Tired Tuesday

I didn't sleep well last night. I fell asleep initially, but later spent time in and out of light sleep listening to my husband and cat sleep. Fiona (the kitty) had tucked herself securely between my knees and I didn't bother her. Somehow Darren must have sensed my insomnia from across the house and was up (for the first time in weeks) for two hours. He also went in and out of sleep. Finally around 4:30 Darren and I got back to sleep.

My goodness was I tired today. As a result I strapped the kids into the double stroller earlier and performed my mile of alternating 1 min cardio walk and 5 mins jogging. My rational was that I would get to go to sleep earlier tonight. (Also was thinking maybe my intense strength train right before bed last night kept me from sleeping well.) It was another beautiful day and the jog was quick.

I feel pretty good, just have can't-keep-my-eyes-open tired. Also, Jeremy update: the crazy two year old is much better this week.

Now time for bed I said!

Here's hoping Darren feels like sleeping tonight.

It's Monday, Again!

I think this is the beginning of week 5.  WOW, that went pretty fast.  I feel good.  My arms are a little shaky like jello right now from my Monday strength workout.  Let me tell you quickly about what I did.

I LOVE Jillian Michaels workout DVDs.  The only thing with workout DVDs is you need a bunch of different ones so you can switch it up, or it can get a bit boring.  Other than that I have to say they are the most awesome DVDs I have come across.  Tonight I got out "No More Trouble Zones".  I chose it because it has circuits and you can pick the ones you want to do to piece together your own workout.

Tonight I wanted to target my upper body and quadriceps as much as possible.

I started with the warm-up; your typical marching in place, jumping jacks, arm circles...

Then I selected "Shoulder and Legs"...  Simultaneous arm workout with 3lb weights while performing lunges/squats.  (She goes through the circuit twice).

Then I selected "Thighs and Triceps"...  Also with the 3lb weights.  Targeting the back of the arms while holding lunge and squat type exercises. (twice like above)

I followed this up with the cool down.

By the end of this "quick" 20 minute workout I was sweating like crazy and quite worked over.  She really knows what she is doing.  I highly suggest this DVD.

phew.  To bed!

Sunny Sunday

The weather today was gorgeous!  I performed my long run in 70 degree full sun with a light breeze.  It really doesn't get much better than that.  Today I alternated 2 minutes of power walking and 4 minutes of jogging over the course of 3 miles.  I think my time ended up being exactly a 13 minute mile, even with the walking.  Not bad!?  I felt pretty good too.  The three miles went by really quick.  The terrain was even pretty hilly and it didn't bother me much at all.  Hopefully a good sign.

This was a very full weekend!  Looking forward to this week.  The weather forecast is starting to look much milder!

Settle Down Mama

Friday was rest day.  I purposefully didn't write last night because I think it would have been tainted by the not so good mood I was in.  Jeremy (the crazy terrible two animal) did NOT have a good day yesterday.  Therefore, Mama did not have a good day either.  I'm never sure if he had a bad day because I'm having a bad day or if we just play off of one another.  Either way, it was not a fun day.  But that day is over!  Now I can write with a clearer calmer perspective.  Settle down Mama!  Breath.  Relax!

Zumba (AWESOME), was a great way to get my mood back on track this morning.  After class I felt much happier and content.  We learned a new dance today!  

Jeremy was much better today, but didn't get a nap -again, sigh, and by the end of the day was very tired and acting up.  

Seriously, without the exercise to boost my mood and get me "away" from the chaos for a little bit of the day I think I would be sitting in a corner crying and eating an entire chocolate cake by myself.  I don't want to do that.  I want to be chill, patient, happy Mom.  Work in progress.  

Lots of love to all you parents out there!

Happy Weekend!

Big Moon Jog

Huge moon tonight.  One mile jog/walk -two minutes of each.  Colder outside than I expected.  Felt like a Popsicle when I got back.  Thankfully the huge moon lit my way because it was dark outside by the time we got the babies in bed!

Ah

It's yoga day. I almost considered not going tonight. The kids and I had a rough day Monday and it is still wearing on me. I've been a little bit down. The laundry is still sitting in a basket at night waiting to be folded when I crawl into bed and the dish that needs to be hand washed keeps soaking (I know, I know, not a big deal, but I'm one of those people that likes to have everything "done" before the next day starts). Plus my left knee was bothering me yesterday and that had me worried I was already on my way to an injury. (Btw knee feels pretty ok today). Eh!

I'm so glad I have this blog to keep me on the straight and narrow! Also the 12 class card I purchased the first day helps get me there! It's already paid for. I just have to show up and reap the rewards. And the rewards abound!

The class was a really great blend of counter stretching deeply all the major muscles ( and minor!). All the deep breathing! Ah! I feel SO much better. It's like the stress peels off as I bend, flex, and breath. I feel like I can literally breath easier. When I'm stressed out I hold my breath and my chest gets all tight. Yoga made my day feel right again. (I probably should have tried some Monday night!)

Thanks for being there and thanks for reading!

Walk and then walk some more

The day was bright and sunny. I made plans with my niece and her two boys to go for a walk followed by some sandbox time. The weather was beautiful. It was maybe a bit chilly for the boys while we were walking into the wind, slap down 5 miles for Tuesday!

I was supposed to do a 1 mile distance alternating 1 minute jogging with 2 minutes of walking. I considered doing it after the boys went to bed tonight but my left knee is starting to act funny. I should probably accept the 5 mile walk as "workout complete" for today.

My knees have always been a problem for me with running. I get the classic pain under my knee caps. The caps apparently don't track correctly. I was hoping with all my cross training that perhaps I would avoid the issue this time. Time will tell I suppose.

Someday, when I grow up, I'll be strong!

It's Monday.  This week the focus of my training switches from getting used to saving a time to exercise and adjusting to the extra steps by exclusively walking, to beginning to incorporate jogging slowly in my walks.

Yesterday was a full day; lots of family stuff and I had my long walk -a three miler.  It was a beautiful day and the walk went by very fast.  I read in SHAPE magazine that Dannon (Dannon Live Fit & Love It Radio) has a Pandora radio station and I listened to it.  It was pretty good.

I have subscribed to SHAPE magazine for years and years.  I read it pretty faithfully cover to cover.  I really like the section about the success stories the best.  They also have a cover "model" and this person shares their secret to success and usually some workout moves.  This month it is Alison Sweeney.  She is, for one thing, the host of The Biggest Loser.  She looks amazing on the cover.  It turns out she is not that much older than I am and recently trained for and ran a marathon (also multiple half marathons)!  Her sample workout is a 10-minute total body workout.  I thought it looked like it could be kind of fun so I decided to do it tonight as my strength train workout.

Hopefully below you can see the pictures from SHAPE mag.

5 exercises?  No problem!  (three sets of 10 reps)   

I did really well on #1.  

#2 is a "downward dog" with a dip where you try to put your head on the floor and push back up... riiiiiight.  NOT there yet.  Felt pretty good though.  

By the time I got to #3 I was starting to lag. 

#4 is called a Starburst.  I can barely hold a side plank anyway so my star was less "burst" and more "falling"...  literally I kept falling over.  Bless my husband for praising me and telling me I'm doing a good job while I flail around the living room on Monday nights.  

Honesty here.  Didn't even do #5.  I started to curl my legs over my head and it just wasn't going to happen tonight.  My lower back has been a little tender and I didn't want to push it.  I have a history of lower back problems and I've been doing really well for the last three years. I just try not to push it too much at once and my back allows me to go about my business.

Another day, another workout.  Honesty again.  I probably could have tried harder tonight.  

I just want to be stronger tomorrow than I was today; to feel more and more at peace with myself and who/where I am.  

Have a great week everyone!

26.2

I had a great day. Zumba rocked as always, some good finds at Aldi on the way home, a great visit with an old friend this afternoon and another "marathon" gift!

I have been instructed to keep this magnet on the fridge as motivation until the big day and then I can slap it on my car as a bumper sticker. (Looks like I better "woman-up" and plan on doing an entire marathon) Thank you Jess! How thoughtful. It was so great to see you and catch up. Come back any time!!!

I wish you all Saturdays like this.

Tired

Thankfully today is rest day.  Baby boy Darren decided it was morning at about 4:45 and so the day started really early today.  I did get both of the animals to nap at the same time this afternoon and snagged a nap myself, but phew am I beat!

This morning I took the boys for a nice leisurely stroll around Morley in the double stroller.  It was pretty windy but sunny and so nice and warm!  Hopefully the warmer part of Spring will arrive and stay longer soon.

Happy Weekend everyone!

A long walk, yoga, and another walk

I'm playing catch-up tonight because I didn't write last night (gasp).

Yesterday the weather was very nice up here in the great North.  I dragged the boys outside in the morning and strapped them into the double jog stroller and took them for a stroll around Morley in the daylight (on top of the training- this was an informal walk).  It was Darren's nap time, so he was very content in his hat and snowsuit to sleep.  Jeremy on the other hand was impatient for the ride to be over.  In his defense it was rather windy and in the low 40s.  He requested to have his sun shade pulled very low to shield the breeze, but I think it blocked most of his view and probably made for a very boring 40ish minutes.  We went at an easy pace.  It feels fast when you are pushing 90 extra pounds but it's really quite slow.  18 minute mile?

Before dinner I dashed off to the Yoga Loft in Canton for Vinyasa class.  We did a moon salutation sequence that was both challenging and full of very good inner thigh stretches.  My shoulders, upper arms and shoulder blades feel slightly sore, a testament to all of the downward dog positioning.  I surprised myself with how far I could relax into a simple seated forward fold over the legs.  Hopefully Yoga will both help my flexibility and work muscles otherwise forgotten.

Today was another great day, but not until the afternoon.  Warm!  but WINDY!  When Tom got home from work we played with the boys outside.  Darren was not a fan of the wind but it didn't bother Jeremy at all.  Both boys were ready for bed early and were in bed by 8.  I quickly got my gear on and headed out the door for a 2 mile power walk.  I headed off down the country road away from "town" hoping the light wouldn't fail by the time I returned.  I wasn't going to go outside because of the wind, but it didn't end up being a problem.  All of the trees lining the road acted as a nice buffer.  I also think I might have been too hot (gasp) without the breeze.  Imagine that.  Being hot outside!

I figure there will be plenty of days when I have to do my workout inside so unless it's absolutely not an option I should try to go outside.


Personal Update:  I'm feeling great!  Exercise is awesome.  Some of you may know that I was feeling pretty lousy for a while and it turned out to be postpartum anxiety and depression.  It was a strange experience and for anyone else that has had this problem I completely sympathize.  For anyone going through a mild case of mental illness I strongly suggest committing to an exercise program that gets you some "you" time and gets your heart pumping.  I also suggest listening to music you love while you do it.  Obviously seek the advice of someone that specializes in the treatment of mental illness as well!

Thanks for reading and happy what is left of Thursday!

Oh, and Darren, if you are reading this 30 years in the future, Thank you for finally sleeping through the night (I'm sure I just jinxed myself -love you to pieces anyway!)!

Moon and stars

I had a hard time getting going tonight.  I'm feeling pretty sleepy even though I have been sleeping much better at night (thank you Darren).  All this exercise is making me feel really good but also  perhaps a bit tired.

I really didn't feel like walking on the treadmill tonight so I strapped on some reflective gear, my gloves and ear band and headed out down our dark country road toward the hamlet? of Morley.  At least there are sporadic street lights once you enter "town".

Above the dimly lit streets hung a perfect crescent moon and stars in a clear dark sky. The stars in northern New York are amazing and are one of the things I missed greatly when I lived in Buffalo and Cleveland.

The day was mild but quite rainy and the air was wet and cool with a pretty strong breeze.  For once I actually walked into the wind on the way out so that my way back would be easier/warmer.  Really I chose to go in that direction because I was too afraid to walk out into the country in the almost pitch black... Ha!

Other than disturbing a number of loud dogs, my power walk was peaceful and very enjoyable.  The time flew by and I was back at our door.  

Yoga tomorrow. Yay!

Thanks for reading!

Strength

Strength training Monday.  Did my plan in reverse.  Wall sit was much much easier at the beginning.

My thoughts and prayers are with the families affected by the tragedy at the Boston Marathon.

Lord, give us the strength to keep caring and doing good deeds even though at the exact moment we help, others are planning to hurt.  Let us be the light in the world even though there is darkness.  We ask these things in your name.  Amen.

Quick Sunday

Walked 2.5 on the treadmill in the basement while watching the end of The Hunger Games.  I was worried I would fall off because I had my fingers plugging my ears and my eyes squinted shut at the part where the creepy dog animals come out and starts chasing them.  HA!

To bed!

Zumba!

In the end I settled on Zumba.  Sorry to anyone that was very excited to hear about Zombies.  You will just have to believe me that Zumba was a good choice and the best choice for where I am in my life right now.  Maybe sometime when I can actually run a 5K I will choose the 5K over Zumba.  Better yet, a race on Sunday so I can do both!

Zumba calls my name on the weekend.  Like a sweet siren song, I was helpless to resist.  When I had decided on the race last night I was pretty disappointed that I would me missing my Zumba-fix.

It isn't very often you find something to be super fun, not super expensive, and also a great workout.  I can think of many things that fit the first two, but for me right now, Zumba is the only one that covers all three.  

To run or not to run, that is the question.

It's Friday!  Hooray!  

It's rest day! Hooray!

The weather spent the day alternating between freezing cold rain and actual freezing rain.  We had a pretty good coating of ice on all the trees here.  

I spent the day alternating between deciding not to and to do the Zombie 5K tomorrow.    After walking our garbage out to the can I was convinced there was no way I was doing the race when I could spend a very nice hour doing Zumba instead, like usual.  Then, after being inside and nice and warm for a few hours I convinced myself I should just do it.  Later I walked to the mailbox.  Back to not doing the race.

This morning the forecast for tomorrow looked pretty similar to today's actual weather.  Freezing rain is miserable.  I am NOT doing a race in freezing rain.  I just checked the forecast for tomorrow again.  Luckily I don't think there will be freezing rain tomorrow.  I do think it will be wet and cold.   Sitting here at this moment I am planning on dressing warmly and doing the race.  Hopefully I don't change my mind again.  I really don't like indecision.  I like to just choose and stick with the decision no matter what.  We'll see what tomorrow brings I suppose.

Thankfully thinking about the weather has distracted me from the part where I worry about actually running a 5K race.  

Let the weekend begin!

Life IS good

I had an unexpected pick-me-up this afternoon when I went to check the mail and found this shirt!  What a wonderful surprise.  Thank you!  At first I was a little worried about my sanity because I couldn't remember ordering anything from a sporting goods store.  When I opened the package it all made sense.  I'm hoping to wear this Sat. for the Zombie 5K at Clarkson University.  I might wear it under something.  I don't want a Zombie to get it.

On the training side, I power walked my 2 miles on our treadmill with my arms pumping like crazy.  I got a pretty good sweat on.  

Rest day tomorrow.  

Zombie 5K Sat!

Yoga to try this, it feels amazing!

Yoga

Signed up for a Wednesday evening yoga class.  It ended up being a crazy day, but I still made it.  Thank you to my amazing husband who ended up driving all over Northern New York getting a spare key to our house because I didn't mention that the key was in the car he was driving and he and the boys were locked out.  Crazy long story.  Not a good day for the Potter family.

Back to yoga.  I believe I'm the youngest person in the class.  Piece of cake.  Maybe I picked the wrong class.  I was hoping for something "active" not necessarily restorative and gentle.  HA!  HA!  HA!  If this class had been a pick-up basketball game I would have had my behind handed to me the first trip down the court.  It was super duper and just what I was looking for.  I'm just a bit out of practice (understatement).  I may have been the stiffest person there, and some of them were men!  I am very much looking forward to my class next week.

Thank you Sarah if you are reading!  Namaste.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

Pushed the boys today for my 2 mile cardio walk.  Nothing like 90 extra pounds to push up hills!  It was also a task to keep the stroller from getting away from me going down.  Darren took a nap, but Jeremy was very chatty.  He also kept needing his hat and mittens adjusted, removed, and then put back on.  I don't think I would win any awards for speediness during this walk.  It was definitely a good workout though.

Setting the bar low to succeed

Monday strength train.  After sitting on my behind for 20 minutes watching "Big Bang Theory" (when I meant to go directly from putting Darren to bed to my dresser to change into workout wear) I finally got up to perform my simple strength training plan.  The short list of exercises seemed laughable (see my post "Failing to plan...).  "Is it even worth doing so little?", I thought to myself.

The quick workout from SkinnyMs surprised me!  By the end I was pretty worked over.  I think it was actually a pretty good starting place for me.  10 modified push ups, 30 squats, etc.  I added a 60 second superman.  Just seemed right.

For anyone thinking I went really light on myself go try the list yourself.  I give major props to anyone that doesn't at least squirm at the 60 second wall sit.

Go ahead.  Find a wall, stand about two feet from it and slide your back down until your thighs are parallel.

Tell me how you did!

I lasted about 10 seconds before I started to really regret having to blog about it after finishing.  I only made it to 43 seconds.  I'm hoping yoga will help with both my stamina and focus.  The ability to remove my mind from the muscle fatigue.

I guess I didn't set the bar as low as I thought.

Happy Monday!

"Long" (run) Walk Day

It's Sunday, long run day.  On the agenda was a 2 mile cardio walk.  Today I actually walked instead of trying to jog.  I'm pretty concerned about overuse injuries, so perhaps I should work into the training program slowly (as is suggested by all slob to marathon training programs... :) ) so as to not become injured before I am even supposed to jog.

My iPhone was programmed to track my workout and also to play the Black Eyed Peas Pandora Radio station.  This station is by far my (and Jeremy's) favorite.  I think quite appropriately the first song I heard as I started out was, "Lets Get This Started".

"Runnin', runnin', and runnin' runnin'..."

"Apt to lose this inhibition, follow your intuition, free your inner soul, and break away from tradition..."

Good stuff!

The weather even partially cooperated for me and I walked outside.  It was almost 55!  However, it was very windy!!!  I was very glad I strapped on my ear band.  It also helped hold my ear buds in so that I could rock out.

I guess this concludes my first week.  Not bad.  I figure I have about 70 weeks before my marathon, maybe more... we'll see!


Be sure to tune in this week as I am sure I will get nervous about the 5K I signed up to run on Sat. morning in place of Zumba.  Plus, don't you want to hear how it all goes?  Did I mention it's a Zombie Race?

Cross train

Zumba!

Great music and moves. A really great way to get Saturday kicking. I am starting to really learn the songs now so it's even more fun.

I should have drank more water today. Eh, dehydration/tension headache? Looking forward to a nice full night of uninterrupted peaceful and rejuvenating sleep. Yeah right! (A work in progress as well).

Failing to plan is planning to fail

Today is a rest day.  I rested!

I am trying to plan what I will do in my schedule to cross train and try to keep myself from being injured.  Thank you Bill for the comments about shoes and HITS.  I started reading a book about HITS while I was pregnant.  I'll have to see if I can find it.  I'm pretty sure it was on my Kindle.  

For now I'm going to stick with the SkinnyMs training plan.  The basic outline is as follows:

Monday: strength train; my plan is something quick and effective focusing on really good form because this is the day after my "long run".  Also, I will not be at a gym.  I do have weights and resistance bands if someone has additional exercises I should consider.  
10 Push Ups
20 Ab Crunches
30 Squats
40 Lunges (20 on each leg)
50 Jumping Jacks
60 Second Wall Sit

Tuesday: run

Wednesday: short run (maybe a good day for HITS?, Yoga? see below...) 

Thursday: Long run + strength train (as outlined above)

Friday: Rest  (Hallelujah!!!)

Saturday: 60 min cross train = ZUMBA baby!!!

Sunday: Really really long run

Questions for my loyal followers and running experts:

1) Do you have a warm-up routine?  Do you only use it for long run day?  

2) Stretching; before the run?  after?  Effective stretches?  Essential stretches?

Speaking of stretching; I would like to incorporate a yoga class into my week.  I know I'm not 100% "balanced", particularly because I've been carrying heavy bags and children for years and years.  I think a yoga class could really go a long way for me.  There is an "active" class I am interested in offered on Wednesdays at a time I think I can work into the family schedule.  Thoughts on whether just adding it on top of what is outlined above would be ok? In addition to the short run?  I guess if the class is super active and kicks my butt, as I fully expect it to, I will forgo the short run until I'm in better shape?

Date Night!

My sister-in-law is watching the kids for us tonight after I get Darren in bed. Yay! Thank you!

It was pretty nice earlier and I wanted to do my workout outside rather than on the treadmill. Also, because I needed to run before bedtime due to our after bedtime date plans it was still sunny. I love sunshine!

I chose to go into the wind on the way out thinking that would make my return easier. Fail. When I turned around to come back to the house I was definitely going into the wind. Brrrrr!!!! Painful ears! At least it was a short workout. Next time I will take extra time to find my ear band and gloves... I did find my reflective vest. Bring it marathon training. I'm ready!

Oh, and bring on date night!

"Reminders"

I use "reminders" on my phone to help me remember to do daily things. I've always been a list girl. I would go so far as to write "eat lunch" on a list just so I could cross it off. Also on this list might eat breakfast, shower, make dinner, eat dinner, clean up from dinner... Ha! Nothing like that sense of accomplishment that comes from scribbling out yet another item.

A few months ago I programmed "reminders" to tell me to exercise at 10:30AM. At the time Baby Darren was taking a pretty predictable morning nap and Jeremy didn't mind watching me do workout DVDs. My plan was to try to have my workout done during Darren's morning nap.

I think this actually worked for three weeks. After that my plans to exercise dissolved along with my resolve to finally get myself into post-baby gear.

Despite all this, my reminder to exercise comes on every morning. So now for the past three months I have clicked that the task was completed, even though I had not exercised (except Zumba days). I would wait all day with the task waiting to be fulfilled and then desolately check the task away before going to bed.

Tonight while setting up the treadmill for another mile, I noticed my reminder to exercise and smiled as I clicked the task complete.

Training Program and Thank You

This is the training program I am currently following.  I nabbed it from SkinnyMs.com (an excellent site to check out btw).

http://skinnyms.com/running-schedule-for-absolute-beginners/

I skipped Monday's strength train.  Just wasn't feeling it.  Also, I ran my mile last night instead of power "cardio" walking as was suggested.  This was really mostly because I have signed up for a 5k on April 13th and I wanted to see just how big a mistake it was to sign up...  HA!  I think I'll survive!

If anyone has a better program they think I should use then feel free to pass it along!  I welcome all suggestions.



Also, feel free to pass my blog along to anyone you think would like to read and help motivate me or be motivated themselves!

Better yet make a blog yourself about your personal goal and I'll follow you on your journey!


I have already been overwhelmed by the support and positive feedback I have received from my friends and family.  Thank you so much for your emails, comments and texts!  I can do this!

One lonely mile

Before slipping into my pajamas and between the sheets I churned out one lonely mile on the treadmill in our basement. Have to start somewhere right? It was not easy but I was actually pleasantly surprised that it wasn't that difficult either. Lets say I have lots of room for improvement.

When I got into bed I felt a sense of relief that I had done something toward my personal goal. Some of the guilt for not having exercised that I usually feel while playing a round of Candy Crush Saga on my phone before turning in was absent (a good feeling for someone on the edge of anxiety). It's easy to put off exercise and then numb yourself with technology. Note to self: don't do that!

One lonely mile sure did make me appreciate the miles and miles I still have to go.

The beginning

I can't help but feel very nervous starting this blog.  I plan on really putting this all out there because I think otherwise it will be too easy to quit, like so many other things that are left undone in my life.  I want followers!  I need help and encouragement!  It's not easy staying at home and feeling quite isolated from other adults when you used to work full time and talk everyone's ears off over lab experiments (Ph.D. in biology- hopefully someday I will get to use it!) and depended on their encouragement to keep you motivated.

My baby son just turned 6 months and is eating solids pretty well so I think it is fine to up the exercise.  Who am I kidding right?  I could have upped the exercise well before now but it's so easy to hide behind breastfeeding and supply issues when you really just want to catch a nap or go to bed early instead of hitting the treadmill or popping in a Jillian Michaels DVD.  So you should know that I plan on bfing my son until he is 1.  My plan is to start the training now and then run a marathon next summer/fall.  I don't think it would be a good idea to think I can run one this fall and breast feed when I have never ran one before.

I should also say that I would be happy with a half marathon if in my training it becomes very obvious that a full marathon is just not going to be in the cards.

The farthest I have ever run in one stint is 4 miles without stopping.  I actually "ran" and walked a 5 mile race last fathers day when I was pregnant and I was just fine.   For some reason when I am pregnant I have super duper energy in the second trimester.  The year before that I "ran" most of the 5 mile fathers day race pushing my oldest son in a jog stroller.

My husband and I like to run and stay fit but we're in a fitness funk right now.  Last May I lost my job.  We were living in Cleveland, OH, far from our family, and we just decided to move back to our family in NY.  I was 36 weeks pregnant at the time.  Fast forward to now.  We're pretty out of shape.  We haven't fully gotten back into our groove since my pregnancy and our new baby came.  (I get pretty relaxed on what we eat when I'm pregnant)  Also, our house hasn't sold and it is a huge stress and even though I try to pretend it doesn't bother me it feels like a huge elephant is sitting on me all the time.

I have also been battling a light case of postpartum anxiety and depression.  The thing that has helped has been telling anyone who will listen that I'm crazy and need time to myself.  My amazing Niece/Sista, Jacki, takes me to Zumba on Saturdays and I love it and it gives me something that is all mine.  I LOVE Zumba.  Who would have thought?  I plan on continuing Zumba as my cross train.

I'm really hoping to keep up with this.  Sometimes the blogs will probably be short!  I have two small children that demand my attention from the moment they wake, to the moment they fall exhausted into their beds!