All the Sun For You

A mom, two boys, a husband, and a whole lot of adventure!

Monthly Archives: September 2014


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A Visit

I had a dream a couple of weeks ago that was very special, and brought me much peace.

I’ve handled the passing of my (favorite) kitty, Lily, better than I thought I would. I miss her every day, but I know we did the best for her always. When I went in to pick up her ashes, Dr. D pulled me aside to tell me that he truly felt that there was more going on with her than the thyroid tumor, and he was confident that surgery would not have given us more time, and easily could have shortened our time given her frailty. After hearing that, I let go of the guilt I’d been carrying about not opting for the surgery. I swear, when I walked into the house that day with her ashes in my arms, I felt her presence float away. Corny, I know. But I felt it.

I think of Lily every single day. I miss her every day. Months later, if I think too long about her, I’ll tear up and cry. Most days, I think of her swiftly to avoid the tears. I give longer snuggles to Jackson, Lily’s trusty companion, and I seek little Janie out more because I know she still misses her sister. Spending time with them is, in a way, spending time with Lily.

A few weeks ago, I had a very vivid dream. I woke up in tears, but happy tears. I dreamt that I was with my dad and Hottie, hanging out and chatting. All of a sudden, Lily sauntered in. We all knew that she was gone, and that this was a special visit.

“I think that’s Lily,” I whispered.

“It sure looks like Lily,” said my dad.

“Oh, that’s definitely Lily,” Hottie said.

I wanted to pet her, but was afraid she’d disappear, or worse, I’d wake up from this dream. Hottie encouraged me to pet her, he said she wanted love from her mom.

So I knelt down and pet her. I sunk my hand into her chinchilla fur.

I could literally FEEL her. I could hear her purring. I could feel her eyes burning into mine as I rubbed her and buried my face into her belly.

Slowly, we went from being on the floor to being in bed, with Lily under the covers as I rubbed her and loved her. And slowly, she faded away under the covers.

I woke up, rubbing the mattress, just as the dream ended.

I truly believe that Lily visited me in my dream that night. She came for that one last sleep that we never got to have together. She is such a good, loving girl.

(The gal who cared for Lily when we’d leave town asked me to stop by for a visit. I just left, with this special gift in hand. Tears all over again for my Lily girl.)


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Fitness Stat-urday – Week 3

Starting Statistics on 08/30/2014

  • Weight:  155 Pounds (took 0.6 pounds off during my stabilizing week)
  • Body Fat %:  25.1% (took 0.7% off during my stabilizing week)
  • BMI:  24.3
  • Predicted Weight from MyFit.nessP.al:  140 Pounds (targeting 1.5 pounds per week)

Goals for the Next 10 Weeks (Ending 11/08/2014)

  • Weight:  142.6 Pounds
  • Body Fat %:  22.1%
  • BMI:  22.3
  • Push-ups:  90
  • Sit-ups:  53
  • Mile Run Time:  7:26

Week Ending 09/27/2014

  • Week 3 Statistics
    • Weight: 151 Pounds
    • Pounds Lost or Gained:  0.8 Pounds lost
    • Body Fat %:  24.4%
    • Body Fat % Lost or Gained:  1.0%
    • BMI: 23.6
    • Workout Days (goal is 6 days):  6 Days
    • Time Spent Being Active:   7 Hours  15 Minutes
    • Average Number of Steps Per Day:  15,685
  • Food:  Hottie is out of town until late Thursday night.  I’m not expecting to cook much – I’m feeling quite tired this week.
    • Sunday – No real dinner (sick baby, things to get done before Hottie leaves town for the entire week, laundry from a puking kid, etc.)
    • Monday – Yogurt and an iced chai (I know, I know)
    • Tuesday – Chi.ck-Fil-A grilled nuggets and fruit bowl (and a cupcake – Jesus!)
    • Wednesday – Yogurt, oatmeal, and an iced chai (I was desperate)
    • Thursday – Margherita pizza, roasted Brussels sprouts, grilled corn
    • Friday – Pork and apple sliders
    • Saturday – Cheese fondue – yes – cheese fondue!
  • Exercise/Activity:  With Hottie out of town this week, it’s going to be hard to get morning runs in.  I’m planning on tackling this by running with Bryson while Matthew is at school.  Of course – Bryson is sick so maybe this won’t happen.
    • Sunday – Mowed the lawn (32 minutes) – 14,000 Steps
    • Monday – INSAN.ITY (43 minutes), walk around neighborhood (37 minutes) – 16,400 Steps
    • Tuesday – Morning run (42 minutes), morning walk (57 minutes)- 22,000 Steps
    • Wednesday – INSAN.ITY and KB (47 minutes), Bodypump (43 minutes), track walk (15 minutes) – 15,300 Steps
    • Thursday – INSAN.ITY and KB (47 minutes)- 14,300 Steps
    • Friday – Morning run (44 minutes), walking (29 minutes)- 20,800 Steps
    • Saturday – NONE – So Sick!- 7,000 Steps
  • Notes and findings: 
    • I have a serious sweet tooth this week – SERIOUS.  I need to stop indulging it no matter how many calories I burn in the day.
    • Running with Bryson while Matthew is in school is working out quite well.  I need to plan on that at least 1 of the school days each week.
    • I’ve come to realize that I just cannot put my kids in daycare at the Y unless it’s really necessary (meaning Tuesday nights for INSAN.ITY, Thursday morning for HEAT if Bryson isn’t napping, Friday nights for swim lessons, and other random times that I just need ‘me time.”).  I don’t want to dump Bryson there without Matthew Mon-Wed because that’s supposed to be our special time together, and I can’t justify putting Matthew in there Mon-Wed after going to school all morning.  I can get behind 3 sessions a week per child, but not more than that.  It just doesn’t feel right to me (but that is just me – no judgment if it feels right to you!).
    • The double nap is working out so well for me!  I am doing some KILLER workouts in my garage while the kids nap – and I’m going longer and harder than I would in a class at the Y.
    • Cross training is ESSENTIAL for me.  When I only did kickboxing, I plateaued.  When I only ran, my body always felt a little broken.  Now that I’m doing INSA.NITY, running, kickboxing, and weights – all within the same week – my body is getting rest where and when needed and I’m shocking it a pit, helping to keep the inevitable plateau at bay!
    • This week is shaping up to be a very productive one, and I did not expect that.  I feel motivated!
    • I am super thrilled to be in the 24.X percents for body fat, but do know that I could bounce back up to the 25’s easily enough.
    • I got a terrible chest cold at the end of the week, and spent much of Saturday sleeping and resting.  I hated taking a day off, but it was for the best.

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Fitness Stat-urday – Week 2 + 1

Starting Statistics on 08/30/2014

  • Weight:  155 Pounds (took 0.6 pounds off during my stabilizing week)
  • Body Fat %:  25.1% (took 0.7% off during my stabilizing week)
  • BMI:  24.3
  • Predicted Weight from MyFit.nessP.al:  140 Pounds (targeting 1.5 pounds per week)

Goals for the Next 10 Weeks (Ending 11/08/2014)

  • Weight:  142.6 Pounds
  • Body Fat %:  22.1%
  • BMI:  22.3
  • Push-ups:  90
  • Sit-ups:  53
  • Mile Run Time:  7:26

Week Ending 09/20/2014

  • Week 2+1 Statistics
    • Weight:  151.8 Pounds
    • Pounds Lost or Gained:  1.8 Pounds lost
    • Body Fat %:  25.4%
    • Body Fat % Lost or Gained:  0.8% gained
    • BMI: 23.8
    • Workout Days (goal is 6 days):  6 Days
    • Time Spent Being Active:  7 Hours 02 Minutes
    • Average Number of Steps Per Day:  16,100
  • Food:  After coming home from vacation, it’s time to get back on the healthy food bandwagon.  When we cook at home, the rule is still paleo – ALWAYS.  We don’t bring grains or potatoes or any processed foods into our house.  When we eat out, we eat paleo 50% of the time – and try to keep the non-50% as healthy as the menu allows.  The kids eat paleo at all times – when eating in or out.  Actually – they eat paleo 100% of the time unless Bryson is teething something fierce and needs crusty bread to gnaw on.
    • Sunday – Chip.otle dinner – because the kids love it and we love them!
    • Monday – Shrimp tacos and French onion soup out (so NOT paleo)
    • Tuesday – Rotisserie chicken breast and peas
    • Wednesday – Paleo chicken non-tortilla soup
    • Thursday – Coconut corn chowder with shrimp (NOT paleo  but it is our only sweet corn all year!) – I subbed heavy whipping cream for 1/2 of the 2 cups of milk, I used 2% milk (they don’t specify), I added dried parsley and paprika, I sautéed up 10 shrimp to toss in at the very end, and I used an emersion blender instead of my food processor.  It was EXCELLENT!  Oh – and we topped it off with a touch of sour cream when we served it.
    • Friday – Pan.era soup and salad
    • Saturday – Dinner at my folks’ (beef tenderloin is all I know so far)!
  • Exercise/Activity: Back at it and working at a very intense level.  A quick note – I won the steps challenge I was randomly put in by Garm.in last week, and that included this Sunday’s all-time low of 10,000 steps (challenges run Mon-Sun).  That was pretty exciting (not really).
    • Sunday – None – travel day- 10,000 Steps
    • Monday – Morning run (43 minutes), mowed the lawn (40 minutes) – 18,600 Steps
    • Tuesday – Morning walk (106 minutes), INSAN.ITY class (40 minutes) – 24,000 Steps
    • Wednesday – Kickboxing (40 minutes) – 14,400 Steps
    • Thursday – Evening run (33 minutes), walk (13 minutes) – 16,500 Steps
    • Friday – INSAN.ITY at home (47 minutes), walk (25 minutes) – 16,000 Steps
    • Saturday – Afternoon walk (35 minutes)- 13,200 Steps
  • Notes and findings: 
    • It was time for new running shoes – my ankles and knees are killing me.  I found my $160 Asi.cs for $90 at Ama.zon.  WIN!  The new running shoes are so nice – totally worth the $160 I didn’t pay for them!  I would pay full price in the future if I had to – they’re that great!
    • Matthew was having a hell of a time falling asleep for his nap on Thursday, which meant I couldn’t go out to the garage and kick and hit the bag (it’s super loud).  I really wanted to workout though, so I started the interval timer and led myself through an INSAN.ITY workout that I remembered from the class at the Y.  I’ll do that again – it was quiet, still got my aggressions out, and burned over 500 calories in 47 minutes.  And let me just note that that interval timer is the gift to myself that keeps on giving!
    • I gained 0.8% body fat, which makes sense given I lifted no weights this week and the adjustment back from vacation.  25.4% is a rather realistic number for how I look right now, so I like it better than the lower numbers from before that gave me false confidence.    I feel like this is a “corrected” number from the change to athlete mode on the fat monitor, the change in how I hold the fat monitor, and a return from vacation.
    • Wow – 1.8 pounds shed over my pre-vacation weight – I could not be happier with this +1 week to get back to where I was before we left town.  I’m actually where I wanted to be (152 pounds) at the end of week 3, but I’ll keep the +1 week because of the body fat correction.

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Success On Many Fronts

We’re home from our trip.

There is so much to say about our time away:

I cried in the driveway but never again, I SPENT HOURS AND HOURS PUMPING WITH A PLUGGED DUCT, we ate like fools (and kings), WE WALKED EVERYWHERE, the festival made us feel old and off our games, WE MET UP WITH OUR FUN FRIENDS 3 OF THE 4 DAYS THERE, Bryson got very sick with a nasty fever and vomiting but recovered after 2 days, BOTH BOYS DID JUST FINE WITHOUT US, my in-laws were exhausted when we got home, WE ABSOLUTELY LOVE THAT PART OF COLORADO, we had the time of our lives together, I “DONATED” MY PUMPED MILK AFTER BEING DISTRAUGHT OVER DUMPING 11 OUNCES DOWN THE DRAIN, Bryson did not wean himself one bit while I was gone (yay!), WE ALMOST FORGOT TO CALL HOME ON SATURDAY, neither of us slept well at all, WE’RE READY TO TAKE ANOTHER TRIP WITHOUT THE BOYS, we fell in love all over again.

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Fitness Stat-urday – Week 2

Starting Statistics on 08/30/2014

  • Weight:  155 Pounds (took 0.6 pounds off during my stabilizing week)
  • Body Fat %:  25.1% (took 0.7% off during my stabilizing week)
  • BMI:  24.3
  • Predicted Weight from MyFit.nessP.al:  140 Pounds (targeting 1.5 pounds per week)

Goals for the Next 10 Weeks (Ending 11/08/2014)

  • Weight:  142.6 Pounds
  • Body Fat %:  22.1%
  • BMI:  22.3
  • Push-ups:  90
  • Sit-ups:  53
  • Mile Run Time:  7:26

Week Ending 09/11/2014 (the week ended early due to vacation)

  • Week 2 Statistics
    • Weight: 153.6 Pounds
    • Pounds Lost or Gained:  1.4 Pounds Lost
    • Body Fat %:  24.6%
    • Body Fat % Lost or Gained:  0.1% Lost
    • BMI: 24
    • Workout Days (goal is 6 days):  7 Days
    • Time Spent Being Active:  8 Hours 15 Minutes
    • Average Number of Steps Per Day:  17,328 Steps
  • Food:  This week was tricky since we headed out of town (sans kids!) on Thursday.  Dinner reservations were made without concern to the menu and being Paleo.  We were hoping to do lots of walking, to hopefully balance everything out in the end.
    • Sunday – Soccer night = easy dinner = pizza out (thin crust veggie)
    • Monday – Dinner out consisting of a fabulous Paleo salad
    • Tuesday – Pear and Ground Pork Stuffed Winter Squash
    • Wednesday – Meatballs and Carrots
    • Thursday – VACATION
    • Friday – VACATION
    • Saturday – VACATION
  • Exercise/Activity: I have found some group fitness classes at our resort in Teluride that I plan to attend (and drag Hottie to with me).  We solely depended on lots of walking to keep us active, but as expected, these numbers did go down this week (except for the amount of steps!).
    • Sunday – Mowing the lawn and some yard work (40 minutes) – 10,800 Steps
    • Monday – Morning run (43 minutes), strength training (42 minutes) – 18,100 Steps
    • Tuesday – Morning run (44 minutes), INSANITY (37 minutes), walking (11 minutes) – 22,000 Steps
    • Wednesday- Morning run (52 minutes) – 19,000 Steps
    • Thursday- Morning run (46 minutes) – 16,000 Steps
    • Friday- Hours of walking (90 minutes) – 18,200 Steps
    • Saturday- Hours of walking (90 minutes) – 17,200 Steps
  • Notes and findings: 
    • So I’m running in the mornings now.  I really enjoy it!  Bryson and I go out as the sun comes up and get 3+ miles in whenever the weather cooperates.  I don’t have a set running schedule, and I’m not trying to become a fast runner.  I just want to get out there and do it!
    • Because we’re heading out of town without the kids on Thursday, I don’t want to drag them to the Y every day.  They need time with Mom and Dad before the big departure.  I’m counting on my running, one class at the Y, walking with Bryson while Matthew’s in school, resistance bands at home, and our KB bag to keep me active and productive!
    • We ate dinner before INSANITY on Tuesday and that was a mistake.  Tuesday is now soup night and we’ll eat after class.
    • All stats are from Thursday, 09/11/2014, because I didn’t have access to scales or body fat measurements while in Telluride
    • I did weigh myself after coming home and vacation cost me only 1.8 pounds – not awful!
    • I am adding a week to this little challenge of mine to give myself next week to recover and bounce back from vacation – next week’s post will be considered Week 2+1

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So… We’re Going

Something big is happening tomorrow.  It’s something I’ve avoided for a VERY long time.  It’s something I’ve come up with every excuse in the book to avoid.  It’s something that has made me feel very uncomfortable just thinking about.

We’re leaving the boys for the first time EVER to go on a trip out-of-town together (I specify “out-of-town” because we did a practice night three weeks ago and we stayed in a hotel downtown).

We need this trip – we’ve needed it since Matthew was probably a year old.  Hell, his pediatrician told us that we had to leave him for an overnight trip for at least 2 nights before he turned 1.  We didn’t listen.  He wasn’t sleeping through the night, he wasn’t weaned, he needed me too much.  Now, Bryson is JUST sleeping through the night, he isn’t weaned, and he needs me too much.

Someone is always going to be having problems sleeping, and someone is always going to need me too much (or so I think).

So… we’re going.

We’re even getting on a plane – two of them, in fact, to get there and then back again.  I used to be a nervous flyer but I’m not so much after living in Chicago for 4 years and having no car to get from Illinois back to Iowa to see my family.  I flew all the time and it took the edge off, because it just had to.  But now with kids – kids I’m leaving behind in the care of their grandparents – I’m a little nervous.

I’m really not that nervous… I’m more nervous about Bryson not being weaned and the hell my mother-in-law will pay for that.  And I’m more nervous that Matthew will get over-excited and they’ll never want to watch the kids again for us.  And I’m more nervous that I’ll come home to a messy house like when Bryson was born (MIL does not pick up the things she gets out) that will need at least 5 hours of my time to get back to normal.  And I’m more nervous that the milk cups and straws won’t get washed well enough each night before being used again.  And I’m more nervous that Bryson’s sleep is going to go to complete and total shit.  But with all that said, I’m still a little nervous about flying without the kids.

****

We got our wills done.  They’re written, signed, notarized, and on their way to the safe deposit box tomorrow morning.  We selected guardians when Matthew was born but just never got around to asking my dad to do the formal wills.  They’re done now, and that brings me much peace.  My dad is a very responsible attorney who has our affairs in perfect order, so I know that if something would happen, the kids are going to be taken care of and swiftly.  There would be no, “we’re not sure what to do’s” because the man does this for his clients all the time.  The only issue is that he’s not thrilled with our guardian selection, because they’re staunch democrats.  HA!

****

All of this travel and will talk makes me think about life insurance, and the fact that we need more on Hottie, specifically, now that Bryson is here.  That’s now on my list for the fall.  But we may be having a third baby if all works out, so maybe we should shelve that for the spring/summer.

No… this fall.

****

Everything is going to be fine.  Matthew is going to have a great time and he’ll be an angel (or a devil disguised as one).  Bryson is going to sleep well because no one in the house will be able to assist him with boobs.  Both boys will eat well because I’ve got all three nights of meals and leftovers for lunch mapped out.  We will be fine because, as we all know, our chances of dying in a plane crash are nothing compared to driving on the road.  My in-laws are probably the ones who are going to suffer in this whole situation… but they signed up for this and they know what they’re possibly getting into.  And the fact that we have notarized wills almost ensures that everything will be OK – because the universe messes with the people who don’t plan ahead – and I’m not one of them!

 


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Fitness Stat-urday – Week 1

Starting Statistics on 08/30/2014

  • Weight:  155 Pounds (took 0.6 pounds off during my stabilizing week)
  • Body Fat %:  25.1% (took 0.7% off during my stabilizing week)
  • BMI:  24.3
  • Predicted Weight from MyFit.nessP.al:  140 Pounds (targeting 1.5 pounds per week)

Goals for the Next 10 Weeks (Ending 11/08/2014)

  • Weight:  142.6 Pounds
  • Body Fat %:  22.1%
  • BMI:  22.3
  • Push-ups:  90
  • Sit-ups:  53
  • Mile Run Time:  7:26

 

Week Ending 09/06/2014

  • Week 1 Statistics
    • Weight:  155 Pounds
    • Pounds Lost or Gained:  +-0 Pounds
    • Body Fat %:  24.7%
    • Body Fat % Lost or Gained:  0.4% Lost
    • BMI: 24.3
    • Workout Days (goal is 6 days):  7 Days
    • Time Spent Being Active:  12 Hours 17 Minutes
    • Average Number of Steps Per Day: 15,685
  • Food:  We started the week off pretty well, back to our Paleo lifestyle (with the exception of breakfast on Sunday because, well, it was Sunday breakfast!).  I’ve had a strange desire for chai lattes lately and really need to kick that habit (330 calories each with TONS of sugar = NOT OK).  They’re just so good!  Back to cooking on Monday and holy hell did I miss that.  I’m serious!  We kicked the week off with one of our favorite recipes and it was, once again, terrific!
    • Sunday – Fiesta Chicken Soup
    • Monday – Curry Bison Sliders and Curry Cauliflower
    • Tuesday – Shrimp in Horseradish Mustard Sauce and Peas
    • Wednesday – Pork and Apple Sliders with Maple-Buttered Brussels Sprouts
    • Thursday – Greek Chicken with Roasted Carrots
    • Friday – Pan.era Caesar Salad and French Onion Soup
    • Saturday – Date Night!
  • Exercise/Activity:
    • Sunday – Lots of yard work – mowing, trimming, bagging (95 minutes) – 12,600 Steps
    • Monday – Family bike ride (60 minutes), weight lifting and abs (20 minutes), yard work (80 minutes) – 12,600 Steps
    • Tuesday – INSANITY class (40 minutes), walking (10 minutes) – 13,700 Steps
    • Wednesday – Bodypump class (43 minutes), walking (73 minutes) – 19,000 Steps
    • Thursday – Jogged 3.4 miles (41 minutes), yard work (25 minutes) – 18,000 Steps
    • Friday – KB Bags (46 minutes), walking (57 minutes), weights (10 minutes) – 17,800 Steps
    • Saturday – Adventure Triathlon (kayaking 37 minutes, biking 68 minutes, running 43 minutes) – 16,100 Steps
  • Notes and findings: 
    • I am so happy to be cooking again!  When Hottie is out of town, there really is no reason for me to slave over a meal that only I’ll truly enjoy, so we eat out a lot.  I was so relaxed chopping veggies, shopping for the week, and preparing fun meals once again.
    • I’m finding that the lattes are killing me – and they have to go.  When you add them up, they’re totaling 1200-1500 calories a week and that’s just not OK.  Those are calories that I wouldn’t consume otherwise, so they really make no sense.  I didn’t have a coffee drink of any kind on Thursday and I felt great about it!
    • I can feel myself getting stronger and stronger, and my weight isn’t changing and that’s being reflected in my body fat % loss this week – 0.4%.
    • I switched the body fat monitor to athlete mode given my level of activity for the last 12 weeks.  I had the dip in body fat in both modes (normal and athlete) because I corrected how I’m holding the body fat monitor (I knew they were doing it wrong at the gym, but I changed how I did it so it would reflect the same numbers that they had.  I’m back to doing it correctly).  Holding it correctly and switching to athlete mode got the same result as normal mode being held wrong.  It’s a wash!

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2:28.5

Hottie and I did our adventure tri today! 2.5 miles of kayaking, 11.5 miles of biking (9+ of which were gravel roads), and 3.5 miles of trail running. My step counter put the run at 4.6 miles – which it felt like. Ha! We finished together in 2:28.5. We’re quite pleased with that!

We didn’t finish last, which is always my fear, and we came in behind a pretty competitive dude just 2 minutes later. It was respectable!

Oh, and we won our division. We won before we started… We were the only coed team. It’s nice starting the race knowing you’ve already won! Our winnings were substantial – $100! We’ve never won prize money before. It was exciting!