Sunday, September 23, 2012

2012 Resolutions

The Resolutions: 
January 2012
1) Cook a new recipe once a month. (And post them here if I like it.)
2) Run 500 miles. I have already signed up for 2 half marathons (One in April and one in May)
3) Lose the 7-8 lbs I'm still carrying of baby weight.
4) Try new classes. Look for groupons or deals to experiment with different fitness classes in my area. I've already started a boot camp class that I bought on groupon.
5) Read 50 books. (I'm on book two right now.)
6) Host several dinners for my friends, especially the ones I haven't seen in ages.

What I've accomplished so far:  As of June 2012
1) I have attempted a few new recipes...I will have to post them here.
2) I'm up to 300 miles ran this year. :)
3) I have lost all of the baby weight!!  A couple of months ago I accomplished this one!
4) Other than the boot camp class I haven't tried another fitness class or other class.
5) I"m only on book 15, gotta speed up my reading.
6) I've had 2 dinner parties so far, well big dinner parties.  

Now as of September 2012
1) New recipe trying sort of dwindled as well as me posting them.  I have been reading magazines and ripping recipes out but those have just ended up in a pile in my kitchen.
2) I'm up to 454.48 miles...and I have a 10k coming up this Friday, a half marathon in 3 weeks, definitely will accomplish this goal.
3) In June I ate something that threw my stomach out of whack where I ended up eating only bread and water for 3-4 days and ended up losing 4 more pounds.  I thought it would come back and I'd be back to my pre-baby weight, but 3 months and it's still stayed off despite not changing anything in my diet or exercise.  So I'm now down to my college days weight, the college days when I wasn't in training/athletic mode.  When I was in college/early 20's and working out a lot for a race, I always gained a few pounds.  I'm hoping I keep it off.  :)
4) I attended a local Adventure Run at Road Runner Sports in my town.  Does that count?  It was something new.  I really enjoyed it and hope to do a few more this year.  I'm working with my boss at the YMCA to attend a training or two on some new classes for me to teach.  We'll see what I get into.
5) I'm up to book 30.  I gotta really cram to reach this goal.
6) I've had a few more dinner parties, not as much as I'd like, so I'd better start setting up some more.  Off to send some emails...

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Books Read 2012


Books I've Read 2012
1. A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff
2. The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar This book was intriguing, a page turner, but it left me wanting more. I didn't feel the book had ended yet. 
3. The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom Very powerful book. I kept wanting to put it down but not, if that makes sense. I was thinking that it would be a heartwarming book but it was a series of tragedies. I fell in love or hated some of the characters and was engrossed with the story the whole time. Definitely a book I'll be thinking about for some time. 
4. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh I'd actually like to give this book 3.5 stars but since I can't I went with 3. I was frustrated reading this book. I was angry with the main character and the way she was acting. Funny I'm using such bad terms for a book I liked. But I guess I was just very engrossed with the book and felt connected to the characters in such a way that I had strong feelings toward them. 
5. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Seen by Chirstopher McDougall
6. Mrs. Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.  I loved this book.  It kept me enthralled and I loved the concept that the author wrote the book from some old photos he found at flea markets.  I'm eagerly waiting the next book. 
7. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
8. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Allen Addison
9. I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
10. The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzch
11. Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year by Anne Lamott Great book for mothers. I laughed out loud and commiserated with Anne and her first year of parenting.
 12. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
13. Seriously...I'm Kidding by Ellen Degeneres
14. Another Piece of My Heart by Jane Green I really liked this book. I don't know what part of it I was attached to, but it was a truly lovely story.
 15. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
16. The Dolphin in the Mirror: Exploring Dolphin Minds and Saving Dolphin Lives by Diana Reiss.  I really liked this book but I majored in Marine Biology and really wanted to study dolphin cognition.  Until I worked in a dolphin lab in Hawaii and realized how much work it would be for no money.  So I gave up my dream for a different one.  This book talked about many of the things I studied in Hawaii and about the lead researchers in this topic which I read about years ago.  It may be dry for non-science majors, but for me I really enjoyed reading it.
17. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

18. Your Five-Year-Old Sunny and Serene: by Frances Ilg
19. The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner
20. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.  I was so liking the series until this book.  Got too sci-fi on me, too graphic and gory for me and ended in a disappointment.
21. I Feel Bad about My Neck: And Other thoughts on being a Woman by Nora Ephron.  More of a chick-lit for the 60 year old's.  Too old for me to really enjoy the humor.
22. When Did I Get Like This? The Screamer, the Worrier, the Dinosaur-Chicken-Nugget-Buyer, and Other Mother's I Swore I'd Never Be by Amy Wilson This book was hilarious. So many times I was laughing out loud or reading sections to my husband. I felt that I could relate to many of the things that happened to Amy. It was nice to hear other mom's going though what I'm going through, and it was perfect that she was a mom of 3 too. I have already passed the book on to another mom for a quick read and good laugh.
23. The Young Wan by Brendan O'Carroll, I love this series, all of the books have kept me super entertained.  Definitely recommend the series.
24. A Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosnay
25. Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews
26. The Bungalow by Sarah Jio Definitely a page turner that kept me up all hours finishing it. Loved the story, very well written and captivating.
27. Train Like A Mother: How to Get Across Any Finish Line and Not Lose Your Family, Job or Sanity by Dimity Mcdowell and Sarah Bowen Shea.  I was mentioned in the beginning of the book.  I was one of the ladies at the Nike Women's Marathon book reading who was questioned whether they wanted a training log as their next book.  I was hoping for a book just like Train Like A Mother.  So glad they went this route.
28. Where We Belong by Emily Giffin This was a wonderful story. A story about an adopted girl finding her birth mother and father and finding herself. I was moved by both main characters as the author wove both their stories together (daughter and birth mother). It was well written and kept me enthralled. I just finished the book and the ending was well done. It could have ended in so many ways, but I like how the author concluded the story.
29. Beyond Sibling Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Become Cooperative, Caring and Compassionate by Peter Goldenthal
30. The Violets of March by Sarah Jio

Friday, June 22, 2012

Music I'm Loving Now

Always new songs are coming out.  Here are a list of my current fav's.
You Were Born by Cloud Cult
Glad You Came by The Wanted
Stereo Hearts by Gym Class Heros
Rumour Has It by Adele
Sexy and I Know It by LMFAO
What Doesn't Kill You by Kelly Clarkson
Pumped Up Kicks by Foster The People
In The Dark by Dev
You Make Me Feel by Cobra Starship
Without You by David Guetta
I Wanna Go by Britney Spears
Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5
Feels So Close by Calvin Harris
Hello by Martin Solveig and Dragonette
Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen
Payphone by Maroon 5
Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye
We Are Young by Fun
Wild Ones by Flo Rida
What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction
Starships by Nicki Minaj
Drive By by Train
Everybody Talks by Neon Trees
Brokenhearted by Karmin
Good Feeling by Flo Rida
International Love by Pitbull

2012 Resolutions Revisited

The Resolutions:
1) Cook a new recipe once a month. (And post them here if I like it.)
2) Run 500 miles. I have already signed up for 2 half marathons (One in April and one in May)
3) Lose the 7-8 lbs I'm still carrying of baby weight.
4) Try new classes. Look for groupons or deals to experiment with different fitness classes in my area. I've already started a boot camp class that I bought on groupon.
5) Read 50 books. (I'm on book two right now.)
6) Host several dinners for my friends, especially the ones I haven't seen in ages. 

What I've accomplished so far:
1) I have attempted a few new recipes...I will have to post them here.  
2) I'm up to 300 miles ran this year. :)
3) I have lost all of the baby weight!!  A couple of months ago I accomplished this one!
4) Other than the boot camp class I haven't tried another fitness class or other class.
5) I"m only on book 15, gotta speed up my reading.
6) I've had 2 dinner parties so far, well big dinner parties.  

Books I've Read 2012

Books I've Read 2012
1. A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff
2. The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar This book was intriguing, a page turner, but it left me wanting more. I didn't feel the book had ended yet.
3. The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom Very powerful book. I kept wanting to put it down but not, if that makes sense. I was thinking that it would be a heartwarming book but it was a series of tragedies. I fell in love or hated some of the characters and was engrossed with the story the whole time. Definitely a book I'll be thinking about for some time.
4. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh I'd actually like to give this book 3.5 stars but since I can't I went with 3. I was frustrated reading this book. I was angry with the main character and the way she was acting. Funny I'm using such bad terms for a book I liked. But I guess I was just very engrossed with the book and felt connected to the characters in such a way that I had strong feelings toward them.
5. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Seen by Chirstopher McDougall
6. Mrs. Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.  I loved this book.  It kept me enthralled and I loved the concept that the author wrote the book from some old photos he found at flea markets.  I'm eagerly waiting the next book.
7. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
8. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Allen Addison
9. The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzch
10. Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year by Anne Lamott Great book for mothers. I laughed out loud and commiserated with Anne and her first year of parenting.
 11. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern12. Seriously...I'm Kidding by Ellen Degeneres
13. Another Piece of My Heart by Jane Green I really liked this book. I don't know what part of it I was attached to, but it was a truly lovely story.
 14. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins I was putting off reading this book because of the premise. But upon reading it, it wasn't as gory and I thought it would be.  They actually made it seem okay in a way.  It was a good read, hard to believe this is a young adult book, I had to imagine the characters as being older than they were in order to feel okay with the games.  I'm eager to read the 2nd book to see where Suzanne Collins will take the story.

Books in Bold I Highly Recommend.




Tuesday, June 5, 2012

2012 up until now

2012 has been a busy one.
As of January 31, I decided to become a stay at home mom.  Well, except for the spin class I teach weekly.  I didn't realize how super busy I'd be staying at home.  I seriously can't imagine doing the things I do plus working full time.
A typical week goes as follows:
Monday: Drop off kindergartner at 9:10 am.  Rush off to Stroller strides class from 9:30 to 10:30 with 2 younger kids in the double BOB stroller.  Play at the park after class from 10:30 to 11:45ish.  Head home for lunch and to get the kids down for an early nap.  Wake kids up at 2pm to pick up kindergartner.  Play on the school playground till 3-3:30.  Come home, start thinking about dinner.  Feed snacks to the kids.  Have kindergartner work on homework.  5:30pm hubby comes home.  6-6:30 eat dinner.  7-8pm, homework, pick up house, baths, etc.  8:30pm bedtime.  9pm-crash on couch to watch shows with hubby.

Tuesday: Drop off kindergartner at 9:10.  Drop off preschooler at 9:40.  Head to the trail to run with baby in the single BOB.  Tuesday is my "relaxing day" I typically only run errands to stores I don't normally have on my weekly list.  Or I clean house/laundry/meet up with friends.  After 2pm my afternoon/evening is similar to Monday except with a preschool pick up anytime after 3:30.

Wednesday: Early day...kindergartner goes to school at 8:20.  I take the two youngsters to the park or to Costco or to a playdate.  Wednesday is a short day so we head back to the school to pick up eldest at 12:25. Then it's back home for lunch and naps for the young ones.  Sometimes I have eldest watch tv or play quietly and I will cat nap.  Afternoon I have to make dinner early because at 5:30pm I'm off to teach spin class.

Thursday: Same as Tuesday, but after I run, go to Costco if I didn't do it Wednesday.  From 1:30 to 2:30pm I volunteer in my daughter's kindergarten classroom.  (Sometimes my mother-in-law babysits the baby, sometimes I bring her with me.)

Friday: Same as Tuesday, sometimes I run, sometimes not.  Definitely hit the grocery store on this day.

The weeks just FLY by!  In fact, I can't believe it's the end of the school year.  Summer seems daunting having the kids home pretty much every day, but I'm sure it'll be fall before I know it.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Resolutions for 2012

As I think about 2012, I feel excited about all of the things I want to do.
I did not reach my goals for 2011, so I will add them to this year in hopes I will complete them.
So my resolutions:
1) Cook a new recipe once a month. (And post them here if I like it.)
2) Run 500 miles. I have already signed up for 2 half marathons (One in April and one in May)
3) Lose the 7-8 lbs I'm still carrying of baby weight.
4) Try new classes. Look for groupons or deals to experiment with different fitness classes in my area. I've already started a boot camp class that I bought on groupon.
5) Read 50 books. (I'm on book two right now.)
6) Host several dinners for my friends, especially the ones I haven't seen in ages. It's hard for us to get out with 3 kids so I'm bringing people to me. I lure them in with dinners and playdates. :) I've hosted one tonight actually for my college roommate/bridesmaid and her boyfriend. I have sent out 2 emails to other people to try and coordinate dates. Now that I have a dining room, let the feasts begin. I told my husband when we were adding on that I really wanted a dining room and once I had one I'd be using it a ton. Sure enough...we've been getting use out of it.

Saturday, December 31, 2011

2011 Year in Review

This year was chaotic.
January-March was pretty normal. Feb we did a trip to Tahoe.
March started interviewing contractors to add on to our house. Found out baby #3 is a girl.
April-Girl's weekend away to Napa. Submitted paperwork to the city for permits.
May- Ran a 5k at 28.5 weeks pregnant
June-Ran a 5k at 30.5 weeks pregnant and our house addition starts (end of the month)
July- E's 2nd birthday and his choking incident. Start maternity leave.
August- Baby Girl named A is born the day before my birthday. :) Also the wall between our kitchen and new addition is torn down a few days after we come home from the hospital. Talk about a mess in our crowded house! And M starts kindergarten!
September- E's back in the ER for stitches on his forehead. (Accident prone?)
October- By the end of the month the addition is done. We get to move in.
November- M turns 5 years old. Our house is finally complete. (Old bathroom and bedroom remodeled.) We host Thanksgiving this year in our bigger home.
December-Hubby's birthday and Christmas. As well as every weekend M has birthday parties to attend.

We survived through so much this year. It was rough at times. Especially during the remodel. The house was a disaster, dusty, crowded, loud etc and all the while with a newborn. Kindergarten was a transition for the whole family. We have now adjusted to being a family of 5, we have space in our house and we've established a good routine that works for us. I'm finally able to relax in the evenings though sometimes that means crashing early.

Though I wasn't able to reach my goals for 2011, I'm sure I'll more than make up for them in 2012. ;)

Running talley: 217.42 miles. Very short of my 300 mile goal.

Book talley: 37 books out of my 50 book goal.

Friday, December 30, 2011

End of the Year Music Playlist list

Realized I haven't updated my fav music since January!!

Here's on my running/spinning playlist now:
Give Me Everything by Pitbull/Ne-yo et al.
The Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga
Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO
Till the World Ends by Britney Spears
On The Floor by Jennifer Lopez
Hey Baby by Pitbull
Shake Senora by Pitbull
What the Hell by Avril Lavigne
The Time (Dirty Bit) by Black Eyed Peas
Tonight I'm Loving You by Enrique Iglesias
Born This Way by Lady Gaga
Stereo Love by Edward Maya
Yeah 3x by Chris Brown
Like a G6 by Far East Movement
Only Girl by Rihanna
We R Who We R by Ke$ha
Raise Your Glass by Pink
Marry You by Bruno Mars
Dog Days are Over by Florence and The Machine

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Books Read 2011

Books Read 2011

Books Read 2011 (Items in bold are books I highly recommend)

1. Dixieland Sushi by Cara Lockwood
2. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
3. Courting Trouble by Deeanne Gist
4. Women Who Run by Shanti Sosienski Loved this book! So inspiring to read about these amazing women who fought to bring women's running into theolympics or to fight a personal struggle. I truely enjoyed reading each story. And the interesting one was of the man who had a sex change to a woman. Reading how estrogen slowed him down was fascinating.
5. Without a Backward Glance by Kate Veitch
6. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
7. My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares Amazing book! I've recommended this book to everyone I know. Such a great story/plot. At first I was disappointed with the lackluster ending but later learned that this book is supposed to be Part 1 of a trilogy. I can't wait till the next book comes out.
8. Ape House by Sara Gruen (A little disappointing, I really liked Water for Elephants and had high hopes for this book.)
9. Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier-Again I was hoping for an exciting story, it seemed a little slow. Apparently this book is historical fiction but I sort of wished it was spiced up a little.
10. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins This was a cute teen novel. My friend recommended it to me so I requested the book from the library. I didn't find it amazing, but a cute story.
11. The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern. I liked the book, it wasn't as amazing as it sounded like it would be, but it was entertaining. There were some twists in there that I liked.
12. The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes. Very cute book! I thought it was creatively written and kept my interest throughout the book as it followed inhabitants of an apartment building.
13. Mile Markers: The 26.2 Most Important Reasons Why Women Run by Kristen Armstrong. I didn't like the layout of the book in that it wasn't chronological. So it took a bit to get used to kids ages changing etc. But for the most part it was a book about friendship and the bonds you make while running. I had an issue with Kristin saying she's not a runner, etc when she's super fast, spits out 2 hour runs on the weekends often, qualified and ran the Boston Marathon and made an ultra-marathon (trail one nontheless) seem easy. For me that is a super runner, something I don't think I'll ever be...so I was really mad that she says I'm not a runner and here I am saying I"m a runner but can't even imagine being at her level.
14. These Hidden Things by Heather Gudenkauf Very good book! I whipped through it in 4 days which recently is amazing for me. Some of it was predictable but it still kept my attention.
15. The Last to Know by Melissa Hill This book kept me guessing the whole way through. I loved that.
16. Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult It was interesting, didn't have the usual Jodi Picoult drama in the end. It was a good read though I was expecting a bit more to be played out.
17.
The Boy Who Loved Tornadoes by Randi Davenport
18. The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain
19. The Pile of Stuff at the Bottom of the Stairs by Christina Hopkinson
20. Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later by Francine Pascal. I was a huge Sweet Valley fan when I was a little girl. I saw this book and was hoping to bring back those memories. Not so much. Total twist on the plot that I remember. Maybe if I had read the college years it would have made sense but all in all it was eh.
21. The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin
22. The Luxe by Anna Godbersen: I picked up this book because of the beautiful dress on the cover. I loved it. It's a young adult book and it's best described as Gossip Girl in the 1800's.
23. The Sleeping Beauty Proposal by Sarah Strohmeyer
24. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
25. Rumors by Anna Godbersen Sequel to Luxe.
26. Bossypants by Tina Fey Funny easy read.
27. Envy by Anna Godbersen
28. Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner
This was a great book. I felt I haven't read a really good Jennifer Weiner book in a while but this one was really good. I loved how it was a story about one baby told by several "mothers", egg donor, surrogate and actual mother. It was cleverly written and kept me captivated.
29. Splendor by Anna Godbersen Final Luxe series book. I really liked the series and would recommend it at a fun, easy read.
30. The Lies we Told by Diane Chamberlain
31. The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell
32. Still Alice by Lisa Genova
I loved reading the book in the affected patients perspective. Not that I'd know what Alzheimers is like but I felt it could quite possibly have portrayed the disease very well.
33. Forget Me Knot by Sue Margolis
34. Before the Storm by Diane Chamberlain
35. Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
36. Sisterhood Everlasting (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants #5) by Ann Brashares Wow, just wow. Not what I was expecting when I picked up this book, but a very good read. Like the twists Brashares did.
37. Secrets She Left Behind by Diane Chamberlain


Adding to my books read 2011:
Books Listened to in 2011
1. Love and Impossible Pursuits byAyelet Waldman
2. Between Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson
3. Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende
4. Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
5.
Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving