Updated Running Playlist

For spin class and my sanity while running, I'm constantly getting new songs. Here are some new songs I've added to my classes and running playlist.

F@#k You by Cee-Lo Green
Rock That Body by Black Eyed Peas
Take It Off by Ke$ha
Teenage Dream by Katy Perry
We R Who We R by Ke$ha
We No Speak Americano by Yolanda Be Cool
Just A Dream by Nelly
Magic by B.o.B Feat Rivers Cuomo
Memories by David Guetta Feat Kid Cudi
Animal by Neon Trees
Rock This Party (Everybody Dance Now) by Bob Sinclair Feat. Dollarman & Big Ali

The last song by Bob Sinclair totally gets me going in spin class. When that song comes on, know that you'll be getting your bum kicked.

Working out while sick

It's asked everywhere, I'm catching a cold, I'm sick...should I still work out? I usually follow the rule if you're sick from the neck up it's fine to keep working out, if it's from the neck down then no.

ie. Head cold, runny nose, congestion etc, fine to work out. Coughing, sore throat, fever, vomiting, achy no working out.

Last Saturday, 10 days ago!!, I caught a cough. Yes, it started out directly as a deep chest cough. It totally ruined my 3 day weekend because I was worn out and just coughing all day and night. After a few days of coughing, my throat got sore on a couple of occasions because I was coughing so hard. Fast forward to this past weekend. 7 days in, I was over being sick. I had lost motivation in doing anything, no running or exercising, no cleaning the house, no grocery shopping, no anything. I was ready to be healthy. But this weekend I wake up feeling worse. Super congested, sick tasting mouth and my cough got so bad that I gagged and threw up on two separate occasions. (Yes, I have an issue when I cough hard I start to gag. My gag reflex initiates during coughing fits, it sucks!)

10 days in and *maybe* I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm not coughing as much though walking up and down the stairs at work does get me going. I'm not waking up with sick mouth and I'm starting to feel a little normal. I'm hoping by Thursday (do you hear that body?) I can try to attempt a short run and not cough myself to death afterwards. We'll see how my spin class goes on Wednesday (last Wed I had to suck on cough drops and drink a ton of water and still coughed my way through class).

Oh and best part of this illness?! EVERYONE in my family has it. The hubby and both kids. Which means everyone is coughing, everyone is waking up in the middle of the night. We have gone through several boxes of kleenix, numerous bags of cough drops and a bottle of Nyquil. It's not pretty at our house. I'm soooo OVER being sick. Thursday body, you hear that?! Thursday!!

New Years Resolutions

Last year I wanted 3 things:

1. Read 50 books---check

2. Run 500 miles---check (I actually ran 600 miles! I ended up increasing my goal to 600 in November when I finished off Nov at 548 miles run.)

3. Run a sub-2 hour half marathon. ---incomplete. :(

This year, I decided to be a little easier on myself and come up with a resolution that will benefit me and my whole family. I also included hubby in this resolution. Each month this year both he and I have to come up with one new recipe each to try and cook. Hopefully the recipe will be a success and we can add it to our recipe list.

We did this when we were dating years ago. But back then when we didn't have kids, we did a new recipe each a week. I'm thinking me coming up with one new recipe, 12 in a year is not too bad. This month, I'm going to attempt chicken fetticini alfredo. Anyone have a good recipe?

Dailey Method Classes

Back in September, I got a Juice in the City Deal (similar site to Groupon) for half off two Dailey Method classes. I decided to try it out. The Dailey Method is a combination of ballet barre work and core conditioning.

Day 1 I show up. Get the lowdown on how the class works and get started. We were supposed to grab two sets of weights. They told me to get the 2 lb and 3lb set. I was shocked to think of using such light weights. But 15 min into the class I realized that it was more than enough weight. My arms and shoulders were burning. Then we went to legs/butt...whoooweee that was tough. I have very tight hamstrings always have and the teacher had to modify some of the exercises for me, but I still got an intense workout.

My only issue was after the class, I had some hamstring soreness. I think I may have twinged my hamstring injury from years ago. But other than that it was an amazing workout. I attended the class one more time and had just as great of a workout. I'm trying to see if/how I can incorporate this class into my workouts. This may have to be my "winter training" since come summer I'm usually doing a lot more running.

Books Read 2011

Keeping in line with books read. Here's the start of my list for 2011.

1. Dixieland Sushi by Cara Lockwood

2. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls I enjoyed this book. I had read The Glass Castle and was impressed/horrified by the story, this book is tamer than GC, but has wonderful stories. I love the gumption the grandmother Lily has. She's a force to be reckoned with.

Books Read 2010

Dec. 31st, I had resigned myself into thinking I'd only read 49 books this year, but when I started counting my books I realized I had already read 50, lol. Here is my list for the year.

2010 Books:

1. The End (Series of Unfortunate Events #13) by Lemony Snicket
2. I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak
3. Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl
4. Toddlers Gone Wild! Rants from a Mommy Brain by Rebecca Eckler
5. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
6. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
7. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
8. Switchcraft by Mary Castillo
9. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
10. Girl with The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
11. The Gift by Cecelia Ahern
12. Restoring Grace by Katie Fforde
13. The Importance of Being Married by Gemma Townley
14. My Life in France by Julia Child
15. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
16. Made in the USA by Billie Letts
17. A Wild Affair by Gemma Townley
18. House Rules by Jodi Picoult
19. My Horizontal Live: A Collection of One Night Stands by Chelsea Handler
20. Through The Heart by Kate Morgenroth
21. As Nature Made Him: The boy who was raised as a girl by John Colapinto
22. What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandel by Zoe Heller
Bit of a lackluster ending.
23. What The Dead Know by Laura Lippman
24. Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin
25. Naptime is the New Happy Hour: And other ways toddlers turn your life upside down by Stephanie Wilder-Taylor
26. Promises to Keep by Jane Green
27. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
28. The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton

29. They Did it With Love by Kate Morgenroth

30. Animal Farm by George Orwell

31. This Little Mommy Stayed Home by Samantha Wilde

32. Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner
33. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffeneger
34. Maid to Match by Deanne Gist
35. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
36. The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer
37. UnCharted TerriTori by Tori Spelling
38. Honolulu by Alan Brennert

39. Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

40. The Year of the Fog by Michelle Richmond

41. I Did (But I Wouldn't Again) by Cara Lockwood

42. Run Like a Mother: How to Get Moving and Not Lose Your Job, Family or Sanity by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea

43. Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

44. Got You Back by Jane Fallon

45. Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin (Horrible book, I've decided I DO NOT like this author)

46. Life without Summer by Lynne Griffin

47. West End Girls by Jenny Colgan

48. A Breath of Fresh Air by Amulya Malladi

49. Palo Alto Stories by James Franco (Yes the actor (in Spiderman), I was hoping this book would be great because I work in PA and it would be fun to hear stories about this area, but the writing was HORRIBLE! I even had my husband read a few paragraphs to see how bad it was. I don't even know how the editor let this book get by.)

50. The Solomon Sister's Wise Up by Melissa Senate

Wow, long time no see

November and December are notoriously busy months for me. In fact, I think I was only home for 1 weekend out of the month in November. And only 2 weekends in December. Between my daughter's birthday party, school holiday functions, family gatherings and another trip to Disneyland (which was the day it sold out, but we got in) we were SUPER busy.

I have so much to blog about too. So beware of a ton of entries about a lot of stuff. :)

Why I Love Where I Live

There are runners out every single day. I see them driving my kids to preschool/daycare. I see them around my work, looking out from my desk, out on the trails etc. Rain or shine, I am never alone out there. I've learned to ease slowly out of driveways because a runner might be coming by. I see people running with dogs, other people, huge groups or jog strollers. I love the running community here. In fact the reason why we bought our house was we drove by at night to check out the neighborhood after dark and I saw someone running while it was pitch black out. I *knew* this was the place for me.

In fact, not too far from my house is this trail, I heart this trail. It has beautiful views, water stops and goes on for miles.

Plus, living in the bay area...there is the bonus of races all year long, different lengths, practically weekly. Being so close to all of this has been heavenly. I'm really lucky to have these amenities.

Books Read 2010

2010 Books:

1. The End (Series of Unfortunate Events #13) by Lemony Snicket
2. I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak
3. Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl
4. Toddlers Gone Wild! Rants from a Mommy Brain by Rebecca Eckler
5. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
6. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
7. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
8. Switchcraft by Mary Castillo
9. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
10. Girl with The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
11. The Gift by Cecelia Ahern
12. Restoring Grace by Katie Fforde
13. The Importance of Being Married by Gemma Townley
14. My Life in France by Julia Child
15. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
16. Made in the USA by Billie Letts
17. A Wild Affair by Gemma Townley
18. House Rules by Jodi Picoult
19. My Horizontal Live: A Collection of One Night Stands by Chelsea Handler
20. Through The Heart by Kate Morgenroth
21. As Nature Made Him: The boy who was raised as a girl by John Colapinto
22. What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandel by Zoe Heller
Bit of a lackluster ending.
23. What The Dead Know by Laura Lippman
24. Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin
25. Naptime is the New Happy Hour: And other ways toddlers turn your life upside down by Stephanie Wilder-Taylor
26. Promises to Keep by Jane Green
27. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
28. The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton

29. They Did it With Love by Kate Morgenroth

30. Animal Farm by George Orwell

31. This Little Mommy Stayed Home by Samantha Wilde

32. Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner
33. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffeneger
34. Maid to Match by Deanne Gist
35. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
36. The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer
37. UnCharted TerriTori by Tori Spelling
38. Honolulu by Alan Brennert

39. Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

40. The Year of the Fog by Michelle Richmond

41. I Did (But I Wouldn't Again) by Cara Lockwood

42. Run Like a Mother: How to Get Moving and Not Lose Your Job, Family or Sanity by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea I loved this book. I actually asked for it for Mother's Day but my wonderful hubby forgot to buy it. He added it to his Amazon cart but never actually ordered it. I finally bought it for myself and thoroughly enjoyed it. Some highlights of the book...comments throughout the chapters from different mothers, hearing stories of the authors runs and races, and most all the inspiration that was laid out throughout the book. I loved hearing other mothers fitting time in their busy lives to run. Another take home message for me, the Hills chapter. I don't know what it was about that chapter but it has inspired me to do hill work. So for the past two weeks I've gone out and put in a day of hill work. (In fact I did a hill run at lunch today.)

This past weekend I was luck to meet the authors of this book at the See Jane Run Store in San Francisco. It was a lovely night of wine, chocolate and reading. I was excited to meet Dimity and Sarah and I loved how comfortable I felt chatting with them. I'm looking forward to hanging out with them again the next time their in my area.

43. Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. This is the 6th book in the series. I've read them all and each are a light read and somewhat entertaining. There are times where you want to smack Becky (main character) across the head, but overall a fun read.

Currently Reading: Got You Back by Jane Fallon

I decided not to listen to Cold Mountain on cd. I started it and just couldn't get into the narrators voice. So I've skipped that one and am listening to "The Other Queen" by Philippa Gregory

Next Up: Mini-Shopoholic by Sophie Kinsella

My List of Baby Must-Haves

Just wanted to note that this is mine and hubby's list of must-haves. I've since modified it with baby #2, but this is the list I've forwarded to several friends for registry ideas. Note, baby to baby preferences are not always the same. So this is just my experience.

1. Swing

2. Bouncy Chair

3. Crib

4. Crib mobile

5. Crib music soother

6. 2-3 crib sheets, 2 mattress waterproof pads

7. Sleep positioner

8. Humidifier

9. Nose aspirator (washable!!)

10. 2-3 towels

11. 4-5 washclothes

12. infant bath tub

13. non-slip mat or sticky pads for bathtub

14. bath toy holder, faucet cover

15. plastic spoons and forks (use a plastic toothbrush holder for travel)

16. high chair or booster seat with at least 2 trays (3 preferable)

17. plastic bowls

18. plastic bibs (at least 3)

19. changing pad

20. 2-3 changing pad covers

21. lap pads (4-5)

22. cloth diapers/receiving blankets (7-8) we used them only as spit clothes

23. fold up bottle drying rack

24. snack cups

25. bottle brush

26. sleep sacks

27. Exersaucer

28. Activity Gym

29. Umbrella stroller

30. Jogging stroller (if that’s what you’re into)

31. Pack n play (simple unless you’re going to have it out in your house. If you use it all the time, then splurge for the vibration/music. If you just use it for travel, don’t need all the bells and whistles.)

32. Floppy seat cover for grocery cart/restaurant high chair

33. Ergo carrier (much better than the Bjorn)

34. Stroller travel system. If you have two cars and will both be using strollers, get a snap n go for the 2^nd car. I’d buy the snap n go used, cuz you don’t use it for that long. (Revision after 2^nd child, if you need a stroller in two cars, I’d do BOB revolution w/infant seat attachment in one car, snap n go in the other. Later on, Snap n go can be replaced with umbrella stroller.)

35. Go go kids carseat roller (for plane travel)

36. Kiddopotamus Tiny Diner placemat. If you go out to eat often. (We love this!!)

37. Kiddopotamus plastic bib (good for travel as well)

38. Something to swaddle. I’ve tried all the swaddle stuff, the kiddopotamus and ultimate swaddler but I found that regular blankets worked best.

39. Gripe water

40. Baby monitor. If you have a big house, and the baby’s room is far away then splurge on this one. Our house is small, we hardly used it. I just leave our doors open and can here her. I mostly use my baby monitor when we travel to friends/family houses when we’ll be far from her room.

41. Glider (not essential, used in the early years but hardly used now)

42. My breast friend. I like it better than the boppy for positioning for feeding. But the boppy can be used to position the baby in on the couch, tummy time etc.

44. Breast pads

45. At least 3 nursing bras.

46. Nightgowns (for mama) with snaps or button closures for night time feedings.

47. Car mirror

48. Digital thermometer

49. Pacifier (depends on your parenting thoughts)

50. Lovey (depends on your parenting thoughts)

Revised with 2^nd Child:

51. Aden + Anais blankets for swaddling.

52. For cloth diapers if you’re going that route, try the Jillian Drawer’s Diaper trial. We went with Bum Genius 3.0 diapers.

53. Bum Genius Diaper sprayer

54. Robeez shoes (helps keep socks on)

55. Medela Free-style pump