHEAP!!! WAY cheaper than gym 2.
-Gym1 now offers group classes M-Th at 5:30pm, so I could go straight from work. They have a nice mix of classes too.
-It's a little closer to home than gym 2, so I'd save on gas on days I do specially drive just to go to the gym!

Con's of Gym 1:
-their hours aren't great (M-Fri: 6:30am to 8pm-ish, Sat: 9am to 1pm-ish, Sun: ?? Over the summer it's CLOSED). Like I said, it's a small school, so the hours reflect their need, which is different than a lot of school gyms. There'd be no more morning workouts, which would be WAY different, even though lately I'm not getting too many morning workouts in anyway.
-no "community" feel. Gym 1 has a GREAT group of people who go pretty much every morning. They're like my gym family. I'd REALLY miss them.
-quality of group classes not as high as gym 2. I went to a few group classes at gym 1 before joining gym 2, and I never got as good of a workout from gym 1's classes. Now, right now (all preggo and all) that'd be OK.
-it's at work, so sometimes I see students when changing and that can get awkward (just being honest)

Another factor to consider... I can't suspend my Gym 2 membership when I have Baby T. While I hope to workout up to birth basically, if I can't and/or after delivery when I'm on doctor's orders to not workout for several weeks, I can't get a temp leave pass and not pay. I can at Gym 1, as it's a by-month membership (though the $60 yearly pass will still be active and I can't get a prorated rate or anything on that).

And another... Gym 1 doesn't offer childcare options at all. Gym 2 does... but, at an ADDITIONAL fee and with REALLY crummy hours that I likely wouldn't be able to utilize anyway. So, post-baby I was planning on dropping Gym 2 anyway and likely getting a YMCA membership, which is about the same money, but has child care included.

So, someone tell me what to do, ok?? Right now, I'm leaning pretty heavily toward dropping gym 2. Right now, I'm averaging getting to gym 2 about 3 times/week. I get to gym 1 about 5 times/week, but could easily increase that to 6 if I went on the weekend instead of going to gym 2. It just seems like the most logical thing to do... but, I can't decide!!!!! I have no idea what's stopping me from just doing it. Oh. Yeah I do. I SUCK AT MAKING DECISIONS.

So... who's gonna tell me what to do??? You?? :)

WIAW: 2nd Trimester Style

 

It's Wednesday!!! You know what that means... time for What I Ate Wednesday. Below are all my eats from Monday, July 1. I should warn, I've been HUNGRY lately. Like, marathon training style hungry. I make no apologies.

 

 

Breakfast: 8:45am

Greek yogurt and knock-off Special K. Take that handful and multiply it by like 12.

 

 

Lunch: 1pm

Grapes, carrots, and some brown rice with 1 TJ's spicy jalapeno chicken sausage link (all drenched in Siracha and soy sauce). Water to drink.


Snack: 3pm

Apparently lunch did NOTHING to hold me over, as my stomach was literally growling by 2:45pm. I thought I could make it to dinner. And then, I held out til 3. Whoops. Snack was a English muffin with crunchy PB and honey. Yum!


Dinner: 6pm

Yep. Classic mac and cheese. From a box. And, no-- it's not organic. Trust me, it was BEYOND delicious. Eating it on the couch while watching How I Met Your Mother re-runs and Sadie chilling in the background made it all the better.

 

 

Dessert: 7-8pm 

The Hubs surprised me by bringing how a box of one of my favorite candies-- DOTS! Yuuuum. Love them. I definitely ate about half of this ginormous box over the course of the evening. So good. 

Baby T: First Trimester

Well, now that the news is out-- here's some (more) details...

Top left, Week 4 ; Top right, Week 6 ; Bottom, Week 8

No bump at all. If you think you can see one, you can't... that's all me. :) And, yes- I realize it looks like I'm wearing the SAME outfit in all the pics... I'm not. I promise. I showed a pic of me right now-ish (at almost 15 weeks) last time.

Size of Baby: The baby grew from literally nothing (obviously) to the size of a poppy seed by week 4 to the size of a lemon by week 12. Currently, at week 15 it's the size of a iPhone. How crazy is that?!?! (And, yes- I know 15 weeks is out of the first trimester... these posts are late, obviously.)

Symptoms: I lucked out, I think! No real morning sickness to speak of until mid-week 6 and even then it was minimal-ish. Basically, I just started feeling like I was hung over. Every single day. Week 4-5 I had serious cramping... enough to call the doctor, but she assured me it was normal. The cramps were keeping me up at night and just made me feel like poo. Energy has been progesssively less and less. I felt pretty normal week 4, ok week 5, and exhausted by week 6. The exhaustion stuck around through the end of the first trimester, but I've recently started feeling way better and having my normal level of energy. Sleep (or lack there of) was easily my biggest symptom. It hasn't been great, even still... seems like at least 3 days a week I wake up at 2 or 3am and am up for at least an hour. ARGH! So frustrating because I'm TIRED, just can't SLEEP. I just bought one of those body pillows and that's helping a TON. Love that sucker.

Weight Gain:  Nothing significant really during the first trimester. Clothes are definitely fitting tighter. By the end of the first trimester, I was up 1-3 pounds, depending on what time of day I weigh myself. (Note: right now, at week 15, I'm up about 4.)

Workouts: Still happening for sure, but less intense and less frequent. Still trying to get a workout in about 6 days a week. The bean and I have now run 2 half marathons, 1 10K and 1 5K together, so that's exciting! Running is beginning to feel a little uncomfortable. I think I'm going to invest in a band and see how that works. I'd LOVE to run through the whole pregnancy, but if that can't happen, no biggie. There's plenty of other ways to get a workout in.

Food Aversions: Nothing new. Bacon still sounds unappetizing, but not as gross.

Food Cravings: Again, nothing crazy. I've been able to pretty much eat as normal. I did have a craving for red meat one night, which is odd for me as I'm more of a chicken girl. But, nothing too serious. I guess I'm boring!

Foods I'm Avoiding: The same-- caffeine (ok, I still steal the occasional sip from the Hubs, I admit it!), cold deli meat, soft unpasturized cheeses, sushi (though I never ate that before... yuck!)

Strech Marks: Geez! None... yet!

Movement: None yet... but I can't wait! :)

Sleep: Bleah. Sleep has been hit or miss. Some nights I am OUT, others I toss and turn ALL. NIGHT. LONG. Ohter nights, like I mentioned above, I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep for over an hour. Bleah. Overall, the bad-sleep nights are more common than the great-sleep nights. Booooo.

Random Thoughts: The Hubs and I started reading some pregnancy books.

Well, let me rephrase. I've started reading pregnancy books. He's started reading baby books. He's not super interested in the pregnancy or labor part... at least not yet. I think he'll do a little reading on it as it gets later in the pregnancy but for now he's reading all about how to care for babies. He's adorbale. Poor guy has never even changed a diaper. Ever. I worked one summer at a day care, so I feel a little more prepared for the baby part... though those babies were minimum 8-weeks old. Big difference. Still-- I'll stick to the pregnancy books for now and he'll cover the baby books. Team work, right?

Weekly Workout Recap (6/24-6/30)

Weekly Workout Recap (6/24-6/30):
Monday, 6.24.13: 70 minutes elliptical
Tuesday, 6.25.13: 30 minute strength session (arms and legs)
Wednesday, 6.26.13: Spinning and 10 minutes elliptical
Thursday, 6.27.13: 8-minute arms, 50 minutes elliptical, 2 mile walk
Friday, 6.28.13: 8-minute arms, 30 minutes elliptical, 3.5 mile walk
Saturday, 6.29.13: 60 minutes elliptical, 1.5 mile walk
Sunday, 6.30.13: Rest Day


Totals for Week (6/24-6/30):
0 miles run
1 Spinning class
0 Signature Strength class
9 miles walked
220 minutes elliptical
2 8-Minute Arms session
1 strength session


NO running??? Don't panic. I haven't given up running. My knee has been giving me some crazy problems lately... think back to post-marathon time. BOO. So, I decided 1 week full-no-running-rest was in order. Next week, I'll be back and hopefully the knee'll feel back to 100%. Here's hoping! :)

Baby T: The Details

So, now the secret's out! All the skipping of workouts, bleah moods, lack of posts (due most of the time to being just too tired to type and/or having a hard time explaining things without... well, explaining things!), and races dropped to a lower distance hopefully now make sense!

While I promise this blog won't turn into ALL BABIES ALL THE TIME, I can't not talk baby SOMEtimes. So, bare with me and another baby post.

Here's the basic details on Baby T:

How far along are you?
I'm almost 15 weeks along now, which puts us at the beginning of the 2nd trimester.

Really bad, i-Phone 14-week pics. I've JUST started noticing a little bump, especially at night.

Were you trying? When did you find out?
Yes! We started "trying" just after the marathon, so since October-- about 6 months. We had been married for a year at that point, and both knew it was time to start trying to expand our family.

I found out on Wednesday, April 10. I knew I COULD start testing a few days earlier, as my period was expected to start that Saturday. But, I also knew that every month before that I drove myself totally bat-shit crazy by starting to test too soon and constantly getting negative after negative. In fact, I was CONVINCED this month would be negative too, so I didn't take one. Wednesday morning I didn't go to the gym that morning and something got into me and I decided to just test then and get the negative over with. So, I peed in a cup and then used a Dollar Tree pregnancy test. I walked away and finished blow drying my hair. I was 100% sure it would be negative so I didn't even watch the test or set a timer or anything. After my hair was dry I went back into the bathroom to get something and looked down at the test sitting on the counter, just to confirm the negative. A SMALL, FAINT 2nd line was there. Or was it? I wasn't sure. It was SO faint, I thought I was hallucinating it. So, I did what any logical woman would do. I started chugging water and took another test, this time still a cheapy test, but a little nicer than the Dollar Tree one. Another line, less faint, but still not super strong. I started FREAKING OUT. Could this REALLY be happening?? NO WAY. So, I took ANOTHER test. A pricey + or - sign test. (Yes, we did have 3 different types of tests in our house... yes, I am crazy.) . A CLEAR and distinct + sign. WOOOOAH. I started crying and looking down at my belly. It's just the craziest feeling to KNOW something is growing inside of you for the the first time.  

What was your first reaction?
Absolute disbelief. Like, in my head we'd been trying for so long (in reality, it was REALLY not that long and I know that... now) and I'd gotten so used to NOT seeing a second line, I honestly couldn't believe it. I SWORE I was hallucinating. Which lead to the above explained OCD re-testing frenzy. When I finally believed it... I cried. It's just SUCH a surreal feeling to know, for the very first time, something-- a BABY, a PERSON-- is growing inside of you RIGHT AT THAT MOMENT. Totally an un-explainable, amazing feeling.

How did you tell the Hubs?
I knew I didn't want to tell the Hubs via text or phone and he was already gone for work, so I decided to wait til I got home that night to tell him.

Ok, so we've determined I'm crazy right? Well, the rest of the day I convinced myself the tests all showed false positives because I peed in a cup, then tested, instead of peeing right on the stick.  So, I bought another test (a REALLY nice one this time... one that would read "PREGNANT" or "NOT PREGNANT") on my way home from work. CRAZY. I know.

When I got home, I immediately raced upstairs "to change", as I told the Hubs. Yeah, really I was in the bathroom peeing on a stick. Directly on the stick. (When I later told the Hubs my worry about me taking the test by peeing in a cup first and being worried that messed it up he said "What-- did you think the CUP was pregnant?!?!") PREGNANT. Again. Still.

MONTHS earlier I ordered a Purdue onesie, wrapped it, and hid it in hopes of giving it to the Hubs when I found out. So, I went and grabbed that and then called the Hubs. He replied "yes, dear?" obviously annoyed that I was yelling at him from across the house. Love. I yelled at him to come here and when he came into the Den I handed him the wrapped gift and told him I found it when I was in the closet this morning and totally forgot I had gotten him it for valentines day and forgot to give it to him. He was mad because we agreed not to do valentines day gifts. Goof. So, he unwrapped it... and kinda stared at it. He said "awww!" but clearly didn't get it. I then handed him the test that read "pregnant" and he screamed "REALLY?!?!?" and gave me a HUGE hug. Lots of hugs and excitement filled the rest of our night. :)

When are you due?
December 17, 2013. Christmas time baby!

How are you feeling?
Meh... so-so. Definitely comes in waves. I had a TON of intense cramps at the beginning. Enough to make me call the doctor because I was worried. Doc said it was nothing to worry about and that cramps were normal, especially at beginning while body is adjusting and making room for the baby. Have had lots of gas too. HOT, I tell you. I haven't had TOO much morning sickness (I threw up twice in the first trimester) and my energy, while less, hasn't been TOO bad lately (though during the first trimester it was AWFUL. I was SO tired all. the. time.). Morning workouts are getting fewer in favor of extra sleep, but it's not like that didn't happen all too often before too. My biggest complaint has been lack of sleep. I wake up most nights at about 2am and have a hard time falling back asleep. And yes-- I know... great practice!

Will you find out the gender?
Abso-freaking-lutely. I legit do not understand how anyone can not find out.

Are you still working out? Have workouts changed?
Yup! I talked to the doctor and she gave me the all-clear to keep doing what I normally do, but just less intense. Basically, she said do what feels good and don't do something that feels bad or off. She said a general guideline is to keep the level at more of a comfortable level where I can easily carry on conversations. So, that's what I've done. I've been running, spinning, ellipticalling, and going to signature strength (though not doing the ab work). I'll keep running til it doesn't feel good and keep doing other things for as long as I can. I really want to stay active during pregnancy. I've read SO much about how great it is for the baby and labor and and definitely for recovery post-labor. But, if my body just isn't having it at some point, that's OK too. I'll listen to my body (and my doctor) first and foremost.

Thanks for the "Congrats on getting knocked up" gift, K!!

Any names picked out?
Nope, not yet! I don't think we'll really start talking names til we know gender. Even then, I don't think we'll pick-PICK til we see the lil' bean.

Have you heard a heartbeat?
Yep! Twice. Most amazing sound ever.

Any cravings?
Not really. One day in the first trimester all I could think about was a bagel and cream cheese. Another a cheeseburger. And, more recently cereal (think fruit loops, not some healthy Kashi brand or something). None of them have been SO STRONG I needed it RIGHT THEN or anything. But, I definitely did fulfill each of those cravings at some point. :)

Aversions?
Not really. Bacon (the smell, the idea, the look, anything) kinda grossed me out, but not to the point where I couldn't be around it without puking or anything. Hot coffee is more of a miss than a hit right now too.

What foods/drinks have you given up?
I'm not drinking any alcohol (obviously), cold deli meat, sushi (ew! no loss!) or soft un-pasteurized cheese. I've drastically limited my soda intake and will now only occasionally have a sprite or diet sprite. I also basically gave up caffeine. I'll steal sips from the Hubs diet pepsi every now and then, but those are few and far between, and that's it (ok, other than chocolate. Let's not go crazy.). I think that's about it! Thank goodness ice cream is still allowed...

So, that's that for now! Stay tuned for more updates and this lil' peanut keeps growing!

Did you pick up on the clues?

I have a confession.

I've been keeping a secret. Though, I'm sure I wasn't nearly as good at keeping the secret as I may have thought I was.

Have you picked up on the clues (note: not in chronological order, even a little... I'm way too lazy for that.)

Clue 1: Dropping down to the 10K from the 25K and the Grand Rapids Fifth Third Race in May.

Clue 2: Working out a little less.

Clue 3: Slowing down and suddenly not doing any speed workouts after being ALL about them for a while.

Before:

 

After:

Clue 4: Disappearing for a bit.



Ok... maybe there weren't a TON of clues... but, I think there may have been enough. So, without further ado... let's officially let the cat out of the bag...

 

 

Yep-- I've been...

Details coming soon... :)