Good News For the New Year

In my last post I complained that, despite my increased cardio stamina and decreased running times, I was not losing pounds. I decided to forget about the weight loss for the winter months and just concentrate on keeping up my new hobby.

Levi and I went home for Christmas, then we both came home sick, so it was hard to go to the gym. We managed to keep going at least once a week during that time. Now we are back to three times each week and cardio in between (when it is not too cold). Since the beginning of the year I have lost three pounds and I am well on my way to meeting my goal of losing four pounds by the end of January.

Because of the winter running lapse I am not doing as well with my endurance. I think I took a step back in that department, so I'll just have to keep at it. Again, I am more concerned with just keeping it going until it gets warm outside and running is fun again. I also cannot wait to take my bike down to the trail.

The dress goal is looking good. I went to Obama's Commander in Chief Inaugural Ball on Tuesday night. I wore a dress that was a size smaller than I would have a year ago!

The Five Things I Am Loving Right Now

1. Stephen Colbert's "Charlene (I'm Right Behind You)" on Rock Band II. This has been one of my favorites for some time now, but the fact that it is a free download on Rock Band II is the best.


2. The new Belle & Sebastian BBC Sessions CD is making me very happy. It is a great selection of songs, including four rare tracks.

3. This time of year always makes me feel crafty. Last year I made my own Christmas cards. This year I ordered a few embroidery patterns from Sublime Stitching and got to work. So far I have embroidered a cute little hedgehog on a dish towel. Boy oh boy is it cute. Next: zombies and pirates. And a squirrel.

4. I have new hair! It's dark with a little red. Also, say hello to bangs. (I love it.)

5. I finally bought tickets for our flight home for Christmas. Oh jeez, they were expensive. But it is worth it! We have not been in Salt Lake since last Christmas, and I have only seen my family for a few days all year. I'll drop a grand or two every year if that is what it takes.

Bundling Up In Winter Clothes

I am not doing great at keeping this blog up... fortunately I have been doing much better at continuing my running regimen. Judging from my first post, I started running at the beginning of July. My first time out I ran .7 miles straight without stopping. Not bad for a beginner. Now I am up to over two miles without stopping, and I am faster. I like to alternate between that and sprinting/running/walking for 35-40 minutes, and weight training in between. That seems to be a good routine for me.

It is fun to see how much looser my clothes are and how much stronger my arms and legs are. The tape measure usually gives me good news, but lately the scale has been stuck or something. Levi tells me that I should not pay so much attention to my weight since I am obviously gaining muscle, but it is hard not to be discouraged when I stay at the same weight for a whole month. At least I haven't gained any, I guess. And I have managed to lose 15 pounds this year, which is awesome. But none in the past month. Hmmm...

Here is my plan: Now that it is winter and the sun dresses are a few months off, I will bundle up in layers and coats and concentrate on getting my run time down and my endurance up. I will also work on my weight lifting goals. When the sun comes out in the spring, the smaller, cuter clothes will be a perk!

Cardio Cheer!

It's been a while since my last update, but my cardio is a lot better than I thought it would be at this point! I have built up my running endurance and each time I can run about 1/4 mile longer than I could the time before. When I get up to two miles, I am going to start working on getting my time down. I'll be able to run a 5K in no time!

As far as the sundress thing goes, if I keep this up, next spring I should be able to pick out some pretty cute ones! Right now, most of my pants are starting to look baggy. I am going to have a good excuse to go shopping in a month or so.

This week I knew that I would not be able to go to the gym on Thursday because we were planning on going to a baseball game with our friends. Since Tuesday and Thursday are our gym nights during the week, we decided to go on Tuesday and Wednesday instead. Tonight we are going to volunteer, but hopefully I can do some cardio on Saturday and go to the gym again on Sunday!

Since they closed down our favorite free gym on post, and the other gym has eight hundred people trying to share thirteen benches, we decided to go get a free week at Gold's Gym. The layout is ridiculous and it is unbelievably overpriced, but I do like the little girls room they have tucked away in the corner. I was able to run in piece while watching Wolf Blitzer next to a large woman who was talking on her cell phone and walking on the treadmill slower than she probably walks to her mailbox. Wasting $70 per month? You're doing it... pretty well akshully.

A Whole Mile

Just like I thought, when our friend came into town, the running was put on hold. We got a fair amount of exercise from running around DC and going tubing all day, but we also took in an unbelievable amount of beer calories.

Yesterday I decided that I was taking too long to get back into it, so when we went to the gym I jumped on the treadmill. I ran my ass off for a full mile, which I was pretty excited about. There is some improvement there! When I go to the gym again this week, I will try to go 1.2 miles without stopping.

There is good news from the sundress front. I was digging through my closet for some clothes (but they were all in the laundry, because my housecleaning goes the way of my running when I have guests) and I came across a blue sundress that I bought for our wedding rehearsal dinner four years ago. In fact, it was exactly four years ago to the day. Our dinner was on July 19th, 2004 and I tried the dress on on Saturday, July 19! Ha ha... weird.

Anyway, I put on the dress and it looks great! Better than it did four years ago! After a little shoulder tanning and a pedicure, I will be ready to show it off.

How Summer Dresses Convinced Me To Run

Like anyone out there, I want to change some things about my body. Quite a few things, actually. Mainly, I want to be smaller. I enjoy going to the gym and playing with the weights, and I really love riding my bike around. I get a fair amount of exercise, and I have lost weight in the past six months, but there is so much more that can be done.

No style of clothing has made me want to lose weight more than this year's summer dress trend. I love the dresses! There are so many styles and colors and they look so lightweight and comfortable and sexy! I am sure I could find a dress or two that looks good on me, but I want options! I want to feel comfortable in the dress and know it looks great. In order to get to that point, I have some work to do.

I decided that the best way for me to amp up my (not very substantial) cardio workout will be to start running. That is something that I have always been terrible at, and I have always wanted to get into. I don't see many overweight runners... that's gotta tell you something.

Today marks the first day of my cardio campaign. Stay tuned to find out how it goes.

Summer Wish List

Wanting things is one of the joys in my life. I love to want things. So, much to my husband's dismay, I have a constantly revolving wish list. Here are a few of the things that I am drooling over this summer.

Modcloth.com has a perfectly simple Dinosaur Love tee that I would love to wear all over the place. Of course, I love Brontosauruses as much as the next girl.


I love this print called So Very Happy by dazeychic that I found on Etsy. I would hang this in my room to remind me that every day, I should aim to be happier than a bird with a french fry. Sounds like a great goal to me.



I want a vintage camera because I have been looking to start a new hobby. I saw a few photos on Etsy that were taken using TTV style, which involves a digital camera and a vintage camera. It gives photos an elegant vintage look. I would love to snatch this camera (or one like it) off of Ebay and make my own vintage photo masterpieces.



I have been a big David Sedaris fan for a few years now, and I am very excited that he has written this new book, "When You Are Engulfed in Flames." Unfortunately I have not gotten off my butt and to the bookstore to buy it yet.




It is time for a new couch. Our couches are old and blue and now they are on Craigslist. I have been dreaming about a simple brown couch from IKEA since we moved into our duplex six months ago. As soon as our couches are sold, this beauty will have a new home.



Rock star squirrel art. I think that is all that needs to be said. This gem is by Susie Ghahremani and can be found on her website at BoyGirlParty.com. I especially like the little groupie squirrel off to the side.



This Amelia necklace can also be found on ModCloth.com. I think it is a fun, unique piece of jewelry. I don't usually wear necklaces, but I think I would make an exception here.


And of course, my favorite thing on my wish list - a baby chinchilla. I have wanted one for so long and I still have not come to my senses. The only slightly negative thing about these little guys is that they get bigger than this. Of course, I love full grown chinchillas too. I like to imagine that my baby chinchilla would sleep curled up between my neck and my shoulder and that he would go on bike rides with me in my backpack and I could feed him little pieces of fruit. It's fun to dream...

Going Darker?

After more than a couple of days of giving up on my hair and pulling it up in a ponytail, I have decided that it is time for a change. I like having it long, but it has gotten too long and too straight and way too boring.

I'm thinking of chopping it off right below the shoulders, then dying it dark. Kind of like this -->

Just ignore the long, blonde hair underneath. I am not trying out some crazy layer thing. Take a look at that totally professional Photoshop job and let me know what you think. I'm a big wuss, so I probably won't go that dark. But we'll see. I live in a new place now, so why not have a little fun?