Monday's Menu

Last week Jeff provided me with a recipe for chicken and dumplings.  Y'all, I love me some dumplings.  I would go to Cracker Barrel every day of the week if I could.  Thank goodness the closest one is more than 30 miles away.  I will admit, however, I'm kinda a chicken and dumpling snob.  For example, Swanson used to make a really good canned version of them, but then they were bought by Campbells and they ruined it by putting vegetables in it.  People, chicken and dumplings with vegetables equals a pot pie!!!

Although Jeff's recipe called for a few vegetables, I decided not to put them in and instead just went with chicken and dumplings.  Dave did the chicken part.  I did the dumplings.  Here's the recipe.  We halved the recipe because it was PLENTY!

Chicken and Dumplings – serves 14

8 chicken breasts or thighs, remove skin

salt and pepper to taste

8 T. unsalted butter

3 c. chopped onions

2/3 c. flour

4 c. hot water

3 ½ c. chicken stock (broth)

6 medium carrots

4 lg. celery stalks

1 t. thyme

2 t. salt

4 bay leaves

1 t. pepper

Dumplings:

4 c. flour

2 T. baking powder

1 ½ t. salt

6 T. butter (salted)

2 c. milk

Cut chicken breasts in half diagonally. Wash and pat dry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Melt unsalted butter and add chicken. While browning one side, salt and pepper the side facing up. After browning one side, turn over and brown other side.

Remove chicken pieces to a plate. Add onions to drippings and butter in pan and sauté until tender.

Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minutes.

Remove pan from heat and slowly whisk the water and the chicken stock into onion/flour mixture. Whisking constantly, bring to a boil over high heat.

Add vegetables and seasonings through the pepper. Return the chicken pieces and all the juices and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat so it barely bubbles. Cover tightly until chicken is almost done. About 20-30 minutes.

Dumplings:

Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Put the milk and butter in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Do not scorch.

Add milk mixture to dry ingredients.

Stir with a fork or knead by hand 2 or 3 times until the mixture just comes together.

Push chicken pieces down so they are submerged in broth. Gently drop spoonfuls of dough over the hot broth. Cover the pan tightly and simmer for 20 minutes. Don’t remove lid. Serve immediately.

I, of course, did not take any pictures.  Overall, not bad.  We put WAY too much pepper in which, of course, caused me major acid reflux.  Course, there's not much these days that doesn't cause me reflux.  The base of this meal was more soupy than creamy.  I prefer a creamy base, but I have yet to find a recipe that actually is creamy.  Also, I think I made the dumpling balls a little too big as they were a little doughy on the inside.  Would we do this recipe again?  Probably, although I'm still looking for the perfect chicken and dumpling recipe just like Cracker Barrel.  

Do you have a great recipe we should try?  Leave me a comment or send me an email (it's in the contact information).

Week in Review

Monday - 4 mile run/walk, treadmill and 1200 yard swim
Treadmill workout as follows: 1st mile as 2-1/2 minute walk, 2-1/2 minute run; miles 2-4 as 5 minute walk, 2-1/2 minute run.  I reminisced how it used to take me 30 minutes to do 4 miles and today it took me an hour and two minutes.

Dave wanted to hit the pool later in the evening and as tired as I was (I was already in my pajamas when he asked me to go), I went anyway.  He was doing a workout and I was just going to splash around, but I grabbed a pull buoy and did 12 X 100 yards pull while he was doing whatever he was doing.

Tuesday - 3 mile walk, treadmill
Something happened over the weekend and my belly got BIG.  This morning when I went to work, I couldn't button my coat, at all.  I know that's not going to change for the next 11 weeks, but I still wanted to feel good about myself, so I walked 3 miles slowly on the treadmill.

Wednesday - 2.25 mile run/walk, treadmill
I wasn't really in the mood to work out today, but Dave was heading to the basement to ride his trainer, so I joined him on the treadmill.  Since I just walked yesterday, I thought I would do a little running today.  Each day I try to come up with a pseudo workout in my head.  Today's would be 1/4 mile walk, 1/4 run.  The most I've been running has been 2-1/2 minutes and a quarter mile would take longer than that (good gosh).  It was a bit much but I was only doing the workout for only a few miles.  The last quarter mile was a slow cool down walk.

Thursday - Off
We decided to visit our friends who just had a baby and bring them some dinner instead of working out.

Friday - Off
We had planned on going swimming this morning, but we didn't know we would be spending all night in the hospital either.  I was still feeling really crappy for almost all of the day, so I didn't do any working out today either.

Saturday - 2.25 mile walk, treadmill
I felt so much better when I woke up Saturday.  I had overslept the group run, but Dave was planning on a long workout in the basement so I joined him on the treadmill.  Walking was enough today.  I started quicker and ended slowly and I was okay with that.

Sunday - Off
I overdid it yesterday and not just on the workouts.  I slept the whole day with my family attending both my niece and nephew's basketball games.  Sitting all day long was just too much and I woke up pretty sore today.  I think all of this happening this week was definitely a sign to slow down.  Although, I'm hoping it does not mean bed rest.  I am a bit nervous to be heading to the doctor this week.

Totals
Swim - 1200 yards
Walk/Run - 11.5 miles

Peer Pressure

The people I run with are sure good at peer pressure.  They and their peer pressure are the reasons I have signed up for many races, did my first half ironman, and every single one of the overnight relay races I've done.  Recently, they've been talking about doing another half ironman as a group this summer/fall.  They're talk quickly turned into action and many of them signed up including Dave.  Honestly, they've gotten into my head too.  There's a large part of me that wants to do it.  But then there's reality and it almost makes me a little sad.

I promised myself that I would not sign up for any post baby races while I was pregnant.  I have no idea how quickly I'll bounce back or if I'll even have time to train or want to train, so I'm not spending money that I may not get back.  And then there's the obvious stuff.  Like, why do I want to do another triathlon?  I don't even like triathlon.  I made so many strides in my running last year, why would I not want to continue to pursue my running further?  Plus, I haven't been on a bike on almost a year and a half.  And right now I not even sure I can physically get on my bike, which leaves me about 4 months to go from zero to racing on the bike.  Yeah, I don't know.  Finally, there's that whole, I'll have a baby, thing.  If I sign up for the same race as Dave then someone has to watch the kiddo.  My parents are already going to be watching the baby a lot in early summer because of our photo booth schedule.  While I appreciate it and I know that they don't mind and would love time with the baby, I promised myself when I got pregnant that I would be the parent and not someone else.

The good news is, I'm not falling into peer pressure.  I'm not signing up at this time.  I can entertain the thought all I want, but I can't and won't be making any decisions now.

Oh, What a Night

As I've gotten further along in my pregnancy, things haven't been so easy breezy as it was earlier.  Nothing major, but I've had lots of aches and pains as my body has continued to grow and grow.  The weirdest thing recently is that I've had numbness in my lower belly/pelvic area.  My doctor said this is quite normal and all it means is that I'm growing and that my nerves are being stretched.  Fun, huh?

Well, last Thursday I woke up to severe pain in my ribs.  I had had rib pain earlier in my pregnancy that I attributed to growing pains, but this was not in my rib cage above the belly; this was pain in my side, almost under my arm.  Again, I chocked this up to growing pains because yes, I am still getting bigger. As the days went on, this pain continued to be severe and felt like it was getting worse.  I wondered if the growth had broken a rib.  I could not recall for the life of me, what I could have done.  Did I fall?  Did I run into something?  It was so weird.

On Thursday we decided to bring over some dinner to our friends who had just had a baby.  (Remember that picture I posted on Sunday of my super-pregnant friend and me?  Yeah, she had her baby earlier Tuesday morning.)  While Dave was finishing up work, I went to the grocery store to pick up the few things I still needed for dinner.  I literally had a package of chicken breasts, some sour cream, two avocado, and a bottle of laundry detergent.  I carried the bags in one hand and the detergent in the other.  While walking out of the grocery store, I felt everything rip and pull underneath my arm, in my ribs.  I barely made it out to my car without dropping everything.

I got home and put a heating pad on it.  I probably should have used ice, but I had been using ice all week long and it hadn't done anything.  I was in excruciating pain.  I couldn't even breathe.  I was kinda freakin' out.  I didn't want to disappoint our friends and I definitely wanted to meet the new baby, so I popped a Tylenol and went about my evening.

Side note, I have tried to not take ANYTHING during my pregnancy.  I know Tylenol is perfectly safe, I have just preferred not to take anything.  This was only my second Tylenol I've taken the entire 7-1/2 months.

The Tylenol only lessened the pain and it was only for about two hours.  By the time I went to bed, the pain was almost unbearable.  I was in so much pain I couldn't even cry.  Maybe because I couldn't breathe?  I was able to get about an hour of sleep before my bladder woke me up and that was that.  I couldn't get out of bed because of the pain, so when I did finally sit up it was like all my muscles on my left side had been ripped open.  I sat on the couch and tried to find comfort.  Any comfort.  Unfortunately, it wasn't happening.  My high risk doctor had told me that if anything seemed "off" after my 28th week, to go to the hospital and get monitored.  It was time.

At 2:00am, I woke Dave up and told him I couldn't handle the pain and that I wanted to go to the hospital and have the baby monitored.  Dave is a complete zombie when he sleeps.  I couldn't tell if he was just tired or if he was pushing back, but he didn't seem very happy to be going to the hospital at this hour.

We were in the ER by 2:30am and they immediately wheeled us up to Labor and Delivery.  I really didn't want to be in L&D.  I wasn't in labor.  I wanted something to be done about the pain I was in for my ribs.  Up in L&D, I felt like a big fat failure.  The first question they asked me was, "did I have a pediatrician."  No.  Not yet.  That's on the to-do list this month.  Second question, "have I pre-registered at the hospital."  Again, no.  We start our maternity classes at the end of the month which includes getting pre-registered.  I wasn't having a baby, but boy were they making me nervous.  They wheeled me into a room and made me strip down to absolutely nothing.  I knew exactly what this meant - there would be an internal exam.  Gah!  They hooked me up to two monitors: one to measure the baby's heart beat, and one to measure if I was having any contractions.  Not even five minutes after being all hooked up, I had to go to the bath room.  Of course.

They monitored me for about an hour before anyone came back in.  To everyone's surprise, I was having contractions.  Not Braxton Hicks contractions, but real contractions every few minutes.  They weren't strong and they didn't hurt but I could feel them only in the sense that my belly was tightening.  The doctor said I was only feeling those because I was tiny/thin.

They did do an internal exam and my cervix was closed and hard.  Thank goodness.  Then he checked out my ribs.  Oh my stars!  He hurt me so badly that I grabbed his arm and almost ripped out of the hair on it.  The resident on-call decided to call the doctor on-call at the OBGYN office I go to and come up with a plan.  I guess my doctor was the one on-call because he spoke directly to her.  They decided it was safe to give me a single dose of Norco and they would do a blood work-up and check my urine.  The nurse hooked me up with the full tubing in case I needed an IV later just to take my blood.  Yeah, that didn't feel good.  They gave me my dose of Norco and it made me feel very loopy and tired.

After four hours in L&D, they decided to send me home.  They gave me instructions to continue with Tylenol and using a heating pad.  They marked me down as having pre-term labor and just told me to keep my next appointment with my doctor.  They told me I could keep up with my activity level as long as I was feeling okay.

We got home at 7:00am and slept for the next several hours.  Tell you what, this has put quite a scare in us that the baby is coming early (of course, I'm now going to be two weeks late).  Now we've got to get our sh!t together really quickly.

Thursday Thoughts

People, we need help.  We are just a few short weeks from Baby Gordon being born and we still don't have a name.  I'm starting to feel fairly certain that this kiddo is coming home from the hospital still being called "Baby".  We have gone through lists and lists of hundreds of names and are still greatly struggling.  I have narrowed my names down to three.  I'm not sure Dave is on board with any of them.  So at this point, I'm open to taking suggestions.

Here's the rules...

• We're still not telling if it's a boy or a girl so we will take suggestions for both genders.
• If it's a girl, the middle name will be Lucille.  If it's a boy, the middle name will be Reed.
• Our last name is Gordon (if you didn't know that...obviously, it's got to sound good with the last name).
• If it's a girl, we want the name to be eclectic, free-spirited, artistic, but nothing too out of the ordinary either.  If it's a boy, we want the name to be more formal, CEO-like, but not really necessarily traditional either. 
• We will not be shortening any names into nicknames.  So if it's an Anthony, the name is Anthony not Tony; if it's a Lauren we will not be calling her Lori.  

Got it?  Now leave us a message with some name suggestions.  Please!!!

Moments of Sheer Panic

I'm starting to freak out as our due date gets nearer.  Not so much, "we're not ready" as, "what the HELL have I done?"

I've done a lot of crying in the last week.  I may have even said out loud, "I never wanted this!"  While that is mostly true, I am excited about having a baby and glad this happened know.  However, I am still scared out of my mind.  I don't know the first thing about babies.  I don't know about feeding a baby.  I don't know much about holding a baby.  I don't know what to look for with a baby that may be sick.  I have never washed a baby.  I'm seriously screwed.  

I am sure this is absolutely normal thoughts and behavior for someone approaching their due date.  Right?  RIGHT?

Baby's Cadillac

Here it is.  Baby's new Cadillac.  This is the BOB CE running stroller.  Why we chose this one?  I don't know.  The SE was built more for trail running and we're road runners so we chose this one?  They're virtual the same and this is the one we went with.  We're so excited to have this.  We've put our dog in it and strolled it around the house.  It rides so smoothly.  Baby and I are going to put so many miles on this thing.  I can't wait!

Baby Shower Mania

Yesterday and today can only be described as "Baby Shower Mania."  Dave and I (and my mom) decided to do all our baby showers at once.   Dave and I hosted our non-traditional baby shower last night and my mom and sister hosted a more traditional baby shower earlier today.  Now, I'm just exhausted...to the point that I almost got in an accident driving home from my mom's house and came home and cried just because I was tired.

Here's how the weekend went.

I took Friday off from work and cleaned the house like a maniac.  Saturday, Dave joined in on the cleaning fun.  We finished up about 0.5 seconds before our guests started arriving.  You know how on HGTV people are always asking for a house where they can entertain people?  They love to entertain?  Yeah, that's not us.  It's not that we don't want our friends over; we're both just kind of social awkward and don't really know how to be hosts.  Thankfully there were two distinct groups at this party, our college friends and our running friends, and they were able to keep each other entertained.  We had set up the house to keep people busy: XBox, photo booth, board/card games, and yet, I think people just stood around drinking, eating, and talking.  I worried all night long that people were not having a good time, but it sounds like it went okay.

P is two weeks away from her due date.  I'm 12ish.  My kiddo kicked her during this picture and she felt it.

After everyone left, my parents and Dave's parents stuck around and we opened our gifts for them.  We got a lot of great stuff, including all our running friends chipping in and getting us our running stroller (picture on Friday).  We also absolutely loved the elemental blocks my parents got us.  This kid's going to be so smart!  We took the stuff up and threw it in the crib so Sloopy (the dog) wouldn't ruin the stuffed animals already.

Sunday I woke up feeling hung over.  Too many people, too much activity, not enough sleep.  I had over done it.  But, I had to put on a good front and head to my parents' house for round two of baby showers.  My mom and sister were throwing a more traditional baby shower which was almost all family and a few family friends.  There was good food, great cake, and silly games (which I requested NO games!!).  The whole situation seemed really weird.  As I said, I'm kinda social awkward and felt like everyone was staring at me.  It's not like I'm 22 and people are like, "oh it's so cute you're pregnant", it's that weird, "Huh, we never thought this would happen to Meredith."  It wasn't until the party was over that small talk was made and I felt more comfortable.

My family was more than generous and got us amazing gifts.

We got a lot of great supplies like thermometers, bath supplies, diapers, a changing pad, our diaper bag (that's the backpack - we're such athletes), and a few clothes (including clothes for the gender we are NOT having).  I have so many thank you notes to write!!!

We still have so much we need for baby.  It kind of scares me.  We're hoping to make a list this week of things we still need and prioritize them as to what is actually needed and what we just want.  Then we're going to scour the internet and stores to find the best deals.  I'm starting to feel a little panicked, like I'm running out of time, and will never be prepared.  I suppose this is typical.  This was only a minor crying breakdown with my dog.

More info coming this week of more baby shower awesomeness.

Week in Review

I know I'm not going to have time to do any workout on Sunday, so I can go ahead and post this on Saturday.

Monday - Off
I was planning a treadmill run today with my new treadmill, but we all know what happened there.

Tuesday - 2.55 mile treadmill run/walk
Dave and I went to the Y tonight and somehow got lucky in the Resolution crowd and found treadmills beside each other.  I had no idea how far or long Dave was planning to run.  He was using his new Zombie Run app and just kept playing games, so I just kept going too.  I did 2-1/2 minutes of walking, 2-1/2 minutes of running and got in a total of 2.55 miles in the time he did 5 miles.  I can't wait to be fast again.

Wednesday - 3 mile treadmill run/walk
Finally, the new treadmill!  I was feeling pretty tired today.  Maybe it was the workout from yesterday or the ultra-long nap I took or the appointments I had this afternoon, but this workout was taxing.  My first mile I did as 2-1/2 minutes walk, 2-1/2 minutes run.  The second mile was 5 minutes walk, 2-1/2 minutes run.  And the last mile I just walked.  Any workout is a good workout, right?

Thursday - 2 mile treadmill walk
1/4 mile 0% incline, 1/4 1% incline, repeat.  This seemed hard.  It seemed like the treadmill was heading uphill even when it was at 0%.  It was only after Dave ran on it later that we found that you could calibrate the incline.  Whoops!  Hopefully, it will not be so uphill next time.

Friday - 1800 yard swim
6 X 300 as 2 X 300 swim, 2 X 300 swim with fins, 2 X 300 pull.  I got to the gym this morning (I had the day off from work) and the pool was full and it looked like there was a swim team there.  I was confused because the swim teams practice in the afternoon and evenings.  I asked the front desk and they said it was the Navy Seals.  What the Navy Seals were doing in Columbus, Ohio, I'll never know but I guess they swim there Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.  There was one other lane open so I thought I'd wait on that one.  But when I got to the pool deck, the Navy swim coach let me swim with one of his guys.  Thanks for being so nice, guys!

Saturday - 3 mile walk, Highbanks Metro Park
I'm definitely slowing down as the group did the full 6 mile loop and I did the top 3 and the fast dudes beat me this week.  Although the temperatures have been warm all week, the trails were really icy and muddy.  I spent most of the time walking along the edge of the trail to avoid the ice and was super, super careful going down the hills and across the bridges.

Sunday - Off
Too much going on this weekend.

Totals:
Swim - 1800 yards
Run/Walk - 10.55 miles

Product Review: Kiefer Silicone Training Fins

Kiefer contacted me several weeks ago asking me if I'd like to try out one of their products.  Well, don't threaten me with a good time!  After some discussion with them, making sure they'd want me to review an item for them when I'm crazy pregnant and not really swim "training", I was sent the Kiefer Silicone Training Fins.

I already had a pair of Speedo fins, but they were long and more scuba-like than swim training-like.  These fins from Kiefer are comparable to zoomers.  From their website:

Kiefer Silicone Swim Training Fins are extremely durable in the pool and offer a very comfortable fit, the perfect swim training tool for kicking drills and swimming sets. Short blade fin design improves kick strength and ankle flexibility, causing development of proper flutter kick technique.

I have worn them on two different swims now and they are REALLY different than my previous swim fins.  The first time I wore them, I have to admit, I didn't like them a whole lot.  I was swimming with Dave and he was using his long Speedo fins.  He was kicking my buns in the pool and it was pissing me off.  With my old, long fins I could just move my feet a little and I got incredible speed.   The second time I wore them, I swam alone, and I understood why these are such a great training tool.  I understood that moving my feet and ankles properly, along with rolling my legs and hips, I could gain some speed out of the fins.  Therefore, I was improving my kick by learning to kick properly.  I can't wait to really use the fins once the baby is born and I can really swim train again.

Would I recommend these fins.  Absolutely!  Am I going to continue to use them.  You betcha!  Will I go back to my old fins?  Only if I'm scuba diving (which I'll never do because of my ears).

Do you have any Kiefer products?  What are your thoughts on using fins during swim training? 

28 Weeks

Third trimester, y'all!!!

How far along? 28 weeks, 7 months

Total weight gain: I've been fluctuating between 20-25 pounds for the last couple of weeks.  At this point I'm thinking the 25-35 pound weight gain is doable.
Maternity clothes? I'm wearing almost all maternity clothes with a few pieces mixed in to be acceptable at work.  I work for a clothing retailer that "requires" us to wear the clothing to work.
Stretch marks? Nope.  I'm keeping everything well lubed (that's what she said).
Sleep:  I am only sleeping 1-2 hours between bathroom breaks at night.  Due to the really bad reflux I'm experience, I have also been woken up many nights with a little bit of vomit in the throat (gross, sorry).  When I do get a lucky 3-5 hours of continuous sleep, I actually feel more tired the next day.  Even before getting pregnant I was getting up 2-3 times per night to go to the bathroom.  Interrupted sleep doesn't really bother me.
Best moment this week: I had my biweekly doctor's appointment yesterday.  It was a good appointment.  She said everything seemed normal, my weight gain was good, she was happy I was still running, she said my ab muscles still looked good, and she thinks all of this will be beneficial for my labor and deliver.  Let's hope.
Miss Anything? A good glass of wine or margarita, running fast, pants with buttons.
Movement:  All the time and everywhere inside the belly.  The little munchkin is a mover!  The movement has gotten so big that you can see it.  Dave got to witness this for the first time last night.
Food cravings:  French fries!!!  Have your the commercials for the new Rally's burger that has the French fries ON the burger?  Seriously, I want to try that.
Anything making you queasy or sick: It seems like everything gives me really bad reflux and therefore I always feel a little vomit-y.  Starting today I'm going to try eating smaller portions and earlier in the day.
Gender: Not telling.
Labor Signs: Not yet.  That's a good thing.
Symptoms: Gosh, all of them.  It doesn't take much standing or walking to cause my feet and my back to hurt.  My ribs hurt.  I developed some numbness/tingling in my lower belly, which my doctor said is perfectly normal as I grow.
Belly Button in or out? It's just kind of there.  It's on the verge of popping out but not quite yet.
Wedding rings on or off?  On.  The only swelling I've experienced is when I sit for too long.  Then my legs swell a little.
Happy or Moody most of the time: I'm pretty moody anymore.  I'm either full-on rage or crying about something.  I know I still have 12 weeks left, but honestly, I'm about over being pregnant.
Looking forward to: This week is our baby showers.  Right now we have very little baby stuff in the house.  After this weekend it might seem to be a little more real.

Hello Lover!

I popped my new treadmill's cherry with a three mile run!

Yes, we FINALLY got the treadmill delivered and installed.  It went a lot smoother the second time around.  The delivery people came at 8:00 and thank goodness, it was a different set of guys.  Dave already had a plan formulated in his head about how he wanted them to try it and was prepared as soon as they rang the doorbell.  The guys came in, looked at the staircase and said, "Oh yeah, we can do this."  Dave explained to them the last guys said they couldn't because of the pallet, height of the treadmill, etc.  These delivery guys were a little taken back that they were not the first ones to do this delivery and then said, "You've got the right guys."

Lo and behold, they took it down the stairs exactly how Dave told the other guys to take it down the stairs.  They had it in the house and set up in 20 minutes.  The guys on Monday spent 20 minutes bitching about it.  Dave tipped them well and we will be following up with customer service to let them know they did a good job.

Now on to the treadmill.  It's freakin' amazing!  It's got all the bells and whistles (except for a water bottle holder - SEND IT BACK!!!).  I love that I finally have a treadmill that inclines.  And I love having one touch buttons to do the speed and incline.  Dave utilized the awesome display and did a run up Haleakala (and huffed and puffed his way through it).  I can't wait to set up my iFit account and see what awesome runs I can create (like running the Boston course again and again and again).  The best part about the treadmill, seriously, is how quiet it is.  I didn't have to have the TV at max volume to hear it.  This all means that I will be able to wake up early and hit the treadmill at an ungodly hour to do a run while Dave is still in bed and not wake him.

Do you run on a treadmill regularly?  Do you have a favorite treadmill workout?  Do you find treadmill running beneficial or not to add to your regular set of workouts?

What a Disaster

Yesterday we were supposed to have our new treadmill delivered.  Notice I said supposed to.  Let's just say, nothing about the delivery went smoothly.

Dave bought a big monster treadmill - the NordicTrack Commercial 1750 (bought from Sears).  It's big; it's strong; tt's got all the bells and whistles.  It's meant to RUN on and used extensively.  And why wouldn't we buy something this big and powerful?  We're runners.  Real runners.  We'll use the hell out of that thing.  This big monster treadmill is exactly that - big and monstrous.  It's 3 feet wide, it's 81 inches (just under 7 feet) long, and it ways a whopping 350 pounds.  Store all that information in the back of your mind....

The whole delivery started off badly.  The delivery window given to us on Sunday was between 1:30 and 3:30.  This suited us well - Dave works from home and I get off work at noon.  At 12:30, though, Dave called me (I was at the grocery store) and said I needed to hurry home because the delivery guys said they'd be there at 1:00 and he had his daily meeting at 1:00.  I would need to handle the delivery.  Um, what?  You bought this thing; you deal with the delivery.  Who complains about a delivery coming early?  We do.  It was interrupting our scheduled.  Sure enough, the delivery showed up exactly at 1:00.  Dave's computer was ringing off the hook for his meeting, the doorbell was ringing, and the dog was barking.  We let the delivery guys in who looked at the space and started doing measurements (the treadmill was going to the basement).  Dave went up to his meeting, gave his updated in about 3 minutes, and then he was back down to help the delivery guys.

We have a newer house which means, of course, none of our staircases goes straight up or straight down.  To go to the basement, you go down three steps to a landing, left turn, three steps to a landing, right turn, and down the remainder of steps to the basement.  While this is a pain in the ass, everything is up to code.  We have 36 inch doorways and hallways, along with ceilings that are at least 8 feet tall.  The delivery guys took one look at our staircase and said, nope, it wasn't going to work.  He started doing measurements and said there was no way.  Well, don't eff with two engineers!  We took our measurements and heck yeah it would work.  We asked them to take it out of the box to move it to the basement and they said that the box was exactly the same size as the treadmill (there's no way in hell this is true).  The one dude wanted to try it, but the other guy was defiant.  He said he had only successfully delivered these treadmills to houses that had double doors or if it was being moved into a garage.  Come on!  Sears would not sell a treadmill that could only be sold to a hand-full of people.  He wanted us to sign a waiver that he would not be held responsible for damage to the basement or the treadmill.  And he quantified that with saying "something will get damaged."  Because we thought the guy was an asshat and would deliberately do something to cause damage, we decided not to sign the waiver.  The other dude got mad and just said, "come on we're wasting time."  They packed up and left.  Not only did they not even try to move the treadmill to the basement, they didn't even bring it in the house, didn't even get it off the truck!

I have reached the point of my pregnancy where I'm either full-on rage or crying about something trivial (like those silly Iams commercials with the giant dog and the female soldier).  By the end of this, I was a little bit of both.  Dave, who NEVER gets mad or upset, was also fuming.  I immediately took to Twitter (because, duh!) and called out Sears and their incompetency.  Funny enough, they got back to me instantly and said they were assigning a case manager.  I went to bed and took a nap.  Dave went back to work.  I woke up a couple hours later and asked Dave if they (Sears) called.  He said no.  I asked him if he had called Sears.  He said no.  Again...pregnancy...rage....I had to leave the house to cool off.  When I returned a few hours later, I really hadn't cooled off and let it all out.  I swear, I was going to go into labor I was in such a rage.  Dave, the calmer of the two of us, finally called Sears and talked to two different people.  First they assumed that we wanted to file a complaint against the driver.  Yes, but, where the hell is our treadmill?  Dave got transferred to a supervisor and explained everything again.  It was decided to do the delivery again (tomorrow) and there is a note left with the drivers that they have to at least TRY to move it to the basement.  If they could not move it, they are being told they have to leave it and the shipping fee would be waived.  Frankly, I think the shipping fee should be waived anyway because THEY ALREADY DELIVERED IT!!!

Then Dave called NordicTrack.  Although we didn't order through them, their customer service was really helpful.  They told us when they deliver this same model, it actually comes disassembled and then is put together in the location the client wants it.  I guess the one from Sears comes fully assembled (as we asked them to remove the arms from it yesterday to help the move).  The NordicTrack people told us that if Sears cannot deliver it, that we can call them and they will give us instructions for how to disassemble it and put it back together.  At least somebody's helping us out!

This weekend is our baby shower.  Let's hope we don't need to ask our friends to help us move pieces and parts to the basement.

Monday's Menu

Like the rest of the world, I am addicted to Pinterest. Although I don't pin too much, I do enjoy looking through it on a daily basis and if something really sparks me, I'll go ahead and pin it.

I have a board on Pinterest titled "Yummy".  I have basically only used this board to pin desserts because, well, that's the kind of food I like.  Every once in a while I will pin a different type of food or recipe, but mostly just desserts.  With my interest in becoming a better cook, trying new recipes, etc. in 2013, I might have to start another board with real food (not just desserts).

One thing I have really missed since becoming pregnant is an occasional alcoholic drink.  I miss a glass of wine to unwind the day.  I miss my margaritas with tacos.  I missed not being able to celebrate New Year's with a tasty treat.  However, I have found some interesting alternatives that while they may not be direct substitutes, they have certain been an good non-alcoholic interpretation.  I found one on Pinterest (see below) that Dave and I made for New Year's dinner with the family.

 

Source: sweettreatsmore.com via Lindsay on Pinterest

Here's how we made it:
Mostly ginger ale (we wish we had bought the diet stuff)
A scoop of frozen limeade
A dash of grenadine

Overall, it was pretty good.  I wish we had mixed it a little more because as you got to the bottom the limeade was so strong it would pucker your face. Most of the family drank it and enjoyed it, so I guess it was a hit.  I will definitely make it again before the end of this pregnancy.

Week in Review

Monday - Off

Tuesday - 2000 yard swim, 20 X 100.
You can read about this swim here.

Wednesday -3.5 mile run/walk treadmill
First time in over 4 weeks that I've been able to include some running into my workouts!!

Thursday - 1000 yard swim
I didn't have much time on Thursday (and can't remember why), but I grabbed a pull buoy and just did 1000 yards straight.

Friday - Off

Saturday - 4.2 mile run/walk
Two great run/walks in one week?  A pregnancy miracle!

Sunday - Off

Totals
Walk/Run - 7.7 miles
Swim - 3000 yards (This is almost as much swimming as I did all of last year!)

I'm Back, Y'all

Dave has made a goal for 2013 to work out 6 days a week (during January) and to include at least two workouts of each discipline (swim, bike, run) for the week.  Wednesday he wanted to do a bike workout so I joined him in the basement on the treadmill.  The plan was to walk for whatever amount of time he was on his bike.  Recently my workouts have all been crap.  Even walking has felt labored and difficult.  But as soon as I started on Wednesday it was completely different.  I had energy and the walk felt okay.  So I decided to press my luck and try a little jogging too.  I did 5 minutes of walking and then 2-1/2 minutes of jogging.  And it felt okay.  So I kept up that sequence the whole workout.  When I hit three miles, my usual distance to stop, I still felt good and Dave wasn't done with his workout, so I kept going.  In the end I did 3-1/2 miles of run/walk.  I was really proud of myself for that effort (and Dave kept saying it too). 

Then today we met the group for our usual Saturday workout.  Dang it was cold this morning...20 degrees.  I layered up like I was going sledding because I knew it would just be a walk.  (Side note, I think Dave was wearing more layers than I was and he was running.)  The trail had been plowed, however, there was still quite a bit of ice on it which made it very treacherous.  Being that I'm a little off balance anyway, I took it nice and slow in the icy spots.  Once onto the other side of the freeway, the path was good and it was flat and I was able to do a little bit of running.  I was listening to my iPod so it was one song walk, one song jog.  I continued this pattern as long as the trail was good.  When I returned to the starting point after three miles, I still felt good so I continued around the snow covered trail around the lake for another 1.2 miles.  In all I did 4.2 miles run/walk which is the longest distance I've done since finding out I was pregnant.

For 27 weeks into this pregnant, I'm excited I'm still able to do a little bit of running.

20 X 100 (New Year's Swim)

Most of my triathlete/swimming friends like to do a 100 X 100 swim on New Year's Day.  Honestly, I've never really entertained the thought of doing that many 100 or that far of distance, but since swimming is the only form of exercise I can do right now without feeling like a cow, I thought I would do my own brand of New Year's Swim.  Dave and I decided to do 20 or 25 X 100 with a variety of 100s.  The thought was to do 5 X 100 swim, 5 X 100 swim with fins, 5 X 100 kick, 5 X 100 pull, 5 X 100 repeat.  But when we started this, I just wasn't feeling it.  So we mixed it up a little.  Instead we did 3 X 100 swim, 100 swim with fins, 100 kick, 100 pull, 100 swim.  The kicks felt absolutely awful on this pregnant body.  AWFUL!!!  I could not get comfortable on the kickboard.  I did two with the kickboard and then the third I did on my back, but still felt like crap.  I even walked half the pool with my flippers on.

After 1500 I was just beat.  I really didn't want to do anymore.  But, Dave was feeling it and he said, "Last 500 choice."  I grabbed my pull buoy, my toy of choice, and started my last set of 5 X 100.  When I got to the wall, Dave was still going.  I asked him if he lost count and he said no, he was just going to keep going.  Well, sure, I can do that.  So I did the next 400 straight swim with a pull buoy. 

20 X 100ish.  2000 yards.  BOOM!!!

13 in '13

Last year I sent 12 goals for myself and called in "12 for 2012". I didn't accomplish all the goal as I didn't really foresee getting pregnant in the middle of the year either.  I did accomplish quite a few, though.  I was excited to set new PRs, race in new state, and complete 12 races despite finding out I was pregnant in late July.

2013 is a big question mark.  January 1st came really fast and I realized I didn't have any resolutions or goals set yet.  It's hard for me to set these goals both personally and athletically as I have no idea what's going to happen after the baby is born.  But, I think it's important to set goals.  And Dave and I have already talked about equal time training despite having a baby.  Running/triathlon is important to us and having a baby isn't going to change that.  Maybe that sounds selfish - I think it's the right kind of selfish.  I don't want to be one of those chicks who becomes all about her kid and loses herself.  Anyway....onto the goals.

(I will be posting these as a page link at the top of the blog soon.)

1. Original size and weight
Yes, I know, I know.  It's going to take some time to get back to where I was pre-pregnancy.  But, if I don't set it as a goal, I'm not sure I have the willpower to do it on my own.  I love junk food.  I love being lazy.  But, I also love my skinny jeans.  I have a beach vacation planned in September so that's where I am targeting to hopefully get as close as I can to where I was before baby.

2. Unspoken Running Goal #1
This year I've decided to keep some of my running goals to myself.  This will help me deal with the anxiety of publicly having to live up to a big goal.  This one is a BIG one and one I totally think I can do.

3. New PR
I've probably only got a few years left of trying to achieve a new PR.  I'm not really sure what new PR I'm going to go after as I have no idea what races or distances I am going to do in 2013, but I'm hoping there is a new PR in the new year.

4. Run a Trail Race
It's hard to believe in my 11+ years of running that I have not done a trail race.  Personally, I love pounding the pavement, but my running style lends itself well to trail running (or at least that's what I think because I'm also a good snow runner).  Trail racing has been growing in size in Columbus during the last year with many more races and series.  I hope to get in on the action this year.

5. Read 12+ Books
This goal is on my list every year.  Unfortunately, it's been many years since I've actually accomplished it.  Now that I know how to download books straight from the library to my iPad, I think I'll be doing a lot more reading, especially since there will be many, many night feedings.

6. Run 1000 miles
I was totally on track this amount of miles and beyond in 2012, but obviously the training came to a screeching halt after I found out I was pregnant.  This is a goal that's going to be difficult to accomplish as the first 4+ months of the year will involve very little running/walking.

7. Run 12 Races
Again, another difficult task given that I probably won't be doing any races until May at the earliest.  But, I would like to race more, shorter races, which require much less recovery and can be done more often.

8. Eat in every meal, every day, for a month
There is a lot behind this goal.  First of all, Dave and I eat out a lot.  It's so easy to do where we live as we are within a mile or two of basically every restaurant in America.  But, that food is bad for us and we spend a lot of money eating out.  We got good about it for a few months last year when we gave ourselves a cash allowance for eating out, but then we got lazy again and just started pulling out the credit card.  We still plan on doing the cash allowance for eating out, but planning on eating in more so we can put that money in our pockets.  The other thought behind this goal is post-baby.  First of all, we just won't be able to eat out.  It will be a heck of a lot more difficult.  But, the verdict is still out regarding my return to work.  Right now we're leaning towards me staying home, but we want to reevaluate our budget and make sure we can do it.  Part of that involves, for myself, providing that we can eat in and save money.  Plus it will help us get better about meal planning and grocery shopping.  Something we completely suck at.  We have already started this goal in January.  So far, so good.

9. Learn to cook; try new food/recipes
This goal definitely goes with the one above.  Confession....Dave does the majority of the cooking in the house.  I'm just not good at it and he is.  But, I want to learn to cook better.  I want to learn to like new food instead of my pizza and burgers diet.  I don't know exactly how to measure this goal (a goal has to be measurable, after all) but maybe I'll bring back my "Monday's Menu" segment of the blog to show we're trying new things.  Maybe some pictures to prove that I'm the one doing the cooking?

10. Unspoken Running Goal #2
Yep, another goal I want to keep to myself.  This one's a big one and will take a lot of work.

11. Take More Pictures
I love to take pictures.  I love to appear in pictures more, though.  :)  I always have at least one camera with me, pretty much all the time.  And yet, I rarely take pictures anymore.  I think this will be an easier goal once the kiddo comes along.  Yeah, I'm gonna be one of those moms who posts pictures of her kids all the damn time.  Get ready internet!

12. Blog Everyday
Obviously, I already started this one in October.  I plan on going every day for a year whether that means calling it quits mid-October when I hit one year or going all the way until December 31st.  I'm wondering how difficult this will be post-baby.  I'm also wondering how difficult this will be once I start training again, as I'd kinda like to keep my training and racing details a little more private in 2013.

13. Learn How to Flip Turn
Frankly, I'm too good of a swimmer to not be flip turning.  I do know how to flip turn, I just can't really use it in practice.  My stroke tends to be a little erratic and gets a little off for using the flip turn every time.  I also finds that it zaps my energy to flip turn.  But, I really want to learn to use it all the time and put it into practice.

What do you think of the list?  Are any of these goals on your list?  What goals are you striving for in 2013?

December and 2012 Totals

December is the month I started slowing down.  After Thanksgiving, I think I switched to all walking.  Running and using the elliptical just got to be too much and I left most workouts crying.  That's just not worth it.  So I put on my big girl panties and said, "You know what?  I'll just walk then."  And I did.  And I started to add some swimming back in.  And I experimented with yoga.  Overall I think it was a successful month.

December

Swim - 1500 yards

Run/Walk - 43.25 miles

Other - 1.5 hours (snow shovel, yoga)

YMCA Visits - 13

YMCA Cost per Visit - $5.75

Wow!  What a year it has been.  I started the year battling the deepest depression I've ever had, which I conclude was more of a mental breakdown than anything.  I fought through it with the help of a couple of different doctors, a very patient husband, and running therapy.  And then I started to have fun, which yielded great results.  I finally was starting to get my head back in the game.  I started to use my bike as a form of transportation and enjoyed biking without the pressure of triathlon.  Then the shocker - I was pregnant, which obviously, changed my running plans.  I kept running, though, and even did some races while I was pregnant.  We joined the YMCA and started to get back to swimming.  I think 2012 was a great year.  I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store.

2012

Swim - 5300 yards

Bike - 96.15 miles

Run/Walk - 880.7 miles

Other - 12.25 hours

Happy New Year

Books Read 2012

My goal every year is to read 12 or more books.  I wish I read a lot more like Kyria, but alas, one book a month will have to do.  Unfortunately, I fell a little short of that goal this year.  The problem was I got bogged down in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower".  Yeah, I know, it's like 100 pages and an easy read, but I wasn't enjoying it.  So I stopped reading it and then I took a several month break from reading.  I want to finish it, though, as I was 2/3 of the way through it, so I'm back on the waiting list at the library and I guess the book will have to count towards my 2013 reading.  But I think reading is going to get a little easier and quicker as I've learned how to download books from the library to my iPad and you can only check them out for a maximum of 21 days before they disappear.  Guess I'll have to actual read them instead of renew them or just pay the late fees.

Onto the list:

1. "The Happiness Project" by Gretchin Rubin
This book was given to me by a friend who knew I was going through a really rough patch.  Unfortunately that rough patch was more like a nervous breakdown, which needed more help than a book could provide.  Dave and I both read this book and were able to pull ideas from it that have helped us this year in different ways.  This is a good book to read at the start of the year when wanting to radically change your life for the next 12 months.

2, 3, and 4. "The Hunger Games", "Catching Fire", "Mockingjay" all by Suzanne Collins
Dave and I bought The Hunger Games trilogy so that we could read it before the movie(s) came out.  Dave flew through all three books in about 3 days.  It took me a bit longer.  I loved Hunger Games and it made the movie so much better.  I kinda felt like the other two books were repeats of the first book, however, I did like the way Suzanne Collins ended the series.

5. "What do you want to do before you die?" by The Buried Life
I'm kinda obsessed with Life Lists (bucket lists) and absolutely love The Buried Life guys.  I thought this book would be a more than it was.  This was basically a picture book of other people's items on their life lists with very little stories about people actually accomplishing items on their lists.

6. "It Looked Different on the Model" by Laurie Notaro
Laurie Notaro is far and away my favorite comedy writer.  My favorite book of all time is "The Idiot Girls Action Adventure Club".  Although nothing will be as funny as that book, this one was really good and funny.

7. "Belly Laughs" by Jenny McCarthy
I've got to admit, I haven't read a single book about pregnancy, child birth, or how to raise a kid.  I don't know if I'm totally screwed or doing the right thing and soaking my mind with worries I don't need.  Anyway, I did really "Belly Laughs" which was funny but not really informational.

8. "Running on Empty" by Marshall Ulrich
Ummm, I don't know.  I'm so burnt out on running/triathlon books.  There's not much I don't know about running.  Not that this book was really about running.  It was about running away from problems.  I know several people in real life who use their running to escape life.  I like to think I use my running as therapy but live in the real world.

9. "Let's Pretend this Never Happened" by Jenny Lawson
Another comedy book.  Very, very funny.  A good recommendation from a friend on Facebook.

10. "Crossing Over" by Ruth Irene Garrett
Anyone could have finished this book in about a day.  It took me four weeks.  The story could have been over in half the number of pages.  Yawn.

Overall, I call it a down year for books.  I'm having trouble finding a book that I can be excited about.  I've asked for recommendations and have gotten a few.  I'm not a fast reader so I don't like to get bogged down in long books.  If you have any good recommendations, please let me know.  I'm going to try harder in 2013 (I'm so sure (sarcasm) that will be possible once the baby comes) to read more.

Week in Review

Monday - 1500 yard swim - 300 swim, 800 pull, 400 swim

Tuesday - 3 mile neighborhood walk with Dave
Being that it was Christmas and we both had the day off, Dave and I bundled up and took to the neighborhood for a longer walk.  It was slower than normal (I'm getting slower) but it was good to get it done.

Wednesday - 1/2 hour shoveling snow
I know, I know.  Go ahead and stone me about why I should not have been shoveling snow.  But, I thought I could just use this snow shoveling as a workout.  I have an ergonomic shovel and I was being safe.  Later in the night, though, my back was killing me.  I've had issues during this pregnancy with previous injuries and shoveling the snow definitely aggravated them.  I slept horribly and by Thursday I was still feeling pretty crappy.  Next time I'll make Dave get the snow blower out of the basement instead of using the shovel.

Thursday -  1.5 mile walk, treadmill / 1 hour prenatal yoga
This was hilarious.  First of all, I'm not too much into the yoga thing.  I don't really feel like I get a whole lot out of it and overall I find it kind of boring.  But, I thought maybe I should try it again now as I'm not very flexible and maybe it could help me in the whole labor and delivery process.  So, I did a prenatal yoga video at home.  The people in the video show you how to modify each pose depending on your trimester.  Sure, I probably could have been following the third trimester poses, but since I'm a little small and still can reach okay, I followed the second trimester poses.  My dog kept helping me out too by bringing me her toys or sitting right in front of me.  But my favorite part was at the very end of the exercise when you lay on your side and go through the mediation and relaxation.  I kid you not, my dog crawled up next to me and laid down on her back and did the same thing.  I wish I had a picture of this. 

Friday - Off

Saturday - 3 mile winter wonderland walk

Sunday - Off

Totals:
Swim - 1500 yards
Walk - 7.5 miles
Other - 1 hour yoga, 1/2 hour shoveling

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Man, winter has hit hard this year and there's no end in sight!  Last night, the forecast called for 2-4 inches of new snow.  Dave and I went hung out with friends last night and when we left their house after midnight, it had yet to start snowing.  The forecast had called for the snow to be between 7:00pm and 1:00am so we figured, hmmm, this storm is going to miss us.  I checked the radar before we went to bed and it showed snow and lots of it, yet there was no snow outside.

Being that I can only sleep two hours at a time without having to get up and go the bathroom I was able to see throughout the night that was indeed snowing.  A LOT!!

When we got up in the morning for our group run, we had a lot of new snow on the ground.  Looks like we got about 6 inches of fresh snow, which made for our run/walk to be quite fun.  And beautiful!  Dang, I wish I had brought my camera!  It was quite, the snow was falling, and I was all alone on the trails.  I absolutely love winter running (walking).  It was a slow three mile walk, but it was so refreshing.  Dave managed to get in 6 hilly, snowy miles.  We celebrated with hot chocolates at Starbucks. 

Although I really wish I could run (or sled ride) in this weather, I'm so glad I can get out and still enjoy it.

26 Weeks

Thursday Thoughts

For the third year in a row I will be spending my New Year's Eve working.  This is the third year we have a wedding on this date.  Feels a little strange to be having a wedding on a Monday, but NYE weddings are big business and we'll take the business.  I'm too old to be going out and partying on my NYE, but I sometimes miss the days of staying at home in my pajamas to watch the ball drop on TV and then immediately going to bed at 12:01.  :)

Do you have awesome NYE plans?  What's your favorite thing to do on New Year's?  What will you be drinking that I can't have until next year?  Do you even stay up until midnight on New Year's?  Will you be running a race on New Year's Day?

Christmas 2012

Did you have a good Christmas?  Did you clean up on the loot?

Our Christmas was spread out over several days.  We spent last weekend in Cleveland with Dave's family celebrating.  I had to work on Christmas Eve, so we celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas Day just the two of us.  We realized it was the first time in the 13 years we've been together that we attended Christmas Eve services just the two of us.  Both of us had to work today, the day after Christmas, a day we are getting a major snow storm, and the day we were supposed to celebrate Christmas with my family. Because of the snow storm, though, we had emergency Christmas in the morning, in which everyone descended on my parents' house, unwrapped presents quickly, and got home before we got snowed in.

Although I expected a Christmas full of gifts for the baby, I was surprised to only get two baby gifts and everything else was for ourselves.  Nice, because this will be the last time this happens, but also makes me a little nervous because we have absolutely NOTHING for the baby.

I got all of what I asked for on my list:

• Socks - 12 pair, I kid you not
• Running shoes - 2 pair - I'm set for all of 2013
• Headbands - I got two Sparkly Soul headbands.  One in grey and one in red, my favorite color.  Now I can't wait for my hair to grow long enough to use them.
• 2013 calendar - I had barely taken it out of the wrapping paper and I had already written appointments in it.
• Gift cards - I got two Old Navy gift cards which I'm going to use one for maternity clothes and one for after I have the baby in the transitional phase as I'm losing the weight.  I also got two iTunes gift cards totaling $75.  I am set for music for a while.  My iPod is going to rock!
• Mug/Thermos - I got three thermoses actually.  One is a Stanley mug that keeps things cold or hot for up to 6 hours.  We tested this and yes, things were warm at 6 hours and still hot through 4.  I also got two other basic travel mugs which will be great if drinking the drink right away.  One was a girly color and the other was not.  I think Dave and I will both use these.

Some other stuff I got that's awesome:

• LED shoelaces.  They light up blue and will be awesome for running or walking at night or if I get the opportunity to do another overnight relay race.
• Air mattress.  When we created the baby's room, we got rid of our guest room, essentially, including our guest queen-sized bed.  I don't know how I feel about having overnight guests once baby comes, but at least we have an air mattress now for them to sleep on.
• Household products.  This gift was quite funny.  My parents have a membership to Sam's Club and got each of the adults in the family their own giant gift.  Dave and I combined got toilet paper, laundry detergent, dryer sheets, paper towels, Gatorade, etc.  This was a great gift.
• As I mentioned we got two baby gifts.  We got a Magic Bullet Baby Bullet that we will use to make and freeze our own baby food once baby starts eating real food.  And then my sister's family made Dave, me, and baby matching Ohio State tie-dye shirts.  They're really cute and perfect for football season.
• Finally, the most unexpected, biggest, and maybe greatest gift of all time.....Dave got me a new treadmill.  Seriously.  We have an old one that has seen better days.  It has sliders and a stretched out belt.  It no longer inclines.  And I alone have probably put 1000 miles on it.  The new one comes WiFi enabled where you can program in routes and the machine adjusts for the routes.  It has a heavy duty belt that he got the extended warranty on.  I has one touch buttons to control speed.  Not only does it incline, it also declines up to 3%.  This is a dream machine.  I cannot wait for it to be delivered next month.  It will be so helpful after baby arrives and my time outside may not be what it once was and it will also help me get back in shape.  

Overall, a great Christmas.  I'm glad it's over, though.  Now it's 100% concentration on baby, baby, baby!!!

Merry Christmas from the Gordons

Pregnant Seahorse

I love that it looks like there is a pregnant seahorse right in the middle of my big, pregnant belly on my swimsuit.

Dave had today, Christmas Eve off.  I, unfortunately, had to work.  But since I only work part time, we had a few hours in the afternoon to run errands and hit the pool.  I haven't been to the pool in a few weeks and Dave hadn't been there in over a year.  I've gotten quite rounder in those three weeks.  This was going to be interesting.

The plan was to swim 3 X 500.  Dave's plan was to survive 1000 yards, somehow.  I pushed off first and it was barely 10 strokes in he was already passing me.  Good gosh.  I have slowed that much in the pool too?!  After a few laps I looked up and he was already resting on the wall and I was still going.  Sure, I may not have the speed right now, but I've still got some swim endurance.  By the time I reached 300 yards, I was feeling a little gassy and needed to stop before I threw up and then everyone would be done with their swim.  ;)  I did a few calculations in my head and decided to make it 5 X 300 instead.  The next set I would pull the 300.  300 came and went and I was feeling comfortable.  500 came and went.  Well, shoot, I might as well make it 800 yards at this point.  And then I took a break again.  Dave said he was done.  I still had 400 yards left.  I did these regular stroke with kick.  It always feel so funny to go back to kicking after using the pull buoy.  It feels even weirder when you're pregnant because it's hard enough to keep your butt and feet up when your belly is pulling you down. 

And then I was finished.  Dave said he was impressed with how consistent I was in the pool.  Running is virtually non-existent at this point, so I need to make a more conscious effort to get my buns to the pool and continue to work out and be consistent.  Summer races are looming!!!

Week In Review

Monday - 2.15 mile walk, treadmill
Ugh.  That's about all I can say about every workout it seems.  How do those chicks run all the way through their pregnancies?  I've still got my eyes on 30 weeks, but everything is getting harder and harder.

Tuesday - 2 mile walk, neighborhood.
It was cold outside but Dave convinced me to get out of the house and walk this evening.  He thought it might be easier for me when it wasn't a gazillion degrees inside a gym.  He was right.  This walk seemed so much better than the previous day's, although I was certainly huffing and puffing (and freezing) the entire walk.

Wednesday -2 mile elliptical/walk treadmill
You can read about the meltdown here.

Thursday -Off

Friday - The scary 2 mile walk

Saturday and Sunday - Off
We spent the weekend out of town at the in-laws for Christmas

Totals - 8 miles of walking.  Things are starting to slow down.

The Scariest Thing

Friday was my favorite type of winter workout weather.  It was cold but not freezing and it was snowing - a very peaceful time to be out exercising.  I really wanted to do a walk and I didn't want it to be on the treadmill, so I bundled up in layers and headed out for a short two mile walk.  It was wonderful to not be walking on the treadmill and things were going great.  The snow had drifted in some spots and I kinda wished I had my YakTraks on, but I was getting it done nonetheless.  The wind was strong and caused me to really work in some spots.  As I made my way home and up the steps of the porch, I got really hot, and dizzy, and things started to go black.  All I could think was "oh crap, I'm going to pass out and land on the baby."  I found a way to open the door and yelled to Dave, "Help!  I don't feel well!!"  I sat myself on the floor before I did pass out and Dave came rushing down the stairs.  I kept telling him, "I'm hot.  I'm hot."  He helped me strip off some layers of clothes and take my shoes off.  My heart was pounding and Dave said my face was all red.  I sat on the floor a while until everything calmed down.  And then I felt fine. 

My mom thinks maybe I had a sudden drop in blood pressure or blood sugar.  It didn't worry me enough to call the doctor as I felt better afterwards.  Maybe I need to take it down a notch when I workout outside.  I'm just going to write it off as a freak thing and move on.  But scary!!!

My Christmas List

This was a weird Christmas to ask for any presents.  Sure, I always have a running list in my head, but it seems weird to be asking for things for myself when we have absolutely nothing for baby.  Nonetheless, I made a small Christmas list that would make my life easier post-baby.

Socks Galore!!!!
All of my socks are old and have hole in them.  Winter socks, summer socks, running socks.  I asked for all of them.

Running Shoes
I ALWAYS need a new pair of running shoes.  I thought it would be smart to stock up so that I would have some that would last me into summer and hopefully beyond.

Headbands
Last year I cut off all my hair into a pixie.  It was fun for a while but now it's growing out and it's just awful!  Hopefully it will be long enough for a pony tail or something makeshift by the time the baby comes because I know there will be days that not only do I not get to fix my hair, I probably won't even get to shower.  So, I asked for some of those Sparkly Soul headbands to hold back my hair.  I've heard good things about them.

2013 Calendar
I know I have electronics out the wazoo and can keep an electronic calendar, but there's something about keeping a paper calendar.  I love being able to write down appointments and to dos and to be able to scratch them out after finishing them.  I asked for a Moleskine calendar.  It's my favorite.

Gift Cards
It's hard to find clothes to fit me this year and I don't want to buy clothes that may or may not fit me after this pregnancy, so I asked for gift cards that would help me with maternity clothes and/or clothes post-pregnancy (Old Navy).  This is a toughie as it is a competitor to the retail outlet I work for, however, I'm not sure I'm returning to work after the baby is born (more on that in another post).  I also asked for iTunes gift cards.  You can never have enough music on the iPod.

Mug/Thermos
When I was training for ironman, I always wanted to have warm hot chocolate waiting for me when I got out of the cold pool in the winter.  And I did, but it required a trip to Starbucks and a gazillion dollars spent.  My goal for 2013 is to spend as little money on frivolous things as possible, including hot chocolate.  So, I asked for an insulated mug to take beverages with me, whether hot or cold. 

See, a pretty basic list.  I told my family that they can use this as a shell and build upon it or use it as a starting point for other gifts.  We'll see what they come up with.

Thursday Thoughts

I don't know about you, but I keep a rolling gift list in my head of things I want.  Only during Christmas time do I write it out on paper.  Tomorrow you can read all about that.  Today I want to know, what are you asking for for Christmas?  Any big ticket items?  Anything that's a must-have that you're going to be disappointed if you don't get.  Any gifts you're giving that are going to be super-awesome?

Another {bleep} Meltdown

Tonight, I had another epic meltdown.  It went something like this...


Actually, it wasn't as dramatic but it did involve being crawled up on the floor in front of the kitchen, crying, while Dave hugged me and Sloopy licked my tears away.

Let's start from the beginning.

After procrastinating as long as I could, I headed to the gym.  Alone.  Dave's foot has been bothering him this week so he decided to take the day off.  I have not had great workouts for a while and I was kinda hoping without the pressure of Dave breezing through his workout that I would be able to take my time and just enjoy myself.  I started on the elliptical.  I took all the resistance and climb off of it and just went slowly between 140-150 steps per minute.  Barely 3/4 of a mile into it my heart rate was above 140 and I was frustrated.  I stopped and moved to the treadmill.  Again, I've been doing my walking in the 14:XX/mile range, but because Dave wasn't there I decided to back off and only do about 17:00/miles.  Even this seemed like too much.  I've been experiencing really bad reflux, so getting warm and getting my heart rate up just makes me want to get sick.  Regardless, I pushed myself to finish two miles total between the elliptical and treadmill and called it a day.

Last week I read coach's blog about Quiet Confidence.  What I got from her post is something we've talked about before - stay away from social media!!!  More and more I've been feeling like maybe I should. (Minus the blog, of course.  I have total control on the blog.)  I've recently put some things out on Facebook that have not gotten the response I had expected, which has caused me to just get frustrated and delete the post entirely.  I like Facebook because it keeps me in touch with people from my past, but it has also left me frustrated as these are not my real friends and they do not know me at all, yet feel like they can just comment on whatever.

Anyway, after the rough workout and being that I was all alone, I turned my frustration to Facebook and posted this:

Feeling super discouraged. I'm not sure there are a whole lot of meaningful workouts left. I really can't run anymore, my heart rate gets too high on the elliptical, and I feel overheated and feel sick just walking 17:00+ min/miles. If I stopped doing anything I'll gain another 30 pounds before this baby is born. I don't have a lot of faith in losing the weight afterwards. What can I do?

I got a lot of responses.  Most were positive and reassuring and then some were just, in my opinion, dumb.  Telling me to relax, that it doesn't matter how much weight I gain, to make sure my baby was healthy. 

First of all,  I am going with the flow with this pregnancy and being so much more laid back and calm than I ever have in my life.  Seriously. 

Secondly, it may not really matter how much weight I gain because I'm going to gain what I gain, but if I don't have to gain those extra pounds, I don't want to.  All that weight has to come off and I know that's not going to be easy for me.  I do not want to gain 40, 50, or more pounds.  I'm nervous because I gained a lot in the last 10 weeks - about 17 pounds.  And I haven't even hit my third trimester yet.  I do not want to have stretch marks; I do not want to gain weight in my face, my arms, my butt; and damn right if I can do something about it I will.  I have always been self conscious about my weight and size.  I'm 5'1".  Every pound counts.  Pregnancy has not changed the way I feel about myself when I'm at a size I do not want to be at.  I knew this would be the hardest part about pregnancy for me.

Lastly, my baby is healthy.  Everything has been great with the pregnancy and with the baby.  I am doing things like eating healthy, getting enough sleep, etc. to make sure the baby is healthy.  But, there are things I want and like to do to keep healthy - like working out.  I love running.  I love being fit and active.  It is my sanctuary.  If I can't do it, I might go insane.  Plus, I want to stay fit.  I do not want to have a whole year of trying to get the baby weight off.  I do not want to lose any of my muscle mass.  I want to be able to fit into my real clothes as soon as possible.  I want to race, really race, next summer.  If you can't understand this, then you don't know me at all.

By the end of today, my disappointment and sadness had just turned into anger and it took everything in my power not to delete the post entirely from Facebook.  I am going to think long and hard next time I want to post anything on Facebook about this pregnancy.  It's left me frustrated and angry with people.  This is MY pregnancy and I am doing it MY way. 

Non-Traditional Baby Shower

There are some things I absolutely despise about being a girl.  One of them is the "girl party."  You know what I'm talking about: bridal showers, baby showers, Tupperware parties, etc.  These are just dumb.  And let's face it, no one likes them.  So why do we continue to do it?  Is it like hazing?  The generations before us had to put up with that crap and you must too!

When you tell boys just how awful these parties are, they just kinda giggle and say, "come on, it can't be that bad."  Yes it can!  So when I told Dave that I would ABSOLUTELY NOT be having a traditional baby shower he wanted to know what all the fuss was about.  He did what he does best and googled it.  And wouldn't you know that the first entry that came up said, "UGGGGHHHH!!!"  See?  I told you so.

In the end, Dave agreed with me to have a non-traditional baby shower. What does this mean exactly?  Well, we're basically just throwing a party.  It's co-ed (and we have specified no kids - last hurrah, right?) and there will be food, adult beverages, X-box Kinect, board and card games, and of course, the photo booth.  We would love our guests to bring a gift, however, it's just whatever.  There are about 30+ people on the guest list and about 6 have RSVPed.  (If you were invited and you're reading this blog, please RSVP!!!)  We will not be having any stupid "baby shower" games like smelling dirty diapers or drinking things out of baby bottles, and we will not be opening presents in front of our guests (how uncomfortable).  We're hoping it's a good time.

My mom, though, was not all that keen to the idea of this non-traditional baby shower.  (Hazing?  Tradition?)  I caved and have agreed to have a more traditional shower the next day for all the women-folk.  I have said absolutely NO GAMES!!! 

What are your thoughts on these silly "girl parties"?  Do you actually like these types of parties?  What excuses do you use to get out of them?  What would you have done differently for your bridal/baby showers? 

I'm Streaking!!!

If you haven't noticed, I've been streaking.  Blog streaking.  In 2009 I blogged every single day and kinda really enjoyed it.  Not every day was an epic post, but every day was something.  Once I got going, it seemed pretty easy to come up withe something every day.  I wanted to try it again and just started doing it one day in October (the 21st to be exact).  This is my 58th day in a row I've blogged.  Most days it's been easy to come up with topics especially since every day is a new experience with being pregnant.  But, as winter is setting in, my workouts are getting less and less, and this pregnancy is dragging on, I'm finding it more difficult to come up with daily topics. 

I need your help.  I need topics.  What burning questions do you have for me?  Are there any topics you'd like me to write about?  Please leave me a comment below with a question or a topic.  Please!  I want to keep the streak alive, but I need your help!!!

Week In Review

Monday - 3 mile walk, treadmill
I fully expect my child to pop out hairless and be that way for several years.  Dave and I are both natural blondes and both of us were born without hair.  I looked liked the poster child for any cancer society until the age of three when I started growing hair.  Where am I going with this?  I kind of expected to go through this pregnancy without any heartburn.  Well, I haven't.  I've started to develop reflux in my throat following my afternoon nap.  Today I went for a power walk on the treadmill following my nap.  My throat was on fire!  Maybe I've got to rethink my nap or rethink what I'm eating for lunch.

Tuesday - 2 mile run/walk, treadmill
Dave and I have had a hectic week already.  The earliest we got to go to the gym today was 8:00pm.  I started my routine of 2-1/2 minutes walk, 2-1/2 minutes jog.  Dave must have had a lot of stress to sweat out because he was flying beside me.  He finished three miles and started his cool down before I had even finished two miles.  So, I just stopped.  Something's better than nothing, right?

Wednesday - Off
I had the busiest day today.  Work, doctor's appointment, longest phone conversation with our lawyer (business issues), had to drive across town to get some basketball tickets, basketball game.  I did not spend one hour at home before going to bed.  And this wasn't a "productive day" so it just felt like I lost a day.  

Thursday -3 miles elliptical
And the meltdowns continue.  The workout was going pretty well but I noticed my heart rate was starting to creep as it went on.  Of course, I was getting hotter.  And pregnant-er.  Somewhere towards the end of the workout, somehow my heart rate spiked over 150 and that's when everything fell apart.  I slowed down to 160 steps per minute, took off all resistance, and had no crossramp.  It was ridiculous.  Dave asked me if I was okay and I cried.  I freakin' cried.  I know it's going to be difficult to continue to workout the whole pregnancy; I'm just not ready to let go of it yet.

Friday - Off
Dave, miraculously, had the day off.  So we took the afternoon to finish our Christmas shopping and just spend time together instead of work off.  I'll take these days any day!

Saturday - 3 mile walk, Highbanks Metro Park, group workout
Either I was slow today or the group was fast today because they finished their 6 right about the same time I was finishing my 3.  Highbanks is a tough workout because of the hills and trails and landscape.  It was a good walk, though, and I'm glad I got out there.  The weather was good - can't ask for anything more than that for December.

Sunday - Off
Sundays are difficult.  I usually only get up in enough time to shower, eat, and head out to church without getting a workout in beforehand.  By the time we get home from church it's lunch, nap, and then chores until Sunday is over.  I've got to find a way to get another workout in during the week so I do not have to rely on Sundays.

And I've got to find a way to get back in the pool!!!

Totals - 11 miles

Oh no! Not chocolate!

I knew this easy pregnancy was too good to be true.  As I've inched my way closer and closer to my third trimester, I've noticed some symptoms.  I've started to get back pains, my feet are killing me with very little walking, I'm a little more tired than I was, and I know get heart burn/reflux.  I actually expected to not get heart burn like a lot of people do because Dave and I are both natural blondes and we fully expect our baby to not have any hair.  Nonetheless, the reflux has been bad.  And the worst part, I notice I get it any time I eat chocolate.  NOOOOO!!!!  Although I've been told that I can take Tums or other antacids, my goal is to get through this pregnancy without taking anything.  So far, so good.  It looks like, though, I may have to give up my beloved chocolate from here until the end.  This is gonna suck.