house for sale

The last few months we have started working harder towards our dreamhouse. We want to build on a piece of family land, but of course that is easier said than done. 

We found our builder and house model we loved, then met with the county, the bank, the highway department, and water department. And just when we were going to list our house, we discovered that it is next to impossible to get a new home appraised for the mortgage on more than 10 acres because there are no comps. So we are currently in the process of dividing off 9 acres, and are stuck waiting on the surveyors who are taking their sweet time.

We met with a couple of realtors and realized (like most sellers) our house was not going to bring what we were hoping for.  With the realtor commissions and closing costs, we were probably going to have to bring money to the table to sell our home of 10 years. Since we are not currently in a time crunch to sell, I went ahead and made a website for our home and listed it on craigslist to see if we could sell it without a realtor.  I'm not for sure what we'd actually do if we got an offer at this point, but we'd figure something out.

We have lived here for nearly a decade.  This is where we brought home our first puppy, our baby boy and our baby girl. We've redone nearly every surface on the home, from backsplashes to toilets.  It's a wonderful home for a young family starting out. We are just ready to move on to the next chapter.

new running shoes!



I've been wanting to get professionally fitted for running shoes for a while now, and thanks to a coupon I picked up at Race for the Cure, I discovered there is a Gary Gribble's in Independence!  I finally made it in last weekend and after some fittings, discovered my right foot is a half size larger than my left!  Who knew? I also have issues with getting blisters on my pinky toes, so I took the sales person's advice and got a half size larger than I usually do.  And ta-da! Here are my new running buddies!



 

Aren't they lovely? So lightweight and so much room for my tootsies! The sales guy showed me a fancy way of lacing up the shoe on my smaller foot so I don't have any slippage issues on my heel. I've been on two runs so far in my new shoes - 2 miles and 3 miles - and haven't had any issues with my pinky toes like before.  It feels a little strange having so much room up front, but I love them!  I'm starting to feel like a real runner now!  

 

Who doesn't want to run with a morning view like this?  Good morning, neighbor horses.

 

 

motivation

Here is my motivation to eat healthy foods (no junk)...

• because I could run every day and still not lose a pound unless I control my food intake.
• because I have more energy and feel better when I eat real foods!

to get up early and RUN...

• because running 30 minutes burns 300 calories and I usually drop a pound after 3 miles.
• because running makes me not want to drink diet soda.
• because my 10-year-old lab is like a puppy with all the exercise he gets.
• because I rarely get sick when I'm consistently working out.
• because by running in the morning, I am not missing out on family or couple time.
• because the average runner peaks after 7 years, and I'm still on my way up! 

and ultimately to lose 20-30 more pounds!

• to be a role model and healthy mom for my kids, and eventually a healthy grandma for my grandkids.
• to wear coral skinny jeans (or any color really, but definitely a single digit size.)
• to wear a bikini for the first time in public.
• to hear the hubs refer to me as his "hot wife." (I will also accept "arm candy" or "trophy wife.")
• to have more confidence. I wonder if I will still fumble over words as much when i'm not worried about someone's eyes dropping down to my belly roll?
• to get more doors opened for me (virtual and real-life doors.)
• to prove it to myself.

Weight check-in:

   starting weight (Dec 15, 2011): 196
   current weight: 177
   goal weight: 160
   pounds lost: 19
   pounds to go: 17

Over half way to my first goal!

water weight cleanse review

I've been on a summer hiatus from focusing on losing weight, and I decided I needed something to jumpstart my routine again.  I found a pin for Jillian Michael's water weight cleanse and decided it was something I could easily do.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of 100% cranberry juice
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 dandelion root tea bag (I'd make a mug of the tea and pour it in)
60 oz of water

Drink the entire concoction each day for 7 days, and you get to eat normal otherwise.  Easy peasy, right?  Here are my results!

Monday: 182 lbs. It actually tastes pretty good, kind of like a diluted lemon tea.  But I felt so water logged all day. Didn't know if I was going to be able to get it all down.  I'm definitely not used to drinking so much water. Ran 1.25 miles and made it through the day with sugar!

Tuesday: 179.8 lbs. Felt much better drinking the tea all day.  Didn't really feel like I "needed" my coffee as much as I usually do in the morning. Ran 1.75 miles. No sugar, but I overloaded on carbs for dinner with my yummy new Orzo recipe.

Wednesday: 179.6 lbs. Felt super energetic drinking my tea all day. Really didn't want my morning coffee and finished my 60 oz still wanting more.  Took a break from running and had filet and carrots for dinner!

Thursday: 179 lbs. (and 178.6 lbs after my 2 mile run! now there's a good reason to get your butt up and run!) Still loving my tea, but had a happy hour after work and ate french fries for dinner. Boo!

Friday: 179.4 lbs. Trying to shed the guilt of my happy hour fries and wine. Today is a new day!

Saturday: 178.8 lbs.  Woot! This is fantastic! Weekends are usually when I drink the least amount of water just because we're always out and about. I made it a point to fill up my 32 oz mug with the tea and take it with me. I finished my second mug when we got home. I had a carb-heavy dinner because I was running a 5k Sunday morning.  I need the energy!

Sunday: 181.2 lbs. The carbs had their way with me, but I had a good run. Feeling really good all day and actually left the tea out of the water.  Just drank cranberry & lemon water.  Worked my booty off cleaning the house and ate well most of the day.

Monday: 180.8 lbs. So overall I lost just over a pound.  Not as much as I had hoped, but I am taking a renewed love of water with me.  I splashed some lemon and cranberry in my water this morning and before I knew it I had drank 60 oz before 10 am. 

After reading the 5 reasons to drink lemon water in the morning, I think I'll keep up this habit for a while.  I do feel a lot better, less bloated, and I have a lot more energy throughout the day.  Haven't had a soda in over a week either - and don't miss it!

Race for the Cure 2012

orlando & daytona!

[Took a little summer break from blogging.  I can't believe my big boy starts first grade next week! Oh how times flies! Here's a recap from our trip to Florida in May!]

Orlando



End of the day. Soggy. And yes,
Big E is shooting the camera guy.

We took a family trip at the end of May to Orlando and Daytona Beach. We did one day at Magic Kingdom, and it rained on us almost the entire day thanks to a tropical storm.  Baby girl did an amazing job sleeping in her stroller with her feel hanging out in the rain. The rest of us had ponchos on and made the most of it.

The kids both loved It's a Small World and Pirates of the Carribbean.  As we were leaving, the person at the exit asked if we had met Mickey yet. Well, no. There goes another hour of waiting in line, but it was worth it!


Meeting Mickey and Minnie!

After we left the mouse's theatre, the skies had cleared and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful evening.  Only an hour or so until the parade, and then another hour until fireworks.  That's not so bad, right? 

We had one foot out the front gates as the fireworks began.  We survived. It was fun. And I think we're good for a few years on Disney.  I really don't understand the Disney-obsessed who must go there every year. Maybe it is better when it's not pouring rain? Although I'd take that over a heat wave any day.


Daytona Beach

Next it was on to the relaxing part of our vacation: the beach!  Seriously, why didn't we head here first and stay? Oh the lure of the mouse. 

We checked in to the wonderful Bahama House.  C'mon, free breakfast, free happy hour, and there's a beach too?  Awesome. Also, the balcony was huge, the room was large with a full kitchen and plenty of room for baby girl's crib. It was perfect.


The view from our room at Bahama House.

We loved Daytona Beach too. I had totally underestimated it based on the "time warp" comments I kept reading everywhere.  There is a slight time warp, but there is so much to do, the people are so nice and the food is so good. Plus you can drive on the beach!  We spent one naptime going through a drive-thru and eating our lunch while we drove the minivan rental down the beach.  Lovely! 



Ice cream truck driving down Daytona Beach.

Baby girl didn't know what to think of the beach at first. I mean, it was squishy under her feet, water kept splashing at her, and it left a weird gritty aftertaste. But once she figured out that it wasn't food, she absolutely loved it! 

Letting the waves tickle her toes.

I absolutely love these two yahoos!

His biggest fan.

We had one more important task before we left Daytona: renew our vows on the beach.  It had been a gorgeous day, but when it came time to go to the ceremony the clouds started forming and there were storms headed our way. We did a last-minute location change to a gazebo near the beach, but it turned out the storms stayed away and we still got to take photos down on the sand. 

Our wedding day ~ May 31, 2012

Our first wedding was 10 years ago. We've had to overcome some big stumbling blocks, but look where we are now! Two beautiful kids and still crazy in love with my best friend.

Our wedding day ~ June 29, 2002

end of summer check-in

While I did make my mini-goal of 180 by the time we went to Florida in May, I've just been maintaining over the summer.  Time to get my butt back in gear!  My new mini-goal is 170 by November for our New Orleans trip.

To jump-start and refocus my efforts, I am trying out a water weight cleanse. It's going well so far! I will type up a review after I've completed it.

Weight check-in:

  starting weight (Dec 15, 2011): 196
  current weight: 179
  goal weight: 160
  pounds lost: 17
  pounds to go: 19

Wow! I didn't realize I had lost as much as I did! Almost half-way to my major goal!