This life

 

 Running has become such a great avenue for me.  Started using the NIKE running app which is so great.  I have a couple friends who use it as well so we get to compete against each other for most miles.  The app keeps track of your pace, how far you've run and your times as well as info about your run like route, weather adn time of day.  I never thought I would become a runner but it has been such a great journey.

Still buying myself beautiful flowers.  It is always nice to treat yourself.  I like to have a date night every month and try to get flowers at least once a week.

This week i suffered my first running injury.  It appears i have developed a stress fracture.  I won't know for sure until i see a doctor which may not be til after my 5k.  Hoping the old leg can hold up until then.  I would be extremely disappointed to miss the run I have been training for.

THe babysitter's club books were some of the first books i read as a kid and really spurred my love of reading at an early age.  I read all of them, all the time.  I owned dozens of them myself.  Highly recommend them still for early young readers.

Flab to fit

This journey has been incredibly interesting and I have discovered so much about myself.  I have found that I actually enjoy running.  I have started seeing some great differences in the way my clothing fits, the way I feel and the way I look.  I have discovered that even though I have always hated watermelon, your taste buds change and now it is one of my favorite snacks.  I hope that I continue to grow and learn as I journey on this #betterme project.  I have had new experiences and am ready for more. 

five weeks.  I have gotten tanner and you can see that some musculature is starting to form.  Still looking to loose some of the fluff around my middle, but over all excited about the progress.

Back to KC

I went back to KC last weekend for the Justin Bieber concert and to see one of my best friends get married.  It was such a nice trip back and I had a great time. The drive through Arkansas was gorgeous.  I drove straight there which was a nine hour drive.  The part of the state I got to see was beautiful and I just jammed out and drove and drove.  My cats went back to KC this trip as well and they did really well with the trip. 

Bieber was phenomenal!!  He put on such an amazing show and his voice was impeccable.  I went by myself which was a whole new experience for me as well.  It was nice being at a concert on my own.  I got to enjoy it in a way I hadn't ever done before.
I was proud of myself being able to do my runs most of the week as well.  I wasn't sure i'd stay on that schedule but I did.  I did eat terribly though.

Sammi's wedding was a highlight of my week obviously.  She is one of my best friends and I am so excited that this day was coming true for her.  She's loves Josh so much and I really hope they stay together forever.  I looked good and she looked good.  We had a lot of fun dancing and drinking and it was just a great party.  It was a lot of work but we had so much fun regardless. 

I also got to spend some time with my littles.  B and A have gotten so big and they were so excited to see me.  B cried and cried when I left and A was sick on day so I got to stay home the whole day with her.  It was phenomenal to see my sister and her kids and I miss them so incredibly much.  Hannah and i had a few hours together a couple of the nights to just hang out and talk as well which was great. 

We had a lot to catch up on.I was incredibly sad to leave and it was hard to come back because I miss everyone so much.  I am so blessed and lucky that I was able to get to see as many people as I did.  And it really made me solidify my decision to move back home.  I have loved getting to know Stephanie and the little, but I just feel the need to get into MY life and really stop focusing on anything but moving forward with my life.  With Germany getting cancelled I need to take another direction so for now that is going to back to KC, being with my friends and family, working my ass of and moving on.

Progress

So we are 2 months into my healthier living plan and there has been minimal progress.  My diet is getting an overhaul when I return from Kansas City and I am hoping to do well while I am gone too.  Throughout my body I have lost 9 inches and have gained 10 pounds.  Everyone keeps telling that fat is turning into muscle and muscle weighs more than fat and I am toning.  All of which sounds nice but doesn't make me feel like I am accomplishing much.  I have been running a minimum of 1 mile every day for a month.  Working out 3 times a week and drinking 100 oz of water a day.  It isn't easy but several people have said they can see a difference and I know if I can keep going, I'll get where I want to be.

So here is the 2 month check-in. Let me know what you think.

Concerts and Volunteer service

Last night my cousin and I volunteered with Food for the Hungry (http://fh.org/).  They are an organization that gets sponsors from children in impoverished areas of the world and help to provide their families and communities with clean water, food, education and much more.  It's an amazing organization and we were able to help a lot of children last night.  We did so at the Toby Mac show which was phenomenal.  Luckily we got to see most of the show while we were there. 

Hollyn opened up the show and she was phenomenal.  I so wish she would have played more.  Her voice was breathtaking.  Then we saw Colton Dixon which was my favorite performance of the night.  His songs were so beautiful and I connected with them so much. My favorite of his was limitless.  Also performing was Building 429, Capital Kings, Britt Nicole, and Toby Mac.  All of it was pretty good.  We also got to hear about the "We are One" movement which was another great cause.  I don't consider myself a religious person but the messages this night were impactful and important.  I had a good time seeing some new music and spending time with my cousin.

3 Mile Run

Today has been a chaotic day emotionally.  We have a lot of drama going on at home but it didn't stop me from meeting my running challenge today.  I ran three miles!! it was hot out so it was no picnic that's for sure.  I also was able to shave off a minute on my mile time, or the first mile anyway.  The last 1/2 mile was the hardest and I honestly didn't think I could do it all, but I powered through and did it.  Tomorrow the challenge is 5 miles, but we will see.  I am trying to keep positive but I have yet to get that "runner's high" people talk about, I just hate it for 30-40 minutes and then I come home and shower.  But I am setting goals and I am making it.

A new challenge coming up for me starting in April is to stop using disposable plastics.  No more plastic bags, straws, water or soda bottles.  No more take out containers either.  Plastic doesn't decompose, yes it can over hundreds if not thousands of years, but not in our life time. It gets into our waters, our oceans, it takes tons of oil to run a recycling factory so although I recycle, it still harms the environment in other ways.  I am doing this as a personal mission to take away some of my carbon footprint so join me if you want.  It will be interesting to discover new ways to live and realize how much disposable plastic I really use.

When I get back from Kansas City I also want to get back on my diet.  I am proud that I have been keeping with a fairly strict work out routine, but my diet has been not that great.  Although I am eating a majority of meals at home, there's too many carbs, too much butter and too much dairy in my diet.  So I am cutting the soda (again), switching to wine (if I drink) and cutting a bunch of the bad stuff.  I already started with seasoning and have stopped using it on the foods the little and I are eating.  I love knowing that I am healthier but so far I am not seeing the results and that's bumming me out.  I want to be at my goal weight which is 40 pounds from now, by the end of the summer and it just doesn't seem feasible when I continue to grow on the scale and have plateaued in inch loss.  I am also going to shoot for 2 home workouts (besides my ab stuff) and 2 gym days a week, at least for April and May.

Brewery Tour

Another bucket list item I have was to tour a brewery so this Weekend, along with some family members we went to Great Raft Brewing in Shreveport.  They are a local craft brewery that has a tasting room as well.  We got a tour which was great.  They were informative and entertaining and gave some information that I truly was unaware of.  We got to see where the beer is made, packaged and drank. 

After our tour we headed into the tasting room. They had 8 beers on tap so each of us picked one and then we got a flight which was only $2 per taster.  I had the Reasonably Corrupt, which is a black lager.  The beers were pretty good.  I definitely preferred their lagers to any of the others but we had such a good time testing the different beers and they even had a German food truck outside that I was able to get a brat from. 

confrontation

This week I had to learn how to deal with confrontation in an adult way.  I have always been one to avoid bringing up things that "could" start an argument.  I go through life feeling like no one that loves you intentionally tries to cause you anxiety or anger so I try to deal with those feelings on my own rather than call someone out for making me feel a certain way.  However, I have discovered that if you don't address behaviors that bother you , then you will never understand why that person is acting as such or be able to help them rectify it.  You also won't know what you are doing that could be causing said reaction.  So I addressed some issues that I have been having within my household.  They are nothing major and are usually issues I wouldn't even bother wasting anyone's time on, but I have to start sticking up for myself and voice when I am feeling taken advantage of or let down by the people in my life.  It went really well I think.  We addressed the issues, came up with a solution and I was able to see their side of things as well as discuss ways that I can make the situation easier or better for their parts as well.  It was a productive talk and though it seems like a small feat to many, for me it is a great victory.

Bucket listing

Along with my travels around Shreveport I have been trying to mark things off my bucket list and so far things are going well.  I took a trip to a Agora Borealis which was on my list of places to visit around here.  I was expecting a market type atmosphere but it ended up just being a shop with expensive crafted items.  There was some pretty cool art and it's always great to find locally made items but it wasn't what I was hoping for at all.  Then we went to Duck Pond park which was really nice.  There were plenty of ducks waddling around and the park itself had 5 different sets with different themes that my little really enjoyed playing on.

We also went to a birthday party this weekend and in true Kate fashion I was the first and most excited member of the ball pit.  It was good getting out and talking to some other grown ups and meeting new people and we all had a pretty good time.

My bucket list item this week was to shoot a gun.  I have never even held a gun before so my cousin showed me some general gun safety and how to load the gun first and then we headed down to a range to fire the pistol and the shotgun.  I was really nervous because I have never been a huge gun enthusiast in any way.  It was neat trying something new and I don't regret giving it a go but honestly I won't be doing it again.  The shotgun was terrible.  I only shot a couple but it was too loud and not fun for me at all.  The pistol was okay and the more I shot the better I felt about it, but it wouldn't go down as a "fun" experience.  It's too much power for me I think.  Just not my cup of tea but it was an experience.

I also want to give a shout out to the Relaxation Center at Pierre Mall.  They did an amazing job this week of getting me loosened up in just thirty minutes.  It was remarkable and I was able to pick up this Reflexology chart for just 5 bucks.  My "me" day consisted of a massage, a trip to the tanning salon and a bouquet of flowers.  I love treating myself.