8 miles

I did a longish run today, 8 miles, which in this heat really felt like 12.  

When I first started running I used to run every. single. day.  Usually in the mornings.  I was soooo hooked on it, I would be crabby if I missed my run.

Once Miss M got a little older and wouldn't scream bloody murder at being left in the play area at the gym, I started going to classes 5 days a week. 

It was much less stressful for me to go in the evenings and Miss M LOVES the kids there, so it's a win win.

Plus, my Hubs is all gung-ho about working out right now, so I've been nice and letting him have the mornings to do it. {Which is another reason I hate men, he's lost like 3 pounds in the last couple days by EATING MORE and doing Insanity. Ugh.}

I've missed running outside though, the dreadmill just isn't the same.  

I put on my big girl panties and braved the heat {and HUMIDITY! Which is worse}.

I kinda felt like I wanted to die.  I went though 3 bottles of ice water, half in my mouth the other half on my head.

Running in the summer requires no shirt, a sweatband, a visor, and a sweat towel.

Sweat was POURING off my visor as I ran, I really though it was raining.

Wishful thinking.

The only thing that got me though the last mile was thinking about the ice cold watermelon waiting for me :)

Yeah, I run with 2 ipods, they have been acting funky {randomly turning off} and I lose total motivation if I don't have music.

I pulled out an old SD card today and found a pic of me a my very first 5k!

My how things {and my body!} have changed.

I've been tracking my calories all week.  I'm eating 1700 a day.  

I get this number by taking my BMR {1330} and adding in my daily exercise {1000} and subtracting around 600 for weight loss. 

Although the BMR is only what my body needs for basic functioning, it does not include things like taking your 3 year old to the wave pool for 2 hours. 

I have to say that I'm pretty damn hungry only eating 1700. I've limited myself to only burning 1000 calories a day at the gym. I even left spin early one night when my Polar told me I'd hit it.  That's progress, I've NEVER left a class early!

Honestly, I know I probably need to cut it back even more, but I'll wait until I'm knocked up {hopefully soon!} before doing that.

Happy Friday!

Dun Dun Dun. {Weigh In}

I weighed myself today.

Soooooooooo NOT good. 151.

Holy Smokes, I've gained like 5 pounds since the last time. I would say WTH, but I did a lot of eating out over the last 4 days.

We made a little family trip {with our BFF"s!!} to Sea World.  Have to get our money's worth out of those Fun Passes :)

These girls just love each other, like adopted sisters :)

I've been a little sad about Miss M growing up, but one thing I love is that she is old enough now to ride some adult rides.

The look on her face when her stomach dropped out from under her was PRICELESS! My baby has no fear and LOVED riding her first 'roller coaster'!

The next day we hit up the water park and made some new friends.  I have known this girl for 3 years online {we meet through a baby website while preggo} so I feel like I KNOW her, but it was so fun to meet and the girls all loved each other.

Little kids rock, everyone is their friend :) 

All 3 girls took a nap, which was a small miracle in itself.

Of course, mine was the only one who needed Mommy cuddling before she would pass out. 

Needy Needy Needy.

I sported one of my new bikini's {JCP} even though I was feeling pretty bloated. 

I came home Sunday and Monday I hit the gym hard. 2 hours of cardio, plus the fact that it was 104 outside made me sweat like a dude. Just knowing it's that hot outside makes me feel rundown, I have no clue why. 

I did 6 miles on the dreadmill, which is a miracle because I HATE running for more than 3 on that thing. I just can't handle running outside right now because of the heat.

I haven't talked about it much, but working on baby number two has been pretty stressful. That combined with the fact that I'm home all day everyday {no school} have been major contributors to my weight gain.

I plan on working hard to get back down to at least 145 before my cruise in 2 weeks because NO WAY am I going on vacation and coming home fatter than I am now!!!

I plan on not weighing myself again until next Tuesday, so I will keep you updated.  My hubs is trying to drop a few before then too.....

He's doing Insanity and doesn't appreciate when I try to correct his form. 

Hey, I'm just trying to help :) I may have to try a few of the workouts, but I'm not willing to give up my gym time {kid free!} for them.

Ball Jar Storage

Are y'all sick of my damn bathroom yet?

No?

Good because I still have a few projects left for this room and I'd hate to bore y'all :)

At least something beside obsessively weighing myself is going on in here.

In fact I've divorced my scale for a while. No worries, I'm still working out like a crazy person and eating healthy. 

{Munching on some apples and Bee's Knee's right now. HOLY CRAP is that stuff good.}

I just needed a little break. It can get really overwhelming when you just hang around the same number for the 456th day in a row.

Hopefully the next time I decide to step on it I will be surprised....in a good way.

My focus right now is trying to LISTEN to my body, am I tired? Am I hungry? Am I too sore? 

Anyways.

Unless you have been living under a rock, or just don't have a Pinterest account, I'm sure you've seen these.

Last time I was at IKEA they had these pallet looking things for 2 bucks.

I really had no clue what to do with it, but who passes that up for 2 bucks?

I'm glad I bought it because it came in handy when I needed some storage for my bathroom.

I attached the ball jars {vintage, bought from Good Look, Inc, for you local gals} with pipe fittings.

*UPDATE*

I've had several emails asking about how to get a hole through the metal pipe fittings. If your drill is not strong enough {I borrowed a neighbors super strong one} use a thick nail and hammer to punch out a hole first and then attach it will a screw and drill. Hope this helps!

Great for holding my makeup brushes.

Lipsticks and q-tips.

Much prettier than the ugly plastic thing that sits on your counter!

I also came across these cuties for a buck at a thrift store.

A little spray paint and some cute Target plates.....

Just realized that like most of my polish is pink.

What can I say? I heart me some pink :)

And just because my mini me is adorb.

She LOVES to jump on my computer as soon as I walk away.

Most of the time it has me google-ing ways to fix something she did to my MAC.

Happy Tuesday!

A cheap solution for an ugly shower

I really would love to install a beautiful stone tile shower.

My Husband on the other hand is all, no no no. 

Save money, blah blah blah.

You'll be sacking groceries when your 65 if I just let your buy everything you wanted. 

{That, BTW, is his FAVORITE thing to tell me}

My 20 dollar solution.

A shower curtain is not long enough, so use a regular 84 inch length curtain.

{Target}

I hung it on a shower rod, but it needs to be on shower rings for easy access.  I just poked holes and slid them through.

The bling rings I had, I'm pretty sure they were from Target{Shabby Chic Collection}, but not recently.

So at least I don't have to look at it every time I walk in the bathroom.

Which is a lot because I'm loving the new color and mirrors.

Ohhhhhh AND I found a vintage {read:OLD} chandy for above the tub.

The shape and size was perfect!

The wiring was not.

I just went to Home Depot and bought a rewiring kit {by the lighting fixtures} and figured out how to do it.

Luckily, I decided to try rewiring the middle part first and see it that worked, which it did, I know I probably would have ditched the project if I had to rewire each arm!

Giving her a little primer, of course out of the 60 {no joke} cans of spray paint I have, I don't have the ONE color I need.

The cabinets are coming along nicely.

The Cabinet Transformation by Rustoleum is awesome!

It's more of a stain than a paint so it goes on really smooth, the drying time is really what takes the longest.

Back out the the heat to finish painting :)

Sweating burns calories, right??

Happy Monday! 

Let there be light!

It came. I opened. I conquered.

Yes, the light fixture. 

There was a lot of sweat and a whole lot of creative toddler friendly cursing.

Totally worth it because it look a MILLION times better than the old builder grade crap one!

First I had to hang my new mirrors so I would know the correct placement of the light.

I used my easy painters taping trick to hang them.

She refused to move out of the picture, what can I do?

Anyways, you tape off the length and width of the mirror, making sure the tape goes across where the hangers are on the back.

Make a hole where the nail should go.

Take your tape off and place it on the wall, make sure it's level.

Yes, I'm in my pj's again.

Kinda hard to get stuff done with a kid all over your back, she's such a lover :)

Put in your hangers and you are done!

Sooooo the light was less easy.  The builders didn't install a electrical box so I only had a stud on one side.

Off to Home Depot, where I had to bribe the kid with candy to get in the car.

I got a pancake box and put it on {which took like an hour to figure out how to screw everything together}, THEN realized I had to cut out the drywall behind it and attach it directly to the stud. Ugh. 

Cutting out drywall is really not fun, this project took me all afternoon to do.

It worked though! 

The best part is I only paid 25 bucks for the new light off Amazon!

I was searching around for one and put a few in my cart, but couldn't decide.

The next day when I logged in it told me the price had decreased from 80 to 25, sold!

Obviously I'm now starting on the cabinets,  hopefully I can knock it out this weekend!

My mirrors are from Hob Lob. Love love love me a chunky ornate framed mirror!!

I want to change the recessed light above the tub to a mini chandy, if I can find one for a decent price.  I'm thinking I saw a cute one at IKEA, so I may have to find time to pop over there this weekend. Hopefully now that I've done one the next one will be easier!

Bathroom, Part One

I ended up at Home Depot, kid free, one afternoon and on impulse decided to buy paint and redo my master bath. 

I'm not really a DIY planner, I see a pretty paint color and just go for it :) The bath has been the same color for a few years now and I just wanted something brighter.

{Before}

Painting a light color over such a dark one is no bueno. Lots of coats. Lots of sweat.

Also,  I decided while I was at it I might as well lose the builder grade mirror.

Yes, I realize the plug placement is funny, I didn't even notice until my FB friends pointed it out!

I was relived to find no large holes behind the mirror!

I should of realized I wouldn't get off that easy.....

The builders just punched holes in the wall looking for the stud and wiring for the light fixture.  I ordered a new one from amazon and it's smaller so I needed to patch these up.

While I enjoy DIY'ing I'm more into the 'pretty' side of it not the less fun stuff, but my Husband could care less about new bathroom paint or fixtures so if I want it done I have to do it myself.

So after looking at some how- to videos online, it really didn't seem that hard! Just cut out a box around the drywall, trace it on to a new piece, fit it in and throw some joint compound around it.

Yeah, not so much.  First cutting drywall is hard and messy! Mine did NOT come out all pretty and in one piece like the video, but I made it work. Kinda.

Let it dry overnight and did some sanding.

What, y'all don't work on stuff in your jammies??

My little helper wore hers too, we are lazy like that.

 I'm not even sure that the hole I left is the right size for my new fixture, it should arrive today.  I foresee lots of google searches in my future to get that thing up. 

Why can't things just be easy??

I do heart my new color though {Glidden: Cornflower}.

I bought this too....

The Hubs has been pretty against me painting any of our cabinets, so I shelled out the extra cash for this product so it will {hopefully} turn out better than just sanding and slapping some paint on.

Wish me luck with that light fixture, hopefully it doesn't lead to my little helper learning any {new} bad words!

Swimsuits {The Good, Bad, and Fugly}

The last two weeks have been crazy busy, which means that I haven't been able to workout like the crazy person I am.

By Saturday {day 3 of no sweating} I was pretty much ready to kill my husband. Every little thing he did drove me batty.

Sunday I decided for the good of our marriage I should go for a run, even though I was feeling VERY unmotivated!  I had a rough time getting my booty out the door, this happens when it starts getting hot and humid out, running is less fun and more torture. 

I set out some water and running food and told myself to do at least 4 miles, well after mile 1 I was drenched in sweat, so I took off my top and ran in my sports bra and shorts. Not pretty, but I was dying. Somewhere around mile 4 I started to feel better and ended up doing 10 total.

I came in showered, ate, and took a nap.

He was tolerable after that :)

I will be glad to get back to my regular routine, not just for my health but for my attitude!

Ok, on to the swimsuits. The husband put a new operating system on his computer last week and kept telling me to get whatever I wanted to keep off his computer and save it to a external drive. I rarely use his computer so I didn't think I had anything worth saving on it, so a few days later he's all like 'I saved your pictures for you'. 

I'm kinda almost wishing he hadn't. 

WARNING : one of the worst, most embarrassing pictures of me EVER.

I'm pretty sure I had fallen out of the boat and someone thought it'd be funny to take my picture.

Gee, thanks.

It was shortly after this that I joined Jenny Craig and lost weight {the first time}.

Let's move on to some better pictures, shall we?

I only lost about 12 pounds in the last year, but I can see a difference in my 'problem' area {my hips}.  These bottoms are loose now and can't be worn anywhere other than my backyard because if they get wet they fall off.

You know if I didn't have all that extra skin on my tummy, I might have some abs!

I will be getting that removed after my next {and last} kid. 

I ordered a new bikini for my cruise from Victoria Secret, I'm not a fan of online ordering but I gave it a shot and we shall see if it looks decent enough on me to be worn in public. My boobies just need more support than I can find in a regular store, hopefully VS comes though.  For a bra place, I am not a big fan of their bras. They are not made for big booby girls, they are more decorative.

And just for a good laugh on this Tuesday morning....

I can't help but to laugh out loud when I see this picture because I know EXACTLY how she feels :)

Wedding Season!

It's wedding season and I've been lucky enough to get to attend two in the last two weeks!

This last weekend I was a bridesmaid for one of my favorite people {Also the girl who got me started on my weight loss journey and running obsession}.  She put together the most romantic and wonderful wedding, it was just full of love.

I thought I'd share some of my favorite things from the wedding.

This adorable canvas where everyone stamped their thumbprint and signed their name. It turned out darling in the end and it a great piece to hang on the wall afterwards.

A chest for cards and gifts.

Love love love this seating chart!

Her dress was stunning, if I ever get married again I'm sooooo doing a lace dress.  Also her veil was her Mom's and it was absolutely stunning!

The bridesmaids all wore a black dress of their choosing and cowboy boots.

I'm so mad I forgot to get a close up pic of her bouquet! It was made of brooches and soooo pretty!

The bridesmaids carried bouquets made of burlap and tulle, which matched the guys boutonnieres my Mom made for her.

I had a blast and my Mom wept like a baby almost the entire time, you would have thought I was getting married all over again :)

Ohhhh and the best part was after the wedding she let us take home the decor :) I came home with some cute stuff!

So after a week out of town and being part of another wedding, my routine should get back to normal.  I only worked out 3x last week, which is unheard of for me.

I dusted off the scale this morning and took some after shots in a bikini.

Oh Lord.

Stay tuned for that awesomeness tomorrow :)

Happy Monday!