Recent Pictures

Penny, Ginger and I gave Judy tickets to see Mary Poppins. Here we were at Mt Fuji to eat. It was alot of fun.

Maddie hitting the pinata

Emma and her cool shades!

CRAZYTOWN

It has been awhile since I posted but I have been very busy with school starting, planning a 30th birthday party and I am sick. Where do I start...running??? Well, I am off my band wagon! I have been having some right sided and chest pain for the last 6 weeks or so. I have seen a doctor and he ordered a CT scan which showed an ovarian cyst or dermoid (tumor with hair and teeth) so he wanted a follow up ultrasound. The ultrasound showed the cyst and no dermoid. The doctor thought that the cyst was what was causing the pain but I believe that it is different and more like the symptoms I had when I was having gallbladder issues in 2006. So he decided to do an EGD which is like a colonoscopy except the other end. That came back that I have reflux, which isn't surprising. After another visit with the doctor he decided with some coaxing from me, to do an ultrasound of my ride side. That showed that my bile duct is enlarged but they didn't see a stone. So now I have to see a GI specialist.

So a few weeks ago I developed a cold and it has persisted. I am not thinking it is my reflux acting up because by the end of the day, my side is killing me along with the heartburn and my cough is 100% worse. I decided today to watch what I ate to see if that made a difference. So far it hasn't, just made me have a huge headache from lack of caffeine. So needless to say...I haven't been running!!! I am disappointed and was happy how I was doing. I am actually looking forward to running again...how crazy does that sound?

So what else is going on??? School started, I have an internship along with another class this semester and I found out that I have to have 2 chapters of my project written by December. I haven't even thought about what I wanted to do for my project!!!

This past weekend, I threw a birthday party for Reggie and I. We both turned 30 this year!!! It was alot of fun but I was disappointed. I am not sure what I expected but it wasn't as much fun as I thought it was going to be.

Well, that is what my life has been like the last few weeks. I will post some pictures/videos in a bit.

Start of Week 4

So I finished week 3 of running on Friday, I can't believe that I made it. I started week 4 today and didn't do very well. It has 2 series: 1) 3 min run and 90 sec walk 2) 5 minute run and a 2 1/2 minute walk and they repeat. I put new insoles in my shoes and after about 1 minute on the last 5 min run, I had very bad shin splints and my feet were numb so I stopped. I could hardly make it home by walking. I think I need to take out the insoles or something. Has anyone else decided to join me on completing the couch to 5K?

Below are some pictures after I got home this morning.

Maddie, Emma and Me stretching

More stretching...Maddie really wanted to go running with me!

Such a BIG girl

On Thursday night I told Maddie that she is done wearing diapers and needs to be a big girl and wear underwear. I told her when she woke up on Friday we were going to put them on. We have tried to potty train or at least get her to sit on the potty and she would scream and cry when we wanted her to sit down so I was nervous about how this would work. I printed off a Dora potty calendar and set a timer for 30 minutes. Every time she sat on the potty, she could put a sticker on her calendar. If she went potty she got a tattoo, which she loves. Friday and Saturday were spent on the potty and then about 5-10 minutes after getting off, peeing in her underwear. I thought there is no way that she is going to go to daycare on Tuesday in underwear. Well, Sunday was better, about 1/2 of the time she would go in the potty. On Monday, she went every time in the potty and kept her underwear dry the entire day. I was so happy. Today at daycare, it didn't go as well. I am not sure what happened because when I went and picked her up, all of her teachers were gone and she was with another group of kids and teachers. I did call the director of the daycare and am I going to express my concerns.

A few weeks ago I bought a bike for Maddie at a garage sale. She got on it once for about 2 minutes and then I couldn't get her to ride it. Grandma and Grandpa Aldeen were here this weekend and she must have wanted to show off her new bike because she rode it for Grandma and now is riding it around the driveway.

Here are a few pictures of the weekend. I can't believe how big Maddie is getting, before I know it, she will be heading off to Kindergarten!!

Maddie and Emma watching TV together on the Dora couch.

Maddie riding her new bike

Emma and Maddie in the tub

Maddie showing off all of her tattoos

Running

Towards the beginning of the summer I decided that I wanted to start running. OK, here is my rationale...you don't see many fat runners. I know...kind of stupid but hey if it helps me loose weight, so be it! So after I did some research and talking to some people at work, I decided to do the couch to 5K program. The program is build so that in 9 weeks of training, you should be able to run a 5K or about 3 miles. So I have NEVER even been able to run a mile. I actually HATE running so why am I doing this...what the hell, why not!! So I am hoping that someone will read this and think, hey why don't I try and then we can complain about how bad it sucks!!! So beware there might be some blogs or complaints about my running experience.

I am now on week 3...I know, I obviously didn't start right away. I actually started for about a week and then took a couple weeks off and then I did another week and then took more time off, you see the pattern? So the first week was running 60 seconds and walking 60 seconds...doesn't sound too tough. Yeah, it sucked. Then last week on week 2, I ran 90 seconds and walked 2 minutes. I listen to a podcast so as I start the walking warm up this week I hear him say something about running 3 minutes. I thought, I must be on the wrong week...nope, I double checked. So I decided that I would start when he said to but that I would quit before the 3 minutes was over...but guess what??? I DID IT...I jogged for 3 WHOLE MINUTES!!!! For people who run, you are probably thinking...get real!! But I want to reiterate that I could hardly run for 60 seconds just a few short weeks ago. So now I am excited to go and run again...I know how crazy am I?

So that is my running saga up until now...I will keep you posted but I would love to hear what works for you and how to get rid of the pain on the sides of my calves. Any suggestions?