Get up the Gusto!

I have an addiction. Hello my name is Tricia and I am addicted to running. I could not bring myself to rest yesterday, so I ran. It was a short run, only 1.39 miles. That is what my app friend told me. The plan was to run on the track at the High school, but it was closed. Sucks lollipops for sure. Instead I ran to the school, through the school, and back home. I have another run planned today with Shelly, this one will be on the track. Fingers crossed that it is open. I am hoping for 2 miles on the track this time. We will see if she has the gusto to do it. It feels so good to run, that sometimes I just don't want to stop. I want to push myself harder. This runs photo is pretty funny. I was trying my best not to look too goofy on the side of the road snapping photos.

Run #4

Status on the Sheldon vs. PG game: We lost, 1 to 4. We had the lead for the first 4 innings and then all of a sudden PG had our number. They had a few good hits off of our pitcher, and that was that. Too bad this was not the turning point for getting our groove back. Kind of makes me not want to watch them. It is so sad to see all of the dropped faces at the end of the game. I did have fun getting my spirit wear on, and getting snacks.

  

The plan for this weekend is this....

1. San Jose State Softball game on Saturday(there is a lot of prep for Averie that goes into leaving for even one day), and "Girls Night In". 

2. Relaxing and gardening on Sunday, oh and I have to get a run in. 

I am going to apologize in advance for yesterday's meals. I think you are all really going to laugh at me. 

Yes that is a trash picture. I had a Subway sandwich, and taking a picture was an after thought. That is better then not taking a picture at all, cue dinner. I had a slice of pizza and a couple of crazy bread sticks. I guess that means that tonight we have to eat better. Usually we reserve Friday's for pizza. 

****edited to include the most important meal of the day.****

Happy World Down Syndrome Day

Today is a very special day, it is World Down Syndrome Day. I am a proud mommy of a beautiful little girl with DS. You know what is ironic about her having DS. I don't think about it until I see other fellow bloggers, blogging about it. She is developing quite nicely, and does not have even one major medical condition. She has a lazy left eye, but other than that her health is perfect. I have said in previous posts that I have a lazy eye too, so the kid was destined to have something wrong with her eyes.

I have recently contacted a few other mothers that have children with DS, and it is really great to have someone to talk to. My husband is so busy that I have to keep up on the latest developments myself. How to get her into the best preschool, what therapies are available. You know all that good stuff. I want her to be one of the popular kids with DS. *smiles* I actually have my first event this weekend. It is called, "Girls Night In." It is this Saturday and I am so excited to go. We leave the kiddos at home for this one, so the mommies can get in some much needed me time.

If anyone out there even has any questions or just needs someone to talk to. I am here. I know in the beginning it was difficult to wrap my head around having a child with DS. In the end, I would not have it any other way. She is truly the love of my life. I would give the world for her. Feel free to pick my brain. Here is a picture of my Love bug, just because it is my blog and I can.

Running.... Oh my new love! I ran yesterday at the track with Shelly. We ran a mile on the track, and I ran there so I totaled 2.05 miles. I was not even out of breath at the end. I will admit it is much easier to run on the track than it is on pavement. I felt like I was able to breath more consistently. Here is what my run looked like. Courtesy of my new app. If I haven't mentioned how much I love it, let me say it again. I love this app. Can you tell where the track is on the GPS?

A very attractive Run #3

In addition to being excited about my app, there is also something else new in my life that I am excited about.

Wait for it.......

My new Camelbak and Gatorade.Why would anyone buy any other water bottle, you know this has a lifetime warranty right. I bought the Gatorade because the bottles are WAY too sweet. This way I can make it as sweet as I want. Ready for some randomness. Yes maam, I just made that word up. (I think).

Nessa has a game today, take a look at her team! They look sharp right. Here is hoping they play sharp today. They have been struggling to find their groove the last few games.

Last but not least, this is what yesterday's meals looked like. I am seeing a trend in my eating habits. I don't eat meals, I eat a lot of snacks. They are healthy snacks but snacks none the less.

Missing is dinner, I am having some memory issues with the dinner photo. I had rice and ginger sesame chicken. I think Averie ate most of my chicken, but I got a few bites in there. I also had a glass of Sangria. I thought I deserved it.

Getting my RUN ON!

Okay Peeps, I have a change of plans. The Mud Run that I wanted to do in Lathrop is the same weekend that my Step-daughter has a softball tourney. So I went online and looked for races in my area that are on that Sunday. I found this, and I have officially registered. I am ready to kill it. In a nice, loving kind of way. I cannot believe that I just registered for my first race. Man I have some training to do. I think I might be a little over zealous, but worst case scenario. I WALK. No biggee.

All good days ahead....

It is raining here today, have I mentioned that I love the rain. Love it! I just hope that it stops by 7pm so I can go on my run, and use my cool new app. I am thinking that I might just go running in the rain. We will see I guess. My best friend Amber is coming down in May to visit, and I tried to talk her into doing a race with me. But the booger would rather relax on her vacation. Can't blame her I guess. I would want to relax as well. Maybe I am psycho for thinking that running is so much fun. I look forward to the days where I can RUN!

Me and her text a lot. I mean A LOT, A LOT. Yesterday she text me a picture of her work out. Tuesday was my day off from exercise. I needed to give the ole shins and calves some time to recoup. She likes to run too, but mixes in a little Pilate's here and there. Probably a good idea, keeps you nice and limber. She actually turned me onto the 10 minute workout DVD that you see here. It is cool because you can select a bunch of individual 10 minute workouts, up to an hour. So if you only have time to do the buns and thighs, it is only 10 minutes. Super handy for the girl on the go. She is addicted to working out, the gym, running, and Pilates. I am sure there will be more on her workout routine in future posts. I am always interested to see what she is up to, it doesn't matter what it is.

She also sent me a picture of their dinner.

Delish Right?

I told you that we text a lot. She lives in North Carolina, so we try our best to keep in touch, share recipes, text shop (that is exactly what it sounds like), send care packages (these are my fav), and try on outfits. A girl needs to make sure she looks good when she goes to work. She works at the Museum of Natural Sciences, so her job is a little more upscale then mine. I wear jeans daily. Needless to say her outfits are better than mine. *smiles*

Well a rainy day, means that the day is going to be involving a lot of this. Hum dinging around. I am thinking breakfast, then stamps, then some envelope stuffing, then maybe some blog stalking, oh and then maybe a little of my actual job. To think I have to train again today. I am not prepared at all.

Oh and the stew I made in the crock pot came out great, well that is what the family said. Like I said before, I cook for them mostly. I had a bowl of pasta, with butter, Parmesan, and salt. This is my favorite meal ever. This is what I ate yesterday, minus a dark chocolate hershey bar, and a glass of milk. I can see pretty clearly right now, and know that there are only good days ahead.

The blurry one is Pirates Booty. Yummo!

My body is adjusting to my new found love, running. I have noticed that my shins and calves are sore. I have also noticed that I am hungry more often. I think it would be safe to say that my body is slowly starting to adjust. Any idea how long this adjustment period might take? My body feels a little off. I have also noticed that at night I am not tired. I am pretty restless. I am not a huge advocate for taking meds to sleep better, but I did find some chewable Melatonin at Trader Joe's that I am going to try. I need something to calm this over active brain  of mine down.

Can't contain my excitement

I am so excited right now. I have bought a few things in the last couple of days that I am uber excited about. The first thing is this IPHONE case. It is probably too soon to say this, but I think I love it.

I also bought this app. I am so excited to run tomorrow and try it out. I am such a dork. I was playing with it at work, entering in all of my info. I pressed "Start Run", just because I was curious what it would do, and this woman comes on, Starting run. Super loud. I am pretty sure my whole floor heard it. Oh well, they better get ready to run, you heard the lady.

Last thing I bought. I hate plastic water bottles. I would much rather use a reusable one. This one is 32 ounces. I bought a Brita one a while back, but I am finding that replacing the filter in them is way too much work, and is going to get costly. This I will fill up with the filtered water at my house. No filter buying required. It is big enough that I fill will get me through work. I can fill it again when I get home for my run.

Ready, set, go.

Another run in the books. There were lots of people at the track, so I felt a little embarrassed running in from of a bunch of other people. Students to be specific. I know it's foolish, and nobody really cares. I was a little intimidated for some reason. I plan on resting today and going back to the track tomorrow. I will suck it up, and be a big girl about it. Shelly is suppose to run with me tomorrow, I think that will help.

Run #2

My running trail

I am experiencing some shin, and calf pain. Hopefully a day break will help. I am also eating better. Lots of protein and potassium. I need to make sure that I am taking in enough calories to sustain my new found hobby. I have noticed some fatigue already so I know I need to eat more. Speaking of eating, this is what I had yesterday. I also had some Gatorade energy chews, and a protein shake. (made with love by Nessa)

Not pictured is dinner, homemade Buffalo chicken pizza, and a bunch of water and lemonade.

I prepped a beef roast for the crock pot last night, so when we get home from Nessa's softball game dinner will be all ready to go. Here is the recipe. I substituted the mushroom soup for celery, and the onion for onion powder. Only because I did not have an onion.

http://www.food.com/recipe/crock-pot-beef-roast-384905

I will let you know how it turns out. Should be yummy in the tummy. You will notice that I did not say, "in my tummy" I am not a huge fan of beef. I usually eat just the veggies. I make a lot of food just for my family. I am happy with a simple salad, or some pasta. Especially now that I am running, the carbs are a must.

Averie had an eye appointment yesterday, and everything looks good. We noticed that her left eye is pretty
lazy so the ophthalmologist suggested patching it for three hours a day starting this weekend. Hopefully this will make it stronger. I have a lazy right eye so the kid was doomed from the start. Oh and on another note. Averie was hating, I mean kicking and screaming hating aqua therapy. Then, something happened. Grammy said that she went willingly to her teacher. No clue why or how, but she was having fun and excited to swim. Thank goodness. I know the therapy is good for her, so I am glad we reached a point where she is not tormenting anyone.

Let's see.... what else is going on. I need stamps. *smiles* That is not really all that exciting. I do have a few things to do when I get home.

1. Throw in some laundry
2. Prep dinner for Wednesday
3. Get the Boo Boo fed and put in Pajamas
4. Buy Stamps
5. Balance the Sheldon Softball Board budget (Fun times(sarcasm at its finest))
6. Make the bed, yes people I make the bed at 5:30pm. I makes my room feel and look cleaner. I said I was OCD. 

Lots of this stuff will get done fast, so I am not too overwhelmed. What are your plans for the day? Are you busy, busy?

This is going to be long.....

This weekend was so much fun, but it was long at the same time. Warning, it is going to contain a lot of words and pictures. Don't say I didn't warn you.

The weekend started of with me getting out of work early Friday so we could make the trek to Pleasanton to watch Nessa's softball team play. They stunk it up big time. Oh well I guess. I am usually chasing after Averie during the games, so I maybe see 15 minutes of the hour and a half game. I was looking forward to checking into the hotel. I love hotel living. I think because it is a lot like apartment living. Everything is so accessible, and this Marriott had a Starbucks. Woot Woot! Yes I had a coffee at 10:00pm. There is never a bad time for Starbucks. EVER! Brian ordered a brownie sundae. Nothing like a four dollar coffee, and a five dollar sundae.

HIS

HERS

They were both Delish!

After our sugary indulgences, it was time for bed. Averie slept with us which was a total mistake. She takes up 3/4 of the King size bed that we were in. It is ridiculous. Since I left Brian in charge of packing we had no pack and play (porta-crib) for her to sleep in. We were destined for a long, uncomfortable night.

Saturday we woke up, got ready frantically, because Averie was making noise and we didn't want to wake the sleepers on the sides of us. We headed to Denny's for some breakfast, and then off to watch some more softball. The team stunk it up even more on Saturday. Just didn't look like they had it together. Nothing really sounds fun in any of this, but it was. I just enjoy being outside in nice weather, and nice weather is what we had. Even the evenings were nice. 

After a short drive home the chaos began. I made arrangements for my Mom to pick up Anessa's dress from alterations, because I knew we would not make it back before they closed. The plan was (deep breath) to drop Nessa off to get a pedicure, go to my Mom's pick up the dress, and drop off Averie so Brian and I could go to the Sheldon vs. Mitry Championship basketball game at Sleep Train Amphitheater. Run on!!!! Who cares though. The game was fun, even though Sheldon lost. Nessa went stag to prom so she said it was kind of lame. She only had about an hour and a half to get ready, and she had to do everything herself. I am sure if she had the whole day to prep she would have had a lot more fun. Oh and a date.

In a NUTSHELL.

Sunday, we are finally to the end of the weekend. Now this is where the fun starts. First thing Sunday morning, I get up at 7:30am to RUN! I laid out all my gear the night before, woke up in the morning and was off. I ran to the School and back. Which is about .11 miles each way, I said I was going to start easy. I noticed a couple of issues while I was running. My breathing is very inconsistent. I am congested so I know that is going to hinder my breathing a lot. I do need to figure out how to regulate it better while I am running. I think my legs could have gone for miles, if it weren't for my breathing holding them back. When I got home, I felt energized and ready to spring clean. I spent the rest of the day doing just that, shopping for Easter basket fillings, and cooking. Later when Ness woke up, she asked if she could take Averie and I out to lunch. Hell yeah! Right after lunch we stopped at Ulta. I love their 5 for $10 deals, especially when I have a $3.50 off coupon. Big Spenda. That was pretty much Sunday. I am looking forward to running again so much that I think I am going to do it again tonight. I am a little sore from yesterday, but not injury sore. I think I can work through it.

My First run. 3/17/13

Here is a review of my meals this weekend.

I had a very active two year old on Saturday so the only food I was able to take a picture of were the nachos. See under the basketball score board. *laughs*

Panera Bread with the kiddos

For dinner I had a bowl of pasta w/Parmesan and Brummel and brown, oh and there was dessert. Rocky Road ice cream, a hubby sized bowl. I was struggling towards the end of the bowl, and couldn't finish it. Oh but don't worry, I will finish it for you babe. Can't live without that guy.

This week should be a little calmer. Just kidding!!!!! Today, NO alarm set, so I woke up late. Got to work and my step daughter left her softball bag in my car. I had to call Grammy and see if she would pick it up. Making my husband late of course. Then I had to arrange for it to be dropped off in the school office. Then my youngest, Averie has an eye appointment today that I am not able to go to. I am not even going to get started on what I have to do today. All while being at work. Ugh. today might be a 2 post day.

Mud Run here I come!!!

Okay, so I have all the information for the mud run in Lathrop on April 6th. I have also found a running partner. Since I do have a two year old and 17 year old, my runs need to be scheduled. So we are starting with Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Begin with a mile and increase from there. I don't have a pedometer so tracking distance will be a problem, so the track will be our mileage tool. I am ready to go, so stoked. Mud run is in two weeks. My main goal will be to have fun, but I don't want to be last either. I can't wait to start, and my running buddy Shelly is just as excited. Any suggestions for a new runner? I have a pair of Nikes that I am hoping will be comfortable running shoes. We will soon see. The mud run is 5k, and I think that in two weeks I should be able to handle it. I am a very optimistic person. If you read 100 things about me you would have known that already. I am hoping that running will encourage me to eat better. Wish me luck....

Insta-Friday FUN!!!

I have not done an Insta-Friday in a long time. I think it is overdue, don't you? I noticed that there are a lot of pictures of me. Hmm.... I am not sure how that happened. I will have to fix that next week.

It's Friday, Friday, Friday!

TGIF, is right! I am so excited for Friday. There is a fun filled weekend ahead. Today Brian, the Boo Boo, and I are heading back to Pleasanton for more softball fun. Nessa hit a home-run last night that practically had me in tears. I love watching her play, even though I am chewing my finger nails through most of the game. It is worth it.

Brian is at home, and is in charge of packing our broad up (Oh sh**). I packed most of my things last night. We got home so late that I did it half asleep, so who knows what I am wearing. Bathing Suit can't forget to bring that. I have to text him, like now or else I will forget. I think I am a little nervous about him packing us up. I gave him a pretty detailed list. Here is hoping that nothing gets forgotten.

After Softball on Saturday, Nessa has her Junior Prom. She is going to have so much fun. Then the rest of the weekend will be spent relaxing and prepping for the start of yet another week. They are going so fast, and it feels like Spring is just around the corner. I am gardening this year, and so I have to get planting ASAP. Joe, my best friends hubby text me a picture yesterday of some veggies he planted in January. They were a couple inches tall, but that was it. I have not even started planting and it is March. Oh man, I think I might be in for a serious learning experience/curve.

I am also thinking about starting to run. I will be 30 this year and well I feel like I need to do some sort of activity. Something where I can be alone, exercise, and work off the stresses of the day. I think running might be the trick. I have to say that my inspiration for this has come from a Blog that I have been reading. Skinnychickblog.com. Her blog is great and I feel like I can relate to her. I guess over the next couple of months we will see if running is for me. I will have to start off slow. I am excited to try something different. My Best friend runs, and she is very fit, and seems very energetic. I want that. *smiles*

Eating is a big thing with me, and lately (with exception of yesterday). I think I have eaten pretty well. Normally, eating is a challenge. I do not have a very big appetite. I think that maybe I will start to track my days eating adventures. Hehe, not sure if that will actually happen, but it's worth a try. Here is this week in a nutshell. I am not very good at remembering to snap pictures of dinner. Geeze I am already off to a bad start, I only have Wednesday, and Thursday's meals. Lol, I will learn.I have a feeling that these pictures are going to get a lot smaller.

Well I have a couple of goals this weekend. Keep better track of my meals, and just relax, and get some much needed sleep. Have a good weekend everyone.

*100* things about me (Part 4)

Here are the last 25 things about me to make it a round 100. I hope you enjoyed getting to know me. I learned some things about myself in this process. It gets you thinking about who you are for sure.

76. I would rather go all natural, (the left photo). But I know I look better with eye lashes. 

77. I could go days without eating, and not be hungry. 

78. I drive a glorified station wagon. Dodge Magnum to be exact. We are very loyal to DODGE.

79. I love to dance!

80. I am very trusting, even when I should not be. 

81. I have little patience for stupidity.

82. Thursday's are my favorite day of the week. It means the weekend is close.

83. I love natural light. 

84. Reading to my daughter is one of my favorite things to do. 

85. I love apartment living, the free gym, pool, no lawn work, and paid utilities. If we could we would.

86. I am in love with Tiffany, but who isn't.(these are my rings, and yes they need to be cleaned)

87. I am tracking what I eat, and I call it, "Eat Like Me." I stole that from a blog that Self used to run on their website. It is gone now. *frown*

88. Honestly, I am starting to struggle.

89. My 2 year old has a bank account, but my 17 year old does not. 

90.  We need to buy a king sized bed. My husbands feet hang off our Queen.

91. My favorite animal is a koala bear. No clue why, always has been since I was a little girl. 

92. I am obsessed with GIRL SCOUT COOKIES. I think we ordered 15 boxes this year and they are almost gone.

93. I hate being called PAT!

94. I have always wanted to live in a big city. Sacramento is big, but I mean really big. 

95. Coca Cola, is a drug. Seriously. I feen for coke. 

96. If I could put pictures up everywhere in my house, I would. 

97. Self, and Parent magazine are my favorite. 

98. I don't use Twitter. I just don't have that kind of time.

99. I like the idea of camping, but don't actually enjoy it. 

100. I am going to be 30 this YEAR and I don't know where the time has gone.

Watch Sheldon on the Surewest Sports Show

Softball Preview - Top Ten

http://www.surewestsports.com/sports-show

10. Christian Brothers
9. Consumes Oaks
8. Pleasant Grove
7. Whitney
6. Roseville
5. Sheldon
4. Elk Grove
3. Casa Roble
2. Ponderosa
1. Woodcreek