Aidan’s a whole year old!

20 Sep

This is what one-year-old Aidan looks like:

Brought to you by the number 1.

Can’t believe he’s already 1. Can’t believe I gave birth a year ago!

So this week has been pretty darn busy. We’re getting ready for his 1st Birthday Bash Sunday. We’re very excited, and so are our parents. My parents are in charge of decorations, and Ozgur’s parents are in charge of food – so we pretty much wouldn’t be having a party without them.

Well, I am doing the cake, and cleaning our house. But that’s about it, which is awesome. Low stress.

And then A went and threw a wrench in his Birthday week with this eye thing he’s had! Babies… typical.

We have been to see three different doctors – and including follow-ups, we’ve seen a doctor each day this week. Finally we’ve got a hold on it, and we’re seeing improvement (but that explains the red eye in these pics…).

When did he get so big?

Anyway, in all the chaos this week, we did get time to go out to dinner as a family for A’s birthday (although Mr. Talker standing by our table pretty much stole the show until we had to leave because Aidan ran out of grapes and wanted to scream – yay big night out!).

So on the way home, we stopped and set the camera on timer to get a quick family pic to remember the occasion.

Yes, that’s drool on Ozgur’s sleeve. Standard.

And for good measure, we fed him sugar (in the form of cake) before bed. What’s a first birthday without sugar? Besides, we had to practice for Sunday! (And really besides, he squished and threw most of it.)

Mmmm…

In other news, with regards to my running and eating better, all is progressing well. I was really in need of a run come Tuesday after I took two days off post-5k Saturday.

Oh, hello! I forgot to tell you I ran aNOTHER 5k last Saturday! And my sweet husband decided to join me for his first race because he didn’t want me to have to run alone (not that I would have minded, but it was much nicer running with someone – the kind of someone you know so well that you don’t feel like you have to talk to them… you can just run and enjoy it together in silence).

Which reminds me, I got a PR! 26:54! My first 5k was 28:10 the weekend before. I was totally impressed with myself. And O has agreed to join me for one more before I leave for military training, so hopefully he’ll push me to shave even a little more off.

Post-run. Woo hoo!

I won’t lie to you. I’m so tired of not eating cheese or milk (two of my true loves in the food world). So on Aidan’s birthday dinner night out, I had a gluten-free cheese pizza. And to top it off, I came home and ate a (glutenous) chocolate chip cookie WITH half of a glass of milk. My stomach then reminded me why I’m not currently consuming dairy and gluten.

Seriously, thank God for raw.goat.cheese – currently the only dairy that’s both stomach and migraine-approved. Speaking of which…… it’s calling my name. Gotta go!

Are you dieting or foregoing troublesome foods? What do you miss the most? Leave it in the comments. I’ll commiserate with you.

Successes, failures and ongoing experiments in the kitchen.

11 Sep

I’m running another 5k this weekend – Saturday to be exact.

I wish races were stroller friendly. Aidan and the Bob could join me. I don’t think I mentioned in my vacation post just how much I missed my Bob.  I seriously considered renting one for the week while we were down there. When I walked in the door, it was sitting there in the entry way begging to be used. So of course we dumped our bags and took Aidan and Maddy on a stroll in the first of the fall weather.

That’s when I realized I’m in stroller love. If any of you out there are contemplating buying one, here’s my advice: do you want to walk or run a lot? If so, you simply cannot go wrong with the Bob. Mom and baby will be comfortable and happy for miles and miles. If you don’t plan on walking or running a lot, and you just need a stroller for zipping around town, malls, etc., the Bob probably isn’t for you. After all, I do feel like I’m wheeling a trailer through Starbucks when I stop in during the morning rush. Off-peak hours are fine.

But I digress! This post is about (mis)happenings in my kitchen. So here’s my latest and greatest:

Success. Raging success.

Two things:

  1. I know foodie pictures are usually way more attractive than this, but I was starving and forgot to take a picture before I started.
  2. This is actually leftovers from the night before, so that’s twice I forgot because I was starving. (Btw, isn’t leftover spaghetti the BEST?)

I’ll work on my images…

So what you see there is actually NOT spaghetti! It’s spaghetti SQUASH (with your standard, but delicious, meat sauce). My mom tipped me off to this years ago, but like most things, I had to learn for myself the awesomeness that is this squash. As I was forking away the noodle-like pieces out of the baked squash, I was simply in awe. It’s so COOL! And it seriously tastes great. Granted, you can’t slurp up the noodles the same way Lady and the Tramp did (yes, I did a slurp test – don’t judge me). But you have no after-meal-carb-overload-crash-and-burn-nap sensation. You’re not bloated post-meal, and it fills you up and satisfies you just the same!

Not sure if I mentioned yet, I’m currently gluten/dairy/sugar free while I figure out my migraine sitch.  And it is working wonders all around. It was an easy transition after the detox (which btw, I forgot to mention, I did survive 5 days and felt like $5 million bucks after it). So recipes like this to replace essential gluten-ous (yes, that’s a word) items are so awesome.

I did bend the rules just a little on vacation (hey, I could afford to… I ran all night and day…). I had a slice of this:

Taste test success; ongoing aesthetic experiment.

I made that topsy turvy bad boy to celebrate the births of my Mom (September) and my Dad (August). The family vacay was the perfect time to celebrate both.

Why does it look like a 1 year old’s cake, you ask? Good question! I’m making Aidan’s birthday cake to save a buck (or $150 bucks… minus cake and icing ingredients). So I had to get a practice run in before the big day.

I attempted to get the butter cream icing to look like fondant (since butter cream tastes so much better) while just using fondant decorations here (although on A’s cake the fondant will actually be multi-colored and not just plain white – sorry for skimping Mom and Dad). With the help of my mom and Pinterest, I found some solid techniques, the best of which works with a thin layer of icing and Voila! paper towels, believe it or not. My icing got a little thick for that method, especially since we started with a pretty thick dirty ice.

The good news is, the taste was a big hit. It stayed moist despite the 2 to 3 day event it required to get the exterior job done.

Anyway, you live, you learn, and I’m hoping for the big 1-year bash my fake-fondant-butter-cream techniques will have drastically improved.

So last but not least, today’s trials (click the links for the actual recipes at two of my current fave blogs – Wellness Mama, and Elana’s Pantry):

  1. The much awaited Pumpkin Bread (gluten free).
  2. A fake Dirty Rice recipe that’s been calling my name.

And here come the excuses as to why this is the only picture you’ll get of either:

P Bread: Failure (potential future experiments). Dirty Rice: Ongoing Experiment. Husband and baby: Wildly successful. ;)

I tried to take a picture of the dirty rice when we sat down to dinner. In fact I did take a picture of it. But my photo memory on my phone is apparently full and I’m just learning it didn’t save.

The dirty rice came out just fine. I over did the cumin (I know, rookie mistake), but other than that, it was actually kind of good with the peppers. To get the fake rice, you put cauliflower in a food processor (and pulse just a few times, don’t leave it on too long, otherwise the pieces get too small). I’ll definitely try this one again and go a little lighter on the cumin next time.

As for the pumpkin bread, no picture because it was definitely NOT successful. It didn’t even taste sweet. And it definitely didn’t ever cook all the way through. As a disclaimer, the recipe said you could use Stevia OR honey. I should have gone with the honey. And secondly, I was a wee bit scared of the thickness of the batter pre-bake, so I added a little water (the recipe says that’s fine, just don’t let it get runny). Well it didn’t look runny, but it definitely never cooked through.

I want to try it again, but I also don’t want to waste five more eggs and a pumpkin to get poo bread. I’ll muster up the courage again eventually.

Clearly, I am sorely disappointed about that Pumpkin Bread. But my girl over at PaleOMG cheered me up with a recipe for Zucchini Apple Spice Muffins that I think may satiate my craving. Doesn’t that sound deLICious?

What’s in your oven this week? And what else should I put in mine? Any suggestions on recipes with ground turkey? Bought it for the first time yesterday… And don’t say turkey burgers!

I ran. I ran all night and day…

10 Sep

I didn’t need inspiration on my vacation. I just ran. Every day except one.

High Five!

And THEN… I ran my first 5k!!! Time: 28:10. Better than I anticipated. It felt awesome. I think I’m going to do one this weekend, too. I could potentially already be addicted.

As for my super active vacation (swimming, walking and running every day), here’s what happened while I was away:

I can’t begin to describe how relaxing this vacation was for me, and how much my little family needed it.

(Forgive the hair.)

Football season started – Go Hokies and Cowboys! And Aidan started walking far distances all by himself. He took many opportunities to walk with us on the beach.

We couldn’t tell this kid no. He wanted to dive right in.

So between Granddaddy rescuing him, and him trying to find more trouble, they tried to get him as close to the big waves as possible without getting pummeled.

And on his down time, he was practicing his moves…

And eating sand…

And swimming with Mom and Dad…

As for the adult fun, I spent time with my parents, sister and her fam, Granddad and his wife, and some good friends.

I got my runs in, and O got to golf. My mom, sister and I took the babies for a high speed shopping pass, and my sister and I got to rent some bikes and cruise around Duck one morning. It was awesome. I felt like a kid. I even drove by my friend’s beach house I used to visit with her family when we were younger growing up together.

But now it’s back to reality! Fall’s so close I can taste it (literally, because I’ve already baked my first batch of pumpkin seeds.) I have more goals to achieve and healthy recipes to try. (I tried spaghetti squash with meat sauce tonight for the first time, and that rocked!) More on those in the next post, so stay tuned. What’d I miss in your life while I was away?

Detox Day 2: Almost gave up

28 Aug

Today’s inspiration (taking a break from the workouts):

Mom's Organic Market

That’s right, a trip to the organic market.

This detox program allows for raw goat cheese on salads (and I’m sure it would also be permitted in moments of weakness when yet another raw vegetable just won’t do). We looked for it in four grocery stores before I resorted to visiting Mom’s. Idk why I didn’t go there sooner.

I was like a kid in a candy shop… minus the yeast feeding sugar.

Anyway, 30 minutes later, I walked out with my raw goat cheese, millet, goat’s milk ice cream (BOMB), vegetable broth, stevia and kale. Sweet grocery list, right?

So needless to say, as promised I had my salmon tonight (quite filling), and of course my salad WITH goat cheese. Delicious. Just delicious. This goat cheese (and let’s be honest, the ice cream too) may save me on this journey. I may make it to Friday. But I’m not promising anything…

Another win – I did find this awesome recipe on Elana’s Pantry to make kale chips. Delish! Such a healthy alternative to potato chips! Word to the wise, don’t overdue the olive oil. And only make as much as you plan on eating. They don’t stay as crispy as they are when they come right out of the oven.

Aidan’s a little young for them, although he did like the taste. From what I hear read, older kids devour them.

The good: down 3 lbs this morning. Goat cheese and goat milk ice cream saved me. And kale chips are great – something that will last in my recipe repertoire long after the detox.

The bad: I can’t stop dreaming about baked goods. It doesn’t help that I’m reading a bunch of foodie blogs. I want to make everything I see.

The ugly: I still have three more days.

Leave love/encouragement.

Detox and running: can it be done?

28 Aug

Yes. The answer is yes it can be done. Although I suppose the real question is should it be done? That I’m not sure. I’ll tell you tomorrow, because right now, I’m taking it one day at a time.

Today’s PERSPIRATION INSPIRATION:

Bathing suit season

I know I’m a little late with regards to bathing suit season, but we’re taking a late summer vacation.

That’s right, y’all. After 11 months of hiding out under t-shirts and velour pants, I’m baring my stomach and every other part of my body a bathing suit doesn’t cover during a family trip to the beach. Thank goodness we also have a pool at the house. I plan on going to the beach only for as long as I can suck it in, then returning to the privacy of our pool to let it all hang out.

So in light of our family trip that’s just around the corner (five days out to be exact), I randomly decided to do a quick detox sesh (per Detox 4 Women by Natalia Rose)  to shed anything lingering in my bowels.

Smarty me, right? Wrong.

Day one: carrot and romaine lettuce juice for breakfast, salad for lunch with baked zucchini on the side, an egg in between meals so I could survive my early evening run, and salad with zucchini on the side for dinner. Oh and I treated myself with a Granny Smith apple to finish up the night.

I mean it’s not horrible. I survived my four-miler. But I’ll tell you this, my feet haven’t felt that heavy in a long time. The good news is, it was a family affair. I pushed Aidan in the BOB, and O ran with Maddy. (Well they did more of a run-walk since she’s not quite acclimated to running distances yet. She’s still a little young, so we take it easy on her.)

I’m only wrapping up Day One, so I’ll have to give the detox it’s due time – if I can continue on this path and continue to train at the same time. But here’s my assessment so far:

The Good: Carrot and romaine lettuce juice makes you feel like energy is shooting through all of your muscles (in a nice, I-feel-vibrant kind of way). Your body thanks you. It’s better than a 5 hour energy and caffeine (yes, I remember a time when I consumed such products regularly). It was nice to find something that can provide that type of natural energy and not worry about getting the jitters or increased anxiety, etc.

Additionally, my migraine diet is pretty restrictive already. So it was an easy transition, quite honestly, in terms of what things to avoid and what things to eat.

The Bad: I like chicken. I’ve realized how much I like chicken today. I don’t do more than one egg a day because of my cholesterol issue, but I usually do one for lunch, and chicken for dinner. And when I don’t eat chicken, I eat steak. Of course, I try not to eat too much red meat, but my Turkish side of the family does enjoy it semi-regularly.

And another thing – before I knew yogurt and kefir were migraine triggers, those were my go-to breakfasts. Then I switched to gluten-free oatmeal (gluten is another potential trigger, although it’s still TBD as to whether it is for me). It didn’t taste like candy, but it was filling.

Bottom line here is, I never once felt sated today. But I keep telling myself it’s not a permanent life change, and I can manage it for a little while… And tomorrow, I get to have salmon with my salad!

The Ugly: I got really dizzy and had a minor freak out about it after lunch. So I had some salty chips for a quick fix solution. That’s when I committed to having the egg before my run.

Other than that, I’ll wake up tomorrow and have shed 10 lbs, right? RIGHT?

My sister did a leek detox once. I can’t eat leeks anymore because of the leek broth that sat in our fridge looking so terribly unappetizing. Have you ever detoxed? If so, how long was it? And what did your regimented meals consist of?

Michelle Phelps over here. NBD.

23 Aug

Today’s PERSPIRATION INSPIRATION:

Michael Phelps

22-time Olympian: 18 Gold, 2 Silver, and 2 Bronze.

Okay, so that’s not actually me swimming in my birthday suit. My arms aren’t that cut… That’s the real deal, Michael Phelps. And I still have no idea how he (or any other swimmer for that matter) actually gets a full breath to the side like that. It looks like he’s eating water.

But that’s pretty much what I looked like today at the pool…

A generous friend gave me real swimmer stuff like a TYR suit and goggles, and a swim cap. It’s about time I get a little more serious if I hope to actually finish the swim segment of the tri (which, might I add, is the first part).

So let me paint a picture for you of what I actually looked like today. The bathing suit fit – which was my biggest concern. So that was a huge win. And it’s black and a one piece, so way less “look at my mom bod” than the other two-pieces I have. But it quickly took a turn for the … learning phase.

I’ve never actually worn a swim cap before. So… trying to peel that tight thing over my big head was comical to say the least. (I know this mostly because O was laughing at me will pulling Aidan around the pool.) I even pulled up a YouTube instructional video about it before I went to the pool, and it still took me a good 15 minutes.

The goggles were pretty straight forward, although for some reason, I still close my eyes when I turn to the side to breathe. And I’m pretty sure I looked like a bug. But I’m down with looking like a bug if I can swim like a pro (which is of course the direction I’m headed).

And then I spent the majority of my time swimming up and down the pool with a noodle trying to learn the right way to breathe. But it seemed like as soon as I got some traction in the breathing department, my hips would drop, and my form would get all crazy.

Ozgur says I’m over thinking it (as he and Aidan splash and walk along side my turtle pace). Sorry, Ryan Lochte. It just doesn’t come naturally to me.

Now running, I can do. One foot in front of the other is a little more straight forward.

Tomorrow: intervals. 30/30 for 1.5 miles, with a 1.5 mile recovery run.

Gettin’ ready for race day.

22 Aug

Today’s PERSPIRATION INSPIRATION:

Navy Federal Credit Union 5k

This will be me in a few weeks. … In the back.

I’m getting excited! My first race isn’t too far off. Ran another 4-miler today. Tomorrow is strength-training day. I’ve been meaning to share this with you: my strength training workout. Try it. It will kick your butt. Then do it again a few days later.

That is all I have for today. I’m pooped.

Love, Tired Mama

 

Running in the rain rocks

20 Aug

Foremost (and always the most important thing…), today’s PERSPIRATION INSPIRATION:

Running in the rain.

Running in the rain.

That’s what I looked like today.

Just kidding, I probably looked more like this:

Drowned rat

Drowned rat.

But the good news about working out is it makes you release happy chemicals, and the happy chemicals help you lie to yourself about things like how you look while you’re running in the rain.

Good thing I didn’t do my make up today… I would have looked more like this:

makeup in the rain

… sans the model face under the makeup…

And besides, the important thing is, I ran in the rain. 4 miles. And it was awesome. Seriously, it rocked. Then again, I’m an overcast, light rain kinda gal. My eyes prefer it to the bright sun.

Anyway, I’m still truckin’ with my game plan, and I’ve even recruited some girls to run a 5k and 10k with me. (Michael Jackson’s “You are not alone…” just popped into my head.)

So here are some general updates:

The good: today was the first day that I went out and didn’t feel like I was out of breath. The entire run, I actually felt great. Never out of breath, never sucking wind, and my stride is getting better. All this running stuff I read talks about the magic stride per minute rate of 180. I was no where near that (I think I was something crazy off like 90 spm). So I focused on my cadence today and was able to increase it. I wasn’t able to count it because I wasn’t wearing my watch, but I was keeping cadence in my head that was much closer to 1.5 strides per second.

The bad: my hip and ankle are starting to hurt more. My right leg is shorter than my left (my sister used to joke that it made me run in circles… don’t worry I have thick skin). It caused some knee issues in high school, but my physical therapist at the time warned me it’d cause some hip problems later in life. Am I already there? To the “later in life” point? Ugh.

The ugly: I haven’t lost a pound. -_- I keep telling myself that I’m in the fat-converting-to-muscle phase. And I’m pretty sure it’s true because I definitely feel stronger and slightly more toned, but still. I’m a numbers girl. And I really like to see the weight drop. So it better start happening soon…

That’s a wrap. Leave me some love, friends.

Review: Aidan & the BOB

16 Aug

SUCCESS! We have success.

First time out, we ran three miles and not a peep. Except in the beginning I think he wondered if I was still there (because I wasn’t panting yet), so he tried to turn his head up my way. I let him know I was still there, and after that he just kept on truckin’. Probably because it wasn’t long he’d be reassured simply by the incessant heavy breathing coming from behind him. Anyway, GO BOB.

Today’s PERSPIRATION INSPIRATION:

Kelly Ripa Arms

Who doesn’t want these arms?! Seriously…

That’s why I busted out some tough arm workouts today, and for the SECOND time this week. Get it.

If anyone’s curious, here’s my specific plan as of today (subject to change as this is only week two I’m on here, people…). Day of rest – aka the day all the workouts are centered around – is either Saturday or Sunday, depending on our weekend plans.

Working backwards from that, I have to get 6 days in of workouts. Mandatory: one day of intervals (no more than one, because recovery is key, too). Minimums: one day of strength training, and ideally two, but the second can be substituted for a cross training workout (swim or bike), or done in conjunction with the cross or short run. *More cross training to come post-military training. That leaves me with three runs – one longer than the others and probably on the weekend.

Simple, right?

Pffff. My legs were so sore after the first strength training + run day. So. Sore. I felt the soreness for two days with every step I took. And we have lots of stairs in our house. Add a 27 pounder on my hip, and my legs nearly gave out. Several times.

But now, it’s starting to feel much better. Like the good kind of sore where it motivates you to work out and work through it and make it go away.

This weekend’s challenge: I’m going out of town Friday. But before I get on the road, I have to do my intervals at some point. And while I’m out of town, I have to do a 4-miler! I’m going to need willpower and planning. And the strength to resist temptations that would otherwise occupy my time.

Wish my luck. I’ll need it.

P.S. Remember, words of encouragement are always appreciated. Leave a comment. :) It will make my day. (Wellll, almost. I actually already have a favorite part of my day, and it’s right before Aidan goes to sleep when we are rocking in his chair and he’s laying so sweetly in my arms… ahhh, motherhood.)

P.P.S. Aidan is 11 months today. The last month he’s in the ZEROS!!!! I can’t flipping believe it. Where did the time go? Here’s a visual for you. He’s grown a bit.

Aidan's 11 months old

Yes, those are my leprechaun legs behind him. We were having a dance party in the kitchen, and he was loving it.

Do you have a goal? You gotta have a goal.

15 Aug

Today’s PERSPIRATION INSPIRATION:

BOB Revolution SE

Aidan’s birthday present! Early, thanks to Grandma-Turkey & Co.

That’s right, boys and girls. The BOB Revolution SE. We all know nothing inspires a lifestyle of fitness like SWEET accessories.

What’s that? You don’t find this jogging stroller motivating? Then you probably don’t have a small child. No biggy. You can get the same motivation from something like, say, a really supportive pink sports bra. Or new running sneaks . I have my eye on these:

Running Shoes

Oh yeah.

Okay, on to the important stuff…

In an honest assessment this past weekend of my personal and professional goals with regards to fitness, I’ve figured some things out. But let’s start with my goals (in PARTICULAR order):

  1. Lose 14 more pounds by December 31st.
  2. Run a 5k.
  3. Run a 10k.
  4. Get a 100% on my military fitness test in the beginning of December.
  5. Learn to swim better (so I can…)
  6. Do a sprint triathlon in the Spring, 2013!

All of my goals support, or will result from, training for the triathlon. And that’s when I realized Jiu Jitsu just doesn’t fit in with my goals right now. Which is fine. I can’t do it all… yet, anyway.

Maybe I can when Aidan starts sleeping through the night. (When will that be, btw? Anyone? Help. Please…)

I really do think tri training will maximize my exercise time and will be the easiest to work in to my already-full work/life schedule. It also doesn’t require paying for classes. So that’s why I started training last week.

After my first day of interval training – which had me panting like a dog – and post recovery jog, something came to me. Back in the day (which means pre-baby), someone asked if I got a runner’s high. I said “I guess not” since I never noticed it.

But I was so wrong. I definitely get the runner’s high. And I think I notice it more now because I get considerably less sleep. Nothing beats the feeling after my runs (probably because they are always the hardest for me).

I feel like this:

How I feel when I run

And then I get home and realize I didn’t look anything like that. And besides, where’s her ponytail?

And when I’m not running (or strength/cross training), I’m planning my next workout. I’m reading everything across the world wide web that I can conceivably digest. And then I dream about it all – racing in particular. In fact, last night, my cell phone went on a swim with me. And forget worrying about what I eat. My migraine/gluten free, not-optional diet has provided enough limitations. In fact, all I have to worry about is getting ENOUGH. Because I’m pretty much only allowed to eat the good stuff anyway.

I’m sure it’s going to get harder to stay motivated, maintain balance in my life, and not get tired. But for now, I’m riding the wave of my new obsession.

P.S. My first Bob Jog with A happens tonight. I’ll report in and let you know if it lives up to all the hype – and if my boy can withstand a 45-minute mom-centric activity in which he’s strapped down the entire time. (You may remember some unsuccessful attempts from Fit Mom.) Wish us luck!

 

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