The day I ran my first race, a 5K, I saw the pictures afterwards and realized that I had gained quite a bit of weight since I got married, and I wasn't exactly diggin' it.
So, on April 25th, 2010, I started a diet. I limited my calories to a certain number each day, and continued running and working out 3 times a week.
My goal at the start was to lose 30 pounds by my birthday, September 24th. In July or August, I extended the deadline to the day of the 10K, October 30th, in a bid to lose more than 30. Hopefully 36.
Well team, it's over. I didn't lose all 36 pounds that I wanted to.
But I DID lose 32. :)
Here's me, 6 months ago, 176 lbs.
And here's me again, yesterday, 144 lbs. :D
No one is ever allowed to tell me that it can't be done, because I know darn well it can.
But man, it is SO nice to not be counting the calories in every single thing I eat. I am a little afraid that I'll just gain it all right back, but I think if I keep running and keep trying to curb my sweet tooth, I'll be alright.
Whoa. I totally ran 6.2 miles in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 55 seconds. It was wicked cool. And yes, I just said the words 'wicked cool.'
Honestly, it was so much fun. I was pretty much geeked and hyper the entire time we were out there. Well, except for maybe on that last hill, which was HUGE, and it's really mean of these people to always leave the nastiest hill for the last 10 minutes of the run.
But, I digress.
Sequential photos!
This is me and Candace not long after arriving at the race, the Teravista 'Hustle Your Bustle' 5K, 10K, and Kids' Run. It was super early. And dark. And cold. But we're still smiling!
Sadly, we didn't have bustles (we're gonna make some next year if we run it again), but we DID have some paparazzi taking pictures!!!
This is us waving to our constituency. Call me a sap, but I about started crying when Kenn and Nate and the kids saw us coming, and came over the hill yelling, and I heard 'Mommy! Mommy!' Gotta love a good support system. :D
Do we look like politicians??
Kenn took this shot while I was yelling at him to get Beckett out of the road before he literally got 'run' over.
Coming into the finish!!!
Bookin' it at the end! And everyone who'd already finished was standing there and cheered us across the finish line. Awesome. :)
Exhausted, and sweaty, but happy and proud of ourselves. And, of course, I'm rockin' my pink sweatband.
The cheer section got a little goofy by the end...
...so we stuck them in the kids' run last-minute. No, Caleb wasn't dressed for it, but he got a medal, and insisted that he won.
NOW they look tired! :)
And we still just look happy. And I love self-portraits! And I love my running buddy!
It was a pretty long road, but we did it, Candace! Thanks for pushing me!
And my tootsers...my darling tootsers...who willingly took care of the kids on Saturday mornings so Candace and I could go do our long runs, and who came and waited and watched and supported me all the way to this sweet, sweet day. I Love You, Kenn. :)
I'm ready for the half-marathon! let's get training!
And boy, it just kept coming!!! I'll try to break the pics into the different activities, and the video will be my grand finale. Yee-ha. :)
So first, we went to the Round Rock Fall Festival, which is for pre-schoolers and younger, and it was my first time taking the boys. They seemed to enjoy it, although getting Beckett into a costume at all was beyond difficult. He refused to wear his lion costume (which was actually falling off him anyways), and so then I tried a greaser/t-bird outfit, and when that didn't work I tried Caleb's Thomas costume from last year, and he wasn't having that either. So, Beckett ended up going to the fall fest as Charlie Brown, Caleb's costume from 2 years ago. I think he only allowed it because it was a t-shirt and shorts to him.
Oh well, he still looked cute. If only it hadn't been so windy and cold. :P
on the hay-ride
me and my boys :)
Superman Caleb
Charlie Brown Beckett
eating a yummy cookie that thankfully was dairy free! Go vegan people in Austin!
waiting to check out the fire truck
this is how Beckett self-soothes--thumb in mouth, and finger on nipple/belly-button. This time, it was the nipple. ugh.
Yay! Superheroes together! :)
And my 'shy' boy had NO problem letting a cool firefighter dude hold him for a picture. He loved it. :)
Beckett was on the fire truck, too, but I cut him out the picture because he picked that moment to have a meltdown.
Oh! And a photographer from the Round Rock Leader was at the Fall Fest, and took a pic of Caleb! It might've been in the paper yesterday, but we don't live in RR so we don't know. But here it is on their site!. :)
ON TO THE NEXT! :)
That same afternoon, we went to Kenn's Halloween work party that they do every year for the employees with kids. They have candy and games and arts and crafts and bouncey-things, and it's great. We always have a good time. :)
Caleb with Nigel, the N.I. company mascot
Beckett (finally got him in his lion costume! And he looked so cute!) hanging out, eatin' some candy
he has been completely hooked on suckers lately
STILL ANOTHER PARTY!!!
Friday night we went to the Ward Halloween party at church, and even mama got in on the costume action. But first things first...
FAVORITE pic of Beckett. He. Looks. Adorable. :)
Four tries, and this was the best face I could get from Caleb. ;)
Muahaha!!! Nobody recognized me at the party until I smiled or spoke! It was awesome!
"Dorothy?" "Lion?" "Why are they taking our picture?" "I don't know."
Candy!!!
Oh yah! STILL not done! Saturday night we went to our friend's The Howard's, and we ate baked potatoes with all kinds of stuff on them, and carved our pumpkins. Ours is the spider one in the back, on the right. Good job daddy. :)
Trying to get 5 kids to sit still with their pumpkins for a picture. It clearly worked soooo well. :P
Boy, we have been SOOOOO festive this Halloween. It's very unlike us, but I think the kids have been diggin' it.
It all started a few weeks ago, when we took the boys to get pumpkins. Now, there ARE actual pumpkin-patches where they're grown and you can drive out and wander through the field and find the perfect one. BUT, they take a while to drive to, and they cost a considerable amount more, so instead we just head on over to the local YMCA! Gotta love it.
Shorts, tees, and sandals in mid-October. I like this part of Texas. :)
I love this one of Beckett, he looks so grown up. :*)
hey mom, look at these pumpkins! Aren't they gr...
...Squirrel!!!
And then as if pumpkins weren't enough, we also made caramel apples. SOOOO delish! And before anyone says "i hope you made the caramel from scratch cause it's so much better (Karen!)" I know that's true, but sometimes there isn't time, and I didn't want to attempt it when I was already worried about any of it working in the first place. But hey, it was fun, and I'll go old-school next time.
They sure look excited about those. :)
Beckett is actually reaching for Caleb's apple, which we couldn't do with caramel (cause it's got milk in it, blast it all), so it's just peanut butter and then more peanuts. But he liked it all the same. :)
I don't know how other people do it, if they take pictures of their kid the day of the kid's first talk in church, but I thought I should. :)
Daddy helped him work on it (trans:--daddy wrote it and whispered it into Caleb's ear), but Caleb did great! He spoke very clearly, and added some great, dramatic emphases on a few words. The kid is hilarious. :) And just for future reference, the talk was on 'The mission of the church is to invite all to come unto Christ."
