Dogs vs Babies

So, X cries when he's not being held, which gets old.  But, the puppy keeps eating my sandals and won't listen to basic commands, which also gets old.  So really, at least with X, when you hold him, he stops.  The pup does not stop eating shoes, no matter how many toys you give him in place of said shoes.  My only hope is that they both outgrow this phase, the dog sooner rather than later.  Oh, and if he would stop peeing/pooping all over the house every time he gets scared, that would be great too. 
Now, having a newborn makes it hard to get to the gym, as you might imagine.  Sometimes we go for neighborhood walks, but this week especially has been extra hot.  90s - 100s the past few days, so I haven't been able to take X out.  Luckily, Ryan takes him at night so I get about an hour of baby free gym time.  Sometimes the family comes to visit and they will watch him in place too, but really, I've only gone to the gym maybe 3 - 4x.  I know, I know, it's only been 3.5 weeks since X was born, why do I even need to go to the gym that much, right?  Mostly because I do have a half-marathon to run/walk in October.  I certainly don't mind not running the whole thing, but I would like to be able to at least walk the parts I can't run.  And since I haven't really walked multiple miles since, maybe March, I need to at least get back some of that endurance.  So I go to the gym and walk 3 miles on the treadmill or elliptical.  On the treadmill I generally don't make the 3 miles in under half an hour because I'm not sure how fast I'm really supposed to be going before I get to my 6 week pp Dr. appointment.  On the elliptical, I go faster because it's easier, so I can at least make the 3 miles in just over 30 minutes.  So hey, 3 miles, only 10 more to go! Kidding.  I see no scenario where I would go 13 miles on either machine. I didn't do that when I was full on marathon training to cut down my time, no way am I doing it now.  The plus side to all this is that when X gets full head control, we can take the BOB out for longer runs, assuming everything isn't covered in snow and ice by that point.  Clearly that all depends on X, but at the very least, we'll be out running by next Spring, I hope!  Poor X doesn't know what he's in for.
I have given up on the step count for now, which might sound crazy to some people.  Here's the thing with that though.  There are a lot of activities I do that don't get recorded on my watch.  Cardio, weights, and pushing the stroller.  So even though I may have gotten my 30 - 45 minutes of activity in, my watch has only recorded 2,000 steps.  Now, I know that I've worked out and I know that I got my cardio in, so what's the point of checking the watch to have it tell me that I haven't?  Until they can make a good watch that records this activity without having to press a bunch of buttons, I'm passing o the step count.  Mostly I'm just trying to be aware of my activities and how many donuts I eat in a day. Anyways, X man is awake again, so it's time to go for now.  Enjoy these pictures of a cute baby and a doofy dog.  (Not the shoe-eater)

Bath time is the best time

I didn't think I needed a wrap, but then I bought one and found out how wrong I was. 

X's first Target trip.  He was not sure what to think about it

And a doofy dog

On the Other Side

It's been 11 days since we grew to a family of 3.  Those first few days were a little bit crazy, but, as with any change, we're learning how to adjust and making our way in this new world.  So obviously the last few weeks I haven't been doing too much working out, due to a giant belly getting in the way.  But now, he's on the outside and eventually, I have to get back into it.  Today, for example, I went to the gym and walked on the treadmill for 2 miles.  Now before you all freak out that it's too early, I took it very slow.  We're talking 20-minute miles.  Plus the Dr did say that I could walk, as long as I didn't go too hard.  So no running yet, but in a few more weeks, I'll hopefully get back up to that. 
In the meantime, it's a lot of work not doing anything but taking care of a newborn.  Obviously, babies require a lot of attention, but it's amazing how much time I spend sitting in the corner of the sofa feeding, pumping, or trying to get X to sleep.  I feel that the pumping is the most time consuming of all, but I'm not quite ready to quit trying to get him to nurse yet.  Ok, well, that's not true.  Most days, around 4/5 p.m. I am so ready to give it up, throw in the towel, and start making bottles.  But I haven't yet, because the LC at the hospital said to give it at least two weeks before giving it up, and we all know I ain't no quitter.  That being said, if we can't get a grip on this whole latching thing after our visit to the LC next Monday, then I might switch to formula. *GASP* *insert horrified mommy hating bloggers mean comments here*  Maybe I shouldn't give it up, but if this keeps up, the frustration between the two of us isn't worth the effort. 
Ryan, for his part, has done a great job as a father and a husband since X arrived.  He is everything you would want a partner to be when your entire life has suddenly changed and I am the luckiest for having him here.  That will make it a lot harder when he goes back to work full time and I'm here alone, so I guess there's a downside to that.  Hopefully, in the next couple weeks, we'll get it all figured out and him going back to work all day won't be such a problem anyways.  Until that happens though, it's nice to have a person to take the baby when he's extra upset, or when I just need a shower or a 20-minute nap.
So that's what we've been up to over here.  I'm sure working out and running is going to be completely different now, so be prepared for a much different type of blog from here on out.  Eventually, I hope to take X on longer runs in the BOB, but until he's old enough, I'm going to work on getting up to a certain amount of mileage again, and working on rebuilding leg and arm muscles.  If there's one thing I really let go during the last 3 months, it was muscle tone. 

The X man cometh

Unimpressed at 5 days old

40 weeks...he was really taking his time.

11 days post-partum. 

Step counts and crafts

I know that step counts alone don't determine your ability to gain or lose weight, but it is nice to hit those goals every now and again.  Of course, if you also eat two donuts for breakfast, Wendy's for lunch, and ? for dinner, obviously the step count means nothing, but that's how it goes sometimes.  Do I always eat two donuts for breakfast? Of course not. Do I always hit my step count? Most definitely not anymore.  I used too, once upon a time.  Then I lowered it.  And still, I don't hit it.  But, do I hit my 150 minutes of activity/week? Yes.  So, at least I still have that going for me!  All that will change soon though, my step count will be going back up to 12,000, and my workout activity minutes will be doubling again.   Sometimes you just have to take it easy and wait it out, without letting it get to you.  Although, I probably could give up the donuts in the meantime!
So tomorrow is the first day of August.  I feel like it's been July forever, but also, I mean, really, August already?!  Not that I have anything against August, except that it means back to school season picks up and soon enough it's actually time to go back.  In fact, I had a dream the other day that I went back and met one of my new classes for the year, and they were terrible! None of them wanted to follow the rules, sit in their assigned seats, or participate in class at all.  Ok, that's not crazy out of the ordinary, but generally speaking, for the first few weeks of school even the seniors are a least a little bit well behaved.  Usually, the freshman are the unruly ones and that dies down pretty quickly too if you get a handle on it fast enough.  Perhaps it's because I'm not going back in September, but rather after Thanksgiving break, which is making it worse.  They're going to spend their first quarter with a substitute, and then I have to come in and take over, resetting everything, even if the sub did follow the entire 3-inch binder of plans I left him/her at the end of the year.  I haven't heard yet who my sub is, so that's all up in the air, but I'm really hoping it's someone who at least wants to be a teacher, or has some experience, and not just someone who is looking to kill some time.  Generally speaking, subs who want to be teachers are more likely to follow the plans and enforce the rules, whereas those who are just looking to kill time are more likely to be friends with the class.  Really though, I probably shouldn't worry about that at all, since it's not my problem until November, and I really can't do much about it!
Enough about school though.  Today I had to remake a craft from earlier this month because Ryan and I decided that it looked too much like a scene from Blair Witch Project the way it was.  Before, it was five crocheted dolls hung on crossed sticks, hanging from the ceiling.  So we agreed that maybe it would look better as a round hanging, instead of crossed sticks.  Which meant I needed to go get hoops to decorate.  That part was easy enough though.  I just got floral hoops from Michael's, threw some paint and glitter on them, and sprayed them with Mod Podge acrylic sealer.  Hopefully, that prevents the glitter from falling off because no one wants to be constantly sprinkled in glitter!  I haven't transferred the dolls over yet, but the hoops look awesome.  They're supposed to resemble a galaxy and I think they really do.  In fact, I'd go so far as to say I really nailed the galaxy paint look.  Go me!  I can't wait to see what it looks like when everything is attached and it is rehung.  As long as it doesn't look like the Blair Witch anymore though, I'm good with that.

See.  So cool!  

Guess who's back, back again

Sure, it's been almost two years since a post, but you know how these things go.  There wasn't much left to talk about, I felt like the running posts were all getting repetitive anyways.  But there have been a lot of life changes since then, so I decided to resuscitate the blog to get back some accountability for the future.  In the next few weeks, I'll be back to running again and I think throwing it all out onto the internet will help motivate me to keep moving.  Or not. We'll see.
We're also in the market for a new gym routine, either back to Title, joining the Y, or just sticking with Planet Fitness.  Lately, I've just used online PopFitness videos, which, if you haven't used, are actually really good.  There are all sorts of workouts available, with modifications even, so you can do them in your living room.  I imagine it's like Beachbody on Demand, without having to pay a ton or invest in Shakeology.  So, if you're like me and you want good workouts without having to join Beachbody, I recommend PopFitness on Youtube.  Most of the time you don't need any equipment either, which is nice. 
So, I have about 2 weeks before I can consider getting back into running mode, and probably about 8 weeks before I can actually start running again at all.  Those dates are fluid but good estimates.  In an effort to make sure I do get back out there, I signed up for the Baystate Half in Lowell on October 21.  My goal is to run/walk the route, with as much running as possible.  But, the last time I ran a half or any type of distance over 5 miles was back in January at the Louisiana Marathon.  So, there's a short training time in there which means a DNF is also a real possibility.  That's ok though, as long as I have the starting line in mind for now. 
As a quick catch-up on the running, since August 2016 I've done the Disney Marathon, the Stone Cat Trail Marathon, and a handful of half marathons.  Disney was fun, but really cold, so I would love to go back and do that one again, preferably with better weather.  I'd actually like to do the Dopey Challenge but it's expensive.  Plus, the year I ran the full they had to cancel the half due to weather, so I'm not sure I'd want to invest all that time just to be disappointed.  Maybe someday though. 
Outside of the running, it's been two years, of course, things have changed around here.  As a teacher, I left behind elementary school and moved up to high school History, which is where I've always wanted to be.  I made it through my first year of that and enjoyed the change, so I'm glad I did that.  We went on some exciting trips, most notably to Switzerland last year and Belgium/the Netherlands this year.  Our little buddy Nala walked over the Rainbow Bridge earlier this year, in February, and just a few weeks ago, we got a new rescue puppy, straight off the streets of Jamaica.  He's a real cute pup, but he is scared of everything, so getting him to do much is still a struggle.  Stella is still here and going strong though, you can tell she's not thrilled about the introduction of a new friend.  I also had my last coaching season this year, at least for the time being.  Maybe in years to come, I'll go back to it, but for now, we're going to be too busy with other life events for me to have to worry about coaching track.  If you can guess what our new life event is, great for you, if not, stay tuned and you'll find out in a just a few short weeks! And with that, I think we're all caught up!

The new pup

Stella living her best life

On the canals in Amsterdam

Our last big run together and Ryan's first half!  It was cold!

Breakfast on the river in Zurich

Disney 2017.  Yes, I was freezing in that costume, but I made it, there's no way I wasn't wearing it!

Skipper

Well I guess I'm officially a Wednesday night Woods Run Skipper.  Today I had to go into school to get a bunch of stuff figured out for the new school year and by the time I was done there, I had no interest in hanging around until 6:30 waiting for a run to start. So I went to the gym and then scooted on home.  Maybe next week I'll make it back to the Woods again.  Time will tell.

I did go for a run yesterday, around Horn Pond for a change of scenery.  It wasn't a terrible run, but it is a small loop, so I did it twice, but we all know how I feel about loops.  If you've never been to Horn Pond, there's one path on the back side, near the golf course/water treatment plant that basically goes straight up.  It's about a quarter to a half mile long and it is seriously a hardcore climb.  Mostly because it's just steep and continuous.  Obviously to make my run worth more, I started on that side and made it to the top.  Unfortunately I was turned back by a Momma turkey and her little baby turkeys.  They were crossing the path and I"m not fool enough to mess with Momma birds.  So I turned right back around and ran down that path again.  On the second go around I attempted the top one more time, because it's a nice view, even when it's cloudy.  This time the turkeys were gone and I got my view.  Then I had to go back down the other side, which is much harder than it should be.  It's a rocky path/small cliff that goes down in the same way the other trail goes up.  Steep and continuous.  If I had to compare it to anything to give you a visual, it looks like a place where a river or small stream would cut through.  But I made it down and back onto the trail no problems.


At the end of the run, I managed 5 miles and some short extra workouts on the side.  Tomorrow I think I'm going to try and run around the park near our house.  It has some nice trails, but they all seem short.  I've never really explored back there though, so it's possible that there are longer trails off the main loop.  Otherwise there's always the workout circuit at Manning Forest.  Until then, I might have a picture from my run yesterday, so you can enjoy that you lucky ducks.

Made it to the top.

Surprise second picture!

Beer Bouquet

Have you ever had that someone in your life who you've known for their whole life, but just can't figure out what to get him/her for a gift anyways?  Recently I came upon this problem as I tried to figure out the perfect gift for my cousin who turned 30 this July.  I know what he likes and doesn't like, but I just couldn't figure out a gift that would be good enough for a thirtieth.  After a while, I decided that it couldn't be something bought, it would have to be made.  And I know that one of his favorite things in life is beer, of any variety.  Eventually I settled on making a beer bouquet.  Which is exactly what it sounds like.  Now, I could go into detail about how I made it, but honestly, it was a hard thing to put together and it would be hard for someone to recreate by following a bunch of steps.  Rather, I recommend taking the general idea from the pictures provided and running with it on your own.  Of course if you're extremely interested in the process, you can let me know and I'll come back with an update.  Or, if you really want one, but don't have the skills to make one, you can let me know and I'll be happy to make you one for a reasonable price! Until then, here are the pictures, good luck!

Seashell Wind Chime

Craft 1: Seashell wind chime.  Perhaps you know from a few years back that I created a simple summer centerpiece by painting a bunch of seashells and putting them in a square vase/jar.  Well, I've used this centerpiece for the past few years and I felt like the shells weren't working to their full potential, so I decided to repurpose them into something new.  I came up with the brilliant idea of a wind chime, and I have to say that it came out pretty good.  It was a basic project.  I got a wooden letter G from Michael's, drilled four holes in the bottom and one on the top for a hanger.  Then I took 12 shells of varying sizes and drilled holes in those.  Pro tip: when drilling through a shell, use a masonry bit, not a wood drill bit, it will break the wood ones.  Anyways, so after the holes were drilled, I attached one shell laying flat to the G.  This shell was the base for the rest of the chime.  I attached the smaller shells, two to a line, on the four ends of the base shell.  I also attached a larger shell to the middle, as sort of a buffer, and added two shells to the bottom of that as well.  All in all, it came out looking real cute, and it sounds pretty when the wind blows, so it's a win all over.  For the sake of the craft, I'm including these pictures here.

Materials: drill, drill bits, letter of your choice, shells, fishing line, and a pencil to mark your drill spots.

Drill spots marked

Holes drilled

Ready to be attached

Final product!