Friend Makin' Mondays

Had a rough weekend, followed by a little bit of the yuckies today. Good thing you don't have to actually hear my voice, since I don't have one.


So I'm linking up with Kenz.

What's in your DVR?

1. The Biggest Loser.  Obvs. I'm a little bit behind, so no spoilers here. I always get mad at them when they get upset with a 2 or 3 pound loss. I would love a 2 or 3 pound loss every week! But I guess I'm not working out 8 hours a day like they do.

2. Glee. Trying to decide how much longer I'm going to watch because I'm totally a prude and it seems really inappropriate a lot of the time. But I was in show choir in high school, so I kind of feel an obligation to support. Yes, I'm a Gleek.

3. Amazing Race. Love. Husband and I watch it together and decide who will do all of the road blocks. And how much we would train for stuff before we went on the show. Like running. So much running.

4. One Tree Hill. Ok. Don't laugh. I know. It's my total guilty pleasure. And the whole appropriate thing? Doesn't seem to bother me so much back in Tree Hill.

5. America's Next Top Model. It's like a train wreck. I just can't stop watching.

6. Private Practice. I'm a nurse. I like medical shows. What can I say? And Taye Diggs? Kind of hot. (Sorry husband)

7. Grey's Anatomy. Not actually in the DVR, but I watch it OnDemand when I remember. As mentioned above... I'm  a nurse. They are doctors. Obligatory.

Otherwise in the DVR, you will find Sesame Street, Jack's Big Music Show, and WordWorld. They save my life when I am cooking dinner. Or when my children don't nap and I need a minute to hear myself think.

What am I missing?

There's an app for that

Husband was kind enough to buy me an iPod touch for my birthday this year. I wasn't yet on my fitness journey, because tank baby was still inside, but I knew that it would be helpful once I began.


The commercial for apple "There's an app for that" is totally true. So many apps to help with fitness and weight loss it's crazy.


The ones that I use are pretty straight forward.


I have the Weight Watchers app, which allows me to track my points electronically (if I'm actually tracking that day), figure out points values of food, and figure out activity values.


Calorie Hunter Lite offers nutritional values at tons of popular restaurants, and although I don't always find them to be extremely accurate based on the actual website of the restaurant, they are pretty close, and easy to find on short notice.


The 24hr Fitness app has become one of my favorite. I can easily look up class schedules at the gym based on class or location. Awesome.


But my go-to favorite app ever is the Nike +. I don't know if any of you use this, but I love, love, love my Nike +. There is a little sensor that fits in my shoe and tracks my distance while I'm running. Then, based on how long it takes me, my iPod tells me my average pace, how far I went, and how long it took. It tracks my mileage and shows me what each run looks like. Here is an example:

Awesome, right? It shows my beginning run, then walking up the hill, then running, then each big dip is a stoplight. It then allows me to make a little note at the bottom about running conditions and where I went so that I can use it in the future if I want to repeat a run or see my improvements.

It tracks all of my runs, which looks like this...

And then I can see my longest, run, fastest run, and so on in graph form. Love.

And because I am such a big number girl, this is totally inspiring to me, to see how much I have accomplished and to see how much I've improved.

What tools do you use that you love?

Girls on the Run

I grew up pretty much sedentary.


It wasn't until high school that I started to take tumbling and dance classes. And even then, I was already overweight, so I was hindered in a lot of ways.


I came across this program the other day that I think I love.
I wish that it was around when I was younger.
It is an amazing way to instill self confidence in young girls.
To get them active and teach them discipline.
To make them proud of what they can do with a little bit of hard work.
To encourage a healthy lifestyle from a young age.


I want to be more in shape so that I can start a location in Orange County.
I want my daughter and her friends to grow up with this opportunity.
I want to be able to stand up as a role model.


It's called Girls on the Run.
And I kind of think it rocks.

Pardon the Interruption

I interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you this...


Happy Birthday Husband!!


Thank you for being the encouraging, supportive, dependable person that you are. Thank you for loving me just the way that I am, regardless of what size I am, or what I look like. Thank you for being such a wonderful father to our children. You are more than I have ever dreamed of. God sure did know what He was doing when He brought you in to my life. I am so very grateful that I can call you mine.


You make me want to be a better person every day!


I hope that you have the happiest of birthdays on this last year of your 20's!!!


I love you!!!

I'm Tired

We have all read the studies that link sleep to weight loss. Sleep makes this hormone decrease and this hormone increase, thus whacking with your hunger cravings and metabolism.

Well, I have been getting nightly visits from this guy.

Yes, he is cute.
Yes, he is yummy.
Yes, he is just a baby and has needs.

But I am tired. And when I am tired, I am also grumpy. And ravenously hungry. And when I am hungry, I am even more grumpy.
You see where this is leading...
Tired mommy = hungry mommy = grumpy mommy

You totally don't want to be at my house right now.

I hope you're getting more sleep than me!!

Size Does Matter

You always hear that size doesn't matter, but it totally does.


Take my three year old for example. She is almost four, but already wearing a size five in clothes. She is super tall, and I feel like because she is so big, the expectations are so high. People expect her to be as smart as a five year old, as articulate as a school age child, as mature as a kindergartener. And she isn't.


Another thing that she isn't ready for? The girls department. I mean really people, they are still little girls.


This...


and this...


totally not appropriate.


I don't really have a lot of fashion opinions. But one that I do have, is just because they make it in  your size doesn't mean that you should wear it. Exhibit A, above.


However, I also feel that the opposite is true. Just because they don't make it in my size doesn't mean that I shouldn't be able to wear it.


A couple of years ago, husband and I went skiing, and I had a really hard time finding a ski jacket that fit me. Even worse were the ski boots that I tried to fit over my calves. I can't possibly have the largest calves ever to have tried to fit in to a pair of ski boots. If I do, I want my name in the world record book.
But seriously, fat people ski too, darn it. 


And I feel like a lot of the plus size clothes are so matronly and old looking, that it's really hard to find stuff that is trendy, but still flattering. Old Navy is one of the only places that I can find stuff that fits, and even then, I have about twenty of the same top that I just rotate out with different jeans.


I know that it's my fault that I'm large. And I know that the fashion industry doesn't owe my anything, let alone cute clothes. But still...


Anyway, I'm not quite sure that this made any sense, but my point is...


you always hear that size doesn't matter, but it totally does.

Monday Motivation